228 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS. 



coasts, and now for the 10 or 13-mile limit, or perhaps even 

 more. So little can be done by man in the way of altering 

 nature's laws in the sea that it might be more prudent to leave 

 the adjustment of the supply and the demand in her hands. 



Some bewail the destruction by trawlers of the rich grounds 

 of the North Sea which they say have been "fished out," — 

 necessitating voyages to the Bay of Biscay and the west coast 

 of Ireland, and learnedly assert that all fishes have decreased in 

 size since they have not been allowed time to reach maturity. 

 They have found that screw-propellers must kill myriads of 

 young and destroy the floating eggs, though unfortunately the 

 facts are kept in abeyance as being perhaps unnecessary where 

 sensational effect is important. 



The situation may be summed up as follows : — the apparent 

 success and general adoption of another method of fishing from 

 that pursued by the liners evoked strenuous opposition. Be- 

 sides, as time advanced the fishes in many areas seemed to be 

 fewer and more wary, so that the liners had difficulty in making 

 sufficiently large " catches." So many competitors, indeed, are 

 in the field that it is now necessary to proceed further from 

 shore so as to make the pursuit profitable. Instead, however, 

 of placing the onus of the scarcity on any method of fishing,- 

 such as trawling, it would be more reasonable to lay the blame 

 on general over-fishing. Certain it is that, with the exception 

 of the herring and the cat-fish, all the important food-fishes 

 have floating or pelagic eggs, and are scatheless from trawls. 

 Nor will the introduction of the paddles and screws of steamers 

 alter the case. Notwithstanding one or two shreds and patches 

 of science, trawled fishes hold their own in every market in 

 our country, and on an average command a higher price than 

 line-caught fishes, though nothing can exceed the condition of 

 the latter. The half-informed outcry about the destruction of 

 the food of the fishes on the bottom has been silenced. The 

 last stronghold, viz. the grave and permanent deterioration of 

 our inshore and offshore fisheries, has been dealt with in the 

 foregoing pages, and, by a practical and unbiassed examination 

 of the areas themselves, and of the statistics of fishes caught in 

 them, the condition is shown to be one that inspires confidence 



