178 



Part III. — Eleventh Annual Report 



how this mode will work, but it has an advantage in being quickly per- 

 formed — a matter of importance when one has to deal with a large number 

 of fish in a short time, as in experiments on herrings — and it is assumed 

 that the irritation caused will be less than with a ligature around the tail. 



The experiments have been made almost entirely on board the ' Garland,' 

 during the last four years. A number of young turbot and brill, caught 

 in salmon stake-nets, have also been marked and liberated, and several 

 hundreds of herrings were marked and set free at Ballantrae Bank and 

 in Lochfyne. On board the ' Garland ' the living fish are transferred to 

 a tub of sea-water ; lively and active ones are then selected, and a record 

 is made on a printed form of the date and hour, the locality, the kind of 

 fish and its exact length, and the number on the label or disc attached to 

 it, and it is then returned to the sea. The operations on board the 

 'Garland' were conducted by Mr Scott and Mr Liston (the mate), 

 almost all the records being kept by Mr Scott. Since the experiments 

 were begun between 3000 and 4000 fishes have been thus marked 

 at various parts of the coast and returned to the sea ; but as the 

 majority have been dealt with in the Firth of Forth and St Andrews 

 Bay, and all those, except one, which have come into my possession after re- 

 capture have been marked and liberated in one or other of these areas, it 

 will be well to limit attention in the meantime to this group. During the 

 four years mentioned, 2586 fishes have been marked and set free in the 

 Firth of Forth and St Andrew T 's Bay, 1490 in the former, and 1096 in the 

 latter. The numbers of the different kinds of fish are represented in the 

 accompanying Tables : — 















4 









































ft 



<d 





"o 









1A 





M 





Plaict 



Common 



Lemon S 



Flound 



Witch S 



ong Eoug 



Turbo 



Brill 



Sail Flu 



Cod. 



Haddoi 



























Firth of Forth, . 



515 



155 



157 



26 



11 



179 







1 



1S9 



60 



St Andrew's Bay, . 



735 



182 



16 



18 



1 



19 



4 



2 





7 



25 



Total, . 



1250 



337 



173 



44 



12 



198 



4 



2 



1 



196 



85 











>> 

























p4 



<o 

 % 

















br 





es 



M 



o 



M 





P4 



03 



■d 



CO 



o 



a 





a 

 3 





U 



cS 

 .3 



m 

 >> 



I 



>> 



SO 

 P 



aq 



Ph 



o 

 1 







i 



S3 

 C3 



fl 



u 



S3 





G 



a 







S 



ft 











o 



o 



CO 



CO 



















H 

















Firth of Forth, 



2 



14 



15 



62 



19 



17 





50 



15 



2 



1 



St Andrew's Bay, . 





2 



54 



9 



4 



9 



i 



4 



3 



1 





Total, . 



2 



16 



69 



71 



23 



26 



i 



54 



18 



3 



1 



Notice of these experiments was given to the Fishery Officers and cor- 

 respondents and others along the coast ; and the fishermen were informed 

 that on forwarding any of the marked fish a small reward would be paid 

 to them.* Notwithstanding this intimation many of the fish were re-cap- 



* I have to thank Mr Mair and Mr Murray, the Officers of the Anstruther and 

 Leith Districts, Mr Peter Sim, Broughty-Ferry, Mr James Gourlay, St Andrews, 

 and Mr Gillies, Largo, for sending me marked specimens caught. Professor M'Intosh 

 also kindly forwarded to me the specimens which came into his possession. 



