SELECT COMMITTEE ON THE SEA FISHERIES BILL. 



47 



4 March 1904.] 



Mr. J. Wrench Towse. 



[Continued. 



Chairman — continued 



'826. How inany members are there in the 

 Association? — Aboiit 160 iiidividual members. 



827. And how many affihated associations ? — 

 33. 



828. Where do they come from; where are 

 the affihated associations ? — The Moray Firth, 

 Aberdeen, North Shields, Sunderland, Boston, 

 Hull, Grimsby, Yarmouth, Lowestoft, Whit- 

 stable, Kamsgate, Brixham and St. Mawes ; and 

 the Sea Fisheries Committees, which are also 

 affiliated, iliclude Northumberland, North 

 Eastern Sussex, Devon, Cornwall, Lancashire 

 and Western, besides that are the London Fish 

 Trade Association, the Port of Falmouth 

 Chamber of Commerce, the Liverpool Fish, 

 Oame and Poultry Association, and the 

 Birmingham Fish, Game and Poultry Association. 



829. They are all affi.liated to you, and there- 

 fore you would speak on their behalf ? — That is 

 so. 



830. You have representatives elsewhere, have 

 you not ? — We have — at Scarborough, Ports- 

 mouth, Swansea. Milford Haven, Blackburn, 

 Manchester, Sheffield, Dublin and York. 



831. You, as clerk of the Fishmongers' Com- 

 pany, have exercised certain statutory powers 

 which are conferred upon that company ? — 

 Yes. 



832. What are those powers ? — We have the 

 power, under charter of 2nd James I., to seize all 

 iish in the City ot London and its suburbs unfit 

 for food. We have no power to take undersized 

 fish, but frequently wc have to clear it away 

 from the market in consequence of its having 

 been thrown out by salesmen and others as not 

 being saleable. 



833. Is there any quantity ot that fish thrown 

 out by the salesmen ? — A great quantity. In 

 1900 there were 83 tons; in 1901,49 tons; in 

 1902, 78 tons ; and last year 47 tons. All that 

 quantity was taken in the four months of June, 

 July, August, and September. 



834. What sort of fish are the}'? Are they 

 flat fish or round fish ? — Flat fish. 



835. And what sort ot size ? — They are such a 

 size that even the poor of London will not take 

 them. They are useless to take home to 

 cook. 



836. How big would be the largest plaice, for 

 instance, that would be thrown out ? — Six or 

 seven inches. 



837. Is there a great quantity of those coming 

 into the market ? — At times during those months 

 a large qiiantity. 



838. Have you got any particulars of the 

 price of the trunks that these fish fetch during 

 those summer months ? — Yes. I do not know 

 whether I might just give a calculation of 100 

 tons of plaice. 



839. Yes. — It is taken from the quantity in 

 various trunks. Taking 100 tons of plaice, 

 7 inches in length, and weighing approxi- 

 mately 2 ozs. each, they would represent about 

 1,800,000 fish ; whereas taking 40 plaice as a fair 

 marketable average, weighing about 2 lbs. each, 

 there would be only 100,000. 



840. That is to say, there are nearly 2,000,000 

 of these small plaice against 100 000 of the 

 sizeable fish ? — Yes. 



C/iairman— continued. 



841. What do they get for these trunks ? — In 

 May, 1903, the average price for the month per 

 trunk, that is approximately 90 lbs., was 5s. 8d., 

 in June 6s. IcL, in July 8s., and in August 

 9s. 9rf. , , _ 



842. And is that for small plaice only or is 

 that the average of the plaice ? — That is the 

 average ot the small plaice only. The large 

 plaice, the good marketable plaice, are 35s. a 

 trunk, and on a scarce market as much as two 



Lord Tweedmoutli. 



843. Does a trunk mean about a hundred- 

 weight ? — It is scarcely that ; the average is 



about 90 lbs. 



Chairman. 



844. Can you describe to the Committee the . 

 manner in which these trunks are packed ? They 

 are principally small plaice, but there are not 

 only small plaice, there are some larger ones, 

 are there not ? — Yes, there a,re some larger ones. 

 The small plaice are placed in the trunk and 

 gradually filled up, and then towards the top 

 larger plaice are placed. 



845. What are called containing fish ? — Yes, 

 otherwise the fish being so small they would all 

 shake out of the box, and by the time it was ■ 

 landed it would be half empty. 



846. In an average trunk of that kind, hox 

 many containing fish would thefe be and how 

 many undersized fish ? — Of course it would vary, 

 about 300 to 500, and the containing fish would 

 be only about half a dozen, if so many. 



847. It is the fact, I believe, that occasionally 

 there are not sufficiexit containing fish, even in 

 those small numbers, to go round all the trunks 

 of undersized fish ; and when that is the case it 

 is necessary to throw overboard the undersized 

 plaice for which there are not sufficient con- 

 taining fish to make up a trunk ? — I cannot, 

 from my own knowledge, speak quite upOn that 

 point, but I know that some fish are so absolutely 

 useless for marketable purposes that they are 

 shovelled overboard. 



848. What I want to bring out is this : Is 

 there not, in addition to this large number of 

 undersized fish that come into Billingsgate, a 

 large number of undersized fish caught that do 

 not come to market at all because there is not . 

 sufficient containing fish caught upon the same 

 grounds to enable the trawlers to pack their 

 trunks ? — I do not know about being able to 

 pack their trunks, but undoubtedly there is a 

 great deal that is thrown overboard as being , 

 useless to pack at all. 



849. Does the majority of the small fish come 

 to London ?— There is a good deal goes to other 

 ports, Lowestoft, Grimsby, Hull, and Fleet- 

 wood. 



850. But the number of ports to which the 

 small fish go is comparatively speaking limited, 

 is it not ? — Yes. 



851. Can you tell us what quantity do go to 

 provincial ports ? — I have a few facts here. 

 There are no actual records kept in any port, 

 unfortunately, as regards the small fish except at 

 Liverpool. At Aberdeen there were 20 to 25 tons 



of 



