SEA-FISHERIES LABORATORY. 137 
is best not to take the earlier figures). But it ought to include 
the minimum of about 1906 and the maximum of about 1910, 
and the third minimum of about 1915. As a matter of fact, 
the second minimum and the second maximum are indicated, 
just as in Captain Kccles’ figures, but, whereas we ought to 
have a third minimum about 1915, we have really a maximum. 
We take now, as a further comparison, the actual quantities 
of plaice landed at Morecambe, a typical inshore fishing port. 
Quantities of plaice (in cwts.) landed at Morecambe during 
the years 1908-1917. 
Groups of years Average quantities landed. 
1908-10 1,119 
1909-11 (maximum) 1,286 
1910-12 1,074 
1911-13 863 
1912-14 679 
1913-15 969 
1914-16 1,823 
1915-17 2,987 
Here, the quantities landed are “ smoothed,’ as before, 
by taking the averages of groups of three overlapping years. 
Again we see that the quantities are rising from a minimum 
(which was before the date of commencement of the Table), 
that there was a maximum in 1910, and that there ought (in 
comparison with the diagrams of pp. 134 and 135) to be a 
minimum in 1915, whereas the quantities landed in that year 
tend to a maximum. 
Thus the Tables of all wet fish and of plaice landed at the 
fishing ports show the same series of changes (so far as the 
figures go) as do the statistics of plaice caught on the Mersey 
trawling grounds. But there is this difference: the latter 
figures indicate that there was a minimum of abundance of 
plaice about the years 1915 or 1916, whereas the statistics 
K 
