dieeotor's report. 209 



tion as to the sizes under which fish should not be allowed to be 

 taken. I do not wish for a moment to have it supposed that I 

 undervalue the importance of such conferences, my attendance on 

 the 24th, 25th, and 26th February last was sufiicient to dispel any 

 such idea ; what I mean to indicate is, that when a measure is 

 proposed, which must necessarily start from a knowledge of the 

 spawning periods and life history of fish, a large body of men 

 who have no such knowledge — although they may have worked 

 among fish all their lives — must necessarily deal with the question 

 from a trade point of view only. 



I do not intend to go further into the question at this juncture, 

 but only to point out that the two points stated above have lately 

 been seen to be widely apart. 



The experiments on the production of an artificial bait have been 

 continued. The question still presents serious difficulties, and a 

 decided success has not yet been attained. Mr. Hughes, the 

 chemist who undertook this inquiry, has now left the Laboratory, 

 but contributes a final paper to this number of the Journal. 



At first sight, the production of an attractive, easily-procured, and 

 inexpensive bait does not seem a serious problem ; but, as several 

 who have made the attempt have found, the construction of some 

 substance of suitable consistency in which to convey the attractive 

 elements, is a problem calling for considerable ingenuity, patience, 

 and perseverance. 



The fishermen in this locality still sufi^er from a great scarcity of 

 bait. Night after night boats are compelled to remain in harbour 

 because the crew have found it impossible to procure bait ; and I am 

 told that the way in which one or two crews succeed is by rowing 

 about during the night as the trawlers are coming in, buying up 

 small quantities of shell-fish here and there till sufficient is collected. 

 It is a laborious and often very expensive method, and certainly calls 

 for some alteration. We still hope, therefore, by continuing the 

 artificial bait experiments, to be able to produce some satisfactory 

 results. 



At the same time I cannot but think that if the rights of the 

 foreshores can be sufficiently guarded, extensive bait cultivation 

 might be carried out in certain suitable localities. It is successfully 

 done in several parts of Scotland, although there the supply is far 

 short of the demand, and I see no reason why it should not be 

 equally well done in England. 



On the 27th of January, owing to the repeated breaking down of 

 the steam-launch, I was obliged to report to Council that it was 

 absolutely necessary to have some more reliable craft with which to 

 carry on our sea work. The Association not being able to afford 



