188 DESTRUCTION OF SEA-FISH FRY BY TEAWLS. 



** DESTRUCTION OF SMALL FISH BY THE MESH OF TRAWLS. 



" It must be obvious to any person who examines the 

 slabs of the fishmongers' shops that large quantities of 

 small soles and small flat-fish are daily sent to market. 

 This destruction of small fish, at first sight, seems a 

 great waste of good food, and we cannot help regretting 

 that these little creatures should not be allowed to grow 

 up into fish of ordinary marketa;ble size. 



" The question will immediately be asked, Where do 

 these small flat-fish come from ? The answer is, Mostly 

 from the nets of the deep-sea trawlers. "Why, then, are 

 not immediate steps taken to prevent the destruction of 

 young fry ? This is one of the most difficult problems 

 my colleague and myself have had to face during the 

 inquiry, and my personal attention has been directed to 

 it incessantly both out of doors and indoors since the 

 inquiry began. 



" In the first j)lace, the very small fish which are 

 captured — smaller than the smallest exposed for sale — 

 are no good to anybody. The captains of the trawlers 

 do not want them ; the fish merchants at the fishiug 

 ports do not want them ; the wholesale merchant at 

 Billingsgate does not want them ; the retail fish mer- 

 chants do not want them ; they are a nuisance to the 

 small fishmongers and costermongers ; and, lastly, the 

 fish- eating public do not want them. 



" The obvious remedy for aU these difiiculties is to 

 alter the mesh of net. Yet, simple as this may seem, it 

 is a most difficult problem. 



*' Arriving at the fishing ground, the smack lets go her 

 trawd, which, sinking to the bottom of the sea, begins 

 to work the moment the vessel has any way on her. 

 The trawl net is attached to the beam : the beam at 



