SCIENTIFIC EXPERIMENTS ON TRAWLING. 171 



Dabs in the Forth had their highest average in September, 

 though, in a total of 4678, August was only 62 less. The long- 

 rough dab also has its maximum in September, but the curve is 

 less pronounced than in the plaice and the dab. 



The highest average for the whiting is in October, August and 

 September following. 



The complex circumstances surrounding the problem of the 

 food-fishes is well illustrated in the cod, which (in the Forth) differs 

 from the foregoing in having high figures in November, December 

 and January, 



No marine species shows more clearly than the gurnard the 

 futility of attempting to increase the supply of fishes in the open 

 sea and its neighbourhood by the closure of the inshore area. The 

 numbers remained at the end very much as at the beginning. The 

 highest averages were in May and June. 



Considerable importance has been attached to the alleged 

 diminution of the lemon-dab during the second quinquennial 

 period, and it is found that, while the total of the averages of the 

 first five exceeded those of the second five years by seven, the 

 disproportion between the captures in the warmer and the colder 

 months of the two periods was marked. 



The alleged diminution of the size of the fishes captured in the 

 second period of five years is found to a great extent to be due to 

 the fact that in the first period only 46 small fishes per haul were 

 obtained, whereas, in the more thoroughly worked second period, 

 74 were procured. 



The time during which the experiments were carried on would 

 appear to be sufficient, especially when supplemented by the work 

 of the Trawling Commission in 1884, and subsequent observations. 



Though the Moray Frith has not been so continuously worked, 

 yet the observations made in 1884, when comparatively little 

 progress had been made in trawling, those of the " Garland " in 

 subsequent years, and the examination of the area beyond the 

 enclosed limit in 1898, enable satisfactory conclusions to be drawn. 

 So far as facts go there is no evidence that the fishing operations 

 in and near the Moray Frith have proved detrimental to the 

 haddock, or that the maintenance of the closure can have the 

 support of science. 



In conclusion, it would appear from the investigations of 1884, 

 from a minute examination of the statistics made on board 

 the "Garland" on the east coast since 1886, and from other 

 observations, that little is to be gained in the way of increasing 

 the numbers and size of the food-fishes by closing the inshore 

 areas. 



