SEtECT COMMITTEE ON THE SEA FISHERIES BILL. 



59 



10 March 1904.J 



The.Kev. W. S. Geeen. 



[Continued. 



Lord Tweedmouth — continued. 



lot of small plaice ■were being landed, and when 

 we investigated it we found the bulk of the fish 

 consisted of dabs. 



1082. Is there a market for dabs in Ireland ? 

 — Yes, in the poorer parts of the towns. 



1083. With regard to these nets that you re- 

 gulate the mesh of, what class are they ? — The 

 byelaws we have made refer chiefly to nets 

 called wade nets, which are used on the . flat 

 shores ol the east coast. We have also made 

 similar byelaws on the north-west coast. These 

 nets are fished in vary shallow water, where a 

 number of small fish are caught, and Mr. Holt, 

 our scientific adviser, went down to see these 

 nets being worked, and he can probably give 

 some information as to the amount of fish he 

 saw killed. But these nets are very few in 

 number, and they are so few in number that it 

 does not seem to us worth while to make rules 

 and regulations about things which are of so 

 little importance. 



, 1084. Then briefly, what you say, I take it 

 from your evidence, is that so far as Ireland is 

 concerned, you do not consider that the Irish 

 fisheries have been injured up to the present 

 time by any destruction of undersized fish ? — 

 ]!!fot appreciably. 



Duke oi Ahercorn. 



1085. Do you say there is much capture of 

 undersized fish , along the coasts ? — I do not 

 think there is. There are a few places, un- 

 doubtedly, where fishermen fishing in a small 

 way catch undersized fish, and it has come 

 under our notice on several occasions that it 

 might be desirable to make a byelaw regulating 

 their action ; but when Ave have investigated it 

 we have found that, though they were killing 

 small fish, it would undoubtedly stop them fish- 

 ing altogether if we made any rule or regulation 

 about it ; and the matter is on such a small 

 scale that we did not wish to stop a fishery going 

 on, in which a number of people were making a 

 living, for a hypothetical good. 



1086. Then you have the power of making 

 these byelaws in Ireland, have you not ?— We have 

 the power of preventing the catching of small 

 fish Dy closing certain areas against fishing, 

 where we think small fish predominate, and we 

 also have the power to regulate the mesh in 

 these wade nets ; and we have made several 

 byelaws regulating the mesh of the wade nets 

 for that object. 



1087. By closing the area, do you mean 

 closing the area entirely, or only for a certain 

 number of months in the year ? — Some of these 

 areas have been closed for a certain number 

 of months ; some have been closed for all the 

 year. 



1088. Have you any knowledge about the 

 apture of undersized fish, say for instance in 



Duke oi Abercorn — continued. 

 Lough Swilly ? — Yes. there are a number of 

 small trawlers worked from Buncrana, and they 

 catch small flat fish undoubtedly; but the boats: 

 they have are too frail to go out into the open 

 sea, and if we stopped them fishing in the upper 

 part of the lough, we would practically put an 

 end to their industry altogether. 



1089. I suppose the same might be said about 

 Sheephaven Bay, where there is a large amount 

 of fish? — In Sheephaven Bay there is a very 

 important herring fishery, and the trawling in 

 Sheephaven Bay seemed to tend — at least it 

 was the general belief that it tended — to dis- 

 turb the herrings when they were settling down 

 in the bay, and so we prohibited trawling in that 

 bay altogether. 



1090. There is no trawling allowed now in 

 Sheephaven Bay ? — No steam trawling. 



1091. I was more lucky myself years ago 

 when I trawled there. — Steam trawling is pro- 

 hibited there. 



1092. Do the Ringsend boats catch many 

 undersized fish ? — They catch some ■ undersized 

 fish, but they do not catch any great number. 

 All trawlers catch a certain number of 

 undersized fish — I think that may go without 

 saying — and they catch their proportion, but it 

 is not worth considering, in the majority of cases. 



1093. Are these undersized fish used as 

 food in Ireland, or thrown away, like they are 

 mostly in England, for the purpose of manure ? 

 — Small fish are sold in the towns. 



Chairman. 



1094. I take it that there would be no danger 

 that the Irish Department of Agriculture and 

 Technical Instruction would put this Bill into 

 operation in any way to interfere with the 

 livelihood of these small men that fish off the 

 coast of Ireland? — We should try and avoid 

 that, certainly. 



1095. May I take it that the fishing industry 

 in Ireland lias complete confidence in the Board ? 

 -^I think the fishing industry has. 



1096. And they would be quite willing to 

 trust it to see that nothing was done to interfere 

 with the Irish fishing industry ? — I think so. 

 We have never had any objection raised to us. 



1097. But perhaps the power under the Bill 

 might be utilised so as to apply to large English 

 vessels that might come in and affect the Irish 

 trade ? — I think if the large English vessels 

 found it impossible to land small fish in English 

 ports owing to rules that the English authority 

 might make, then it might become necessary — 

 but that is a pure hypothesis — to make rules 

 and regulations in Ireland. 



The Witness is directed to withdraw. 



(0.10.) 



H2 



109R. Yon 



