264 SEA FISHERIES 



Doubtless to the fact that the currents of the Mediter- 

 ranean, being very slight, lend themselves less effectively 

 to drifting : while the fixed fisheries of estuaries and fish- 

 ponds divert a large number of fishermen from active 

 sea-fishery. The annual yield of the Channel and the 

 Atlantic fishponds and estuaries amounts to 2,000 tons 

 (salmon/ sturgeon, bar, grey mullet), while the yield of 

 the same species in the Mediterranean amounts to 1,900 

 tons. 



The absolute limit of absorption of a herring-net or a 

 trawl depends in theory upon the number of meshes or 

 the size of the pocket ; but in practice it is conditioned 

 by the nature of the boat. It is obvious, for example, 

 that a small cutter could not drag an otter-trawl ; that a 

 steam trawler or drifter will reach the fishing-grounds 

 more rapidly. It is also imperative to consider the gear 

 as a function of the boat. 1 



II 



To one who watches, of a morning, in a large and 

 prosperous port such as Grimsby, Hull, or Aberdeen, 

 the arrival of the steam fishing boats, it seems that these 

 powerful and speedy vessels must be the only efficacious 

 agents of intensive production, as well as the regular 

 purveyors to the market. This impression corresponds 

 faithfully to the reality ; a fact of which the reader may 

 convince himself if he will have the patience to follow 

 my argument. 



The sailing boat is as ancient, in its application to 

 fishery, as the sail itself. Steam, on the other hand, has 

 been employed only for some fifteen years ; so that we 



1 The greater portion of the two following paragraphs appeared 

 in a monograph of mine published by the Ligue maritime franfaise 

 (March-April, 1909). 



