54 THE COMMERCIAL SEA FISHES OF 



It may not be amiss in this place to observe what great 

 benefit would accrue to the fishermen who seek the 

 mackerel, herring, or cod fishes, were a weekly notice 

 circulated at our various fishery ports as to where shoals of 

 fish are to be found ; not only so, but the localities should 

 be given by distances from known headlands and bearings 

 by the compass. Thus in 1881, fishing-boats left the south- 

 west coast for Ireland, anticipating falling in with the 

 herrings, but on their arrival found the season to be an 

 almost entire failure. They then migrated, and with success, 

 to the north-east coast of England and Scotland. 



The diseases, or causes of destruction, of sea fishes have 

 not been much investigated, but it is reasonable to suppose 

 that if impure and poisonous states of the water will prove 

 injurious to fresh-water forms, it will prove no less injurious 

 to marine species. Fish may forsake certain localities due 

 to the presence of unwholesome substances. Thus at 

 Mevagissey, in Cornwall, eels used to be frequently taken 

 in the harbour, but now that the number of vessels there 

 has augmented and trade increased especially boat- 

 building a considerable quantity of tar is in the water, and 

 they have not been observed for several years. If in any 

 locality there is a steady decrease of certain tribes of fishes, 

 while those which are being taken are deteriorating in size 

 and condition, either the fishery is being over-worked, the 

 water is less wholesome to the fish, or its food is absent. 

 The polluted state of the waters at the mouths of most of 

 our large rivers or many of our estuaries at once demonstrates 

 the reason why they are forsaken by the finny tribes. It 



small or soft crabs, or young herrings." Pride appears to prevent 

 them proposing to retrace their disastrous steps. When will they 

 think more of the good of the fisheries and fishermen of which we 

 hear so much, but towards which we see so little attempted ? 



