COUNCIL — SEPTEMBER 1922 — 16 — 



Point 9 of the Agenda, 18th September (Reports and proposals of the 

 Sections and Committees) (continued). 



The President submitted to the Council the report and programmes of the 

 Committees formed at the first sitting of the Council, copies of which had been 

 distributed to the delegates and experts. The said reports and programmes from 

 the following sections and committees were adopted by the Council and are included 

 on the pages stated: 



Herring Committee see p. 24 — 25 



Plankton Section — 26—27 



Hydrographical Section — 26 — 27 



Limnological Committee — 30 — 33 



Statistical Section — 34 — 35 



Atlantic Slope Committee — 36 — 37 



Cod- and Haddock-Committee — 38 — 39 



Plaice Committee — 40 — 41 



Baltic Committee — 41 



In submitting the Report of the Plaice-Committee the President said 

 he hoped the Council would now reach a decision on this subject. The report had 

 been considered by the Bureau, and he wished, on behalf of the Bureau, to propose 

 the following resolution: 



The Council has considered the report of the Plaice-Com- 

 mittee (on page 40 — 41) and finds itself in general agreement with the Com- 

 mittee's conclusions. 



The Council is of opinion that there is clear evidence that the plaice fisheries 

 may be seriously depleted by fishing operations and especially by steam trawling 

 and that such depletion had already taken place before the war. As a result of the 

 restriction of fishing imposed by the war the number of plaice of the larger cate- 

 gories in the North Sea greatly increased, but there is already evidence of a decline 

 of the stock resulting from the resumption of intensive fishing. 



The Council is convinced that the decline at present in evidence will, if existing 

 methods of fishing continue to be employed without modification, be progressive, 

 and that protective measures of restriction will become necessary in the near future. 

 The Council accordingly recommends that regulations should be framed in accord- 

 ance with the recommendations of the Plaice Committee, in order that the Govern- 

 ments concerned may be ready to act promptly and in concert, in accordance with 

 the necessities of the case. The Council strongly endorses the advice of the Com- 

 mittee that transplantation of plaice on a large scale should be undertaken. It 

 further concurs in the advice of the Committee that any regulations involving the 

 closure of areas to trawling should be reviewed three years after their inception. 



