a > . ++ o1e: 5 * Ce ee ee ° ‘ - wee ee wee we ; - HARVARD UNIVERSITY. LIBRARY OF THE MUSEUM OF COMPARATIVE ZOOLOGY. Wo. GIFT OF ALEXANDER AGASSIZ. Sp WABI AL MU, AGo4 - % ed a eS WALD. NW ates REPORT, FOR 1899 ANCASHIRE SEA-FISHERIES LABORATORY UNIVERSITY COLLEGE, LIVERPOOL, AND THE DRAWN UP BY -—-—s- Professor W. A. Herpman, D.Sc., F.B.S., Hon. Director of the Scientific Work ; LIVERPOOL : Printep By T. Dongs & Co., 229, BRowNLow HILu. Sy 900. ike : cea At Dy Naps! | Nae Ef) Report on the INVESTIGATIONS carried on in 1899 in connection with the LANCASHIRE SEA - FISHERIES LaABporatory at University College, Liverpool, and the SrA-FisH Hatcuery at Piel, near Barrow. Drawn up by Professor W. A. Herpman, F.R.S., Honorary Director of the Scientific Work; assisted by Mr. ANDREW Scort, Resident Fisheries Assistant at Piel, and Mr, JAMES JOHNSTONE, Fisheries Assistant at Liverpool. With Six Plates and a Map. CONTENTS. 1. Introduction and General Account of the ems : - : 1 2. Oyster Memoir and Oyster Bill — - : - 12 3. Sea-Fisheries Conferences, and the need ofa ‘‘ Gengua” = lz! 4. Hatchery Work at Piel—Fish and Lobsters - - - 19 5. Note on the American Shad - - - - - 29 6. Notes on the White Fluke or Wonder = 30 7. The Structure of the Cockle, with an Appendix 0 on Cockling in the Lancashire District - - 884 INTRODUCTION AND GENERAL ACCOUNT OF THE WORK. (W. A. HeRpDMAN.) As in the case of last year’s Report, I shall give first a brief sketch of the work of the year, dealing with those minor matters which require mention, and merely referring here to those larger investigations which are treated fully in the separate sections which follow. I mentioned last year that I had then set Mr, James Johnstone, as part of his work in the Liverpool laboratory, to make a detailed examination of the complete structure, and as much as could be ascertained of the life-history of the common cockle. This investigation has been Mr. Johnstone’s chief work during the year, and, as the result, 2 he has now drawn up the exhaustive account of the structure of this important economic Mollusc which I have put at the end of the present Report. In addition to the account of the structure—illustrated by six plates— there is an Appendix upon Cockling in the Lancashire District, based upon statistics supplied by Mr. Dawson, Mr. Ascroft, some of the bailiffs, and the Furness Railway Co., and illustrated by a map showing the distribution of the cockle beds. It is interesting to notice that, from comparison of these figures for last year with the Report of the Commissioners (Mr. F. Buckland and Mr. Spencer Walpole) who examined the Morecambe Bay fisheries in 1879, we can come to the important conclusion that there is no reason to suppose that there has been any serious falling off in the produc- tiveness of these beds during the 21 years, or, at least, that the annual produce of the Morecambe district is very much the same now that it was 21 years ago. Mr. Johnstone has, however, found it no easy matter to get statistics for the two periods that are really comparable. It is not easy to realise, until one goes into the matter, how difficult it is to get full and reliable statistics in regard to any fishery in our own district, even as recently as last year, and it is quite exceptional to have any infor- mation in regard to one 20 or 50 years ago. This is another example of the necessity for a more perfect system of recording the extent, nature, and value of our coast fisheries than we at present have, an additional argument in favour of the scheme for obtaining an approximate census of our territorial waters, which I suggest further on in this Report (see p. 14). The rest of Mr. Johnstone’s time—in addition to helping me with general work, correspondence, the examination of any specimens that arrive, the preparation of ‘‘ memo- 3 randa”’ throughout the year, and of this Report—has been taken up with the removal of the travelling Fisheries Exhibition from town to town. The packing and unpack- ing of specimens, the renewal of labels, &c., takes up a good deal of the time both of Mr. Johnstone and also of the laboratory boy—for the first half of the year Thomas Mercer, now William Raw. The Exhibition, it will be remembered, was opened by Mr. Fell in Liverpool in October, 1897, and has now been exhibited at the following institutions in Lancashire :— University College, Liverpool, from Oct., 1897, to March, 1898; Royal Museum, Peel Park, Salford, from March, 1898, to Oct., 1898; Free Public Museum, Preston, from Oct., 1898, to April, 1899 ; Chadwick Museum, Bolton, from May, 1899, to Oct., 1899; and is now at University College, Liverpool, from Oct., 1899, to March, 1900. Mr. Mullen has reported that while the exhibition was at Salford it was visited by 120,000 persons, Mr. Bramwell has estimated that during the six months at Preston it was visited by, on an average, 500 persons daily, say 75,000 in all, while Mr. Midgley writes to me—‘‘ During the time of its exhibition in Bolton it has been visited by upwards of 50,000 people, and no doubt some in the district have been led to take a deeper interest in the subject of our food supply, and in the work of the County Council in respect to fish-culture than previously.”” The Exhibition is at present in Liverpool being re-fitted and re-arranged and re-labelled. Early in spring it will be removed to the Gamble Institute, St. Helens, where it will remain for six months; after that it is promised to Warrington; South- port will, I believe, apply for it, and visits to Barrow and other places have been suggested. I am disappointed that the scheme for Fisheries Scholar- ships and studentships, which was outlined in the last 4 Report, has not yet come into active operation. There seems now, however, a fair prospect that this branch of Technical Instruction will soon receive here the attention that it merits. The principle of the scheme—the course of instruction and the allotment of the money—have been approved by the Sea-Fisheries Committee, the County Technical Instruction Committee, and the Senate of University College, Liverpool. The Lancashire County Council has decided to offer two Fisheries Scholarships of £60 a year each for two years, and a number of Fisheries Studentshipsof £10 to£15 each. The details of the entrance examinations were, however, not arranged in time to permit of the scheme being started at the beginning of the present College Session. The Liverpool City Technical Instruction Committee have allowed certain of their scholarships to be used by ‘‘ Fisheries”? students, and two such scholars have already (Oct., 1899) commenced work in the Zoological department. It is to be hoped that at least one Lancashire County ‘‘ Fisheries”’ scholar may be enabled to start his curriculum in January, 1900. Turning to still higher Fisheries Education and Research, the Committee will be interested to know that I have now working with me at University