DESTRUCTION OF IMMATURE FISH 273 



ing capture of fish fry and young forms. When 

 this became generally admitted, an agitation for 

 regulations designed to minimise the practice was 

 entered on, and various Bills were promoted, having 

 for their object the imposition of a statutory prohi- 

 bition on the landing of fishes of certain specified 

 kinds, under certain minimum standards of length. 

 So far none of these Bills have passed into law. 

 When the local regulation of the fisheries began 

 in England, however, a considerable number of 

 regulations were made, all of which had for their 

 object the total prohibition, or the restriction, of 

 certain methods of fishing which were responsible 

 for the destruction of young fish (using the latter 

 term in its widest signification, and taking it to 

 include not only the true fishes, but also molluscs 

 and crustaceans). 



The term " immature " has been used in a 

 variety of senses in connection with this subject. 

 In the strict sense, it indicates that the fish or 

 other animal to which it is applied has not yet 

 attained the condition of sexual maturity, that is, 

 that it is incapable of producing ripe eggs, if it is 

 a female, or ripe spermatozoa if it is a male. In 

 the course of its life-history a marine animal 

 generally passes through several distinct phases of 

 development. These are : 



i . The embryonic phase, when it is still under- 

 going development within an egg-capsule or in 



the body of the parent ; 



18 



