of the Fishery Board for Scotland. 
351 
X. — NOTES AND MEMORANDA. 
1. The Anchovy in Scottish Waters. 
Last year anchovies were captured at several places on the British 
coast. It appears from a recent paper by Mr J. T. Cunningham * that 
thoy were caught in considerable numbers in the English Channel in 
November, December, and January last. Anchovies were caught by the 
sprat fishers at Dover, who use drift-nets with meshes about half an inch 
square, about a mile from the shore. Mr Cunningham was informed 
that some shots had yielded 1000 anchovies to 4000 sprats. Anchovies 
were also caught at other places in the Channel and on the south coast. 
The first intimation of the appearance of the anchovy off the Scotch coast 
was conveyed by Professor Ewart in an article in the Scotsman, in which 
it was stated that he had received specimens caught in the Moray Firth 
in December. At the beginning of the year I sent a circular to all 
the fishery officers of the Board located around the coast of Scotland, 
together with a drawing and description of the anchovy, and requested 
them to furnish me with any account of its appearance off the coast, 
together with specimens, if any should come into their hands. I give 
here a summary of the information thus obtained. 
East Coast. — None appear to have been caught off the coast of Berwick- 
shire, where, however, the herring fishing ceased in September. A single 
specimen, 5 inches in length, was obtained by Mr Peter Jamieson, among 
herrings landed at Dunbar on 22nd January 1890. It was a female, with 
the roe well developed. The fishermen could not say they had ever 
caught any others. Some of the sprat fishers in the Tay thought they 
had seen anchovies among the sprats; no specimens were procurable. f 
One crew of Anstruther herring fishermen were certain they had caught 
some anchovies among herrings in the Firth of Forth (off the Fifeshire 
coast) at the end of December 1889. None were reported from the coast 
of Forfarshire. One was captured in a herring net about half a mile off 
Stonehaven in the early part of December. Another was taken on a 
haddock line (mussel bait) on 13th November, off Rattray Head, at a 
distance of 8 miles from land. The fishery officer saw this specimen after 
its capture ; it was too much damaged, he thought, to forward. He says, 
{ the drawing and particulars in your letter place its identity beyond 
■ doubt.' None were reported from the Macduff district in the Moray 
Firth. The fishermen of Buckie stated they had caught them chiefly in 
the second and third weeks in January 1890, but some at the end of 
December (when few boats were fishing) from off Fraserburgh to Cape 
Wrath. One crew got them 8 miles off Fraserburgh ; another, 20 miles 
south-east of Buckie ; several crews caught them about 6 miles off Tarbet 
Ness; and one crew about 6 miles off Cape Wrath, at the end of 
December. None were seen after the middle of January. A Buckie 
fisherman who goes to the Yarmouth herring fishing in September and 
October states he has frequently caught them there. J A Buckie crew 
tried the anchovies for bait, but they were too soft to stay on the hooks. 
* Jour. Marine Biol. Assoc., vol. i. No. 3, p. 328 et seq., April 1890. 
t The drawings sent were always shown to the fishermen. 
X Mr O. T. Olsen, of Great Grimsby, to whom I wrote, kindly investigated the 
catches of the sprat fishers there, but found no anchovies. -*e 