College one of the holders of the ‘1851 Exhibition”’ from the University of Wales, Mr. J. T. Jenkins, B.Sc.; who, in addition to other pieces of work, is engaged on an investigation of the digestive glands of oysters, and other edible shell-fish, and the changes they undergo with varying conditions of health. We have had as visitors during the year, at the Liverpool Laboratory and at the Piel Hatchery, Mr. Woodall of Scarborough, Mr. Fryer of the Board of Trade, Mr. Gray of © Millport Biological Station, Dr. Knut Dahl of Throndhjem, Dr. Oscar Nordgaard of Bergen, and finally, Mr. K. Oku (Chemist to the Imperial Fisheries Bureau at Tokyo) who 5 was sent to me by Professor Kishinouye, the head of the Bureau, to gain information as to ‘‘ the recent methods of investigation, and also the technical teaching of the Science of Fisheries”’ in our country. In addition to these profes- sional fisheries authorities and workers, we have had a number of non-professional visitors at Piel during the year, including —The Duke of Buccleuch, Sir John Hibbert, Admiral Barnett, Mr. Fell, Mr. KE. Wadham, Mr. Bennion, Dr. Allan, Dr. Carmichael, the members of the Barrow Field Naturalist’s Club, and many others. Mr. F. W. Gamble, M.Se., of Owens College, Manchester, carried on some work on the colours of Crustacea in the Piel Laboratory during last winter, and he proposes to continue his work there during a part of the present Christmas vacation. I think it will be of interest if I quote here, as an example of what is being done in Sea-Fisheries Instruction and Research elsewhere, the following passage from a report upon “The Work at the Biological Laboratory of the United States Fish Commission at Woods Holl, Massa- chusetts.”” It is taken from the American journal ““Science’”’ for July 22nd, 1898 :— “Three months ago the United States Fish Commis- “sion announced that its Biological Laboratory would “‘be re-opened; that it would be equipped for investiga- “tion; that men of science would be welcome, and that ‘every effort would be made to collect all needed ‘material, and to furnish, within certain limits, all “necessary instruments and apparatus for research. “The Station has the most extensive plant for the study “of marine life and practical fish-culture in the world. “There are four buildings: The Hatchery, Laboratory, “and Aquarium ; the Residence; the Shops and Store ‘House ; and the Power House. ‘ It is in possession of 6 ‘“‘a small fleet of steam and sailing vessels, and by “special enactment the officers are empowered to use, ‘“‘at their discretion, any means for the capture of fish “or other marine organisms. “The Commission has refurnished the Biological ‘“Taboratory and added ten new rooms for research. “Tt has equipped a laboratory for physiology. It has ‘purchased a bacteriological outfit, and a creditable “library of biology and fish-culture has been installed. “Two steam launches and the schooner ‘Grampus’ have “been attached to the Station, several fine-mesh seines, ‘“‘trawls and tow-nets have been purchased, and a large ‘fish-trap has been placed at a favourable locality. “From the day of the opening of the laboratory, ‘April 1st, several tables have been continuously occu- ‘nied, and, at the present time, the scientific force “numbers twenty-four. Several have expressed the “desire of extending their work during the autumn and ‘‘ winter months, and it 1s proposed to keep the labora- ‘tory open throughout the year. “The Commission does not attempt to instruct or to ‘‘ dictate as to what lines of research are to be pursued, ‘how the work shall be carried on, or where the results “shall be published. It is convinced that all lines of ‘biological research are indirectly, if not also directly, ‘helpful to its more immediately practical work, and it “happens that fully one-half of the investigators are ‘busy with problems bearing directly upon the anatomy, ‘embryology, physiology and pathology of fish. The “large corps of collaborators has made it possible to ‘secure definite data respecting the breeding habits of “many marine forms. The floating fauna has been “systematically examined; valuable information has ‘been gained respectmg the larval life of the star-fish, if “the developmental stages of the clam, the rate of ‘“orowth of the scallops, the causes of mortality of ‘lobster fry, and the pathogenic bacteria infesting fish. “With the co-operation of the Marine Biological ‘“‘ Laboratory, it is proposed to make a series of syn- ‘“‘chronous observations on the temperature and floating “fauna of Vineyard Sound. The combined vessels of “the two laboratories provide a sufficiently large fleet “to make these observations of special interest. It is ‘also proposed to resume again the deep-sea work ‘“beoun by the Commission many years ago, though the “temporary use of the ‘ Fish Hawk’ by the United States “navy will prevent the work from being undertaken “the present season. Mr. Andrew Scott’s work at the Piel Laboratory and Hatchery has consisted in the hatching of young food fish and lobsters, and certain experiments in their rearing, in the examination of tow-nettings taken by the bailiffs along the coast, and in carrying on observations for me in regard to the conditions under which oysters and other shell-fish become green. A little further on (p. 19) will be found Mr. Scott’s own report upon the hatching operations, but I desire to make a few remarks here as to the conclusions to be drawn from the experiments. In the first place, hatching must be carefully distin- guished from rearing. So far as regards the hatching out of a very large proportion of the ova supplied to the tanks, the operations at Piel have been entirely successful. Out of about four million of healthy fertilised ova sup- plied, a total of 3,319,000 larvee were hatched and set free in suitable localities on the off-shore grounds. In the case of lobsters, the ova on 13 berried females were, with almost no loss, retained in a healthy condition 8 on the appendages during the embryonic stages, and were hatched out as larve. These numbers of successfully hatched fish and lobsters compare favourably with the proportions given by other similar institutions abroad and in America; and with an adequate supply of spawn—which the absence of a spawn- ing pond has prevented us from having in the past—there could be no difficulty in rivalling the grand totals of Capt. Dannevig in Norway and of the United States Fish Com- mission. We have not, however, been content with merely hatching the ova, and setting free the larve, but have endeavoured to keep them for a time with the view of tiding over the younger and more defenceless stages. It is in this second attempt—the rearing, not the hatching— that we have had as yet poor success. The larval fish have lived with us for a short time, and have continued to erow and develop up to a certain stage. But there has been no evidence that they have fed systematically