64 BRITISH SEA-FISHERIES 



of capture to be capable of survival if returned to the 

 sea. It is otherwise w^ith the small local sailing-boats 

 (whether Danish, German, or Dutch) which are ac- 

 customed to fish on the small-fish grounds. These 

 boats catch the fish alive and throw the undersized 

 fish overboard in a living condition. As they can 

 operate nowhere else, it may be taken for granted 

 that the Governments of their respective countries, 

 however anxious they may be to improve the fisheries, 

 will scarcely consent to impose such a size-limit as to 

 render it unprofitable for their local boats to fish. 



The utmost possible protection of the small plaice 

 would consequently be attained by determining (a) a 

 high size-limit for steam-trawlers, practically debarring 

 them from fishing on the coastal grounds ; and (b) the 

 highest size-limit for sailing-boats that would be con- 

 sistent with the profitable pursuit of their calling. 

 The first pick of the fish would consequently fall to 

 the local boats ; and, if protection should result, as it 

 is reasonable to expect, in an increase in the number 

 of plaice on the coastal grounds, there would be every 

 inducement for these local boats to multiply in number, 

 with the laudable object of catching as many as possible 

 of the marketable plaice before they could migrate to 

 the offshore waters. In practice some fish would 

 escape; but, in the absence of any restriction upon 

 the number of local boats, there seems no reason to 

 expect that the number of emigrant plaice would, in 

 the long run, be any greater than at present. Even 

 under existing conditions, the local fishery on the 

 west coast of Denmark has developed from a value of 

 about ;£"40,ooo in 1897 to nearly ;^8o,ooo in 1904. 



If, however, we are right in assuming that a given 

 area of ground can only produce a given weight of 

 fish per annum, it is fairly certain that, under protec- 

 tion, the increased density of the fish inshore will 

 result in a retardation in the average rate of growth, 



