As and Bs. In point of extent and yield tlie Belgian plaice fishery is the smallest in 

 the region of the North Sea, and furnishes annually only a little over 2 "/o of its whole 

 plaice production, amounting in 1907 to about 1,100,000 kg. Almost the whole of this 

 quantity of plaice is landed at Osteoid, and the market statistics from this port are thus 

 representative of the whole of the Belgian North Sea fishery. These market statistics 

 from Ostend have been since 1904 more thoroughly and methodically carried out. The 

 total quantity of plaice landed in Ostend from the North Sea for the period of five years 

 from 1904/08 amounted to 7,027,344 kg. of which 2,964,271 kg. were taken by stea- 

 mers and 4,063,073 kg. by sailing vessels. This gives, as the average of the five years, 

 1,405,469 kg., or 592,854 kg. by steamer and 812,615 kg. by sailing ship. The total 

 value of these landings of plaice for the five years 1904/08 is calculated as 1,276,952 

 Fes. for the sailing vessels and 666,834 Fes. for the steamers, or 1,943,786 Fes. in all, 

 the average annual value being 255,390 Fes. and 133,367 Fes. or 388,757 Fes. in all. 

 Thus the yield of the sailing ships in Belgium is, in contrast to Holland, greater than 

 that of the steamers. This has, however, not always been the case, as the steamers 

 had, until 1906, a higher yield than the sailing vessels. In 1906 however, the posi- 

 tions were suddenly reversed. The real cause of this alteration was the fact that the 

 fishing steamers in 1906 began to forsake the coastal grounds of the southern North 

 Sea, and transferred their field of operations to its more northerly waters. The abso- 

 lute and relative quantities of small plaice landed by the steamers were thereby con- 

 siderably reduced, and the absolute quantity of their landings also decreased, while the 

 average weight per fish rose (from abt. 270 gr. in 1904 to 325 gr. in 1908). The 

 sailing ships that worked the coastal grounds had now more weight in the market, 

 with their great catches of small plaice, and at the same time the relative quantity of 

 the market-class "small" in their landings continually increased. 



The very small number of methodical market measurements in Belgium do not 

 unfortunately permit of any exact calculations as to the composition of the landings at 

 Ostend from cm. to cm. The only way in which we can arrive at any computation of 

 the total weight and total number of plaice in the landings is by means of determination 

 of the average weight and average contents (in number) of a basket — which is the 

 usual market measure in Ostend — as to the various market classes. Nor can such 

 calculations make any claim co accuracy except as referring to the total of the landings 

 for the whole year from the whole of the North Sea. 



A legal size-limit of 18 cm. exists in Belgium; the composition of the landings is 

 thus influenced by this limit. 



The market class '•small" is here a very uncertain and variable size and includes, at any 

 rate, in the steamer landings, larger plaice than in those of the sailing ships. On the 

 steamers this class is probably about the same as that which in England is called 

 "small" and its extent is practically covered by the number and weight of our "small" 

 plaice, i. e,, those measuring under 29 cm.; probably, however it is somewhat larger. In 

 the landings of the sailing .ships at Ostend the class called "small" corresponds nearly 

 to what we call "undersized" plaice, i. e., those under 25 cm. long. 



If we now compare, as far as this can be done from the few values at hand, the 

 Belgian landings of plaice with those of other countries, we find that the total quantity 

 of the landings for the years 1904/08 both from steamers and sailing ships, are probably 



