FISHERY IMPROVEMENT IN JERSEY. 75 



the fry stage, that period of their lives most fraught with danger, they 

 would possess a great potential value if left in the sea to mature. As 

 regards plaice and lobsters, we have a law affording protection until they 

 reach the size of nine inches ; but though the law is good, it has become 

 valueless as we do not seem to possess police machinery to enforce it. 

 As a consequence certain people have been known to feed their pigs with 

 multitudes of tiny plaice taken in set nets in St. Aubin's Bay, while at 

 every Spring tide, hordes of men and boys invade the littoral armed with 

 basket and hook, bent on an indiscriminate collection of crabs and 

 lobsters of any size procurable. I have known as many as 200 immature 

 Guernsey crabs ( Cancer pa-gurus) in one man's basket, not one of which 

 was of the proper size of 4 \ inches across the back, while time after time I 

 have seen men bringing back six to twelve or more lobsters averaging from 

 five to seven inches long. What wonder, then, that after such improvi- 

 dent and senseless procedure, there should ensue a period of dearth ? 



c. Insufficient supplies of bait, especially of squid, " red-cat " worm, 

 and sand-eels. As regards the " red-cat " worm {Nereis cultrifera) once 

 so abundant, and now extremely scarce, the harm has arisen through 

 lack of protection afforded during the breeding season, and from the 

 free and unrestricted digging permitted. 



d. Trawling within the three-mile limit is considered by liners as 

 highly prejudicial on account of the wholesale destruction it effects. In 

 Scotland trawling is now prohibited, both within the three-mile limit 

 and also in certain of the great bays or Firths, and many authorities 

 are extremely anxious to have the range of prohibition extended further, 

 so that the territorial waters shall form a zone of, say, seven or even 

 thirteen miles in width, wherein trawling shall be rigorously suppressed. 



e. Competition at a disadvantage with larger and better equipped 

 French craft, which constantly infringe upon the territorial waters round 

 our island — the special heritage of our own men. From their larger size 

 and better supply of bait, these boats are enabled to keep the sea longer 

 than our boats, and as a consequence they can remain longer upon the 

 fishing grounds. A great source of annoyance to our men lies in the 

 fact that these boats after poaching all night in Jersey waters, sail into 

 the harbour here and dispose of their fish — congers chiefly — without 

 paying duties or impot, whereas our men are debarred by the high 

 protective tariff from selling their catches in French ports, and hence 

 have to restrict their runs to the vicinity of Jersey. 



Part 2. — Remedial measures pursued elsewhere. 



The premises granted, if we wish to be in a position to apply 

 remedies, it is essential that we should know what practical measures 

 are being pursued successfully elsewhere towards this end. Such 

 measures are divisible into two classes — those that aim at the protection 



