SEA-FISHERIES LABORATORY. 179 



Report by Mr. K. A. Dawson, Superintendent Lancashire 



and Western Sea Fisheries, on the Mussel Beds 



of the District with regard to danger of pollution 



by sewage. 



" At the last meeting of the General Purposes 



Committee, held on the 14th August, I was instructed to 



lay before the Committee, at the next meeting, a list of 



Mussel beds, in my opinion, contaminated by sewage. 



Together with Dr. Sergeant (the Medical Officer of Health 



for the County of Lancaster), Mr. Halliwell (Chief 



Inspector of the Eibble Watershed), Mr. Scott (the 



Resident Scientist at Piel), and others, I visited and 



inspected the sewage outfalls in Barrow Channel, Ulverston, 



Morecambe, and Heysham, and the Mussel Beds in the 



Lune. I have also inspected the different sewer outlets in 



other parts of the District likely to cause contamination 



to Mussels. 



The sewage from Barrow and Dalton is discharged into 

 Barrow Channel in great volume, and has the appearance 

 of being untreated. This sewage joins the stream in the 

 Barrow Channel, and together they flow over the different 

 grounds where Mussels are found. On the day we were 

 there, the sewage was being discharged as late as low water. 

 I may remark that, although some Mussels are taken 

 from here for human food, the bulk are only used for bait ; 

 Periwinkles, however, are taken in large numbers, and 

 London seems to be the chief Market for them. The sewage 

 from Piel also flows into the Barrow Channel. 



At Ulverston, although some treatment is attempted, 

 the effluent appeared to me to be very dirty. This 

 discharge joins the main stream at the west end of the 

 Slag Bank, about a mile above a Mussel scar ; they flow on 

 together round the edge of the Mussel scar at low water 



