38 ANACANTHINI. 



you would get for a night now. My opimon of the matter is this, that as the 

 ground from Horn Reef to Langeroog, within a less depth than twelve fathoms, i» 

 a natural nursery for young brood, if the wanton destruction of it continues as it 

 has done, we shall soon find it extremely difiicult to find even a moderate supply 

 of full-grown plaice, but if stopped I have no doubt that both they and soles would 

 be more plentiful. It is to the interest and benefit of everyone in the fish trade 

 that no English trawler should be permitted to fish within the above depth." 



Mr. Mann, writing from Bournemouth to the Field, in April, 1882, observed, 

 " I have just weighed a sole of one ounce, and a turbot of four ounces which 

 were exposed for sale here. They were selected from many others of like 

 size. Sixteen pounds' weight were captured on one occasion, the largest not 

 exceeding eight ounces. The bulk were taken in long-shore nets, known as 

 ' tucks,' of small mesh, from which nothing can escape ; but this form of net 

 does not kill the fish, which ought to be at once returned to its native element." 

 Small turbots and soles are often placed in the bottom of the pads and boxes sent 

 to the London markets, but the bulk of them are sold in the towns and villages 

 along the sea coast. 



It has again and again been brought prominently to notice, especially about 

 the fishing grounds of the North Sea, that the supply of soles taken in British 

 waters is yearly decreasing as evidenced by the trawlers having to go further out 

 to sea, that an increased number of vessels capture only an amount similar to what 

 formerly were obtained by fewer boats manned with less hands, and likewise that 

 the fish supplied to the markets consists of such as are much smaller than used to 

 be the case. Mr. E. Jex, of Billingsgate, remarked (January 7th, 1882), " there 

 have been during the past year some thousands of boxes of soles in this market 

 from Yarmouth, Lowestoft and Ramsgate, while not more than one-fourth of the 

 contents of each box consisted of fish that ought to have been caught — three-fourths 

 of each box nothing but slips and tongues." 



When at Weston-super-Mare in 1879 some new trawling ground was tried, and 

 the large size and quantity of these fishes that were taken amply recompensed the 

 trawlers. But such localities are often over-fished and soon become exhausted 

 and thus quantity has to be made up by those of a smaller size. This is possibly 

 what is found to occur in most places. Thus, Mr. Dunn observes, that his 

 father was the first fisherman who employed a beam trawl in Mevagissey Bay : 

 he captured enormous numbers of fish, so much so that he kept a record, which 

 has, unfortunately, been lost. When the Plymouth trawlers first commenced 

 their operations in new localities ofi' the south-west coast (which was about the 

 time the Californian gold-fields were discovered), they termed their new grounds 

 " California," as illustrating the amount and value of their captures. 



It has been pointed out by Mr. Epton and others, that a large fleet of smacks 

 towing over the same ground will in a short time clear off the fish which are 

 there. But the main cause of the diminution in the North Sea is generally 

 asserted to be due to the numbers of undersized fish which are wantonly 

 destroyed in shallow water, or their natural brood-grounds by trawling smacks, 

 steam trawlers and shrimp catchers, more especially by smacks along the German 

 coast during the spring and summer months. 



But while it has been proposed to legislate for this state of affairs by 

 prohibiting the exposure for sale of soles under 6 inches (7 inches, Buckland) in 

 length a difficulty arises which would first have to be investigated. Thus at 

 certain seasons the " thick-backed sole," Solea variegata, which rarely exceeds 

 6i inches in length, is common in the Plymouth markets, and perhaps finds its 

 way to London; while the " little sole," Solea lutea, abounds along the south- 

 west coa,st, and is generally thrown overboard as useless, or sold as manure. Any 

 prohibition against the capture of soles under a certain size would cause taking 

 these forms to be penal. This opens up the question — what, if these small forms 

 alone are permitted to increase off the south-west coast, will be the effect on the 

 food of the Fleiironectida in general ? For should the useless forms be protected 

 and if they live on the same diet as the useful table sole, it appears as if such 

 legislation might cause more injury than benefit to the fisheries. 



