— 125 — JO HS. SCHMIDT 



of the surface temperatures (averages for the ten years 1891 — 1900, cal- 

 culated from the daily observations published in the Danish «Meteorologisk Aarbog» '). 



Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May .lime July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. 

 Thorshavn 5-6° 5-4° 5-5° 6-6° 7-7'° 9-3° 10-4° 10-6° 10-2° 8-8° 7-7° 6-5° 



That there is but little diiference between the temperatures at the surface and in ca. 

 100 meters depth even in the summer time, can be seen from the following observations 

 made by Cand. mag. 1. N. Nielsen from the "Thor". 



What has just been said applies to the shallow waters everywhere round the Faeroes. 

 On the banks to the west of the Faeroes, e. g. the Faeroe Bank, the temperature in the 

 spring is a little higher than on the banks round the Faeroes themselves. 



The following gadoids spawn in quantities at the Faeroes: coalfish (<?. virens), cod 

 {G. callarias), haddock (G. œglefinus), Norway pout {G. Esmarki), whiting {G. merlangus), 

 further the torsk (Brosm,ius brosme) and the ling {Molva molva), thus the same species 

 as at Iceland, the coalfish perhaps being the principal form though both the cod and 

 haddock spawn here in very large quantities. In contrast to at Iceland, G. minutus and 

 G. poUachius spawn here though only in small numbers, but we also do not find here in 

 contrast to the conditions at the British Isles the hake {Merluccius vulgaris), the lesser 

 forkbeard (Raniceps) nor the bib {G. luscus). 



3. The British Isles 

 We are only engaged here with the Atlantic coasts of the British Isles. For informa- 

 tion with regard to the temperatures, see the Table p. 115, where the surface temperatures 

 (monthly averages) are noted from various stations right from Shetland to S. W. Ireland. 

 It is possible from these, to which the note on p. 116 also applies, and from the temperature 

 charts published in the Bulletins of the International Bureau, to gain a view over the 

 temperatures in these waters in early spring, that is, at the time when most of the gadoids 

 are spawning. Thus, if we study the surface chart for Feb. 1906, we see that the tem- 

 perature at the Shetlands was ca. 7°, on the west coast of Scotland 7° and 8° and on 

 the greater part of the Atlantic coasts of Ireland between 8° and 9° with exception of at 

 the south-western part where it was between 9° and 10° (see also the chart fig. 4, p. 117, 

 which shows that the temperatures in 50 meters depth agree very closely with the surface 



• In the cold period of the year (winter, spring) the temperatures given here, which were observed 

 at Thorshavn in quite shallow water near the shore, wiU be all somewhat lower than the surface tem- 

 peratures on the same date a little further to sea (see p. 116). 



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