THE IMPOVERISHMENT OF THE SEA. 23 



of each year, but fished independently during the winter. Previous to 

 1882 they generally commenced fleeting in April or May, and left off 

 in August or September. In 1882 and 1883 there was a general 

 extension of the fleeting period on a more complete system, which 

 lasted from March to the end of October. But in 1883 a general 

 strike occurred at Grimsby against the new system, and the period 

 of fleeting was in dispute. After 1883 fleeting commenced, as before, 

 in April or May, and lasted till August or September. Thus the 

 duration of the fleeting period varied between four and six months 

 in all years except 1882 and 1883, when it was prolonged to about 

 eight months. 



It will be seen from the returns in the detailed tables that, how- 

 ever variable the catches of the vessels were from year to year, there 

 was a remarkable uniformity, with few exceptions, in the individual 

 catches for the same year. This circumstance enables us to attach con- 

 siderable importance to the evidence which they furnish for the whole 

 term of years as to the abundance of fish on the grounds frequented, 

 although undue weight should not be attached to the figures in 

 comparing individual years with one another, owing to the inevitable 

 fluctuations in the catches of sailing vessels dependent so largely upon 

 wind and weather, which would affect the duration of the fleeting 

 period as well as other elements in their catching power. 



The figures representing the quantities of fish landed by all four 

 vessels have been combined and averaged in the following table. 

 Figures showing the maximum catch for the entire period, as well as 

 increases in the annual catch, have been thrown up in blacker type in 

 order to distinguish the years of greatest abundance and of increasing 

 returns. I have also, for comparison, prefixed to the series the figures 

 which Mr. Alward had also prepared to show the average catch of his 

 vessels in 1867. 



There does not appear to be any need to dwell at great length upon 

 the meaning of these figures, which, except for the sudden rise in 1882, 

 caused by the reorganisation of the fleeting system already described, 

 show a practically continuous fall in the average annual catches. The 

 amount of the total fall, after all possible allowances for variations due 

 to wind and duration of the fleeting period, cannot be placed at less 

 than one-half of the catch obtained at the beginning of the period; 

 while the catch of plaice at the end of the period is scarcely more than 

 one-third of that obtained at the beginning. Kough fish, on the other 

 hand, show a distinct increase up to the last five or six years of the 

 period, when they also begin to show signs of diminishing abundance. 

 The explanation of this contrast is doubtless to be sought in the in- 

 creasing scarcity of better fish and the advancing prices of all kinds of 



