The investigation of the trawling-grounds in Start Bay, Torbay, and Teignmouth Bay, which had been previously investigated in 1895–8 by Messrs. Stead and Holt, was resumed by the Marine Biological Association in 1901, under authority from the Devon Sea Fisheries Committee.

There was a time, and that not many years ago, when the fishing-hoats of Brixham sailed round to the east coast of England and joined with the fleets of London, Lowestoft, Yarmouth, and Grimsby in exploiting the fishing-grounds of the North Sea. This carries us back at least two generations, but if one chose to hunt through old records, one might find mention of Brixham and its fishing many centuries ago. The records may even go back to an earlier date than the Armada, but its past history, though of exceptional interest, is of no importance to our present purpose, and we may turn to the doings of the men of Brixham at the present day.

The trawling investigations in the bays were carried out at monthly intervals by means of the Association's steamer Oithona, a small yacht of 69 tons gross tonnage. Only one gap appears in the monthly records for Start Bay (March), and three in those for the other bays. The total number of hauls recorded in the tables is 138, viz. 70 for Start Bay, 30 for Torbay, and 32 for Teignmouth Bay. A few hauls were made on the offshore grounds, but they were not sufficiently numerous to furnish a basis of comparison with the inshore records. Their publication is therefore deferred.

“The spawning periods of the food-fishes have been fully ascertained for the east coast of Scotland by Dr. Fulton and other Scottish workers, and the present occasion afforded a good opportunity of determining the spawning time of the plaice on the south-west coast of England. Mr. Cunningham's work, published in previous numbers of this Journal, and in more compendious form in his book on Marketable Marine Fishes, covers the whole field of fishery investigation, and forms therefore an excellent basis for more definite and detailed research. The spawning period of the plaice, for example, is given as January, February, and March for the North Sea and English Channel, and in a general way this is quite correct, but it is somewhat vague. The plaice of the Bristol Channel also spawn during the months mentioned, but on the whole later than those of the English Channel. It is evident, therefore, that we must ascertain the periods at which most plaice are spawning or have spawned, in other words the maximum spawning period as it is generally called. The difficulties in the way of ascertaining this accurately arise from the facts that all fish do not spawn exactly at the same time, and that one fish may take two or more weeks in getting rid of all its spawn. We cannot, therefore, delimit the maximum spawning period to less than two to three weeks, and if we allow for fluctuations in different years, one month is the nearest approximation we can make.

The facts and experiments recorded in the preceding sections lead to the following main conclusions:—

(1) Plaice below 8 inches in length are practically confined to the inshore waters of the bays at all seasons of the year. They are especially abundant in Teignmouth Bay and Torbay, where they are caught with the usual trawl-mesh in numbers at least as great as those of all the larger sizes of plaice taken together. In Start Bay, on the other hand, these small plaice are far less numerous than the larger fish, which out-number them by eighteen to one (Table II., p. 449).

The investigation of the trawling grounds in Start Bay, Torbay, and Teignmouth Bay, which had been previously investigated in 1895–8 by Messrs. Stead and Holt, was resumed by the Marine Biological Associaton in 1901. The new investigations were placed in the hands of Dr. H. M. Kyle, Assistant Naturalist to the Association, and were carried out by him at nearly regular monthly intervals from the end of July, 1901, to the beginning of September, 1902, by means of the Association's s.s. Oithona.

During the trawling work of the past year within and around the bays on the south coast of Devon, my attention was drawn to the peculiar phenomena displayed by the tides and currents in Start Bay, and a subsequent endeavour to trace their connections and consequences led to a wider survey of the region within the line from Start to Portland. The bottom samples brought up by the trawl and lead afforded excellent opportunities of ascertaining the nature and distribution of the different soils, and thus of tracing out their changes during the seasons. My own observations, moreover, were supplemented by those of the friendly Brixham fishermen, who had many years’ experiences behind them. Their theories, it is true, were somewhat numerous and divergent, as becomes such an energetic and independent race, but the phenomena were described with a wonderful definiteness and unanimity. Knowledge of the bottom-soil—its changes through the month and year—and of the tidal phenomena is absolutely essential to the fisherman because his living depends upon it, so that one need not be surprised at, though appreciating, the great accuracy with which they can tell where they are and what they should catch in their trawls from a brief examination of the soil brought up by the lead.

