318 TRAWLING IN BAYS ON THE SOUTH COAST OF PEYON. 



in Teignmoutli Bay in December, since there are hardly any plaice 

 under 8 inches to be caught. It is possible, however, that the Fisheries 

 Committee may consider that the prohibition of sale of fish Avhich 

 are so small as to be practically unsaleable will not greatly alter 

 existing conditions, and that an effort should be made to extend pro- 

 tection until the fish have reached a somewhat larger size. If this 

 be the case the limit advocated will probably coincide with the size 

 at which the fish becomes capable of reproducing its species, and so 

 contributing to the up-keep of the stock. Plaice, the species with 

 which we are almost entirely concerned, mature, as has been shown, at 

 about 12 inches, and if this principle of protection be accepted it 

 is obvious that no modification of the existing bye-law is advisable at 

 any period of the year either in Teignmoutli Bay or Torbay. In Start 

 Bay it does not appear that the proportion of immature fish is higher in 

 December than on offshore grounds. What may be the conditions in 

 this bay in January and February the weather has never permitted us 

 to ascertain. 



Assuming that the protection of immature fish suffices, and that 

 a proportion of 30 per cent, of such fish is that normally met witli 

 in company with large plaice on offshore grounds, it would appear 

 that the bye-law might be relaxed in Start Bay in winter without 

 much injurious effect in so far as the fish supply is concerned. It 

 is not my business to recommend such a relaxation, and the Committee 

 is probably aware that the southern edge of the Skerries, which appears 

 to be a favourite trawling ground, is equally appreciated by the crabbers. 

 Crabbing and trawling are industries little calculated to flourish on the 

 same ground, especially by night. Supposing it to be possible to 

 prevent interference with crabbing by restricting trawling to the north- 

 ward of a line drawn from the Bell Buoy to Tinsey Head, and if this 

 limit were respected (it is for the Committee to judge by what means 

 respect could be enforced), the bay would remain in part a sanctuary 

 for soles throughout the year. I take it that no one will be inclined 

 to refuse to soles any sort of protection which can be afforded them, 

 whether large or small. 



I do not think that the proposal to establish a close time for sea fish 

 has ever been seriously entertained, but I am by no means sure that 

 beneficial results would not be achieved by diverting the attention of 

 trawlers from fish of a given species at the time when the larger 

 members of that species are engaged in spawning. It is well known 

 that in any species the larger mature females yield more eggs than 

 their smaller sisters, and that as a rule they are the earliest spawners. 

 I myself believe that the larger fish produce not only more numerous 

 but more vigorous offspring, capable, speaking generally, of attaining 



