of the Fishery Board for Scotland. 



27 



The quantity of fish, as returned by the officer, which was landed at 

 the market, as the result of twelve hauls and forty-one hours and fifty- 

 five minutes actual trawling, was 47 cwts., as follows : — 



Cod. Codling. Ling. Turbot. Halibut. Lemon Dab. Plaice. Dabs. Skate. 

 17£ 8 | i | | 161 2 2 



in. 



The next series of trawlings was made by the steam trawler " Star of 

 the Ocean " in the Moray" Firth at the end of September and the 

 beginning of October, and the trip was not a very productive one. Fairly 

 good catches of plaice were obtained in the Dornoch Firth and at 

 Burghead Bay, but they were mostly small, and marketable haddocks 

 were scarce. On the other hand, small haddocks, too small to be 

 marketable, were very abundant, and the same was the case with small 

 unmarketable plaice. 



The first place visited was Burghead Bay, where a haul was taken on 

 28th September for two hours and five minutes, in from 5 to 12 fathoms 

 of water. The number of fishes caught was 2470, of which 803 were 

 marketable and 1667 unmarketable. Haddocks and plaice were most 

 abundant. The number of haddocks taken was 1423, but only 73, 

 which were of medium size, were marketable, the other 1350 being too 

 small for market. Of a total of 738 plaice, all but 16 were marketable, 

 but by far the greater proportion were small, viz., 711. Among the 

 other flat-fishes were 2 brill, a lemon dab, and 208 common dabs. 



The vessel then steamed to the Dornoch Firth, where a number of 

 hauls were made off Dunrobin Castle. The first, in from 5 to 15 fathoms, 

 lasted for four hours and five minutes, the total number of fishes taken 

 being 2909. Most of them were unmarketable, viz., 1994, while the 

 other 915 were marketable. The catch consisted mostly of plaice and 

 small haddocks. The plaice numbered 2095, of which 828 were market- 

 able and 1267 unmarketable. The former consisted of 23 large, 30 

 medium, and 775 small. Among the flat-fishes were fourteen lemon dabs 

 and 1 witch. All the haddocks taken, 549 in number, were too small 

 to be marketable ; all the 52 whitings caught were also unmarketable. 

 The catch included 19 cod, 57 codling, 11 of which were unmarketable, 

 51 gurnards, and a number of dabs. The next drag, which was for four 

 hours in much the same depth of water, yielded 814 marketable and 630 

 unmarketable fishes, a total of 1444. The haddocks numbered 424, all 

 but 24 being unmarketable. There were 967 plaice, of which 215 were 

 unmarketable, and 12 lemon dabs. Rather an unusual feature was the 

 presence of 19 mackerel among the other fishes. It is not very uncom- 

 mon for an odd mackerel to be taken in the course of these trawlings, but 

 rarely so many are captured. The next haul, in from about 6£ to 15 

 fathoms, and which lasted two hours and fifty-five minutes, yielded the 

 large total of 4833 fishes, 1172 being marketable and 3661 unmarketable. 

 Haddocks were very numerous, the total being 2291, but only 36 of 

 these were marketable ; all the rest were thrown overboard. The only 

 other round-fishes present were 3 codling, 1 whiting, and 63 gurnards. 

 Plaice were even more numerous than the haddocks, the total number 

 being 2465, and 1123 of them were marketable and 1342 unmarketable: 

 of the former 7 were large, 86 medium, and 1030 small. A mackerel was 

 taken in this catch and also five lemon dabs. 



In the next drag, in from 6 to 15 fathoms, which lasted four hours and 

 five minutes, the large total of 6447 fishes were caught, 1559 being 

 marketable and no less than 4888 unmarketable. Plaice were most 



