Smith. — Need for Fisheries Instruction 45 



which could be stopped at once, and the result would be to benefit 

 the fisheries. 



A very distinguished statesman in Britain once asked me to lecture 

 in the North of England. I went to six or seven fishing towns and 

 talked with the fishermen and found that my addresses were quite 

 a success, but I did not quite understand the reason. It was explained 

 to me that it was because I said in my first lecture that I wanted 

 the fishermen to understand the fish, and I began by describing, amongst 

 other things, the ears of the fish. The fishermen had no Idea that 

 the fish have ears. The Government stopped their guns being fired 

 close by, for they said that if the fishes had ears, the big guns must 

 be removed, which helped my cause. Of course, it was not my object, 

 but the interest of the fishermen was aroused, and the first step must 

 be to interest the fishermen. 



A few weeks ago, at one of the biological stations in Canada, on 

 the coast of New Brunswick, we visited some fishing towns in the 

 course of scientific inspection, and in one little town of fishermen we 

 were asked to arrange for addresses, a movement which came, I think, 

 from the fisherfolk themselves. They suggested that while we stopped 

 in this village we might put in some of our work in investigating deep- 

 sea fisheries. We did so. It was good experience, and it was also a 

 very great pleasure to find a crowded hall and the fishermen exceed- 

 ingly interested in fish, young fish, eggs, etc. 



So there is quite an opening for work of this kind, but if approached 

 from the other side, the technical, college or university side, or by a 

 course of lectures, you will not get out the people who really need 

 to be instructed. 



President: I do not think that people realize what a vast amount 

 of inquiry respecting the fishes and fisheries has grown up in the 

 United States Fish Commission. Those of you who have not been 

 connected with the Commission do not know what a tremendous cor- 

 respondence the United States Bureau of Fisheries has to handle. 

 Everybody gets the best answer that the Bureau can give and the 

 letters go all over the land to the American people, answering their 

 inquiries; they include letters from common people, letters from fish- 

 ermen who want to know the best way of selling; letters from those 

 who want to know the latest results in regard to sardines; letters 

 from those who want to know about salting fish; letters on all kinds 

 of fishery work. 



Now it has seemed to me that a great deal could be done if we 

 could get together and teach men who would be willing to lecture 

 to the fishermen. We cannot always get at them in the cities, and 

 large cities are pretty well supplied with lectures of various kinds, 

 but I am quite sure ' that somebody that knows about fish, lobsters 

 or oysters, that could go to fishing centres where these are vital mat- 

 ters, would get a good audience, and such a man would be able to 

 impart a great deal of useful information to the fishermen. Just 

 how we should go about the founding of an institute of fisheries it 

 is hard to say, hut after our committee has talked this over we shall 

 be very glad to hear their recommendations. 



