100 



MIXXJTES OF EVIDENCE TAKEN T5EF0RE THE 



11 March 1904.J 



Mr. W. H. PiBEL. 



[Conti7\ued. 



CJiairman — contiimed. 



'^ 1881. Their poverty, not theiiMvill, consents ? — 

 That is so. 



1882. Then would you be in favour of some 

 assistance being given to the fishery com- 

 mittees to improve the policing of their own 

 areas ' — Certainly. 



1883. N"ow, it has been suggested that it 

 wauld be quite sufficient if the orders of the 

 Board were to extend not to the whole year but 

 to a part of the year ; what is your view with 

 regard to that ? — I should prefer the whole year, 

 but at the same time I think the months which 

 have been mentioned by many would certainly 

 do away with a great deal of the waste. 



1884. In view of the fact that this is an 

 enabling Bill and that it is possible for the 

 Board of Agriculture and Fisheries to proceed 

 experimentally, do you think it would be safe to 

 begin by trying to restrict ivithin certain months 

 only ? — I think so. 



1885. And if that were not successful it 

 would be very easy with a stroke of the pen for 

 the Board to extend it to the whole vear ? — 

 Yes. 



1886. Do you think also in the same way it 

 would be possible for the Board to begin with 

 certain classes of vessels and, if that were found 

 insufficient, to extend it to other classes of 

 vessels ? — There vfould be much more difficulty 

 about that. You see a steam trawler is a large 

 boat and has a large trawl ; but the sailing boats 

 nowfi-oiii Lowestoft and from Brixham and from 

 Ramsgate are also fair-sized boats, and they 

 have nearly the same length of trawl, and in 

 some weathers they can catch as much or almost 

 as much fish as the steam trawler if the weather 

 is suitable ; and there is nothing, if you prevent 

 the steam trawler from fishing on these grounds, 

 to prevent the sailing vessels from going there 

 and fining up a cargo. But I think, if I may be 

 allowed to suggest, that if it was limited to 

 vessels, say, from 10 to 15 tons, that might be 

 sufficient, but that there should be very strict 

 byelaws in regard to these vessels to prevent 

 their being used in any way as carriers. 



18S7. Then you do not think it would be 

 possible to proceed by a regulation of those 

 vessels that go to the eastern grounds and to 

 extend the regulation to any other vessels, if it 

 were found that they were going to the eastern 

 grounds, by reason of their having been deserted 

 by the larger vessels ? — ^Yes, I think it would. 



18SS. Anyhow, you would rather see the BDl 

 as it stands than rim the risk of losing it by 

 putting in any provisions that might arouse 

 hostility ? — I am sure if we do not have a Bill 

 of some sort the fishing industry will be more 

 or less ruined; and I should be glad to take 

 anything that would prevent this waste of fish. 



1889. As to the size hmit, do you desire to tie 

 the hands of the Department in any way ? — No, 

 I do not. 



1890. You would allow them to fix it as ex- 

 perience m%y dictate from time to time ? — Yes. 

 lam satisfied that they would always consult 

 the trade, and they have always the National 

 Sea Fisheries Association to go to. 



Duke of Abercorn. 



1891. You mentioned jusf; now that during 

 the last three years soles have increased in 

 number ? — Yes. 



1892. Have they increased in price also l-r^ 

 No, rather decreased. , 



1893. And these soles, as you say, come from 

 holes, so to speak, along the coast of the British 

 islands chiefly ?— Yes, you find soles in a sort of 

 wells, you may call them, in the banks, where it 

 is a little deeper more especially. 



1894. And these soles are fished by trawlers, 

 I suppose, of from 10 to 15 tons ? — No, princi- 

 pally from sailing trawlers of from 30 to 50 tons. 



1895. Then if they came outside the opera- 

 tion of the Bill, would they in time destroy all 

 this product of soles, do you suppose ? — In time 

 the}- would make a great difference to them; 

 but there are not so many sailing trawlers as 

 there are steam tra"\^ders, and the steam trawlers 

 catch soles, too 



1896. You mentioned about the cheapness of 

 railway rates in Germany. Have jou any 

 complaint to make of railway rates in thik 

 country ? — Yes, I have very great complaints. 



1897. I know that is a general complaint, 

 and I suppose these high rates interfere very 

 much with the fishing industry ? — Very much 

 indeed ; many of the cheaper sorts. I have 

 endeavoured and have made it one of my 

 businesses to introduce cheap fish, fish that 

 people do not eat, to bring in a fresh sort for 

 their food. Many years ago, when I was a 

 young man, I practically rnade the ray trade ; 

 after that I took up a fish called monks, and 

 lately I have taken up dogfish, and now they 

 are eaten in consideraole quantities, and very 

 nice they are. That has been very much inter- 

 fered with in the first instance by railway rates. 



Cltairman. 



1898. The rate was so high that it would not 

 pay to bring up the cheap fish ? — That is so 

 We pay, generally speaking, from 21 to 31 per 

 ton, and then we do not pay only 21 to 3J per 

 ton for the fish, but you have to put on half as 

 much again for the box and the ice. If we have 

 a box with a hundred-weight of fish in it we 

 nearly always have to pay for 1^- cwt. 



Duke of Abeivorn. 



1899. How do you make dogfish acceptable 

 to the British public in the shape of food ? — 

 They do not know when they buy them or eat 

 them. The fishermen on the coast skin them 

 and pack them in boxes and send them to 

 London, and they are sold as fried fish alwaj^s ; 

 and I can assure you if you tasted it you would 

 say it was very good fish. 



Lord Xorihhowme. 



1900. What are they sold as ?— They are sold 

 as fried fish. 



Chairman . 



1901. And sometime as eel pie >. — I do not 

 think that ; but it is possible ; there is no 

 telling what they can do. 



