SEA-FISHERIES LABORATORY. 413 



obtained in 1907 from plankton collected on March 29th. 

 They occurred in most of the surface samples taken in 

 April, but none were observed that year after April 26th. 

 No haddock eggs were observed until April 7th in 1908, 

 which is the latest first occurrence during the four years. 

 They were present in most of the surface samples from 

 that date onward to May 20th, but after that none were 

 observed. Their presence in the plankton of 1909 was 

 limited to a period of about three weeks. They were first 

 noted on March 27th, and disappeared after April 14th. 

 The year 1910 presented us with the largest number of 

 records and also the longest period of occurrence in the 

 plankton of the area. The eggs were observed as early 

 as March 11th. They were present for fully seven weeks, 

 and finally disappeared from the plankton on May 22nd. 



Gadus merlangus, Linn. — Whiting. 



The pelagic eggs of the whiting occur in the 

 plankton off the south-west of the Isle of Man between 

 the end of February and latter part of May. The 

 appearance of the eggs during the last week of February 

 is probably exceptional, as they were only observed in 

 that month once in the six years. The normal time is 

 evidently about the end of the first week in March. The 

 eggs were found in the plankton as early as February 

 26th in 1907. Very few were observed in the March 

 collections, but they were fairly prevalent during the 

 month of April. The last record for the year was 

 April 27th. In 1908 the eggs were first obtained from 

 plankton collected on March 13th. They were present 

 during the remainder of the month and throughout the 

 whole of April. Whiting eggs continued one of the 

 constituents of the plankton until May 12th. The eggs 

 were much later in making their appearance in 1909 than 



