324
"
THE SEAS
-
for by means of the “grab” mentioned on page 263, but
here again the chances are Small of the instrument picking
'
up a sample
the bottom from exactly the right spot.
'
Let us now trace the lite story of the plaice in the southern
,'
North Sea.
Research carried out on the lines indicated
‘
above shows that the mature plaice gather into a region
some little way off the Dutch coast: here the eggs are
discharged and drift freely in the water for about a fort—
night, at the end of which time they have been carried by
currents further north and considerably nearer the coast.
From
the
hatch
those
little symmetrical larvae
mentioned in a previous chapter (Plate 1 I 2) . The movements
of the plaice can be followed by making catches with a very
large coarse-meshed tow-net.
It»will -be found that by the
time they are about three—quarters of an inch in length they
arebeing drifted very near to the coast. When they have
reached this
they suddenly disappear from the tow—
.
net catches.
Their metamorphosis has taken place, that
‘
is the left eye has moved over to the right side of the head
.
and the __sh has assumed the typical adult characters.
j
At this-stage thesh-—Seeks the bottom.
It must; then be
sought with the aid
ne—meshed traw1,- such as the
'
shrimp-traw1.
A search will reveal/ that the young plaice
have moved into the shalloW water covering the sandy
—
'
ats thatoccur all along the Dutch coast. Here sh between
one and two inches in length can be caught in immense
numbers.
When the plaice are of this age they can often
'
be found in the sandy pools leftuncoyered by the tide.
As anillustration of this a photograph is given in Plate
'
115 of such-a pool in the
"
Gannel Estuary- ‘at' Newquay.
Cornwall. - Two of us shing in this small poolfor just under
an hour With small prawning nets early in june captured
the forty young plaice shown
,
in their natural size on
,
Plate 116.
There were probably Still many left in the pool
"
THE SEAS
-
for by means of the “grab” mentioned on page 263, but
here again the chances are Small of the instrument picking
'
up a sample
the bottom from exactly the right spot.
'
Let us now trace the lite story of the plaice in the southern
,'
North Sea.
Research carried out on the lines indicated
‘
above shows that the mature plaice gather into a region
some little way off the Dutch coast: here the eggs are
discharged and drift freely in the water for about a fort—
night, at the end of which time they have been carried by
currents further north and considerably nearer the coast.
From
the
hatch
those
little symmetrical larvae
mentioned in a previous chapter (Plate 1 I 2) . The movements
of the plaice can be followed by making catches with a very
large coarse-meshed tow-net.
It»will -be found that by the
time they are about three—quarters of an inch in length they
arebeing drifted very near to the coast. When they have
reached this
they suddenly disappear from the tow—
.
net catches.
Their metamorphosis has taken place, that
‘
is the left eye has moved over to the right side of the head
.
and the __sh has assumed the typical adult characters.
j
At this-stage thesh-—Seeks the bottom.
It must; then be
sought with the aid
ne—meshed traw1,- such as the
'
shrimp-traw1.
A search will reveal/ that the young plaice
have moved into the shalloW water covering the sandy
—
'
ats thatoccur all along the Dutch coast. Here sh between
one and two inches in length can be caught in immense
numbers.
When the plaice are of this age they can often
'
be found in the sandy pools leftuncoyered by the tide.
As anillustration of this a photograph is given in Plate
'
115 of such-a pool in the
"
Gannel Estuary- ‘at' Newquay.
Cornwall. - Two of us shing in this small poolfor just under
an hour With small prawning nets early in june captured
the forty young plaice shown
,
in their natural size on
,
Plate 116.
There were probably Still many left in the pool