43 



cases the animal is polygamous, and there will probably always 

 be a sufficient number of males to fertilise all the females. 

 With regard to the third it would seem that the young female, 

 reproducing, or about to reproduce its kind, should be the object 

 •of special care. Without doubt this protection does considerably 

 safeguard the continuation and multiplication of the species, 

 but it might be suggested that later stages, in which the 

 female may be more fertile and capable of reproduction, 

 should be the object of still more special care. A female at 

 the zenith of its reproductive powers is the most valuable 

 from the point of view of the preservation' of the species. It 

 Avould appear that as a matter of fact (though it is a point 

 still to be investigated more fully) this period in the life of 

 the female is between 2^ and 4 inches, so that the strict 

 preservation of these forms would be the best means of 

 safeguarding the industry. It could not, however, perhaps 

 be found practicable to enforce such a regulation. The fish 

 are caught in nets and promptly tumbled into the boat, often 

 in the dark of early morning, when there is neither time nor 

 opportunity for readily separating out and throwing back 

 into the sea females between 2| and 4 inches long. The 

 difference between male and female are, however, as has been 

 pointed out, well marked, and are seen by the experienced 

 fishermen at a glance, and if any relaxation of the restrictive 

 measures be contemplated in the future, in view of stricter 

 protection of the females it might quite well be in allowing 

 the capture of young males. 



A third direction in which the protection of the crawfish 

 has been sought is the protection of " berried " females or 

 females carr3/ing eggs externally. This is one of the most 

 obvious methods of dealing with the problem, and regulations 

 to this effect cannot but be very useful, though they have been 

 avoided, it is said, by stripping the female of eggs before 

 landing the catch. Females with the ovaries well-developed 

 and with internal eggs demand protection, however, quite as 

 much as those with external eggs, and the only fault with the 

 regulation is that it imphes the non-protection of such females. 



A fourth method of ensuring the continuation of the supply 

 of crawfish is one which has not yet been tried, but has been 

 adopted for some time in the case of the lobster of the Northern 

 Hemisphere. It is that of artificial hatching, which may be 

 carried out by collecting the eggs and by a system of artificial 

 aeration keeping them until the young hatch out . These young, 

 free-swimming forms are then turned into the sea, having 

 probably been tided over a dangerous period of their develop- 

 ment. This method could probably be easily carried out in 

 the case of the South African Crawiish. 



[C.P. 5- I3-] E 



