430 EXAMINATION OF THE PRESENT STATE 
only, are entirely contrary to the public interest, whether of the 
consumer or of the trawl-fishery as a whole, and if the enforcement 
of a standard of size should have the effect of suppressing these 
methods of fishing, the public would gain thereby considerably. 
We may now consider the probable effect of the Various standards 
of size placed before the Parliamentary Committee, other than those 
based on the consideration of sexual maturity. The Conference of 
1892 dealt with five species, and proposed, as we have seen, the 
following sizes: 
Turbot ; 4 ‘ : . 12 inches. 
Brill . ; : : eel eee 
Sole : : é san MCh ae 
Lemon Sole : : . Pilg le sae 
Plaice Z , ; ; ko 
With regard to the North Sea, I have always failed to understand 
what beneficial effect could be expected from the limit of 12 inches 
proposed, as above, for brill and turbot, since the same limit may be 
said to be in operation already. One hardly ever sees either a 
turbot or brill of less than 12 inches in the Grimsby market, and I 
do not think that many of less size are caught on any ground worked 
by deep-sea trawlers. It must be supposed that the originators of 
the suggestion had some object in view, and we know that there are 
well-founded complaints as to the scarcity of these two valuable fish, 
but the limit proposed would leave the matter precisely in the con- 
dition in which it is at present. 
The limit of 10 inches proposed for soles would certainly benefit 
that species as far as concerns our own inshore fisheries, but, for the 
reasons already urged, soles of less size taken in deep-sea trawling 
operations would not be likely to receive much benefit from the 
enforcement of the standard. If any standard is adopted, I think 
that in the case of a fish so extremely valuable and so scarce as the 
sole, such standard should not be short of the biological require- 
ments. 
The lemon sole, in that it is not largely taken in the immature 
but saleable condition on the Eastern grounds, stands probably in 
less need of protection by means of a size limit than the others ; 
and to my mind the value of legislation by size limit stands or falls 
entirely with the size which is adopted in the case of plaice. 
Now, when dealing with the destruction of small fish, I have, 
as I suppose, given ample evidence that an immense number of plaice 
of more than 10 inches, the size proposed by the Conference of 1892, 
are captured on the Hastern grounds in company with hosts of 
smaller ones, and there is an absolute consensus of opinion that 