upon what we have supplied, and eventually all have died off before reaching the period of metamorphosis into small flat fish. In regard to the rearing of the young lobsters, although Mr. Scott took great pains to try to supply them with various kinds of food, and kept them under varied condi- tions in the hope of hitting upon the environment they required, the larvee seemed unable to get over the succes- sive periods of ecdysis, or casting of the shell—always a critical period in the life of a Crustacean. Some lived as long as three weeks after being hatched, but none survived the third moult. However, the matter will be tried again with further variations in the food and surrounding conditions. With a view of seeing what was done elsewhere with 9 the young fish larvee after hatching, Mr. Dawson and I visited in April the hatchery at Dunbar, an institution established by the Fishery Board for Scotland, and very similar to our own hatchery in equipment and in purpose. There we were shown, by Mr. Harold Dannevig, how the millions of young plaice were kept only a few days, or at most a week, and were then transferred to the upper parts of Lochfyne on the west coast—an operation which is conducted with very little loss. I sent a special report on the visit to Dunbar to the Chairman in April, and this was printed as an appendix to Mr. Dawson’s quarterly report in June. Many of the little details we saw at Dunbar may be useful to us in our further work at Piel. Although it was Mr. H. Dannevig at Dunbar who had been most successful in keeping and feeding the young plaice, still it must be remembered that those he dealt with were a comparatively small number of isolated specimens, and not the bulk of the season’s hatching. We propose, then, to continue our rearing experiments, but only to make use of the odd hundreds and tens— setting free at a very young stage (as they do in Scotland and America) the round millions and thousands. I do not say that I regard this as absolutely satisfactory. It still leaves in doubt the ultimate fate of the fry set free. We do not know what proportion of them are killed off at early stages in the sea, although we suspect that propor- tion to be a large one. But it is the only practical method until we determine by further experiment the conditions under which it is possible to rear large numbers of larve through their metamorphosis into small fishes. We are certainly greatly retarded in our work at Piel by the want of a large open-air tank, which could be used as a spawning pond. Of the various schemes that have been before the Committee of late years in regard to 10 such a pond, the only one that now seems possible to biologists and engineers alike, is to build the concrete tank above the ground on the garden site close to the engine- house. Here there is space for a pond 60 feet by 20 feet, and 10 feet deep, which would have a capacity of about 75,000 gallons. Our present pumps are capable of supply- ing about 2,500 gallons per hour, and the tides allow of pumping for about 4 hours out of 12, two and a half hours before and one and a half hours after high water. When the pond is full it would be possible to change at least one-seventh of the whole contents each tide, and in the intervals between the periods of pumping this seventh part, over 10,000 gallons, would be used for working the apparatus in the tank room. It is most desirable that permission to proceed with the erection of the required pond be obtained from the Board of Trade with as little delay as possible. Such a pond could be made available for various useful purposes, such as fish spawning, lobster hatching and rearing, and oyster spatting and cultivation. In the early spring over 600 mature fish could be accom- modated, which should provide an abundant supply of eggs for the hatching boxes.* At the close of each fish-spawning season it would pro- bably be necessary to set the spawners free, and collect a fresh stock in time for the next season in order to ensure having healthy parents. As Jobster hatching and oyster spatting both take place in summer, the pond would then be free from fish, and it would be a simple matter to arrange temporary partitions across the pond, dividing it into two or more compartments, one of which would be used for the berried lobsters and another for oysters and collecting tiles. It is, perhaps, unnecessary to go further * The Scottish Fishery Board aim at having 2,500 adult plaice in their spawning pond this season. va Ne Th A Ane Rg GRD + 11 into the details of such proposed additional work until the scheme for the formation of the pond has been approved of. The primary object of the pond is the provision of an abundant supply of healthy fish spawn for the hatchery, but its use will be by no means restricted to that object. A spawning pond in which the eggs can be produced naturally from healthy parents is essential to successful hatching on a sufficiently large scale. The special parts of this Report which follow consist of :—my remarks upon the Oyster Bill, and a discussion of Fisheries Conferences and the need of a ‘‘ Census”’ of our territorial waters; Mr. Scott’s account of the hatching operations at Piel; notes by Mr. Ascroft on the American Shad and the White Fluke; and finally, Mr. Johnstone’s detailed account of the structure of the edible Cockle, with an Appendix on the Cockling Statistics of our District. This section on the Cockle is illustrated by six plates, and a map showing the distribution of the cockle beds. I desire, in conclusion, to ask for a very careful considera- tion by the Committee of my remarks and recommendations on pages 14 to 18 in regard to a scheme for obtaining an approximate ‘‘ Census” of our fisheries district. W. A. HERDMAN. University CoLLicr, LIVERPOOL, December, 1899. 12 OysTER MEMOIR AND OysTER BILL. (W. A. HERDMAN.) The work 1 have been doing at intervals during the last few years, along with my colleague Professor Boyce, upon oysters and their supposed connection with disease in man having come to a conclusion, the Committee have printed and issued an account of the investigation as a thin quarto volume* of about 60 pages and 8 partly coloured plates, under the heading of ‘‘ Lancashire Sea-Fisheries Memoir No. I.” I hope it may be regarded as creditable to the Committee to have undertaken the publication, in this manner, of researches which add to our knowledge of an important shell-fish, and havea bearing upon public health questions, upon proposed legislation, and upon valuable fishing industries. + As this Oyster Memoir has recently been sent to all members of the Committee, I need not refer to it further than to say that it brought out clearly the need of some control of the oyster trade in order that injurious oysters might not be offered for sale. 