41 



by tens of thousands, and the cocklers, in order to make up 

 the necessary weight, took to gathering the small, half-grown 

 cockles, which process would, if permitted, exterminate the 

 fish altogether." 



And yet these years, with their abnormally low totals, are 

 included in a series of years the low average of which is 

 directly attributed to the Lancashire Sea Fisheries Committee. 



It is now necessary to give in some detail the history of 

 these beds, of the various inquiries which have been held 

 regarding them, and of the bye-laws which have been passed for 

 their protection. On the 8th May, 1878, an inquiry was held 

 at the Temperance Hall, Ulverston, by Messrs. Frank Buckland 

 and Spencer Walpole.* It was ascertained that no less than 

 2,253 tons of cockles, worth £11,000, were sent away in 1877 

 from the stations on the north side of Morecambe Bay. " In 

 addition, it is estimated that one-third of the entire take is 

 consumed in the neighbourhood. The cockles, therefore, taken 

 every year on the north side of Morecambe Bay alone must 

 weigh over 3,000 tons and be worth over £16,000. We believe 

 that we are within the mark in saying that the cockles from 

 the south side of the bay are worth more than £5,000 a year. 

 It follows, therefore, that the value of this little mollusc to the 

 Morecambe Bay fishermen cannot be less than £20,000 

 annually. Yet, from inquiries which we have made in More- 

 cambe Bay, we are unable to trace any decrease in the yield of 

 this fishery." 



At the above-mentioned Ulverston inquiry, the fishermen 

 who gave evidence were of opinion that the gulls killed a great 

 many cockles. One fisherman said that the sea-gulls have 



* Report by Frank Buckland Esq., and Spencer Walpole, Esq., In- 

 spectors of Fisheries for England and Wales and Commissioners for Sea 

 Fisheries on the Sea Fisheries of England and Wales. Eyre & Spottis- 

 woode, 1879. 



