SELECT COMMITTEE ON THE SEA FISHERIES BILL. 



119 



17 March 1904,j 



Mr. Gaestang. 



[Continued. 



Chairman — continued. 



informed by Dr, Henking, who elaborates and 

 works up these statistics for the German Sea 

 Fisheries Association, that the number of small 

 plaice landed at Geestemlinde is exceed- 

 ingly small, and I am quite satisfied that 

 that is the case — that is, of fish below eight 

 inches. 



2185. Do you think they have not been 

 caught ? — No, they must have been caught, 

 because we know from our investigation of the 



f rounds that the small fish are all there. I have 

 ere a copy of a translation of a paper of Dr. 

 Henking on the Geestemunde statistics; that 

 is to say, of the German steam trawler 

 fisheries. (Vide Appendix .) I have taken 

 certain extracts from this paper of Dr. Henking 

 in which he refers specifically to that point, 

 and I can quote at this stage some remarks 

 on this matter. He says on page 2 of this 

 copy, " The annual replenishment of the stock 

 of ground fishes in the North Sea, from the 

 point of view of marketable produce, must 

 be regarded as insufiicient according to the data 

 at present available, inasmuch as the general 

 proceeds are falling off. The notion of what is 

 marketable and what unmarketable changes in 

 the course of time. Already many species of 

 fish are brought to market in large quantities 

 and sold which only a few years ago would have 

 received no attention, e.g., many species of skate 

 and ray. The smaller fishes now also realise 

 better than formerly. As the maximum size of 

 fishes is attained with increasing rarity, the 

 market acquires a tendency to lower the mini- 

 mum size of the marketable species. In England 

 this, as is well known, has given rise to the 

 lively complaints which have been raised against 

 the destruction of under-sized fish, especially 

 flat fishes, and which have already led several 

 times to the formulation of definite legislative 

 proposals." Then he goes on to say (this is the 

 point) : — " Among us in Germany there are no 

 market transactions in such under-sized fish, on 

 which account the statistics furnish no material 

 for a numerical determination of their quan- 

 tities. On that point, as to what proportion of 

 the part of the catch thrown overboard by the 

 fishermen consists in small unmarketable ma- 

 terial, nothing accurate is known. To ascertain 

 that ought to provide a commendable task 

 for the proposed international investigations 

 in the interests of the sea fisheries." The 

 only remark that I have to make upon this 

 statement of Dr. Henking is that it is based on 

 the steam trawler statistics, and there is a fleet 

 of something like 300 German smacks fishing 

 always on those nursery grounds south of Horn 

 Reef, and owing to the fact that the small fish 

 are there in such enormous preponderance, they 

 must catch an enormous number of these very 

 little fishes. 



2186. For which there is no market ? — I do 

 not know what becomes of them. These steam 

 trawler statistics are not enough to prove to us 

 that they are not landed. 



2187. What can become of them except to be 

 throAvn overboard ; can you suggest any other 

 possible means of disposing of them ? — There are 

 two markets — these are the Geestemunde 



Chairman — continued. 



statistics, and there is another market, Ham- 

 burg- Altona; I have not seen the statistics of 

 that market. But these smacks land their fishes 

 mostly up the Elbe at Ham burg- Altona, and I 

 think it probable they land a considerable 

 amount of small plaice there ; but I do not know. 

 I think the redeeming feature of this matter 

 is, that the matter is now under investigation by 

 the German authorities, and in a short time, no 

 doubt, they will communicate the first results 

 of their enquiries. 



2188. But in any case they cannot sell plaice 

 under seven inches in Germany, can they? — I 

 think the German limit is lower than that, if I 

 remember rightly. 



2189. 71 it is on the northern ports. Then I 

 assume that if they cannot sell them they throw 

 them overboard ? — I do not know what the 

 practice is in Germany, but we do know that in 

 some countries there are size limits on paper, but 

 they are not really enforced. Whether that is 

 the case in Germany or not I cannot say. It 

 all depends, not on the regulations in the Act of 

 Parliament, but on whether the authorities 

 really enforce them. 



Lord Tweed^mouth 



2190. Do you know if the Denmark limit is 

 in force : it is a very high one ? — That is 

 enforced very stringently indeed ; it is very 

 effectively done. 



Duke of Abercorn. 



2191. They are bound to throw them over ? — 

 The point is that in Denmark there is no 

 trawl fishing : it is all done by means of seines ; 

 and a size limit of 10 inches is stringently 

 enforced by gun boats and torpedo boats always 

 moving about among these vessels. 



Chaiivnan. 



2192. Is it not the fact that the German 

 sailing trawlers that you were alluding to just 

 now, practically fish the estuaries of the great 

 rivers, the Elbe and the Weser, and they do not 

 go on to the fishing grounds ? — They do fish in 

 ihe mouths of the Elbe and the Weser, I admit, 

 but these statistics that I have submitted here 

 from the Danish official Reports show also that 

 the German sailing trawlers fish to a large 

 extent on the Horn Reef grounds. 



2196. Is this lightship where these observa- 

 tions were taken, north of Heligoland ? — Yes, it 

 is just west of Esbjerg. In the Danish reports 

 there are the fullest indications from year to 

 year as to the enormous number of German 

 sailing trawlers fishing side by side with Danish 

 seiners. Often as many as one hundred at a 

 time are lying off Esbjerg Harbour. 



2194. But assuming for the moment that the 

 German trawlers do throw overboard fish which 

 are too small for them to land, and that a size 

 limit were imposed by this Bill, do not you 

 think that then at any rate the fish under seven 

 inches or under eight inches would many of 

 them survive to grow larger ? — In the case of 

 smacks there is a considerable probability that a 

 fair proportion of small fish would survive ; but 



Tn 



