of the Fishery Board for Scotland. 163 
1905-1906. 
l 
Estimated | Estimated | Estimated | Estimated aeanaee 
Months, No. of |No.of Young} No. of Total No. of of Yo a2 
Crans Herring. Sprats. Fish. H aes a 
October, 14 25,200 10,800 36,000 70:0 
November, . 1,2512 9,761,316 | 15,390,684 | 25,152,000 38°8 
December, . 8248 1,538,900 453,100 1,987,000 77°6 
January, 380 576,000 144,000 720,000 80:0 
February, . 5 96,000 24,000 | 120,000 80:0 
1,37104 11,992,416 | 16,022,584 | 28,015,000 42-4 
With regard to the relative percentages of young herrings and sprats, I 
would point out that there is every indication that when a larger body of 
fish than usual enter the Tay estuary the percentage of sprats is usually 
very high; this was certainly the case during the past season 1905-6, 
but was not quite so noticeable during the previous season of 1904-5. 
It is also, of course, of equal importance to note that when fish are com- 
paratively scarce in the estuary it is due usually to the falling-off in the 
numbers of sprats—in other words, whilst young herring are always 
present in the Tay estuary the larger shoals of sprats are only occasionally 
present. 
The destruction of young herrings and other fishes is, therefore, not so 
alarmingly great as one would imagine it to be on first looking at the 
samples and the tables of percentages, and does not, in my opinion, argue 
for any drastic changes in the mode of fishing. 
The fishermen, however, should not persist in fishing when the per- 
centage of sprats falls below 60, and when the fish are of small size and 
not of much use for purposes of food. 
The sale of fish for manure purposes should, I think, also be strictly 
prohibited, even when the fish are unusually abundant and the percentage 
of sprats very high. 
During the course of the two past’ winters over 40,000 sprats and young 
herrings have been carefully measured with the object of ascertaining the 
probable age groups of both fish and the probable annual rate of growth. 
These measurements will be dealt with on another occasion. 
GENERAL Account OF THE SpraT Fisaine, 1905-1906. 
This season’s sprat fishing was late in beginning, later even than last 
season, and the lateness was again due to the great scarcity of fish. ‘The 
regular sprat fishing of this season began on the 6th of November and 
practically came to an end during the latter half of December; it was 
taken part in by the same number of boats, and by practically the same 
number of men as last year. 
The two main features of this season’s fishing were (1) the excellent 
quality of the sprats whilst they remained plentiful in the estuary, and 
(2) the great scarcity of both sprats and young herring during the latter 
half of December and the whole of January and February. 
The quality of the sprats was the best seen in Dundee for some years, 
the catches during the first week of the regular fishing consisting of over 
