— 22 



(under 29 cm. in length). In other words: i-The size and quantity of the monthly 

 plaice landings is dependent on the quantity of small plaice. » The most small plaice are 

 however taken during the months of spring and early summer, and naturally, in the 

 shallower waters of the southern North Sea. 



Table 2. English Market- Measurements and Landings for the period iço^joS, 

 according to months. 



a. Monthly percentage of the different sizes in the total landings, by number. 



b. Monthly percentage of the different market-classes in the total landings, by 



weight. 



c. Quantity of the landings, in 1000 kg. All for the whole North Sea. 

 (calculated from "Plaice Fisheries", Vol. I, Table VII, Vol. II, Tables VI and XL VI). 



Month 



a, "/o of the total number below cm: 



23 



25 



26 



29 



31 



36 



51 



b. °/o of the landings 

 in kg. 



large -|- 

 medium 

 -|- others 



small 



Total of the 

 landings 

 1000 kg. 



November . 

 December . 

 January . . . 

 February . 

 March . . . . 



April 



May 



June 



July 



August . . . 

 September 

 October . . 



14 

 13 

 12 



17 

 21 

 22 

 22 

 19 



14 

 1 1 



13 

 15 



34 

 35 



25 



32 



42 



42 

 42 



39 



29 



25 

 31 

 37 



45 

 46 



33 

 39 

 51 

 SI 

 52 

 49 

 38 

 34 

 45 

 48 



68 



65 

 56 

 58 

 72 

 72 



75 

 70 



59 

 57 

 63 

 72 



79 

 76 

 68 

 69 

 81 

 82 



83 

 81 

 70 

 70 

 76 

 82 



91 



90 



87 

 86 



92 

 94 

 94 

 93 

 91 

 90 

 92 

 93 



98.6 

 98.9 

 98.6 

 98.3 

 99 I 

 99-5 

 99,2 

 99.2 

 99.5 

 99. 5 

 996 



99-3 



60 



70 



77 

 76 



77 

 65 

 49 

 40 



52 

 65 

 64 

 64 



40 

 30 

 23 

 24 

 23 

 35 

 51 

 60 

 48 



35 

 36 

 36 



9.049 

 6,313 

 5. 802 



4.540 



4,853 

 6,212 



8,834 

 10,301 



10,134 

 9,157 

 8,890 



9,879 



Yearly total 



17 



35 



44 



66 



77 



91 



Fig. 4 represents these three summaries graphically. 



These characteristic monthly variations in the landings are not without some im- 

 portance for the practical plaice question. We are now in a position to accurately 

 determine, at any rate, with regard to the English fishery, not only in what regions of 

 the North Sea, i. e., on what fishing grounds, the greatest quantities of small and 

 undersized plaice are destroyed by the trawl, but also at what season of the year this 

 takes place. The fishing grounds in question lie in the areas As, As, Bi and B3, the 

 season being the months from April to August. We can with some degree of certainty 

 estimate the number of undersized plaice (i. e., under 25 cm. long) landed from these 

 fishing grounds during the months named, at 50 7o of the total quantity of the landings, 

 and that of the so-called small plaice, under 29 cm., at about 75% or, in respect of 

 weight, about 2970 and 52% respectively. As the total weight of the English plaice 



