of the Fishery Board for Scotland. 25 



waters ; and the figures referring to these specie6 are considerable, as 

 shown in the accompanying Table :— 





No. of 

 Hauls. 



Plaice and 

 Lemon Soles 

 Caught. 



Dabs 

 Caught. 



lotal. 



1st Period — 











1886-90, - 



325 



29,869 



19,825 



49,694 



2nd Period — 











1891-95, - 



466 



28,044 



29,483 



57,527 





791 



57,913 



49,308 



107,221 



It will be observed that in the second period, while 141 more hauls of 

 the trawl were made within the closed waters than in the first period, 

 the number of plaice and lemon soles caught was less by nearly 2000, and 

 the number of dabs caught was greater by nearly 10,000. The same result 

 was found whether the whole year was contrasted in the two periods, 

 or^the cold months against the cold months, or the warm months against 

 the warm months. 



Six Cold Months : November — April. 





No. of 

 Hauls. 



Plaice and Lemon Soles. 



Dabs. 





No. 

 Caught. 



Average 



per 

 Haul. 



Per- 

 centage 

 of Total. 



No. 



Caught. 



Average 

 per 

 Haul. 



Per- 

 centage 

 of Total. 



1st Period — 



1886-90, 

 2nd Period— 

 1891—95, 



128 



238 



6346 

 8735 



49-6 

 367 



69-3 

 52-0 



2808 

 8066 



21-9 

 33-9 



30-7 

 48-0 





Six Warm Months : 



May— October. 







1st Period — 

 1886-90, 



2nd Period — 

 1891-95, 



197 



228 



23,523 

 19,309 



119-4 

 84-7 



58-0 

 47-4 



17,017 

 21,417 



86-3 

 93-9 



42-0 

 52-6 



The number and averages for each species show the same change — viz., 

 an increase in dabs, and a diminution in plaice and lemon soles ; — 



