12 
Part III. — Tenth Annual Report 
Years. 
1886-1888 
1889-1891 
Flat-Fish. 
190-6 
154-7 
Round-Fish. 
148-1 
155-0 
Total. 
338-6 
309-7 
These figures indicate that within the closed area flat-fish have, 
on the whole, diminished rather than increased ; but in consider- 
ing this fact it is necessary to bear in mind, on the one hand, the 
results of certain concurrent investigations carried out on board 
the 'Garland,' and, on the other hand, the greatly increased 
development of beam-trawling in recent years. It has been shown, 
by the researches of the ' Garland,' that the great majority of the 
food- fishes — cod, haddock, whiting, plaice, lemon soles, &c. — either 
do not spawn at all within the closed area referred to, or only to a 
slight extent in the case of some forms. The adult fish, when 
mature, leave the territorial waters and congregate at the spawning 
time beyond the three-mile limit, where the eggs are cast forth in 
myriads and are gradually floated iu vast numbers towards the 
shallow water. It is among these offshore spawning shoals that 
trawlers work on a large scale, and it is obvious that if the adult 
fish are captured on the breeding grounds in greatly increased 
numbers before they have spawned, the supply of young fishes for 
the inshore waters must be materially reduced. It may be said, 
as the result of four years' continuous investigations, that none, or 
scarcely any, of the plaice, lemon soles, cod, haddock, or turbot to 
be found within the waters of the Firth of Forth or St Andrews 
Bay were born there. They have been floated in at an early stage 
of their existence, or have migrated thither at a later period. It 
has been also shown by the investigations made on board the 
' Garland ' that, while immature fish of certain kin3s are most 
abundant within the three-mile limit, the majority are to be found 
without that limit. 
It is of great importance that these offshore spawning grounds, 
which form the great source of supply for the inshore waters, should 
be carefully and thoroughly investigated ; but the ' Garland ' can 
only visit them rarely in exceptionally favourable weather. 
The fishery statistics relating to the trawling experiments, and 
showing the productiveness of the territorial waters, &c, are found 
in detail in the special report previously referred to. The decline in 
the number of fishing boats and fishermen adverted to in the Ninth 
Report continued in 1891, there being in the latter year, as com- 
pared with 1890, a decrease of 433 fishing boats, 94 of them first 
class boats, and of 1626 fishermen. The number of beam-trawlers, 
on the other hand, increased from 118, of a gross tonnage of 4705 
tons, in 1890 to 132, of a gross tonnage of 6484, in 1891. 
In regard to the quantities of fish landed, special returns have 
been obtained from five districts comprising that portion of the 
East Coast between Dunbar on the/ south and Aberdeen on the 
north, and including both these places. The quantity of fish 
landed on this portion of the coast last year by line fishermen and 
Special Fishery Statistics. 
