140 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



SOME FISH NOTES FROM THE NORTH DEVON 



COAST. 



By Bkuce F. Cummings. 



I have lately kept a record of any interesting fish that are 

 caught from time to time off this coast, and have attempted to 

 grasp the main facts of the distribution of fish in the Bristol 

 Channel, as far as possible, from the catches which are landed 

 on our shore at Clovelly, Ilfracombe, and Appledore, and else- 

 where. 



It seems that the fishing industry, as a whole, is not as good 

 as it used to be, and the boats employed are not of a size suffi- 

 ciently large for remaining at sea for any length of time, or 

 weathering any of those sudden storms that so often arise in the 

 Channel, and frequently prove disastrous to small craft unpre- 

 pared for them. 



The Herring gets scarcer every year, and during the season 

 just ended (1906) fishermen have found it hard to get a living at 

 all. Mackerel-fishing also is on the wane ; the majority of the 

 fish caught of this species and of the Herring are landed at 

 Clovelly. Salmon, Bass, and Grey Mullet are in plenty at times 

 in the River Taw, but of late years fewer Salmon seem to have 

 been netted by the Barnstaple fishermen than were formerly. 



The rocky nature of our coast no doubt accounts for the large 

 numbers of Conger and Skate. One day, last autumn, off Lyn- 

 mouth, on a single spiller, twenty-four Conger and nine Skate 

 were taken, one of the Congers reaching a length of 77 in. Cod, 

 Ling, Sea-Bream, Pollack, Plaice, and Whiting are among our 

 characteristic fish. 



Hake, Haddock, and the Red Mullet (var. surmuletus) are 

 rare, and I do not think Mullus barbatus has ever occurred here. 

 It is said that the steam-trawlers from Wales catch them up 

 before they reach us, although the Haddock appears to be gene- 

 rally rare off the Devonshire coasts. 



Picked Dogfish, Small Spotted Dogs, John Doreys, Brill, 



