94 THE SEA FISHERIES 



fish was still the most abundant demersal species in that area, 

 forming 36-69 per cent of the total catch. 



The average catch per day's absence of steam trawlers in the 

 North Sea fell from 7-82 cwt. in the years 1906 and 1907, to 6-90 

 in 1908 and to 5-84 in 1909. The proportion of haddock to the 

 total catch of demersal fish in the North Sea fell from 47 per cent 

 in 1906 to 37 per cent in 1909. The decrease in the total landings 

 shown in 1909 continued in 1910. In every region, with the exception 

 of the White Sea, Iceland and west of Ireland, there has been since 

 1906 a diminution of the average catch of steam trawlers, the main 

 source of the supply of this species. Haddock, which in 1906 

 formed one-third of all the demersal fish landed, had fallen in 1910 

 to only 23 per cent. In 1911 there was a shght recovery, mainly 

 due to the North Sea. The year 1912 was the worst recorded at 

 English and Welsh ports since the new method of collecting statistics 

 was inaugurated. This marked decline of the haddock fishery 

 extended to all the important regions with the exception of Faroe 

 and West of Scotland. The catch per day's absence for steam 

 trawlers has now fallen considerably in most regions, notably in 

 Iceland and the North Sea. Even from the Faroe grounds, which 

 report an increase, the advance is entirely due to an increased catch 

 of small haddock, the catch jumping from 9084 cwt. in 1911 to 

 37,102 in 1912. The decline in haddock was accentuated in 1913, 

 which shows the lowest total since 1904. The proportion of haddock 

 to total demersal fish has now sunk to i8-6 per cent, and the total 

 quantity landed was some 418,500 cwt. less than in 1912. The 

 falling off is nowhere more marked than in the North Sea, although 

 there is a decrease in the landings from all regions of importance, 

 with the exception of Faroe and Rockall. Generally speaking, 

 the average catch per day has decreased, the fall in the case of the 

 North Sea being 36 per cent. 



The Herring (as a type of pelagic round fish) 



Most fishermen believe that the herring performs seasonal migra- 

 tions of vast extent. The old idea was of annual migration from 

 Arctic waters southward along our east and west coasts, and this 

 was held to be the reason why the fishery is later the further south 

 one goes. It is much later, for instance, at Yarmouth than at Thurso 

 or Wick. It is improbable that the herring of Yarmouth belong 

 to the same shoals as those of Thurso or Wick, since the fish are 

 found to be spawning at widely different seasons of the year. 

 According to Pennant^, " The great winter rendezvous of the 



1 British Zoology, Vol. Ill, 4th Edition, 1776, p. 335. 



