9 
TRAWLING EXPERIMENTS. 
The Chairman again kindly allowed the “Stanley” to be used 
for trawling experiments within the Committee’s district. The 
usual inshore stations were visited, and a trial was made also in 
deeper water off Blyth. 
Marketable Fish. 
The review of the trawling experiments for fourteen years 
given in the last report showed that up to about 1908 a gradual 
improvement in the numbers of Hat fish had taken place, and that 
since 1903 a falling off had been demonstrated. It will now be 
seen from the following tables that the figures once more indicate 
an upward trend. The increase was exhibited at all the stations, 
but it was particularly evident at Skate Roads, Druridge Bay, and 
Blyth Bay. (See Tables I., II., and 111.) 
It is also to be noted that the differences between the northern 
and southern stations, to which attention has been previously 
drawn, are this year intensified, — from a conspicuous increase in 
the number of dabs at the southern stations, accompanied as a rule 
by a diminution in the number of plaice, and an exactly opposite 
increase and decrease at the northern station, Skate Roads. 
First Haul. 
The results obtained of the measurement of the first haul on 
each occasion are given in Table IV. Attention is particularly- 
directed to the large numbers of young dabs and gurnards met 
with on several occasions, and to the results obtained in nineteen 
fathoms off Blyth, where young dabs were also found in fairly large 
numbers. 
