OF THE GRIMSBY TRAWL FISHERY. 435 
country, since the injury complained of takes place on the Con- 
tinental coast rather than on our own. 
The proposal is that a large part of the ground frequented by 
small fish should be closed to trawling by international agreement, 
since the grounds extend far beyond the jurisdiction of any one 
power. We have already seen that the whole coast from the Horn 
Reef in Denmark to Terschelling Island in Holland is practically one 
vast nursery of small plaice, and it is proposed along this area, or 
part of it, to extend the territorial limit by international agreement 
to ten or twelve miles, and to prohibit trawling within this limit to 
the vessels of all nations. 
The plan is absolutely the most perfect which could be devised, 
if only it could be regarded as in any way practicable ; but this, 
unfortunately, is not the case. It is, perhaps, within the bounds of 
possibility that the nations owning the stretch of coast in question 
might unite with Great Britain in closing this area, but it would 
then be closed only to British, Danish, German, and Dutch vessels, 
and as long as the actual three mile limit were respected, there 
would be a direct incitement to the enterprise of some other nation. 
France, I believe, has always expressed herself unconvinced as to 
the necessity of international action in fishery matters, and it may 
be imagined that the result of abstention by the other nations would 
be the establishment of a French trawling industry, fishing along 
the Continental coast, and selling the small fish, which we wish to 
protect, in our own markets. 
But this contingency is remote, since there is not the slightest 
reason to suppose that the other Continental powers would consent 
to the scheme. Their interest in the deep-sea trawl fishery is but 
small; and, on the other hand, a very large fishing population is 
engaged in trawling operations in small boats along the coast. 
Moreover, as they are perfectly entitled to urge, these small boats 
are destructive only to marketable fish. The inshore plaice fishery, 
on the Danish and German coasts at any rate, is, as I have pointed 
out before, and as has been recently confirmed by Dr. Petersen, 
essentially a “‘live-fish’”’ trade. The marketable fish are picked 
out of the net before the latter comes on board, and the smaller fish 
turned loose without ever coming on board at all, and it is very 
-_ rarely that any are injured by their temporary sojourn in the net. 
It is not to be expected that because our large trawls destroy a large 
quantity of undersized fish, foreign nations will sacrifice their own 
interests for our benefit; for we, as having the deep-sea trade 
practically in our own hands, should undoubtedly reap by far the 
greatest share of the benefits which might accrue from closing these 
areas. ‘I'he Continental fishermen would be debarred from working 
