22 
The different bays differ greatly in the proportion of small and 
large fish. At Alnmouth Bay and Druridge Bay much larger 
representatives of the common species were got than at Blyth Bay 
and Cambois Bay. A reference to the corresponding table in last 
year’s report will show that while the former bays furnished, as this 
year, a fair number of large fish, Cambois Bay gave equally good 
results, and Skate Boads was not very far behind. We have 
already noted that the conditions in Skate Boads precluded 
trawling this year, and the catches registered in Table II. for the 
first and only haul made there, show that the quality of the fishes 
was much below the average. On a clean bottom, as a rule, the 
fishes may be caught by the trawl in the numbers shown in our 
tables each year, but the conditions which heap up weed in the bays 
evidently compel the fishes to hide or to migrate further out. 
The same bay at different times may present great differences 
in regard to the proportion of sizes of the same species, and the 
relative proportion in number of the various species. Naturally, 
also, we get different representatives of the more isolated wanderers 
into these bays at such successive visits. But a variation in this 
respect from the dominant and sub-dominant forms would be 
produced, for instance, by the trawl getting nearer the rocks 
than usual, and catching some of the species which occur more 
exclusively in such places. 
As has been pointed out in previous reports, the plaice are with 
few exceptions immature fish. The condition of the bays in this 
respect may be better illustrated by presenting the total number of 
plaice and dabs registered in these tables for the last two years. 
PLAICE. 
Inches. 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 
11 
12 
13 
14 
19 
16 
17 
18 
19 
20 
21 
22 
1899 
1!) 
80 
78 
71 
44 
47 
47 
30 
85 
20 
14 
1 
1 
■ 1 
M 
1900 
15 
82 
125 
141 
147 
100 
50 
50 
34 
30 
19 
18 
8 
2 
1 
... 
1 
Total 
15 
101 
211 
219 
218 
144 
97 
97 
70 
05 
45 
32 
9 
3 
2 
... 
I) ABB. 
1899 
1 
10 
29 
166 
149 
65 
35 
12 
0 
7 
2 
1 
... 
"l 
1900 
27 
83 
52 
70 
73 
72 
50 
24 
6 
2 
•> 
1 
o 
... 
... 
•- 
Total 
28 
93 
81 
242 
22*2 
137 . 85 
36 
s 
<) 
4 
o 
2 
