346 REPORT ON THE PROB\BLE AGES OF YOUNG FISH. ■ 



mature specimens^ are ttiken of the sole^ plaice^ turbot, and brill by 

 the shove-nets J and they are also taken mixed with older specimens, 

 some of which are mature, by the shrimp-trawls. Mr. Holt writes 

 to me that spent soles begin to appear in the Humber about the 

 beginning of July, and become numerous afterwards ; that before 

 July there are none but immature soles, with the occasional excep- 

 tion of a large fish which has not yet spawned. It must be remem- 

 bered that, according to my observations in the flounder, only a 

 minority of fish are mature at two years old. It is especially note- 

 worthy that not a single lemon sole {Pletironectes microcephalus) was 

 taken in the shrimp-nets in the Humber. 



The specimens in the list, which were obtained on the deep-sea 

 trawling ground, are few in number. The most interesting are 

 small cod, whiting, and haddock taken in July and August, These 

 are from 2 to 5 inches long, and evidently derived from the year's 

 spawning. The haddock were taken at thirty fathoms on the Great 

 Fisher Bank, and also fifty to sixty miles to the eastward of Spurn 

 Light-vessel at twenty fathoms, but most abundantly on the latter 

 ground where eight occurred on one occasion, thirty-one on another. 

 The young cod were most numerous on the Great Fisher Bank, where 

 whiting did not occur at all ; eight of the latter occurred in the 

 other region mentioned. This shows that the whiting fry of the 

 year are not confined to inshore waters, while the haddock fry seem 

 to be absent from the latter entirely. 



Of the fish obtained in Grimsby Market the smallest sole was 

 8 inches long, many were only 9 or 10 inches, but the majority were 

 over 10 inches. Those about 8 inches long may have been only 

 one year old, but the rest were probably two years or more. Plaice 

 from the market were examined in May and June, and large num- 

 bers were obtained between 6 and 12 inches in length, those between 

 8 and 10 inches being most numerous. According to Mr. Holt all 

 these were immature, but a male plaice was observed once to be 

 ripe at 6j inches. Some plaice may reach 12 inches in one year, 

 but probably only a small proportion, so that these small plaice 

 from the market may be considered as mixed, some one year and 

 some two years old. The only other fish in the list taken from the 

 market were 140 turbot 11 to 15 inches long. Most of these were 

 probably two years old or more, though some turbot may reach 12 

 inches in a year. 



