VALUE OF FISHERIES 49 



Faroe, and the Lofoten Isles (for as these 

 grounds are fished mainly by ships which 

 belong to and carry the cargo to North Sea 

 ports they cannot well be excluded) we 

 have approximately another 150,000 square 

 miles, making an area 300,000 square miles 

 of possible fishing grounds. The fertility 

 of this seabed varies, and probably not 

 more than one-sixth is fished regularly; 

 but as the currents circulate the food over 

 the whole, no fixed line of demarcation can 

 be made. It is difficult to estimate the 

 tonnage of food which this area supplies 

 to the adjacent countries, chiefly Britain, 

 Norway, Holland, and Germany; but 

 Britain received about 1,200,000 tons in 

 1913, so that as an estimate of the whole 

 output, nearly twice this amount, say 

 2,200,000 tons, would be well within the 

 mark. Taking an average price at the 

 port of landing, which would be somewhere 

 near three halfpence per pound, we get a 

 total of 30,000,000. With efficient or- 

 ganization and exploitation this amount 

 is capable of being greatly extended. 

 Food prices have so increased of late years 

 that, considering the probability of in- 

 4 



