SEA-FISHERIES LABORATORY. 89 



of Mr. W. Birtwistle, who was appointed as Naturalist in the 

 summer of 1920. Weekly samples of plaice were obtained 

 from the various fishing grounds during the period June- 

 December, 1920, and were sent to the Fisheries Laboratory 

 at Liverpool, and the usual length measurements were made 

 on board the vessel when fishing. In this way records of the 

 lengths, when caught, of some 26,030 plaice were obtamed on the 

 fishing grounds, and detailed records of the length, sex, stage 

 of maturity, weight, condition and food of about 6,000 plaice were 

 made in the laboratory. Mr. Birtwistle and Mr. R. A. Fleming, 

 Technical Assistant in the Oceanography Department, carried 

 out these investigations. The work is tedious and uninteresting 

 because of its routine nature, but sincerity and accuracy in doing 

 it is essential if it is to have value. I am satisfied that 

 invariable care and scientific accuracy characterised the 

 mvestigation. 



Another arrangement was made between the Ministry and 

 Department of Oceanography with respect to the same research, 

 and a sum of money was paid to the University for this purpose. 

 Two " ichthyometric assistants," Mr. W. C. Smith and 

 Commander A. E. Ruxton, were transferred from the Ministry's 

 staff and were paid out of the sum granted. These workers 

 went to sea in steam- trawlers, smacks and small boats and 

 made observations and measurements of the fish caught in the 

 ordinary routine of commercial trawling. In this way very 

 valuable data were obtamed from grounds unworked by the 

 "James Fletcher " —the offshore regions between Lancashire 

 and Isle of Man and the northerly grounds between the Island 

 and the Solway Firth. The fish studied was the plaice, but I 

 have gone over the records made by the measurers and have 

 extracted the measurements of soles caught by the smacks. 

 These are interesting since they form the first extensive series 

 of observations on the characteristic lengths of soles caught 

 offshore in the Irish Sea. I hope it may be possible to resume 



