15 



D'ARCY W. THOMPSON 



200 



100 



"! 



i 



^ 



-^ 



Fig. 1 8. Cod. Area C. 



From area XVIII tlie curves are un.satisfactory, showing considerable variations from 

 year to year; and^in particular the whole series is overshadowed by a great influK of 

 Cod in May and June of 1904. In other years the season of maximum, while probably 

 in the summer-time, is neither ver)' 



constant nor distinct. In the case of IÖ04 1005 1ÖO6 



Codling, however, there is a well- 

 marked maximum in winter about 

 December and January. 



We may now turn from our 

 Aberdeen trawling statistics to supple- 

 ment the information which we re- 

 ceive from them by considering the 

 monthly returns of fish landed at the 

 Scotch ports, and especially at the 

 many smaller stations to which no 

 trawlers come, and from which the 

 line-fishing is conducted at no very 

 great distance from shore. A weak 

 point of these returns, for our purpose, 



is that they are greatly affected by the Herring fishing, during the height of which all 

 other fishing tends to be relaxed or abandoned; jwe cannot therefore make from them 

 the negative assertion that at certain times (during the Herring fishing), Cod or other 



fish are absent, but only use them for 

 '9.04- I0O5 1906 their indications of certain seasons when 



Cod are plentiful. Another weak point 

 is that Cod and Codling are now 

 included together, but we may take 

 it that the large Cod predominate in 

 bulk, and that the statistical results 

 refer mainly to them. 



In Table I are shown the average 

 monthly landings of Cod (including 

 Codling) at the various Scottish centres 

 during the twenty years 1886 — 1905. 

 Looking at the east coast stations, we 

 see a maximum in January, well defined 

 at Banff and Cromarty, and a maximum 

 in February at Buckie, Findhorn, 

 Helmsdale, Lybster and wick. Further 

 south on the east coast the maximum, 

 or the principal maximum, is con- 

 siderably later. Looking at the west 

 coast areas we find a maximum in February at Stornoway, and in March at every 

 other west coast station, without exception. 



From a series of special statistics that have been taken during the last three or four 



1^ 



80 



4-0 





t. 



^ 



Fig. 19. Cod. Area;!XVII. 



