THE IMMATURE FISH QUESTION. 59 
we find that on the east coast the latter item has varied but little. 
It was greatest in 1888, and the next highest figure is that for 1891. 
On the other hand, the total of drift-net fish has decreased steadily 
since 1886. On the south coast the annual quantity of drift-net 
fish has been pretty steady for four years out of the six, but the 
total for 1891 is only half that for 1886. Bottom fish on the south 
coast increased greatly to a maximum in 1890, but fell back con- 
siderably in 1891. On the west coast both drift-net fish and bottom 
fish have enormously increased. 
These results are chiefly, perhaps entirely due to the fact that in 
recent years a large number of east coast boats of the largest size, 
both trawlers and drifters, have annually spent a portion of the year 
in fishing on the more distant grounds on the south and west coasts 
of England and the south coast of Ireland. Sailing and steam 
trawlers have fished on the grounds to the south and west of the 
Wolf Rock between the Scilly Isles and Mount’s Bay, off the north 
coast of Cornwall and in the British Channel. very spring a large 
fleet of mackerel boats from Lowestoft make Plymouth their head- 
quarters, and land their fish at that port. The effect of this recent 
movement in the fishing industry is plainly indicated by the figures 
in the official return of the total quantities of fish landed at the 
principal ports on the several coasts (Table below). Thus we see that 
the quantity landed at Grimsby has slightly decreased, at Lowestoft 
has varied but little, at Plymouth has steadily increased, and also 
at Brixham; at Tenby there has been a decrease, while Milford 
(including Neyland) has sprung from nothing to be as important a 
port in relation to landing fish as Lowestoft. 
| 1886. | 1887. 1888. | 1889. 1890. 1891. 1892. 
| | | 
ewt. ewt. cwt. cwt. ewt. ewt. ewt. 
Grimsby : . 1,863,595 1,342,240/1,401,270 1,350,430/1,297,560)1,258,840|1,377,640 
Lowestoft | 502,097, 476,947) 476,718) 599,946} 417,373] 572,777] 627,578 
Plymouth . .| 141,712) 150,157; 132,087; 164,864) 163,884) 179,353] 135,241] 
Brixham : .| 48,280, 59,863; 62,891! 81,317] 95,612) 61,460 59,108 
Tenby c -| 10,232 9,451; 10,363 8,791 6,910 6,349 4,201 
Milford and Ney- | 
land . 6 a ee | 5,690 157,419) 270,576] 484,006 403,657} 370,687 
| | 
Now it is clear that an increase in the quantity of fish landed may 
very well be produced by an increase in the size and number of 
boats, and the fact that they visit new and distant grounds, at 
the same time that the productiveness of grounds formerly used is 
dechning. The most rigid and reliable test of the productiveness of 
a given fishing-ground would be to compare the average quantity of 
