fCti^r 



■20 



EEPOET OX THE TOW-XETTINGS. 

 ]iy Andrew Scott. 



Duiinf>' ilio year 1005 three luiiidred and sixty-five 

 iow-neitiiip's have been examined. These eollections were 

 made in various ])ajts of the Irish Sea, extendino- troin 

 Luce Bay in the North to Eisho^uard Bay in the South. 

 Of this numhei-, two hundred and ninety-seven were taken 

 by the steamer, forty-one by the Welsh offieers at Car- 

 narvon, Pwllheli and New Quay, and twenty-seven by Mr. 

 Ohadwick at Port Erin. A continuous series from any 

 particnilar area can scarcely be expected under the present 

 system. The primary Avork of the steamer is to patrol 

 the whole coast line of Lancashire and Wales, from 

 Haverij?^ Point to Kemmaes Head, aud occasionally visit 

 Ww Isle of Man and Milford Haven Districts. The 

 Fishery Officers have their particular sections to supervise, 

 and Mr. (.'liadwick Juis many duties to perform. The 

 tow-nettino^s can, therefore, only be taken wlieu time 

 permits, or in conjunction with other work, sucli as 

 collecting trawl inji^ statistics, and are liable to be inter- 

 rupted through pressure of work or stress of weather. At 

 some future period a more reg-ular system of collecting 

 may be attained by the provision of a special scientific 

 steamer. Meanwhile we make the most of the material 

 we get, and are very grateful for the opportunities 

 afforded us. The information derived from these tow- 

 nettings is gradually extending our knowledge of the 

 ])eriodi(' occuirence and distribution of the j)olagi(.- 

 organisms in our area. 



It is proposed in this report to deal specially with the 

 result of the examination of the collections from Cardigan 

 Bay, as it is the only area from which we have a series 

 representing every nioiilli in I lie year. 



