56 



Appejidices to Twenty -first Annual Report 



Raik and Stell Coast Fishery, Dee District. 



A glance at the curve for salmon shows at once that abundance of fish 

 were on the coast to the north of the river's mouth at the opening of the 

 season. The eight first days were indeed the best of the fishing, the only 

 days which approached the same results being two days of an autumn run 

 on 11th and 12th August. The condition of the stock of fish between the 

 spring and autumn is sufficiently indicated by the sharply varying but 

 never high black line. 



The curve for grilse gives the most marked feature of the chart. 

 Appearing at intervals from the middle of April onwards, a very great 

 catch is heralded in the middle of June, reaches a remarkable climax on 

 23rd June, and lasts well through July, while simultaneously with the 

 good autumn supply of salmon the grilse curve again rises on 11th and 

 12th August. We are not dealing here with any conditions of water-flow, 

 ii should be recollected. This is a fishing on the open shore. Yet large 

 captures of salmon and of grilse occur exactly together in August — indeed, 

 from 28th July to the end of the season the salmon and grilse curves 

 follow one another with striking exactness. 



The curve for sea-trout is chiefly remarkable because of its insignificant 

 character, but in view of the fact that the sweep nets in the river catch 

 (as shown by the chart for the Midchingle Fishery) large quantities of 

 sea- trout, one must believe either that sea- trout, unlike salmon, take 

 a direct course from the sea into fresh water, or, as seems likely, |being 

 fish of small size, they pass through the leaders of the bag nets. 



Grey HOPE Coast Fishery, Dee District. 



The results from this fishery do not lend themselves to illustration by 

 means of curves. They are extremely intermittent, and the numbers are 

 far below those of the Raik and Stell. Like the other, however, the 

 best fishing is seen to be at the opening of the season, but no increase in 

 the intermittent summer condition of the record occurs during August. 

 Grilse begin to appear in May, become fairly steady during the latter half 

 of June, and the highest figure is reached on_] 2nd July. The day on 

 which the Raik andjStell maximum occurred was a good day, as was 

 also 16th June, but even the 2nd July shows a result well below the late 

 run of grilse which is shown for Raik ami Stell on the 11th and 12th 

 August. Sea-trout are seldom taken. The inference which one seems 

 led to by the diff'erent conditions on the north and south sides of the 

 river's mouthy is that the fish approach the mouth of the Dee from the 

 north side. 



Midchingle River Fishery, Dee District. 



In the chart showing the product of this fishery we are struck at once 

 by the sea-trout curve. Instead of being insignificant or almost absent, as 

 in the coast fisheries, the sea-trout here assumes the prominent place. 

 Sea-trout are present at the beginning of the season, and last throughout 

 the season. From 23rd April a succession of almost weekly steps rise 

 higher and higher till the maximum is reached on 11th July, when, by 

 three abruptly descending steps, a low level is reached for the last three 

 weeks of the season. Grilse appear in the river three days after they show 

 in the north side coast nets, and the decided summer run begins at a 

 corresponding time. But the prominent grilse run is over by the first 

 week of July, and the conditions are entirely different thereafter than 

 those shown in the case of the Raik and Stell Fishery, Through June 



