274 THE COMMERCIAL SEA FISHES OF 



to the ton. In the report so often referred to, we are told 

 that 800,000,000 of herrings must be annually taken by 

 Scotch fishermen alone, or equal to a little over 1240 tons 

 of garvies, or young herrings, such as I have described ; 

 whilst from Inverness we are informed that in three years 

 ending 1876-77, the Highland Railway carried on an 

 average 267 tons of garvies annually to London. 



One argument, adduced in order to disprove that the 

 destruction of fry inshore can do injury, has been that the 

 young fish in our sandy bays and inshore grounds are 

 the offspring from spawn shed at sea, and that it seems 

 most likely that all the ova produced by those fishes 

 which actually spawn in these bays are either washed 

 ashore or drifted away. This would, in fact, amount to 

 the opinion that inshore fry are naturally destroyed or 

 drift away to sea, a conclusion opposed to what may be 

 seen at any time along our shores where these minute 

 fishes are killed in millions with small-meshed nets. Of 

 this I will merely adduce one instance out of many, espe- 

 cially as the fact must be patent to everybody who 

 examines the small-meshed nets used inshore during our 

 spring, summer, and autumn months. Mr. Walton, of 

 Bridgewater, purchased all the fish captured during one 

 day in two hose nets at Bridgewater, and obtained 18 cwt. 

 of the fry of soles, plaice, herrings, whiting, &c. 



For reasons to be presently alluded to, I cannot resist 

 expressing my individual regret at the manner in which the 

 herring fisheries are now carried on, and how little they 

 seem to be investigated by those whose duties ought to 

 induce them to give this industry more consideration. For 

 if inquirers are induced to turn their attention to these 

 fisheries for a brief space, it is to be regretted how they 



