THE FISHERY CONVENTIONS 605 



within the bays and close to the shore, destroying the spawn 

 and brood of fish. In other cases they were accused of fishing 

 in British waters when they were between three and four, or 

 even between six and seven, miles from the coast, the real 

 ground of complaint being that they occupied the localities 

 where the fish were most abundant, and where the native 

 fishermen mostly carried on their industry. 1 From causes 

 previously described, the number of Dutch fishermen frequent- 

 ing the British coasts diminished very much during the 

 eighteenth century, while at the same time French fishermen, 

 and on the coast of Scotland also Danes and Prussians, as 

 well as fishermen from the Austrian Netherlands, came in 

 increasing numbers. During the war with France and Holland 

 the fishermen of these nations were unable to pursue their 

 fishing on the British coasts. But shortly after the restoration 

 of peace they returned, and complaints of their encroachments, 

 especially on the coast of Scotland and the south coast of 

 England, soon became prevalent. In 1819 the Board of British 

 White Herring Fishery received numerous complaints of 

 foreign, and more particularly Dutch, herring-busses shooting 

 their nets too near the coasts, and committing depredations on 

 the lines and nets of the native fishermen. The Board were 

 urged to prevent foreigners from fishing "within a certain 

 distance " of the shore ; but they considered they had no power 

 to do so, and forwarded copies of the petitions to the Lords of 

 the Treasury. The clamour continued, and in 1821, and again 

 in 1822, the Board strongly recommended the Government to 

 take action. In the latter year the Government made repre- 

 sentations on the subject to the Government of the Netherlands ; 

 and as a result a royal decree was issued in 1824 by the King 

 of the Netherlands prohibiting Dutch fishermen from fishing on 

 the main coast of Scotland, or even, in the absence of urgent 

 necessity, from approaching it within a distance of two leagues, 

 twenty making a degree, or twice the limit of three miles. 2 



1 Plans and Proposals transmitted to the Committee on the Fishery, No. 1 , &c. 



2 Reports by the Commissioners for the British Herring Fishery for 1819, 1821, 

 1822 ; Staatsblad, No. 28, 4th April 1824, for a copy of which I am indebted to Mr 

 H. van Hall, of the Universiteits-Bibliotheek, Amsterdam. After a reference to the 

 previous decrees prohibiting the taking of herrings " between the banks and rocks 

 of Scotland," as being injurious to the reputation of Dutch pickled herrings (see 

 p. 201), it is stated that the Board for the Great Fishery is of opinion that, in the 



