36 Part IT.—Twenty-first Annual Report 
Eo tec! eae.) ad| § [8s] #3 = léz| 8 E 
S| o/88 ice 25) 8 BS es ie S8| eh) 2 
| Oe ee Se ee ee ies 
| Te 25 | 811 |2,382| 16 | 555 | 8,591| 42 | 299) 28 | 40 | | 12,284 
| | 
| inh 39\| 42) 12.| 127 | 1,086,|,.2)| 4,478) o 0 lcy | Oa) Wieso0 
- | ———s ——<$<_—$<$<—$_$—— | ——__——__ ———— ee 
| 25 | 350 | 2,424 | 28 | 682 | 9,677 | 44 | 4,772 | 23 | 40 | 19 | 18,084 
[as per hour,} 0-8} 11°1 | 76:9 |0-9| 21°6 | 310-4] 1:4] 151°5|0°7 1°4)0-6| 5741 
| 
It will be seen that plaice occupied first position with a total of 9677, 
of which 8591 were marketable; dabs followed with 4772, comparatively 
few being marketable, the third place being occupied by haddocks with 
a total of 2424, all save forty-two being marketable. Whitings were 
very poorly represented, the total being only twenty-eight, but gurnards 
were abundant, and the number of brill was considerable, viz. twenty- 
three. It may be of interest to compare the average catch of the 
marketable fish per hour’s fishing with the corresponding averages 
for Burghead Bay on the south coast, and I place them here in 
conjunction :— 
op ; \ a 5 Bs 
| red rte] TOM oe | eo | Be) 0S | Sim | ie eis 
lolm| see leae| ss] oe 3 Bo Sie se 
re ro) eS, > (oj SS == ON 5 
~~ 5 eo = O Fas ole Ay Se aq jaa = 
CE ete eR a el fo | ese Vb es 
Burghead Bay, .|0-1]80]252°8| 4:4 | 24:2} 1:4 | 2165) 2:0 | 42-7 |0°8| 6:2 
| | 
Dornoch Firth, .|0°3|99) 756) 05 | 176 | 14 | 2727) 13 SH) |) OP 7 
In the case of gurnards and common dabs the comparison of the 
marketable fishes alone may not accurately represent the true pro- 
portions caught, because the selection of these cheap varieties may 
differ. 
The proportions of the various selections of the plaice and haddocks 
taken in the Dornoch Firth in the hauls in question are these :— 
Plaice. Haddock. 
Ist, = : - : 262 1,630 
2nd, : 2 : - 1,398 234 
3rd, : _ : z 2,424 518 
4th, L 2 = - 4,507 ees 
8,591 2.382 
If compared with the similar figures for Burghead Bay (p. 34), the great 
difference in the proportion of large and small haddocks in the two 
places is apparent. In the former locality the percentage of small 
plaice was sixty-seven, while in the Dornoch it was 80:7 ; the percentage 
of small haddocks at Burghead Bay was ninety-seven, and at the 
Dornoch it was 24:3. 
The results in the Dornoch Firth did not show any diminution of the 
catches in the later hauls such as was exhibited at Burghead Bay. On 
the contrary, the later hauls were rather more productive than the 
earlier ones. Thus the first three, which lasted altogether for thirteen 
