84 THE SEA FISHERIES 



thousand mature shad were sold in the market at San Francisco, 

 and in 1886 the California Fish Commission estimated that a million 

 good-sized shad were taken in the waters of the State ; in 1895 it 

 was reported that the shad was one of the most abundant fishes of 

 California, the quantity taken being enormous. . In recent years 

 the fish has become so abundant that the price has gone down 

 enormously, being often less than a cent per pound, and of the 

 tons taken in the salmon-seines nearly all are now thrown back 

 into the water or used as manure. 



With the view of ascertaining the effect of the liberation of the fry 

 of the plaice, considerable numbers of them were transferred to 

 Loch Fyne from the hatchery of the Scottish Fishery Board in the 

 years 1896-1901, and a few months later the abundance of the young 

 plaice found in certain localities in the loch was tested by fishing 

 with a push-net on the beach. In the six years 1903-1908, no fry 

 were placed in the loch, and the push-nettings were continued at 

 the same places and at corresponding times in order to determine 

 the abundance of young fish in the same way. The total number 

 of the year's plaice which were obtained was 13,068, the collective 

 results in the two periods being : — 



1903-1908 

 1896-1901 



Number of fry 

 liberated. 



142,880,000 

 none 



Number of I Number I ^l"ll^ 

 hours fishing. of plaice. p^^ hour. 



74 6,491 877 



i65i 6,577 397 



It will be seen that in the first period when plaice fry were being 

 put into the loch the average number of young plaice taken was 

 877 per hour, whereas in the second period, when no plaice fry were 

 added, the average number taken per hour was 397, or less than 

 half. The average at each of the five stations where collections were 

 made was less in the second period than the first, the decrease per 

 hour ranging from 19-2 to 1047. The collections were made in the 

 months of June, July, August and September, and the mean number 

 of young plaice taken per hour was less in each month in the second 

 period than in the first, and with one or two exceptions this was 

 true of each of the stations considered separately. The fluctuations 

 from year to year were very considerable, the mean annual average 

 ranging in the first period from 24 to 174, and in the second period 

 from 8 to 112. When the average was high at one station or in one 

 month, it was also, with few exceptions, high at the other stations 

 and in the other months, and similarly when it was low ; therefore 

 the numbers represent approximately an actual abundance or 

 scarcitv of the young plaice in Loch Fyne in the particular years. 



