of the Fishery Board for Scotland. 183 



i 



as to the life-history and habits of the food-fishes. For example, the idea 

 is widespread and general among fishermen, and it has been supported 

 sometimes by fishery experts, such as the late Mr Buckland, that most 

 ripe fish seek the shallow waters of estuaries and bays for the purpose 

 of depositing their spawn. This notion, which has exercised considerable 

 influence in shaping the course of fishery regulations, is apparently de- 

 pendent chiefly on the fact that the fry are found in abundance in the 

 shallow waters ; the assumption being that where the fry are found the 

 spawn was deposited. As will be shown in detail below, the scientific 

 evidence recently obtained leads to a very different conclusion. 



In order to determine these and other important matters, I was 

 requested by Professor Ewart, early in last summer, to prepare and put 

 in operation a scheme for their systematic investigation. The scheme 

 embraces the following points in relation to all the marine food-fishes : — 



1. The nature of the food at different periods of the year. 



2. The place, time, and duration of spawning. 



3. The minimum size of each kind of fish on reaching maturity. 



4. The numerical proportions of the sexes and their relative sizes 

 at different seasons. 



5. Their migrations throughout the year. 



The form which was drawn up for the collection of data under the 

 first four heads is shown at p. 184; and since the scheme was begun 

 upwards of 6000 fish, comprising over 30 species have been methodi- 

 cally examined ; the results being given in the following Reports. Most 

 of the fish were examined on board the ' Garland ' by Mr Thomas Scott, 

 who has devoted great care and assiduity to the work ; some were 

 examined at St Andrews' Marine Laboratory by Mr W. L. Calderwood, 

 and others by Mr Peter Jamieson at the Natural History Department of 

 the University of Edinburgh. The observations made by Mr Calderwood 

 and Mr Jamieson were upon fish obtained from fishmongers ; and hence, 

 although precision in regard to the locality of capture was always care- 

 fully sought for, there is not the same certitude in this respect as in the 

 case of the fish obtained by the ' Garland ' during the ordinary trawling 

 operations and in the prosecution of the experiments on bait, where the 

 locality and the physical and other conditions of capture were carefully 

 recorded. 



With the view of obtaining similar information regarding the fish 

 captured in the inshore and offshore waters along the greater part of the 

 East Coast, and especially at the great fishing banks and grounds, it was 

 decided to send Mr Thomas Scott to accompany the trawlers working in 

 these districts. Mr James Johnston of Montrose, a member of the 

 Fishery Board, who has most cordially co-operated with the Scientific 

 Department in their investigations, kindly granted every facility for the 

 purpose, and Mr Scott's investigations have been carried on on board the 

 ' Southesk ' and other steam trawlers belonging to Mr Johnston's firm. 

 A summary of these important and interesting observations is given 

 at p. 171. Tow-netting in the surface, subsurface, and bottom waters 

 was constantly carried on. 



It would be of the greatest importance if regular investigations similar 

 to those carried on on board the ' Garland,' could be conducted in the off- 

 shore fishing grounds, lying from 10 to 50 miles from shore. It appears 

 to be on these banks that the majority of the important economic fishes 

 congregate for spawning. The further and longer the work is carried on 

 in the inshore waters, the more apparent does it become, that many results 



