REVIEW OF TRAWLING REPORT OF 1884. 31 



in., but those obtained were all much larger; codling (young 

 cod), 8-10 in., but no example so small occurred in the series , 

 haddock, 8-9 in., when so small their price is insignificant — 

 about Is. per box ; whiting, 8-9 in. ; poor-cod, 7 in. ; bib, 6-7 

 in. ; coal-fish, 1 ft. ; hake, 1 ft., though seldom seen below 15 in.; 

 ling, 15-20 in.; halibut, 13 in.; sail-fluke, 8 in.; craig-fluke 

 (witch), 7 in. ; long-rough dab, 7 in. ; turbot, 6-7 in. ; brill, 7-8 

 in. ; plaice, 7 in. ; dab, 7 in. ; lemon-dab, 7 in. ; sole, 7 in. ; 

 flounder, 7 in., rarely sold ; grey gurnard, 9 in. ; bream, 9-10 

 in. ; cat-fish or wolf-fish, 15 in., though all those obtained were 

 large. By the term ' saleable,' of course, saleable in the food- 

 market is meant, since much smaller examples of every species 

 might be utilised for manure, either as landed or after prepara- 

 tion in a factory. 



In regard to the unsaleable round fishes, the remarks of the 

 Commissioners of 1866 were : — ' It has never been alleged that 

 ling, cod, and conger, in which the line fishermen are so largely 

 interested, or mackerel, pilchards, or herrings, upon which the 

 seine- and drift-fishermen depend, are caught by the trawl in 

 an immature and uneatable condition.' 'Whiting and haddocks 

 of small size, thought marketable, are taken by the trawl ; but 

 fish of similar dimensions are also captured by the liners, against 

 whom, indeed, the charge of taking immature cod has especially 

 been brought.' 



In the Report of 1884 it was stated that ' a considerable 

 number of young cod were present in most of the good hauls, 

 but all were saleable fishes. Quite as many immature cod 

 (codling) were caught by the liners in the same waters; and 

 off the Bell Bock, perhaps, the proportion is even greater.' 

 The same state of matters exists at this moment. On the 

 other hand, the number of very small haddocks caught by the 

 liners, e.g., in 1893, off the east coast of Scotland, far exceeded 

 anything of the kind captured by trawlers. The one mode of 

 fishing was as destructive to these immature forms as the other. 

 The small fishes swarmed on the ground, and were caught in 

 every haul of the liners just as they were swept into the trawl, 

 but many of the smaller forms escaped from the latter through 

 the meshes while they were held fast by the hooks, and so 



