94 CAPTURES BY LINERS AND TRAWLERS, 1897. 



flat fishes in these inshore waters as before the experiments 

 began, and there does not appear to be any cogent reason why 

 the public should not benefit by their presence. The sending 

 of a powerful and efficient trawler into such bays now and then 

 would have been a valuable test of their condition, and would 

 have enabled the Fishery Board to arrive at conclusions of 

 considerable practical importance. 



The value of the round fishes in 1897 was for the liner 

 7s. 8d. and for the trawler 95. 2d., the difiference in favour of 

 the trawler when contrasted with the condition in 1896 being 

 6d. The liner received 12s. 9d. for flat fishes, the trawler 

 30s. 2d., here again the increase mainly falling to the trawler, 

 whose total (30s. 2d.) was 2s. 9d. over that of the preceding 

 year. 



The grand total of all kinds of fishes (other than shell- 

 fishes) landed in 1897 was 5,001,672 cwts., a diminution of 

 no less than 1,145,066 cwts. on the previous year, yet the 

 aggregate value w^as £55,951 over the captures of 1896. This 

 reduction was due to the small catch of herrings, which fell by 

 1,010,701 cwts. under that of the 1896, yet the quality of the 

 fishes and the prices obtained actually gave their captors a 

 surplus of £32,390 on this head alone over 1896. The total 

 caught by the liners and trawlers (after deducting the herrings, 

 &c.) is 2,009,582 cwts., a decrease of 134,365 cwts. on 1896, that 

 is to say, this deficit removes the excess of 1896 over 1895. 

 The share of the liners in this total fell short by 172,967 cwts. 

 and £11,715 of the captures of the previous year (1896) but 

 the trawlers kept advancing, as they have done since 1884, 

 their increase this year being 38.601 cwts. and £35,276. There 

 is reason to believe that but for the activity and energy of the 

 steam-liners, the line-fishing would not have held in later years 

 so good a position in comparison with the trawlers, whose total 

 was 593,344 cwts. = £343,656. A further reduction of 430 

 boats propelled by sails or oars took place, and 1,049 resident 

 and non-resident men and boys — connected with the depart- 

 ment. An improvement, however, of the value of £10,767 

 took place in those remaining. On the other hand 4 steam- 

 vessels and 37 men and boys were added to the liners, which 



