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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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