﻿96 
  OTTER-TEA 
  WL 
  FISHERY. 
  

  

  of 
  licenses 
  or 
  permits, 
  and 
  this 
  would 
  involve 
  either 
  some 
  selection 
  

   or 
  discrimination 
  among 
  the 
  applicants 
  by 
  the 
  issuing 
  authority 
  or 
  

   an 
  undiscriminating 
  issuance 
  of 
  permits 
  to 
  the 
  earlier 
  applicants 
  

   and 
  their 
  refusal 
  to 
  those 
  making 
  application 
  after 
  the 
  predeter- 
  

   mined 
  number 
  had 
  been 
  granted. 
  

  

  The 
  restriction 
  of 
  the 
  use 
  of 
  the 
  otter 
  trawl 
  to 
  certain 
  definite 
  

   banks 
  and 
  grounds 
  appears 
  the 
  most 
  reasonable, 
  just, 
  and 
  feasible 
  

   method 
  of 
  regulation 
  which 
  has 
  presented 
  itself 
  to 
  us. 
  

  

  It 
  would 
  have 
  the 
  effect 
  of 
  automatically 
  placing 
  some 
  limitation 
  

   on 
  the 
  number 
  of 
  vessels 
  engaged 
  in 
  the 
  fishery, 
  for 
  the 
  reason 
  that 
  

   caution 
  would 
  be 
  imposed 
  on 
  prospective 
  investors 
  by 
  virtue 
  of 
  their 
  

   knowledge 
  that 
  no 
  other 
  fishing 
  grounds 
  were 
  open 
  to 
  exploitation 
  if 
  

   those 
  allotted 
  to 
  them 
  should 
  be 
  exhausted. 
  

  

  It 
  would 
  cause 
  the 
  trawlers, 
  for 
  reasons 
  of 
  self-interest, 
  to 
  exercise 
  

   care 
  to 
  reduce 
  as 
  far 
  as 
  possible 
  such 
  abuses 
  or 
  economic 
  defects 
  as 
  

   may 
  be 
  inherent 
  in 
  the 
  method 
  and 
  to 
  eliminate 
  those 
  which 
  are 
  not 
  

   essential 
  to 
  it. 
  The 
  results 
  of 
  offenses 
  against 
  good 
  fishery 
  practices 
  

   would 
  be 
  imposed 
  directly 
  on 
  the 
  prime 
  offenders 
  and 
  would 
  be 
  

   mitigated 
  to 
  those 
  using 
  other 
  methods 
  by 
  their 
  freedom 
  of 
  resort 
  

   to 
  other 
  areas 
  where 
  the 
  evils 
  would 
  be 
  manifested 
  little 
  or 
  not 
  at 
  all. 
  

  

  Any 
  injury 
  to 
  the 
  fishery 
  which 
  might 
  result 
  from 
  the 
  develop- 
  

   ment 
  of 
  otter 
  trawling 
  under 
  such 
  restriction 
  would 
  be 
  localized. 
  It 
  

   would 
  manifest 
  itself 
  chiefly 
  on 
  the 
  banks 
  to 
  which 
  the 
  fishery 
  might 
  

   be 
  restricted 
  and, 
  especially 
  in 
  respect 
  to 
  the 
  haddock, 
  the 
  fish 
  likely 
  

   to 
  be 
  most 
  severely 
  affected, 
  would 
  extend 
  but 
  little 
  or 
  not 
  at 
  all 
  to 
  

   the 
  banks 
  from 
  which 
  the 
  otter 
  trawl 
  might 
  be 
  excluded. 
  There- 
  

   fore 
  neither 
  the 
  whole, 
  nor 
  even 
  the 
  major 
  part 
  of 
  our 
  bank 
  fish- 
  

   eries, 
  could 
  be 
  depleted 
  by 
  any 
  conceivable 
  development 
  of 
  otter 
  

   trawling 
  under 
  such 
  restraint. 
  

  

  Being 
  thus 
  localized, 
  inherent 
  evils 
  would 
  more 
  certainly 
  manifest 
  

   themsehes, 
  the 
  effects 
  could 
  be 
  more 
  closely 
  observed 
  and 
  more 
  

   quickly 
  and 
  surely 
  detected, 
  the 
  fishery 
  could 
  be 
  kept 
  under 
  closer 
  

   and 
  more 
  accurate 
  observation, 
  and 
  it 
  would 
  be 
  possible 
  by 
  compari- 
  

   son 
  with 
  the 
  conditions 
  on 
  the 
  proscribed 
  banks 
  to 
  discriminate 
  in 
  

   some 
  measure 
  between 
  accidental 
  fluctuations 
  in 
  the 
  abundance 
  of 
  

   the 
  fishes 
  and 
  those 
  which 
  might 
  be 
  due 
  to 
  overfishing. 
  

  

  We 
  therefore 
  recommend 
  that 
  the 
  taking 
  of 
  fishes, 
  excepting 
  shell- 
  

   fishes, 
  by 
  means 
  of 
  the 
  otter 
  trawl 
  or 
  beam 
  trawl, 
  or 
  any 
  adaptation 
  or 
  

   modification 
  of 
  either, 
  or 
  by 
  any 
  other 
  apparatus 
  drawn 
  ovei- 
  the 
  

   bottom 
  by 
  a 
  vessel 
  in 
  motion, 
  be 
  prohibited 
  on 
  all 
  bottoms 
  in 
  the 
  

   Atlantic 
  Ocean, 
  outside 
  of 
  territorial 
  jurisdiction, 
  north 
  of 
  the 
  for- 
  

   tieth 
  degree 
  of 
  north 
  latitude, 
  excepting 
  Georges 
  Bank, 
  South 
  Chan- 
  

   nel, 
  and 
  Nantucket 
  Shoals 
  east 
  of 
  the 
  meridian 
  of 
  Sankaty 
  Head 
  

   on 
  the 
  island 
  of 
  Nantucket. 
  

  

  