418 EXAMINATION OF THE PRESENT STATE 
Smaller fish are sometimes, like the small cod, entangled in the net 
amongst weed or other rubbish. . 
Small haddock are trawled on pretty well all the grounds of the 
North Sea, except on very shallow inshore areas. They are packed 
separately from the larger ones, though boxes of large fish contain 
a proportion which are actually immature. I have collected the 
number of boxes of small fish landed since October, 1892, and 
append the figures for whatever they may be worth, in the absence 
of statistics showing the total amount of all sizes collected in the 
same way. 
Boxes. Boxes. 
1892. October. ‘ . 542 1893. October ; . 8457 
November 5 . 1335 November, less 1 day = Gal2 
December 0 . 1440 December, less 8 days - 5792 
1893. January : . 1416 1894. January c . 5248 
February F ial February : . 3848 
March, less 6 days el dO7, March, less 6 days . 5363 
April. : . 2424 "April, less 4 days . . 8502 
May, lessi day . . 2890 May (record imperfect). 
June . : . 38596 June, less 1 day . . 5970 
July, lessl day . . 3841 July : - 6039 
August, less 5 days a O7oll August, less 2 days . 6798 
September, less 7 days = 4670) 7} September 5 . 6587 
3. By other Methods of Fishing. 
Apart from deep-sea trawling there is no doubt that a certain 
amount of destruction is effected by various other methods of fishing. 
Drift-netting may be left out of the question, since, though on the 
south coast I have seen considerable quantities of under-sized hake 
brought in by the drift-netters, I do not know that this fishing is 
injurious in the North Sea to any kinds of fish except those which 
form its object, and with which we are here in no way concerned. 
Line-fishing.—In deep-sea long-lining and hand-lining, and in 
inshore lining generally, there occurs without doubt a considerable 
destruction of sexually immature cod, and, in the deep-sea branch of 
the industry, a very material destruction of immature halibut, but 
mainly in grounds which lie beyond the boundaries of the North Sea. 
It is hardly within our province to discuss the latter, and with regard 
to the cod [am not in a position to give information in sufficient detail 
to be of much value. It may be remarked that the destruction of 
small fish caught on the lines is to this extent wanton, that most 
hooked fish would survive if returned to the water. 
With the exception of the halibut, which is of no great account as 
a North Sea trawl fish, I do not know that any flat-fish are commonly 
captured by deep-sea liners. It is natural to suppose that turbot 
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