THE FISHERY INTERESTS OF AUSTRIA. 677 



difficulties in the way of legislation are much greater, however, than 

 with the fresh-water fisheries. 



The open sea, beyond the reach of a gun on shore, is the common 

 property of all nations, and individual states have no right to legislate 

 concerning it. 



From the oldest times, fishing in the open sea has been a free trade, 

 bound by no guilds or other limitations. As an old document says, 

 " The fishermen are here allowed to fish as far as they want to risk 

 their necks." 



No individual state would desire to limit the enterprise of its subjects 

 on the open sea, thus offering a chance for foreign fishermen ; and, as to 

 international legislation, there has been too little material collected on 

 which to build up such a code in spite of the numerous reports on the 

 subject made by individual states, and the trustworthy investigations 

 of the influence of certain methods of capture on the fisheries. 



E.— CONCLUSION. 



In reviewing the whole subject under consideration, we can briefly 

 give the following more important points, which should be kept in view 

 for any future regulation of the Austrian fresh-water fisheries. 



The reports from all provinces of Austria agree that the fisheries 

 which formerly were in a very flourishing condition have declined. The 

 causes of this decline are nearly the same in all provinces. Not 

 to meution those unavoidable injuries which they have suffered 

 from the progress of civilization in other directions, we must assign, as 

 prominent causes, the entire want of protection ; numerous rights 

 and privileges which absolutely hinder or even destroy them ; the 

 reckless plundering of the large connected waters by privilege-holders, 

 each one being at war with the other ; and the total neglect of all 

 measures which tend to do justice to the fisheries in the exercise of 

 water-rights, even in cases where conflicting interests might easily have 

 been harmonized. All reports agree as to the necessity of passing laws 

 for protecting and promoting them. 



In some provinces of Austria, there are at present, if we except laws 

 applying to the whole monarchy and a few regulations in general ordi- 

 nances, no laws whatever relating to the fisheries. Other provinces 

 possess old fishing-laws; but although we see in them the proof that 

 our ancestors desired to protect this important branch of economy, 

 although they might in many respects — with regard to the formation of 

 associations and the establishment of proper protective regulations — 

 serve as models, it is doubtful whether these laws, which in many points 

 are utterly at variance with modern ideas and statutes, could at this day 

 be enforced, either as a whole or in part. Many of the provisions of 

 these old laws no longer agree with the present advanced state of 

 natural sciences and technology. The most important relations which 

 a statute is intended to regulate, especially with regard to other 



