272 BRITISH FISHERIES 



young fry ; and yet nothing is more certain than 

 that, in many cases, this apparent necessity does 

 not exist. "^ 



In some form or another this subject has almost 

 continually been discussed since fisheries adminis- 

 tration became a public duty. It has constantly 

 been maintained in many quarters that the destruc- 

 tion of immature fishes was a great evil, and 

 nothing has been a more fertile subject of dis- 

 cussion and legislation. Long before modern 

 administration began, complaints that the capture of 

 fry was damaging the fish-supply were commonly 

 made, and, in many cases, led to regulations. The 

 matter was one of the subjects for inquiry which 

 were referred to the Royal Commission of 1863, 

 and again to the Commission of 1878. Each of 

 these bodies came to the conclusion that the harm 

 done to the fisheries had been greatly exaggerated, 

 and they deprecated any legislation which pro- 

 posed to minimise or restrict the practice. It was 

 not until the great expansion of the sea-fishing 

 industry in the interval between 1885 and 1893 

 (when the conditions under which fishing was 

 carried on had changed greatly), that there was a 

 general consensus of opinion as to the harmful 

 effects of the capture of young fish. An un- 

 doubted diminution in the supply of certain kinds 

 of sea-fish had taken place, and it became very evi- 

 dent that this was due, partly at least, to the increas- 



1 Royal Commission on Sea-Fisheries of 1863 : Report. 



