i7 



The yield is very variable. In one year, these 740 

 acres are estimated to have yielded 68,060 kilos of fish, 

 while in the succeeding year, the yield rose to 97,660 

 kilos.* 



This is equivalent to a mean yield of 92 kilos per 

 acre in one year and 132 kilos in the next. Another 

 estimatet of the yield is that one hectare of water, well 

 cared for. will give 150 kilos of mullet and 50 kilos of 

 eels in a good season; this work out at 81 kilos per 

 acre. This, however, I understand, is considered too low 

 for really well organized and up-to-date culture, and I 

 was assured that 120 kilos of fish per acre is the actual 

 average present-day yield of large fish farms when con- 

 ducted skilfully and with enterprise. A balance sheet 

 quoted by Millet (loc. cit.) gives the receipts and ex- 

 penditure for a farm comprising 100 hectares (247 acres) 

 of pond surface as follows : — 



Receipts. 



Francs. 

 Sale offish, 30,000 kilos at 1 franc per kilo. — 30,000 



Expenditure. 



Francs. 

 Foreman ... ... ... ... ... 460 



3 Gatemen ... ... ... ... 1,050 



Nets, boats, freight of fish, etc. ... 2,500 



Upkeep of sluices and embankments 



(average) ... ... ... ... 800 



4,810 



25,19° 



This is equivalent to a net profit of, say, 252 francs 

 per hectare or 102 francs, say £<\, per acre. 



This return may appear comparatively small in view of 

 the statement often made that an acre of water produces a 

 greater amount of food than the same area of land ; this 

 assertion is however most misleading when stated baldly 

 and without qualification for while some land is exceed- 

 ingly rich and capable of yielding prolific crops, other 

 tracts are virtually worthless, and so it is with the sea and 

 rivers ; there are areas where fish may congregate, 



* Gobin, La Pisciculture en eaux salees, Paris, 1S91 . 

 t G. Roche, La Culture des mers, Paris, 1898. 



