SEA-FISHERIES LABORATORY. 209 



planting work in 1905, 3,272 bags, or over 240 tons of 

 undersized mussels were removed to the " Ringhole." 

 " Whelk Hill " is another valuable skear. The " Old 

 Gunnel," on the North side of " Heysham Flat," is a 

 deep water mussel bed that never comes adry. The 

 " Great Gunnel " and " Little Gunnel," separated from 

 each other at low water by " Little Out-skear," are narrow 

 water-ways leading between Morecambe Channel and 

 Heysham Lake. " Little Out-skear " is a small but im- 

 portant bed, and close to it is another little mussel skear 

 known as " Cockup." The bottoms of the two gunnels 

 are also covered with mussels. The outer portion of the 

 Heysham beds forms a continuous bank over a mile in 

 length, by about a quarter of a mile wide at the shore 

 end and tapering off as it reaches the channel. It is 

 known by the names of " Great Out-skear," " Bank Side 

 Skear," and " Jacky John Skear," the latter being the 

 end of the whole series of mussel beds. " Bank Side " and 

 " Great Out-skear " were found to be covered with 

 mussels about a year old, when visited in June, 1905. 

 " Low Skear " is a valuable bed situated at the bottom of 

 Grange Channel. " Walmsley Skear " outside " Heysham 

 Flat," was formerly a mussel bed, but is now smothered 

 with sand. " Patrick Skear " in Heysham Lake is 

 another small but productive bed, and is covered with 

 large sand knaars. " Lake Skear," below the entrance 

 to the Harbour at Heysham, is occasionally fished when 

 the weather permits. 



Special Notes on the Skears. 



The above Skears may be divided into two sets. 

 (1) Those that ebb dry at low water of an ordinary spring 

 tide : — Stone Skear, Baiting Knott, Reap Skear, Old 

 Skear, Heysham Flat, Knott End, Little Out-skear, Great 



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