18 



BRITISH INDUSTRIES. 



gradually reduced the fisheries to their present low 

 condition. With signs of improvement in recent years 

 on some parts of the coast, there has been an increased 

 falling off in others, resulting every year in a decrease 

 in the total number of both boats and fishermen. I 

 have been obliged, therefore, to leave the Irish fisheries 

 out of the question when speaking generally of the 

 condition of the sea fisheries of the United Kingdom ; 

 but I shall have occasion to refer to them more par- 

 ticularly, when I notice the several Irish districts in 

 which fisheries of any importance are now carried on. 



The following table, compiled from the Annual 

 Eeturns published by the Board of Trade, shows the 

 number and aggregate tonnage of the first class, and 

 the number of the second and third class fishing boats 

 on the register in the United Kingdom in the years 

 1872, 1873, 1874, and 1875. A fair idea of the ave- 

 rage size of the first-class boats may be gained from 

 this table ; but it is impossible to estimate that of the 

 second and third class boats from these returns, and 

 there is some doubt about the accuracy of the numbers. 



Total number of fishing boats registered in the 

 United Kingdom in the years 1872, 1873, 1874, and 

 1875, arranged according to their classes : 



