FISHERY BOARD FOR SCOTLAND. 77 



tlie collection of special statistics ; the survey of fishing grounds^ the 

 preservation of fish, &c. 



(2) Biological investigations into the marine Fauna, the structure, 

 distribution, migrations, food, habits, &c., of the edible fishes, 

 Crustacea and molluscs. 



(3) Physical inquiries into the temperature, salinity, and compo- 

 sition of the waters around the coast. 



It is not always easy to draw a line of distinction between the first 

 and second classes, but this division will be enough for practical 

 pui'poses. 



General Fishery Inquiries. 



It would be out of place here to enter into details as to many of 

 the general questions connected with fisheries which have received 

 scientific treatment. One important investigation has been into the 

 influence of beam trawling, especially in the inshore waters. While 

 these inquiries have shown that a great increase of fish, and espe- 

 cially of flat-fish, has occui-red in the waters protected from this mode 

 of fishing, they have been the means of throwing light upon the dis- 

 tribution of the edible fishes, their relative abundance at different 

 times of the year, the proportions of immature and adult fish, and 

 other questions of practical and biological interest. These observa- 

 tions were made on board the " Garland " at various parts of the 

 coast. The precise localities and the methods adopted are described in 

 tlie Report for 1886,* the results being discussed more fully in the 

 Report for 1887,t where all the details will be found. From these 

 observations it is evident that by continuing them for a year or two 

 a great deal will be learned of the habits and migrations of the food- 

 fishes. Abstracts of several papers relating to the spawning of fishes 

 will be found below ; and a system has been devised by which con- 

 tinuous observations will be made througbout the entire year as to 

 the condition of the reproductive organs and the stomach in different 

 sized specimens of each kind of fish. By this means we shall discover 

 (a) the minimum size of mature individuals of both sexes, [h) the 

 duration of the spawning period, (c) the nature of the food in different 

 seasons, {d) whether there is any variation in the amount of food 

 taken during the period of reproduction, &c. 



The collection of special scientific statistics has been particularly 

 attended to. Besides the Tables of the amounts and values of the 

 different kinds of fish landed, supplied by the Fishery Officers, a 

 scheme has been adopted by having correspondents at the chief 



* Fifth Ann. Rep. Fishery Board for Scotland, Appendix F, p. 43, 1887. 

 t Sixth Ann. Rep., Part iii, p. 25, 1888. 



