j MODERN INVESTIGATIONS OF THE SUBJECT 15 



the observations were made true soles are very scarce only 78 

 were taken, and none were rejected ; also of turbot and brill none 

 came under the heading " immature." One-fourth of the total 

 number of plaice captured were rejected from their small size ; 

 while of common dabs and long rough dabs, ten times as many 

 were thrown overboard as were taken to market, these being rather 

 .small fish even' when adult. However, the actual waste of fish 

 of valuable kinds with the exception of common dabs and long 

 rough dabs, which are of very little commercial importance 

 is shown to be very small indeed. The only species in which 

 the waste, if the small specimens do not survive when returned 

 to the sea, is serious, is the plaice. 



The Report of the Commission itself was a most important one, 

 not only from the nature of its conclusions and recommendations, 

 but from the fact that many of them have been put in force by 

 legislation. It is worthy of note that, in consequence of ill- 

 health, Professor Huxley was unable to take any part in 

 drawing up the Report, and therefore did not share in the 

 responsibility for its conclusions and recommendations. The 

 Report states that, in the absence of reliable statistics by means 

 of which the then supply of fish could be compared with that of 

 previous periods, the Commission was unable to estimate the 

 degree to which diminution had taken place, although it con- 

 sidered that the supply of certain kinds of fish in certain places 

 in the territorial waters had diminished in recent years. The 

 Commission recommended that statutory powers and means 

 should be given to the fishery authorities to enable them to 

 collect fishery statistics. It was of opinion that the productive- 

 ness of the fishery grounds should be regularly and periodically 

 examined by competent persons, and that all circumstances 

 bearing upon fishery questions should be systematically investi- 

 gated. The Commissioners thought that the proposed investi- 

 gations of the Scottish Fishery Board were of a useful and 

 practical character, and worthy of the expenditure of public 

 money. They recommended that experiments should be made 

 to test the effect of trawling, and for this purpose power should 

 be given to the authorities to prohibit trawling in territorial 

 waters when and where they thought fit. Scotland and Ireland 

 possessed Fishery Boards, but England had no analogous 

 authority. Such an authority, the Commission declared, should 



