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Part III. — Nmtli Annual Report 
as the turbot, brill, plaice, &c. ; and Mr Scott's observations on the ' Soutli- 
* esk,' and those made by expeditions sent out by the German Government 
to investigate certain fishing banks in the North Sea, have shown that 
nurseries of immature fish may exist far beyond the territorial limit. 
The charts also show the location of the chief spawning-grounds for the 
herring, some of those which are now deserted by that tish being separ- 
ately distinguished. It is well known that the herring may capriciously, 
without rhyme or reason, suddenly abandon a spawning-ground habitually 
frequented for generations, and may as capriciously return. If the 
principle held by the late Spencer Baird, the United States Fish Com- 
missioner, is correct — that it is the rule for fish to return to spawn at the 
place where they were themselves hatched, it would be worth trying 
whether, by depositing and protecting artificially fertilised herring eggs 
on these deserted grounds, a profitable fishing might not in the course of 
a few seasons be re- established. 
I give below a brief description of the chief fishing-grounds. 
1. From Northumberland to Kattray Head. 
This great stretch of the East Coast comprises some of the most pro- 
ductive grounds in Scottish waters. South of St Abb's Head there are a 
number of places famous for their herring fishing, and where the herring 
spawns in summer. Great shoals spawn on a large patch some seven or 
eight miles off Holy Isle ; further south, off Dunstanburgh, there is an excel- 
lent spawning-ground within two or three miles from the shore, and another, 
some sixteen square miles in extent, lies off Eyemouth, but few herrings 
spawn here. Haddocks spawn in large shoals some twelve or thirteen miles 
off St Abb's Head. In the Firth of Forth and neighbourhood are situated a 
number of famous fishing-grounds, t am indebted to Mr John Murray, the 
Fishery Officer of the Leith district, for the following account : — 
* Most of the bottom of the upper estuary of the Firth of Forth is com- 
* posed of mud, with occasional patches of sandy gravel. Flounders, 
* sparling, eels, sprats, herrings, and codlings are the principal kinds of 
* fish resorting to the upper portion of the Firth. The first three descrip- 
' tions of fish are considered local, and are believed to spawn in the upper 
* waters. Flounders are caught nearly everywhere. Sparlings are got 
* from opposite Kincardine, all the way up the Forth to Polmaise, at 
' which place, and also at Abbeyford, they are believed to spawn. Sprats 
* are chiefly caught on the south side of the Forth, from Alloa to Kincar- 
' dine, and then on the north side from Kincardine to Limekilns, and 
* occasionally on both sides down to Queensferry. Sprats are believed to 
' leave the upper estuary, and spawn in the waters between Fisherrow and 
* Gullane-ness. Herrings are caught on the same grounds as sprats, and 
' they are frequently found together ; but all the herrings are believed to 
' proceed from the upper estuary to the vicinity of the May for spawning 
* purposes. Within the limits of the district two or three grounds, once 
' noted as spawning-grounds for the herring, are now deserted by these 
* fish. A good fishing gravel bank for codlings, &c., used to be found off 
* Charleston, but either the dredgings from Bo'ness, &c., or the muddy 
* silt of the Firth, have covered it recently, and the fish have disappeared. 
* In the deep water near Queensferry large cod are now and again caught, 
' and occasionally a few large skate, but few ground-fish of any other sort 
* are found there. Over all the lower estuary, extending from Queens- 
' ferry to May Island, nearly all kinds of edible fishes are found in more 
* or less abundance. SlioU-fish, such as mussels and clams, are also found 
' in considerable quantities from Mickry Island to Gullane-ness. Oysters 
