, MODERN INVESTIGATIONS OF THE SUBJECT 2$ 



inhabited by the young. It was previously stated that the inshore 

 grounds were nurseries for young fish. It was now proved that 

 this is true only of certain kinds of fish, and especially of the 

 plaice. Another important contribution by Dr. Fulton deals 

 with the relative numbers and sizes of the sexes in food-fishes. 



The Report of the Board for 1890, published in 1891, contains 

 nothing very novel, but important continuations of the investi- 

 gations described in the preceding volume of the series. The 

 records of the trawling experiments of the Garlandzxe. continued, 

 and also some special fishery statistics in continuation of those 

 of former years. Dr. Fulton publishes a second paper on 

 immature fish, giving the result of an experimental investigation 

 of the problem whether the small fish are killed by capture in the 

 great trawl or in the shrimp trawl, or whether they are alive and 

 survive if returned to the sea. He concludes that in great trawls 

 the flat fish are usually alive and not killed while the round fish 

 are fatally injured, and that in the shrimp trawl the small fish 

 captured are uninjured. 



In the year 1890 an important fishery survey was organised 

 in Ireland. The Royal Irish Academy had in previous years 

 made explorations of the sea-bottom off the south-west coast of 

 Ireland by the agency of the Rev. W. Spotswoode Green. In 

 1887 the Royal Dublin Society, whose function is to promote 

 industries, rather than pure science, began to utilise Mr. Green's 

 services in the examination of the condition of the fisheries in 

 the south and west of Ireland. At the end of 1889 the Chief 

 Secretary for Ireland approved of a suggestion that the Society 

 should organise a survey with the object of ascertaining the 

 amount and distribution of the fish supply on the west coast. 

 The estimated cost was found by the Society to be 1,200 per 

 annum for two years, and the Government agreed to provide 

 half the money, the Society the other half. The execution of 

 the project was entrusted to the Rev. W. S. Green, who con- 

 ducted a fishery surveying cruise in the SS. Fingal in the spring 

 and summer of 1890. Mr. Green was appointed director of the 

 Survey, Professor Haddon, naturalist, and Mr. T. H. Poole, 

 C.E., surveyor. As the survey was commencing, Mr. Green 

 was appointed one of the inspectors of Irish Fisheries, but this 

 made no difference in the plans. A narrative of the first cruise 

 was published in the Report of the Royal Dublin Society for 



