THE FISHES OF THE IRISH SEA. 53 



but are now abolished under the Bye-Laws as destructive engines. Draw nets are permitted, 

 but all nets have now to be made to a specified size of mesh, in order to allow of the escape of 

 the smaller fish. Of late, plaice cannot be said to have increased in numbers along- this coast, 

 but this is, we think, attributable to over fishing ; for, besides fixed instruments for their 

 capture, a very large fleet of boats works amongst them inshore, and the deep-sea sailing 

 trawlers and steam trawlers fish for them outside the boundary line of the district. Plaice are 

 therefore taken in the Irish Sea in many ways, on various grounds, all the year round ; and 

 very large numbers of the young are destroyed. We have taken over ten thousand, all about 

 4\ inches long, in one haul of the shrimp trawl off the mouth of the Mersey in September. 



Pl.EURONECTES MICROCEPHALUS, Don. LemOn Dab. 



(Day's British Fishes, vol. II., p. 28, PI. CII.) 



(Fish. Mus., Zool. Dep., Univ. Coll., Liverpool.) Local name, "Lemon Sole." 

 This fish, distinguished by its oval shape, its small head and mouth, and its rich yellow 

 colour marked with brown, is known by many local names in addition to lemon sole, such as 

 smear dab and merry sole. It is a northern fish mainly, and ranges from Iceland to France, 

 and is found all round our coast, especially in the deeper waters. It is fished in fair numbers 

 in some parts of our district, such as off the Isle of Man, in Cardigan Bay, and in Red Wharf 

 Bay, Anglesey. We also have it recorded from the mouth of the Dee (A. O. Walker), and 

 from the Barrow Channel and Menai Straits, as well as from our offshore trawling grounds, 

 e.g., between the Morecambe Lightship and the Isle of Man, where it is in fair numbers. It 

 spawns between March and August, 20 miles or more from land, and we have found it spawning 

 in our district chiefly in April and May. A ripe male and a half-spent female, both trawled on 

 May igth, 1893, at 20 miles N.W. of Morecambe Bay Lightship, measured both of them 

 gi inches. The ova, when laid, measure 1*4 mm. in diameter, and hatch out in about a week. 

 We have used this fish for hatching experiments on occasions at the Port Erin Biological 



Station. 



PLEURONECTES LIMANDA, Linn. Dab. 



(Day's British Fishes, vol. II., p. 31, PI. CIV.) 

 (Fish. Mus., Zool. Dep., Univ. Coll., Liverpool.) Local name, "Sand Scar" or "Garve." 



The common Dab has spiny scales, which make the skin rougher than in the Plaice, 

 and the ridge between the eyes is smooth ; but the best easily seen characteristic of the Dab 

 is the nearly semi-circular curve of the lateral line behind the head. 



This fish ranges from the north of Europe to the French coast, and is abundant on 

 sandy ground round the British Isles. It is very common in the Irish Sea, where it is often 

 known by the local name of " Garve," or " Garve fluke." In our district the food of the Dab 

 is chiefly mollusca. It is taken principally by the trawl net, but also by the use of tees (see 

 under Plaice, above), and to a certain extent in stake nets. It is generally found in the same 

 grounds with the plaice, and spawns, like the plaice, in deep water at a distance from shore, 

 usually 20 to 30 miles off land in the Irish Sea. On the spawning ground we find large 

 numbers of dabs, from 4^ to n or 12 inches in length, congregated ; the average size is about 

 8 or 9 inches. It spawns from March to May or June. Out of a large number we have 

 examined we find that the smallest ripe female (in April) we have found was 5^ inches, and the 

 smallest ripe male 5 inches, while the smallest spent female (in May) was 5! inches, and the 

 smallest spent male 5^ inches ; but the majority of the ripe and spent fishes are from 8 to 10 



