56 FISHERIES OF THE NORTH SEA 



bouring countries are prepared to work 

 harmoniously together, the fisheries can 

 be protected and made continuously pro- 

 ductive. Thirty years ago this area was 

 much more fertile in fish than it is to-day, 

 which proves conclusively that the plankton 

 or ultimate base for the food of fish is in 

 sufficient quantity to support far more life 

 than it does to-day. In the exploitation 

 of the seas our methods are like those of 

 the farmer who expects to reap a crop 

 when he allows his cattle to graze on his 

 sprouting seed or neglects to manure the 

 land. It would be much more profitable 

 to encourage the young fish to grow in 

 the North Sea than exhaust the ground 

 and go thousands of miles away in search 

 of others. Many years ago the fishermen 

 working the small boats in the inshore 

 waters said the trawler was depleting the 

 fishing grounds. It must be conceded 

 that one trawler is capable of bringing in 

 as much edible fish as 500 fishermen 

 would catch in small boats with small 

 mesh nets fishing inshore. But scientific 

 research has proved that the blame was 

 on the inshore fishermen more than the 



