10 



summer migrants in the spring. There appears to be Httle doubt 

 therefore that the wintering ground of the gurnards of south 

 Northumberland is to the north of Ahimouth Bay, and that the 

 species is distributed inshore by migration in a southerly direction, 

 appearing first in Alnmouth Bay and spreading to the other bays. 

 It is probable that the gurnards of the northern half of Northum- 

 berland belong to the southern minimum portion of a school to 

 the north, and that Alnmouth marks the northern Hmit of a school 

 which from its numbers is of more particular Northumberland 

 ' interest. If this be correct, gurnards belong to the class which I 

 have called northern migrants. 



Second, the experiments in Druridge Bay now carried on further 

 to the south of the bay than in former years illustrate the character 

 of the bays which I have pointed out with reference to the distri- 

 bution of plaice and dab. It has been shown that plaice tend to 

 the northern part of the bays and the dab to the southern. The 

 figures in many cases show this even for individual hauls. With a 

 view to testing the point the November experiments were so 

 arranged that the first haul was made in the northern half of the 

 bay and the second in the southern half, and it will be seen that 

 in spite of the lateness of the season and the short period given at 

 Druridge Bay more plaice were caught in each case in the 

 northern portion of the bays. In the case of Alnmouth, where 

 each experiment was continued for an hour, there were more dabs 

 in the southern part of the bay. 



Third, it may be said that with the exception of Druridge Bay 

 the stations received this year about the average numbers of 

 the various species. 



In Table IV. the results of the examination of a number of the 

 fish caught at the trawHng experiments are given. The food is very 

 similar to that obtained bj^ the fish as reported upon in former 

 years, see Report for 1905, page 44. 



