24 



Part III. — Tiventy-second Annual Report 



The third drag was more productive, 948 fishes being taken— 607 

 marketable and 341 unmarketable; it lasted for four hours. The bulk 

 of the catch was composed of plaice and common dabs, 469 of the former 

 and 398 of the latter ; all the plaice except forty-three were marketable, 

 and 137 of the dabs. 



Altogether the number of fishes obtained in the three drags in Burg- 

 head Bay aggregated, for the twelve hours and five minutes of actual 

 fishing, 2305, of which 1362 were marketable and 943 unmarketable. 

 The flat-fishes greatly preponderated, 2087 being caught, against only 121 

 round-fishes. Among the flat fishes 1314 were taken to market and 773 

 thrown overboard, while only thirty-one of the round-fishes were market- 

 able, the marketable haddocks numbering two, and there were no market- 

 able whitings. The plaice caught numbered 1024, all but forty-three 

 being taken to market. The productiveness of the grounds in Burghead 

 Bay on this occasion was shown by the number taken per hour's actual 

 fishing, which was 190-8 for all kinds of fish — 112*7 for the marketable 

 and 78"1 for the unmarketable. The average for the marketable plaice 

 was 81*2 per hour's fishing. 



The particulars of the marketable and unmarketable fishes are as 

 follows : — 



There were also taken in these hauls seven herrings and one lump- 

 sucker. 



After leaving Burghead Bay the vessel steamed to the Dornoch Firth, 

 where four hauls were made in the usual locality, in sweeps around the 

 bay opposite Dunrobin, Golspie, and Embo, the depth of water being 

 from about eight to sixteen fathoms. In the first haul, which lasted 

 for four hours and five minutes, 999 fishes were taken, of which 822 

 were marketable and 177 unmarketable. The marketable fishes com- 

 prised twenty-four cod, 369 plaice, seventy-one common dabs, 317 

 flounder.s, as well as ten cat-fish, three lemon dabs, and eighteen skates and 

 rays. Kound-fishes continued to be very scarce, only two haddocks and 

 a single whiting being caught. The second drag was a very poor one, 

 only 229 fishes being obtained, of which 148 were marketable. There 

 were fifty-seven plaice, sixteen cod, twelve common dabs, and fifty-two 

 flounders. Three herrings and twenty-two sprats were also taken. The 

 next haul was better, a hundred cod and 110 marketable codling, as well 



