136 MARKETABLE BRITISH MARINE FISHES 



SO simple in practice when we are dealing with fish in the 

 sea, because we cannot pick out those of the size we want 

 and leave the rest alive. Another principle equally simple in 

 theory and difficult in practice, is to regard generative maturity 

 rather than size, and to avoid killing any female fish until it has 

 spawned once, the result of which would be that there would 

 always be a large supply of young. In practice then we have 

 to consider how far we can stop the destruction of undersized or 

 sexually immature fish which is involved in actual fishing 

 operations, and here again we find two subdivisions of the 

 subject ; namely, first, the destruction of fish of valuable kinds 

 so small as to have no value in the market, and, second, the 

 capture of undersized fish for sale. Clearly a prohibition of sale 

 will only directly affect the latter kind of destruction, though it 

 may indirectly affect the former, in a manner which will be 

 considered presently. 



It has been stated in Chapter V. that large numbers of very 

 small plaice, soles, turbot, brill, and whiting are captured in 

 shrimp-nets, both in those worked by hand or by a horse along 

 the shore, and those worked from a boat. Not all of these are 

 necessarily killed, and to a great extent the proportion that are 

 returned to the water alive depends on the carefulness of the 

 fisherman. But as a rule the fisherman is not careful, and the 

 majority it may be safely said are usually killed. The only way 

 to prevent this destruction with certainty is to prohibit the use 

 of the nets in places where the young fish abound. No pro- 

 hibition of sale will have any effect, because the fish here 

 considered, fish only a few months old, have no value in the 

 market ; there is no demand for them as a table delicacy as in 

 the case of whitebait. In some cases they may be used as a 

 manure, but they are not usually sold for that purpose ; as a rule 

 they are not used at all but regarded by the shrimpers as refuse 

 of no importance. 



As shrimping is carried on entirel}- or almost entirely within 

 the three-mile limit, its regulation is within the powders of the 

 District Fishery Committees, and nearly all of these have passed 

 bye-laws for the purpose of diminishing the destruction of small 

 fi.sh involved in the capture of shrimps. These bye-laws regulate 

 the size of the net, the size of the mesh, the localities where 

 shrimping may be carried on, and the frequency with which the 



