34 BRITISH FISHERIES 



trawl-net, supposed by fishermen to be of this 

 nature, had really nothing whatever to do with 

 fishes, the evidence that the trawl did not destroy 

 the spawn of fishes was inconclusive, so long as 

 the true nature of the latter was unknown. In 

 1864, Professor G. O. Sars of Christiania dis- 

 covered certain small, round, transparent bodies 

 floating on the surface of the sea in the areas 

 where cod-fishing was extensively carried on, and 

 he proved that these bodies were the eggs of 

 that fish, and that if they were observed for a 

 certain time the hatching out of the little fish 

 could be easily seen. This discovery was con- 

 firmed by Professor Malm of Gothenburg, who 

 also found that the spawn of the plaice and 

 haddock was of the same character, and by and 

 by the same was found to be the case with many 

 other fishes, and it was shown that, though 

 normally residing near the sea-bottom, they 

 emitted spawn which rose to the surface and 

 floated, and underwent its further development 

 there. By the time the Trawling Commission 

 had reported, these discoveries had been applied 

 to many other fishes, and it was known that, 

 with the exception of the herring, the eggs of 

 all the economic fishes were pelagic in character, 

 that is, they floated about freely near the surface 

 of the sea. It was obvious, then, that the trawl- 

 net could do no damage to them, since it worked 

 at the sea-bottom. The eggs of the herring had 



