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Part III. — Seventh Annual Report 



fishery officers, five, out of eighteen, were fully ripe on June 6 and 17, 

 and these were caught from 4 to 8 miles off the shore at Montrose. 

 On April 23 and 27, of twenty-two caught within 1J miles off Arran, 

 eleven were fully mature. 



It is apparent from these observations that the spawning period of the 

 common dab is later than that of the long rough dab, and that the 

 spawning largely occurs in the inshore waters. In the Firth of Forth 

 spawning appears to begin in March, and continues till the end of June. 

 It also appears that the common dab, like the long rough dab, spawns 

 chiefly in the waters close to the shore ; but there is not sufficient 

 information in regard to their condition in April, May and June, on on- 

 shore grounds, to say whether they spawn to any large extent there also. 



In regard to the distribution of the ripe fish in the waters of the 

 Firth of Forth, they were found at all the groups of stations, but 

 they were not so abundant at the inner group as at the stations situated 

 at the mouth of the Firth. Taking the totals of common dabs for the 

 year (ripe and unripe) it appears, that they are much more abundant 

 at the inner group of stations than at those at or beyond the mouth of 

 the Firth ; they also average about 2 inches longer at the inner group 

 of stations than at the outer. There can be little doubt, therefore, that, 

 as in the case of the long rough dab, the centre of distribution of the 

 common dab in the Forth is in the wide area east of Inchkeith. The 

 data in regard to the distribution of the ripe fish are, however, not 

 sufficient to warrant the apparent conclusion from the above facts, viz., 

 that at maturity the common dab migrates seawards to a greater extent 

 than does the long rough dab. 



Witch Sole (Pleuronectes cynoglossa). 



Of the 90 specimens examined, sixty-four were obtained by the 

 ' Garland ' in the Firth of Forth, and twenty-six by fishermen east of 

 May Island. Of the former none were found ripe in any month during 

 the year. In June 1888, two, and in August, three, were three-fourths 

 mature ; in February one was nearly mature. 



Only one of the witch soles was caught at the inner stations, all the 

 others being obtained at the mouth of the Firth. Of those caught east 

 of May Island two were nearly ripe and two quite ripe in September ; 

 all the others were immature. 



It appears from the rather slender data that the witch sole does not 

 spawn in the Forth, and that the spawning period is probably late in 

 the summer. 



Flounder {Pleuronectes flesus). 



Of 160 examined, eighty-five were obtained by the 'Garland' in the 

 Firth of Forth, twenty-two in St Andrews Bay, and two in Aberdeen 

 Bay ; fifty-one were examined by fishery officers. Those from the Firth 

 of Forth were all obtained during March, April, May and June 1889. 

 In March, of thirty- three examined, one was ripe, and thirteen were 

 nearly ripe. In April, four, out of twenty-one, were ripe, and eight 

 nearly ripe. In May, one, out of eleven, was ripe. In June, two, out 

 of fourteen, were ripe, and seven nearly mature. Of the twenty-two 

 caught in St Andrews Bay, seven, out of seventeen, were ripe in April, 

 and four nearly ripe ; in June, out of five, two were nearly ripe. One 

 of the two obtained in Aberdeen Bay in June was nearly ripe. Of the 

 fifty-one examined by fishery officers, six were ripe; five, out of ten, in 



