48 



MINUTES OF EVIDENCE TAKEN BEFORE THE 



•i March 1904.] 



Mr. J. Wrench Towse. 



[Continued. 



Chai rman — continued. 



of small flat fish landed during last year, and all 

 were sold at a quarter the price of good-sized fish. 

 At Liverpool the saleable sizes seem to get scarcer 

 eTery year. The total packages of flat fish under- 

 sized arriving at St. John's market from Grimsby, 

 Liverpool, and Southport boats and from the 

 Solway Firth for one year ending October 31st, 

 1901, were 11,383, averaging about 100 lbs. to 

 each package, the fish averaging about 

 2 ozs. each. For 1902, in the year 

 ending the 31st of December, there were total 

 packages 2268, all undersized fish. The above 

 were all sold. The amount of undersized fish 

 arriving for the year 1903 was small, and no 

 record was left. At present there are no under- 

 sized fish arriving in Liverpool. At Manchester 

 it may be computed that, there are 200 boxes 

 per week, during the summer months, of under- 

 sized fish, 14 imperial stone per box — this is a 

 different weight to the general weight I have 

 mentioned. All are sold if they are in good 

 condition and fit for food. At Shetfield, 

 generally speaking, the undersized fish arriving 

 m the market is all sold, sometimes at a 

 very low price. The Superintendent of the 

 Ms,rket Department states that Leeds receives 

 250 tons of small flat fish per annum, and 

 fully one-fifth of the fish is sent to the 

 destructor for manure. In Sunderland the 

 quantity of small fish landed is very small and is 

 all used for food ; the approximate quantity is 

 260 cwts. per annum, in Birmingham large 

 quantities of undersized fish are brought to the 

 market and sold. 



852. Is the quantity increasing of fish 

 generally ? 



853. Yes ? — There is generally a larger supply 

 of fish, but that is owing principally to the 

 trawlers having to go further afield and fish in 

 Icelandic waters. 



854. Are the fish increasing m catching 

 capacity ? — !No, not since the last Inquiry, in 

 1900. They are stiU catching about the same 

 as they had then — that is the otter trawl. 



855. In comparing the statistics of fish landed, 

 are fresh kinds of fish being landed in recent 

 years which were not fonnerly taken into calcu- 

 lation ? — Yes; there are coal and catfish and roker, 

 and skate and dogfish, hake, and such other fish 

 now taken in and includedin thestatistics which 

 formerly were considered, I will not saynot edible, 

 but they were not liked by the public. 



856. It was not popular ? — It was not popu- 

 lar ; but aU that fish is now taken up, and is 

 fetching very fair prices. 



857. We were told just now by Scotch wit- 

 nesses who came here, that there was practieaUy 

 no market, or a very small market, for under- 

 sized fish in Aberdeen ?— That may be perfectly 

 true, and I have heard it myself, too. The fact 

 is that the Aberdeen trawlers seldom go to the 

 Xorth Sea ; they fish more in Icelandic Avaters 

 than in the North Sea : but in one instance a case 

 is given of a skipper having trawled in the Xorth 

 Sea and getting a very lar^e quantity of small 

 fish. It is stated he landed 121 boxes of smaU 

 flat fish in Aberdeen, the result of eight tbags of 

 the trawl, from the Horn Reef, he having 

 thrown overboard as useless the takings of 12 



Chairman — continued, 

 drags. One of the boxes landed was found to 

 contain 500 fish ; the fish reahsed 4s. 3d and 

 4s. 9d. to 10s. Qd. per box in the Aberdeen 

 market. 



858. Then there have been improved engines 

 for capture, have there not ? — Certainly, the 

 otter trawl. 



859. The otter trawl is more efiicient than the 

 old beam trawl ? — Very much so. 



860. Can you give us any statistics of th& 

 amount of plaice that have been brought in — 

 their numbers and weight ? — Last year the 

 Company's inspector measured during the 

 months of April and May, at Billingsgate, plaice 

 from 67 trunks. These were taken at random ; 

 they were not selected. In 13 trunks there 

 were 268 plaice of 6 inches, and the average 

 weight 1-4 ounces; 370 plaice of 7 inches, 

 weighing 2-08 ounces ; 858 plaice of 8 inches,, 

 weighing 321 ounces ; 1,384 of 9 inches, weigh- 

 ing 434 ounces ; 713 of 10 inches, weighing 

 5-95 ounces; 272 of 11 inches, weighing 8-5 

 ounces; 123 of 12 inches, weighing 10-77 

 ounces ; 62 of 13 inches, weighing 14 ounces ; 

 and 22 of 14 inches, weighing 1 lb. and 2 ounces, 

 or thereabouts. 



861. That is to say, the vast majority of 

 plaice in those trunks measured 10 inches and 

 under ? — You might say 9 inches and under. 



862. And of the fish what proportion in a 

 trunk would be of those various sizes ? — Of 24 

 trunks, the average contained 285 plaice. There 

 were 21 of 6 inches; 18 of 7 ; 47 of 8; 93 of 9 ; 

 57 of 10 ; 27 of 11 ; 14 of 12 ; 4 only of 13 ; 7 of 

 14 ; and practically none of 15. 



863. We have had some evidence as to the 

 laws of foreign countries. Denmark, Belgium, 

 and France, and, I think, Germany to a very 

 small extent, all have legislation prohibiting the 

 importation of fish of certain sizes ? — ^They 

 have. 



864. England has none ? — England has none ; 

 and I may mention that England really started 

 the question as to an international conference 

 with a view of arriving at legislative action to 

 prohibit the landing and sale of undersized fish ; 

 but, although it was proposed as far back as 

 1893, nothing has been done. 



865. Denmark may be said to be the leading 

 country in legislation in this matter ? — Yes. 



866. Just tell the Committee what their 

 regulation is ? — In point of size it is 9| inches, 

 and I understand there is a proposal at the pre- 

 sent time to amend it by increasing the size to 

 10 irches, and that is from the tip of the snout 

 to the root of the tail ; not to the end of the 

 tail ; so you may take that size to be 10^ 

 inches at least. 



867. Would the Danish law be acceptable, do 

 vou think, to those whose interest you represent ? 

 —I think it would be. I must quahfy that te 

 some extent, because the National Sea Fisheries 

 Protection Association not only represent trawlers 

 in the North Sea but the inshore fishermen, and 

 therefore no doubt they to a certain extent 

 would object to the large size. But then again 

 in course of conversation I have been informed, 

 both at Eamsgate and elsewhere that there is 



* no 



