of the. Fishery Board for Scotland. 



31 



were " thirds " or small. The plaice totalled 597, all but twenty beiug 

 marketable, and of these twenty-five were large, 363 mediums, and 

 189 small. There were also one cod, three marketable codlings and 

 fourteen unmarketable, forty small whitings, 150 dabs, twenty-five 

 gurnards, and two anglers. 



The next haul in the same place, and also lasting for four hours, gave 

 almost exactly the same numbers, the total being 1745, the marketable 

 1312 and the unmarketable 433. The haddocks numbered 1013, all 

 being small and 250 of them unmarketable, while of the 507 plaice, 

 all of which were marketable, fifteen were large, 162 medium, and 330 

 small; there were no "fourths," a still smaller class, as in the Moray 

 Firth. 



In these two drags at this place, the duration of fishing being eight 

 hours, 3494 fishes were captured, the average per hour being 436'6. 

 The marketable, numbering 2696, gave an average of 337*0, and the 

 unmarketable, of which there were 798, an average of 9 9" 6. 



Three other hauls were made in from twelve to fifteen fathoms, ofi' 

 Slains Castle, with even better results. Only one was completely 

 recorded; it lasted for four hours, and 2068 fishes were taken, 1855 

 marketable and 213 unmarketable. The number of haddocks was 1797, 

 all but 109 marketable ; there were fewer plaice, viz. 160, all marketable, 

 and they comprised sixty mediums and one hundred small. The other 

 marketable fishes were two tiirbots and five brill. In the next haul, fur 

 three hours, 4283 marketable fishes were secured ; the nnmarketable 

 were not counted, but they consisted of six basketfuls, mostly of small 

 haddocks. The iiaddocks enumerated amounted to 4126, of which 303 

 were mediums, 3193, smalls and 630 fourths, or very small. There were 

 also eighty-seven plaice, all marketable, and seventy marketable common 

 dabs. The last drag, for- four hours, yielded 1985 marketable fishes, the 

 haddocks numbering 1871 and the plaice 107; all the haddocks were 

 thirds and fourths. The ofial was not noted. 



The following are the particulars of each class of fish taken in the three 

 completely recorded drags in Aberdeen Bay : — 



The quantity of fish landed at the market, as the result of this trip, 

 as recorded by the Fishery Officer, was 81 cwts., as follows : — 



Cod. 



Codling. 



Coal- fish. 



Hake, 



Haddock. 

 4 



Turbot. 



Brill. 



Lemon Dab, 



Plaice. 

 63? 



Cat-fish, 

 li 



Flounder, 



Skates. 

 9 



IV. 



In October another series of trawlings was made, by means of the 

 steam-trawler " Star of the North," the grounds visited being Aberdeen 

 Bay, Burghead Bay, the Dornoch Firth, off" Lybster, and Smith Bank, 

 c 



