— 162 — 



There can be no doubt about the main direction of the currents in the English 

 Channel. On the basis of numerous observations, amongst which Garstang's experiments 

 with bottles may be mentioned ^), it has been determined that the main direction of the 

 currents is from west to east, i. e. from the Atlantic to the North Sea. Our investigations 

 agree well with this, as the young specimens of a species found in spring in the eastern 

 part of the Channel were always larger and less numerous than those of the same species 

 taken almost at the same time in the western part, and we found further that the pelagic 

 fry of some species were -in summer distributed much more to the east than in spring (see 

 e.g. Chart VI). Nevertheless, the transport of the pelagic gadoid fry through 

 the Channel to the North Sea, to judge from my experience, cannot in any way 

 compare with what occurs in the north round the British Isles. I may 

 remark to this however, that considerable quantities of the pelagic fry of a few species 

 are undoubtedly carried from the Channel into the southern part of the North Sea, thus 

 for example of Gadus luscus which spawns in the Channel but not or only in insignificant 

 quantities in the North Sea. 



At some spot or another off the Atlantic Slope S. W. of Ireland the Atlantic Stream 

 as it approaches Europe divides into two. One portion continues in a more northerly 

 direction off the west coast of Ireland, whilst a second portion runs in an easterly or 

 south-easterly direction, following in the main the western coast of France, Spain and 

 Portugal. The existence of the latter current has been proved by the Prince of Monaco 

 by means of floats, and on the basis of his experiments he comes to the result, that the 

 movement in the Bay of Biscay is not (as noted in the older charts) in a north- 

 erly direction^). 



On our last cruise with the "Thor" in the summer of 1906 we set out a number of 

 bottles in the Bay of Biscay and Atlantic to the S. W. of Ireland, in order amongst other 

 things to obtain information regarding the currents of importance for the drift of the 

 pelagic fry in those waters. According to information from Cand. mag. I. N. Nielsen, the 

 hydrographer on board the "Thor", who will report soon on these experiments, I may give 

 the following points of interest for this work. All the bottles hitherto received were re- 

 taken at places more to the south and east than where they were set out. Thus of a 

 number of bottles cast overboard in the Bay of Biscay ca. 100 miles S.W. of Brittany 

 (almost in the latitude of the Loire near Stat. 191, 1906), three have been returned and 

 all of these had gone in a south-easterly direction into the innermost parts of the 

 Bay of Biscay (two of them to the most southern part of the French west coast and the 

 third to the eastern part of the north coast of Spain). The bottles thrown out further to 

 the west and north point in the same direction ; thus of the two returned up to the present 

 of a number thrown out at Stat. 181, 1906, immediately west of the large, shallow bank 



1 W. Garstang: Journ. Mar. Biol Assoc, vol V., N. S. p. 199, Plymouth 1897—99. 



^ See e. g. Congrès international des Sciences géographiques en 1889, Paris 1890, p. 8. The floats 

 mentioned were thrown overboard at ca. U0° W. L. on the line from oa. 50° N. L. (off S. England) to ca. 

 42°jSI.L. (off N.W.Spain) and they all landed further to the south than where they were put out, on 

 the French west coast, on the coasts of Spain and Portugal or even move to the south. 



