284 SHOULD WHITEBAIT FISHING BE STOPPED ? 



I liave thus endeavoiired to describe some of the dif- 

 ferent kinds of fish that are sokl as whitebait. If they 

 are sprats there is no reason for stopping their capture, 

 as sometimes sprats are caught in such large numbers 

 in the mouth of the Thames as to be useless, and many 

 barrels of " garvies" or sprats are sent to London from 

 the Firth of Forth, and other parts of Scotland. 

 ' Sprats, again, are worth 9d. a bushel, and are often 

 sold as manure at even a less price, while whitebait is 

 sold for food at £3 per bushel. 



If they are herrings it is not necessary to prevents 

 their capture, as there are no herring fisheries nearer 

 the mouth of the Thames than Lowestoft to the North, 

 and Folkestone and Eamsgate to the south, and herrings 

 are not shown to have fallen off anywhere with the ex- 

 ception of in the Pont. Even if a decrease of herrings 

 w^as found, it is exceedingly doubtful wdiether the spar- 

 ing of the whitebait would increase the quantity. 



I am of opinion, therefore, that the whitebait fishing 

 should not be interfered with, as considerable number 

 of fisbermen are employed in the business — large sums 

 of money are expended in boats, tackle, &c., for its 

 capture — and wiiitebait has now become almost a 

 necessary food for the people of London. 



WHITING. 



Anacanthini Thoracici. GadiJce. 



(Gad lis merlaiujus.) 



German: Ber WUtlinrj, French: Le Merlan. Dutcli : Die 

 Welting. Norwegian : Ilvitting. Danish : Hvidliiig. 



The Whiting is the most delicate in flavour of the 

 cod tribe. It is caught in great abundance almost all 

 round our coasts, and ranges from the Orkneys to Cape 

 Clear, swimming in large shoals a few miles from the 



