12 president's addeess. 



In a former part of this paper considerable allusion has been 

 made to the successful and valuable work which is being carried 

 on at the Solway Fisheries in the hatching and rearing of fresh 

 water trout. As a means of replenishing the stock in over- 

 fished waters, such work as Mr. Armistead is carrying on is 

 invaluable. The question has often arisen in connection with 

 the work of the Sea-Fisheries Committee for !N"orthumberland, 

 whether it would not be possible to establish, on some suitable 

 part of our coast, at moderate cost, a hatchery, ^hich, with 

 ready access of salt water fresh from the sea every tide, with 

 prudence, and careful supervision, might become of very great 

 value to the sea fisheries of the district. This is a problem 

 well worthy of the consideration of all those who feel that a 

 good supply of fish is of vital importance to the country ; and 

 when we know, by the carefully conducted observations which 

 have for the last few years been carried on by the Scientific 

 Investigations Committee of the Scotch Fishery Boavd, that 

 some kinds of fish, which are invaluable as human food, are, 

 so far as can be judged, rapidly decreasing in numbers from one 

 cause or another, and that amongst these causes are over-fishing 

 and the destruction of enormous quantities of immature fish, I 

 think it is quite clear that any means which can be adopted to 

 re-stock our waters is well worthy of encouragement, and 

 should without hesitation be adopted. No doubt greater care 

 on the part of trawlers, to return as speedily as possible to the 

 sea the immature, and in many cases utterly valueless fish, 

 (except for manure), might be of great service. The interesting 

 vitality experiments carried out on board the Lancashire Sea 

 Fisheries Scientific Trawler the ''John Fell," prove that the 

 tenacity of life of many kinds of fish is far greater than has 

 been supposed, and that if the fishermen could only be per- 

 suaded to return the immature and valueless fish to the water 

 at once, large quantities would live to grow up and increase 

 which have hitherto been destroyed. No doubt the bye-law 

 which prohibits fishing within the three-mile limit is a step 

 in the right direction, and as this limit on many parts of our 

 coast extends from headland to headland, leaving in many 



