NORTH SEA INVESTIGATIONS. 125 
In April 145, and in May 85 cases of small fish were sent to 
Grimsby market from the Continent by cargo boat. 
Comparison with the figures for last year (N.5%., vol. i, p. 381) 
shows a very considerable increase in the quantity of ‘ small” 
landed in the early part of the season, which commenced this year 
as early as March. ‘This is due very largely to the early summer of 
the present year, which brought the fish, and, in their train, the 
boats, on to the eastern grounds sooner than usual. Moreover, 
instead of only sending one fleet to the Terschelling ground, during 
the present season Grimsby has furnished no less than four small 
fleets to assist in the work of destruction, whilst, in addition to steam 
trawlers hailing from our own and other British ports, we have been 
favoured with frequent visits from foreign vessels bringing small 
plaice from the same grounds. Thus in May 22 “voyages’’ of 
small’? were landed by British steam trawlers, whilst foreign 
vessels from Hamburg, Bremen, Gelstemiinde, and Rostock contri- 
buted seven “ voyages.’ The destruction was apportioned as 
follows :—by British steam trawlers, 3917 boxes; by foreign steam. 
trawlers, 1642 boxes; by smacks, 2085 boxes. The latter were 
much hampered throughout the season by want of wind. Besides 
Grimsby boats, fleets from other east coast ports also visited the 
Terschelling and neighbouring grounds, including boats from 
Lowestoft. In view of the fact that our own boats brought practi- 
cally none but small plaice from these grounds, it is somewhat 
surprising to learn from evidence given before the Parlhamentary 
Committee that Lowestoft fishermen are so fortunate as never to 
catch any small fish at all. 
Since the method of collecting statistics has during the present 
year been the same in the case of “ large’”’ and “small,’”? we may 
venture to compute the comparative numbers of each with more 
accuracy than could be hoped for before. Taking the month of 
May as before, I found that 100 fish was the average contents of a 
box of “large,” and that of these about 40 per cent. failed to reach 
what I consider to be the biological standard of maturity. There 
would therefore be in the boxes of ‘ large”? landed during May 
some 753,200 fish, of which 451,920 would be mature and 301,280 
immature; whilst in the boxes of ‘ small,” containing each about 
250 fish, practically the whole 1,911,000 fish would be immature. 
Thus of the total of 2,664,200 no less than 2,212,280 would be below 
the biological limit. This may be of some interest, but is of perhaps 
little practical importance, since, as I have endeavoured to show in 
former reports, we may hope to afford the necessary protection to 
the species without having recourse to the biological standard for 
legislative purposes. Indeed, from the experience of two seasons, I 
