250 BRITISH FISHERIES 



a number of years. Two areas off the east coast 

 of Scotland — the Firth of Forth and St Andrews 

 Bay — were therefore " closed " against commercial 

 trawl-fishing, and a number of " stations " were 

 made on each of these areas. Each station was a 

 line of one or more miles in length laid out on 

 the chart. At the same time several stations were 

 chosen outside the closed areas. Once a month 

 the trawling vessel employed by the Board visited 

 each station, and the trawl was dragged from one 

 end of the trawling line to the other. The fishes 

 caught were counted and measured, and the results 

 were recorded.^ It was expected that, since the 

 stations within the Firth of Forth and St Andrews 

 Bay were prohibited to the trawlers, while those 

 outside were open, there would after a time be an 

 increase of fishes on the inner and protected areas, 

 and no change, or a decrease, on the stations 

 outside, which were open to commercial fishing. 



Now, the results of the first year's experiments 

 were apparently such as to justify these expecta- 

 tions. It was found ^ that, both in the Firth 

 of Forth and in St Andrews Bay, the catches of 

 flat and round fishes had increased to a considerable 

 extent. It was almost impossible to avoid the 

 conclusion that the cessation of trawl-fishing on 



1 See the Annual Reports of the Scottish Fishery Board (pt. iii.), 

 1886 to 1903, for these records. At the same time physical obser- 

 vations were also made. " Tow-nettings " were taken, and biological 

 work of a most important nature was carried out. 



2 Report, Scottish Fishery Board for 1887, pt. iii. p. 25. 



