of the Fishery Board for Scotland. 



253 



by drift nets in the neighbourhood of Skate Island, at the mouth of the 

 loch, and the food consisted almost entirely of Nyctiphanes, a series of 

 tow-nettings was made from the " Garland," which showed that this 

 form was quite absent from the stratum above fifty fathoms ; at fifty 

 fathoms a few were caught, while the tow-net fishing at 70 fathoms 

 brought up about a quart. The irregularity of the catches is partly 

 accounted for in this way, small shoals feeding near the bottom in deep 

 water, beyond the reach of drift or seine, and then moving up towards 

 the surface. In experiments which were made from the " Garland " in 

 the deepest water in Loch Fyne, by sinking a large trap, constructed on 

 the principle of a crab-pot, to the bottom, herrings were procured from 

 a depth of 107 fathoms, or 642 feet. The depth of the water in Loch 

 Fyne below the stratum in which the herring nets can be worked, and 

 the abundance of food materia] in the deepest layers (which are 

 frequented by the herrings), no doubt partly account for the [main- 

 tenance from season to season of a considerable fishery there, notwith- 

 standing the extensive fishing operations that are carried on. In other 

 lochs on the west coast the fluctuations are far greater and are sometimes 

 phenomenal. 



The examination of the reproductive organs also emphasised the 

 importance of the loch as a feeding ground and the mixture of herrings 

 of different degrees of maturity, drawn, no doubt, from many quarters 

 in the neighbouring seas. The great majority were immature, with 

 developing milt or roe, extremely few ripe herrings being found, and 

 these for the most part males. Although it is known that some herrings 

 spawn in Loch Fyne in July and August and later in the year, it is 

 evident that the great bulk of the shoals leave the loch and spawn 

 outside, probably to a large extent in comparatively deep water in 

 Kilbrennan Sound. It is generally believed by Loch Fyne fishermen 

 that Ballantrae Bank forms a spawning ground for the herrings that 

 frequent the loch, but the evidence in favour of this view is far from 

 conclusive. It was also found that the degree of maturity of the repro- 

 ductive organs varied very greatly among herrings of about the same 

 size, and caught at the same period and place. The following^are a few 

 examples : — 



Length in 

 Inches. 



Weight, 

 grammes. 



Weight of Roe, 

 grammes. 



Condition of Eggs. 



11-6 



240-8 



58-6 



Almost ripe. 



11-5 



218-4 



4-5 



Quite immature. 



10-0 



131-8 



10-0 



Half developed. 



12-3 



292-3 



9-4 



Immature. 



13-5 



340-0 



73-8 



Ripe. 



10-7 



179-9 



30-2 



Almost ripe. 



10-6 



175-0 



1-3 



Immature. 



The loch is thus a great feeding place for diverse, more or less mixed, 

 shoals, comprising herrings of all sizes from a little over an inch to over 

 thirteen inches in length, which must reach maturity and spawn at a 

 different period of the year. This mixed quality of the herrings was 

 frequently shown in examining the catches taken by the nets. In all 

 cases considerable range of sizes was found amongst those taken in the 

 same haul, although the degree of admixture varied, Sometimes almost 



