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in »J. Mar. Biol. Ass. II p. 390—391 : >I understand that from the manner 

 in which the trawl is handled by German and Danish boats no injury is done 

 to the unmarketable fish . . . The principal reason of this is that they do 

 not keep the trawl out as long as the Englishmen. It is scarcely necessary 

 to repeat that our plaice-seines injure the fish still less than these trawls. 



Resume: It can in no way be prevented that a greater or smaller num- 

 ber are caught of plain-, soles, twrbots, and brills, under the size limit, nor 

 can it be prevented that a smaller percentage of them die, before they can 

 be thrown out again; but if the fishermen throw out the living fish under 

 the size limit, the stock of fish will presumably be protected in a good and 

 satisfactorv manner. 



But now tin; dead fish under the size limit, of which sometimes a num- 

 ber must be left — by being thrown out they will, as a rule, only serve 

 as food for the lower animals, and therefore, in part, be wasted if they are 

 thrown into the sea. 



To avoid this we might say: it is forbidden to sell fish under a size 

 limit as far as the above 4 species are concerned, and all living fish under this size 

 must lie thrown overboard as soon as possible ; the dead ones may be used by the 

 fishermen as food for tliemselres onboard and on shore — a regulation, conse- 

 quently, like that which is now in force with respect to a great number of 

 species of fish. 



It has as yet proved practically impossible to keep up this regulation at 

 places where there are a great number of these small plaice, for instance at 

 the Skaw and in the Limfjord, and it has been proposed to further sharpen 

 this regulation so that any landing whatsoever of fish under the size limit 

 would be punishable. In this way many dead small fish would be lost to 

 man, and particularly many of the more delicate species; the regulation could 

 lie defended only on behalf of the species, which are in the highest degree te- 

 nacious of life for instance the 4 above-mentioned ones. Also of these, parti- 

 cularly of the plaice, some would lie wasted, if the lair were really carried 

 into effect, and all dragging ashore of seines would then be impossible. The 

 only thing won by sharpening the regulation in this way would be a somewhat 

 easier control. 



I do not doubt that it might be carried through to the benefit of our 

 fishery with respect to the 4 above-mentioned species, and, of our other fish, 

 among others also with respect to the eel; but whether, everything well consi* 



