The Saltash Tuck-Net Fishery and the Ecology of some Estuarine Fishes

Abstract

The Saltash tuck-net is used in the estuaries of the Tamar and Lynher for seine netting on soft mud. The fishery is carried on during autumn and winter, from open boats with crews of two men.Hauls were made with a tuck-net in every month between November 1935 and December 1937.The fish population of the estuaries is essentially marine: its composition changes from month to month with the arrival from, or departure to, the sea of different species of fish. With the exceptions of salmon (Salmo salar), sea trout (Salmo trutta) and some of the Gobiidae, all the fishes of the estuaries go down to the sea to spawn.