42 



Part III. — Twenty-second Annual Report 



was 140*5 per hour. The numbers of the marketable and unmarketable, 

 and the totals, are as follow : — 





Cod. 



Codling. 



Haddock. 



Whit- 

 ing. 



Plaice 



Common 

 Dab. 



Brill. 



Lemon 

 Dab. 



I. 

 II. 



Total 



24 



78 

 31 



3,253 

 485 



10 



4 



7,373 

 1,948 



129 

 746 



25 



15 



3 



24 



109 



3,738 



14 



9,321 



875 



25 



18 





Halibut. 



Megrim. 



Long 

 Rough 

 Dab. 



Gur- 

 nard. 



Grey 

 Skate. 



Thorn- 

 back. 



Sandy 

 Ray. 



Angler. 



I. 

 II. 



Total 



1 



2 



6 



213 



1 



8 

 35 



3 



11 



1 



2 



6 



213 



1 



43 



3 



11 



Among the haddocks the proportion of large and medium was con- 

 siderable, and much above what it was on many previous occasions ; 

 medium plaice were also well represented. The following figures give 

 the average number of each class taken per hour's fishing : — 



First. Second. Third. Fourth. Unmarketable. 



Haddock, 24 '6 24-6 33-3 39 '6 18-2 



Plaice, 1-1 43-4 137*6 95 0 73*2 



In the Dornoch Firth three hauls were also made with the small- 

 meshed net around the cod-end, in from four and a half to twelve 

 fathoms, the time occupied in fishing being three hours and fifty minutes. 

 The number of fishes taken in both nets amounted to 11,590, the great 

 majority having passed through the meshes of the cod-end. They 

 belonged to eleven species, as follows : — 



Plaice, - 



- 327 



Gurnard, - 



4 



Brill, - 



1 



Sprat, 



9351 



Common Dab, 



- 28 



Herring, - 



1407 



Cod, - 



4 



Sand-eel, - 



3 



Haddock, 

 Whiting, 



- 23 



Thornback Ray, 



1 



- 441 





Most of the sprats were taken in one haul, viz. 5477, and most of the 

 herrings in another, 1297. 



On leaving the Dornoch Firth the vessel returned to Burghead Bay, 

 where other three drags were made in from five to ten fathoms, a fresh 

 breeze blowing from the south, and a considerable number of plaice were 

 taken. The hauls were also remarkable for the large number of brill 

 captured, the three drags yielding in succession thirty-six, forty-three, 

 and fifteen — a total of ninety-four. Seven turbots were also caught. 

 The aggregate number of fishes secured in the three drags, the time of 

 actual fishing being fourteen hours, was 5367, an average^ per hour of 

 383*4. The marketable fishes numbered 3817, with an average per hour 

 of 272*6, and the unmarketable 1550, with an hourly average of 110*7. 

 These averages are under those for the fishing in the same place a few 



