46 THE BRITISH FISH TRADE. ' 



and the total value of the smaller quantity of oysters sold 

 now must be at least as great as that of the larger quantity 

 of oysters sold thirty years ago. If, however, the oysters 

 alone are worth ^1,000,000, it is not a very excessive 

 estimate to presume that the other shell fish — lobsters, 

 crabs, prawns, shrimps, mussels, cockles, whelks, and 

 winkles — produce another £ 1,000,000. In other words, 

 while the fish taken off our coasts yield some ;^ 7, 5 00,000 

 annually, the shell fish raise the total yield of the harvest 

 of the sea to ;^ 9, 500,000. 



These figures, it will be seen, agree with the original esti- 

 mate based on the number of fishermen employed, and on 

 the estimated capital embarked in the fisheries. And, if 

 attention be paid to another portion of the trade, it will be 

 seen that the calculation is further corroborated. Hitherto 

 this essay has dealt chiefly with the catching of the fish ; 

 but no account of the fish trade would be complete without 

 some explanation of the manner in which the fish caught 

 are distributed. The distribution is effected in four ways : 

 (i) The largest proportion of the fish caught is conveyed 

 inland by railway to the great markets ; (2) a further pro- 

 portion is carried to the markets by sea or river ; (3) large 

 quantities of fish are exported ; and (4) considerable 

 numbers of fish are consumed near the ports where they 

 are taken. 



In 1 88 1, 206,000 tons of fish were conveyed inland by 

 railway from the English ports, 59,000 tons were conveyed 

 inland from the Scotch ports, and 7000 tons were conveyed 

 inland from the Irish ports. The fish sent away from the 

 various ports by train amounted in the aggregate to 

 272,000 tons. If the value of the fish is placed at_;^20 a 

 ton, the fish so carried must have been worth ;^5,440,ooo ; 

 42,000 tons of fish were carried direct from the sea to 



