•267 



cent.) and 10 females (20 per cent.), the latter having an average distance of 12'6 

 miles. 



20 to 50 miles. — Twenty-four fish, or 37 '5 per cent., were recovered at distances 

 of from 21 to 49 miles, 2 males (1-1-3 per cent.), with an average of 25-5 miles, and 

 22 females (44 per cent.), with a 'mean of 28'3 miles. One of the males and 11 of 

 the females were taken to the north and west, the other male and 6 females to the 

 south and west, 4 females to the north and east, and 1 to the north. 



50 to 100 miles. — Twenty-two of the marked plaice, or 34 -3 per cent., were 

 recaptured at distances of from 56 to 100 miles, namely, 7 males (50 per cent.), with 

 an average of 75-9 miles, and 15 females (30 per cent.), with a mean of 74*5 miles. 

 All the males and 13 of the females were found to the north and west, and 2 females 

 to the south and west. All the males were recaptured in the Moray Firth, 4 of 

 them off Banff ; 11 of the females were taken in the Moray Firth, 3 off Banff ; 

 1 of the females went to the mouth of the Tay, and another east of the Isle of May. 



Over 100 miles. — Eight fish, or 12-5 per cent., were got at distances of from 

 104 to 201 miles. Five (35-7 per cent.) were males, wath an average of 151-2 

 miles, and 3 (6 per cent.) were females, with a mean of 141-6 miles. One of the 

 males was taken in the Moray Firth (Dornoch Firth), 2 on the north coast of Scot- 

 land, off Scourie Bank, and 2 at the Orloiey Isles ; two of the females were also 

 taken at Orkney, and 1 near Fair Isle. 



Maturity. 



Males. — The condition of the testes was ascertained in 14 of the fifteen males 

 recaptured. 



Three were "spawning," 2 taken in February 1913, 1 in the Moray Firth, at 

 a distance of 104 miles, the other at the Orkneys, at a distance of 129 miles ; the 

 third was found in March 1913, off Banff, in the Moray Firth, at 61 miles distant. 



Four were described as " ripe," all caught in the Moray Firth, 2 off Banff, at 

 distances of 61 and 62 miles, in December 1912 and March 1913, and 2 taken 

 respectively in February and March, off the coast of Caithness, at distances of 95 

 and 91 miles respectively. 



Three were described as " spent," namely, 2 taken off Scourie Bank, on the north 

 coast, in April 1913, at 201 miles distant, and the third recaptured in .July 1914, 

 after 849 days, off the Orkneys, at a distance of 120 miles to the north and east. 



One male, recovered in January 1913, off Banff, ia the Moray Firth, at a dis- 

 tance of 61 miles, was said to be " nearly ripe." 



Among the males of adult size, whose testes were " immature," 2 were found 

 within the Umits of the spawning season, 1 in March 1912, after 2 days, at a distance 

 of 12 miles to the south and west ; it measured 34-5-34-8 cm. ; the other, which 

 measured 34-5-35-2 cm., was taken inApril, 22 miles to the north and west, in Cruden 

 Bay. 



Females. — Of the 51 recaptured, the conditions of the ovaries were recorded for 

 43. 



Three were described as "spawning," 1 taken in March 1914, after 740 days, 

 49 miles to the south and west, near the Bell Rock ; another, got in March 1913, 

 off Auskerry, Orkney, 116 miles away to the north and east ; the third, recaptured 

 in December 1914, near Fair Isle, 133 miles to the north and east. 



One, recaptured in February 1913 in the Moray Firth, off Buckie, at 74 miles 

 distant, was described as " ripe." 



Eight were said to be " spent," 4 being taken to the north-west, 2 to the south- 

 west, and 2 to the south-east. Of those caught to the south-east, 1 w^as recaptured 

 in May 1913, at 7 miles distant, a]id the other in April 1913, at a distance of 19 

 miles. Of those which went to the south and west, 1 was taken in May 1912, at 

 56 miles distant, east of the Isle of May, and the other in May 1914, at a distance of 

 47 miles, also east of the Isle of May. Of the 4 which migrated north and v/est, 1 

 was taken in March 1912, after 19 days, near Cruden Bay, and another also in 

 March 1912, after 17 days, off Bnchanness, at a distance of 22 miles. Of the 2 

 remaining fish, 1 was caught in March 1913, in the Moray Firth, at a distance of 99 

 ipiles, and the other in July 1912, on the west side of the Orkney Isles, off Hoy Head, 

 at 176 miles distant. 