'T’'wo events have recently occurred, either of which might lead to the effective con- trol required. These are the formation of the Oyster Industries Association and the introduction of an Oyster Bill into the House of Lords by Lord Harris. The Bill met with considerable criticism, and was referred to a Select Committee of the House, which reported in July; but the Bill was eventually dropped. It is to be hoped * ‘ Oysters and Disease,’ published by Geo. Philip and Son, London and Liverpool, 1899 ; price 7s. 6d. net. + It may serve to remove in part the reproach levelled against the Sea- Fisheries Committees when, in the evidence given last June before Lord Harris’s Select Committee on the Oyster Bill, it was said by the medical authorities at the Local Government Board, that these Comnuttees had never done anything to investigate the sanitary condition of our fisheries. 13 that it will come up in an amended form next session. Lord Harris’s Bill, although it certainly did much to meet the present want of control, was susceptible of improve- ment in several respects, and it may be useful that I should state briefly what the more important of the amendments should be, in my opinion :— 1°. The duty of inspecting and the power of prohibiting removal of oysters from the layings should rest with the Sea-Fishery Committees rather than with the County and Borough Councils :—that is, these important functions should be given to an authority concerned neither with the trade aspects of the oyster industries nor with the medical aspects of the sanitation of the neighbourhood, but to one primarily concerned with the prosperity of the fisheries— which includes their cultivation under healthy conditions. The Sea-Fishery Committees are in a position to hold the balance fairly between trade interests and sewage schemes. It is true that at present some of the more important oyster layingsare not topographically within the jurisdiction of the local Sea-Fishery Committees ; but thatis a matter which should be capable of easy remedy by an extension of the powers of the Committees in so far as regards oysters and other shell-fish. 2°. From the point of view of public health, the sale of oysters from any suspected laying should be stopped forth- with. ‘Ten days’ notice, or twenty-one days’ notice in the case of an appeal, if the oysters are infected, allows of the possibility of an indefinite amount of damage to health. Several epidemics might be started before the sale of the oysters could be stopped. In this respect the provisions of the Bill do not meet the present difficulty. 3°. It is necessary that oysters should be protected from insanitary environment, not merely in the layings 14 but also when in storage, markets, cellars, and shops—in short, until they reach the consumer. 4°. Foreign oysters, unless imported direct from layings which are periodically inspected and certified by an authority approved of by, say, the Fisheries Department of the Board of Trade, must be relaid or subjected to quarantine before entering our markets. Many foreign oyster layings are situated in pure water, others are not. The reasons given, in the evidence taken by the Select Committee, for regarding all Dutch oysters as being free from any sewage contamination will not bear careful ex- amination. 5°. Finally, shell-fish industries should not be forced, in all cases, to give way to sewage schemes. There ought to be power given in the Bill to consider in each case whether, in the interests of the general public, it is the oyster laying or the sewage that should be removed. SrA-FISHERIES CONFERENCES AND THE NEED OF A ‘‘ CENSUS OF OUR SEAS.” (W. A. HERDMAN.) During the last few years there have been a large number of conferences, congresses, and other meetings, which have dealt either formally or informally with the subject of Sea-Fisheries, and especially their control and scientific investigation. At several recent meetings of the British Association discussions have taken place in the section of Zoology bearing upon artificial hatching, the life and growth of sea-fishes, and the closure of areas of territorial water ; in July, 1898, an International Fisheries Congress was held at Bergen under the auspices of the Society for the Encouragement of Norwegian Fisheries; in September, 1898, a Conference met at 15 Dieppe; in July, 1899, a Conference took place at Biar- ritz ; in September of the same year a meeting was held at Boulogne, in which some members of the French and British Associations took part; finally, and perhaps most important of all, because of the extent to which the governments concerned took official part in the meeting, was the International Conference for the Exploration of the Sea which met at Stockholm in June, 1899, on the invitation of the Swedish government. At most of these meetings something of interest arose, such as, e.g., the description of the remarkable natural oyster culture ponds on the west coast of Norway, given by Herman Friele at the Bergen Congress; but it may well be doubted whether such results are at all commen- surate with the time, trouble, and money that has been expended upon the meetings. The discussions of vexed questions have certainly been in most cases quite inade- quate, and have led to no definite results. Perhaps one cause of this partial failure has been that the men who can afford the time to attend such meetings have not always been really representative of the fisheries science of their countries ; but a still more important cause of the futility of many discussions, and of the reason why the arguments used do not always carry conviction, is the absence of definite observations and reliable statistics. Consequently, I am of opinion, an opinion in which I am confirmed by conversation with many fisheries authori- ties and investigators during the last few years, that what we stand most in need of at present is full and accurate statistics in regard to our fisheries, and much more detailed information than we have as to the distribution round the coast of both fishes, in all stages of growth, and the lower animals with which they are associated and upon which they feed, Holding an opinion such as this, 16 one is naturally much disappointed that the Report of the International Conference for the Exploration of the Sea held at Stockholm last June does not contain a definite programme of biological investigation which would lead to the acquisition of the desired knowledge. Last summer, when the arrangements for that Confer- ence were announced, hopes of detailed explorations on a crand scale ran high, and it was very naturally and confidently anticipated that the Report when issued would contain strong representations to the governments con- cerned involving the use of sufficient boats and men to carry out a definite scheme of biological investigation during a definite period. For surely what we need most at the present time in the interests of more exact fisheries knowledge is the nearest possible approximation to a census of our seas—beginning with the territorial