44 



may be deduced from our catches it points to the species declining 

 on the Northumberland coast. 



Turbot. — These are for the most part large immature and 

 mature specimens which penetrate into the shallow waters of 

 Northumberland during the summer. A few, measuring 15 to 

 20 cm., have been captured, showing that even young stages are 

 present, but most measure 25 to 30 cm., and some reach the size 

 45 to 50 cm. (18 to 20 inches). The distribution is tolerably plain 

 from Table XIII., and it will bo noticed that it is the same as 

 that of the plaice, and this is borne out by a consideration of the 

 detailed hauls. They appear in the inshore waters in April and 

 May, and leave in November. Turbot are captured mainly by 

 the northern fishermen of the district, and " brat " nets were 

 used up bo recent times for their capture in the autumn at several 

 of the stations until they finally disappeared at Crastor. Like the 

 plaice, the turbot predominate in the southern and eastern part 

 of the North Sea, and their seasonal behaviour there is the same 

 as the plaice. 



Brill. — The brill aro large as a rule, and occur much less 

 plentifully in the inshore waters of Northumberland, a fact which 

 is also brought out in the statistics of the catches of the fishermen, 

 but it will be noticed from Table XIV. that their distribution is 

 like that of tho turbot. They are rare in the North Sea generally. 



Sole. — During the years of tho complete experiment, 1892- 

 1906, soles were obtained in small numbers, but constantly, and, 

 indeed, during the period an improvement in the numbers was 

 evidenced. The distribution in the case of the marketable solo 

 is remarkably like that of the dab. They predominate at tho 

 southern stations, especially at Cambois, the bay between New- 

 biggin and Blyth. The size of the captures is indicated in Table 

 XVI., which gives a synopsis of the detailed records, and from 

 this it will be observed that the soles are mainly large, immature 

 and spont. It is seldom that soles under 20 cm. (8 inches) are 

 capturod, but a fair number has been got between 20 and 30 cm. 

 (8 to 12 inches), and between 30 and 40 cm. (12 to 16 inches)., 

 Soles over 40 cm. aro obtained at all the stations, but mainly, 

 like the other sizes, in the southern bays. Statistics again bear 

 out the distribution. They are summer visitors, and include 



