NORTH SEA FISHERIES 



5776 



NORTHUMBERLAND 



deep, over 2,400 ft., off the S. of 

 Norway, it is relatively shallow, 

 with an average depth of 120 ft. in 

 the S. and 350 ft. in the N. 



This sea being physically a con- 

 nexion between the lowlands of E. 

 Britain and the great European 

 plain, its coast-line is not a per- 

 manent feature ; the Zuyder Zee 

 is an accidental enlargement, and 

 English coastal areas are being 

 slowly removed, while the great 

 rivers tend to fill it with their loads 

 of sediment, so that the Rhine 

 delta and the Thames estuary ex- 

 perience encroachments of the 

 land on the sea. Structurally the 

 North Sea is part of the lowland 

 between the old mountains of 

 Scandinavia and Scotland and the 

 middle-aged mountains of S. Eng- 

 land, Belgium, and N. Germany. 

 The S, outlet by the Strait of Dover 

 is not inherent to the structure, 

 and occurred in a comparatively 

 recent geological epoch. Between 

 these ranges the rivers form one 

 system which, in the days before 

 the area was drowned and the 

 plains were connected by dry land, 

 may have all Thames, Ouse, 

 Lower Rhine, Elbe, etc. joined 

 to make one great N. -flowing river. 



The submarine surface is marked 

 by inequalities ; the Dogger, Jut- 

 land, and Great Fisher banks are 

 submarine ridges, the Silver and 

 other pits are submarine hollows. 

 The waters slowly circulate, a S.- 

 flowing current along the British 

 coast becoming a N. -flowing cur- 

 rent on the Eastern shore ; the 

 tides are unusually complicated ; 

 they enter by the Strait of Dover, 

 and round Scotland flow S. along 

 the British coast, and N. along the 

 E. shore, scouring the great 

 estuaries on both sides. 



Owing to these movements the 

 floating eggs of the food fishes are 

 widely distributed, and the shoals 

 of fish, such as the herring, appear 

 to follow regular movements which 

 control the work of the trawlers. 

 These fish feed on the large quanti- 

 ties of the lower forms of animal 

 and vegetable life in which the 

 North Sea abounds, and thus this 

 marine area is one of the chief of 

 the world's fisheries. 



Commercially the North Sea is 

 the most important water area in 

 the world, and historically, with 

 the English Channel, it is a pre- 

 dominant physical feature of 

 Europe. The insularity of Britain 

 which it has ensured is responsible 

 for the British Empire, the racial 

 character of the U.S.A., and the 

 consequent interference during the 

 critical periods of the great 

 European wars of powers based 

 on the sea, whose activities have 

 profoundly moulded the course of 



events during the wars themselves 

 and during the intervening periods 

 of peaceful development. Its area 

 is 190,000 sq. m. ; maximum 

 breadth 420 m., and length 700 m. 

 See Atlantic Ocean ; Dogger Bank ; 

 Europe. 



North Sea Fisheries Conven- 

 tion. Agreement made at The 

 Hague in May, 1882, between 

 Great Britain, Germany, Belgium, 

 Denmark, France, and Holland, 

 with power reserved to Sweden 

 and Norway to come in on giving 

 notice. This convention declares 

 that the fishermen of each country 

 shall have the exclusive right of 

 fishing within a distance of 3 m. 

 from low-water mark along the 

 whole extent of their respective 

 countries, as well as of dependent 

 islands and banks. As regards 

 bays and inlets the 3 ( m. are to be 

 calculated from a line drawn across 

 the bay in the part nearest the 

 entrance where the bay does not 

 exceed 10 m. in width. 



Other clauses decree that fishing 

 boats are to be registered, and to 

 bear their registration marks and 

 numbers distinctly marked, and to 

 carry official papers showing their 

 nationality. Minute rules and regu- 

 lations govern the manner of 

 fishing and the behaviour of fishing 

 boats to each other, e.g. the right 

 to cut entangling lines. The regu- 

 lations are to be enforced by special 

 cruisers, which have the right of 

 visit and search and arrest. The 

 arrested boat is to be handed over 

 to its own country to be dealt with 

 and punished. 



