•20 



and windiug waters there. At certaiu piaces, moreover, tlie plai<'e luust ac- 

 tually niake its way over or tlirougli deiise »grass-Helds« (zostora), vvhere it 

 collies but rarel}', and where it has no reason at all to go, as it dues not know 

 that there is plenty of food for it farther up. It must be remembered 

 also, that the plaice id <i hoffom-fisli, ii' any lish is so. It is evideutly very 

 rarely that it rises from the bottoin, cveii but a few feet, and tiiis happens 

 tertainlj' oiily for a few short moments; ou the bottom. however. it feels at 

 liome. These, no doubt, are the reasons why the jslaice does not actually 

 enter Thisted-Bredning in greater numbers, and, as far as we know, never 

 has done so. 



This detailed statistics tells us that at least c. 800 plaice f>ver the luarket- 

 able size have lived this year per Tønde Land in Kaas-Bredning and Venø- 

 Bugt. I eau add that Ijesides these there have lived rather a oonsideral)le 

 number of plaice under the size limit, nay as mauy perhaps, ur even more. 

 By seining the 11. tt 14. September aud 3. October (see Table 1) a \ery great 

 nuinber of lish under the size limit were found, botii in Venø-Bugt and, parti- 

 cnlarly, in Kaas-Bredning and Lavbjerg-Bredning. 



I shall later on, in another way, prove that there li^■es even a greatei- 

 number of plaice per Tønde Land in Nissiim-Brednin;/ tiian in these waters. 

 It will be impossible to use any statistics witli respect to the latter expansion 

 of the Fjord, ainong other reasons because tliey hsli so little liere during these 

 months that the statistics would show uothing at all. It is (juite likely, 1 

 think, fliaf Ihe bio/rer uro/rfli of tlic plaice, and flie somewhat smaller aixe irhirh 

 iijiuii Ihe irhole il hkii/ Iip supposcd fo rearli iii fhesc spok. is fhiis (itriiKj t<i 

 (I li)0 nimierous popitlolion. M'liether this overpopulation is owiug to nature 

 only, or is the direct i-esult of the eager Hshing that takes away all the larger 

 Hsh, which are then replaced by little oues, is not known for (|uite certaiu; 

 but in Nissum-Bredning this circumstance is certainl}' not OM'ing to too inucli 

 lishing, for, as 1 have just observed, they fish very little liere. 



That the plaice iu these densely populated expansions of the Fjord really 

 prevent each other from growing, and therefore gro\v more slowly than in the 

 less densely populated expansions, was pro^■ed this year by catching c. 400 

 plaice, partly at Thyborøn partly in ^'eno-Bugt, and after labelhng thciu 

 with numbered bone buttons place them in the water again, 200 in Venø- 

 Bugt and lt!4 in Tliisted-Bredning. The latter grew (juicker tlian tlie former 

 (see Appendix II). As we do not know (as yet at any rate) that the > bottom« 

 ilt onc place is imicli better thnn it is at the other, I must snppose that 



