12 



Part III. — Thirteenth Annual Report 



combined areas of the Firth of Forth and St Andrews Bay, since 

 the investigations were begun, give the following results for the 

 protected waters from which beam-trawling is excluded : — 





Flat Fish. 



Round Fish. 



Total. 



1886, 



131-1 



79-6 



213-9 



1887, 



270-6 



115-9 



390-1 



1888, 



163-9 



80-5 



248-7 



1889, 



148-2 



34'5 



187-1 



1890, 



201-9 



80-9 



288-0 



1891, 



112-2 



43-7 



161-6 



1892, 



95-1 



53.9 



156-4 



1893, 



129-0 



149-0 



282-4 



1894, 



147-3 



113-0 



265-4 



These figures indicate considerable fluctuations from year to year, 

 arising largely from natural causes which affect the yield of the 

 fisheries generally ; and it has to be noted that the exceptionally 

 high averages for round-fishes during the past two years are due to 

 the extraordinary abundance of haddocks which characterised the 

 fishings along the East Coast, especially in 1893. In order that 

 comparison may be made between the results obtained during the 

 first few years following the prohibition of trawling in the Firth of 

 Forth and St Andrews Bay, and those obtained during the last few 

 years they have been reduced to averages as follows : — 



Flat Fish. Round Fish. Total. 

 1886-1889, . . 178*5 77'8 260-0 



1891-1894, . . 120-7 89'9 216*5 



The general average for flat-fishes, it will be observed, is very 

 much lower for the second period than for the first. As stated in last 

 year's Eeport it is probable that the falling off in flat fishes within 

 the protected area is in great measure due to increased trawling in 

 the extra-territorial spawning areas from which the inshore grounds 

 receive their normal supplies of floating fish-eggs and young fishes. 



During last year the sixffeen trawling stations in the important 

 area of the Moray Firth, which were fully described in the Twelfth 

 Annual Beport, were examined on two occasions, once in July and 

 once in October ; the time thus fairly corresponding to the period 

 of examination in 1893, namely May and October. When the 

 averages of the 37 hauls made in 1893 are compared with those of 

 the 35 hauls last year, it is found that a considerable increase in 

 the abundance of the food fishes took place. In 1893 the average 

 of the total number of fishes of all kinds per haul was 259*9, while 

 last year it reached 29 2 -1. There was an increase both in round- 

 fishes and flat-fishes. The average for the former rose from 106*3 

 to 129-1, and the average for the latter from 146*2 to 157*6. The 

 average for all kinds of flat-fishes, except plaice, was higher than 

 in 1893, the abundance of long rough dabs being considerbly 

 greater. The observations in the Moray Firth have, however, not 

 been sufficiently numerous, or continued over a sufficiently long 

 period, to yield satisfactory conclusions as to the results of the 

 closure. Special statistics are being collected along the coasts of 

 the Moray Firth, showing the quantities of fish caught each month 

 by line-fishermen within the closed waters. Those for last year 

 are given in the present Eeport (p. 115), and they show very clearly 

 how important this area is to the line fishermen of the adjoining 

 coasts, who obtain by far the largest portion of their catches from 

 within its waters. 



