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times full of small crabs. The Porthgwarra fishery is very flourishing and it CRABS, 

 is not possible to improve it by legislation. ' — 



{By Mr. Buckland.) The minimum size of 5| inches might deprive the 

 fishermen of some hen crabs which are good to eat. White crabs are those 

 that have shot their shells. There are not many octopus here. Cannot say Growth. 

 how often a crab sheds its shell. Has seen oysters on the shell of a crab. 

 The southern limit of the Porthgwarra fishery is 9 miles south. 



Henry Jones, Penberth. Commenced crabbing 40 years back. Cannot 

 say whether crabs and lobsters have increased. Does not catch so many as he 

 did 10 or 5 years ago, or last year. There are more to be caught this year than 

 there were 40 years ago. At that time there were five or six boats at Penberth, 

 and they used to go every Monday to Mousehole for bait. The fishermen Bait. 

 used to buy skate from the Mousehole people. He went on for a year or two 

 like this and then went to sea. Returned to fishing 14 or 15 years ago, and 

 found the system of buying bait at Mousehole had been done, away with, and 

 that the fishermen depended on spider crabs, and that they baited wrasse 

 pots and lines with them and so got their own bait, which was much better. 

 Would not object to a 5^-inch gauge for crabs. Merchants cannot keep the 

 trade with smaller crabs. It does not pay to send away smaller crabs. He had 

 Is. for a hundred little crabs. 



Lobsters are not so thick as they used to be, nor are they so large. Does LOBSTERS, 

 not think this is due to over-fishing. Crabs this year are thicker than ever. — 



Does not want any legislation at all. The fishery depends on the weather and 1>ecrease - 

 the supply of bait. Hot weather is necessary for good crab fishing. Crabs will CRABS. 



foretell the weather 24 hours beforehand. Small crabs are very often broken 



up for bait, and the practice cannot be stopped unless a policeman goes out in Weather. 



every boat. It takes longer to catch bait than to haul all the pots up. He 



catches his own bait in a trammel net. Is obliged to stop fishing in the 



autumn (September) through stress of weather. This year his craft was cut Pilchard fish- 



off by the Mount's Bay fishing boats. This happened two months ago. ing. 



Fishes in 30 to 35 fathoms of water. Catches most crabs at night. Thinks 



cray-fish are falling off. CRAYFISH. 



(By Mr. Walpole.) The crabs are not so thick as they were ten years ago, Decrease. 

 but the she crabs are as thick, or thicker. Cannot account for this, unless the CRABS 

 cock crabs resort to different ground. It is a question whether trawlers do not — 



catch crabs outside. Thinks cock crabs come in earlier than she crabs.' Migration. 



Captain Henry Richards, Prussia Cove. Has been a fisherman for 

 50 years, generally at Prussia Cove, but has fished all round the North Channel. Boats 

 50 years ago there were two boats from Porthleven, which used to come every 

 year to Prussia Cove ; and three boats at Prussia Cove. There are now nine 

 boats. They fish with three strings of pots, and 15 pots in a string. The 

 pots are put in a string about 40 fathoms apart. The method is just the same 

 now at Prussia Cove. At the Land's End the pots are 15 fathoms apart. 

 Fishes the same ground as he used to fish. The fish are not a quarter so thick Decrease. 

 as they were formerly, unless you go a long way off. Thinks crabs and lobsters 

 are over-fished. Cray-fish have not come in in such numbers as they used to. CRAY-FISH. 

 When he began fishing 50 years ago he could take a dozen fish a day, i.e., a j) ecre ^ 

 dozen of 13, and the usual description of fish. Only had eight pots to a string 

 then. Now an average catch would not be half-a-dozen a day. For three or four 

 weeks he went out 8 or 10 miles, and found the fish as thick as ever. Thinks 

 in a few years the fish outside will all be caught too. The Porthleven boats, Boats. 

 when he was a boy, were only 16 feet long. Now they are 22 feet long 

 because they have to go further out to sea. Many a time, when a boy, he 

 caught 3s. worth of crabs in an hour, and nowadays boys cannot catch 3c?. 

 worth a day. LOBSTERS. 



Recommends that all spawning fish should be returned to the water. Has <$ mw ring. 

 known them to spawn in his store pots and in the wells of the smacks. Three 

 years ago the smacks did not come for 10 weeks, and the crabs were stored for Smacks. 

 that length of time. When they were taken out they were found to be full of 

 spawn, though they were not in spawn when they were put in. All spawn 

 crabs and all berried hens should be kept until the spawn is shot, or else store pots. 

 returned to the water. Thinks they should not be sold when in spawn. The 

 fish might be kept in floating cruives. The young lobsters could have no 

 difficulty in getting out of the cruives. Buyers prefer berried hens. A 



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