24 Part [111 —Twenty-fourth Annual Report 
A second haul, for three hours and forty minutes, in from 10 to 12 
fathoms, was made in the same locality, the number of fishes secured 
being 252, an extremely poor catch. The marketable numbered 162 and 
the unmarketable 90. Round-fishes were again most numerous; there 
were 5 cod, 35 codling, all but 3 marketable, 146 haddocks, of which 121 
were marketable, 12 unmarketable whitings, and 6 gurnards. Flat-fishes 
were scarce, and consisted of 3 medium-sized plaice, a single flounder, and 
12 common dabs. 
The fish contained in the small-meshed net numbered 490, and belonged 
to eleven species. The particulars for each of the nets are as follows :— 
Otter-trawl. Small-meshed Net. ° 
Cod, . : : , if — 
Codling, . ; 20 16 
Haddock, . : : 14 ot 
Whiting, . : : : 3 150 
Gurnard, : 2 
Lesser Weaver, . : 1 
Goby, sp., . — 4 
Armed Bullhead. — y 
Plaice, ; : : 2 
Common Dab, 7 18 
Herring, . : — 3 
Sprat, 291 
Pipe-fish, . — 1 
Starry Ray, ; 9 = 
60 490 
The quantity of fish landed at the market by the vessel as a result of 
this trip was as follows, the particulars having been supplied by the 
Fishery Officer; the total weight being 151 ewts. :— 
Cod. Codling. Coal-fish. Haddock. Whiting. Cat-fish. Angler. Hake. Turbot. 
244 33 13 123 14 3 5 35 2 
Halibut. Lemon Dab. Plaice. Brill. Common Dab. Witch. Flounder. Skate. 
4 4 524 24} 34 28} 8 
REMARKS ON THE MaTURITY OF THE FISHES. 
During the investigations carried on in February a number of obser- 
vations were made by Dr. Williamson, who had been requested to 
determine in as many cases as possible the condition of sexual maturity 
of the fishes, especially by using pressure in the ordinary way to see 
whether ripe eggs or spermatic fluid could be squeezed out, or to note 
whether the fish were spawning: In the hauls made at Burghead Bay 
between the 7th and 9th February, 2 of the male cod taken were found 
to be quite ripe, but none of the females appeared to be ripe ; the number 
of cod caught was over 60. The ripe males were obtained about four 
miles off, in from 18 to 30 fathoms of water. Of 4 coal-fishes captured 
in these hauls, 3 were males and 1 was a female ; the 3 males were ripe 
and ‘“‘running” and the female was ripe and had transparent eggs. 
Some of the plaice which were taken were also found to be ripe, though 
the great majority were immature. The number measured and examined 
by Dr. Williamson at Burghead Bay was 1534, and of these, so far as 
could be observed, 3 males and 5 females were ripe, 4 of the females being 
