2 FISHERIES OF THE NORTH SEA 



reader understand the ramifications of a 

 business which is not easily understood 

 by the interested spectator ; for conditions 

 are constantly changing, and there is no 

 resemblance between our modern methods 

 of fishing and those in vogue thirty years 

 ago. In this account there is necessarily 

 much that will not be new to those who 

 are engaged in the industry ; but so great 

 are the possibilities and opportunities for 

 future development, and so pressing is the 

 need for taking full advantage of our 

 magnificent heritage of the sea, that the 

 public ought to be better informed, or 

 many grave mistakes will be made. 



Already several pronounced politicians 

 have inaugurated a body called the Empire 

 Resources Development Committee. These 

 men would like to see the State control 

 the industry, with a view to making it a 

 Government monopoly and diverting the 

 profits into the Treasury. Anyone who 

 understands the industry knows this to 

 be both impracticable and unjust. The 

 seas do not belong to the British Empire 

 any more than they do to Germany or 

 Norway. By international agreement we 



