﻿94 
  OTTER-TRAWL 
  FISHERY. 
  

  

  12. 
  The 
  North 
  Sea 
  embraces 
  an 
  area 
  of 
  about 
  152,000 
  square 
  miles, 
  

   which 
  is 
  not 
  all 
  equally 
  productive 
  and 
  part 
  of 
  which 
  is 
  resorted 
  to 
  

   not 
  at 
  all 
  or 
  very 
  little 
  by 
  English 
  and 
  Scotch 
  trawlers. 
  Georges 
  

   Bank, 
  South 
  Channel, 
  and 
  Nantucket 
  Shoals 
  cover 
  about 
  9,800 
  

   square 
  miles, 
  a 
  considerable 
  but 
  indeterminate 
  part 
  of 
  which 
  is 
  not 
  

   resorted 
  to 
  by 
  fishermen 
  and 
  presumably 
  not 
  by 
  fishes 
  in 
  large 
  

   numbers. 
  

  

  In 
  1913 
  English 
  and 
  Scotch 
  (Aberdeen) 
  otter 
  trawlers 
  oniy 
  made 
  

   50,590 
  fishery 
  trips 
  to 
  the 
  North 
  Sea. 
  Assuming 
  the 
  entire 
  area 
  of 
  

   the 
  sea 
  to 
  have 
  been 
  fished, 
  theie 
  was 
  one 
  trip 
  to 
  each 
  3 
  square 
  

   miles. 
  In 
  the 
  same 
  year 
  326 
  trips 
  to 
  Georges 
  Bank, 
  South 
  Channel, 
  

   and 
  Nantucket 
  Shoals 
  were 
  made 
  by 
  American 
  otter 
  trawlers, 
  which 
  

   therefore 
  had 
  30 
  square 
  miles 
  of 
  bottom 
  to 
  each 
  trip. 
  

  

  This 
  unsatisfactory 
  comparison 
  is 
  the 
  best 
  that 
  we 
  can 
  give 
  of 
  the 
  

   relative 
  intensity 
  of 
  the 
  otter-trawi 
  fishery 
  in 
  the 
  North 
  Sea 
  and 
  on 
  

   the 
  banks 
  frequented 
  by 
  the 
  American 
  trawlers. 
  In 
  the 
  estimate 
  re- 
  

   specting 
  the 
  North 
  Sea 
  some 
  unproductive 
  bottom 
  is 
  included 
  and 
  

   the 
  trawlers 
  of 
  other 
  nationality 
  than 
  the 
  British 
  are 
  omitted, 
  and 
  

   the 
  estimate 
  of 
  3 
  square 
  miles 
  is 
  too 
  high. 
  In 
  the 
  case 
  of 
  the 
  

   American 
  banks 
  a 
  considerable 
  unproductive 
  area 
  is 
  also 
  included, 
  

   and 
  while 
  all 
  trawlers 
  are 
  taken 
  into 
  account 
  the 
  estimate 
  of 
  30 
  

   square 
  miles 
  is 
  also 
  too 
  high, 
  but 
  i)i 
  neither 
  case 
  can 
  we 
  estimate 
  the 
  

   error. 
  The 
  most 
  specific 
  information 
  concerns 
  the 
  Dogger 
  Bank, 
  

   having 
  an 
  area 
  of 
  6,216 
  square 
  miles, 
  to 
  which 
  English 
  trawlers 
  

   made 
  2,196 
  trips 
  in 
  1913, 
  or 
  approximately 
  a 
  trip 
  to 
  each 
  3 
  square 
  

   miles. 
  

  

  RECOMMENDATIONS. 
  

  

  While 
  the 
  facts 
  before 
  us 
  show 
  no 
  proof 
  or 
  presumption 
  of 
  any 
  de- 
  

   pletion 
  of 
  the 
  fisheries 
  on 
  the 
  banks 
  frequented 
  by 
  American 
  otter 
  

   trawlers, 
  it 
  is 
  possible 
  that 
  the 
  seeds 
  of 
  damage 
  already 
  have 
  been 
  

   sown 
  and 
  that 
  their 
  fruits 
  may 
  appear 
  in 
  the 
  future 
  or 
  that 
  the 
  

   development 
  of 
  a 
  wholly 
  unregulated 
  fishery 
  eventually 
  may 
  result 
  

   in 
  injury 
  where 
  none 
  now 
  exists. 
  The 
  matter 
  presented 
  for 
  our 
  con- 
  

   sideration 
  is 
  the 
  safeguarding 
  of 
  the 
  food 
  supply 
  not 
  only 
  of 
  the 
  ex- 
  

   isting 
  but 
  of 
  coming 
  generations, 
  and 
  we 
  are 
  therefore 
  less 
  concerned 
  

   with 
  present 
  conditions 
  than 
  with 
  those 
  which 
  may 
  develop, 
  less 
  

   with 
  the 
  immediate 
  interests 
  of 
  the 
  parties 
  to 
  the 
  controversy 
  re- 
  

   specting 
  otter 
  trawling 
  than 
  with 
  the 
  ultimate 
  interests 
  of 
  the 
  entire 
  

   country 
  in 
  the 
  perpetuation 
  of 
  some 
  sort 
  of 
  productive 
  fishery 
  for 
  

   all 
  time. 
  

  

  We 
  have 
  in 
  the 
  history 
  of 
  our 
  own 
  bank 
  fisheries 
  sufficient 
  infor- 
  

   mation 
  to 
  warrant 
  the 
  belief 
  that 
  there 
  is 
  but 
  little 
  danger 
  of 
  their 
  

   depletion 
  by 
  line 
  fishing 
  as 
  at 
  present 
  conducted, 
  but 
  there 
  is 
  no 
  

   such 
  accumulation 
  of 
  data 
  respecting 
  the 
  recently 
  introduced 
  otter 
  

  

  