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to examine the condition of the crab and lobster fisheries in 

 different parts of this country. 



The principal fisheries for crabs and lobsters arc on the coasts Condition of 

 of Northumberland, Yorkshire, Norfolk, Sussex, Hampshire, es : 



Dorsetshire, Devonshire, and Cornwall. We have therefore mainly 

 directed our inquiries to these coasts. In Northumberland we sat 1. Northum- 

 at North Sunderland and Cullercoats. We had the advantage berland - 

 at these places of meeting also the fishermen from Beednell, 

 Craster, Hawxley, and Newbiggin ; so we practically obtained 

 representative evidence from every portion of the coast of North- 

 umberland. We had witnesses before us at North Sunderland 

 who recollected the time when the lobsters caught on that coast 

 were sent away in welled smacks to London, and when crabs did 

 not pay the cost of carriage to market. The construction of the 

 North-Eastern railway altered the conditions on which the fishery 

 had previously been carried on. Crabs became profitable, and 

 rose in price to 4s. Gd. a score. The increase of price induced 

 more fishermen to follow the trade. The number of boats in- 

 creased, and each boat carried more gear and more efficient gear. 

 The old " trunks," or iron rings, were discarded, and creels were 

 introduced. Increased fishing led indubitably to a decrease in 

 the number of the fish. The average take of lobsters per boat 

 has been reduced from about 12 to about 3 per day. A witness 

 told us that "when he was a lad he could with his present 

 " tackle have got 50 score crabs in a night. The most they ever 

 " got last year was 22 score." The failure at Craster and North 

 Sunderland " began to be perceptible about 25 years ago." 

 Some of this decrease is no doubt accounted for by the altered con- 

 ditions of the fishery. If the number of boats fishing a given space 

 of ground is doubled, each boat has no right to expect to obtain as 

 many fish as it would have done with only half the number of 

 competitors. The whole take has to be divided into more shares, 

 and each share is of course diminished. We have, however, \evy 

 little doubt that both crabs and lobsters are decreasing in quan- 

 tity at North Sunderland, and that the decrease is likely to 

 continue if no means are taken to check it. 



There are, indeed, reasons for fearing that this decrease will in 

 future years become more marked. Up to the last few years the 

 fishing season for crabs and lobsters commenced in December and 

 ended in May or June. During the last few years the fishermen 

 of Beednell, a fishing village near Craster, have commenced fishing 

 in October. The fish which they then caught were crabs, and 

 the crabs thus caught were soft and almost worthless. Some of 

 the Beednell fishermen themselves confessed that the October 

 fishing is wasteful and ought to be stopped. They have the 

 prudence to see that they are themselves destroying their future 

 harvests, and they would welcome legislation which would save 

 them from the consequences of their own acts. 



The evidence, which we received at Cullercoats corresponds 

 with that which was offered us at North Sunderland. The 

 fishermen have no doubt whatever that the crabs and lobsters 



