FISHERY COMMISSIONS 45 



out of the printed evidence of the multitude, and base 

 on it their recommendations. Legislation is some- 

 times recommended ; but in the case of the sea- 

 fisheries of this country it has, perhaps fortunately, 

 seldom followed the presentation of any of these 

 reports. 



It seems, indeed, that the time is hardly yet ripe for 

 deep-sea fishery legislation, much as it may be needed; 

 and the reason is that our knowledge of the questions 

 involved, although rapidly increasing, is still too 

 deficient to form a sound basis for law-making. We 

 propose to confine our attention mainly to the North 

 Sea, and, from another point of view, mainly to 

 the English fishing authorities, as opposed to those 

 of Scotland and Ireland, in each of which countries 

 the fishing industry is controlled by a separate 

 Board. The fundamental and central question to 

 be settled is whether there is a diminution in the 

 fish generally, or in any particular species of food- 

 fish in the North Sea area, by far the most productive 

 of our fishing-grounds. If the answer is affirmative, 

 we may ask, What is the cause of this diminution? 

 and, How can it be arrested ? 



In 1863 Professor Huxley, Mr. (afterwards Sir) 

 J. Caird, and Mr. G. Shaw Lefevre were constituted 

 a Royal Commission to inquire (i) whether or not the 

 value of the fisheries was increasing, stationary, or 

 decreasing ; (2) whether or not the existing methods 

 of fishing did permanent harm to the fishing-grounds ; 

 and (3) whether or not the existing legislation was 

 necessary. Three years later the Commission re- 

 ported ; and their Report forms an important mile- 

 stone on the road of English fishery administration. 



Since 1866 great progress has been made in our 

 knowledge of the life-history of food-fishes ; yet even 

 to-day we are hardly in a position to answer the ques- 

 tions set to Professor Huxley and his colleagues. At 



