SELECT COMMITTEE ON THE SEA FISHIRIES BILL. 



13 



3 March 1904.] 



SiK Thomas Elliott, k.c.b. 



[ContiTiued. 



Chairman — continued, 

 •consumers' interests, that the destruction of 

 -every undersized flat fish in the North Sea 

 -should be prevented, but only of so large a pro- 

 portion as may be without injuring the fishing 

 interest ? — Yes, we think that although there 

 must necessarily always be some amount of 

 waste, we should yet prevent a very considerable 

 amount of waste. 



147. And at the present time is it not the case 

 Tthat the landing of undersized fish is at a very 



Ghairm-an — continued. 



limited number of ports ? — At a very limited 

 number. 



Lord Northbourne. 



1 48. What w ould you call an undersized fish : 



s it a fish of the size of this envelope or larger ? 



—My colleague, Mr. Archer, has prepared some 



information as to the weight of fish, which I 



think will instruct your Lordship upon that point. 



The Witness is directed to withdraw. 



Mr. WALTER ARCHER is called in ; and Examined as follows : 



Chairman. 



149. You are, I think, the Assistant Secretary 

 to the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries ? — - 

 Yes. 



150. And you are specially charged with 

 ■dealing with the Fishery Department of the 



Board ? — Yes. 



151. And before then you were for some time 

 — ^perhaps you will say how long — in a similar 



■ capacity at the Board of Trade ? — I was Chief 

 Inspector of Fisheries from 1898. 



152. I need not take you over the ground 

 which has been already covered by Sir Ihomas 

 EUiott. I imagine you agree with him that 

 •there is an urgent and vital need for protecting 

 undersized flat fish ? — Yes. 



153. Can you state to the Committee what is 

 •the quantity of small fish which are landed at 

 the principal ports on the east coast, and what 

 those ports are? — I have prepared a table 

 ■showing the quantities of fish landed during the 

 first 12 months for which we have statistics 

 from all ports ; that is from October, 1902, to 

 September, 1903, inclusive. In that year 

 262,990 cwts. of small plaice were landed at the 

 11 principal trawling ports on the east coast, 

 out of a total catch of 3,320,096 cwts. The 

 ports referred to are the trawling ports of the 



■^ast coast of England. 



154. Which are the principal ports out of 

 ■;those 11, and what is the proportion at those 



ports? — The principal ports at which small 

 plaice are landed are London and Grimsby, and 

 ■-the proportion landed at these ports represents 

 74 per cent, of the whole. 



155. What is the average iveight of small 

 plaice? — I have prepared a table showing the 



• average weight of small plaice from 7 to 14 

 inches brought into Billingsgate Market 



■ (handing in the table). 



156. What is the average weight of plaice 

 ..between 9 and 10 inches ? — Only 4| ozs. 



157. And between 10 and 11 inches ? — 6| 

 ozs., and I shall show later on that it is at these 

 sizes that the greatest destruction takes place. 



158. Lord Heneage suggests that in addition 



• to London and Grimsby a very large proportion 

 •are landed at Hull? — The quantity of small 

 ■plaice landed at Hull was only 8,103 cwts. 



Chairjnan — continued. 



The Hull steamers bring their fi Ti . > 



London. There are three fleets which fish from 

 Hull and send their fish by carrier direct to 

 the London market. The quantity landed in 

 London was 126,743 cwts., and in Grimsby 

 67,621 cwts. 



Lord Tweedm,outh. 



159. Can you tell us what the total weight of 

 plaice caught was during that same year, in 

 order that we may see what proportion of small 

 plaice there is to the total catch of plaice ? — 

 The total quantity of all plaice landed in 1903 

 was 887,599 cwts. 



Marquess of Huntly. 



160. Of that about a third is small ? — Yes, 

 that is to say the quantity la,nded at the East 

 Coast trawling ports is about a third of the 

 total quantity of all plaice landed in England 

 and Wales. 



Chairman. 



161. Therefore, London presents the most 

 interesting field of investigation as to the 

 landing of small plaice, and I think you have 

 devoted some attention during the last few 

 months to enquiring into that question ; perhaps 

 you can state to the Committee what the result 

 has been ? — The small plaice landed in London 

 present exceptional opportunities for study, 

 seeing that they are landed by three carriers 

 which serve certain Hull fleets fishing in the 

 North Sea. These carriers bring the fish direct 

 to the London market, and the managing 

 owners of these fleets have been good enough 

 to supply us direct with statistics showing the 

 quantity of fish landed daily and the place 

 where they were boarded ; so that with regard 

 to these fish we have been able to learn not only 

 what quantity were landed, but also where they 

 come from. 



162. And have you divided them into three 

 sizes ? — They are sold in the market as large, 

 medium and small, and are so distinguished in 

 the returns we receive. 



163. Will you hand in any tables you may 

 have dealing with that, and state the general 

 result ? — From these Returns a table has been 

 prepared showing the quantity of small plaice 



landed 



