16 



Part III. — Seventh Annual Report 



important that it has been necessary to incorporate it in special Eeports, 

 which will be found under Section B. Some of the results, however, 

 will be referred to in the concluding section of this "Report on the Trawling 

 Experiments. 



One branch of inquiry, closely associated with the trawling experi- 

 ments, concerns the capture and destruction of immature fish. A large 

 number of experimental observations have been made with a shrimp 

 trawl net, fixed to an 18-feet beam, in various parts of the Firth of Forth, 

 in order to test the relative distribution of small and large fish in different 

 areas. The general results are referred to below. In connection with, 

 the subject of the capture and destruction of immature fish, it has 

 been deemed desirable to test experimentally certain trawl-nets, placed 

 at our disposal, sjoecially designed to allow small fish to escape capture. 

 These have been tried in the Firth of Forth and St Andrews Bay, and 

 the results of the trials are described later on. 



The statistics which have been collected in regard to the productive- 

 ness of the territorial waters in the closed and open area, and the relative 

 quantities of fish landed in the various districts of the East Coast by 

 line fishermen and beam-trawlers, are fully discussed below. We have to 

 thank the fishery officers for much statistical and other information in 

 connection with the trawling experiments. In March 1889, the Fishery 

 Office in the Leith District was transferred from Leith to Newhaven; the 

 change has given greater facilities for information being obtained as to 

 the fishings in the Firth of Forth area, and we have to express our 

 indebtedness to Mr John Murray, the fishery officer there. 



II. THE WORK OF THE * GARLAND.' 

 1. The Firth of Forth. 

 Plate I 



The trawling experiments in the Firth of Forth during last year began in 

 June, and have since been continued at monthly intervals. Forty trawlings 

 were made at the stations in the closed area, and ten at those outside. The 

 Tables (almost entirely kept by Mr T. Scott) will be found at page 37. As a 

 general result, it is found that the great increase in the abundance of fish in 

 the Firth in 1887 has not been maintained in 1888. Thisappears tobelargely 

 due to the exceptional severity and stormy character of the weather during 

 last year; the trawling operations being frequently conducted under con- 

 siderable difficulties. 



Taking the total number of trawlings in the closed area in 1888, it is 

 found that the average number of fish of all kinds captured amounted to 

 211 per 'shot.' In 1887 the corresponding average was 351, and in 

 1886, 251. When these figures are compared with the averages for the 

 open area, it will be seen that the diminution has been very considerable 

 there also. In 1886, the average was 85; in 1887, 211; and in 1888, 

 151. The reduction in the average in the offshore waters is thus less 

 than in the Firth proper. In regard to the part taken by the flat-fish 

 and round-fish respectively in the general diminution, an examination of 

 the figures shows that there has been in the closed area a greater propor- 

 tional decrease of flat-fish than of round-fish, and this is still more marked 

 in the open waters. The figures are given in the following table : — 



Fiat-Fish. Round-Fish. 



( 1886, 112-8 . . . 131-8 

 Closed AreaJ 1887, 203-1 . . . 144-1 



( 1888, 117-0 . . . 92-1 



( 1886, 47-5 . . . 36-7 

 Open Area, { 1887, 89 8 . . . 123-4 



( 1888, 34-4 . . . 114-7 



