•204 



" IIePURI I'KOM lUK lioX. DiKECTOE FOR THE VEAK 1904-3. 



(J^rawii up .June, HUJO.j 



" Last year, I coEsidered that I was able to give a 

 satisfactory report to the Sea-fish Hatchery Committee 

 when I recorded (ho production and liberation of about a 

 uiillioii y(tui)<i' plaic(> as llic result of the first complete 

 year of working- witli the necessary equipment. This 

 year I i\m able If) report that over five millions of yoiinfi: 

 plaice Imve Ix-eii set free in Manx waters. This grati- 

 fying- resuU is due primarily to the considerable increase 

 in our siock of spawners^, effected partly by the kind 

 co-operation of the Lancashire and Western Sea-Fisheries 

 Joint Committee, and partly by our own fishing operations 

 otf Port Erin. Tfie notable advance is due also in pari 

 to improvement in the hatching mechanism and to 

 increased experience and skill on the part of our curator 

 (Mr. Chadwick) and his assistant (Mr. T. N. Cregeen), 

 whereb}' some wastage thai occurred in the previous year 

 has been wholly avoided, and the inevitable loss in 

 working very greatly reduced. It is hoped thai our stock 

 of spawners w^ill be still further added tr) during the 

 present summer, and thai the output next year will be 

 correspondingly incfeased. 



■' A good deal of detail that was printed last year for 

 the information of the Hatchery Committee need not be 

 repeated. The condition and continued success of the 

 A(}uaiium has been very satisfactory. 



" The stock of adult plaice which furnished the eggs 

 hatched during the ])ast season consisted of (Ij 1)9 out 

 of the U)-3 fish with which the season of 1904 was begun : 

 (2) 110 fish brought from Luce Bay by the s.s. "John 

 Feai," on 19th November, 1904; and (3j 118 fish caught 

 in two trammel nets, eiticientlv wojkcd by the assistant 



