10 



Part III. — Fifteenth Annual Report 



7082 'shots ' of the long lines were made ; in 1895 the number was 

 7710 ; and in 1896, 11,915. The small boats in 1894 made 54,866 

 'shots'; in 1895 the number was 50,643; and in 1896, 48,346. 

 In the three years, therefore, ' shots ' of the great lines increased 

 by 4833, while the ' shots ' of the small lines diminished by 6520. 



An obvious feature in the table given above is that the great 

 bulk of the fish landed in each year within the whole area con- 

 sisted of haddocks, which made up about two-thirds of the catches, 

 and of cod. The quantity of flatfishes landed in each year was 

 small. In the three years together only twenty cwts. of turbot 

 were landed. The total quantity of all kinds of flatfishes landed 

 in the three years was as follows : 5736 cwts., or 2*6 per cent., of 

 the whole, in 1894 ; 6170 cwts., or 2*3 per cent., in 1895 ; and 4127 

 cwts., or 1*6 per cent., in 1896. On the other hand a marked in- 

 crease took place in the quantity of cod, and also, but to a lesser 

 extent, in haddocks : the increase in cod was common to almost 

 all the districts. The quantity of saithe also increased while that 

 of whiting diminished. 



The figures therefore indicate, for the most part, an increase 

 in the abundance of round-fishes caught by line within the closed 

 waters of the Moray Firth during the last three years, a result 

 that one would expect from the reservation of these waters to 

 line fishing. It is somewhat surprising that the quantity of flat- 

 fishes should have decreased. It would have been desirable to 

 compare the returns given above with the quantities of round-fish 

 and flat-fish caught in the Moray Firth before trawling was pro- 

 hibited, but there does not appear to be information available on 

 this point. 



The Hatching and Rearing of Food Fishes. 



In previous reports, detailed descriptions were given of the 

 methods and processes adopted at the Dunbar Hatchery in con- 

 nection with the artificial propagation of marine food fishes. Opera- 

 tions have been conducted for the most part with the valuable flat- 

 fishes, especially the plaice, but also the turbot, sole, and lemon sole, 

 and also on a lesser scale with certain round-fishes, such as the cod 

 and haddock. The number of the various species which have been 

 hatched and placed on the fishing grounds since the work was begun 

 are as follows : — 





Plaice. 



Cod. 



Lemon 

 Soles. 



Turbot. 



Others. 



Total, 



1894 



26,060,000 



500,000; 









26,560,000 



1895 



38,615,000 



2,760,000 



4,145,000 



3,800,000 



1,050,000 



50,370,000 



1896 



11,350,000 



750,000 



1,580/00 



1,360,000 



950,000 



15,990,000 





76,025,000 



4,010,000 



5,725,000 



5,160,000 



2,000.000 



92,920,000 