waters and those off-shore grounds that supply them and are definitely related to them. Most fisheries disputes and differences of opinion are due to the absence of such exact knowledge. If anything approaching a census or a record of trust- worthy fisheries statistics had been taken fifty years ago, it would now be invaluable to fisheries committees, inspectors, superintendents, and other local authorities, as well as to biologists. Our successors will justly reproach us if, with increased knowledge and opportunity, we let the twentieth century commence without inaugurating a scheme of practical work which will give us the desired statistics. As, unfortunately, the Stockholm Report says nothing to the point in regard to all this, it remains for each nation or district to carry out the plan that it considers best according to its convictions and means; and I venture to hope that Lancashire will lead the way. I would submit that our Joint Committee. owes it-to its position, reputa- ee ¢ 17 tion, organisation, and opportunities to start during the coming year this ‘‘CENSUS OF THE T'ERRITORIAL WATERS ”’; and I now ask that if the Committee approve of this sug- gestion, they should forthwith refer the matter to the Scientific Sub-Committee for a detailed practical scheme. The investigation would naturally fall into two great divisions: first, the collection of fisheries statistics to replace or supplement those at present taken by the Board of Trade, and which are admittedly inadequate and incor- rect ; and secondly, what may, for the sake of brevity, be called the ‘scientific’? part, in contra-distinction to the “statistical.”’ The scientific investigation would consist of periodic (weekly, if possible) observations at fixed points on the distribution and approximate numbers of the adult and young fishes, of the spawners, of the embryos and larve, and of the Molluscs, Crustacea, and other inverte- brates on the feeding grounds of the fish. I have thought out some of the further details of the work, but pending the approval by the Committee of the general principle of the scheme, I need not yet go further into that part of the matter. I must, however, say in conclusion, that it seems to me that it is only by such a scheme as this that it is possible for us to settle such important questions as :— (1) The proportionate number of fishes on: the different grounds, (2) the seasonal or periodic distribution (and migration) in our district, (3) the existence, or not, of definite localities as ‘‘ feed- ing grounds”’ and “ nurseries,” and their extent, (4) the proportionate number that spawn in the year, (5) the ratio between the annual production of spawn 18 and the number of young fish that appear in-shore some weeks later, (6) and thus the death rate in the larval and post-larval stages, (7) the effect of adding artificially hatched larvee to a district the population of which is approximately known, (8) whether any areas are overstocked with young fish and any others not sufficiently occupied, (9) and, therefore, whether transplantation, such as is carried on in Denmark, would probably be an economic success, (10) whether, in the course of years, a coast fishery is increasing or diminishing. I do not think that I am under-estimating the magni- tude, the difficulties, and the probable imperfections of such a scheme as I propose. I am aware that all we can hope to attain to is a rough approximation, but even that will be of use, and it is an approximation which will approach more and more nearly to the truth with each successive year of work. In the first of these Annual Reports, in 1892, I printed a scheme of observations at sea which has been carried out by the steamer in her trawling over the district. The observations on each occasion have been recorded on a separate sheet, and as the result of this eight year’s work, we have accumulated about a thousand of these sheets of statistics. These local fishery statistics are now being arranged and summarised in our laboratory. Mr. John- stone is taking out for me, in the first place, every entry in regard to certain fish, such as the plaice, and is arrang- ing them, in each year, under months, localities, and sizes. The analysis and consideration of these observa- tions will form an important part of our work during the coming months, 19 There is a great deal of valuable material in these statistics which, whether or not it leads to any definite conclusions, will at least help us to see what further observations are required, and what measure of success we may hope to attain in the proposed census of the sea. HATCHING WoRK AT PIEL. (ANDREW SCOTT.) I, Fis HatcHina. At the conclusion of the spawning season of 1898 it was found that, in order to deal with large quantities of fish egos we should have to increase the capacity of our hatching apparatus. After careful consideration it was decided that the “ Dannevig system,’’ which has given satisfactory results in Norway and in Scotland, should be adopted. This appar- atus for incubating fish eggs consists of a series of movable boxes, each of about a cubic foot in capacity, all floating in separate compartments of a tank. The bottom of each box is covered with fine silk gauze or hair cloth, the meshes of which are of sufficient size to allow the water to pass through freely and yet keep back the smallest size of egg. Each box is placed in a separate water-tight compartment, to one side of which it is hinged. The water enters the box over a small shoot, and passes out into the compartment through the perforated bottom and then overflows into the next box. The apparatus is constructed in sets, each set consisting of a double row of five boxes in their compartments. At the ends of each row there are smaller compartments, one at the top for the distribution of the inflowing water, and one at the bottom for collecting the waste, which is led away to the nearest drain by an overflow pipe. The whole apparatus, when placed in working order, is set on the floor at a 20 sufficient incline to ensure a good current of water passing through. Five sets of these boxes were obtained, which gives us accommodation for at least 25 millions of cod eggs, each box holding with ease 500,000 eggs. In the case of plaice eggs 300,000 can be incubated in each box. In order to make room for the new apparatus, the movable tanks, &c., were removed into the adjoining verandah, which had been enclosed and sufficiently lighted, and to which an entrance had been made from the tank room. A wooden bench running along the whole length of the new room was fitted up, on which were placed the smaller tanks and other apparatus. This left the whole floor of the tank room free for the Dannevig boxes, which were placed in position with the necessary supply pipes from the filter, a branch being also led into the new room. It is usual when hatching operations are going on to have the movable boxes rising slowly