196 COMMISSION OF CONSERVATION 



(2) That continuous supplies are necessary to meet the demands of the 

 growing fresh-fish markets, and that, as steam trawling can be carried on in 

 practically all weathers, it is the only means of providing such continuous 

 supplies ; 



(3) That edible fiat fishes, for which there is an ever-growing market, and 

 which are taken in very limited quantities by hook and line, can be secured in 

 large quantities by steam trawlers." 



Method of Investigation 



Little time was lost in organising the work, Mr. A. B. Alexander directing 

 the field investigation. Bureau officials, selected for their practical experience 

 and lack of prejudice, were placed on both otter and line trawlers operating 

 out of New England ports, supplied with printed forms on which to record 

 their observations in a very detailed manner and with respect to all phases of 

 fishing operations. The field investigation, including the observation of 64 

 trips and 1,633 hauls by otter trawlers, and of 17 trips and 90 sets of trawl 

 lines by schooners, was completed by December, 1913. The data collected were 

 handed over to a committee specially appointed to draw up the official report 

 for Congress. This committee based its conclusions respecting American fishing 

 grounds wholly upon the material accumulated by the Bureau of Fisheries but, 

 for comparative purposes and an adequate comprehension of the subject as a . 

 whole, found it necessary to make a very thorough study of the history of 

 otter-trawling in Great Britain. Statistical evidence from British sources there- 

 fore occupies an important position in the discussion. The report was com- 

 pleted and submitted in January of the present year. A very significant state- 

 ment, occurring in the letter of transmittal from the Bureau Committee to the 

 Fisheries Commissioner, reads as follows : " When analyzed, the allegations 

 against trawl-fishing seem to have had their origin in that one economic factor 

 that has been an ever-present cause of complaint against each and every innova- 

 tion in fishery methods and appliances in whatever country — competition." 



Information Regarding American Fisheries 



Otter-trawling is a comparatively new development in American waters. 

 The first vessel of this type in the American service was operated out of Boston 

 in 1905 and numerical increase of the fleet was very slow until 1910. Even to- 

 day, the Boston steam-trawling fleet numbers not more than a dozen vessels 

 all told, but it is the rapid increase of the last four years that has caused 

 apprehension regarding possible depletion of fishing waters. At the same time, 

 recent years have witnessed a great change in the model and rig of fishing 

 vessels of all types. Without going into detail, these may be roughly divided 

 first into two classes, liners and otter trawlers. Line fishing itself may be sub- 

 divided into hand-line and trawl-line fishing, but the distinction hag no special 

 significance with regard to the respective effects of the two methods upon the 

 continued productivity of fishing-grounds. Lines, whether hauled by hand from 

 a dory or the deck of a schooner, or set as an extensive trawl-line system of 

 buoys, ground lines and gangings, are not essentially different either in opera- 

 tion or effect. They are simply variations of the same system. The otter trawl, 

 however, introduces an entirely new method. Briefly stated, it consists of a 

 large, flattened, conical bag which is towed along the bottom of the sea. The 

 bag or net commonly used is about ISO feet long; the upper edge of the mouth 

 about 110 and the lower edge 140 feet long. The frontal third of the net has 

 a mesh 3 inches square, the median section 1% inches square, while the mesh 

 of the rear or cod end is 1^4 inches square. When in motion the net is kept 

 open laterally by two heavy doors or otter-boards, one at each side, attached 

 so as to act like kites. The typical trawling vessel is 115 feet in length, of from 

 248 to 296 gross tons, and equipped with engines of about 450 horsepower. In 

 fishing, the trawl-net is towed along the bottom of the sea at a rate of from two 

 to three miles per hour, usually for about lyi hours per haul. As fishing con- 

 tinues day and night, a steam trawler will average ten or twelve hauls per 

 twenty-four hours. 



