of the Fishery Board for Scotland. 
round-fish, but very considerably also in flat-fish in St Andrews Bay. 
There was a slight increase in flat-fish in the Firth of Forth. It is to be 
expected that from year to year considerable fluctuations should occur in 
the abundance of round-fish, such as cod, haddock, and whiting. These 
fish are believed to be more migratory in their habits than flat fish ; they 
live to a considerable extent upon other fish, and upon herring spawn ; 
and hence, when shoals of herrings or sprats frequent the territorial waters 
in greater numbers in one season than in another, these round-fish are 
also usually found in greater abundance. With flat-fish it is somewhat 
different. They do not appear to migrate to any distance in pursuit of 
food ; but, at the spawning season — that is, for a limited period during 
the year — the large mature individuals of the more important kinds seem 
to move out beyond the territorial waters on the East Coast to cast their 
spawn. From the more local habits of flat-fishes, it might naturally be 
expected that the prohibition of beam-trawling — -the mode of fishing by 
which they are chiefly captured — for a term of years, in a large area 
like the Firth of Forth and St Audrews Bay, would be followed by a 
gradual and considerable increase in their numbers. The trawling ex- 
periments of the ' Garland,' and the statistics previously referred to, do 
not show that such an increase has occurred. 
These experiments were begun in 1886 in the Firth of Forth and 
St Andrews Bay, and although the results obtained during the compara- 
tively short period of six years cannot be regarded as conclusive, they 
afford the means of comparison between the first three years and the last 
three years following the prohibition of trawling. The mean annual 
averages per ' shot ' of the trawl in the closed waters of the Firth of 
Forth and St Andrews Bay, and in the open waters where trawling is 
not prohibited, are as follows : — ■ 
Closed Area. 
Open Area. 
Year. 
Flat Fish. 
Round Fish. 
Total. 
Flat Fish. 
Round Fish. 
Total. 
1886 
130-8 
79-7 
210-5 
72-0 
54-8 
126-6 
1887 
274-6 
115-8 
390-4 
111-6 
148-3 
259-9 
1888 
166-3 
248-7 
415-0 
91-6 
188-2 
279-8 
1889 
150-0 
187-1 
337-1 
96-4 
147-5 
243-9 
1890 
2019 
234-5 
436-4 
41-7 
154-2 
195-9 
1891 
112-2 
43-4 
155-6 
156-3 
34-7 
191-0 
It is clear from the above analysis of the results of the trawling ex- 
periments since 1886 that the prohibition of beam-trawling within the 
Firth of Forth and St Andrews Bay has not been followed by the in- 
crease in the abundance of flat-fishes within these waters which was 
anticipated. The averages per ' shot ' for the first and last three years 
are as follows 
Year. 
Closed Area. 
Open Area. 
Flat Fish. 
Round Fish. 
Total. 
Flat Fish. 
Round Fish. 
Total. 
1886-1888 
190-6 
148-1 
338-6 
91-7 
130-4 
222-2 
1889-1891 
154-7 
155-0 
309-7 
98-1 
112-1 
210-2 
