6 



Part TIT. — Twenty -fourth Annual Report 



one of the poorest on record, the shortage on the previous year's 

 catch, which was much below the average, amounting to 3160 

 crans in quantity and £6243 in value. The work has been done 

 as far as was possible by the use of fishing boats and the hire of a 

 small yacht for monthly observations within the loch itself, and 

 this had to be interrupted during the winter. 



The investigations into the condition of the fishing-grounds in 

 the Moray Firth were made as far as possible by the use of 

 commercial trawlers, without expense, as referred to more fully 

 below, and the observations on the growth, reproduction, and distri- 

 bution of the edible fishes continued as in the last few years, as 

 well as those on the destruction and capture of immature and 

 undersized fishes. Owing to the unfortunate stranding of one of 

 these vessels in Aberdeen Bay last December, while engaged in 

 procuring plaice for the hatchery-ponds, and the loss of life 

 occasioned thereby, the Board have thought it right to refrain from 

 making use of such vessels for inshore work in future. 



As mentioned later, the Board has been pleased with the favour- 

 able response of seaboard County Councils to their invitation 

 to send fishermen to the Marine Laboratory and Hatchery at 

 Aberdeen for a week's instruction, each spring, in the life- history 

 of fishes, and they hope that the facilities offered may be still 

 further taken advantage of. 



Trawling Investigations. 



During the last few years, since the Garland was disposed of, 

 the fishing grounds in certain parts of the territorial waters, 

 especially in the Moray Firth and Aberdeen Bay, have been 

 examined from time to time by means of commercial steam - 

 trawlers, whose services were obtained without expense, partly 

 with the view of ascertaining their condition and partly for the 

 purpose of scientific research on the reproduction, growth, and 

 distribution of fishes, and the capture of immature or undersized 

 fish. A number of papers embodying the results of this work have 

 already been published in previous Annual Eeports. In the present 

 Report there are two containing further observations by Dr. 

 Fulton, one on the growth of fishes, referred to later, and the 

 other furnishing an account of the trawling experiments last year, 

 with detailed tables of the fish captured and the proportions which 

 were unmarketable. 



The more important areas in the Moray Firth were visited in 

 February, September, October, and November, and the grounds in 

 Aberdeen Bay w T ere also examined in March. The aggregate 

 quantity of fish brought to the market in the various trips was 

 388J cwts., and the total number of fishes caught in the recorded 

 hauls was 71,982, of which 41,444, or over 59 per cent., were 

 unmarketable. 



On most of the occasions marketable fish were by no means 

 plentiful, and the voyages were not very profitable financially. 

 This was particularly noteworthy in the Moray Firth in the 

 autumn months, at which time the vessels working on the offshore 

 grounds in the North Sea were much more successful. Haddocks 



