30 
Part III. — Ninth Annual Rejoort 
group of flat-lish comprised in the tables uibier the headings Lemon Sole, 
Flounder, Plaice, and Brill, but which chiefly consist of Plaice, line fisher 
men landcil a larger propoition of small individuals than did beam- 
trawlers. 
The results referred to above correspond with those of the previous 
year, namely, that beam-trawlers land larger quantities of small round fish 
than do line fishermen, and lesser quantities of small flat-fish. 
Summary. 
The results of the trawling experiments of the ' Garland ' show that 
during last year there was a general increase of fish both in the closed and 
open waters as compared with 1889. Both in the Firth of Forth and St 
Andrews Bay there was an increase in the quantities of round tish — cod, 
haddock, and es[)ecially whiting — and in St Andrews Bay the quantity of 
flat-fish was also materially increased. In the Firth of Forth, while the 
abundance of round fish was greater, there was a slight diminution in the 
average catch of flat-fish, except at the outer stations, where a slight increase 
occurred. In the open waters at St Andrews Bay, outside the line within 
which beam-trawling is prohibited, there was a very marked falling off in 
flat-fish, while in the Bay itself the average catch of flat-fish was greater 
than it has been since 1887. A special feature of the trawling experi- 
ments in 1890 was the abundance of cod, haddock, and whiting, a cir- 
cumstance which is no doubt C(mnected with the immense shoal of young 
whitings which the ' Garland ' discovered to be present in the Firth of 
Forth and St Andrews Bay in the autumn of 1889. This shoal was 
computed at the time to number over 230,000,000 individuals, the 
majority being between three and five inches in length, and it was almost 
confined to the territorial waters. Last year, in the closed waters of the 
Firth of Forth, large and medium-sized whitings were four times more 
numerous than they were in 1889, and in the open waters beyond the Isle 
of May they were six times more abundant than in the previous year. The 
latter fact indicates the close relationship that exists between the territorial 
waters as nurseries for young fish, and the off-shore fishing grounds where 
large numbers subsequently congregate to spawn. It is very probable 
that the increased numbers of cod and haddocks last year at the various 
trawling stations in St Andrews Bay and the Firth of Forth resulted from 
the same cause, since both these fish, and especially the cod, live largely 
upon other fish, and would be attracted by the multitudes of young 
whitings. 
The increase of whitings and of other round fish is also shown by the 
special statistics of the quantities caught by line fishermen in the southern 
part of the East Coast. Although the general tendency shown in recent 
years of a decrease in the number of boats prosecuting line fishing was 
continued in 1890 — there having been above eight thousand fewer 'shots,' 
or visits to the fishuig-grounds along the stretch of coast between Aber- 
deen and Dunbar as compared with the previous year — there was an 
increase in the average catch of each boat fishing. The increase, which 
was specially marked in the case of flat-fish in certain of the districts, is 
well shown in the case of the statistics referring to the Buckhaven line 
fishing. These statistics show that while there has been a gradual falling 
off since 1886, in the number of boats fishing, there has been a gradual 
increase year by year in the average catch per boat of cod and large 
haddocks. 
