NORTH SEA INVESTIGATIONS. 381 



to assist me in this matter, I find that a certain proportion of 

 immature fish of valuable species are taken in almost every haul, 

 whilst on certain grounds lying to the eastern side of the North Sea 

 the catch consists almost entirely of immature plaice. This fact is 

 only too well known to every one connected with the industry in 

 this district, and has given rise to the periodical fishery conferenpes 

 with which we are familiar. 



At the same time I am not aware that any statement of the actual 

 quantity of small fish which is destroyed on these grounds has ever 

 been put forward, nor am I in a position to do so, since it is 

 impossible to estimate the amount that is shovelled overboard, dead 

 or dying, as failing to reach even the very modest standard of 

 market requirements. I can, however, give the number of boxes 

 which have been landed at Grimsby during the present season, 

 containing only small fish. I am using the word " small " not in 

 the biological sense, so as to include all sexually immature fish, but 

 in the sense in which it is used by fishermen and others connected 

 with the trade, so that it may be taken that the fish here enumerated 

 are immature in every sense of the word. Very few of them are 

 as much as 15 inches long, whilst in most boxes none exceed and 

 few reach a length of 14 inches, the majority being from 7 to 

 13 inches in length. Boxes which, while containing a few fair-sized 

 fish at the top, consisted otherwise of under-sized fish, are not in- 

 cluded in the list. 



There were landed at Grimsby — 



In April, 1836 boxes of small plaice. 

 „ May, 830 



„ June, 3470 „ „ 



„ July, 2059 

 „ August, 1924 



Total number of boxes for the five months, 10,119. 



It is probable that the number is actually greater, as some boxes 

 may well have escaped my notice ; at any rate, the number is not 

 exaggerated. 



Such boxes as I have counted contained about 300 fish, but pro- 

 bably some contain less when the larger fish are picked out and 

 packed separately. We shall be well on the safe side in taking 250 

 as the average number, which gives us a total of 2,529,750, or, in 

 round numbers, two and a half million fish. 



It must be remembered that these figures represent only the fish 

 landed at Grimsby. During the present year only a single small 

 fleet, about twelve sail, has been working the small fish grounds from 

 Grimsby, most of the smack-owners having given orders to their 

 boats to keep away from them. So far as I know, only one steam 



