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Part III. — Seventeenth, Annual Report 



During the five years in which the hatchery has been in operation, a 

 total of 119,595,000 of plaice fry have been produced, together with 

 16,895,000 of various other species. The plaice, as will be seen, has 

 principally been dealt with, and although the number turned out is a fair 

 one for the size and capacity of the present establishment, it would 

 undoubtedly have been greatly increased if the anticipated local con- 

 veniences could have been utilised in due course. As was explained in 

 the Board's Report for last year, the Dunbar authorities withdrew their 

 grant for the use of some important sea-creeks adjoining the hatchery, 

 and the work has therefore had to be carried out under somewhat difficult 

 conditions. But, as the Board has lately selected a site, and partly 

 already erected a new station, at the Bay of Nigg, near Aberdeen, the 

 desired facilities may soon be obtained, and the hatching operations 

 carried on on a larger scale than hitherto. 



Sufficient time has not yet elapsed to allow of any conclusions being 

 drawn from the Loch Fyne experiments. 



The utility of sea-fish hatching, or the possibility of doing anything 

 artificially to increase the stock of food fishes within limited areas, has in 

 certain quarters been recently called in question on general grounds. It 

 is a problem, however, which can only be solved by systematic experiment 

 and trial, and it requires time, and also that the operations should be 

 conducted on a sufficiently extensive scale. 



The results of the hatching of cod in Norway are very encouraging. 

 The hatchery at Flodevig was established with the view of improving the 

 inshore fishery in the south of Norway, and its operations have hitherto 

 been confined to that area — to the fjords east of the Naze. It is there- 

 fore wrong to suppose, as has been done, that its work would have effect 

 along the whole Norwegian coast, and a considerable part of which, in 

 fact, is further away from the hatchery than the Scottish East Coast is. 

 But there is distinct evidence of its influence in raising the stock of cod 

 in the waters in which, or near which, the fry have been distributed. 

 This is shown by the statistics of the Society for the Promotion of the 

 Fisheries in the Christiania Fjord, within Drobak, which have been 

 published in their Reports. * 



The records extend over a period of twenty-seven years — from 1872 to 

 1898 inclusive — and the figures referring to the quantity of cod brought 

 to the market from this district in the various years are given below. 

 Fry of cod from the hatchery were distributed in the fjord for the first 

 time in 1892, and the operation has been continued since. The returns 

 for 1893, when results could first be looked for, have been grouped 

 together with those for the following years, thus forming one group of 

 six years. For comparison the returns for the previous years have also 

 been combined into similar groups, but the three years 1872-1874 have 

 been added to the first group, which thus represents nine years. 



The average catch of cod for the period 1872-1880 was 80,147. 



Do. do. 1881-1886 - 69,862. 



Do. do. 1887-1892 - 40,834. 



Do. do. 1893-1898 - 67,323. 



The decline in the fishery from 1872 to 1892 was very great — in fact, 

 it was reduced to about one-half of what it was. But the increase in the 

 following period, when fry were being distributed in the fjord, is also 

 remarkable, and it is reasonable to assume that this increase was due in 

 large measure to the distribution of the fry. 



* Beretning fra Selskabet til Fremme af Fiskerienir i Ghristiania—fjorden indenfor 

 Drobak, Cfa istiania. 



