NORTH SEA IXVESTIGATIOXS. 141 



There is nothing in this to show what proportion of the smallest fish 

 on these grounds are taken to market, and it is probably true, as 

 Mr. Holt believed, that there is a better market for the smallest plaice 

 at Grimsby, Hull, and London, than in continental ports. At the same 

 time, there can be no doubt that the German steamers, when they are 

 on the small plaice grounds, must destroy as many small plaice as the 

 English vessels, whether they throw them overboard, or take them 

 to market, and with regard to the sailing boats, although they probably 

 throw overboard the smallest plaice without killing them, I cannot 

 believe that they do not take to market the plaice of 10, 11, and 



12 inches, which, under the proposed regulation, English vessels would 

 not be allowed to take. In fact, there can be no doubt that the 

 German sailing boats depend for their maintenance and profit chiefly on 

 the same fish as those which were brought to market by the John Bull, 

 in the trip on which I was on board of her, namely, on plaice 10 to 13 

 inches long, soles, and small turbot and brill. 



It may be admitted that it would be desirable, if it were possible, to 

 protect and leave alive in the sea the plaice under 13 in. long. It 

 would be desirable for two reasons — firstly, because the fish so pre- 

 served would be able to spawn, and secondly, because they would grow 

 to a larger size, and be, therefore, more valuable in the market. 

 According to the evidence I have given in the German Bight, the 

 plaice below this limit are almost all actually immature, both males 

 and females, and even on the Brown Eidges the majority of the females 

 are immature. But we have to consider whether it would be practic- 

 able to carry out a prohibition of the lauding and sale of plaice under 



13 in. I have shown that such a prohibition would mean the closing 

 of the grounds along the Dutch coast to a distance of nearly 50 miles. 

 It must be borne in mind also that my evidence proves that a large 

 proportion of plaice under 13 in., and still more of sexually immature 

 fish, are taken on all grounds less than 30 fathoms in depth, which 

 means a very large portion of the North Sea. 



It would not be feasible to have one limit at Grimsby, and another at 

 Lowestoft; the fact that fish from the Humber fleets, and from the 

 Yarmouth fleet, which latter fishes the same grounds as the Lowestoft 

 boats, are alike landed in London, shows how absurd the suggestion is. 

 We have, then, the horns of a dilemma : a 13 in. limit cannot be applied 

 to the grounds between Norfolk and Suffolk, and the Dutch coast, and 

 no lower limit will keep the Humber trawlers from the small plaice 

 grounds of the German Bight. We must then consider whether we 

 are to disapprove of a size limit altogether, or to advocate a lower 

 limit. It is clear that the imposition of an 8 in. limit would do little 

 or no good. It is also certain that plaice of 11 in. and 12 in. form 



