INTRODUCTION 1 1 



also, he keeps to a given region Iceland, the White 

 Sea, the North of Scotland, the North Sea, or the Bay of 

 Biscay. 



In the three years preceding the war (1911 to 1914) 

 the development of the steam fishing industry had 

 become almost stationary. This was probably due in 

 part to over-capitalization, resulting in lower profits. 

 It was feared also that the greatly increased efficiency of 

 the steam trawlers tended to produce a condition of 

 over-fishing in certain areas, with the result that catches 

 obtained in those areas progressively diminished ; for 

 example, the average catch per boat per day in the 

 North Sea during three successive periods was as 

 follows 



1903 to 1906 17-2 cwts. 



1907 to 1910 16-7 



1911 to 1913 15-3 



The fishermen became alarmed and development was 

 arrested. This tendency to over-fish certain grounds has 

 been effectively checked during the war by the almost 

 complete cessation of offshore fishing. There is thus 

 every probability that such grounds have now recovered, 

 and further that, in many cases, grounds such as the 

 Dogger Bank, that had become almost depopulated, 

 will have become restocked. 



The successful development of steam fishing has 

 necessarily reacted upon the prosperity of the individual 

 fishermen in the various fishing villages, with their 

 smaller, privately-owned sail boats. They were faced 

 with two alternatives : either to combine together to 

 acquire steamers, and so maintain their position in 

 the offshore fisheries, or to devote their attention to the 

 development of inshore fishing. Many of the larger 

 sailing drifters have now been fitted with petrol engines, 



