TLKBOT. 



439 



fairly I'aru", ;i.s well as in Kid P,;iy, wiicrc according 

 to ^loBirs and Hki.nckk, howcvci-, Turhofs wei'diin"- 

 10 kij;ni. lire .sonictinies I'onnd. Ott' F)oridiohn accordin"- 

 ti) KiioYKK, it is nuitc connnnn. l-'roui tlic Catte"-at it 

 SDUictinu's penetrates intu Liini I'joid, and lil<c most of 

 tli(! I'datfishes, tinds more cungeniMl liannts on tlic Da- 

 nish coMst lli;ni on the Swedish, tliougli it occurs all 

 tlic way from the Sound along the coasts of Ilalland 

 .-ind liohusliui. According to v. Yiir.Kx'' 3,900 Turhot 

 were hrouglit t(j (iotheuhurg market (hiring tiic ve;ir 

 1879; but a large jjortion of them probably came from 

 tlic Skiiw. In the North Sea tlie Turbot-fishery is still 

 more ini]i()rt;uit. "Turliot are found," says Holdsworth', 

 "uKM-e or less on ;dl pints of the coast; the Xortli Sea 

 has long been famous for these fish, especially along the 

 Dutch shore, wlierc, tluriug warm weathei", they are 

 caught in very siiallow water. Large sujjplies of Turl)ot 

 were formerly sent l)v the Dutch fishermen to the Lon- 

 don market long before our own trawlers liad established 

 themselves on our enstern coast, or had found out how 

 nuich was to be (hjiie in the North Sea. There are many 

 of these tish ;dso c;iut!:ht in the Channel, wlierever there 



In the Mediterranean too, the Turbot is common 

 find ill ^n-eat rcf|uest', and is s;iid there to be largest 

 in the Adrialic Seii. 



Tlie Turbot, at least at certain seasons, prefers a 

 sandy Itoitom, |)ure <jr mixed witli mud. Those spots 

 in the English Channel and the North Sea where it is 

 most abundant, are of this nature, in from 40 (;r .JO 

 to 10 fathoms of water. lint according to Coi:cH it 

 seems to be a migratory tish which moves very swiftly 

 in sm;ili shonls and is sometimes to be found at the 

 surfatc. we learn fr(;m France' that the best Turbot 

 are taken witli liook and line on a rocky bottom. The 

 nature of the bottom preferred by tiie Turbot may 

 thus \ary considerably. Like most other large fishes, 

 the Turbot retires in winter to deeper water and ascends 

 in sjiriiiL'^ to shallower spots. From the Dutch fishery 

 it also appears that in the North Sea, during spring 

 and summer, the Turbot moves from the south in a 

 northward direction. The Dutch fishei-men begin^ their 

 Turl)ot-tishery aliout tiie end of March, just south of 

 Scheveningen, I)Ut gradually move northwards, reaching 

 Heligoland at the beginning of June, and tishing there 



is trawling ground, and no dcjubt they arc uiuuerous j to the middle of August, when the fishery generally 

 in many places where, on account cithci- of tlie depth 

 of water oi- the; nature of the bottom, no trawl lias 

 ever been worked. We have heard of cxti-aordinary 



catches of turliot having been made in the neigh- 

 bourhood of W olf Rock, near the Lands End; but the 

 depth of the water there and the frequent heavy sea 

 make it difficult to trawl successfully on that ground. " 

 From the latest statistics in "Tlu' Fish Trades Gazette" 

 for 1889, Jan. 12th and 26th, we learn that the (juaii- 

 tities of Turbot caught In' English fishermen oi- brought 

 to Eno;lisii hai-bours during the years 1887 and 1888 was: 



closes for the sca.son. KiaiVKK (piotes an observation 

 of the Danish fishermen off' MOen to the effect that in 

 spring the Turbot comes close in shore. With regard 

 to the fisheiy in Bohuslan Malm makes almo.st the 

 same remark, with the addition that "small specimens 

 about I.jO mm. long are not unfrequently taken in the 

 seine at a depth of from 3 to 6 fathoms, at the head 

 of the f^jords, in places where the Ijottom is of a suit- 

 alijc nature." 



The food of the Turbot is composed principally of 

 tish. crustaceans, and mollusks. (X-ssox'' found in the 

 stomacli of a full-grown Turbot a large Haddock, and 

 in a young s[iecimen a small Plaice, Sand-eels, Pipe- 

 fishes {Sijn(])iathi) and examples of the Freckled Goby 

 {Gohius minuttis). Day states that he found a mixture 

 of crabs, shrimps, and stai-fish in the stomach of a Tur- 

 bot. Thus the Turbot seems to lie no dainty eater; 

 l)ut it is very particular as to the (juality of the bait 



" See LiLf-jEBORG, 1. c, p. .^17. 



'• lutern. Fischerciausstell. Berl. 1880, Scliwe.l. Catal.. I. 2. tab. 1. 



" Deep-Sea-Fish; p. 00. 



'' Complete reports from Ireland for tlie year 1887 are wanting. 



' Espos. intern, di Pesca in Berlino 1880, Scz. Ital. Catal., p. 98 (GlGLlOLl) and p. 180 (XlN.si). 



•'' Bi.ANCHEBR, Xoiii). Diet. Gill. d. Pi'i:hes, p. 807. 



■J YAnn, Bi-ii. Fish., ed. 2, vol. II, p. 325. 



'' luktt. skand. fisk: joda, Lunds Univ. Arsskrift, tom. VIII (1871), p. 10 (sep.). 



