106 BRITISH FISHERIES 



conferred such a right, it happens that in most, 

 perhaps in all, cases the by-law is inoperative. 

 Again, the committee may only interfere when it 

 can be proved that the discharge of a noxious 

 substance in the neighbourhood of a fishery is 

 prejudicial to the health of the shell-fish or other 

 animals concerned, but not if the same contamina- 

 tion of a fishery should be prejudicial to the health 

 of persons using the fish as food. At present, our 

 knowledge of the physiology and pathology of 

 marine animals is so slight, that satisfactorily to 

 prove the detrimental effect of sewage or other 

 waste liquids is in most cases very difficult, or 

 even impossible. 1 



Then with regard to scientific research the 

 local committees are in a most unfortunate situa- 

 tion. There is no provision in the Sea-Fisheries 

 Regulation Acts enabling them to expend public 

 money for this purpose, except in so far as the 

 investigations are undertaken with the object of 

 stocking a shell-fishery. It has happened fre- 

 quently that scientific investigations would have 

 proved most useful in some question of regulation, 

 but the machinery for the prosecution of such has 

 not generally been in existence. Several of the 

 fishery committees, it is true, have a scientific 

 staff. Such was the case in Cornwall and in 



1 An examination of the Statutes relating to the public health and 

 to the fisheries will show that there is, at the present time, no real 

 prohibition of the pollution of a public sea-fishery by sewage. 



