168 Part III.— Eleventh Annual Report 



whether molluscan or other. From Loch Carron wo were obliged to visit 

 Portree before reaching Loch Torridon, the weather being somewhat 

 rough and unfitted for work in the Minch. We also dredged Loch Tor- 

 ridon, as well as Shieldaig, a small loch off it, which proved richer in fish 

 and fish food than the lochs previously examined. The character of the 

 mollusca was curiously similar to that of Loch Creran, so much further 

 south, and indeed it contained no forms that are not also procurable about 

 Oban. We may mention that throughout the examination of the bottom 

 of the sea we conterminously examined the Entomostraca by means of the 

 tow-net attached to the trawl-head, while the surface-net was also in con- 

 stant use. Although these nets undoubtedly sampled the floating fauna 

 of the smaller class, they proved greatly inadequate to the purpose we 

 had in view ; and we have since, as the result of this experience, changed 

 the character of these nets so as to supply a more important sample of 

 this floating life, and to provide means of capture of some organisms that 

 almost invariably passed them by. 



From this loch the next loch examined was Loch Ewe. We carefully 

 dredged this at the head to see if there were any remains of the so- 

 called oyster beds, but failed to meet any signs, even in the way of dead 

 shells. A portion of the loch has been marked off for mussel beds, 

 which are claimed by the proprietor, but we saw no evidence of any care 

 in their cultivation, or any sign of expenditure for the purpose of securing 

 spat, or otherwise improving the character of the beds. All that was 

 done, so far as we could observe, was to prevent the mussels being 

 carried away. And this, without concurrent culture, by no means 

 improves a mussel bed, which is all the better for being worked over. 

 This loch was somewhat richer in fish than we anticipated, but we soon 

 came to the conclusion that daylight fishing by the trawl in these lochs 

 gives a very inadequate idea of the character of the fish fauna. 



The main result of our operations with the trawl is to prove, if such 

 were needed, that no important trawling operations of a mercantile 

 character could ever be carried on in these confined waters. Neither the 

 character of the bottom nor the character of the fish obtained is such as 

 to induce trawling vessels to risk their trawls for any possible returns. 

 As a rule, the fish in these lochs as taken by the trawl were of an inferior 

 class, as well as in comparatively inferior condition. At the same time, 

 it was impossible to trawl for any length of time, owing to the rough 

 nature of the bottom, even when mud was supposed to be the prevailing 

 bottom. 



It may also be here acknowledged that while the trawl of the 

 ' Garland ' has proved extremely useful for scientific purposes, and given 

 much information, its results cannot be taken as an example of what 

 would be done by the ordinary beam-trawl of the larger steam-vessels. 

 These not only trawl mainly at night, but their beam being raised higher 

 above the ground, no doubt capture fish that escape the lower-set beam of 

 the 'Garland.' We can therefore only speak comparatively of the work 

 of this vessel, and do not pretend to compare it with the work of the 

 greater commercial trawls. Still, the reduced trawl of the 'Garland' 

 was able to cover ground where no large beam-trawl could pretend to 

 run. Both Funiculina quadrangularis and Pennatula phosplwrea were 

 common in this loch, which does not in our experience promise well for 

 prime fish. 



The next loch to which we proceeded was Loch Broom. The weather 

 was very unsuitable while we were in this loch and its neighbour Little 

 Loch Broom. We do not, however, believe that the ordinary beam- 

 trawler would ever risk their beams in these waters, and certainly our 

 results were not such as to stimulate them to take the risk. They only 



