356 



EEPOET ON THE PROBABLE AGES OF YUUNG FISH. 



Mr. Holt finds that the brill begins to spawn in the latter part 

 of April^ and that some ripe fish are found until the end of July, 

 the majority of the fish shedding their eggs in May and the early 

 part of June. It is clear, therefore, that the specimens recorded in 

 the table are all about a year old. In a previous paper (Journ. 

 Marine Biol. Assoc, vol. ii. No. 2) I recorded the growth of young 

 brill reared by me in captivity in 1890 — 91 ; some of them reached 

 2*8 to 3'9 inches in length in six months, others 3*3 to 3*7 inches 

 in twelve months. It is interesting to find that the specimens 

 collected by Mr. Holt from the sea were no larger at the end of 

 their first year than those reared in the Plymouth aquarium. At 

 the same time these year-old brill were taken only in small numbers 

 in the shrimp-nets in the Humber, and cannot be considered as 

 fully representing the young fish derived from the spawning of the 

 previous year. Probably the year-old fish are widely distributed 

 from the shore to deep water, and the average and the maximum 

 sizes for fishes at that age are probably greater than those of the 

 above specimens. The young brill of the year are pelagic in May 

 and June, and could not be taken on the bottom till August aud 

 September and following months 



Bho7)ibus maximus, the Turbot. 



The spawning of the turbot in the North Sea, according to Mr. 

 Holt, is general in June and July, but occasional ripe fish occur as 

 early as the end of March and as late as the beginning of September. 



