30 
prevented it from being placed at our disposal to obtain. 
the required fertilized eggs, but through arrangements 
made with Mr. Leadbetter, of Fleetwood, a member of 
the Committee, I was permitted to visit the fishing 
erounds in the sailing trawler ‘ Harriet.’ Accompanied 
by one of the bailiffs from Piel, we left that place early 
on the morning of the 10th March, having previously 
arranged to meet the ‘ Harriet’ outside the harbour not 
later than 6 a.m. A heavy sea was running outside, and 
no sign of the vessel could be seen, so it was decided to 
run to Fleetwood, and on arrival there we found that she 
had not gone out owing to the storm. By this time, how- 
ever, the weather showed signs of improvement, and the 
captain arranged to sail that same afternoon. During the 
time we were waiting at Fleetwood we visited the fish 
market, and had a look at the condition of the fish landed 
from the trawlers that morning, and found that the 
majority of them had been nearly mature when captured. 
“On putting out to sea the captain of the ‘ Harriet’ 
decided to try the off-shore fishing grounds lying in line 
with St. Bees Head and the north end of the Isle of Man, 
whence most of the fish were being taken. The first 
hauls were unproductive of spawning fish, and it was not 
till midnight of the 11th March that we were successful 
in our search. In this haul spawning Cod and Haddock 
were found, the eggs were quite mature, and no difficulty 
was found in ‘stripping’ the fish and afterwards fertilizing 
them. After fertilization, the embryos were placed in 
clean buckets filled with fresh sea-water, and everything 
made ready for running into Piel Harbour at daylight. 
Unfortunately, however, during the night a heavy sea 
broke on board, carrying away the buckets from their 
fastenings, and sweeping the contents overboard. In the 
next haul mature Haddock were again found, the eggs of 
