6 ■ B. B. PARRISH 



logical features of the stocks. In this paper, these events are described, and 

 the problems involved in interpreting them are discussed. 



CHANGES IN THE NORTH SEA HERRING FISHERY SINCE 1900 

 The post-war changes in the North Sea fishery are best viewed as part of a 

 longer term development, the main features of which are illustrated in Figs. 

 2 and 3. 



7OO1 



600. 



500. 



4oa 



LU 



LL 300-I 



o 



o 



<200. 

 I/) 



o 



I 



7 !OOJ 



VvV 



..--■* '"•^ 



1900 1910 



=• TOTAL FOR AaCOUNTRKS 

 -o UNITED KINGDOM 



( ENGLAND & SCOTLAND) 

 — X NETHERLANDS 



-GERMANY 



—•INDUSTRIAL FISHING 



A 



o' i 



1920 I930 



YEAR 



I940 



i950 I960 



Fig. 2. — Yields by countries and total yields from the 

 North Sea herring fisheries 1903-56. 



At the beginning of the twentieth century, almost the whole of the North 

 Sea herring landings were taken by two countries, the United Kingdom 

 and the Netherlands, with the United Kingdom taking about three-quarters 

 of the total. In both countries the method of capture was almost exclusively 

 by drift net, and the fishery was centred in two main localities: (i) in the 



