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there was a great future for the fisheries of Ireland. It 

 was much to be deplored that there had been a very 

 great decrease, owing to causes which he would not stay 

 to enumerate in detail, but subsequently to the famine the 

 numbers of fishermen were reduced from 113,000 to 25,000, 

 and the boats from 20,000 to 6000 or 7000 ; still he had 

 strong belief that with the means now placed in the 

 hands of inspectors of fisheries a great stimulus would be 

 given to the enterprise, and that many other industries, 

 such as boat-building, sail-making and net-making, would 

 be put in motion also. It was not Ireland alone which would 

 benefit by the promotion of this industry, but the United 

 Kingdom also would participate by having a very largely 

 increased quantity of the most wholesome food contributed 

 from the Irish seas. 



Mr. EARLL seconded the vote of thanks. Those who 

 had paid attention to the questions which had come before 

 the Conferences must be more deeply convinced than ever 

 of the importance of the fisheries, and of the necessity of 

 the utmost caution in all questions of fishery legislation, for 

 fisheries, though little understood, now rank among the 

 principal industries of the world. They had had to-day 

 two Papers by gentlemen evidently deeply interested in 

 the subject. Mr. Bloomfield had spoken of the possibility 

 of increasing the supply of fish in the inland waters of 

 Ireland, and had referred in very flattering terms to the 

 United States Fish Commission, and to their method of 

 stocking inland waters. It was found in a country like 

 the United States rather difficult to get the best quality 

 of fresh fish sent from the sea-board for 1500 miles into 

 the interior, and Professor Baird, who was at the head 

 of the U.S. Fish Commission, determined to see if he 

 could introduce some fish that might answer as a good 



