170 NORTH SEA INVESTIGATIONS. 
to have any effect in increasing the supply either of that or of any 
other North Sea trawl-fish. No arguments having been brought for- 
ward against these views, [am not called upon to defend them further. 
Of course I am aware that the difference in the size at which 
maturity is attained by fish in different districts presents a great 
obstacle to the formulation of a limit which shall be beneficial to all 
districts alike. Indeed, I would go further, and say that it is 
impossible to legislate sensibly by size-limit unless each district is 
treated separately. 
The Procrustean method of cutting down the sizes in all districts 
to suit the requirements of that wherein the fish are the smallest 
entirely fails to commend itself to me. 
Plaice.—In the last number of this Journal (p. 124) the statistics 
were carried up to the end of August, 1893, but as a year has now 
elapsed since I commenced to take the whole number of fish landed, 
the figures from April, 1895, may now be conveniently recapitulated. 
| 5 
North Sea. Iceland. 
Month Hes ne: 
: of boxes. Total. | Large.” | “ Small.” Nore « Bee ” 
1893. ieee 11. | tes IV. v. vl 
IX ysl: contancascaooodcaedod ond 10,833 | 10,638 7,964 | 2,669 200 2 
May (N. Sea, less 1 day)) 19,859 | 15,176 | 7,532 7,644 4,683 20 
WIE) cusvoodooccdoasscaanedaa|) Jey seis 12,205 5,880 | 5,325 7,300 30 
July, (less Iday)) J. .0:.+. | 24,680 | 18,304 | 10,585 | 2,719 | 11,376 36 
August (less 4 days) ...... | 19,141 | 12,287 | 10,668 1,619 6,854: 21 
September (less 7 days)... 9,887 9,637 9,001 636 250 i! 
October sy. iccsneseccscsreseues LGTOI | AG LOL WSsbS2) | 609 sae 
November (less 1 day) ...| 11,219 | 11,219 | 10,408 816 
December (less 7 days)...| 4,570 4,570 | 4,483 | 87 
1894. 
(ESTES) saqeqnen dou bepneroge | 4,463 4,463 4,254 | 209 
INS) SFALEV osu cocooo2o8eccdcedae eStO7, 3,707 | 3,604 | 70 
March (less 6 days) ...... 6,673 6,673 | 5,484 | 1,184 wt oS 
April (less 4 days)......... 15,997 | 14,911 | 7,844 | 7,067 | 1,086 a 
| | 
I mentioned in my last report that a certain amount of the 
“small”? plaice which appears in the returns were landed by foreign 
steam-trawlers—chiefly from Hamburg, Bremerhaven, &c. These 
vessels, in addition to catching what they can with their own gear, 
occasionally buy up the catches of the small boats on the eastern 
grounds and bring it across to our markets. It is therefore probable 
enough that some of the fish so landed is derived from grounds 
inaccessible to large vessels, but I have not noticed any difference in 
the quality. 
In order to arrive at the quantity landed by our own vessels it is 
necessary to deduct from each month, as landed by foreign steam- 
trawlers, the following amounts : 
