NORTH SEA INVESTIGATIONS. 89 
biological standard, in point of fact less than 13 inches in length, 
the figures are not intended to be inclusive of all sexually immature 
fish. 
Being occupied with other matters, I made no attempt to record 
the quantity landed during the earlier part of 1892, but noticed that 
the quantity decreased towards the summer and began to increase 
again in the autumn. My statistical inquiries were commenced 
towards the end of September. 
The figures are as follows : 
September (last week only) . : ; - 366 boxes. 
October 2 ; j ; j i §D42 Vy 55 
1892 November . 2 = S 6 eedlsisisy — 4 
December . : 5 0 - +, L440) 5; 
January ; A ; 5 : a UHIG So, 
1893 | Febrany C : ¢ : : AT? 40s 
March Ist to 20th . : é : LD OI Is; 
As a rule, no considerable number of haddock in the market are 
of less than ten inches, the limit advocated by Dr. Fulton, but once 
or twice during the summer tug-boats not belonging to the regular 
fishing fleet brought in a good many smaller fish, mixed up with 
small whitings, gurnards, lemon soles, and dabs. I am not sure 
where they were caught, but was given to understand that they 
were probably from some of the “‘roughs”’ off the Yorkshire coast. 
Mr. Cunningham, in the last number of this Journal (p. 359), in 
estimating the age of some of these specimens, places the limit 
between those of one and two years old at 9 inches. 
My own experience at sea, confined so far as haddock grounds are 
concerned to the spring and summer, is that many more mature than 
immature fish are trawled during that period, and the bulk of the 
evidence afforded by records kept for me by trawling skippers 
supports the same conclusion, and extends it to all seasons of the 
year. Still in several hauls, in each case on some part of the 
Dogger Bank, more small than large fish seem to have been caught. 
I have never trawled many haddock so small as to be unmarketable, 
but have got a few very small ones entangled amongst Flustra. On 
this occasion no sizes intermediate between 34 and 10 inches were 
represented. From various grounds I have occasionally received a 
number of very small fish, specially saved for me, but usually when 
these were caught there were no large fish. Similarly, it is the 
common experience of liners on the east coast of Scotland that the 
large and very small fish are not taken on the same ground at the 
same time. 
We know that the haddock is gregarious to a greater extent even 
