81 
daily caught on the above coasts, which gave employment to 
\ numbers of men. The shoal generally lay about one league 
the shore, was about three miles in breadth, and in length 
uled near the whole coast of the three counties in constant 
Msion for about three months." He connected the cause of 
ecline with the observations which had been communicated by 
,..ins of vessels that large quantities of haddock and cole fish had 
-seou in a dead or dying condition over a large area near the 
Len Islands. And this at once brings the interesting modern 
ry of the tile fish of American waters to mind. 
i 1 addition to the haddock and codling, whitings join in this 
^ration at the end of the year, and a number of bibs and poor 
appear among the catches as well. Another immigration on the 
:>f the whiting, with the shoals of small-size stages takes place 
M early part of the summer, when ling are caught also in maxi- 
numbers. 
iae catches of plaice arc mainly made, with those of dabs, in the 
iris of February to April. ;uid in October and November, for the 
part by the Berwick, Holy Island, and Sea Houses fishermen, 
ii.nshore waters, therefore, appear to receive immigrations at 
periods in addition to the short one which our experiments 
ihown to take place in the summer. 
ie figures for the eleven years show that a great decline has 
place in the catches of haddock, plaice, and turbot in the 
)art of this period. The reason in the case of turbot is that 
hernieu of the northern district have been giving up the use 
turbot or brat nets, as the men of the southern district did, with 
seption of those at Boulmer, many years ago. It is only prose- 
and, in a very reduced degree at Craster. Brat net fishing is 
historical, therefore, with regard to the majority of Northum- 
1 stations, and it is now threatened with extinction. There 
no question that during the period which has witnessed the 
in this method of fishing, turbot have also considerably 
icd in numbers. Moreover, the trawling experiments in spite 
lecline in the fishing, do not point to any improvement in the 
is of turbot. In the case of plaice it will be noticed that 
ie diminuition referred to ceased in 1897, an improvement 
en place, which, when presented in diagram form is verv 
similar to that recorded for the trawling experiments, 
ire diagram 1 of Chart 2 with diagram 2 of Chart 5). 