The following records are based on notes taken on board the Oithona when engaged in fishing in the bays. Whilst the primary object of the work was the distribution of fish, it was thought that something would be gained if the distribution of the invertebrates in the same area were known. The time at our disposal, however, did not allow of hauls with the dredge and shrimp trawl, so that the records are based, in all but one case, on the invertebrates caught in an otter trawl, the exception being on the Limpet Rocks off Torcross, where one haul with the dredge was taken. This is accountable for the fact that many of the smaller invertebrates were not caught at all, whilst some are only recorded because they were found in fish stomachs. The almost total absence in the records of Tunicata, Polyzoa, and small species of the other groups is due to the fact that only those were recorded which could be identified on board. The records themselves, however, incomplete as they are, are fairly representative of the distribution of the species recorded.

The increased attention which has been paid within recent years to fishery statistics has revealed, amongst other troublesome things, that the instruments employed play an important part both as to quantity and quality in the result. It is not necessary to discuss whether any of the instruments as now used give a fair sample of the contents of the water or ground, but it certainly is the case that different apparatus will give different samples. Let a beam-trawl and an otter-trawl work for a year over the same ground alongside drift-nets and fixed trammel-nets or gill-nets, and we can guarantee that the results will differ from one another. In the case of the drift-nets we should have a few forms probably in large quantity, in the others a great variety of forms, but in different proportions in each. And again, those obtained by the drift-nets would be practically absent from the trawls. It thus behoves the naturalist to make every kind of fishing apparatus subservient to his use, if he desires to obtain even an approximate measure of fish-life in the sea.

For the sake of argument I will suppose:

I. That in a biologically self-contained area, e.g. in the North Sea, statistics show that the value of the total yearly catch of a certain species of fish is decreasing year by year;

II. That the catching power and the prices are not reduced;

III. That the physical conditions have not changed in an unfavourable manner.

In the present paper I propose to give a brief account of the larvse of two species of Crangonidæ—Cheraphilus trispinosus and Ægeon fasciatus. I shall not do moro than describe the most characteristic features of the larva, as I hope soon to publish a more complete account of the development, with illustrations.

In the following pages I have attempted, at Mr. Garstang's suggestion, to record the results of the examination of tow-net stages of Teleostean fishes, as it seemed important to determine to what extent the record for 1897, published by Holt and Scott (Journal M.B.A., v., N.S., p. 156), was representative of the conditions usually prevailing in the Plymouth district.

During the past year (1902) several cases of peculiarly shaped gurnards were reported from Brixham and Plymouth, and three specimens eventually fell into my hands. They are hunchbacked in form, and are so distinct from the common type that in the days of Couch and Parnell they would have been raised to the dignity of a separate species. No records of such malformations in the gurnards—though common enough in fresh-water forms, as perch and trout—have ever been made so far as my knowledge goes, so that a brief description seems advisable.

Motella fusca. A new British Record. On April 9th Mr. Lowe, Curator of the Municipal Museum, found on the shore under a stone a ripe female Motella, which he brought up to the Laboratory. The fish measured 19 cms. It had three barbels, and on investigation failed to agree with the descriptions of any of the five recognised British species: M. mustela, tricirrata, macrophthalma, maculata, or cimbria.

The Council and Officers.

The four ordinary quarterly meetings of the Council have been held, at which the average attendance has been eight. On each occasion the meeting has taken place at the rooms of the Royal Society, and the Council desires to thank the Royal Society for the accommodation given.

The Council and Officers.

The work of the Council has this year been considerably augmented in consequence of the fact that a commission has been accepted from H.M. Government to carry out in the southern British area the programme of scientific fishery investigations adopted by the International Conference, which met at Christiania in 1901. In addition to the four ordinary meetings of the Council, three special meetings have been held, these being entirely devoted to the organisation of the international work. The average attendance at the meetings has been nine. The Council have again to thank the Royal Society for allowing all the meetings to bo held in their rooms at Burlington House.

The Report of the Council, which has already been in the hands of the members of the Association for some months, and is reprinted in the present number of the Journal, gives a summary of the history of the Association and of the work which has been in progress Binco the issue of the last Journal.