230 THE HISTORY OF DUTCH SEA FISHERIES. 



from the coast, immense shoals of fry of such fish, quite 

 unfit for consumption, sometimes approached so near the 

 shore as to be caught in the shrimpers' nets, when they were 

 either thrown away or used as pigs' food or manure. It was 

 deemed advisable, as a supplement to the law on trawling, 

 to prevent such waste of the fisherman's future stock ; and 

 towards this end it was enacted that, whenever a shrimper 

 should find more than one-eighth of the contents of his 

 " saayem " to consist of fry, or unripe fish, he should report 

 the fact to the member of the Coast Fishery College or to 

 the municipal officer nearest at hand ; when all use of the 

 shrimp-trawl should instantly be prohibited in the locality 

 for eight days.* An estimate of the utility of this measure 

 cannot be formed, for the prohibition was not applied above 

 a few times, and the statute was repealed in 1857. But 

 there is little or no probability of it having, till then, been 

 faithfully observed. It was of course impossible to efficiently 

 control the shrimpers' nets ; and they were interested, if 

 finding a quantity of fry of fish in those nets, in concealing 

 the fact in order to avoid a compulsory holiday of a week 

 or more. 



1 CHAPTER III. 



THE END OF PROTECTION. 



THE present narrative has now come to a turning-point, 

 viz. the period when the ancient system of sea-fishery 

 legislation was abandoned, as inadequate to the regime 

 of modern production and exchange. Before entering 

 upon the details of the system's overthrow, it may be 

 useful to resume its plan and outlines in a very few words. 



* Royal Decree, January 7th, 1842 (Staatsblad No. 2) 



