SELECT COMMITTEE ON THE SEA FISHERIES BILL. 



33 



4 March .1904.] 



Professor D'Aecy W. Thompson, c.b. 



[Conti'nAJMd. 



Lord Northbourne — continued. 



but I should think on the average a larger 

 proportion of the Aberdeen boats are fishing in 

 deep water and to the north. We do not fish 

 south of the Dogger bank very, much. 



567. Then if one was to look ahead — I sup- 

 pose it is a specula,tive matter, and you can 

 hardly be expected to give an answer — if the 

 whole thing is quite left alone, what would be 

 the result in .50 years' time ; do you think the 

 supply of fish would be very greatly dimin- 

 ished ? — Fifty years is a long time to look ahead, 

 and it is not very easy to" foresee; but I think 

 in regard to these flat fish, which are on the 

 whole more or less concentrated in the southern 

 part of the North Sen,, there is danger of a 

 serious diminution in the supply in the course 

 of time. In regard to soles, I think we have 

 already very good evidence of that. In regard 

 to plaice, we have very plausible evidence. 

 It is only in the case of those fish whose area of 

 distribution and whose area of migration is very 

 much larger — fish hke the haddock and the 

 cod — that we feel comparatively safe as regards 

 the permanence of the supply. 



568. Have you any certain knowledge with 

 regard to the spawning beds of these fish ; do 

 you know where the spawning beds of the plaice 

 are; can you tell better in 'one locahty than 

 another ? — No, I cannot give much definite in- 

 formation as to the spawning beds of the 

 plaice, but we know now that the plaice do not 

 spawn in those shallow waters where a great 

 abundance of young fish are found ; they spawn 

 in general in , deeper water, and, more or less, I 

 fancy, over their general range of distribution. 



Chal/nnn.n. 



569. But the spawn is cnrried with the cur- 

 rent, is it not ? — Yes, it is carried with the 

 current. 



570. And accumulates ? — Yes, and the 

 young fish apparently choose by prefer- 

 ence these shallow shores to develop in. 

 I may say that we may look upon 

 these Eastern grounds, where small fish are so 

 extremely plentiful, as a great area which is 

 topographically very much the same as our 

 own shore areas where the same fish develop ; 

 but owing to the gentle slope of ihe banks it is 

 ever so much larger in breadth and area, and 

 moreover it has very interesting conditions of 

 temperature that make it highly suitable for 

 the development of the small fish. 



Lord Henearje. 



571. The Aberdeen trawling industry is quite 

 a young industry, is it not ; it only started within 

 recent years ? — Comparatively. Its great growth 

 is withm the last 15 to 20 years. 



572. And therefore the ^-reat interest in pre- 

 venting this destruction o^ small fish lies with 

 the Humber ports, which send out the greater 

 part of the vessels in the North Sea, does it not ? 

 — Their interest is much greater than ours. 



573. Are you aware that they find a great 

 deal of diflSculty now in getting catches of really 

 good fish, and in consequence "the skippers take 

 the boats to these, what we should like to make 

 forbidden grouiids, to fill up their baskets ? — Yes, 

 that is so. Wo must also remember at the same 



(0.10) E 



Lord Heneage — continued.' 



time that there is an enormously increased 

 demand for fish, that if we brought into the 

 markets the supplies of ten years ago there 

 would be famine prices, and it is only reasonable 

 to expect that to supply this great demand we 

 should have to go all over the North Sea. 



574. But are you not of opinion that the de- 

 struction of these small fish in these grounds 

 which we desire to prohibit, is the reason of 

 there being a scarcity of fish in other parts of 

 the sea ? — No, I am not prepared to go so far as 

 that. There are still untold multitudes of 

 these small fish upon the small fish grounds. 



575. What do you call the small fish grounds ? 

 — These eastern grounds. 



576. But if the trawlers were prohibited from 

 going there and catching these small fish, would 

 they not grow up and circulate throughout the 

 sea ? — Yes, we suppose the}^ would ; that is the 

 presiuned advantage of it. 



577. And therefore the trawlers would not 

 find the same difficulty in getting their catches ■ 

 of good edible fish ? — No ; we all hope it would 

 tend to that result. 



578. And you know that to be the reason, do- 

 you not, why the trawling interests of the 

 Humber ports desire to be protected against 

 themselves by the force of law ? — I believe that 

 is the reason. At the same time I am inclined 

 to think that there is another very practical 

 reason that influences them as commercial men, 

 and that is, that apart from this prospective 

 advantage which they hope for, the glut of 

 these small fish is very much against them in 

 their trade ; it lowers prices and upsets the 

 market. 



579. And therefore they hope that in the 

 course of a short time, if tr;iwliug in these 

 grounds is forbidden, they will be able to bring 

 to market fish that pay them very much better ? 

 — Very much better. 



580. It is all part of the one subject. With 

 regard to the question asked by Lord Northbourne 

 just now about an International Agreement, are 

 you aware that there was a conference in 1890, 

 at which the representatives of Belgium, Denmark, 

 France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Spain 

 were all present I — I am aware of that. 



581. Tnat they concurred in a unanimous 

 resolution in favour of a Bill to prohibit the 

 landing and sale of these small fish ? — That is 

 so. I was talking to - the Belgian delegates to 

 the same conference only last week on the 

 subject. 



582. And you believe from what you know 

 now that they have the same feeling in the- 

 matter ? — Yes. 



583. But they look to England, as the country 

 most interested in this matter, to take the lead 

 before those who have not already taken the 

 lead ? — That is true. 



584. Although some have already taken 

 action since that conference, as }-ou told the 

 President ? — The Danish restriction on size is 

 older than the conference ; it dates from ■ 1888. 

 The Belgian is more recent. 



585. And the Belgian was previous. But 

 since that there have been t\vo or three other 

 smaller countries which have taken the initiative, 

 but neither France nor Germany is willing to 



take 



