of the fishery Board for Scotland. 



07 



On the Spawning Periods of the Food Fishes. 



Fulton * has described the spawning periods of a number of fishes as 

 regards the East Coast of Scotland. It is interesting here to find how 

 far the West Coast agrees with the conditions of the East Coast. For 

 this purpose a comparison may be made between Fulton's observations and 

 the data, so far as they are applicable, supplied by the work in Loch Fyne. 



Plaice. The spawning of the plaice, according to Fulton, from the 

 examination of the fish, commences about the end of January, and con- 

 tinues through February and a part of March. The only ripe plaice 

 captured in January by the " Garland " were taken on Smith Bank 

 (Moray Firth). Fulton, referring to this fact, mentions that this fish 

 seems to spawn earlier on the North Coast than further south. 

 Masterman,f from a consideration of the published lists of eggs captured 

 by the " Garland," fixed the spawning period of the plaice as extending 

 from the beginning of February to about the 20th of May, with a 

 maximum in mid-March. 



In Loch Fyne no plaice eggs were found up to February 19th ; but 

 between the 14th and 19th of March a considerable number were found 

 there. In April (11th to 19th) they were most abundant. They were 

 still present in May, and in June the five stations furnished four eggs. 

 Plaice eggs did not after that date appear in the tow-net collections. So 

 far as the year 1898 is concerned, then, the spawning period of the plaice 

 is later in Loch Fyne than on the East Coast. 



Cod. A spawning period from the end of February to the end of 

 May, chiefly March and April, is given by Fulton for this fish. Master- 

 man substantially agrees with this. 



Two eggs of cod were captured on February 19th in Loch Fyne. In the 

 following month the eggs were very common, and in April were extremely 

 abundant. Twenty-eight days later, viz., May 9th-14th, the numbers had 

 diminished by one-half. A fair number was captured in June ; in July 

 one or two examples were found in the loch. As regards this species, 

 the spawning periods on the East Coast and in Loch Fyne correspond 

 almost exactly. 



Haddock. The haddock spawns on the East Coast from the end of 

 January to the end of April or beginning of May (Fulton). In the Firth 

 of Forth this egg has been obtained as late as June 13th (Masterman). 



The month during which the eggs of this fish are most common in 

 Loch Fyne is March. " In April and May they are still present in con- 

 siderable numbers. Spawning was continued into June. On January 

 20th, an egg which appeared to belong to this species was found on 

 Station II. It was, however, only in February that they appeared in 

 appreciable quantity. For Loch Fyne the spawning period appears to 

 extend from the middle of February till the middle of June. 



Whiting. The eggs of this fish appeared in February, were present in 

 March, and reached their greatest abundance in April. In May the 

 quantity equalled about half that of the previous month. In Julv and 

 August the eggs were also captured. The spawning period apparently lasted, 

 then, in 1898 from February till August. For the East Coast the spawn- 

 ing period is from early March to the third week of August, chiefly 

 April (Fulton); a period which agrees closely with that of Loch Fyne. 



Saithe. First appearing in February, they were found up till June. 

 One or two eggs captured in July and August were also referred to this 

 fish. 



* " The Spawning and Spawning Places of Marine Food Fishes": Eighth Annual 

 Report Fishery Board for Scotland, Part III., p. 257 ; "Observations on the Reproduction, 

 Maturity, and Sexual Relations of the Food Fishes " : Tenth A nnual Report, Ibid, p. 232. 



t " A Review of the Work of the ' Garland' in connection with the Pelagic Eggs of the 

 Food Fishes" (from the Firth of Forth). Fifteenth Annual Report, Ibid p. 219. 