and falling rapidly once every half minute. This keeps the egés moving and prevents them from gathering together in masses on the surface. During the past season no move- ment was given, but in future, motion will be used for at least some of the boxes. There is still room for some additional sets of apparatus, which can be added when we have better facilities for collecting the eggs. The three. wooden tanks, used in previous hatching work, were also fitted with floating boxes, each box being of the same capacity as those of the Dannevig set, but in this case there was a separate jet of water to each box, . the method adopted in America. As soon as the whole apparatus was ready for work— about the end of January—the crew of the steamer com- menced to look out for eggs. They visited the spawning grounds and trawled with the steamer’s gear, and also boarded the commercial trawlers in order to examine the 21 condition of the fish caught. This work was continued practically till the end of May, when the spawning season had finished. With the exception of a few eggs obtained by the tow- nets from the surface of the sea, no fertilised eggs were secured until the end of February. From that time onwards to the end of the spawning season eggs in various quantities, from a few thousands to nearly four millions on some occasions, were collected. The total number landed during the season was just a little over nine millions. Owing, however, to their unripe condition more than half of these 9 millions were unfertilised or otherwise unsuitable for incubation. These were, therefore, rejected, leaving about four millions fit to incubate in the boxes. As in the previous season, the Fishery Board for Scotland kindly allowed the steamer to trawl for a few days, for scientific purposes, in the closed waters of the Firth of Clyde, and it was there, on February 28th, that the first fertilised eggs were collected. They were taken from plaice. A small lot of cod and another lot of witch eggs were also collected at the same time, but these were not fertilised. On March 10th, 14th, 16th, 17th, and 28rd, and on April 6th and 12th, supplies of cod, haddock, plaice, and flounder eges were collected from fish caught by the trawlers work- ing on the off-shore grounds. On April 28th another small supply was obtained from the Clyde. The incubation of the various lots of eggs, after the unsuitable ones had been removed, proceeded satisfactorily. The plaice eggs collected in the Clyde on February 28th began to hatch out on March 17th. Four days later 113,000 fry from these eggs were set free from the steamer near the Morecambe Bay Light Vessel. On the morning of March 31st, 2,751,660 fry, comprising cod, haddock, plaice, and flounders were set free, about eight miles from 22 the above vessel. On April 6th, 364,250 plaice fry were set free on the way to the off-shore grounds between Lancashire and the Isle of Man. On April 9th, 90,000 flounder fry were distributed about the same locality as the last, making 3,318,910 in all. Besides bringing in the eggs, the steamer also, on various occasions, collected numbers of nearly mature fish, chiefly plaice and flounders. These were kept alive in our tanks, where the eggs were shed as they became ripe, and the majority of them were fertilised. The emission and fertilisation of these eggs, which always took place in the dark, went on in the tanks probably much in the same way as under natural conditions in the sea. The eggs rose to the surface and were carried along by the water, which was allowed to overflow into a floating collecting box, where they were retained, and afterwards transferred to the hatching apparatus. The subsequent incubation of these eggs and hatching out of the larvee was accompanied by a much smaller mortality than in the case of the eggs obtained by the steamer. The fry hatched out from these eggs numbered 78,000 plaice and 90,000 flounders (included in the 3,318,910). When the spawning period of the sole approached, special visits were made to the off-shore grounds to collect mature fish, which were brought in and kept alive in the tanks. In the course of a few days some of them began to shed their eggs, which rose to the surface and were collected from the overflowing water. On being submitted to microscopic examination it was found, however, that not a single egg was fertilised. Various attempts were then made to bring about fertilisation by dissecting the male fish and squeezing up the reproductive organ amongst the eggs, but all attempts failed owing probably to the imma- turity of the male fish. 23 The fact that mature or nearly mature fish eggs may float at the surface is not conclusive proof that they have been fertilised. From a number of experiments made at Piel during the past season it was found that unfertilised plaice eggs would remain floating even up to five days after being emitted by the fish. 'T'o the unaided eye these eggs looked healthy enough, but when submitted to microscopic examination, were at once seen to be dead. Therefore, although nine millions of floating eggs were landed at Piel, probably less than half were in a suitable condition for incubating. Indeed, it must be evident that a very large proportion of the eggs belonging to the pelagic group, which are obtained by pressing the sides of the fish, are not mature enough to be fertilised. From previous observations it is known that a female plaice may take at least two weeks to discharge the whole contents of her ovaries. In nature only a small proportion of the eggs are emitted at a time. Eggs that naturally incubate on the bottom of the sea, on the other hand, may be entirely deposited in a day. Much of the above-noted very con- siderable loss would be avoided if we had a suitable open- air pond where we could keep mature fish and allow them to spawn of their own accord. We have already tried this on a small scale, with satisfactory results, but our present indoor tanks are much too small to accommodate a sufficient number of fish to produce enough eggs to fill the hatching boxes. The present capacity of the whole hatching apparatus may be conveniently stated by representing it in plaice eggs. The number of these that can be incubated at one time is 23 millions. Under favourable circumstances two such quantities could be dealt with in one season. ‘To put it in another way :—a mature female plaice produces, on an average, 300,000 eggs, it would therefore take 75 24 female plaice to fill the boxes once, and counting in the males required to fertilise the eggs, another 25 would be wanted, making 100 in all, or 200 to fill the boxes twice. Under the existing arrangements, where we have no spawning pond, and only a small steamer to depend on for our supplies, it is practically impossible to collect the number of eggs required. This has been fully demon- strated during the past season. Instead of even 23 millions, only about 4 millions in good