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the whole catch, and that the weight of this class constituted a much 

 smaller part of the total catch than the number. 



In the case of the smallest commercial classes "extra small" and "small" we also 

 find, that the number constitutes a much larger part of the catch than the weight. 



It is consequently certain, that large quantities of small haddock and cod are taken at 

 sizes which possess but a very small market value, just as the fact was also obvious 

 in the part of the North Sea investigated, that the small haddock were represented in the 

 hauls with the trawl in overwhelming proportion to the older. 



Other observations especially the fisheries statistics seem to indicate, that quite large 

 and old fish migrate from the one region to others, so that under certain circumstances 

 a condition similar to that of over-fishing may occur. 



With regard especially to the haddock, some data appear in the statistics which might 

 be taken to indicate the presence of a real over-fishing of the stock in the North Sea. 

 They consist chiefly in this, that since the beginning of the great trawl fishery a decrease 

 in the numbers of the large haddock both absolutely and relatively has taken place. 

 This is shown for example by the German statistics, whilst the English statistics do not 

 point to such a result. 



For the cod similar signs of a decrease in the large fish are not distinctly present. 

 In the Norwegian waters such a decrease is not probable on account of the large number 

 of the old mature fish occurring there. The stock here, in fact, in spite of the fisheries 

 and the remaining factors affecting the cod, seems to have maintained its original 

 character. 



The final decision whether the fisheries which have become so very extensive 

 everywhere in recent times and are carried on by means of new apparatus and vessels 

 has exercised any altering influence on the stock of the gadoids within the regions inves- 

 tigated, cannot be given on the basis of the available material. It awaits further inves- 

 tigations on a still broader basis and over a still more extensive region. 



We have endeavoured in the foregoing to show what contributions our investigations 

 can offer to the solution of some important fisheries questions. It has proved on all 

 sides, that the results attained were only possible because the investiga- 

 tions embraced large regions of the sea. 



The spawning regions of most of the economically important gadoids extend from 

 the Atlantic Ocean into the Norwegian Sea and the North Sea, and the observations made 

 in one region can explain those in another and contribute to an understanding of the 

 mode of life of the older fish. We believe that all this shows the necessity and the ad- 

 vantages of an international organisation. That such an organisation is also indispensable 



