114 TRANSACTIONS LIVERPOOL BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 
in the autumn, and soon extends over the whole of Morecambe 
Bay. The fish become abundant off Morecambe towards 
the end of November. They may then even extend as far 
as Grange and across the Bay to Roosebeck. Sprats are some- 
times caught in the ordinary stake-nets at the latter place 
when the meshes become choked with débris. There is usually 
a decided indication of a slackening in the mvasion in the 
Morecambe area by the end of January; after that, the 
catches become smaller and the fishery diminishes in value. 
Twenty-five boats were engaged during the maximum period 
of the fishery in 1915-16, and fully seventy tons were landed 
in one day. The money value of this catch to the fishermen 
was fully £300. Fresh Morecambe sprats were sold in the 
fishmongers’ shops in Barrow at the same time at threepence. 
per pound. A ton of sprats contains on an average 130,000 fish. 
In the course of a day’s fishing, therefore, the huge total of 
nine millions of sprats may be captured without making 
any appreciable difference to the fishery. ‘The sprats are 
usually sent to the market just as they are captured. If there 
is a large proportion of the smaller sizes, the catches are 
riddled, and the small fish that pass through are sold as 
** whitebait.” 
Samples of the catches were sent for examination by 
Mr. Edward Gardner, the Assistant Bailiff at Morecambe. 
Personal visits were also made from time to time and samples 
collected. The sprats caught during the season 1915-16 were 
all in fine condition. No trace of recognisable food was observed 
in the stomachs of any of the samples collected. The whole 
of the alimentary canal was usually filled with fatty mucus 
only. The stomachs of the few young herring taken along 
with the sprats generally contained small Mysis. The weights 
of the individual fish were also determined, and it was found 
that an appreciable difference sometimes existed between 
fish of exactly the same length. This difference occasionally 
