A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE Ribble estuary, and the Dee. In comparatively few cases have the fishes moved ofishore into deep water. Some of the journeys made by these marked plaice are rather remarkable. Several fish liberated near the mouth of the River Mersey were re- caught in from one to two months near the north end of the Isle of Man, and several fishes liberated near Blackpool turned up subsequently on the coast of Anglesey. One fish liberated off Great Orme's Head was caught some months later in Tremadoc Bay, having doubtless jour- neyed south through the Menai Straits, through Carnavon Bay and through Bardsey Sound. Speaking generally, however, the migration paths of plaice in Lancashire waters are very local ones. It is interesting to note that nearly 20 per cent, of the fish so marked and liberated in Lancashire waters were found during the first four months. This shows the intensity of the fishing that goes on within territorial waters. It means that 20 per cent, of all the fish on the sea- bottom in that area were caught by fishermen during the same period. 58. Lemon Sole. Pieuronectes microcephalus, Don. Not very abundant and usually got in ofifehore waters. 59. Dab. More commonly called ' Garve ' and ' Skear-back.' The most abundant pleuronectid in local waters. I have known as many as 15,000 to be taken in one haul of a shrimp net off Blackpool. The dab is not regarded as a valuable food-fish and does not command a very good price. It is more distinctively an inshore fish than the plaice. There appears to be a curious complementary relation between the abundance of plaice and dabs in Lancashire waters. It is often the case that when plaice are scarce dabs are abundant and vice versa. Of late years dabs have become more abundant here than plaice. It is just possible that the restrictive measures imposed on trawl-fishing in Lancashire waters have benefited the dab to a greater extent than plaice. This is all the more probable since the dab is a species which spawns when it is (compared with plaice) relatively small. The relatively wide trawl and stake net meshes enforced now by the Fishery Board may possibly have produced this increase in the number of dabs in Lancashire waters. 60. Flounder. Also called 'White Fluke.' Pieuronectes jUsus^ Linn. Common. The best grounds for the floxmder are perhaps in the Lime and Ribble estuaries. Flounders obtained from the former ground are often infested with the sporozoan parasite, Lymphocystis johnstonei, Woodcock, 1 a most re- 1 Woodcock, Lancashire Sea Fish. Laby. Report for '9°3. PP- 63-72, Liverpool, 1904. markable organism which produces white warts on the skin and fins of the fish. Fishermen often call these parasites eggs, and say that the flounder ' carries its eggs on its back.' There is a pre- judice locally against these flukes, since it is believed that they frequent the neighbourhood of sewer outfells. Mr. A. Scott believes that flounders spawn in shallow waters. 6i. Witch or ' Whitch.' Pieuronectes cynoglossus, Linn. Fairly common. The witch is a poor kind of edible fish, but it is often sold in poorer fish shops as ' soles ' or white soles (at about 3^. a lb.). 62. Sole. Solea vulgaris, Quens. Individually the sole is the most valuable fish caught in Lancashire waters. It is found every- where, but some grounds, as for instance in the neighbourhood of the Liverpool N.W. lightship, are very lucrative. The sole fishery in Lancashire waters has been steadily improving for the last half-dozen years. 63. Lucky Sole. Solea variegata (Don.) Very uncommon. Mr. A. Scott recorded a specimen from near the Morecambe Bay light- ship in April 1894. It is a smallish fish. 64. Solenette. Solea lutea (Risso.) This is a small fish 3 to 5 inches long which is abundant on the shrimping grounds, especially in the Mersey estuary. It used to be mistaken for the true sole, which it resembles when the latter is young. It is thicker, redder, and has coarser scales than the latter. About half, or even more, of the small ' soles ' got on the Mersey shrimping grounds are solenettes. The solenette becomes mature when about 3 to 5 inches long. There are probably three species of Solea which are confused together by fishermen, especially offshore trawlers. Solea variegata and Solea lutea are certainly confounded, and are both called 'Lucky Soles.' Probably 5. lascaris is also found, but I am not aware of any indubitable record of its occurrence in strictly Lancashire waters. PERCESCOCES 65. Grey Mullet. Mugil chelo, Cuv. This mullet is found all along the Lancashire coast in summer. Large numbers of the young occasionally enter Morecambe Bay and have been mistaken by fishermen for young salmon. I have seen them in abundance in Fleetwood Dock, and they are said to be very numerous in the Cavendish Dock at Barrow. They are frequently caught in stake and seine nets at Southport and in Morecambe Bay. The other grey mullet, Mugil capita, may occasionally turn up in Lancashire waters and may have been confused 84
