[25] SCIENTIFIC EXAMINATION OF THE GERMAN SEAS. 549 



to catch fish than whilst they are spawning. To this must be added the 

 injury done by destroying eggs which have been laid and young fry. 

 No intelligent fisherman would therefore violate the rule of protecting 

 the fish during the spawning season, if necessity did not compel him, 

 or if the alternative were not placed before him either to catch the fish 

 himself or to let others catch them, and thus deprive him of a benefit 

 which he might have enjoyed. In such cases the excuse is made that 

 the fecundity of fish is large enough to neutralize all losses by the eggs 

 of the remaining fish. 



These are all well-known facts, which have only been mentioned here 

 with a view of urging a consideration of the question whether more 

 could not be done than is done at present to further and protect the 

 propagating process and to shelter the young fry. In considering this 

 question it should be distinctly understood that there can be no limita- 

 tion of fishing, for the fishermen are, as a general rule, by no means in a 

 position to submit to such limitations. 



The consideration of this question should be of special importance to 

 the coast fishermen, for quite a number of fish are only caught in large 

 numbers because they approach the coast for the purpose of spawning. 

 But with regard to these matters most fishermen are grossly ignorant, 

 as they know neither the spawning places nor the places where the 

 young fry stay. This ignorance is so great that it is absolutely neces- 

 sary to spread a bette* knowledge. 



An example may serve to illustrate this. In answer to many requests 

 to establish a season of protection for plaice and flounders, the provin- 

 cial government of Schleswig some time ago determined to obtain cer- 

 tain information on the subject, and sent extensive question-sheets to 

 many fishing associations. Numerous answers were returned, but with 

 the least possible results. Only one small fishing village pretended to 

 know any spawning places, but the places which were mentioned were 

 many miles distant aud located near much larger and more important 

 fishing stations, where nothing concerning them was known, and the 

 time of spawning mentioned in the answers was entirely incorrect. No 

 other place, not even Eckernforde, where most of the extensive flounder 

 fisheries on the whole Prussian coast are carried on, knew of those 

 spawning places. There was the greatest difference in determining the 

 time of spawning, which is easily ascertained, because at the beginning 

 of the spawning season the spawn may be seen to flow from the fish 

 which have been caught, whilst at the end of this season the fish are 

 quite empty. According to the data obtained by the above-mentioned 

 question-sheets the spawning season would be either in December and 

 January, or in March and April. The fact of the matter is that this 

 year the spawning season of the flounders in the Western Baltic com- 

 menced about the end of February, and had almost finished in the 

 beginning of April. If fishermen make such erroneous statements, no 

 other cause can be assigned for it than their utter indifference to this 



