60 



Appendices to Second Annual Report 



Forth 6*78 per cent. The heaviest percentage is found in the Firth of 

 Tay ; but I am not prepared to say this is owing to the bag-nets, but 

 probably is due to the more confined waters creating a nearer approxima- 

 tion, and consequent mixture of the shoals of sprats and young herrings, 

 and this is borne out again by the Beauly Firth returns. 



Mr Keiach, Inspector of Fisheries, has ascertained for me that 30,000 

 sprats go to a cran, and has supplied me with the total take of so-called 

 sprats from the Firths of Forth and Tay, and the Moray Firth. 



The total quantity caught during last winter in the Firth of Tay 

 amounted to 14,966 crans, of which there were sold as manure 14,646 

 crans, and as fresh fish 320 crans. The percentage of herrings which I 

 found to be present in the Tay samples was over 21 percent.; of the 

 whole take then, we may conclude that 3075 crans, representing in numbers 

 92,250,000 young herring, were sold as manure, and 67 crans, equal to 

 more than 2,000,000 as fresh fish. 



The returns for the Moray Firth are 15,360 crans, 11,860 of which 

 were sold as fresh fish, and 3500 as bait. This is equivalent (including 

 the Beauly Firth, which is in this district) to 593 crans cr 17,790,000, 

 young herring sold fresh, and 175 crans, equal to 5,250,000 young 

 herrings sold for bait. 



The total take in the Firth of Forth amounts to 13,102 crans, 8790 of 

 which were sold as manure, and 4312 as fresh fish. The percentage of 

 young herrings taken here is over 6*7; so that 590 crans, containing 

 17,700,000 young herring, were sold as manure, and 290 crans, with 

 8,700,000 herring, were sold as fresh. 



This gives a total for the three firths of 143,690,000 young herring' 

 taken during the winter months, equalling, if allowed to reach maturity, 

 about 160,000 crans. 



EXPLANATION OF PLATE. 

 Fig. 1. — Outline of large Sprat 130 mm. long, full size. 



Fig. 1\ — Keeled scale of Sprat, seen from ventral surface, and slightly 



flattened, x 4. a, posterior point. 

 Fig. 2. — Outline of young Herring 130 mm. long, full size. 

 Fig. 2\ — Keeled scale from young Herring, seen from ventral surface, and 



slightly flattened, x 4. a, posterior point 

 Fig. 3. — Anterior end of swim-bladder, ducts, vesicles, &c. removed from 



head of Sprat, x 4. 



Fig. 4. — Anterior end of swim-bladder, ducts, vesicles, &c. removed from 



head of young Herring, x 4. 

 Fig. 5. — Optical longitudinal section of anterior end of swim-bladder and 



part of duct, &c, of Sprat, x 26, outer silvery coating removed. 

 Fig. 6. — Ova of Sprat (expressed in June 1884), nat. size. 

 Fig. 6 a . — Ova of Herring, nat. size. 



