Cook, W.C. 1969 The Fleet waters.

A typed manuscript describing all aspects of the Fleet. Of interest, are the descriptions of fish populations:

Around 200-350lb of adult bass were rod caught from the Fleet each summer from 1951-1954 [total weight of fish, not individual weights!], and in 1958 365lb was caught by the author on one rod. Ait was normal for large numbers of bass to visit the higher reaches of the water about the middle of March to spawn, many of the larger fish saying in the gullies between the mud banks, but some also moving with the tides, July and August being the best months to find the big fish in the Narrows@. Other fish reported include small wrasse (ballan, goldsinny and corkwing), three-spined stickleback, sand smelt throughout the year, a few lesser sand eel, 15-spined stickleback, greater, lesser and snake pipefish, butterfish, gunnel, blennies, gobies and short spined sea scorpion.

Also reported is the die-back of Zostera (quoted as Zostera nana in the Fleet) in 1929-30 and Zostera marina Weymouth Bay and Portland Harbour (where extensive beds existed). Over the Anext couple of years the Zostera nana made a fair recovery and in recent years it has once again returned to its former density. In the open sea there has been no marked recovery of the larger species but during the last few years there have been signs that it might re-establish itself once again@.

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