FISHERY IMPROVEMENT IN JERSEY. it 



accrued. With the increase of knowledge given by continued experiment 

 and greater experience, the authorities concerned are well satisfied that 

 future progress is assured. Intense hopefulness is essentially the charac- 

 teristic of those actively engaged in these remedial measures, so solid has 

 been the progress made, considering what obscurity enveloped so many 

 of the problems when they were grappled with. 



Of the various English Sea Fisheries' Committees, that of Lancashire 

 holds the premier position, alike in priority of origin, in the able and 

 practical administration and scientific conduct of the work, and in the 

 amount of practical good already resulting and abundantly apparent 

 from its efforts. Hence a brief sketch of its work will be useful to 

 detail, especially as I have personal knowledge of the district in question. 



The Lancashire Committee, as soon as the proposed amalgamation 

 with the Western Sea Fisheries District is completed, will exercise 

 control of a coast line of 345 nautical miles and over an area of terri- 

 torial waters of some 1,300 square miles. The administrative staff 

 consists of a superintendent, seven fishery officers or water bailiffs, and a 

 steamer crew of six, also empowered to act as bailiffs. For the use of 

 this department a powerful screw steamer, the " John Fell" is provided, 

 together with three sailing cutters of about ten tons each. The scientific 

 work is carried on by the Hon. Director of the Fisheries' Laboratory, 

 Prof. Herdnian, F.E.S., with the assistance of two trained investigators. 

 This scientific staff possess two laboratories for investigation, one at 

 University College, Liverpool, and the other at Roa Island, Barrow-in- 

 Furness— the latter a large building fitted with gas-engine, tanks, and 

 other appliances for the hatching and rearing of fishes. 



Work accomplished : — After numerous long-continued experiments a 

 code of bye-laws was framed, of which the following is a summary as 

 furnished by Mr. Dawson, the Superintendent : " Only nets can be used 

 which will allow fish of small size to escape through the meshes ; a 

 certain area off Blackpool where young fish are found in great abund- 

 ance, is closed entirely to all net fishing, except drift-net fishing, sea fish 

 taken in shrimp nets along with the shrimps have to be picked out and 

 thrown overboard as soon as possible, crabs, lobsters, mussels, cockles, 

 and oysters may not be taken under certain sizes, and no berried lobsters 

 or edible berried crab may be taken ; forms and sizes of nets and other 

 instruments are regulated, also the methods of using them, and the 

 places where they may be used ; a close time for mussels and sparling is 

 enforced, and steam trawling within the territorial waters is abobshed." 



One of the bye-laws enforced is the increase of the size of mesh in 

 trawl-nets from 4^- inches to 7 inches, i.e., the mesh measured around the 

 four sides ; as demonstrating the need for regulation, it is interesting to 

 quote again from Mr. Dawson the results of two hauls made with trawls 

 of only 25 feet between the trawl heads. In these trials a net of 7 inch 



