THE TRAWLING GROUNDS 39 



the first discovery of which gave such a remarkable impetus to 

 trawling. It is a depression of from 30 to 35 fathoms, surrounded 

 by steep banks. The bottom is of fine sand with patches of black 

 mud. Intense fishing takes place throughout the whole year. 

 Haddock, cod, plaice and whiting are the principal fish. The third 

 " C " area is 9, small pear-shaped depression off the coasts of Norfolk, 

 Suffolk, Essex and Kent. Plaice, whiting and skates are the most 

 abundant species. 



The " J) " areas lie in the northern part of the North Sea, where 

 deeper water is met with. The first " D " area, which is also the 

 most important, lies close to the English and Scottish Coasts. Its 

 area is 10,200 sq. miles, and the predominant species is haddock. 

 The other fish are cod, whiting, skates, lemon soles, cat-fish and 

 ling. Area " D 2 " comprises the centre of the Northern part of 

 the North Sea. The chief fishing grounds are the Great Fisher Bank, 

 the Ling Bank in the north and the Outer Shoal in the east. Haddock 

 is the chief fish, followed by cod, whiting, plaice, skates and ling. 



The third area " D " lies off the Moray Firth, extending from the 

 Orkneys to Peterhead. Haddock, cod and whiting are the principal 

 fish. 



The " E " area comprises the deeper part of the central North 

 Sea. Its area is 16,500 sq. miles, the depths vary from 80 to 100 

 metres. Haddock is again the chief fish. There are no prime fish ; 

 plaice are scarce, the other important species being cod, whiting, 

 ling and skates, with small quantities of coalfish, monks and 

 whitches. Areas " F " and " G " comprise the still deeper portions 

 of the North Sea up to the 6ist parallel. They are not very import- 

 ant fishing grounds. 



In 1911 the value of the sea fisheries of North- Western Europe^ 

 was £25,651,000, and in 1912 the value was ;£28,i04,ooo. The 

 increase from 1908 to 1912 was about 6 per cent. Great Britain 

 claims nearly half the total, viz. £13,234,000 in 1912 or 47 per cent. 

 France comes second with £4,794,000 or 17 per cent, then Norway 

 with £3,096,000 or II per cent, Germany with £2,012,000 or 7 per 

 cent, Holland with £1,915,000 or 6-8 per cent and Denmark with 

 £948,000 or 3 '37 per cent. 



The importance of the North Sea grounds will be seen from the 

 fact that 1,171,216 metric tons (of 1000 kilograms) were obtained 

 thence, that is about 44-8 per cent of the total yield of the sea 

 fisheries of North-Western Europe. The Norwegian and Polar 

 Seas yielded 645,126 tons or 247 per cent, Iceland 232,160 tons 

 (8-9 per cent), the North and West of Scotland 114,530 tons (4-4 



^ Bulletin Statistique, Vol. VIII (International Coiincil) deals with 191 1 and igi2. 

 Published 191 7. 



