24 Part III. — Twenty -third Annual Report 



The accompanying Table gives the particulars of the catches of the seven 

 hauls combined. 





Cod. 

 61 



Codling. 



Had- 

 dock. 



Whit- 

 ing. 



Coal- 

 fish. 



Lythe 





Gur- 

 nard. 



Turbot. 



Brill. 



I. 

 II. 



Total 



90 

 21 



1,397 

 1,474 



33 

 46 



4 



5 



589 



4 



17 



61 



111 



2,871 



79 



4 



5 



589 



4 



17 





Plaice. 



Lemon 

 Dab. 



Black 

 Sole. 



Witch. 



Common 

 Dab. 



Angler. 



Thorn- 

 back. 



Wrasse. 



I. 

 II. 



Total 



1,196 

 7 



37 



4 



2. 



26 

 1,527 



86 



7 



3 



* % 



1,203 



37 



4 



2 



1,553 



86 



10 



1 



A haul was also made on the usual ground off Lossiemouth, in 17 

 fathoms, for one hour and forty-five minutes. The catch consisted of 

 605 fishes, 405 being marketable and 200 unmarketable, all the latter 

 consisting of gurnards. There were 314 haddocks and 80 plaice ; about 

 half of the haddocks were large and mediums, and half small, while all the 

 plaice were large and mediums. In the hauls in Burghead Bay, and 

 between it and Lossiemouth, several hundred squids and a few edible 

 crabs were taken. 



The vessel then steamed to the Dornoch Firth, where a drag with the 

 small meshed net around the cod-end was made for an hour and five 

 minutes in from 10 to 12 fathoms. The catch of both nets num- 

 bered 1035 fishes, of which 697 were marketable, mostly of small 

 haddocks ("thirds"). The numbers of the various species were as 

 follows : — 



Codling, - - 3 Plaice, - 12 



Haddock, - 833 Common Dab, - - 32 



Whiting, - 133 Gurnard, - 22 



Another drag was made here, but the net had a twist on it, and only 133 

 fishes were caught in the four hours that the haul lasted, 56 being 

 marketable. 



The grounds ofi Lybster were then visited on 3rd October, and a drag 

 taken for four hours and ten minutes in from 26 to 34 fathoms. The 

 catch comprised 991 fishes, 400 being marketable and 591 unmarketable. 

 Haddocks formed the bulk of the catch, numbering 811, of which only 

 340 were marketable ; there were also 60 gurnards, 23 codlings, and 58 

 lemon dabs, as well as smaller numbers of other species. Two dog-fishes 

 were taken in the net, and also a number of squids. 



The next place visited was Smith Bank, where a haul about the middle, 

 in 19 and 20 fathoms, was taken for an hour and ten minutes. 

 The cod-end contained an immense quantity of gurnards, which filled 

 fifteen baskets. One which was counted contained 178 of various 

 sizes, so that on this basis the total number would be about 2670. There 



