54 



Appendices to Fifth Annual Report 



gurnards, cod and saith are also captured, and the fishermen from North 

 Berwick secure a considerable number of crabs and lobsters. 



Stations VIII. and IX. being very similar may be taken together. 

 They both lie to the east of the Bass Rock, and are about four and a half 

 miles long. ■ No. VIII. runs E.N.E., while No. IX. runs in a more 

 southerly direction, or E. by S. Both stations have an average depth of 

 from 18 to 20 fathoms, and the bottom consists chiefly of mud and stones. 



The bottom fauna consists chiefly of Echinoderms, Crustacea and 

 molluscs similar to those in the other stations. Station VIII. yields dabs, 

 gurnards, skate and ling, and at times numerous haddocks, while Station IX. 

 in addition, yielded a few cod and whiting when examined by the ' Garland.' 



Stations VIII. and IX. are very often visited by trawlers, the bottom 

 in the vicinity of these stations consists chiefly of sand and mud and is 

 fairly level. Further, these stations lie in the route to the trawling banks 

 situated from 15 to 30 miles E. and S.E. of the May, from which large 

 quantities of fish are annually captured. 



In St Andrews Bay as already mentioned there are five trawling 

 stations. Four of these as the chart (Plate 1) shows radiate from a point 

 near St Andrews towards the line (C, D), which indicates the outer 

 boundary of the restricted area, and the fifth runs parallel to, but some 

 distance beyond, the boundary line. 



The bottom of St Andrews Bay with the exception of the south shore 

 which is rocky, consists almost entirely of sand ; it slopes gently from the 

 beach in an easterly direction, until at the boundary line a depth of from 

 10 to 12 fathoms is reached. Outside the boundary the depth in the 

 vicinity of Station V. is from 12 to 14 fathoms. Into St Andrews Bay a 

 large volume of fresh water is constantly flowing from the Tay, but there 

 is no firth or estuary formed as in the Forth. When the Tay is in flood 

 the brownish coloured fresh water can be seen extending along the surface 

 towards Fifeness the point of which it often doubles to be carried 

 by the tide some distance into the Firth of Forth. Near the mouth of 

 the Tay where the fresh and salt water meet, there are large sand banks 

 with often irregular channels between them. These irregular banks 

 extend towards the mouth of the Eden, but from the Eden to St Andrews 

 the bottom beyond low water mark is nearly uniform. Beyond St 

 Andrews the shore consists chiefly of rocks which extend without any 

 large break to form an irregular belt from St Andrews to Fifeness, and 

 thence along the south shore of the Fifeshire coast as far as Elie Ness. 



The physical conditions of St Andrews Bay are thus entirely unlike 

 those of the Forth, and this being the case we naturally expect the fauna 

 to differ considerably. A complete account of the fauna of St Andrews 

 Bay during the different months of the year we have not had time to 

 prepare, but we trust with the help of Professor M'Intosh that a first list 

 will be ready for the next report. We, however, know already that the 

 rocky ground on the south shore is rich in molluscs, Crustacea, marine 

 worms, ccelenterates, &c, and that starfish and other echinoderms, edible, 

 swimmimg, and hermit crabs and other Crustacea are scattered in 

 abundance over the sandy bottom of the bay and especially that mussels 

 abound near the mouth of the Eden. Further swimming or pelagic forms 

 (including at certain seasons of the year schools of young fish, Crustacea, 

 and molluscs) teem in the surface and deeper waters. 



As is to be expected from the nature of the bottom, flat fish far out- 

 number round fish all over the bay. The flat fish are chiefly represented 

 by several kinds of dabs, by plaice, flounders, skate and brill, and at times 

 turbot, and in addition the bay is visited by haddock, whiting, cod, and 

 other round fish. 



