﻿12 
  OTTER-TKAWL 
  FISHERY. 
  

  

  this 
  or 
  that 
  statement 
  or 
  came 
  to 
  this 
  or 
  that 
  conclusion, 
  affects 
  

   the 
  present 
  question 
  to 
  the 
  extent 
  only 
  that 
  the 
  statement 
  or 
  conclu- 
  

   sion 
  holds 
  good 
  at 
  the 
  present 
  day 
  and 
  that 
  it 
  applies 
  on 
  this 
  side 
  

   of 
  the 
  Atlantic. 
  

  

  Although 
  the 
  present 
  conditions 
  in 
  the 
  fisheries 
  of 
  Great 
  Britain 
  

   have 
  been 
  reached 
  through 
  changes 
  and 
  progress 
  of 
  many 
  j^ears, 
  and 
  

   those 
  of 
  this 
  country 
  are 
  of 
  recent 
  and 
  comparatively 
  sudden 
  develop- 
  

   ment, 
  the 
  " 
  bones 
  of 
  contention 
  " 
  have 
  apparently 
  been 
  handed 
  along 
  

   little 
  changed 
  through 
  the 
  various 
  periods 
  in 
  Great 
  Britain; 
  and 
  

   finally, 
  still 
  little 
  changed, 
  have 
  crossed 
  the 
  Atlantic 
  to 
  America. 
  

   When 
  analyzed, 
  the 
  allegations 
  against 
  trawl 
  fishing 
  seem 
  to 
  have 
  had 
  

   their 
  origin 
  in 
  that 
  one 
  economic 
  factor 
  that 
  has 
  been 
  an 
  ever-present 
  

   cause 
  of 
  complaint 
  against 
  each 
  and 
  every 
  innovation 
  in 
  fishery 
  meth- 
  

   ods 
  and 
  appliances 
  in 
  whatever 
  country 
  — 
  competition. 
  

  

  Therefore, 
  most 
  of 
  the 
  investigations 
  and 
  inquiries, 
  while 
  directly 
  

   ascribable 
  to 
  localized 
  self-interest, 
  have 
  been 
  brought 
  about 
  by 
  

   allegations 
  mainly 
  of 
  general 
  economic 
  significance. 
  The 
  economic 
  

   conditions, 
  at 
  least, 
  changed 
  from 
  period 
  to 
  period, 
  and 
  each 
  in- 
  

   vestigation 
  had 
  a 
  somewhat 
  different 
  problem, 
  and 
  its 
  conclusions 
  

   and 
  recommendations 
  were 
  in 
  accordance 
  with 
  the 
  evidence 
  pre- 
  

   sented 
  by 
  the 
  conditions 
  of 
  the 
  time. 
  Our 
  investigations 
  have 
  the 
  

   same 
  characteristic, 
  and 
  it 
  is 
  not 
  improbable 
  that 
  if 
  we 
  should 
  be 
  

   called 
  on 
  to 
  conduct 
  a 
  similar 
  inquiry 
  in 
  the 
  future, 
  we 
  might 
  find 
  

   the 
  conditions 
  so 
  changed 
  as 
  to 
  require 
  conclusions 
  different 
  from 
  

   those 
  we 
  have 
  now 
  reached. 
  

  

  This 
  committee 
  has 
  based 
  its 
  findings 
  of 
  fact 
  and 
  its 
  conclusions, 
  

   so 
  far 
  as 
  the 
  conditions 
  on 
  the 
  banks 
  visited 
  by 
  American 
  fisher- 
  

   men 
  are 
  concerned, 
  wholly 
  on 
  the 
  mass 
  of 
  material 
  that 
  has 
  been 
  

   accumulated 
  in 
  the 
  Bureau 
  of 
  Fisheries; 
  and 
  the 
  opinions 
  of 
  per- 
  

   sons 
  other 
  than 
  the 
  members 
  of 
  the 
  committee 
  have 
  been 
  rigorously 
  

   excluded 
  from 
  consideration. 
  

  

  We 
  are 
  pleased 
  to 
  be 
  able 
  to 
  report 
  complete 
  accord 
  in 
  our 
  de- 
  

   ductions 
  and 
  unanimity 
  in 
  our 
  recommendations. 
  

  

  A. 
  B. 
  Alexander. 
  

   H. 
  F. 
  Moore. 
  

  

  W. 
  C. 
  IVENDALL. 
  

  

  