FISHERIES 239 



much work, largely faunistic and taxonomic in character, was done 

 by Dr. Gilchrist, who for many years conducted a fishery survey 

 under the department of agriculture. In addition to the regular 

 official reports, an excellent series of scientific reports entitled 

 Marine Investigations in South Africa, was published from 1900 on- 

 wards. A monograph of the marine fishes of South Africa by 

 Dr. K. H. Barnard (1925-7) includes all species known southwards 

 of latitude i5°S., and has provided the basis of recent work; but 

 data on any branch but taxonomy are still so scanty that the regu- 

 lation of the fishing industry cannot yet be based on a scientific 

 footing, although the protective legislation enacted by the Cape 

 and Natal is valuable in the conservation of supplies. 



The organization of the division of fisheries is at present under 

 review by the government, which realizes that centralized control 

 of all marine fisheries is essential. The example of India, where 

 each province has its fisheries departments, has shown the dis- 

 advantages of such a system; the separate provinces cannot main- 

 tain sufficient staff'; there is danger of overlapping and consequent 

 waste of effort, and unless economic results are forthcoming 

 quickly, local support is apt to be withdrawn. A new marine bio- 

 logical laboratory is being constructed in South Africa, which will 

 train personnel for the division, so that it may be unnecessary in 

 future to recruit specialists from overseas. It may be suggested, 

 however, that a few officers from the old-established centres of 

 research elsewhere could make a valuable contribution to fishery 

 research in South Africa. 



The results of studies by the division of fisheries are published 

 in annual reports, of which twelve have appeared. On problems 

 of fishery technology there have also been published five investiga- 

 tional reports dealing with such subjects as shark fishing and the 

 canning of the Cape crawfish. Bulletins are also issued from time 

 to time on non-technical aspects of the industry. A full review of 

 the scope of the industry is given in a special report (Union of 

 South Africa 1934). 



The fishing-grounds of the Union are rich and extensive. They 

 are situated along the west coast from Walvis Bay to Cape Point 

 and along the south and east coasts as far north as Durban. The 

 Agulhas Bank is a large and rich ground producing a species of 



