of the Fishery Board for Scotland. 



41 



ghillie who marked those fish lost the particulars of each of them. The 

 labels were returned to me by the foreman of the net fishers at Bettyhill. 



Increa.se of Weight. 



Two Naver kelts, 3220 and 3225, were 8 lbs. in weight. Each was marked 

 in March and recaptured in July. Both were marked at Skelpick. The 

 former put on 5 lbs., the latter 11 lbs., in the four months. These two 

 cases furnish an excellent example of the variation which occurs. The 

 Deveron- marked fish, No. 549, has, like the latter of the two Naver fish 

 mentioned, put on 11 lbs., but it has taken six instead of four months to do 

 so. The greatest increase of the year is in No. 4457. This Ness fish was 

 8 lbs. when marked as a kelt at Dochfour on 27th February By 19th 

 August, when it was taken in one of the Cromarty nets of Messrs. G. 

 Paterson & Sons, it had attained the weight of 23 lb., an increase of 15 lb. 

 in practically 5| months (173 days). The length of the fish in its kelt 

 condition should be noted. A kelt of 35 inches should weigh about 12 lb. 

 It is more than likely, therefore that, when marked, the fish was in 

 specially poor condition, and had spent a considerable time as a kelt in 

 Loch Ness before dropping back into the river. It should be recollected 

 that our marking has repeatedly shown that kelts in fresh water lose 

 weight although they "mend " in general condition. The increase stated, 

 being for a fish of short period in the sea, is very remarkable. The more 

 usual increase for this interval of time is 6 to 7 lbs. 



There are also two or three fish which show the opposite extreme, either 

 very small increase or none at all. A really singular little fish is the 

 Borgie-marked kelt 2502. At time of marking it is recorded as only 

 2-jr lb., and was then, we may conclude, a lean grilse kelt. It is also a 

 male, and male grilse kelts are, in our experience, not easily found owing 

 to the rapidity with which they appear to leave fresh water. In 165 days 

 the fish was caught in the nets at the mouth of the Naver, a little salmon 

 of 5J lb. weight, 26 inches in length — a fish smaller than the average Tay 

 grilse. 



Another curious case was recovered only after the fish was exposed for 

 sale in a Glasgow fish-shop. This fish was marked in the Naver as a kelt 

 — presumably a grilse kelt — of 3 lb. It is noteworthy that again this 

 small fish is a male. In 176 days, when in the Glasgow fish-shop, it is 

 described as a clean grilse of 5 lb. 6 oz., but having already spawned, it 

 should have been described as a salmon. The place of capture could not be 

 determined. The case of the Helmsdale fish recaught on the coast of the 

 Spey District has already been mentioned. When recaptured the weight 

 was recorded as half a pound less than the kelt weight. By way of 

 extreme contrast these three short-period fish might be compared with the 

 Ness- Cromarty fish of exceptional increase. 



2^ lb. Borgie kelt in 165 days = 5j lb. fish. 



3 lb. Naver kelt in 176 „ = 5 lb. 6 oz. „ 



6 lb. Helmsdale kelt in 131 „ = 5| lb. 



8 lb. Ness kelt in 173 „ = 23 lb. 



Sea Trout. 



A sea trout recapture is reported from Loch Lomond district which, like 

 one or two others from the same neighbourhood, shows a singularly exact 

 homing tendency. The record is : — 



f 3-2 : 21 inches : M. : Unspent : 3 Nov. 1906 : Finglas Water. 

 \6-8 : 26 inches ; M. : Unspent : 26 Feb. 1909 : Finglas Water. 



