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Part III. — Ninth Anmcal Report 
SECTION 0.— CONTEMPORARY WORK. 
AN ACCOUNT OF CONTEMPORARY SCIENTIFIC FISHERY 
WORK AND FISHERIES IN THIS AND OTHER COUN- 
TRIES. By Dr T. Wemyss Fulton, F.R.S.E., Secretary for 
Scientific Investigations. 
In the following pages I have brought together and summarised the 
information available as to the present condition of the sea fisheries in 
most of the countries of the world which possess sea fisheries and fishery 
departments, and the various means being employed for their conserva- 
tion and improvement. This has been possible only by the generous co- 
operation of those engaged in fishery work in this country and abroad, 
and the present account is, I believe, the most complete ever published. 
The chief points brought out in this comparative study of contemporary 
fislieries are : — 
1. A general complaint of the depopulation of territorial and inshore 
waters from over-fishing. This complaint is made in all the 
States whose territories border the North Sea, namely, Norway, 
Denmark, Germany, Holland, Belgium, and France. The sta- 
tistics of the English North Sea fisheries also show a great and 
almost continuous decline in prime fish. 
The measures proposed or adopted to meet this diminution are (1) the 
total or partial prohibition of certain modes of fishing deemed 
injurious ; (2) the enforcement of close times ; (3) prohibition 
of the capture, landing, or sale of immature fish; (4) pro- 
tection of spawning grounds ; (5) the destruction of the enemies 
of the food fishes, as seals, porpoises, &c., in certain continental 
fisheries ; (6) the establishment of hatcheries on the coast for 
sea fish and edible shell fish. 
Examples of all these may be found below. Regulations regarding 
immature fish exist in Denmark, France, and Italy; similar 
regulations are proposed in Belgium and Holland. Sea fish 
hatcheries exist in the United States, Newfoundland, Canada, 
and Norway, and it is proposed to establish them in Belgium 
and France. In Newfoundland last season 400,000,000 young 
lobsters and 17,000,000 young cod were hatched and planted 
on the fishing grounds ; this season 192,500,000 young cod were 
hatched in Norway and planted in the inshore waters. 
2. The extension and organisation of scientific investigations in con- 
nection with fisheries. During last year vesssels have been en- 
gaged in making explorations of the fishing grounds by the 
Governments of Germany, Denmark, Russia, Sweden, Italy, and 
the United States. An expedition is at present engaged in 
similar work off the west coast of Ireland, and the Belgian 
authorities propose to equip their fishery cruiser in order to 
undertake work like that done by the * Garland.' A number 
