SEA-FISHERIES LABORATORY. 201 



ON "WHITEBAIT" COLLECTED IN MENAI 

 STRAIT. 



By Andrew Scott, A.L.S. 



A number of samples of "whitebait" caught in the 

 weir at Gorad Coch, near the Swillies in Menai Strait, 

 between Anglesey and the mainland, were sent to me for 

 examination in 1914 by Captain Robert Jones, the head 

 fishery officer for that district. The collection lasted for 

 seven months, from March to September, and samples were 

 taken as the fish made their appearance. In some 

 months two samples were taken, in others only one. 

 Altogether ten samples were investigated. It was 

 anticipated that some useful information would be 

 obtained relating to the species of fish included under the 

 general name "whitebait," and would settle the question 

 whether young herring occur amongst the mixture. The 

 results are satisfactory in so far that they show that the 

 whitebait from Gorad Coch are young clupeoid fish, such 

 as sprats and herring, and that young herring 35 to 67 

 millimetres in length are frequently present. In all 

 probability the herring are hatched in spawning areas at 

 the sea-bottom in some of the bays adjacent to the 

 openings into the Strait. Many more samples will require 

 to be dealt with to determine the frequency of their 

 occurrence, and a careful investigation of the sea-bottom 

 in Carnarvon and Beaumaris Bays would have to be made 

 to find out if herring spawning takes place in these areas. 



There is considerable difficulty in determining 

 whether the smaller fish, of about 43 millimetres in Length 

 and under, arc young herring or sonic other young 

 clupeoid. They arc scaleless and almost transparent. 

 The position of the dorsal fin in relation lo the pelvics is 



