of the Fishery Board for Scotland. 



233 



June and July it is shorter, so that one may look to the period when the 

 swarms of young gurnards appear as about the middle of June or a little 

 later. 



The gurnard reaches maturity at a minimum length of about 8 to 8| 

 inches, say, 20cm. to 22cm. Thus, in 201 which were fully mature, the 

 smallest of the 17 males which were ripe measured 11 inches, and the 

 smallest of the 184 females was 8| inches. Of 49 males which were 

 nearly mature the smallest was 9 inches, and of 273 females of the same 

 class the smallest was 8| inches. 



Among 601 gurnards which were about half to three-parts mature, the 

 smallest of the 172 males was 7| inches, and the smallest of the 429 

 females was 8 inches. 



While gurnards may be mature at the sizes stated, it must be remem- 

 bered that they are the minimum sizes, and represent only the smallest 

 fishes of the group which first reaches maturity. They may spawn in 

 their third year, as I stated in my former paper as the probable age of 

 first-maturity, but it is possible that they may not spawn till a year later, 

 at least the female fishes, when the average size is somewhat larger. 



Owing to the unusually prolonged spawning season, and the fact that 

 it begins at a time when the temperature of the water has commenced to 

 rise and ends when the temperature has fallen, one might expect that 

 the young gurnards from the same spawning will show much difference 

 in size. 



Those which have been hatched at the commencement of the season, 

 say in April or early in May, meet with a rising temperature and have the 

 whole of the summer, the period most favourable for growth ; while those 

 hatched in September or October meet with a rapidly falling temperature 

 and the winter period, which is as a rule unfavourable to growth. 



Thus we find in September, in the tow-nets, gurnards as small as 5mm. 

 to 6mm., that is to say, not very long hatched, and in October they may 

 be 12mm. and 20mm. 



I have made a Table of the post-larval and young gurnards obtained 

 over a series of years, both in tow-nets and small-meshed trawl nets, 

 which is appended. Almost all below about 30mm. were got by tow- 

 nets, and most of those larger by the trawls. The places from which the 

 collections came were Aberdeen Bay (A.), the Moray Firth (M.F.), Firth 

 of Forth (F.), the Clyde (C). 



| Table. 



