RAPPORTS. XIV: THOMPSON 



16 — 



inquire further into the matter with a view to discovering how far the relative propor- 

 tions are constant over the North Sea, or whether we have to deal not only with diffe- 

 rences in the mean abundance, but with differences in the local distribution of the small fish. 



It is at once apparent that in the case of the small Haddock the latter is very stri- 

 kingly the case. 



I have drawn a series of five consecutive charts (fig. 24 — 28) showing for each of 

 the years 1906 — 10 the percentage of small Haddock in the total catch of that fish. It 

 will be seen that these five charts fall on the whole into three series, 1906 standing by 

 itself, while 1907 — OS and 1909 - 10 have features in common. 



Fig. 24. Percentage of Small Haddock, 1906. 



Fig. 25. Percentage of Small Haddock, 1907. 



In 1906 (fig. 24) small Haddock were everywhere abundant, but least so on the cen- 

 tral region of the Dogger Bank. Even here they formed over 50 °/o of the total catch. 

 In the surrounding areas Al, C l, C2, B3, B4, B5 and D 2 the percentage varies from 

 60 to 70. In the southern area C 3 it is 8o°/o, and in the northern areas D l, D3, E 

 and Fl it is over 70, while it is close upon that figure in the eastern area A3. It is 

 evident then that the contours of distribution tend to form, as shown in our chart, a 

 series of concentric curves, more or less oval around their focus in the Dogger Bank. 



In 1907 (fig. 25) and 1908 (fig. 26) the distribution is clearly different. In both of 

 these years we have very large percentages of small Haddock to the northward and the 

 percentages decrease steadily as we proceed southward, but the contours assume a form 

 of curved lines concaved towards the north. In the south-western area C3, where we 



