296 BRITISH FISHERIES 



planned" fishery investigations, to obtain 

 much more information than we at present 

 possess : information which would certainly 

 show with great probability whether or not 

 such legislative restrictions were likely to 

 be beneficial — 

 then it is better, on the whole, to press for investi- 

 gation on a much more adequate scale than has 

 hitherto been contemplated, before recommending 

 any drastic change in the fishery laws. 



The Sea-Fisheries Bill o/" 1904 



I may bring the discussion of this portion of our 

 subject up to date by referring briefly to the fate 

 of this measure. It will be remembered that the 

 Select Committee of the House of Commons 

 which considered the Fisheries Bill of 1900 came 

 to the conclusion that, largely because of the lack 

 of information of a statistical nature, it was not 

 advisable to pass the Bill into law. They recom- 

 mended that no effort should be spared to secure 

 international treatment of the subject of the de- 

 struction of immature fish in the North Sea ; and 

 that the Government Department of Fisheries 

 should be adequately equipped for the investigation 

 of the question. In the interval between the 

 discussion of the two measures much was done. 

 The control of the fishing industry was transferred 

 from the Board of Trade to the Board of Agricul- 

 ture, and the Department became better organised. 



