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fry, but much greater damage has been done by the small 

 boats which trawl for shrimps in our bays and estuaries. 

 The nets of these trawls are so fine, and the mesh so 

 extremely small, that nothing escapes it, and thousands of 

 bushels of young fry are slaughtered by these craft 

 annually. Not only on the British coast is this mischief done, 

 but by the Dutch also, to a serious extent, in such places as 

 the Zuyder Zee, not only are he fry taken, but occasionally 

 a fine turbot or two is captured full of spawn ; it is not 

 an unusual thing to see fine turbots of this class, weighing 

 14 or 1 6 Ibs., landed at Grimsby from boats fishing for 

 shrimps in the lower part of the Humber, and of course the 

 same thing is done elsewhere ; what a wealth of food is thus 

 wasted the choicest the sea produces. These fish come in 

 to spawn at certain seasons, and if left undisturbed for a 

 time, as is the salmon, the increase would be enormous. It 

 is a question in my opinion of no little moment whether this 

 class of shrimp trawling should not be restricted, and steam 

 trawlers compelled to fish beyond a certain limit of our 

 coasts. My own opinion, based upon the facts now pretty 

 widely known, is that inasmuch as these are the breeding 

 places of the fishes that abound in the deep waters, it is a 

 proper question for the attention of our legislature. Is the 

 shrimp or prawn of the greater value as a food ? Is the supply 

 of the sole and turbot to be diminished to the enormous ex- 

 tent it has been of late years, and remain unchecked, that 

 the shrimp or prawn may have its place at our tea table ? 



If a close time is necessary and beneficial in respect to 

 the salmon, and there is no way of making a close time for 

 sea fishes, should the wholesale destruction of immature 

 fish which is going on be allowed to pass unnoticed, and 

 without any attempt at legislative remedy ? I trust some one 

 more able than myself will be found to take the matter up. 



