200 



Part III. — Fifteenth Annual Report 



the specimens in the laboratory at and above 4J inches being from the 

 hooks of the liners. It is probable that others will extend on each side 

 of these limits. The long ray (second) of the ventral fin is still prom- 

 inent. The growth of the haddock is thus rapid, — more rapid than at 

 first sight it would seem. 



In September the specimens from the hooks range from 5 (PI. V. fig. 

 6) to 6 1 inches, and this agrees with what Yarrell,* formerly mentioned, 

 viz., that the haddock spawns in February and March, and the young are 

 6 inches long in the beginning of September. Only 4 between 6 and 10 

 inches in length were obtained by Dr Fulton in May, July, September, 

 and October, while 345 smaller and 155 larger examples were got during 

 the same months. Most of those under 5 inches in length were captured 

 in September at the mouth of the Frith of Forth, and up to 10 miles 

 beyond it. In November some reach 7|- inches, while in December the 

 limits in the collection at St Andrews are 5| to 7J inches. 



' In October and November,' says Fries,! ' some small haddocks, be- 

 ' tween 100 and 150 mm. in length, may occasionally be taken on the 

 'coast of Bohuslan ; but, with this exception, the fry are never seen. Like 

 ' the young of several other fishes, of the horse-mackerel and the cod, for 

 ' example, the haddock-fry, according to Sars and Collett, seek shelter and 



* food under the bodies of medusae, together with which they drift about 

 1 until they are more than 50 mm. long, and then they probably join their 

 1 parents in the deeper water. Off Tromso, however, Lilljeborg saw fairly 



* large shoals of young haddocks keep near shore in from 4 to 6 fathoms of 

 4 water.' This habit of seeking shelter and food under the discs of jelly- 

 fishes has not been observed in British waters, and it is difficult to see 

 how the hordes of young haddocks could find a sufficient number for this 

 purpose. Again, at this period (July and August), the young haddock 

 frequents the deep water offshore, while the medusae are partial to the sur- 

 face, especially in quiet weather ; and thus, in the latter case, the presence 

 of the young fishes t could not readily be overlooked. Of the filial instincts of 

 those which reach more than 50 mm., nothing has been seen in this country, 

 and it is unusual for such small fishes to venture amongst adults of their 

 own or of other species. Again, the length of the young haddocks seen 

 by Lilljeborg is not stated, but in all probability they were of the usual 

 size, viz., over 4 inches, or from 5 to 6 inches, when they seek the inshore 

 waters. 



The following year the young haddock are familiar to fishermen as the 



* summer haddock,' — immense shoals seeking the inshore water after 

 sand-eels and other prey, and often proving a nuisance to the liners, and 

 occasionally even to the trawlers. Dr Fulton found that in February, 

 March, and April, individuals under 5 inches are very rare, while those 

 between 6 and 10 inches are much more common. In May and June 

 their length ranges from 7J to 9 inches or thereabout. 



The early life of the haddock is thus spent in deep water offshore, as 

 all our former experience demonstrated, and as also shown by Dr Fulton, % 

 in 1890, in his remarks on the distribution of immature fishes. Thus, for 

 instance, he pointed out that, while the average number of immature 

 haddocks within the three-mile limit was only 0*3, beyond that limit they 

 were twenty times as numerous. 'None, moreover, were got in water 

 1 under 10 fathoms in depth. The great majority of those 4 or 5 inches 

 1 long were caught in water of between 20 and 30 fathoms in depth, and 

 ' from 4 to 10 miles from shore.' If special nets, such as the mid- 



* Vol. i. p. 537. 



t ' Scandinavian Fishes,' p. 471. 



X Eighth Annual Report, Fishery Board, p. 174, 1890. 



