SEA-FISHERIES LABORATORY. 157 
APPENDIX II. 
(From Quarterly Report of November, 1915.) 
Mr. Scott’s Report on THE MoRECAMBE Bay “‘ WHITEBAIT” 
Fishery AND Musset BeEps. 
Visits have been made recently to two of the fishing 
centres in the northern area of Morecambe Bay to inspect 
the ‘‘ whitebait’’ fishery and the mussel beds at the 
respective places, and to gather any information and 
specimens of value. 
~ The “‘ whitebait’’ fishery at Morecambe, which has 
developed into a valuable asset to the fishermen there 
during the winter months, has suffered owing to the 
war. The fish have also been very scarce during the - 
- past summer. Previous to the war, good prices were 
being obtained in the London markets, but the sale at 
remunerative prices is now almost impossible. A 
considerable trade has more recently been done in 
connection with a demand for preserving purposes 
“somewhere in England.’’ In the winter months, and 
until at least the beginning of March, the majority of 
the marketable ‘‘ whitebait’’ caught at Morecambe are 
nearly adult sprats. The range in length is from 
3+ to 44 inches. When the reproductive organs reach 
maturity the sprats migrate into deeper water to spawn, 
and the coastal fishery may then become unproductive. 
The reproductive organs of sprats caught at Morecambe 
reach maturity in February, and the adults soon after 
disappear. It apparently frequently happens that when 
the sprats leave the inshore waters to spawn, they are 
replaced by shoals of young herring from 24 to 42 inches 
in length. This invasion of young herring, if extensive 
and lasting, may prolong the ‘‘whitebait’”’ fishery 
throughout the summer months. Some of the samples 
of Morecambe ‘‘ whitebait’? examined during the past 
