of the Fishery Board for Scotland. 41 
hauls yielded 796 plaice, none of which were unmarketable. Farther 
off, on Smith Bank and near it, a number of hauls gave an aggregate of 
417 plaice, none of which were unmarketable, the depths ranging from 
twenty-two to thirty-five fathoms. In twenty fathoms, off Tarbet Ness, 
twenty-six were taken in a haul, and none were small; in a haul in 
fifty fathoms twelve miles off the south shore three were got, all large; 
and about eight miles off Kinnaird Head, in 83-85 fathoms, none were 
taken in a haul. 
In hauls extending into shallow water, as four, five, and six fathoms, 
a small proportion of unmarketable plaice may be obtained. 
At the depression off Aberdeen, known locally as the Dog Hole, in 
depths from fifty-seven to seventy fathoms, and from eight to thirteen 
miles from land, six plaice were got in seven hauls—viz., three in two 
hauls in 57 fathoms, one in 58 fathoms, one in 65 fathoms, and one in 
70 fathoms—and none were small or unmarketable. 
In the hauls on the north-eastern grounds, several large plaice were 
taken in about fifteen hauls in sixty-five fathoms, sixty-five miles S.E. 
by E. of Sumburgh Head, Shetland, which was the nearest land. None 
were taken in 63 and 81 fathoms, about 873 miles N.E. of Buchan Ness, 
or about fifty miles from Fair Isle and sixty-five miles from the 
Orkneys; but nearer Fair Isle, about eighteen to twenty-two miles to 
the south-east, in sixty-five and sixty-six fathoms, 193 plaice were taken 
in October in nineteen hauls—some being got in each, the numbers 
varying from one to twenty-six, and they were all large. The usual 
range of their size was about twenty inches. Several measured twenty- 
six and twenty-seven inches, and the four smallest were 43°4, 39-0, 39°8, 
and 37:5 centimetres—from seventeen to fourteen and three-quarter 
inches. None were taken in seventy-five and seventy-eight fathoms 
sixty miles S.K. by E. 7 E, from Flugga, Shetlands, the nearest land 
being Whalsey Island, about fifty miles distant, nor at a point twenty- 
two miles east in eighty-five fathoms, in latitude approximately 61° ; nor 
in sixty-five fathoms sixty-five miles 8.H. by S. 3 8. of Fetlar Island, 
the nearest land being about fifty miles distant. Nor were any plaice 
taken in the eleven hauls in from sixty-four to eighty-one fathoms, east- 
wards from the northern part of the coast of Aberdeenshire. 
These facts, while they prove the absence of the smaller plaice from 
the deeper water, even in proximity to the coast, show that the adult 
fishes may migrate from it considerable distances into deep water. The 
deepest water in which any were procured was seventy fathoms, and the 
greatest distance from land was sixty-five miles, in sixty-five fathoms. 
The occurrence of plaice in the localities described, particularly near 
Fair Isle, and their absence from the other localities, is probably 
accounted for by the comparatively shoal water which extends for a con- 
siderable distance eastwards from the Orkneys and up towards Fair Isle, 
and which probably facilitates their wandering (Plate I.). 
Of even greater interest are the phenomena presented by the plaice 
on the Great Fisher Bank. In the hauls made there last June, in 
thirty-four fathoms, about 170 miles KE. by 8. from Aberdeen, 519 plaice 
were taken in nine hauls, some being got in each, the number varying 
from eight to ninety-one—and plaice are said to have been some years 
ago much more abundant there than they are now. None of these 
plaice were small or unmarketable. The nearest land is Norway, but 
from the existence of the deep water along that coast and other reasons, 
it is improbable that the plaice in the region in question come thence. 
The distance from the Danish coast (at the Limfjord) is 160 miles, and 
it is probable that the plaice are derived from that quarter, or further 
south, reaching the Fisher Bank vid the Dogger. Our east coast is cut 
