FISHES •80. Bream. Abramii brama, Linn. Common. •81. White Bream. Abramis blicca, Bloch. Probably occurs. •82. Loach. NemachUus barbatula, Linn. Probably occurs. MALACOPTERYGII •*83. Salmon. Salmo salar, Linn. The salmon does not seem to occur in the Suffolk rivers, although in Sir T. Browne's time it was said to be taken in the Waveney. It is recorded that a specimen weighing 25 lb. was captured off Lowestoft in a trawl net in May 1879, and that this was only the second instance since 1849.* A specimen of I3jlb. weight is recorded in Lowe's fourth list as taken in a draw- net at Gorleston, 17 May 1898.
- 84. Salmon Trout. Salmo trutta, Linn.
Lubbock states that the salmon-trout is taken in the Waveney. Considerable numbers are taken in the mackerel nets off Lowestoft in Octo- ber. One which I examined in 1895 was I4|-in. long. Although great variation occurs in the proportions of the head, in the shape of the preoper- culum, and in the number of the coecal appen- dages, these differences are not constant enough to distinguish permanent varieties.
- 85. Trout. Sa/mo fario, Linn.
According to Lubbock there are no trout in the Waveney and they are not mentioned as occurring in the rivers of Suffolk.
- 86. Smelt. Osmerus eperlanus, Linn.
Common in all the estuaries, at Lowestoft, in the Aide, the Deben, the Orwell, and the Stour. Hele in Notes and Jottings about Aldeburgh mentions an indenture of 1608 in the town-hall of that town, agreeing that a reduced payment should be made to the Priory, of Our Lady of Snape for every boat fishing for Sperling in Sperling time. These fish never leave the estuaries entirely, but they ascend almost to the limits of the tide to spawn, and deposit their eggs in fresh water. The ova are adhesive and attach them- selves by a flexible membrane to piles and piers or other objects in the water ; but many of them become detached and move to and fro with the tide at the bottom of the channel. 87. Anchovy. Engraulis encrasicholus, Linn. Paget records a specimen found on the beach at Yarmouth in 1830, and Lowe states that they Colman, Land and Water, 10 May 1879. are frequently caught in the Ouse at Lynn in Norfolk. Although there are no actual records for Suffolk they probably occur in the sea off the coast in autumn, as they are abundant in the Zuyder Zee in Holland in summer and migrate southwards through the English Channel in the autumn. 88. Herring. Clupea harengus, Linn. Immense shoals of herrings arrive off the coasts of Suffolk and Norfolk at the beginning of Oc- tober, and from that time to the end of November a great fishery is carried on at Lowestoft and Yarmouth, in which not only hundreds of local boats take part, but large numbers of Scotch boats. The herrings spawn in November, and soon after spawning all depart again. Her- rings are also on the Suffolk coast from March to July, and in all probability another spawning takes place some time within that period. No special study however has been made of these spring herrings, but there is evidence from other parts of the coast that herrings spawn at the beginning of the year as well as in autumn. There is reason to believe that the fish of the two seasons are not the same, but perfectly dis- tinct, and that they form separate races. The autumn herrings are larger and come from the deep sea, while the spring herrings spawn nearer shore and do not migrate to so great a distance. 89. Sprat. Clupea sprattus, Linn. Caught off the coast with small-meshed drift- nets from the beginning of November to the middle of January. This fishery is carried on at Lowestoft, Southwold, Thorpe, and Aldeburgh, while at Harwich sprats are caught with stow- nets in the. estuary. In Lowe's Fishes of Norfolk Mr. Dowell is quoted as stating that though he had seen vast quantities of sprats caught, he never saw one with roe. This fact can now be ex- plained, for it has been proved that sprats spawn at some distance from the coast in summer, and that during the sprat fishery in autumn and win- ter, when they are in the estuaries or near the coast, their roes, although of course present, are not developed. Ripe specimens with large roes have been obtained occasionally in the trawl, and the eggs, which are buoyant, are found in the sea from February to May or June. The young, soon after hatching, approach the shore and enter the estuaries, where they are caught as whitebait. 90. Pilchard. Clupea pilchardus, Walb. Artedi. According to Paget a few specimens are taken every year in the herring-nets at Yarmouth, but usually they are rare. In some years at the end of the 1 8th century, according to the same authority, these fish were abundant. They have also been recorded at Harwich. 169 22
