382 NORTH SEA INVESTIGATIONS. 



trawler has visited them with any regularity, though a good many 

 others have been making occasional trips there. The balance of 

 boats bringing in small plaice has been made up by a certain 

 number of smacks " single-boating/^ and sticking with more or less 

 regularity to the eastern grounds. Now from Hull alone two fleets, 

 each exceeding 200 sail, have this year visited the small-fish grounds, 

 as has also the combined Yarmouth, Lowestoft, and Barking fleet, but 

 as to how long they remained there I have at present no information. 

 Steam trawlers have also been " across " from Hull and Boston. 

 As the Board of Trade statistics do not discriminate between large 

 and small fish of a species, I do not know how we can arrive at an 

 accurate knowledge of the total number of small fish landed at all 

 ports ; but I think that there is sufficient evidence, from the results 

 achieved by the small number of Grimsby vessels, that it must have 

 been enormous. The small fleet alluded to is still on the same 

 ground. 



Space does not permit me to enumerate the different grounds 

 frequented by these small plaice in any detail. Briefly, they extend 

 along the coast of Holland, Hanover, and Denmark, as far north as 

 the Horn Reef, and from thence to Hantsholm on the coast of 

 Jutland. They derive their names in most part from those of the 

 islands nearest to them, strangely transformed in some instances 

 by British pronunciation. They differ considerably in the quality 

 of the fish produced, some grounds yielding none which are too 

 small for market, others yielding more unmarketable than marketable 

 fish, whilst north of the reef some grounds which seem to produce 

 only small fish in the summer yield fine catches in the autumn. 



There is no doubt that neai'ly all the plaice which are too small 

 for market are, nevertheless, destroyed, not wantonly, perhaps, but 

 simply because the exigencies of the fisherman's business do not 

 permit of much attention being paid to any but marketable fish, 

 even if the rest are not fatally injured by the pressure exerted by 

 the large catches usual on these grounds before ever they reach 

 the deck. 



Plaice are not the only sufferers on these grounds, as large 

 numbers of immature turbot are also destroyed. So far as I can 

 gather from observations on the total number in the market on 

 various days previous to the opening of the season for the grounds 

 referred to, the proportion of immature turbot does not exceed 30 per 

 cent., but once the boats begin to go " across " it rapidly rises. 

 This is easily accounted for when we examine the catches from the 

 eastern grounds. 



Thus in May a steam trawler from the Borkum ground landed 

 216 turbot in two trips. Of these only six were above 17 



