III.—DISTRIBUTION OF FISH AND OTHER ANIMALS 
tN THE IRISH SEA: 
The great variety in the depths and other physical conditions described above, 
leads to great differences in the fauna or assemblage of animals in the various parts 
of the Irish Sea, and so provides suitable localities for very different kinds of fishes, 
and for the different stages of the fishes’ life. Rocks and sea-weeds are character- 
istic of the Welsh and Manx coasts, sand and mud of those of Cheshire and 
Lancashire. The deep, cold, and relatively salt water round the Isle of Man, is very 
different from the less salt and sometimes much warmer waters of the shallow flats 
of Morecambe and Liverpool Bay. Trawling and dredging for scientific purposes has 
been carried on for some years now, (1) off Liverpool, Blackpool, and other points on the 
Lancashire Coast, and (2) off Port Erin, and neighbouring places at the Isle of Man, and 
the contrast in results is most marked. We have before us many records of hauls at both 
localities, and while Port Erin has very many species not found in Lancashire, the sandy 
bays of the latter show an abundance of 
individuals belonging to a few species which 
it would be difficult to match elsewhere in 
the district, or even possibly in Europe. 
Foreign naturalists who visit us and see a 
haul of our fish or shrimp trawl in Liverpool 
Bay, are generally much impressed by the 
profusion of specimens belonging to a small 
number of species—a haul numbering tens 
of thousands of fish alone, is frequently 
made ; while, when they come to Port Erin, 
they are equally struck by the profusion and 
variety of life, the relatively large number of 
species in one spot, as shown by a haul of 
Fic. 6.—Prawn boat getting the catch on board. the dredge or small trawl. 
The following statistics of a few characteristic hauls may be of interest. They are 
not picked hauls, but were the first taken a few years ago (1895,) for the purpose of 
comparison with some statistics published from other seas. On the first of our expe- 
ditions from Port Erin, after the appearance of the summary volumes of the “Challenger” 
Expedition Report, in which examples of large and varied hauls are given, we counted 
the contents of the first haul of the small trawl. The particulars are as follows :—- 
June 23rd, 7 miles W. of Peel, on North Bank, bottom sand shells, depth 21 fathoms, 
trawl 4 feet beam, down for 20 minutes; 232 specimens were counted, but there may 
well have been another 100; they belonged to over 112 species, and to 103 genera. 
The list of these species is here given, and Marine Zoologists will see at a glance 
that it is nothing out of the way, but is a fairly good assemblage of not uncommon 
animals, such as is frequently met with when dredging in from 15 to 30 fathoms, on yaried 
ground where a rich fauna is present, 
