of the Fishery Board for Scotland. 



15 



Seine-Net Fishing foe Herrings, 



The question of the alleged injurious action of the seine-net in 

 fishing for herrings on the West Coast was made the subject of an 

 investigation, which is not yet completed. The two chief objections 

 raised against this mode of fishing are that it wastefully destroys 

 the spawn of herrings which has been deposited on the bottom, 

 and captures and destroys large quantities of immature herrings. 

 For some years in succession arrangements have been made to carry 

 on an investigation on the former point at the well-known spawning 

 ground at Ballantrae Bank, but on each occasion the fishing has 

 been so poor that the seine-net boats did not take part in it. 

 During last summer an enquiry was begun in Loch Fyne with 

 reference principally to the action of the seine-net in capturing 

 immature herrings, and the catches of several hundreds of seine-net 

 boats were examined and the condition of maturity of large num- 

 bers of the smallest herrings determined. This investigation will 

 be completed during the ensuing season. 



As will be seen by a reference to the statistics in Part I. (p. 

 117), the herring fishing last year in Loch Fyne was exceptionally 

 abundant. 



The Pelagic Fauna of the Firth of Forth and Loch Fyne. 



In an elaborate paper Mr. Thomas Scott, F.L.S., gives the results 

 of a study of the distribution of the pelagic fauna of the Firth of 

 Forth and its vicinity, founded upon his observations on board the 

 ' Garland ' during the seven years from 1889 to 1895. He deals 

 with the various groups of invertebrates captured in the tow-nets, 

 most fully with the Crustacea, and also with the pelagic eggs of the 

 food fishes. The distribution of some of the most typical species at 

 several selected stations during the various months of the year has 

 been very carefully investigated, the results being indicated in a 

 series of tables and graphic charts. Among many points of interest 

 elucidated is the fact that in March and April the waters begin to 

 swarm with the larvae of crustaceans, which form a most important 

 part of the food of young fishes, and that this abundance of fish-food 

 is maintained throughout the summer by the successive spawning 

 of different species of crustaceans. Mr. Scott has also supplemented 

 his investigations on the invertebrate fauna of Lochfyne by a paper 

 in the present Keport, in which he describes a number of new 

 species, etc., especially of Crustacea. 



B 



