22 



Part III. — Eighteenth Annual Report 



as with the Firth of Clyde. Among flat-fishes the predominant species 

 are, as at the outer stations, witches and long rough dabs. Plaice, 

 although not abundant, are found in greater numbers than in the Firth 

 of Clyde ; cod are also more numerous in the loch, while whitings and 

 gurnards are less numerous. The general averages for flat-fishes, round- 

 fishes, and the total of all kinds in the various years are as follows : — 





1896. 



1897. 



• 



1898. 



■ 



1899. 



Flat-Fishes, 



70-5 



83-1 



81-4 



129-9 



Round-Fishes, - 



8-2 



9-8 



12-7 



14-1 



Totals, - 



81-1 



100-8 



101-9 



145-3 



As in the Firth of Clyde, witches and long rough dabs give an 

 increased average per haul of the net, and plaice do not show the same 

 diminution as at the outer stations. Inasmuch as the observations 

 hitherto made in the Clyde comprise a comparatively small number of 

 hauls, inferences as to changes in the relative abundance of the fishes 

 in the closed area must be provisional. 



The special statistics of the fish caught by line in the closed waters of 

 the Moray Firth and landed on the adjoining coast have been collected 

 for the past six years. The total quantities and the average weight per 

 " shot " of the lines for each year in the various districts around the 

 Moray Firth are as follows : — 





1894. 



1895. 



1896. 



1897. 



18 



)8. 



1899. 



District. 



























Cwts. 



Aver- 

 age. 



Cwts. 



Aver- 

 age. 



Cwts 



Aver- 

 age. 



Cwts. 



Aver- 

 age. 



Cwts. 



Aver- 

 age. 



Cwts. 



Aver- 

 age. 



Wick, 



Lybster, - 



Helmsdale, 



Cromarty, 



Findhorn, 



Buckie, - 



Banff, 



19,008 

 4,408 

 15,826 

 21,346 

 60,074 

 48,540 

 49,292 



2- 47 

 4-91 



3- 52 

 3*07 



4- 04 

 4*21 

 2-94 



23,009 

 3,977 

 16,669 

 19,193 

 68,761 

 50,489 

 76 491 



4-03 

 377 

 4-15 

 2-93 

 4-86 

 4*66 

 4-77 



31,556 

 4,241 

 18,360 

 15,317 

 63,521 

 57,450 

 66,471 



5-40 

 2*87 

 471 



2- 51 



4- 46 



5- 05 



3- 82 



44,258 

 7,118 

 17,148 

 14,736 

 46,694 

 50,067 

 61,329 



6-16 

 4*22 

 4-93 

 2-48 



2- 66 

 4-77 



3- 70 



31,383 

 4,438 

 13,143 

 12,428 

 30,770 

 41,102 

 36,057 



6-49 



3*26 



3*84 



2 065 



2-088 



4-24 



2-13 



26,116 



4,309 

 12,752 

 11,183 

 31,825 

 34,915 

 26,675 



5-106 

 1-398 

 3-85 

 1-815 



1- 957 

 3-357 



2- 406 



Total, 



218,494 



3-05 



258,589 



4-43 



256,916 



4-26 



241,350 



3-83 



169,321 



3-244 



1*7,775 



2-666 



These figures refer only to the fish caught by line within the closed 

 area and landed in the districts. The total quantities of line-caught 

 fish, taken from without as well as from within the closed waters, and 

 landed in each district in 1899 are as follows — the gross amount being 

 180,649 cwts., or 26,000 cwts. less than in the previous year: — 



Wick. 



Lybster. 



Helmsdale. 



Cromarty. 



Findhorn. 



Buckie. 



Banff. 



58,990 



4,309 



12,752 



11,183 



31,825 



34,915 



26,675 



Comparison of these totals with those given in the above Table shows 

 that a very large proportion of the line-caught fish landed in these 

 districts comes from the closed waters of the Moray Firth — namely, 

 147,775 cwts. out of the total of 180,649 cwts. In all the districts, 



