204 



WHERE ARE THE HADDOCKS ? 



In reference to the question, " Where are the haddocks ?" 

 asked on another page, it is right to say that this prime fish 

 has more than once become scarce. I have been reminded of 

 a time, in 1790, when three of these fish were sold for 7s. 6d. 

 in the Edinburgh market ; but although there have been from 

 time to time sudden disappearances of the haddock from parti- 

 cular fishing-grounds, as indeed there have been of all fish, that 

 is a diflferent, a totally different matter from what the fisher folk 

 and the public have now to complain of — ^viz. a yearly decreasing 

 supply. I once took part in a newspaper controversy about the 

 scarcity of the haddock, and I found plenty of opponents ready 

 to maintain that there was no scarcity, but that any quantity 



^#^^^ 



5^ Vi, 



THE GADIDiE FAMILY. 



could be captured. In some degree that is the truth, but what 

 is the hook-power required now to capture " any quantity," and 

 how long does it take to obtain a given number as compared 

 with former times, when that fish was supposed to be mora 

 plentiful 1 Why do we require, for instance, to send to Norway 

 and other distant places for haddocks and other white fish ? The 

 only answer I can imagine is that we cannot get enough at 

 home. As to the general scarcity of white fish, the late Mr. 



