﻿OTTEE-TRAWL 
  FISHERY. 
  

  

  73 
  

  

  fishing 
  activity 
  and 
  reduce 
  the 
  catches 
  to 
  the 
  basis 
  of 
  units 
  of 
  effort 
  

   expended 
  in 
  mailing 
  them, 
  the 
  following 
  table 
  is 
  presented 
  : 
  

  

  Average 
  Catches 
  per 
  Landing 
  by 
  English 
  Steam-Trawl 
  Vessels 
  Fishing 
  in 
  

   THE 
  White 
  Sea 
  in 
  1906 
  and 
  1912. 
  

  

  It 
  will 
  be 
  seen 
  from 
  this 
  that 
  the 
  average 
  catch 
  of 
  demersal 
  fishes 
  

   per 
  voyage 
  has 
  decreased 
  slightly, 
  and 
  of 
  plaice, 
  the 
  principal 
  species 
  

   caught, 
  heavily 
  between 
  1906 
  and 
  1912. 
  The 
  average 
  catches 
  of 
  

   cod 
  and 
  haddock 
  have 
  each 
  increased, 
  the 
  former 
  enormously. 
  As 
  

   the 
  plaice 
  is 
  the 
  highest-priced 
  and 
  most 
  desirable 
  fish 
  of 
  the 
  three, 
  

   the 
  inference 
  is 
  that 
  there 
  was 
  a 
  deficiency 
  of 
  that 
  species, 
  which 
  

   was 
  made 
  good 
  in 
  some 
  measure 
  by 
  increased 
  attention 
  to 
  the 
  cod 
  

   and 
  haddock. 
  This 
  tendency 
  appears 
  to 
  have 
  been 
  reasonably 
  con- 
  

   tinuous 
  throughout 
  the 
  period 
  discussed. 
  In 
  1913 
  there 
  were 
  but 
  

   108 
  voyages 
  to 
  the 
  White 
  Sea, 
  and 
  the 
  average 
  catch 
  of 
  the 
  cod 
  

   and 
  plaice 
  per 
  voyage 
  was 
  about 
  the 
  same 
  as 
  in 
  the 
  preceding 
  year, 
  

   but 
  there 
  was 
  a 
  further 
  increase 
  of 
  about 
  50 
  per 
  cent 
  in 
  the 
  average 
  

   catch 
  of 
  haddock. 
  

  

  To 
  determine 
  whether 
  there 
  is 
  any 
  other 
  indication 
  of 
  a 
  deple- 
  

   tion 
  of 
  the 
  supply 
  of 
  these 
  fishes, 
  the 
  following 
  analysis 
  has 
  been 
  

   made 
  of 
  the 
  catch 
  in 
  respect 
  to 
  its 
  composition 
  by 
  sizes 
  during 
  the 
  

   two 
  overlapping 
  four-year 
  periods 
  for 
  which 
  information 
  is 
  available 
  : 
  

  

  Proportion 
  of 
  the 
  Different 
  Trade 
  Sizes 
  of 
  Cod, 
  Haddock, 
  and 
  Plaice 
  to 
  

   the 
  Whole 
  of 
  the 
  Three 
  Combined, 
  in 
  Quadrennial 
  Periods 
  Between 
  

   1906 
  and 
  1912. 
  

  

  This 
  throws 
  but 
  little 
  light 
  on 
  the 
  subject 
  other 
  than 
  to 
  show 
  that 
  

   the 
  increases 
  in 
  the 
  catches 
  of 
  cod 
  and 
  haddock 
  were 
  mainly 
  in 
  

  

  