FISHERMEN AND FISHERIES. 199 



Trevose Head), by enacting that no' person other than a 

 seiner may fish at night within two miles of the shore, or 

 fish at all within half a mile of a seiner. Considering that 

 in recent years the practice of drift-net fishing has almost 

 superseded that of seining, these provisions seem unneces- 

 sarily severe upon one and the leading interest, without 

 conferring any corresponding benefit on the other. 



The question of Seiners versus Drifters is akin to- the Drifters v. 

 question of Drifters versus Trawlers, which is agitating the 

 minds of the fishing community at large at the present 

 time. Trawlers generally, and steam-trawlers in particular, 

 are objected to on two grounds : first, that they unneces- 

 sarily disturb the drifters and line fishermen ; second, that 

 they are destructive to both fry and spawn of sea fish, and 

 to the clam and mussel beds on which the line-fishermen 

 are dependent for a large portion of their supplies of bait. 

 The feeling against the trawlers has been embittered by the 

 action of some of this class of fishermen in wantonly 

 destroying drift-nets in the North Sea by the means of the 

 " devil." It is, however, one thing to prevent trawlers from 

 committing wanton mischief, and to place them under 

 proper regulations to prevent accidental injury being done 

 by them to competitors who, from the nature of their mode 

 of fishing, have not the same freedom of action ; but it is 

 altogether another thing to suppress them absolutely, or to 

 place them under unreasonable restrictions. At the present Value of 



trawling 



moment we are mainly dependent on trawlers for the industry, 

 supply of at least three or four kinds of fish held in the 

 highest estimation turbots, soles, brill, plaice, and gurnard 

 for example ; while we also receive a considerable quantity 

 of haddock and cod from the same source. The supply of 

 fish from the trawl fishery is more regular throughout the 

 whole year than from any other mode ; and the capital 



