THE SELECT COMMITTEE OF 1893 61 



to a lesser extent, in other North Sea fishing 

 countries. Under the influence of the greatly 

 increased catching power, the North Sea fishing 

 grounds were becoming less profitable than was 

 formerly the case. One ground after another was 

 discovered, exploited, and, though never entirely 

 abandoned, changed for a new one. There was, 

 it is true, no suggestion of exhausting the fish- 

 supply, but the result of the great extension of 

 trawling was that the catches made by the vessels 

 were less than in the days when the North Sea 

 was virgin ground. In the words of Professor 

 M'Intosh, 1 " man (was) treading too closely upon 

 the supply." The evidence brought before the 

 Committee, whether furnished by scientific experts, 

 practical fishermen, or statisticians, was practically 

 unanimous on this point, and the Committee had 

 to come to the conclusion that " a considerable 

 diminution (had) occurred among the more valu- 

 able classes of flat fish, especially among soles and 

 plaice." For the first time within the modern 

 period, a public inquiry revealed clear and un- 

 equivocal evidence of the impoverishment of the 

 fishing grounds over extensive areas. 



This impoverishment of the fishing grounds 

 was made apparent to the trawling trade in the 

 diminution of their catches, and naturally gave 

 rise to much uneasiness. The agitation which 



1 Report of the Select Committee on Sea- Fisheries, 1893, Question 

 No. 3516. 



