284 SHOULD WHITEBAIT FISHING BE STOPPED ? 



I liave thus endeavoured to describe some of the dif- 

 ferent kinds of fish that are sold as whitebait. If they 

 are sprats there is no reason for stopping their capture^ 

 as sometimes sprats are caught in such large numbers 

 in the mouth of the Thames as to be useless, and many 

 barrels of " garvies" or sprats are sent to London from 

 the Firth of Forth, and other parts of Scotland. 

 \ Sprats, again, are worth 9d. a bushel, and are often 

 sold as manure at even a less price, while whitebait is 

 sold for food at £3 per bushel. 



If they are herrings it is not necessary to prevent 

 their capture, as there are no herring fisheries nearer 

 the mouth of the Thames than Lowestoft to the North, 

 and Folkestone and Eamsgate to the south, and herrings 

 are not shown to have fallen oft' anywhere wdth the ex- 

 ception of in the Pont. Even if a decrease of herrings 

 was found, it is exceedingly doubtful whether the spar- 

 ing of the whitebait would increase the quantity. 



I am of opinion, therefore, that the whitebait fishing 

 should not be interfered with, as considerable number 

 of fishermen are employed in the business — large sums 

 of money are expended in boats, tackle, &c., for its 

 captare — and w^iitebait has now become almost a. 

 necessary food for the people of London. 



WHITING. 



Anacanthini Thoracici. Gadida. 



[Gail US meiiangus.) 



German: Der WlttUng. French: Le 21erlan. Dutch: Die 

 Welting. Norwegian : Hvitting. Danish : Hvidling. 



The Whiting is the most delicate in flavour of the 

 cod tribe. It is caught in great abundance almost all 

 round our coasts, and ranges from the Orkneys to Cape 

 Clear, swimming in large shoals a few miles from the 



