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Ascent of the elvers on the coasts of Ireland 



(i) River Bann, North Coast. 

 Fry first seen at mouth of river in February (1905). First seen at the fishery 

 up river in February -1905 and in 1904 in April. Last seen there June 1905. 



(2) River Erne, Ballyshannon, West Coast. 



Fry ascended in April and May 1904, also a great ascent of fry in December 1904 

 and January 1905. Elvers seen just below Ballyshannon falls (head of tideway) on 

 November 29th, 1905. 



(3) Corrib river (Gal way Bay), West Coast. 



1905. End of January transparent fry present in large numbers under stones at 

 mouth of river and for some distance on each side of mouth along shore. Fry first seen 

 ascending river February 21st. Very plentiful as far as tide flows on February 23rd. 

 Last seen there at the end of June. 



1906. Elvers (very small and quite transparent) seen in numbers along the stones 

 at a fishing stage in the tidal part of the river on January ist, 1906. 



(4) Limerick, Shannon, West Coast. 



The estuary is about 60 miles long and there is no information about the fry until 

 they get to Limerick town. 



Ascent seen from February to May. Fry often appears at Limerick in January if 

 the weather is mild. Elvers are caught and eaten in Limerick though it is, I think, 

 unlawful to catch them. 



(5) River Lee, Cork, South Coast. 



Alderman Henry Dale tells me that the elvers use to appear in the tideway about 

 the middle of February, but did not push up higher until later. In some seasons 

 elvers have been seen a little before February. 



To this information Mr. Holt adds the following remarks: "The notes from Corrib 

 and Bann may be taken to be quite accurate and from Limerick and Ballyshannon the 

 notes seem to be accurate as far as they go. As to River Lee, Dale is a most accurate 

 man and you may rely on the middle of February as being about the usual date." 



In addition to the information from Ireland there is the following interesting notice 

 from the Hebrides: 



Mr. John Norrie Anderson, the Danish vice-consul at Stornoway, has at my request 

 paid attention to the arrival of the elvers during the winter of 1905—06. Though search 

 was made for them several times earlier in a river in the neighbourhood of Stornoway 

 (East coast of Lewis) they were not found before the first days of February. 



Mr. Holt's data from Ireland ' are marked on the Chart, Plate XII, along with the 



I Mr. Holt also received information from the east coast of Ireland, namely, Ballycastle: early 

 summer 1904; Dundalk: June and July 1904; Drogheda: May and June 1904; Waterford (south coast): 

 April and May 1904. Concerning these Mr. Holt says: s There are no very important eel fisheries elsewhere 

 (except in Corrib, Bann, Limerick and Ballyshannon) so people do not pay much attention to eels and fry. In 

 consequence, notes of dates from Ballycastle, Dundalk, Drogheda and Waterford cannot be altogether relied 

 upon." The information from these latter places is therefore not marked on the Chart, where it is desired to 

 compare the earliest dates at which the ascent takes place. 



