342 TRANSACTIONS LIVERPOOL BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



the food-fishes of the Irish Sea, local conditions will be found 

 to play a great part, and consequently I need only refer, at 

 this stage, to work already done in the Irish Sea area. In 

 the report, by Professor Herdman, on the work of the Sea 

 Fisheries Laboratory* for 1892 and 1893 we find the first 

 reference regarding local investigations on the food of fishes. 

 These researches were carried on for four years, and a total of 

 about 6,000 food-fishes were examined. These varied in size 

 from about 4 in. upwards, and were taken from many points 

 in that part of the Irish Sea lying between the Isle of Man and 

 the Lancashire and Cumberland coasts. Much valuable 

 information as to the general type of food consumed by the 

 various kinds of food-fishes was obtained, but at that time 

 no data were obtained regarding the food of fishes in the 

 Western or Welsh District. Now, however, that the Fisheries 

 district extends down the Welsh coast to Newquay, a more 

 general survey of the whole of the Eastern half of the Irish 

 Sea is rendered possible. 



During the researches carried on between 1892 and 1896 

 many young fishes, especially plaice, dabs and soles, ranging 

 in size from an inch upwards, were also examined, and this, 

 I consider, is quite as important a part of the work as the 

 examination of the stomachs of the more mature individuals. 

 Unfortunately I have not had the time to carry out fully my 

 original programme, which included the examination of these 

 young fish. 



The general conclusions come to by Professor Herdman 

 and his assistants, during their work on this subject, was that 

 within certain limits certain fish fed for the most part on the 

 same type of food, and that when this was not so, as occasionally 

 happened, the reason was to be found in the fact that the 

 particular kind of food usually eaten by these fish was tem- 



* Trans. Liverpool Biol. Soc, vols. VII and VIII. 



