ANCHOVIES IN THE ENGLISH CHANNEL. 335 



their fisliing was a moderate south-west breeze, because then the 

 water was " thick. '^ However, from the description given by both 

 the fishermen and a dealer whom I consulted, there could be no 

 doubt that the fish called anchovies were really of that species. 



I ■ sent a letter to the Times describing the results of my visit 

 to Dover, and giving a summary of what is stated in books on fish 

 and fisheries concerning the distribution of anchovies, the condition 

 of the anchovy fishery in various countries, and the occurrence of 

 the fish in English waters. At the conclusion of my letter I asked 

 for information concerning the capture of anchovies at any other 

 parts of the English coast. This letter was published on Decembar 

 12th, and the Times commented on it in a leading article, calling 

 attention to the importance of the attempt to start a regular anchovy- 

 fishery in England. 



Among the letters I received in response to my public appeal for 

 information the most important was one from Mr. Whitehead, of 

 Torquay, who informed me that large quantities of anchovies had 

 for some weeks before the date of his letter, December 13th, been 

 taken among the sprats in Torbay. He could not say what propor- 

 tion the anchovies bore to the sprats, but he noticed in one lot that 

 about one fifth consisted of the former ; he did not send me any 

 specimens. On January 3rd, 1890, I received some actual speci- 

 mens in spirit from Mr. Whitehead, together with another letter, in 

 which he said that they were still being taken in the proportion of 

 one fifth anchovies to four fifths sprats. These specimens placed 

 beyond doubt the identity of the fish described by Mr. Whitehead 

 as anchovies. They were genuine anchovies, and it was thus proved 

 that during last November, December, and January a large quantity 

 of anchovies were landed at Torquay. I shall discuss subsequently 

 the question of what was done with these anchovies. 



As Mr. Dunn, of Mevagissey, Cornwall, had previously noted the 

 capture of anchovies at that place, I wrote to him on December 13th 

 asking if any had been taken there this season, and if he could send 

 me specimens. In reply he very kindly sent me eight specimens in 

 spirit, and a letter saying that anchovies were plentiful off that part of 

 the coast in the autumn of every year, that this season they had been 

 present during the three previous months, but that very few were 

 usually caught, only a few being occasionally meshed in the pilchard- 

 nets ; the greatest catch amounted to only about a dozen specimens, 

 because the mesh of the pilchard-nets was too large, and the an- 

 chovies were only taken in parts of the nets which got en- 

 tangled. It is evident that the capture of a few specimens in a 

 pilchard-net indicates that the anchovies are present in the sea in 

 large numbers. 



