288 BRITISH FISHERIES 



In such cases the Legislature is naturally (and very 

 properly) slow to impose legal restrictions, unless 

 it could be shown very clearly (which is not the 

 case at present) that the remedy proposed would 

 be productive of so much benefit as more than 

 to compensate for the disturbance and hardship 

 brought about. 



In the case of shrimp trawling there are con- 

 siderable restrictions in force already. So long 

 as the capture of shrimps is a legitimate form 

 of fishing, the destruction of young fishes can- 

 not be avoided. But though this is the case, it 

 has been found that, when short drags are made 

 on clean ground, a great proportion of the fishes 

 caught are alive and uninjured when the net is 

 hauled and its contents emptied on deck. There- 

 fore drags are made short (half-hour to one hour) 

 in some districts, and the fishermen are expected 

 to sort out the fish rapidly and restore them to 

 the sea. The dimensions and form of the net 

 may be regulated, and in some cases, where certain 

 shrimping grounds harbour great numbers of 

 young fishes, trawling may be prohibited absol- 

 utely. It is also the case that young fishes are 

 much more abundant at some seasons of the 

 year than at others, and it has been proposed 

 to close the grounds for these latter seasons, 

 either absolutely, or to allow fishing subject to 

 the employment of certain forms of gear. 



Now, what would be the effect of such restric- 



