SEA-FISHERIES LABORATORY. 247 



only 14 of these were returned to us. The results are hardly 

 susceptible of being made into a general theory of flounder 

 migrations until further experiments on a larger scale 

 have been made. So far as they and former experiments 

 with flounders go, they indicate that this fish migrates 

 mainly along the shallow coastal waters. Possibly the 

 larger fish may migrate out to sea at the end or the 

 beginning of the year, since fairly large flounders in a 

 sexually ripe condition are often found on the offshore 

 grounds. At any rate, the experiments must be repeated 

 before we can say much. The flounder, however, is of so 

 little economic importance that we have hitherto hesitated 

 to spend much time on its study, so long as the more 

 important plaice could be investigated. 



Experiment II. (Chart II.) 



The results of this experiment are rather remarkable, 

 and they seem to us to be of some value. The number of 

 plaice liberated was 177, of which 77, or over 43%, 

 were recaught and returned to us, a rather large propor- 

 tion, so far as most marked-fish experiments are concerned. 

 Eighteen flounders were also marked, and of these four 

 were returned. Sixty-four of all these plaice and 

 flounders were caught in stake-nets set in Barrow Channel 

 and on Roosebeck Scars (just outside Barrow Channel), 

 and the rest were taken by second-class trawling vessels, 

 five of them being recaptured by the Fleetwood police 

 cutter, which had originally caught the fish for the 

 marking experiment. The fish taken in the slake nets 

 were caught by two or three men at the most, fishing each 

 a stake-net for a few fides during each fortnight. The 

 results are shown on Chart II, but because of the small 

 scale on which the chart has had to be drawn, and Ihe 

 limited area over which the recaptures have been made, 



