33 
How this advantage is best to be gained, by which legislative regulations, 
the commission dare not say before further inquiry and investigation have 
been made. The commission could imagine various ways by which to ob- 
tain it: directly, by a prohibition against the fishing and killing of such 
little fish, or by prohzbiting all fishing at places where such little fish live; 
indirectly, on the other hand, by prohibitions against the sale of fish under 
a certain size. The latter, they suppose will induce the fishermen to avoid 
such places where the small fish live. 
The committee seems to be most inclined to go the latter way; but 
this too leads to various difficulties, particularly when the length of the fish 
is to be positively decided upon. 
The width of the meshes of the trawl is not mentioned at all by the 
committee; I think, with justice. By this way, which formerly was so po- 
pular, nothing can be gained in the North Sea, at any rate only very 
little. 
In short, the same principles of protection and legislation are laid down 
in the Report of this English committee, as in Report IV of the Danish 
Biological Station, with respect to the flat-fish fisheries of the Cattegat. It 
is also this latter report on which the first witness of the said committee, 
the Chief Inspector of Fisheries to the Board of Trade, bases his views on 
these questions. (The growth-theory — the breeding-theory.) 
The views on the main principles of the fishery-legislation concerning 
these matters have thus been completely changed; and at the same time 
”great progress has been made also in another respect. We know now that 
it is not sufficient any longer to speak of fish and fry of fish in a general 
way; we must mention the particular species of fishes for the fishing of 
which we want to legislate, as well as those which we will leave tå their 
own resources. We have known long that we must have other game-laws 
for woodcocks than for partridges; we kuow now also that, what holds 
good of the birds in this respect, holds good also to a certain extent of 
the fishes. 
Just because it is so necessary to distinguish clearly between the 
different species of fishes, on account of their exceedingly different condi- 
tions of life, it may be appropriate, perhaps, here to give a short view of 
them. This view pays particular attention to the occurrence of the fishes 
in the Danish seas within the Skaw. It has not been possible to give it 
till now — and then even in rough outlines only — after the Biological 
Station has had the S. S. Sallingsund at its disposal for three years; but 
hereby it has been enabled to investigate large areas, at various times of 
the year, and to make sure of the movements of the fishes in the course 
of the year. 
With respect to their occurrence in our seas within the Skaw, the fishes 
may be divided into two main groups: 
eo 