condition could be obtained. The weather, on the whole, was suitable for ‘the work; with unfavourable weather the results would have been much worse, as the steamer is not of sufficient size to carry on such work in a rough sea. The system of collecting eggs by means of the steamer has some disadvantages. It is liable to be interrupted at any time through accidents to trawl gear, or by a continuation of bad weather, and a large number of eggs are necessarily collected which are not suitable for incubation. At the same time, it ought to be remembered that the fry hatched out from eggs collected in such a manner and afterwards set free, as has been done this season, represents a great gain. Practically 95 % of the fry set free were hatched out from eggs taken from fish ' caught by the trawlers for the market, and these eggs would, in the ordinary run of work, have been entirely lost. Much could be done to minimise the enormous loss to the fish population of the sea which accompanies the capture of ripe fish during the spawning season if the steamer | were of sufficient size to visit the trawlers for the purpose of collecting eggs in all ordinary weather. The scheme advocated by Professor McIntosh and others, that trawlers should be furnished with suitable vessels for the collection and fertilisation of the eggs, which would then be returned to the sea, is certainly a good one if it =. 25 could be carried out. Unfortunately, the whole time of a trawler’s limited crew is fully taken up in reaping the harvest from the sea, in attending to their gear, and in preparing the fish for market. This leaves them little opportunity to collect and plant fresh seed, even although it be practically placed in their hands. The results accomplished this year, again under certain difficulties, clearly show that eggs can be successfully incubated in the water of this part of the Lancashire coast. At times care is required in filtering the water, especially during a prevalence of southerly gales, when much mud is brought up. On the whole, the water after passing through the filter, is sufficiently clear. In the earlier part of the year ‘‘ white felt’’ was used for covering the filter frames, but latterly we have adopted ‘‘ Turkish towelling,’ which gives quite as good results, and is more economical. The specific gravity of the water was again satisfactory, and during the hatching season only varied from 1°0026 to 1:0027. Preparations are now being made for next season, and already a considerable number of nearly mature flounders have been collected and placed in the tanks for spawning in the spring. We have chosen the flounder or white fluke for work this year as being a fish that is of importance in the neighbourhood, is hardy in captivity, and which naturally spawns nearer the coast than most other flat fish, and is therefore the more likely to shed and fertilise its eggs successfully in our tanks. Mr. Ascroft gives a brief sketch (see p. 30) of its life-history and habits as known in our district, which is of interest in this connec- tion. TABLE showing number of FisH Fry set free :— March 21. 113,000 plaice, Morecambe Bay Light Vessel. » ol. 88,960 ,, 8 miles from above ship. 26 March 31. 2,700 flounder, on off-shore grounds. ,, ol. 340,000 haddock, », ol. 2,320,000 cod, April 6. 286,250 plaice, ot tinGrn tay BO00 dense is +, ,, 12. 90,000 flounder, 9 ”? 2) ” Total 3,318,910 Il. LossterR HatTcHIne. A temporary stoppage of the gas supply for working the engine and pumps, which was due to the necessary re-con- struction of the local gasholder, besides proving fatal to our stock of fish, &c., prevented us from doing as much work at lobster hatching as had been intended... We were only able to secure a small number of berried females, and that close upon the hatching season. Karly in July the steamer brought thirteen egg-bearing females from Holyhead. On examining the eggs it was found that in four individuals the larvee were at the point of hatching out, and all the others were well advanced. It was therefore not thought advisable to take the eggs off the swimmerets, so they were left attached, and the parents placed in two sets of the Dannevig apparatus, one lobster in each compartment, except the lowest of the rows. ‘The movable boxes had previously been taken out, excepting those in the bottom compartments, which were left in for the purpose of collecting the larvae when they were hatched out in the upper compartments and came down with the overflowing water. The parent lobsters were kept in the dark as much as possible, previous experiments having demonstrated that when in the lght they had a tendency to shake off and destroy their eggs. This plan proved satisfactory, so far as keeping the eggs 27 on was concerned, very few being shaken off. In the course of a week after arrival, hatching of the larve com- menced from the more advanced eggs, and continued during the next few weeks, but only in small numbers at atime. With one or two exceptions no larve hatched out in the day-time, practically all emerged at night, between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. Hach morning the larve were removed from the collect- ing boxes. At first they were kept in glass aquaria, where a constant circulation of water was maintained. After- wards we tried keeping them in the dark, and finally in the floating boxes of the Dannevig apparatus, all light being carefully excluded. During the first few days the larve fed vigorously, and swam about actively. Towards the end of the first week of their life they ceased feeding, and kept more to the bottom of the apparatus. From seven to ten days after hatching the larve commenced to moult for the first time. Many died at this stage, some with the skin partly shed. Many of the survivors failed to recover from the strain of moulting a second time, and before the period of the third moult had arrived, all had gradually died off. The longest time that any lived was just over three weeks. Various methods were tried to keep the larve alive. The food, water supply, and light were varied from time to time, but with no effect. The food found most suitable was minute fragments of the liver of freshly-killed shore crabs. Some larve took it readily, clinging tenaciously to the pieces, which could be seen gradually passing into the stomach; while others refused it altogether, although it was held in front of them at the end of a thin piece of wood. The larve made no attempt to follow this food if it fell to the bottom, but sometimes, when walking over the fine grave], they would 28 come across it accidentally, and occasionally eat it. It was found that when light was entirely excluded the larve kept more on the bottom, and advantage was taken of this to keep a good supply of food there for them, the stale pieces being removed each day and a fresh supply added. Other forms of food were also tried, such as minute Crustacea, chiefly young