118 TRANSACTIONS LIVERPOOL BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 
LEGAL SIZE-LIMITS FOR PLAICE. 
By JAMES JOHNSTONE, D.Sc. 
A considerable amount of work has been done lately 
on the plaice statistics collected for the Committee during 
the last seven years, since it 1s probable that these data 
may be required in the future, im connection with proposals 
for legal size-limits for plaice. 
In September, 1913, the International Council for Fishery 
Investigations recommended to the various Governments 
interested in the North Sea Fisheries that legal size-limits 
for plaice should be established. The sizes proposed were :— 
lst October to 3lst March, 20 centimetres (about 7? inches) ; 
Ist April to 30th September, 22 centimetres (about 82 inches). 
It was recommended that it be illegal to land plaice which 
were smaller than these sizes. 
The decision of the International Council was taken 
as the result of the consideration of experimental fishing 
operations carried out in the North Sea, and of very extensive 
measurements of plaice landed at English ports by steam 
and sailing trawlers. 
Inasmuch as these figures are of little assistance in 
estimating the effect of a possible extension of legal size-limits 
for plaice to the West Coast, it was suggested by an Inspector 
of the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries that the data obtained 
by the Lancashire and Western Sea Fisheries Committee 
be examined. . 
The data available. 
Very numerous hauls with trawl-nets of 6 m. mesh have 
been made by the steamer and sailing vessels of the Committee. 
On all occasions the plaice caught were measured, and numerous 
