146 ON THE MIGRATIONS AND THE GROWTH OF PLAICE. 



but similar labels which we got made. Each label consisted 

 of an oval numbered brass disc, a bone button, and a short 

 piece of silver wire. The latter was passed through the fish 

 in the interspinous region next the dorsal, or in some cases the 

 ventral (anal) fin, and bent to secure the button below and the 

 disc above. 



Altogether 483 fishes were thus marked and returned to the 

 sea, after being carefully measured and in many cases weighed. 

 The results up to July 20th are given in the accompanying 

 table (see pages 147 and 148). 



Migration. — ^The plaice were caught and liberated in the 

 inshore waters of the Northumberland coast, at the various 

 trawling stations from Goswick Bay in the north to Blyth Bay 

 in the south. They were all immature, measuring from about 

 7 to about ii-in. in length. With the exception of two, the 

 fish recovered have been captured also in the inshore waters 

 of Northumberland, and in almost every case in the same bay 

 where they were set free. Those recovered have been caught 

 by the line and in trout nets, and I have therefore to thank 

 the fishermen for their kind co-operation in carrying out the 

 experiment. It is rather remarkable that although it was not 

 uncommon to catch the plaice which had just been marked in 

 the trawl when the latter was passing over the same ground 

 again during the course of one experiment, only one of the 

 re-captured fish was caught by the trawl when the bay was 

 subsequently revisited. This plaice was got in Druridge Bay 

 this year, and after being measured was again put back into 

 the sea. 



The immature plaice of the inshore waters may then be 

 said to be for the most part non-migratory. It is quite 

 possible that much colder weather than prevailed last winter 

 might have caused a migration into deeper water, and in such 

 a case a return migration might have shown a general 

 tendency in a definite direction such as resulted from Fulton's 

 experiments. But last winter at all events the great majority 

 of the plaice remained in the inshore waters, and did not 

 migrate as a rule from the bays. The rocks and the rough 



