18 



Part III. — Sixteenth Annual Report 



1. The Trawling Experiments in the Moray Firth. 



The means taken to ascertain the influence of the closure of this area 

 to beam trawlers on the abundance of the food fishes within it have con- 

 sisted, first, of trawling observations of the * Garland' at the sixteen 

 stations, inshore and offshore; and, secondly, the collection of special 

 statistics around the coast to show, as far as possible, the quantities of the 

 various kinds of fishes caught by line fishermen within the closed 

 area in each month of the year, and the number of ' shots ' of the lines 

 by which these fishes were captured. The fish caught by trawl consist, 

 for the most part, of flat-fish, while those taken by hook are principally 

 round-fish. During last year the stations were examined in June and 

 November, 32 hauls being made. So far as the results go they show 

 that the average numbers of flat-fishes captured per haul of the net at each 

 of the stations were as follows : — 



FLAT-FISHES. 



Station. 



Plaice. 



Lemon 

 Soles. 



Witch 

 Soles. 



Common 

 Dab. 



L. Rough 

 Dab. 



Turbot. 



Brill. 



Total. 



1 



37-5 



3-5 



10-0 



50-0 



8-0 







109-0 



2 



26-0 



20 



26-0 



75-5 



28-5 





6-5 



158-5 



3 



37-5 



6-0 





4-5 









48-0 



4 



45*5 







15-0 









60-5 



5 



57-0 



2-0 





87-5 



0-5 





6-5 



148-5 



6 



71-0 



7-5 





134-0 



2-0 







215-0 



7 



2-0 



8-5 



0-5 



319-0 



46-0 







376-0 



8 



4-5 



10-5 



1-0 



206-0 



44-0 







266-0 



9 



2-0 



12-5 



1-0 



175-0 



51-5 







242-9 



10 



2-0 



4-5 



24-0 



40-0 



65-5 







136-0 



11 



3-5 



5-0 





101-0 









109-5 



12 



6-5 



4-5 





117-0 



0-5 







128-5 



13 



5-5 



11-5 





41-0 



0-5 







59-0 



14 



2-5 



7-5 





59-0 



16-0 







85-0 



15 



6-0 



6-5 





150-5 



23-5 







186-5. 



16 



6-0 



13-0 





27-0 



11-0 







57-0 



When compared with the corresponding returns for 1896 these figures 

 show a general increase of flat-fishes, the average per haul over the whole 

 area being 149"0 as against 102'7 in the previous year. The largest 

 increase is shown in common dabs and plaice, the figures for the former 

 in the two years being 66*4 and 100*2 respectively, and those for the 

 latter 11*9 and 19-7. The average number of round-fishes, comprising, 

 cod, haddock, whiting, and gurnard, varied from 12*5 to 80*5 at the- 

 different stations, the general average for the whole area being 32-8, as ~ 

 against 49*4 in the previous year, showing, therefore, a decrease, which 

 was chiefly in haddocks and gurnards. The data are at present insufficient 

 to enable anything more than a transient conclusion to be drawn. 



Informati<?n is also being accumulated, as far as the means permit, with 

 respect to the determination of the breeding or spawning grounds in the - 

 Moray Firth, and the distribution of immature fish throughout the area at 

 different seasons; and it is hoped that sufficient information will be 

 acquired to enable a report on this subject to be prepared in the near ■ 

 future. 



The specijil statistics of the fish caught within the closed area of the- 

 Moray Firth by line fishermen have been collected for the past four years. 



