^00 INVESTIGATIONS IN MORAY FRlTH, 1897. 



the captures of the dab in the Moray Frith presented the usual 

 variations attendant on sea-fishing, and in no sense can it be 

 said that the closure of the area benefited this fish or altered 

 the arrangements of nature. 



Plaice followed with an average of 45 per haul, or 15 over 

 that of the previous year. Only 75 were unsaleable, that is, 

 under 7 inches, the majority (249) being between 7 and 11 

 inches, while 191 were between 12 and 18 inches, only 34 

 being beyond 19 inches. This average, though higher than the 

 previous year, held a median position in the series, five being 

 below it, the minimum being 14 in 1888, and five above it, the 

 maximum (174) being about four times as great, and occurring 

 in 1892, when the work was confined to the productive month 

 of September. The record of the plaice, after even greater 

 irregularities than the dab, remained in 1897 only half what it 

 was in 1887, and though during the first five years the average 

 was only 40 as contrasted with an average of 73 in the last six 

 years, the conditions under which the work was accomplished 

 in the two periods were divergent. Thus while no colder 

 months are present in the first period. May and June twice 

 appear. In the second period they occur only once, while 

 October is entered thrice. The condition of this species, there- 

 fore, leads to the same conclusions as in the dab. 



The position of the haddock throughout the eleven years 

 shows great variability, since the highest average (53) occurs in 

 1887, the first year of the experiments, the last year (1897) 

 having only 3, the same number likewise representing the 

 captures for 1891, the last of the first period. The average for 

 the years 1887—1891 is 14, and that for the years 1892—1897 

 (six years) being 11, or 3 less. The absence of similarity in the 

 months, however, renders comparison uncertain. Moreover, since 

 even a more marked change is present in these periods in the 

 gurnard, it cannot be said that the condition of the haddock is 

 peculiar. The average for the first five years in the gurnard is 

 19, for the second period it is 12, that is to say, 4 more than in the 

 case of the haddock. In 1887 the average for the gurnard was 30, 

 in 1897 the average was only 11, yet it would be inconsistent 

 with experience to suppose that these figures indicate a dimi- 