North Staffordshire Rly. Eng- 

 lish railway company. It dates 

 from 1847, when three existing 

 lines in and 

 around Stafford- 

 shire were amal- 

 gamated. Exten- 

 sions were made, 

 and other lines 

 acquired, while 

 the company 

 joined with the 

 G.C. Rly. in 

 controlling the 

 Marple and Bol- 

 lington Rly. It 

 owns the Trent and Mersey Naviga- 

 tion, and three hotels. The head- 

 quarters and works are at Stoke- 

 upon-Trent ; other towns served by 

 it are those of the Potteries, Crewe, 

 Macclesfield, Derby, Uttoxeter, and 

 Burton-upon-Trent. The length of 

 single track owned is 524 m., and 

 the capital is 11,000,000. 



North Staffordshire Regi- 

 ment. Regiment of the British 

 army. Formed in 1881 by the 

 union of the 64th and 98th Foot, 

 which had been raised in 1756 and 

 1824 respectively, it received its 



North Staffordshire 

 Railway arms 



alternative title of the Prince of 

 Wales's on the occasion of the 

 prince's tour to Malta, 1876. In 

 1759 the 64th Foot served against 

 the French in 

 Martinique, and 

 then fought in 

 the American 

 War of Inde- 

 pendence. In 

 1803 it took 

 part in the cap- 



tiirfnfSf Ti^ia North Staffordshire 

 tuie ol Bt. Lucia Regiment badge 



and later of 



Surinam in Guiana. The regiment 

 fought in the China War, 1842, on 

 the Indian frontier in 1851, and in 

 Persia in 1856. Both battalions 

 helped to put down the Indian 

 Mutiny. The 1st battalion served 

 in the Sudan in 1896, and the 

 2nd took a leading part in the 

 South African War. 



The regiment sent a large num- 

 ber of battalions to the Great War, 

 the 1st being part of the original ex- 

 peditionary force. The 8th service 

 battalion was in France by July, 

 1915, and formed part of the 19th 

 division. Other battalions, including 

 the 4th and 5th Territorials, were 

 engaged in the battle of Cambrai, 

 1917, in the defensive battles of the 

 spring of 1918, and participated in 

 the final British victories in France 

 in the autumn of that year. The 

 official name The Prince of Wales's 

 North Staffordshire Regiment was 

 changed to the North Staffordshire 

 Regiment (The Prince of Wales's) 

 in Dec., 1920. The regimental 

 depot is at Lichfield. 



Northumberland. County of 

 England. The most northerly of 

 all, it is separated from Scotland 

 by the Cheviot Hills and the 

 Tweed. Its area is 2,018 sq. m., 

 and it has a long coast-line on the 

 North Sea. From there the surface 

 rises to the Cheviots, the highest 

 point of which is 2,676 ft., and it 

 varies between moorland and 

 verdant undulations, intersected 

 by fertile and wooded valleys. A 

 geological feature is the Great 

 Whin Sill, a sheet of basalt forming 

 a succession of crags stretching 

 with intervals from the N.E. into 

 Cumberland. 



The chief rivers are the Tyne, 

 Tweed, Till, Wansbcck, Alne, and 

 Coquet, and there are several small 

 lakes, Greenlee Lough being the 

 largest. Off the coast are Coquet 

 and Holy Islands, and the Fame 

 Islands. Agriculture flourishes 

 along the coast and in the valley 

 districts, and the rearing of 

 Cheviot sheep and Durham short- 

 horns is actively pursued. There is 

 a coalfield in the county, and the 

 urban industries are mainly associ- 

 ated with this. It is served by the 

 N.E. Rly. Newcastle-upon-Tyne 



