8 
president’s address. 
Sea States met in Stockholm on the invitation of the Swedish 
Government to draw up a programme for a hydrographical 
and biological survey of the North Sea and adjacent waters 
in the interests of the sea fisheries. A revision of the 
programme took place at Christiania in 1901, and was sub- 
sequently accepted by all the Governments represented, 
including Norway, Sweden, Russia, Finland, Germany, 
Denmark, Holland, Belgium, and Great Britain. In the 
following year an International Council was constituted with 
its headquarters at Copenhagen ; the various agencies were 
appointed for carrying out the work ; and most of the countries 
concerned had begun their part of the investigations at sea 
before the close of the same year. 
The scheme of investigation may be outlined as follows. 
The North Sea and adjacent waters which influence it, in- 
cluding the Baltic Sea, English Channel, and the Norwegian 
Sea as far west as Iceland, were divided up into districts for 
exploration by the vessels of the participating countries, on 
the general principle that each country would undertake 
those sections of the entire area which bordered upon its own 
territory. Once a quarter each vessel was to make a hydro- 
graphic cruise along predetermined lines in the months of 
February, May, August, and November, for the express 
purpose of sampling the physical and biological characters 
of the waters of each region, including the temperature and 
salinity of the water at successive depths and the nature and 
relative abundance of the floating organisms (plankton) 
present at each station. The intervals between these cruises 
were to be occupied with trawling and other investigations 
bearing primarily upon the distribution, migrations, repro- 
duction, and rate of growth of fishes, as well as upon the 
bottom fauna and flora in general. During the first three 
years the biological work was to be concentrated as far as 
possible upon the acquisition of data bearing upon the 
problems of “ over-fishing,” and of the migrations of Cod 
and Herring. 
