224 



Fart III. — Seventeenth Annual Report 



there are now only 10*2 per cent, of that size. Those over ten inches 

 have sunk from 65*9 to 29*6 per cent. ; 58*8 per cent, are under nine 

 inches, and 41*2 per cent, are over nine inches ; 36*6 per cent, are under 

 eight inches instead of 9*7 per cent, as in April. And now we find also 

 the very small gurnards, between three and five inches, figuring as an 

 important component of the shoals, of which they form 8 - l per cent. 

 Gurnards at eight inches were by far the most common in May (576) ; 

 the next most abundant were at six inches (438), and then seven inches 

 (303), and nine inches (300), ten inches (285), and eleven inches (220) ; 

 153 measured five inches, and sixty-one four inches. 



In June the young gurnards continue to augumeut in numbers. Those 

 measuring nine inches or over, the adults, form only 39 "5 per cent, of the 

 shoals, while those under nine inches have increased to 60*5 per cent. 

 The larger forms, at or over twelve inches, have sunk to 7 '8 per cent., and 

 those at or over ten inches to 22 - 2 per cent. On the other hand, 

 gurnards under eight inches in length have increased to 43'3 per cent, of 

 the totals ; but the very small ones, between three and five inches in 

 length, have slightly diminished, and form now i-1 per cent, of the shoals. 

 Thus it would be erroneous to assume that the inshore migration of the 

 gurnard is solely in connexion with reproduction, for in June, the month 

 in which spawning chiefly takes place, the shoals are composed for the most 

 part of immature forms. The proportion of those under nine inches is the 

 highest for the year ; the proportion of those under eight inches is only 

 exceeded slightly in July and in September. The most common size of 

 the gurnards in June was seven inches; of these 448 were caught. The 

 next most common sizes were eight and nine inches. 



In July the total, or average per shot, continues to diminish (Table I)., 

 but the adult gurnards are rather more numerous ; and this increase in the 

 proportion of adult (and probably spawning) gurnards becomes much 

 more pronounced in August. The proportion of adults — those over nine 

 inches — in July rises to 41*4 per cent., an increase of 2 per cent. ; but the 

 increase of the larger forms is more marked, those over ten inches rising 

 to 30'3 per cent., an increase of 8, and those over twelve inches rising to 

 14*4 per cent., or very nearly double the proportion in June. The 

 gurnards under nine inches form 58*6 per cent., those under eight inches 

 45*3 per cent., and those between four and five inches show a great 

 increase to 21 "2 percent. The feature of the month is the increase in 

 the abundance of very small gurnards and of the larger adults, and a 

 diminution of the medium-sized, from seven to ten inches in length. 



