2 THE FISHING INDUSTRY 



The art of fishing is one of the oldest in the world, yet 

 even to this day the fisherman is simply a hunter, 

 gathering where he has not sown, and differing little, 

 save in mechanical efficiency, from his primitive ancestor 

 fishing with spear and trap. 



Only in recent years has any systematic attempt been 

 made to understand something of the forces that produce 

 the annual harvest of the sea. We know very little 

 about the habits of the various fishes that constitute 

 this harvest their food, their migrations, their repro- 

 ductive processes, and, in general, the conditions upon 

 which their healthy life and development depend. We 

 have developed highly efficient fishing implements, but 

 we have yet to learn to use them wisely and not too 

 well ; to increase the fertility of the various fishing 

 grounds rather than depopulate them by over-fishing 

 and the destruction of immature fish. 



The fisherman's harvest differs from that of the farmer 

 in one important respect. Fishes grow for three or 

 four, or more, years before they are mature. Now, 

 only mature fish as a rule have any considerable com- 

 mercial value, and only mature fish are able to reproduce 

 their kind and so maintain the existence of the fishery. 

 On the fishing grounds, both mature and immature 

 fish are mingled together, and in capturing the one it 

 is practically impossible to avoid netting the other. To 

 some extent the capture of immature fish is avoided by 

 making the mesh of the net of such a size that the 

 smaller fish can escape. With drift nets only mature 

 fish are caught, the small ones escaping ; but with trawl 

 nets it is otherwise. The trawl net is essentially a large 

 string bag that is drawn open-mouthed along the sea 

 bottom, scooping up wholesale all bottom-living fish, 

 such as cod, haddock, sole and plaice. All go into the 

 net, both large and small, and, although the young 



