MARINE BIOLOGICAL STATION AT PORT ERIN. 69 



The local spring cod fishery was an almost complete 

 failure this year. The exceptionally stormy weather 

 which prevailed during the first three months of the year 

 was undoubtedly the principal cause of this failure ; but 

 the fishermen say that the fish are later in arriving on the 

 grounds than formerly, and the growing scarcity of whelks 

 for bait is becoming an additional difficulty. 



In my assistant's " Notes on the Fisheries of Port 

 Erin," which appear on page 53 of last year's Annual 

 Report, it is stated that fresh fish is used as bait for 

 lobster, and stale or salt fish for crabs. This is an error 

 into which I fell in transcribing the notes, and now desire 

 to correct. The stale or salt fish is used for lobsters, the 

 fresh fish for crabs. 



Mr. P. Xevill, engineer to the Isle of Man Harbour 

 Board, had an interesting experience on June 24th. In a 

 letter to me, he says : " Yesterday I was diving at Ramsey 

 Queen's Pier, and went down through a shoal of herring, 

 all about the same size — 7^ inches long. They travelled 

 very slowly. Northwards I saw a school of hake, also 

 going slowly ; size 2 feet to 3 feet 6 inches. The herrings 

 were from 2 feet above the bottom to 10 feet above. The 

 hake about 10 feet above. Depth of water, 26 feet." 



A great improvement in the condition of the 

 aquarium has taken place during the year. The noxious 

 emanations from the concrete of which the tanks are built 

 seem to have entirely disappeared, and the tanks are now 

 thoroughly seasoned. Algae, and such organisms as the 

 Scyphistoma stage of Aurelia, Membranipora, Spirorbis, 

 Balanus and Eolis, have appeared spontaneously in them, 

 and the rate of mortality amongst the fishes and inverte- 

 brates is quite insignificant. 



Eleven thousand seven hundred visitors have paid for 

 admission since January 1st, and the institution has at 



