250 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



the quantity and consumption of fish taken from the North Sea 

 and neighbourhood are in proper proportion to the production 

 occurring under the prevailing natural conditions, and whether 

 any disproportion between production and consumption arises 

 from a local over-fishing, or from an injudicious employment of 

 the fishing apparatus at present in use," is one which, if it were 

 possible, would have taken many workers to accomplish. How- 

 ever that may be, the observers also chose to include the syste- 

 matic exploration of the small flat-fish grounds, an inquiry which 

 would naturally fall under the first head already mentioned. It 

 is evident that considerable ambiguity existed as to the nature of 

 the task, since mention is made of the " publication of annual 

 results," of " discoveries of practical importance to the fisheries," 

 and of " recommendations for international action " — all excellent 

 in their way, provided the field had been a tabula rasa — that is, 

 that others had not previously searched the sea. 



From the beginning of the arrangements for the international 

 exploration of the sea one department placed itself in the front — 

 viz. the hydrographical — and this probably was due to the in- 

 fluence of those associated with the origin of the scheme. No 

 one will deny that, if hydrography could solve the complex 

 problems which exist, or are supposed to exist, in connection 

 with the ever-varying captures of sea-fishes, with their distribu- 

 tion, and their daily or seasonal movements, a great gain to our 

 knowledge would result ; but a perusal of the publications of the 

 International Council up to date shows that this is yet far distant, 

 no reference, indeed, to fisheries' problems occurring in some of 

 these long reports. 



Those of us who have watched the hydrographical efforts 

 since 1872 — when the German ship ' Pommerania ' included 

 these in her work in the North Sea ; who have endeavoured, on 

 the spot, to connect temperatures of the sea at surface and 

 bottom with the captures of fishes ; who have studied those of 

 the Scotch Board in the eastern and western waters of North 

 Britain ; and who have personally been interested in the Scotch 

 Board's international survey of the North Sea, in conjunction 

 with the Swedish, German, Norwegian, and Danish Govern- 

 ments in 1893-94, have, however, reason to maintain reserve on 

 this head in connection with the sea-fisheries. The consideration 



