D'ARCY W. THOMPSON 



The Small Maddocks, accordhii^ to the chart (ligure 26), vary comparatively little in 

 abundance over the North Sea areas, being somewhat more plentiful in the middle regions. 

 Here again our statistics are faulty from 

 the fact that quantities of Small Haddocks 

 are thrown away, and, in other words, 

 our statistics are here only a measure of 

 what is brought home, and cannot be 

 used for a comparative estimate of what 

 stock actually exists on the different grounds. 



The Extra Small Haddock (fig. 27) 

 chiefly come from the nearer grounds. 



The last chart of this series (fig. 28) 

 shows the total average catch of all classes 

 of Haddock from the different areas. It 

 is much the largest off the north-western 

 areas, and is probably larger still in other 

 areas to the west to the north of the Lewes, 

 which are not represented in our chart. 

 The comparatively small catches off the 

 east of Scotland are again conspicuous. 



The average catch at all seasons of the year over all our North Sea areas may be 

 approximately stated at 135 cwts. per 100 hours' fishing, an amount that enormously 

 exceeds that of any other of our food-fishes. 



Fig. 28 



Iceland 341 



Faeroe 170 



Total Haddock. 



North Sea Average. 



135-6 



Seasonal distribution of Haddock. 



Though the Extra Large Haddock are caught in no very great numbers in any 

 of our North Sea areas, yet the seasons of their appearance are so clearly marked that 

 we have no difficulty in understanding the statistical evidence. 



In area XIX (fig. 29) over the Witch Ground, we see that the fish appear with 

 great regularity about the month of March, and make but a short stay, disappearing 

 altogether from May or June till the end of the following winter. Their numbers have 

 not varied very greatly within the last six years. 



In area XXIV (fig. 29) over the Gut, their appearance is equally regular, and pre- 

 cisely at the same season. But in this case we have evidence of comparatively large 

 numbers in the spring of 1902, and of extremely small numbers in more recent years. 



In the Shetland area (X) the season of maximum is somewhat later, the maximum 

 being reached in June 1902, in May 1905, and lasting more or less over a considerable 

 part of the summer in 1906. 



In area XIII (fig. 30), from Foula Bank to the Orkneys, we see firstly that the actual 

 quantities are much larger; secondly that the date of maximum is again a little later, 

 being in May or June in one, in August in two and in September in one of the four 

 years; thirdly we see that in 1906 the maximum attained was by far greater than in the 

 previous years. We also notice, by the way, that in both areas X and XIII, while the 

 quantities diminish very greatly in the seasons of scarcity, they never absolutely vanish. 



