SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS. 231 



bays. Their life-history is not yet fully worked out, but the 

 large forms of 6 ft. would appear to be of considerable age. 

 Hence they are kept in check wherever constant attacks are 

 made. The race, however, continues and is likely to continue. 



In some cases it would seem that when the large plaice are 

 fished out of inshore areas, as near Girdleness, they do not 

 return, that is to say, no large plaice have been caught there 

 since. But whether the ground has been carefully examined is 

 not stated. It may be frequented by smaller forms. The large 

 haddocks of Dublin Bay form another instance. They have 

 not returned. But in neither case is the ruin of the fisheries 

 threatened, though these instances should be remembered in 

 dealing with the subject. 



In regard to the question, What has been done, in the 

 opportunity afforded by closure, to increase the valuable forms, 

 such as soles and turbot in Scottish waters ? two steps have 

 been taken by the Fishery Board, viz. the artificial hatching of 

 plaice, turbot and other forms at Dunbar, and the transference 

 of 500 or 600 soles from English to Scottish waters. The 

 former, that is, the artificial hatching of sea-fishes, is still in 

 the experimental stage, and may have been on too small a scale 

 for efficiency. What the author wrote in 1894 still holds : — 



" It has still, of course, to be proved that the artificial hatch- 

 ing of marine fishes, even on a large scale, will be beneficial to 

 the fisheries generally ; yet the importance of the issue demands 

 an exhaustive trial. Almost everywhere during the last decade 

 or two complaints have been made as to the decrease of im- 

 portant marine food-fishes. Especially have the large halibut, 

 turbot, brill, soles and other flat fishes become rare. In Britain 

 this alleged diminution has been connected — for the last decade 

 at least — with the extension of beam-trawling in our waters. 

 Consequently, the Legislature has closed the inshore area all 

 round Scottish shores, and even considerably beyond that limit 

 in certain places, as in the Moray Frith and the Frith of Clyde. 

 Many thousand square miles are thus placed solely at the dis- 

 posal of the liner\" 



All that can be added is that support should be given to the 

 1 Sc. Progress, ii. p. 252, Dec. 1894. 



