of the Fishery Board for Scotland. 



23 



minutes, 597 fish were caught, 184 being marketable and 413 unmarket- 

 able. The catch was made up mainly of small haddocks and plaice, 

 together with common dabs. In the second haul, for four hours and ten 

 minutes, 1339 lishes were secured, of which 556 were marketable and 

 783 unmarketable. The catch was again chiefly composed of small 

 haddocks. In these two hauls, the time of fishing being eight hours 

 and twenty minutes, 1936 fishes were taken, of which 740 were market- 

 able and 1196 unmarketable. The haddocks numbered 1565, no less 

 than 999 of them being too small to be marketable. The numbers of 

 haddocks of the various classes were these : — 



1st 2nd 3rd 4th Unmarketable Total 

 Haddock 27 48 491 — 999 1565 



The plaice were also, as a rule, small, but the separate sizes were not 

 noted. 



The details regarding the different species are as follows: — 





Cod- 

 ling. 



Had- 

 dock. 



Whit- 

 ing. 



Gur- 

 nard. 



Plaice. 



Lemon 

 Dab. 



Common 

 Dab. 



Long 

 Rough 

 Dab. 



Thorn- 

 back. 



Ang- 

 ler. 



I. 

 II. 



4 



566 

 999 



27 

 16 



37 



135 



8 



5 



127 



6 



3 



2 



Total 



4 



1,565 



43 



37 



143 



5 



127 



6 



3 



2 



A number of hauls were then taken between Burghead Bay and 

 Lossiemouth, in water from 7 to 12 fathoms deep. In the first, 

 which lasted for three hours and fifteen minutes, 498 fishes were caught, 

 287 being marketable and 211 unmarketable. The catch comprised 347 

 haddocks — nearly half of them too small to be taken to market — and 42 

 cod. In the second, for four hours and thirty- five minutes, 892 fishes 

 were caught, 458 being marketable and 434 unmarketable. Haddocks 

 again formed the bulk of the catch, numbering 587, of which less than 

 half were marketable, and there were also 145 plaice and seven cod. 

 Most of the other hauls made in this place were less productive, but in 

 one the number was considerably exceeded. It was for four hours and 

 five minutes, and 3157 fishes were captured, of which 972 were market- 

 able and 2185 unmarketable. The catch comprised 1425 haddocks, 879 

 being too small to go to market ; 358 plaice, all but 6 marketable; 108.2 

 common dabs, 201 gurnards (none taken to market), 51 codling, 4 cod, 

 2 turbot, 8 brill, and 5 lythe or pollack. 



In the seven hauls between Burghead and Lossiemouth, the duration of 

 fishing being twenty-eight and a half hours, the total number of fishes 

 caught was 6637, or an average of 2328*9 per ten hours' fishing ; the 

 marketable fishes numbered 2880, or an average of 1010*4 per ten hours, 

 the unmarketable numbering 3757, or an average per ten hours of 

 1318*3. Of 2871 haddocks caught rather more than half, viz., 1474, 

 were unmarketable, while of 1203 plaice only 7 were too small to be 

 taken to market. In one of the hauls 5 lythe were caught, in another 

 4 coalfish, too small to be marketable ; and in another 4 fine black 

 soles, a fish which is very rarely caught in these waters. Of the 1397 

 haddocks, 96 were large, 204 mediums, and 1097 small or thirds ; a 

 classification into thirds and fourths was not adopted on this occasion. 



