OUE SEA FISHERIES. 247 



that the fry of herring, as well as of pilchard, are 

 largely taken and sold as sprats; the latter fish, 

 heing also taken in vast quantities by the French, 

 and packed and sold as sardines. The sardines being 

 but young pilchards, this must of course seriously 

 affect the pilchard supply. But a further damage 

 is done ; for the only bait that will tempt the sardines 

 appears to be cod roe, of which immense quantities 

 are bought from Norwegian fishermen, who carry on 

 a large trade in it, and prolific as the cod is, the 

 destruction must be considerable. 



Other nations by no means share in our apathy as 

 regards the interests of their fisheries. Witness the 

 three nights' discussion in the French Parliament of 

 matters affecting their fishings, and the expensive 

 missions sent out by the French Soei4t6 d'Acclima- 

 tation to Norway and elsewhere, as well as that of 

 Monsieur Coumes to England, to collect facts con- 

 cerning the fisheries. Witness the astuteness and 

 attention of the Dutch towards them ; and it cer- 

 tainly seems anomalous to find such little care taken 

 by us of interests of a tenfold larger extent. 



One of the worst evils which our fisheries all around 

 the coast suffer from is from small-meshed trawl-nets 

 which are allowed to trawl close inshore, where the 

 fry of all kinds of fish betake themselves for safety. 



