82 Part III. — Ttventieth Annual Report 



It is obvious, from these illustrations, what result a predominant fishing 

 in one or other of these areas would have on the statistics of the fish 

 landed. If it were carried on principally in the area of the Fisher 

 Bank there Avould be no tusk, probably no hake, few ling and saithe, 

 and comparatively few haddocks. There would, on the other hand, be 

 a large quantity of plaice, scarcely any witches, and no megrims from 

 these grounds. In the more northern area the quantity of ling, hake, 

 saithe, and tusk would be considerable ; there would be practically no 

 plaice, but a large quantity of witches and a considerable quantity of 

 megrims. These grounds, it will be observed, are both in the North Sea 

 and not very far apart, viz., 120 miles. 



The impoverishment which has taken place on the older fishing grounds 

 of the North Sea has been most marked in the case of flat-fishes, and it 

 is chiefly with regard to this group of fishes that remedies are demanded. 



1 may, therefore, further illustrate the important bearing which the place 

 of fishing has upon the relative quantities indicated in the statistics of 

 fish landed. In the section of this paper dealing with the catches of 

 Aberdeen trawlers in various areas in the North Sea (p. 135) it will be 

 found that the relative quantities of the various kinds of flat-fishes taken 

 vary greatly according to the area in which they are caught. Taking, for 

 example, two of the areas near the coast, xxiii and xxix, and four of the 

 areas further north-east (to the south and east of the Shetlands), viz., 

 xiv, XV, xviii, and xix, it will be found that in the former the predominant 

 flat-fishes are lemon soles and plaice, while in the latter areas these 

 species are very scarce, witches and megrims making up the bulk of the 

 flat-fishes. The particulars, in percentages, are shown in the following 

 Table. Each area, it may be said, corresponds to 1 degree of latitude and 



2 degrees of longitude, and includes approximately about 3600 square 

 miles (geographical) of sea. The depth in xxix ranges from about 30 

 to 50 fathoms, and is mostly under 40 fathoms ; in xxiii it is about the 

 same, except in the north-east part where it exceeds 50 fathoms ; the 

 depth in the other areas ranges from about 50 to over 80 fathoms, the 

 general run being between 60 and 70 fathoms. The quantity of flat-fishes 

 taken in the various areas (in cwts.) was as follows : — 



The percentages of the difi'erent kinds in the various areas are these 



The difference may be further shown by contrasting the totals and per- 



