up even before they attained marketable size, 

 leaving practically no survivors for future 

 catching so that the yield would be mainly 

 fish of a size now classified as "small". This 

 is essentially what has happened in the had- 

 dock fisheries of the North Sea (Herrington, 

 1935). 



It might also be argued that in the winter 

 fishery sea bass and fluke, which comprise 

 an important part of the catch because of 

 their high market value and as such are 

 subject to concentrated fishing effort, may 

 not continue at their present level of abun- 

 dance. In fact, it is the opinion of some 

 captains engaged in this fishery that these 

 species cannot be depended upon to furnish 

 good catches indefinitely unless something 

 is done to lessen the strain on them. If the 

 fishery for sea bass and fluke becomes less 

 remunerative, the whole effort of the winter 

 fishery would then be directed mainly to scup 

 and perhaps to a lesser extent to croakers. 

 The amount of destruction of small fish, if 

 the present practice is continued, would be 

 greatly increased, and the available supply 

 of the larger market sizes more rapidly 

 diminished. This would affect not only the 

 winter trawl fishery, but also reduce the 

 summer catch of scup, since both the winter 

 and summer fisheries draw on the same 

 stock. 



It appears that much could be gained by 

 eliminating or at least greatly reducing the 

 destruction of small sizes, the principal bene- 

 fits to the industry being: (1) Increased value 

 within 1 or 2 years of the survivors of the 

 small fish as they grow in size and become 

 higher grade market fish; (2) steadier prices 

 for the more desirable, salable sizes by 

 elimination or reduction of market gluts, par- 

 ticularly when small fish are especially nu- 

 merous; and (3) prolongation of good catches 

 when natural decline in abundance occurs. 



The important question then is, "How can 

 this be accomplished?" Admittedly it is diffi- 

 cult, for the method of correction must be 

 practical; that is, it must not impose incon- 

 venience or expense in excess of the probable 

 gain. In European and certain American fish- 

 eries, it has been demonstrated that practical 



modifications in gear to release undersized 

 fish are quite feasible, but their acceptance 

 into everyday use by the fishermen is most 

 difficult to obtain (Russell, 1934; Herrington, 

 1935). 



In the scup fishery, as already stated, the 

 destruction of small fish takes place both in 

 the summer and winter fisheries. In individual 

 cases, especially in the summer trap fishery 

 at Newport, R.I., conscientious effort is made 

 to release most of the undersized fish in good 

 condition by allowing them to escape when the 

 trap is hauled, either by means of a large 

 mesh "sifter" or by merely running them 

 over the cork lines. In general, however, this 

 method of correction is not generally appli- 

 cable to places where the catch is composed 

 of a mixture of different kinds of fish, for 

 the use of a "large mesh sifter" at such 

 places might result in loss of marketable fish 

 other than scup, either by escapement through 

 the "apron" or by gilling. At Newport this 

 device is used to sift catches composed almost 

 entirely of scup and little else. 



In the winter trawl fishery, although many 

 captains are cognizant of the probable effect 

 of continued destruction of small fish on 

 future yield, the present conditions of fishing 

 make it practically Impossible for them to 

 accomplish any real savings of unsalable sizes 

 without certain changes in gear. In the otter 

 trawl fishery, the catch is dependent on 

 results of towing on or near the bottom 

 usually for periods of 1 to 2 hours, depending 

 on conditions. Consequently, the composition 

 of the catch (kind and size of fish) is not 

 definitely known until the haul is landed on 

 deck. Such small fish as may be in the net 

 are by then usually in poor condition from 

 confinement and crowding during the towing 

 and hauling of the net, and even if they were 

 returned immediately to the sea, few are 

 likely to survive. In actual practice, the trash, 

 including both undersized and unmarketable 

 sizes, is not cleared from the deck until all of 

 the market fish have been culled from the haul; 

 consequently, the trash fish are usually dead 

 or nearly so by the time they are thrown 

 overboard. Hence, the remedy must lie in the 

 elimination of the undesirable sizes from the 

 catch by escapement in good condition while 



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