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Part III. — Tenth Annual Report 
drawback, and that actual fishing operations should be carried on by a 
steam-vessel, as is done on board the 1 Garland.' 
We have received the Keport of the Fifth Annual Conference of the 
Society for the Promotion of Dutch Fisheries, which was held at 
Scheveningen in May last year.* A number of fishery matters were 
discussed. The propriety of regulations, with the view of preventing the 
destruction of immature lish, and of such regulations being made interna- 
tional, was debated. It was pointed out that in conformity with the 
resolution proposed by Dr Hoek at the London Conference, investigations 
were being made into the causes of the falling-off in the supply of flat-fish 
in the North Sea, and no agreement was come to on the question ; but it 
was proposed and carried that the mesh of the nets used for plaice fishing 
should be not less than 9 centimetres from December to 1st April, and 
during the rest of the year not less than 6 centimetres. 
In a Special Report Mr C. J. Bottemanne, the Superintendent, gives 
an account of the fisheries in the Schelde and Zeeuwsche rivers in 1890. f 
These fisheries are varied and valuable, comprising flat-fish, herrings, eels, 
anchovies, smelts, oysters, mussels, shrimps, &c. The catch of shrimps 
was about 1,500,000 kilos. ; oysters yielded 4,420,158 kilos. ; and mussels 
884,584 kilos. 
Dr P. P. C. Hoek has published in English a translation of a chapter of 
a Report submitted to the Dutch Board of Fisheries in 1889, dealing with 
the fishes of the Zuider Zee. % It treats of twenty-four species of fish, and 
especially of immature flat-fish and their differential diagnosis, and of the 
smelt and herring. A chart of the Zuider Zee, and figures of various larval 
fishes, are given. 
XI. SPAIN. 
By Mr W. Anderson Smith. 
One of the most important papers in the Revista de Pesca Maritima 
for 1891 is that on 'The Regulation of Fisheries,' by Dr Juan Vilar6 
Diaz, of the Fishery Commission of Havana. He discusses the pro- 
posed Act of 13th July 1890, § having reference to 'the shellfish and 
' crustaceans of the litoral of the Apostadera which are of value for food 
4 or industrial purposes, and consequently deserve to have a close time 
' established for their fishery, that their production may be protected.' 
He discusses the meaning of the unscientific terms employed, and wonders 
whether they can be made to include marine turtles. He remarks that 
besides their own univalves employed as food (Cobos, Siguas, &c), they 
import from Spain and the Canaries a quantity of live Caracoles — Helix 
lactea, Miiller, vulgarly Caracot moro — for culinary use. It is distin- 
guished by its black mouth from the Caracol de Monte or Serrano — 
H. alonensis, according to Perez Areas — which is whitish, barred with 
black. It is also imported for consumption by 'Peninsulars.' He 
acknowledges the difficulty of dealing with such species as the Lobster 
(Langosta), which carries eggs during ten months of the year, and when 
it is in best condition. He holds : — 1st, That the period of reproduction 
* Verslag van de Vijfde Jaarlijksche Algemeene Vergadering van de Verceniging ter 
bevordering van de Nederlandsche Visscherij, 1891. 
t Verslag omtrent den toestand der Visscherijen in de Schelde en Zeeuwsche Stroomen 
in 1890. Tholen, 1891. 
X Overgedrukt uit het Tijdschrift der Nederlandsche DierTcundige Verceniging (2) 
Hi. Afl 1, 1890. 
§ Since withdrawn. 
