328 INVESTIGATIONS INTO THE CONTENTS OF 



to spawn. lUit it by no means follows that their offspring will return to the 

 areas whence their parents came. I may quote Dr. Fulton (of the Scotch 

 Fishery Board) on this point : — 



*' The floating eggs and larvae derived from a particular sjiawning area may be 

 carried considerable distances in a definite direction in a comparatively short space 

 of time, and may hence form the source of sujjply, not to adjacent parts of the 

 coast " (whence, presumably, the spawners came), " but to parts situated a consider- 

 able distance from it." 



It will be seen, then, that before Ave can know what will be the effect of 

 closing particular inshore waters, it is necessary to discover the spawning 

 ground to which the fish from these waters resort, and then to determine 

 the direction of the prevailing surface currents, Not till this has been done 

 is it possible to say where the beneficial effect of closing any particular inshore 

 waters is likely to be felt. 



In the case of the areas in which I have conducted experimental trawlings, 

 no information at present exists, so far as I am aware, on these points. It is 

 not, therefore, possible to say whether the preservation of immature plaice 

 and dabs in Start and Teignmouth Bays will lead to an increase in the number 

 of these fish in the bays in question, or even in their immediate neighbour- 

 hood; but the general proposition still holds true, that the destruction of 

 immature flat-fish is detrimental to the fisheries at large. 



Further, it is impossible to give any answer to the question io Iwxo great an 

 extent are the fisheries likely to benefit from the continuance of the present 

 restrictions, or ichat amount of damage is likely to result from their abolition. 

 It is impossible to make any quantitative estimate of the effect of closing a 

 particular bay, unless we know among other things the proportion which the 

 number of immature fish in the bay bears to the total number of fish of that 

 species in the neighbouring district. And further, though of course it is true 

 that the preservation of the immature fish in such a bay will result directly — 

 and perhaps also indirectly — in an increase in the numbers of the species, the 

 admission has to be made that we cannot be certain that the catches of any 

 individual fishermen will be materially improved in consequence. 



Before bringing this memorandum to a close, it is, I feel, necessary to point 

 out that the considerations offered above are an attempt to set forth the view 

 which I think must be taken by those who are interested in the welfare of 

 the fisheries as a whole, of any proposal to remove restrictions which were 

 designed for the preservation of the immature flat-fish. But I am aware that 

 the question before the Committee may be complicated by considerations with 

 which I have not attempted to deal. 



The question which the Committee has immediately to consider — whether 

 a particular change in the law should or should not be enacted — is not one 

 which ought, in my opinion, to be directly put to any scientific authority. 

 The immediate effect of such a change — the sudden imposition, for instance, 

 of a size-limit, or the closure of certain inshore waters — may entail great 

 hardship on particular "local communities." The Committee will be 



