— 69 — .lOHS. SCHMIDT 



exception of the most southerly and south-easterly parts, and the spawning 

 time is chiefly in the early spring and end of winter. In the most northerly and 

 north-westerly parts of the North Sea enormous quantities of G. Esmarki are produced, 

 much greater than in the central parts or in the Skager Rak, which is distinctly seen 

 from the fact that the fry become scarcer as we go from the northern North Sea to the 

 southward. 



5. The Channel 



In spite of the favourable time of year and the good weather conditions when our 

 investigations were made in the end of April and beginning of May 1906, we did not take 

 the pelagic fry of Gadus Esmarki in the Channel (on the other hand quantities of G. 

 minutus). And in the samples of pelagic gadoid fry from the neighbourhood of Plymouth 

 (May, June 1906) kindly sent me by Dr. Allen no specimens of this species occur amongst 

 the numerous specimens of G. minutus. 



In the earlier notices by Holt and Scott on the pelagic eggs and larvœ occurring in 

 the neighbourhood of Plymouth (Journ. Mar. Biol. Assoc, vol. V., N. S., p. 156 et seq.) 

 Gad. Esmarki is not mentioned, nor is it named in Holt's "Notes on the reproduction of 

 teleostean Fishes in the South-Western District" published in the same volume. 



We may conclude from the available information that Gadus Esmarki does not re- 

 produce in the Channel or at most only to a very small extent. In this 

 region it is so to speak replaced by the nearly related species Gadus minutus which oc- 

 curs and spawns there in enormous quantities. The bottom hauls from the Channel, which 

 I have been able to examine, both those of the "Thor" and others kindly sent me by Dr. 

 Allen, point in the same direction as the pelagic investigations. Whilst the young Gadus 

 minutus occur in quantities the corresponding stages of Gadus Esmarki are quite wanting i. 



Further, only a single specimen (length 16'8 cm.) of Gadus Esmarki is known from 

 the Channel. This is stated by Garstang (J. Mar. Biol. Ass., vol. VI, 1900, p. 274) to have 

 been found on the shore region of the Hamoaze between Saltash and the mouth of the 

 river Lynher, and it is specially mentioned by Garstang that this is the only case known 

 of the occurrence of this species in the Channel^. 



6. Bay of Biscay 



As the fry of Gadus Esmarki were not found in the Channel, it was not to be ex- 

 pected that they should be found in the Bay of Biscay. In fact we have not seen a single 

 trace of them at any of our stations, and the conditions there seem to be the same as in 

 the Channel, namely, that this species is replaced by Gadus minutus. 



So far as I know, Gadus Esmarki has never been found in the Bay of Biscay, and it 

 is not mentioned by Moreaü as belonging to the French fauna. Nor does it occur in the 

 list of the gadoids living in the Bay of Biscay kindly sent me by Dr. Ad. Cligny of 

 Boulogne. 



^ It is quite conceivable that the fry of Gadus Esmarlci may be carried into the western part of the 

 Channel from the waters S. of Ireland, where the species spawns. On the other hand it is difficult to 

 imagine that the fry would come in from the North Sea, both on account of the prevailing direction of 

 the currents and the absence of the fry of this species in the southern, shallow parts of the North Sea. 



^ That it occurs in the neighbourhood of the Channel (Bristol Channel) is shown by a report by 

 DxjNjf and Holt (Journ. Mar. Biol. Assoc, vol. V, N. S., 1897 — 99, p. 79) on the discovery of two older 

 specimens 40 mUes N. W. of St. Ives 



