of the Fishery Board for Scotland. 
191 
V. SUMMARY. 
1. It has been shown that the complaints as to the destruction of 
immature fish by trawling and bag-net fishing are many centuries old, 
that many enactments have been promulgated in connection therewith, 
and that at present there are no restrictions in Britain as to the capture 
of immature sea fish, except, perhaps, by the exclusion of beam trawling 
from the territorial waters of Scotland. 
2. I have also shown that an immature fish may be large or small, 
and that the maximum size of immature fishes varies very much in 
different species ; for instance, from inches in the little sole to about 
18 inches in the turbot, and 20 inches in the cod; and I have given a 
table showing the largest size of immature individuals of the important 
food fishes. 
3. The distribution of immature fish has been explained in relation to the 
distance from shore and to the depth of water. Their distribution varies 
according to the species. I have proved that the territorial waters, and 
especially those portions near shore, where the bottom is sandy, serve as 
nurseries for plaice, and that immature plaice are practically absent 
beyond the territorial waters. Very young lemon soles, flounders, dabs, 
cod, and whiting, frequent the inshore waters ; whiting sometimes in 
vast shoals. Very young cod, and also common dabs, may exist in 
numbers at a distance from shore. Immature long rough dabs and 
haddocks are there most abundant. There is no evidence that very small 
turbot, brill, or ling, frequent the territorial waters at the parts of the 
East Coast where the observations were made ; although fairly large, but 
immature, turbot and brill are found in the territorial waters. At off- 
shore fishing grounds there is a paucity of immature fish, except dabs and 
occasionally haddocks. 
4. Beam Traivl. — I have shown that the beam trawl, with a mesh of three 
inches towards the beam, and a mesh of an inch and a half at the cod end, 
is capable of capturing large numbers of immature flat-fish and round-fish • 
and that immature plaice and cod especially, are taken in inshore waters 
in very large numbers with such a net. In the net used by the best class 
of beam trawlers, considerable numbers are also taken, although the 
evidence is not as definite or extensive on this head as one would desire ; 
few of these seem to be under six inches in length. 
The size of the mesh, per se, exerts a most important influence on the 
proportion of immature fish obtained. 
The majority of the immature fish taken by the beam trawl as now used 
would probably not survive if returned to the sea. 
Shrimp fishing involves the capture of very large numbers of immature 
flat-fishes, probably 400,000 in a single day's fishing all round the coast ; 
these are especially plaice, but also soles, flounders, and dabs ; a consider- 
able proportion of these are destroyed. 
Line fishing involves the capture of a considerable, but not excessive, 
quantity of immature round-fishes, especially cod ; but comparatively a 
very small proportion of immature flat-fish. 
Bag-nets capture immense quantities of young herrings and sprats 
(wdiitebait), &c, but relatively few flat-fishes. 
Weirs, Seines, <&c, capture in some places immense numbers of imma- 
ture fish, which are largely destroyed. 
VI. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS. 
In considering the facts given above as to the capture of immature 
fish, there are several preliminary matters which require attention. 
