SEA-FISHERIES LABORATORY. 247 



lobster fisheries from a rapidly approaching extinction. 

 At the rate of exhaustion shown in the Board's 

 Memorandum there will be no lobsters left on the West 

 Coast in 1920. 



That the error in the Board's statistical returns is a 

 very serious one may be seen from the study of two 

 localities for which, fortunately, statistics are available 

 for the years 1900-9. These two places or ports are 

 Pwllheli and Holyhead. For ports outside the Lancashire 

 and Western District the details are not available. 



Take Pwllheli first. The total number of lobsters 

 returned as landed at Pwllheli from 1900 to 1904 are as 

 follows : — 



1900 ... 8,100 1903 ... 3,570 



1901 ... 3,000 1904 ... 3,692 



1902 ... 3,172 



As a matter of fact, these lobsters are caught oli' the 

 Lleyn promontory of Carnarvonshire, principally at 

 Bardsea Island, but as they pass through Pwllheli on 

 their way to the market they are " returned " from that 

 port. 



As I showed on a former occasion* the records for 

 Pwllheli previous to the middle of 1902 are undoubtedly 

 false and consequently misleading. In all probability the 

 statistics of lobsters for Pwllheli are from 4,500 to 5,000 

 too high for 1900; that is, there is in one single port an 

 error of from 4 to 5 per cent, of the total figures for the 

 whole of the West Coast for that year. Since statistics 

 are collected from 40 fishing ports on the West Coast, it 

 will be seen that the possibilities of error are fairly large. 



As another example, take the number of lobsters 

 returned for Holyhead : — 



* Lancashire and Western Sea Fisheries. Superintendent's 

 Report for the Quarter ending December, 1904. Preston, 1905. 



