NORTH SEA INVESTIGATIONS. 133 
brought ashore, while in 1893 very few were landed at all. They 
ranged in size from 11 to 22 inches, the last being much the nearest 
to the average size. I was at pains to find out whether smaller 
specimens than those brought ashore were met with, but have only 
heard of one, which was brought to me, and measured about 7 inches. 
Day says the species attains a length of 4 feet, but no examples were 
met with by our trawlers larger than the size I have indicated. 
The colour is a reddish orange rather than scarlet, and the opercular 
spot is very faint. No transverse markings are apparent in the 
dead condition. They thus differ somewhat from the smaller speci- 
mens which are occasionally brought in from the neighbourhood of 
the Great Fisher Bank, and from the single small Iceland specimen. 
These agree in colour with the descriptions of S. viviparus, doubtless 
a synonym of the same species. As long as the Iceland fish con- 
tinued to be brought in I found no marked change in the condition 
of the reproductive organs. The sperm-sacs in the male were 
charged with milt, and in the females the ovaries were small and 
flaccid, containing ova in various stages of development, but unripe, 
and a few larve, the bulk of the brood having apparently escaped. 
Cod appeared to be in rather poor condition when landed, but 
this may have been as much due to want of space to pack them 
properly as from any other reason. 
The skate which I examined corresponded for the most part with 
the descriptions of Rata macrorhynchus, but I was unable to satisfy 
myself that there were anything but varieties of R. batis. The 
same applies to all specimens of the larger species of Raia which I 
have seen brought in, whether by trawlers or liners, from the Iceland 
and Faroe grounds. Though there is infinite variety, so many 
intermediate forms occur that I have so far found no characters that 
denote the existence of more than one species. R. alba and 
fh. oxyrhynchus are not represented, and I have not been able to 
detect R. nidrosiensis (Collett), if it has occurred. 
Present Condition of the Industry. 
Tt must be admitted that at present the Iceland trawl fishery 
has not been a great success from a pecuniary point of view, 
and it may be feared that if-continued on the existing lines it may 
even deteriorate. The fishing grounds lie 900 miles from the mouth 
of the Humber, and the voyage thither consequently takes about 90 
hours, ten knots being considered a very fair speed for a steam 
trawler to maintain during a long run. The utmost coal-carrying 
capacity of a boat, even when the fish hold is utilised as a bunker, 
and as much coal as the Board of Trade officials will permit is piled 
