NORTH SEA INVESTIGATIONS. 81 
probably explained by the greater advantage in size which Fulton’s 
figures indicate for the male in that species: the male haddock 
being only very slightly larger than its mate, and having a longer 
reproductive life, the difference in the size at which the sexes spawn 
is more marked than in the cod, in which species the male, also 
fertile for the longer period, has a more noticeable advantage in size 
over the female. 
II. On rae Destruction or Immature Fisa in toe Norra Spa. 
I propose to resume this subject at the point at which I left it in 
the last number of the Journal, and to arrange my remarks under 
the same headings. 
Beam-trawling by Large Vessels, 
That the destruction of small fish in this area is far greater in the 
summer than in the winter months is a fact which is probably suffi- 
ciently familiar to most readers of this Journal ; the explanation being 
that it is only at the former time that young flat-fish congregate on 
certain grounds, alluded to in the last number of the Journal, in 
sufficient numbers to attract many boats to the grounds. Neverthe- 
less a certain amount of small flat-fish appeared to be destroyed at 
all seasons of the year, whilst the destruction of young round-fish by 
trawlers is, as I shall endeavour to show, greatest in the winter 
months. The different species will be dealt with separately. 
Plaice.—We have seen that the number of boxes containing only 
small fish landed here from the beginning of April to the end of 
August reached a total of 10,119. If we examine the figures for the 
different months we find the destruction at its maximum in June, 
each succeeding month showing a sensible diminution. I was given 
to understand, by those who should be well qualified to impart 
information on this point, that very little fishing would be done on 
the eastern grounds after the end of June; but, as the event proved, 
this was far from being the case. My informants, I have no 
doubt, spoke from their experience in former years, so that it would 
appear that the grounds in question remained productive, or were 
fished, to a later period than usual. If, as I suppose, the latter 
solution is in part correct, it does not appear that we have much to 
hope from the effect of public opinion on the fishing community in 
general, though, as I have already said, there are honorable ex- 
ceptions. 
In September the diminution continued, the total number of boxes 
landed during that month being 1184, as against 1924 in August. 
To this number the small fleet on the Terschelling ground contributed 
NEW SERIES.—VOL, III, NO. I. 6 
