^48 THE SEA FISHERIES 



specially detailed off for the work Thi-^ m^+T,,.^ +t, 1. • 



the study of overfishing, or the depletion of the fishing S 

 owing o the efforts of man. the method of analysing rSLKm 

 mercial statistics is infinitely preferable to studying the re uls^i 

 haus taken from a single vessel, no matter how ffequ nt y hose 



T Jr^wf '^°'^' ^'T *^' ^^"'^^"^" ^t^ti^tics that from 1897 to 

 1903. both years mclusive. there was a steady progression both in 



t^ ^r .r^ ''^^"' °* '^' '*^^°^ *^^^^^^« ^^g^g-d in fishing, 

 and also m the quantity and value of fish landed. The percentage 

 return on capital invested in the trawlers diminished from og per 

 cent m 1897 to 63-3 per cent in 1903. During this period. 1897-1903 

 there was an enormous development of the trawling industry at 

 Aberdeen, the number of boats increased 258 per cent, while the 

 capital mvested increased by 370 per cent. The quantity of fish 

 landed mcreased by 275 per cent, its value by 238 per cent. At 

 the same time the earnings of the trawlers did not keep pace with 

 the increase of capital. In 1898 the high-water mark was reached, 

 since when there has been a diminution of 43 per cent. Had the 

 earnings and capital advanced in an equal ratio, the value of fish 

 landed in 1903 would have been £990,023, instead of the actua][ 

 return of £637,551. Until 1903 there was a growth in the weight 

 of fish caught per voyage, and till 1901 a corresponding increase m 

 value, though the duration of the voyage had in the meanwhile 

 advanced from an average of 3-9 days in 1897 to 6-8 days m 1903. 

 This lengthening of the voyage is necessitated by the increasing 

 scarcity of fish in the home waters. 



The expense of voyages to the more distant fishing grounds is 

 considerable. Steam trawlers burn from 6 to 8 tons of coal per 

 day ; the annual consumption per vessel running to between 

 1500 and 2000 tons or more, and as the coal is mainly consumed 

 in steaming to and from the grounds, compared with the quantity 

 used in actual trawling, except in deep water, it is evident for this 

 reason alone that fishing at the distant grounds must be expensive. 

 Larger and more valuable catches must therefore be made to render 

 the voyage profitable. There is little exact information to show 

 the difference in the catches on the various grounds, but the follow- 



