40 
THE MIGRATIONS OF LOBSTERS. 
It is seldom that lobsters are eauglit in deep water even in the 
winter months. One or two are sometimes caught in the crab 
pots off Beadnell in 25 to 30 fathoms during January and 
February, hut when the crab pots are moved shoreward to 8 to 20 
fathoms in March and April, lobsters are caught in larger numbers. 
From May to autumn the lobsters are captured close to the rocks. 
In the report for 1900, the tables contributed by Mr. Douglas, 
Beadnell, show that in 1899, during April, 236 lobsters were 
captured in from 8 to 18 fathoms, and during May and June, 419 
lobsters in 6 to 14 fathoms; in 1900, 715 lobsters were got in 6 
to 14 fathoms during April, May, and June. The tables furnished 
by Mr. Fawcus similarly indicate that off Sea Houses lobsters are 
caught during February and March in 8 to 18 fathoms, during 
April and May from 7 to 12 fathoms, and during June and July 
in 4 to 7 fathoms. It may be said, then, that lobsters are to be 
found in greatest numbers amongst and close to the rocks in very 
moderate depths during the summer, but even in the summer a few 
may be found as far out as 10 fathoms or a little more. Many 
more appear to go out to deeper water in the colder weather, for 
when fishermen have been fishing for lobsters in the winter, they 
have had to remove the pots a little further out than is necessary 
during other times of the year. Even in the winter, however, they 
do not migrate to the same extent as crabs. As our tables indicate, 
the fishermen seldom or never catch lobsters in the winter months 
of the year when the pots are placed 2 to 3 miles from the shore. 
Nor do the lobsters appear to move very far up and down 
the coast. With a view to determining their migrations in this 
respect, Mr. Douglas kindly consented to label a number of lobsters 
at Beadnell. The results are given in the following Table. 
