TRANSPORT IN THE FYLDE BY ROAD, RAIL, SEA AND AIR 69 



In Conclusion. 



Thus has the growth and development of the Fylde been closely associated 

 with railway enterprise, while in later years both road and air transport have 

 arrived to add to the amenities of a district already famed for the wealth of its 

 attractions. 



Apart from the business of carrying the huge throngs who annually visit 

 Blackpool and its neighbouring towns on holiday bent, modern transport brings 

 within reach of the visitor the Lake District and other beauty spots, thus, so 

 to speak, providing a scenic background for those who wish to combine the 

 bracing air and unlimited entertainment of the coastal resorts with the simple 

 grandeur of mountain, lake, and stream. 



If transport has helped the Fylde, so also has the Fylde aided transport, for, 

 backed by a vigorous and progressive policy, the district has earned a reputation 

 national in character which draws the visitor over the length and breadth of the 

 land. Let transport, therefore, in whatever form, live up to this epic of local 

 achievement which it has itself assisted to create. 



XIII. 



THE LANCASHIRE SEA FISHERIES 



BY 



J. H. ORTON, Professor of Zoology, Liverpool University, 



and 

 H. PAYNTER, Assistant District Inspector of Fisheries, Fleetwood. 



A spirit of adventure can be detected as a persistent and important factor 

 in the growth of the Lancashire Sea Fisheries. The almost enclosed epeiric 

 basin, known as the Irish Sea, is virtually an enormous fish pond, on the shores 

 of which the Lancashire Sea Fisheries have become the most important, with 

 Fleetwood as the third principal port in England and Wales for fish landings. 

 It is probable that the ascendancy of the Lancashire fisheries is due to the 

 following main natural or histoiical causes : — the extent and configuration of 

 the bed of the Irish Sea, with the partly correlated tidal currents and drifts, 

 the existence of navigable and protected estuaries on the Lancashire shores, 

 the proximity of a large industrial area, including coal mining, the development 

 of steam engines in fishing vessels, for fishing gear and for land transport, and 

 the existence of a spirit of enterprise and adventure amongst the sea-faring 

 population and others associated with the fisheries. 



The bed of the Irish Sea is characterised on the western side by a deep 

 channel with a depth of 50 to 90 fathoms, extending from the St. George's 



