17 



lately, that a minimum size limit should be imposed so as 

 to prevent fish which have not yet arrived at sexual 

 maturity from being taken. We have lately commenced 

 observations in the laboratory of the smallest mature and 

 the largest immature individuals we can find of each 

 species, in onr district, and these will be carried on regu- 

 larly through the coming breeding season. 



A good deal h° een said and written of late years about 

 the destruction v. young soles by shrimpers and by other 

 fishermen ; and in this particular neighbourhood there has 

 been a strong impression that much damage was being 

 done to the sole fishery by the capture of immature 

 individuals a few inches in length. The general question of 

 the destruction of immature fish by shrimpers I shall 

 return to further on ; but one of the first matters established 

 in our Fishery Laboratory was that the capture of young 

 soles here was happily not quite such a serious matter as 

 had been supposed, for we found that a very large pro- 

 portion of the so-called immature soles were not young 

 edible or black soles (Solea vulgaris) at all, but were more 

 or less full grown individuals of the Solenette (Solea lutea) 

 a totally distinct though closely allied fish which does not 

 grow larger than about 5 inches in length and so does not 

 become of economic importance. We find the solenette 

 sexually mature in this neighbourhood at sizes of about 

 3f ins. and upwards in length, while the smallest sexually 

 mature true sole is about twice that size. 



To give an idea of the relative abundance of soles and 

 solenettes of about the same size, and to show what 

 foundation there was for the supposed great destruction 

 of young soles, I may quote an instance from the Labora- 

 tory diary: — "On May 9th, 1892, '20 specimens of small 

 soles trawled from a sandy bottom, in shallow water, 

 were sent by Mr. Dawson for examination. Of these 19 



