132 SEA FISHERIES 



Let us once more consider the North Sea. The plaice of 

 the Dogger Bank are scarce and of large dimensions. Six 

 years ago Mr. Walter Garstang, the delegate of the British 

 Government to the International Commission of Inquiry 

 into the Northern Seas, conceived the idea of transplanting 

 upon the Dogger marked plaice caught near the shore. 

 He made three trips upon a " live carrier " ; on April 

 13, 1904, 441 small plaice caught in Bridlington Bay 

 were thrown into the sea on the eastern slopes of the 

 Dogger : in the course of May 450 from the Dutch coast 

 were transported to the centre of the Bank ; and on the 

 25th-26th May 706 from Danish waters were returned to 

 the sea 362 on the southern tail of the Bank and 344 

 on the eastern slopes. As soon as they were trans- 

 planted the plaice began to spread all over the Bank. 

 None were recovered during the summer ; in the autumn 

 many returned ; then they left the Dogger, for one was 

 taken in November in the open sea off Denmark, another 

 in December between the Orkneys and the Shetlands, 

 and a third in January near Lowestoft. "Altogether," 

 says M. Cligny, " in the space of ten months 95 plaice 

 were recaptured namely, 14 per cent, of the Bridlington 

 plaice and 7 per cent, of the Jutland plaice. The plaice 

 taken from the Danish coast and transplanted to the 

 Dogger seem to have grown normally, despite the length 

 of transport. But the Bridlington plaice, returned to 

 the water in excellent condition, underwent an absolutely 

 unexpected growth ; specimens which measured 7*8 inches 

 in length at the beginning of the experiment had gained 

 on an average 4*75 to 5 inches in seven months, while 

 the growth of such fish inshore does not appear to 

 exceed 2 or 3 inches a year. Expressed in terms of 

 weight, the increase is naturally still more significant ; 

 for plaice weighing between 3 and 4 ounces when 



