22 THE IMPOVERISHMENT OF THE SEA. 



It was stated by Mr. Knott that the figures do not refer to the same 

 trawler throughout, but " the selection made in the vessel for each year 

 may be taken as a fair average." 



For so short a term of years the annual catches of a single trawler 

 cannot be held to afford much evidence as to the increase or decrease 

 of fish on the fishing grounds within the period. The obvious feature 

 of the table is the abundance and cheapness of fish. Nothing like 

 an average capture of 345 cwts. of prime fish and of 1,450 cwts. of 

 "offal" is realised by trawling smacks at the present time, in spite 

 of the inducements offered by the far higher prices to be obtained 

 to-day for fish of all kinds. The average prices yielded by the figures 

 in the table are 22.s'. 10^7. per cwt. for prime, and 2s. Id. for offal fish. 

 In 1898 the average values, as given in the Board of Trade returns, 

 were £4' 17s. life/, per cwt. for prime fish, £1 4.s. 5rf. per cwt. for plaice, 

 and lis. S\d. per cwt. for haddock. It must be remembered that plaice 

 and haddock in 18G0 formed the bulk of the " offal " in a trawler's 

 catch. 



The second series of returns of the annual catches of trawling 

 smacks was submitted, in condensed form, to the Select Committee 

 on Sea Fisheries in 1893 by Mr. G. L. Alward, of Grimsby, but the 

 returns themselves were not handed in to be printed in the report. 

 Mr. Alward has, however, kindly allowed me to examine his returns, 

 and as they bear internal evidence of general reliability, and provide 

 most valuable information on the past condition of the Grimsby fishery, 

 I have obtained Mr. Alward's consent to publish a copy of them in the 

 present paper (Tables A-D, pp. 65-6). The only deviations from the 

 original manuscripts consist in the omission of shillings and pence in the 

 values and of fractions of hundredweights in the weights assigned, and 

 in the correction of a few unimportant arithmetical errors in the totals. 



The figures represent the actual annual catches of four Grimsby 

 trawling smacks (the names of which are given at the head of each 

 table) for a term of eighteen years, from 1875 to 1892, together with 

 the values realised at the port of landing. The catch of each vessel is 

 divided into Plaice, Haddock, Prime, and Eough. Mr. Alward informs 

 me that " prime " here includes soles, turbot, and brill, and excludes 

 lemon soles ; while " rough " includes lemon soles, dabs, cod, catfish, 

 rokers (rays), and other sundry items not specially distinguished. 



The vessels were engaged on the various fishing grounds of the 

 North Sea, from the Fisher Bank as the northern limit, to the Lemon 

 and Ore Shoals as the southern limit, and from the grounds off the 

 Yorkshire and Lincolnshire grounds on the west to the Dutch and 

 German coasts on the east. 



The vessels formed part of the Grimsby fleets during the summer 



