-°>2 Part III. — Twenty-fourth Annual Report 



1 



Brill. 



Plaice. 



Common Dab. 



Long Rough 

 Dab. 



Thornback. 



L 

 II. 



7 



980 

 470 



107 

 330 



7 



9 



Total 



7 



1,450 



437 



7 



9 



The steamer then went to the Dornoch Firth, where some hauls were 

 taken on the usual ground. The catches here contrasted with those at 

 Burghead Bay in that round -fishes of marketable sizes were present, 

 though not in great numbers, but the small haddocks were still abundant. 

 The first drag, in 8 to 13 fathoms, which lasted for three hours and ten 

 minutes, yielded 2557 fishes, of which 188 were marketable and 2369 

 were unmarketable. There were 7 cod and 12 codling, all marketable, 

 and the haddocks numbered 2358, consisting of 88 which were market- 

 able and 2270 which were unmarketable. There were also 14 marketable 

 whiting, 1 coalfish, and 27 gurnards. The plaice numbered only 69, 51 

 of which were marketable, and the other flat-fishes comprised 14 lemon 

 dabs and 55 common dabs. 



The next haul, in from 6 to 10 fathoms, which lasted for three hours 

 and twenty minutes, yielded 1013 fishes, consisting of 227 marketable 

 and 786 unmarketable. The catch included 2 cod, 29 codling, 11 of 

 them marketable, 118 whiting, mostly small, and 14 gurnards. The 

 haddocks numbered 641, of which 59 were marketable and 582 unmarket- 

 able. The plaice comprised 143 marketable specimens and 39 unmarket- 

 able, and there were a few common dabs. 



In the two drags made in the Dornoch Firth and completely recorded, 

 the actual time of trawling being six hours and a half, the aggregate catch 

 was 3570 fishes, of which 415 were marketable and 3155 unmarketable. 

 The particulars as to the marketable and unmarketable of the different 

 species are as follows : — 





Cod. 



Codling. 



Haddock. 



Whiting. 



Coal-fish. 



II. 



Total 



9 



23 

 18 



147 



2,852 



26 

 106 



1 



9 



41 



2,999 



132 



1 





Gurnard. 



Plaice. 



Lemon 

 Dab. 



Common 

 Dab. 



Angler. 



I. 

 II. 



Total 



41 



194 



57 



6 

 8 



9 



72 



1 



41 



251 



14 



81 



1 



On leaving the Dornoch Firth the vessel steamed up the coast and 

 took some hauls off Lybster and Noss Head ; the weather was bad and 

 the catches poor, though a number of cod were obtained. In a haul for 

 three hours and twenty minutes off Lybster, in from about 18 to 30 

 fathoms, the total number of fishes caught was 356, of which 110 

 were marketable. There were 40 cod and 63 codling, all, except one, of 

 marketable size, but haddocks were scarce, only 28 being taken, and all of 



