42 THE SCOTTISH NATURALIST 



is passed through a hole at each end of the plate, so that, 

 before using, the two ends of the wire project at right angles 

 from the plate. The ends are passed through the fin and 

 twisted together on the other side. The marking was at 

 first confined to Kelts. Of late years the marking has been 

 of clean fish caught and released in the sea. Of the Kelts 

 marked and recaptured in fresh water, the great majority 

 were caught again in the river from which they had 

 descended. The exceptions, including a certain number of 

 fish taken on the coast long distances from the river of 

 marking, amount to 8| per cent, in the total number of 

 recaptures. 



The records of a few of these exceptions are of interest. 

 Ten Deveron fish were taken on the East Aberdeen coast 

 or in rivers of that coast. A Spey fish was caught in the 

 Dee. A Grimerster fish (Lewis, west side) was taken in 

 Caithness. A Caithness fish was taken in the Gruinard in 

 West Ross-shire. A Lochy fish was taken at Ardnamurchan, 

 an Awe fish at Aultbea, and so on ; but against these there 

 is the long series of homing fish, which made up 92 per cent, 

 of the total captures, but which, in a short paper of this kind, 

 cannot be referred to in detail. 



The sea marking was undertaken for the purpose of 

 following as far as possible the movements of fish along the 

 coast. The percentage of recaptures at once became far 

 higher than had ever been attained by marking in rivers, 

 but the great majority of recaptures in this case were coast 

 recaptures. Much light was shed on the movements of fish 

 from one district to another, and especially as to the move- 

 ments of Grilse and small spring fish. A systematic study 

 of scales and of certain measurements was intertwined with 

 the operations in order to shed light on the question of local 

 races of Salmon. These, while yielding most interesting 

 results, do not specially bear upon the subject of this paper. 

 The recaptures of the river-marked fish amounted to only 

 4-1 per cent. By the time 2767 fish had been marked in 

 the sea the recaptures amounted to 27-7 per cent. 



In 191 5, when, fortunately, it was still possible for the 

 Fishery Board to carry on their work on the east coast of 



