48 



the general Fishery law of 1902, an abstract of which will be found in 

 Appendix II. 



105. There are, then, in Japan three classes of Fishery Associa- 

 tions, the first two of which are the product of or are formed in 

 consonance with the above law; the third is the " Fisheries Society of 

 Japan " which is older than the law and is of purely private foundation 

 and maintenance. 



106. Associations formed under the law of 1902 — Class (1) Gyogi/o- 

 Icumini. — Sections 18 to 21 of the law are as follows : — 



" Fishermen residing within specified boundaries may, with the 

 sanction of the authorities, establish a fishery association (Gyogyo- 

 kumiai). The territorial limits of the association shall (with excep- 

 tions) be those of a village or hamlet, or fishing hamlet. Tlie associa- 

 tion shall possess rights and obligations in the matter of owning and 

 exercising the business of fishing, but cannot itself, i.e., qua associa- 

 tion, conduct fishing operations. When an association has obtained 

 the license for the exclusive fishing riglits in the sea over against the 

 shore boundaries of the association, its members shall conduct the 

 fishing in accordance with the rules of the association. The Minister 

 of the Fisheries Department shall issue regulations for the establish- 

 ment and guidance of these Associations." 



107. The associations here mentioned are associations of working 

 fishermen and deal only with the catching of fish : the object of the law 

 is to avoid interference with the fishery usages which have developed in 

 times past among the local community, to establish in each little area 

 a self-governing body of fishermen wlio will settle among themselves 

 the rights and duties of the individual members, and who will have, 

 as a common object, the furtherance by combined action of the 

 common interests of the members. When a number of fishermen are 

 isolated and independent one of the other, each individual will be in 

 opposition to every other individual so that disputes will be frequent, 

 while there is no local authority except the courts to settle the disputes ; 

 when the men are associated they will not only settle among themselves 

 their several rights and duties but can readily prevent or decide 

 disputes ; in other words, there will be a tendency to co-operation 

 rather than to disunion. Moreover, the tendency everywhere in 

 fisheries, as in other developing industries, is from the individual to 

 joint systems ; as operations become greater and more complex and 

 tberefore more costly, as boats and nets become of necessity larger, 

 the scene of operations more distant, the expenses of keeping the fish 

 fresh and despatching it to market more considerable, the individual 

 fisherman with his little boat tends to disappear in favour of the 

 capitalist with his fleet of big boats and his paid crews {cf. the 

 Hokkaido, etc.). But the joint system is not necessarily that where 



