46 



Part III. — Twenty-second Annual Report 



sixty-five minutes, the stnall-meshed net being around the cod-end. The 

 total number of fishes taken was considerable, viz. 1673, and they belonged 

 to twenty-one species; some of them, as the young conger (Leptocephahis) 

 and the thick-back sole, were of much scientific interest. 



Plaice, 

 Lemon Dab, 

 Common Dab, 



Little Sole, 



Thickback, 1 Gemmeous Dragonet, ... 14 



Long Rough Dab, ... 3 Spotted Dragonet, ... 2 



Haddock, 25 Sand-eel, 54 



Whiting, .. ... ... 141 Leptoccpha/ns, ... ... 1 



Cod, 38 Piked Dog-fish, 1 



Norway Pout, 153 Starry Ray, 1 



Poor Cod, 



From the commercial point of view, however, the fishing on Smith Bank 

 was not of a profitable kind, and the vessel returned to Burghead Bay on 

 the 28th, where a number of hauls were taken, three of which were com- 

 pletely recorded. In the first, which was for five hours and a quarter, in 

 from five to thirteen fathoms, 1198 fishes were taken, of which 567 were 

 marketable and 631 unmarketable. The catch included nine cod, thirty- 

 two codlings, all but seven marketable, 713 haddocks, the majority being 

 again very small and 540 of them unmarketable, three turbot, thirty- 

 seven brill, 306 plaice, all marketable, and a few others. 



Ihe second drag, for five hours, yielded only 269 fishes, of which 110 

 were marketable. Of 120 haddocks caught only three were marketable, 

 and the other marketable fishes comprised one turbot, nine brill, sixty- 

 three plaice, and twenty-seven common dabs. The third haul, in from 

 four and a half to ten fathoms, was even less productive, only 193 fishes 

 being caught, of which 111 were marketable and 82 unmarketable. None 

 of the fifty-six haddocks taken were marketable, but there were seven 

 brill and ninety-nine plaice, a cat-fish, two cod, and a thornback ray. 



In the three hauls, occupying altogether fourteen hours and a quarter of 

 actual fishing, only 1660 fishes were taken, 788 being marketable and 

 872 unmarketable. The general average per hour's fishing is thus a very 

 low one, viz. 116"5, while the average for the marketable alone is 55"3, 

 The particulars regarding the different kinds of fish are given in the 

 following Table : — 



