INVESTIGATIONS IN FRITH OF CLYDE, 1890, '95, '96. 215 



5 and the plaice had also diminished, but the dab remained 

 the same. Lemon-dabs had increased to 7, and hake to 6 per 

 haul. Cod and haddock were about the same, while the whiting 

 had diminished. Thornbacks were slightly reduced, and soles 

 more distinctly so. Amongst characteristic unsaleable fishes 

 were the John Dory, wrasse, nurse-hound, and black-mouthed 

 dog-fish. 



In 1897 the number of hauls was increased to 36, of which 

 12 occurred in April, 12 in May, and 12 in September. The 

 total number of fishes captured was 4926, or 136 per haul, 

 an increase of 16 on the previous year, and 31 on 1888, a 

 period of 9 years. The gain was not great, but the advocates 

 of the closure are entitled to it, the more so as a comparison 

 of the twelve hauls in April in each year gives the following 

 result:— 1896, 114; 1897, 160. An increase of 46 per haul 

 thus took place in the year 1897 in this month. The witches 

 had increased to 47 per haul, a steady rise having taken 

 place from 1888 ; indeed, their numbers were trebled. The 

 witch, or pole-dab, by some will be held as a typical fish for 

 testing the effects of the closure, since it does not readily take 

 a hook, and as a proof they will cite its steady rise from 13 

 per haul in 1888 to 47 in 1897. But it is unsafe to trust 

 to an individual form without careful scrutiny of the col- 

 lateral circumstances. Moreover, the number 13 with which 

 the witch commenced in 1888 could not but be a low num- 

 ber, since the work was carried on only in February and 

 March, two months in which the averages are comparatively 

 small. The two following years had 12 hauls respectively in 

 July and in November, two months with a moderate average, 

 that is, higher than the average of the first year (1888). In 

 1896 the work was chiefly in April and October, only 1 haul 

 being in November. The average could not fail to be higher 

 than in any previous year — taking into consideration the more 

 productive months dealt with. In the same way, in 1897, the 

 addition of 12 hauls in May to those in April and September 

 still further increased the average, especially of the most abun- 

 dant fish. There was little in the whole scheme of work to 

 make a safe comparison possible ; but, such as it is, it has 



