146 



Appendices to Fomih Annual Report 



frequent, and formed a considerable proportion of the food, whicli was, 

 however, very varied. It is also to be noted that during this time Echino- 

 derms and sea mice were rarely to be found in the same stomach. After 

 February, in the Berwick district, sea mice appear to have formed a fairly 

 constant part of the food of the cod. In the early part of the year the 

 sea mice do not appear to have been much preyed upon by the cod landed 

 at Lybster ; but the statistics from the more northern stations are insuffi- 

 cient to justify any close comparison. 



The Crustacea appear to supply the most constant and regular portion 

 of the food supply of the cod. In by far the greater portion of the 

 stomachs examined the Crustacea group has been represented, and this 

 frequently in association with some of the fishes. In almost every case 

 where Crustacea have not formed part of the stomach's contents, the 

 fishes have supplied either the bulk or the whole of the food. The most 

 noticeable exception occurred in the 10 stomachs from fish caught 50 miles 

 E.N.E. of May Island on 1st April. These collectively contained 50 

 Echinoderms, 20 sea mice, no Crustacea, a few moUusca, and only one fish. 

 The number of species of Crustacea preyed upon to any great extent appears 

 to be very limited. Hyas coarctatus, Pagurus, and Galathea, and a few 

 species of the shrimp tribe, seem to supply the most of the food ; other 

 forms are either local or only found occasionally. 



The moUusca do not contribute largely to the food-supply of the cod. 

 We found them to occur in only about 50 stomachs, and never in large 

 quantities. Usually the mollusc had been digested, and only the shell 

 remained, so that in estimating the frequency of the occurrence of 

 mollusca it must be remembered that the presence of shells does not 

 necessarily imply that at the last meal the cod has partaken of a mollus- 

 can diet. It must also be remembered that the hermit crabs (Paguri) 

 inhabit the shells of univalves, and that many shells will doubtless be 

 swallowed in order to secure the crabs they contain. Compared with the 

 haddock the cod does not appear to prey so much on mollusca, nor are the 

 species recorded so numerous. 



Turning our attention to the fishes, it will be seen that in the Berwick 

 district nearly all the stomachs examined in January contained more or 

 less of fish remains. The records for February bring out an interesting 

 point. The fish caught by trawlers 18 miles oii St Abb's Head had been 

 feeding almost entirely on Crustacea and fishes. During the same period 

 those landed by the line fishermen (5 miles oft' Berwick) seldom had any 

 fish in their stomachs, the chief food being Crustacea with a slight 

 admixture of Echinoderms, while on only two occasions the stomachs 

 contained solely a very limited quantity of molluscan remains. Judging 

 from the statistics from other districts the fishes seem to supply a fairly 

 constant portion of the food throughout the first half of the year. (We 

 have no information as to the food of the cod after June.) It is usual in 

 such cases for the food to consist either solely of fishes or of these and an 

 admixture of Crustacea and occasionally sea mice. The species of fishes 

 which may be considered the normal food supply of the cod are not 

 very varied. The Gadidx (haddock, whiting, &c.), and Pleuronectidx 

 (flounders, (fee.) are taken throughout the year. During the winter, in 

 such herring-spawning districts as those of the Firth of Forth and the 

 Ballantrae banks, the cod and haddock follow the herring to the spawning 

 ground, and at this time their food is almost entirely confined to herring 

 and herring ova. Judging from the observations of the Fishery officer at 

 Anstruther it would appear that during the spring and summer the cod in 

 the off-shore w^aters do not feed to any great extent on herring, although 

 these are present in large shoals on the cod banks. The other species of 



