of the Fishery Board for Scotland. 
19 
the inquiries made during the last four years, the records of which 
have been made chiefly on board the 'Garland' by Mr Thomas 
Scott, F.L.S., and partly by the Fishery Officers at various parts of 
the coast. 
From the examination of many thousands of specimens during 
the time indicated, it has been possible to determine with consider- 
able accuracy the limits and duration of the spawning period of the 
majority of the food- fishes, and the areas in which the spawning 
fish are found on the East Coast, and those from which they are 
absent. The great majority spawn in spring, but some not until 
well on in summer, and the duration of the spawning season varies in 
different species, but generally extends over about three months. 
The earliest to spawn are the saithe, plaice, and haddock ; the cod 
is slightly later than the haddock, and the whiting and ling later 
still. Tables and a chart are given, showing the spawning season 
for the more important of the food-fishes ; and it is shown : — (1) that 
in a given locality, on the same spawning ground, successive shoals 
of the same species of fish may arrive, spawn, and depart in one 
spawning season ; (2) that the shoals nearest the coast spawn, as 
a general rule, earlier than those remote from land ; (3) that fish 
generally spawn earlier on the West Coast than on the East 
Coast ; and (4) that spawning fish of many species— turbot, brill, 
ling, cod, tusk, saithe, &c, may be found from 50 to about 200 
miles from shore. The result of continued inquiries, now extend- 
ing over four spawning seasons, confirms- what was stated in last 
year's Eeport, namely, that the majority of the important food- 
fishes do not spawn within the territorial waters on the East 
Coast of Scotland, where the investigations were carried on, but 
outside the limits of exclusive jurisdiction. Not a single cod, 
haddock, or plaice, with the reproductive organs fully matured 
has been captured by the ' Garland ' within the Firth of Forth, 
St Andrews Bay, or other parts of the territorial zone. On the 
other hand, a few whitings, fewer lemon soles, and considerable 
numbers of gurnards, dabs, and flounders may spawn within the 
three-mile limit. Professor M'Intosh notes that the majority of 
the floating ova of the turbot, found in St Andrews Bay in May 
and June, have the embryonic fish far advanced in development, 
apparently indicating that they had been carried by currents a 
considerable distance. 
The sizes at which the males and females of the various species 
reach maturity are also given in tabular form, together with an 
account of the relative proportions and sizes of the sexes. 
The Migrations of the Food-Fishes. 
The experiments on the migration of fishes were continued last 
year, and nearly 3000 individuals have now been marked and 
returned alive to the sea. A considerable number of these have 
been subsequently captured, at periods varying from a month or 
two to twenty-seven months, from the time of being set free. 
As a rule, it was found that the distance between the place 
.where they were captured, and the plaoe where they were 
put intd the sea, was not great, — in some cases they were 
