— 6i — 



mean values for a considerable period of years; the alteration will however scarcely be 

 so great as to make any essential difference in the result. Thus the loss figures for the 

 German sailing vessels, which are here calculated from the measurements for the year 

 1909, will probably appear lower when other years are included, for instance 1905, as 

 the catches for 1909 contain, in contrast to those of 1905, an extraordinarily large 

 number of small plaice. 



Table 1 1 . Probable loss inflicted on the plaice ftsheiy of the différent countries in number 

 and weight per cent of the total catch, by the introduction of a size-limit. 



The first point which strikes one as of particular importance in this table is the fact 

 that a size-limit of uniform length, say 25 cm., would cause very different losses in the 

 respective countries. The greatest contrast in this respect is that shown between Hol- 

 land and Scotland; in the case of the latter, a size-limit of 25 cm. would only cause a 

 loss of less than i "/o of the total value of the yield, while in Holland it would mean 

 no less than 59 "/u. And this enormous difference exists in spite of the fact that neither 

 of the two countries in question observes any size-limit. The explanation naturally lies 



