of the Fishery Board for Scotland^ 



101 



supply of the herring, cod, and haddock, and although that of other forms 

 has been catalogued when information has been received, the present 

 Reports are confined to the three species named. 



The statistics supplied have necessarily been confined to the period 

 during which each species has been captured in the various districts, and 

 the information on the food of the cod and haddock has mainly been 

 obtained from an examination of specimens brought in by the line 

 fishermen. 



As a rule fish take little or no food during the spawning period, and 

 although this is not an invariable rule, there is no doubt that the period 

 of rapid growth during which most food is taken is prior to each spawning 

 season. For this reason a knowledge of the food taken throughout the 

 year by the more migratory forms of food-fishes cannot be accurately 

 ascertained from an examination of those caught in the in-shore waters. 



Our knowledge of the variety of food taken by each species throughout 

 the year is thus far from being complete for any one district. In the 

 reports devoted to the cod and the haddock particularly it will be seen 

 that there are several months during which no information has been 

 obtained. It is hoped that by more extended observation, especially by a 

 more thorough examination of the fish brought in by steam trawlers, these 

 blanks may soon be filled in. 



With the exception of observations made at Tarbert (Loch Fyne) during 

 the summer, our information of the food of the herring is entirely limited 

 to material preserved in spirit. The stomachs have been preserved whole 

 by the Fishery officers and sent in to the Central Laboratory for examina- 

 tion. For many reasons this is not the most satisfactory method, but it 

 is not always possible to examine fresh material. Arrangements have 

 been made by which it is expected that these difficulties will be overcome 

 in the future. The food of the cod and haddock has been studied from 

 preserved material and also in the fresh state. In the latter case stomachs 

 have been examined by the Fishery officers when the fish were landed, 

 and a list of their contents transmitted to the Central Laboratory. 



Much valuable information has already been supplied by Professor 

 M'Intosh and others on the various marine forms which are utilised by 

 fishes as food. It is not, however, our object to give a detailed account of 

 every species which is known to have occurred in the stomach of a cod, 

 a haddock, or a herring. It matters little to the present inquiry whether 

 there should be one species more or less. What we want to know now is, 

 what animals form the natural and regular food-supply of our. more 

 important fishes, and how far these vary with the district and season of 

 the year. Accurate information on these points should teach us much that 

 is of vital importance to our Fisheries as a commercial industry. Such 

 information is only to be obtained by the collection of elaborate statistics 

 from all parts of the coast, and extended over a number of years. The 

 accompanying Eeports are a first contribution of a systematic kind to this 

 great subject. The contents of each stomach have been tabulated, and 

 the relative abundance of each form noted. In this manner it is possible 

 to compare the food taken in one district with that sought after in another, 

 and likewise to note any change in diet at different seasons. On this 

 account it has seemed advisable to limit the reports solely to the material 

 which we have examined, and not to include any information which has 

 been supplied by other authors. The Reports thus become simply 

 catalogues of the contents of a large number of stomachs supplemented by 

 conclusions which it is deemed are justified by the statistics given. Our 

 first Reports are necessarily only tentative, and much information is still 

 required, which can only be obtained when we have facilities for studying 



