26 
Mr. JEX remarked that he had been informed by one of 
his captains that he had thrown more immature fish over- 
board than he had ever sent to market. 
Mr. HELYER said his opinion was that  trawl-fishing 
destroyed a large amount of immature fish. If one boat 
out of a fleet of one hundred and fifty used a small-mesh 
net and captured a large quantity of fish, the others were 
bound to do the same, or else the captains would have to 
so in shore in consequence of their take not being the 
same. It was not right that this kind of thing should be 
allowed to go on. If the adoption of a larger mesh would 
do any good, by all means let it be adopted, but it must 
be adopted by fishermen of all nations. 
Mr. JOHN HEPTON (Grimsby) said, that having been a. 
trawler all his life, he took great interest in all matters 
relating to the prevention of the destruction of small fish. 
It had been stated by one speaker that one cod would 
eat twelve herrings every day ; but his experience, having 
seen the entrails of many, he might say thousands of, cod- 
fish taken out, was this, that not more than 20 per cent. of 
the fish caught would be found to contain any herrings 
whatever, and of those very few would contain more than 
four or five at the same time, whilst the different stages of 
digestion showed that they had been swallowed at intervals. 
The trawl-fisheries suffered exceedingly from the destruc- 
tion of small fish. When first he went to sea he had no 
difficulty in returning after having been out for eight or 
nine days, with from eighty to a hundred boxes of plaice, 
besides other fish ; but now things were entirely changed, 
excepting the Fisherbank season, for although the ships 
were larger they would return after an absence of about 
a fortnight with only thirty boxes or levels of plaice and 
half a score of turbots and one or two boxes of soles. The 