Copepoda, which were collected amongst the Zostera, and the larve of shore crabs that were occasionally sent off in swarms from a stock of berried shore crabs kept in one of the tanks. The young lobsters swam amongst these little Crusta- ceans where they had gathered on the lighted side of the jars, and sometimes even appeared to pursue them, but the most careful observations failed to show that they were capturing them. Fragments of freshly-killed mussels, shrimps, and fish were tried, and although sometimes eaten, at other times such food would be refused, so that no particular kind of food could finally be adopted with success. ‘The larvee were also kept in both filtered and unfiltered sea-water, but with no definite results. On the whole, it was found that the larve kept entirely in the dark and supplied with a mixture of crab liver and crushed shrimps lived longer than those treated in any other way ; but the moulting process always proved fatal in the end. ‘here is thus apparently considerable difficulty in rear- ing the larve of lobsters in confinement. Unless future experiments bring out some satisfactory method of dealing with them, it will be necessary to set them free almost as soon as hatched.* Berried lobsters have occasionally been found on the rocky scars in the Barrow Channel, so that these places would, no doubt, be suitable ground on which to set our larve free. * Professor Herdman has discussed this matter both in regard to young fish and lobsters in the introduction (see page 7). 29 NOTE ON THE AMERICAN SHAD. (R. Li. ASCROFT.) The American Shad (Clupea sapidissima) which is nearly allied to our Shad (C. alosa), but has no markings on the back, is a native of the rivers of the Eastern States and part of Canada. It is found from eastern Florida to the entrance of the gulf of St. Lawrence. It is a fish of the herring tribe, but of far larger growth, reaching a weight of eight pounds, and an average of four pounds each. When the spawning fish are approaching maturity, and the temperature of the river waters have reached 60° F., they migrate up the streams. If a freshet caused by warm rains exists in a river it is followed by a rush upward of many fish at the same time; but if the rise in the temperature is slow, the fish come in small numbers at a time. If the waters on the flats, at the side of a stream, are warmer than those in the main channel, the fish will keep in the warmer waters. They mostly choose for spawning places sandy shores or bars of sand, and during spawning a pair of fish swim along together at the surface, the female emitting her spawn and the male his milt. The fishermen on the Potomac, at Washington, D.C., call it ‘‘ washing.” The time is between sunset and 11 p.m. The number of eggs averages 25,000 per fish, but sometimes a female has given 100,000. The eggs take from three to six days to hatch out, and the young, although incumbered with a larger yolk sac than young salmon, are, unlike them, quick, active, little fish. The fry stay about six months in the river, growing to 23 to 33 inches in length, migrating to the sea when the temperature falls below 60° F. Their food consists almost entirely of Crustaceans, such as Copepoda, and as they grow they do not despise any 30 small fish, such as minnows, that come in their way. The larger fish during their stay in the river do not feed, and do not remain very long after they have deposited their spawn. Plants have been made of the shad in the Sacramento River in California, with the astounding result that they are now found in every river of the west coast from California to Puget Sound. This success has suggested the idea that it might be worth while to experiment on their introduction into Lancashire rivers. Before under- taking the placing of any American shad in our rivers, it is desirable, if not already done, that accurate records of temperature be taken in the Ribble, Lune, and Kent, during the months of March, April, and May, to see if our temperatures are high enough for the shad. It would certainly be a great addition to our food supply, and, although it may be a little trouble, yet, now with refrigerating chambers, I do not see that there could be any real difficulty in getting a supply of impregnated eggs brought over from the United States. NOTES ON THE WHITE FLUKE OR FLOUNDER. (R. L. AScROFT-) The fish known by the name of ‘‘ White Fluke”’ on the north west coast of England, ‘‘ Butt’? in Lincolnshire, “Flounder” in the rest of England and Scotland, ‘‘ Bot” in Holland, ‘‘ Butt’? in Germany, ‘ But Flynder” in Norway, Sweden, and Denmark, and ‘“ Flet” in France, is one of the flat fishes. The scientific name is Pleuro- nectes flesus, given to it by Linneus, the founder of scientific nomenclature. The flounder is the fish having the greatest number of eggs for the weight of the body—one million for each 31 pound weight. They are, like the great majority of food fish eggs, pelagic or floating on or near to the surface during the period of hatching. The flounder on this coast proceeds to sea to a depth of 17 fathoms or over to spawn. It has been thought by many fishermen that the egg sacs of some of the Polychete worms that are found on the shore, of bladder. shape and moored by filaments in the sand, are the eggs of the flounder; and when the embryo worms had attained to the development of the eyes (which are red) causing the whole bladder to appear red instead of sreen (the colour before development), it was then taken to be plaice spawn because of the plaice having red spots on them. Spawning takes place in our district from the beginning of the year to the end of April. The hatching period is not so long as that of the plaice egg, being from 12 days at the beginning of the season, to as little as 6 days at the end, but regulated in a great measure by the temperature of the water. Very little is known of the development of the egg until the young fry enter the rivers in June. When they arrive in the rivers they are about three-quarters of an inch in length, perfectly transparent, without any colour, but their eyes are dark blue and iridescent, and one is able to detect them by that. They proceed up the rivers, and live in the fresh-water and estuaries until they return to the sea for spawning purposes in November and December. The old fish, after spawning, return to the rivers in the middle of May and during June. They proceed up the rivers for long dis- tances, having been taken at Clitheroe and Whitewell in Bowland, distances of over 80 miles from the sea. The flounder is easily distinguished from the plaice or dab by the china-white colour of the under-surface, resem- 32 bling the halibut in that respect. The name of the halibut is derived in Dutch, German, and French from the name for flounder—‘“ Heilbot,” ‘‘ Heilbutt,”’ and “‘ Fletan.” Under favourable conditions the flounder has a very rapid growth. They have been known to reach the weight of 5lbs.