of the Fishery Board for Scotland. 



57 



questions of great interest would in a few years be finally settled, and our 

 knowledge of the movements of fish would be considerably increased. 



The sea is ever changing, and its inhabitants, especially the shallow 

 water and surface forms, are more or less influenced by these changes. 

 Further, fish seem naturally to move to and fro, some wandering over 

 wide areas, while others are limited in their migrations. It may be 

 taken for granted that fish are less capricious and less migratory than has 

 been generally supposed — that, in fact, led by instinct or by experience, 

 they only change from one place to another when some good to the indi- 

 vidual or the species is likely to be gained. Hitherto the fishing boats 

 when in search of shoals have, like the fish, been steered more by instinct 

 than reason. Nevertheless, the experienced fishermen know most of the 

 resorts of fish at the different seasons, but their information requires to be 

 tabulated and tested. 



Taking for granted fish are abundant on a certain bank, many things 

 may prevent their being captured. In the first place, the fishermen may 

 fail to discover the particular bank. It was only in 1842 that the Silver 

 Pit was discovered, — the 'pit' where the sole and other flat fish con- 

 gregate in immense numbers in winter ; — yet this sheltered spot has pro- 

 bably served as the winter quarters of the sole for centuries. Again the 

 bottom feeders may be engaged spawning near the surface, or the surface 

 forms may be spawning at the bottom. The other day, e.g., of 56 cod 

 taken in a trawl off the May, there was only one female, the other females 

 of the shoal having either left for the off-shore spawning banks or taken to 

 swimming nearer the surface preparatory to shedding their ova. Again, 

 the take may be small owing to the bait used, the size of the nets, the 

 state of the tide, or the condition of the weather or sea. 



Apparently, both in St Andrews and Aberdeen Bays, the flat fish often 

 find the inshore ground so unpleasant during storms that they with 

 common consent move seawards. If the trawl is carried along a given 

 line one day when the sea is still, hundreds of flat fish may be readily 

 captured; but the same trawl, taken over the same ground some days later 

 when the sea is rough, may fail to secure a single fish. 



Having indicated some of the difficulties that must be taken into account 

 in collecting statistics of fish, we shall now direct attention to the 

 statistical tables given below. These tables show — (1) The takes of the 

 1 Garland ' in the three closed areas ; (2) The takes of the boats which 

 have been at work in the closed areas since December last ; (3) The takes 

 of a number of boats which kept a daily record of the fish captured ; and 

 (4) The takes of trawled as distinguished from net and line fish landed at 

 the fishing stations between Leith and Aberdeen. 



Although it is unnecessary in the meantime to examine critically these 

 tables, some of their more striking features may be referred to. By 

 turning to Table B, which gives a summary of the 1 Garland ' takes, it will 

 be first noticed that fish are apparently more abundant in the territorial 

 waters during the summer months than during October and November. 

 In the Firth of Forth the average number of fish taken during June, July, 

 and September amounts to 246, while the average for October and 

 November is only 118, or a little less than a half. In St Andrews Bay 

 and Aberdeen Bay the decrease in the average is still more remarkable ; 

 in the former the number falling from 239 to 82, or nearly one-third, in 

 the latter from 465 to 85, or somewhat more than one-fifth. Within the 

 period mentioned there is, however, considerable variation in the number 

 of fish captured, although on the whole it is wonderfully equal. The 

 largest takes appear to have been made in the months of June and July, 

 the quantity of fish for the months previous showing a tendency to 

 H 



