122 TRANSACTIONS LIVERPOOL BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 
millions of ova then are no indication of abundance, but 
merely a provision against exceptionally adverse circum- 
stances: it is also, however, man’s opportunity. It gives 
him the chance of stepping in and by artificial hatching 
saving a large proportion of those that would otherwise 
be lost. This naturally leads to the subject of the 
DESTRUCTION OF IMMATURE FISH, &C. 
There can no longer be any doubt that enormous 
numbers of young edible fish—especially valuable flat-fish 
—are killed every year by shrimpers. The matter has been 
a subject of controversy in the past. Prof. M‘Intosh* has 
drawn attention to the matter; but Dr. T. Wemyss 
Fulton of the Scottish Fishery Board was the first to 
attempt to give definite numerical statements as to the 
species, sizes, numbers, &c., destroyed in the year (see 
Scot. Fish. Bd. Rep. for 1890, and ‘‘ Nature” for Nov. 
19th, 1891.), and the numbers he gave were not very great, 
e.g., one boat, in Solway, 110,000 plaice per year. But 
other investigators who have had much practical experience 
of trawling such as Mr. A. O. Walker and Mr. R. I. 
Ascroft consider that the numbers given by Dr. Fulton are 
much too low, or at any rate that destruction goes on in 
the southern part of our district to a very much greater 
extent. 
Walker quotes Ascroft (Nature, Dec. 24th, 1891), as 
saying :—‘‘ Shrimping destroys more young fish than al- 
most any otheragency. I have seen in Formby Channel 10 
cwt. of young flukes destroyed, not one the size of half-a- 
crown, by one boat, and there were sixty boats there that 
day; and he (Walker) goes on to compute that these 
boats must have been destroying about twice as many 
young fish per week as Fulton gives for a year. From 
* See especially his valuable article in ‘‘ Nature” for Aug. 28th, 1890, 
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