108 



Part III. — Tvxntieth Anmial Report 



prising some thousnnds of fishes, the separation and selection of the 

 different kinds of fish take a long time, and the small ones are not 

 reached until the pound is nearly emptied, and most of them may be dead. 



Fio. 2. — Showing a Good Catch in the Fish-pound. 



The men then " turn in " for sleep before the net is again ready to be 

 hauled. There is not time, in practice, to pick out the young fishes first, 

 even if it were possible. If any areas of the territorial waters (to the 

 shallower parts of which the small plaice are confined) were opened for 

 trawling for plaice, the best way to protect the small individuals would 

 be to use a net with large meshes as described in last year's lieport 

 (p. 66). The same remark applies to the use of seines, so largely used on 

 the Continent, under appropriate regulations, for the capture of flatfishes. 



The November hauls in the Dornoch differed from those in August 

 also in the entire absence of fiounders from the catches. 



The vessel then steamed to the deep water oft' Troup Head, and shot 

 the trawl, with the small-meshed net around the cod-end, in 95 fathoms. 

 Owing to the bad weather which had come on the haul was quite 

 unsuccessful, the trawl-net being almost destroyed and the ground-rope 

 broken, probably owing to the heavy sea and the tide drifting the vessel 

 so that the trawl dragged against the hard edge of the south side of the 

 deep hole. 



The total quantity of fish from the Moray Firth landed from this trip 

 amounted to 150^ cwts., which realised £194 6s. 6d. The particulars 

 are these : — 



