264 BRITISH FISHERIES 



trawl, increased the catch of fish for the time. If 

 we consider the catch of halibut for each of these 

 ten years we shall find it to differ strikingly from 

 that of the other fishes ; instead of remaining 

 practically the same throughout the period, the 

 total catch of halibut rose from 44 cwt. in 1890 

 to 2746 cwt. in 1899, an d tne average annual 

 catch per trawler rose also from i cwt. in 1890 

 to 13 cwt. in 1899. This is accounted for very 

 easily. During the period 1890-99 the steam 

 fishing fleet of Scotland were gradually opening up 

 new ground to the north in colder and deeper 

 water. The halibut is a deep-water fish, so was 

 caught in greater numbers as the fishing fleet 

 came to frequent the water forming its character- 

 istic habitat. 



Exactly the same results were obtained by 

 Garstang 1 from a consideration of the statistics 

 of the English bottom sea-fisheries. The total 

 quantities of fish caught annually during the period 

 1889-98 were divided by the numbers of fishing 

 vessels employed (reduced to a common standard) : 

 it was found that one steamer was equal in catching 

 power to from four to seven smacks, according to the 

 year taken into consideration. The whole fishing 

 fleet, steam trawlers and liners included, was then 

 reckoned up as so many " smack-units." Garstang's 

 results are represented graphically on the chart. 



In this case also it is seen (i) that the fishing 



1 Journal^ Marine Biological Association^ vol. vi. No. i, 1900. 



