BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 369 
Tbe boys do not share in the catch. 
Mr. Jex tells me that the crews of all the Yarmouth trawlers are hired 
by the week, receiving, however, a certain partof the stock resulting from 
the sale of the fish. The weekly wages paid at the present time to the 
skipper and crew amounts in the total to £3 12s., equal to about $17.50. 
Besides this, three- twentieths of the net stock is divided among the 
crew, the skipper taking nearly half — Is. 5d . — while the rest is divided 
among the other men. This is called “ poundage,” because it is a certain 
part of each pound earned by the vessel. It should be stated that when 
the drifters (herring vessels) are at work the wages frequently are much 
larger than quoted above, for the reason that the men are sought after 
by the skippers of the herring catchers. At such time it is often neces- 
sary for the owners of trawlers to pay as much as £5 (about $25) per 
week for the skipper and crew, to keep the men. 
The Yarmouth men are “ found ” in gear and provisions, the owner 
paying all expenses. 
The skippers and men are shipped as they can be obtained, as in Yew 
England. The men often make a demand for increased pay, and, if the 
vessel is ready for sea and men scarce, they frequently succeed in oblig- 
ing the owners to pay high w^ages. 
J. Effect of Beam Trawling on the Abundance of Fish on 
Grounds frequented by British Vessels. 
Much has been said and written, pro and cow, concerning the effect 
of beam trawling upon the abundance of fish. Among practical fisher- 
men there appears to be a remarkable consensus of opinion on this 
subject. With few exceptions they believe that there has been a very 
marked diminution of fish on all the grounds ordinarily visited by 
beam-trawlers, and not a few are ready to predict almost the entire 
destruction of many species, while instances are cited of fishing grounds 
that were formerly rich fields for trawling, now being so poor that they 
are seldom visited. It is a somewhat remarkable fact that the first 
notice obtainable of the use of trawls, the petition to Parliament in 
1376-77, quoted on page four of this report, speaks of the destruction 
of immature fish and the consequent evil effect on the fisheries liable 
to result from the use of such apparatus. The same thing has been re- 
peatedly brought to the notice of the British Government, and a great 
mass of evidence has been submitted to establish this point, and urged 
as a reason for putting restrictions upon beam-trawl fishing. The an- 
nual report of the London Fish Trade Association for 1883 calls atten- 
tion to the report of the fish-supply committee, dated August and 
November, 1881, and which, among other matter, contains the follow- 
ing : 
“The first point which struck us, and upon which undoubted stress 
should be laid, is the destruction of spawn and small fish, and the tak- 
ing of immature fish. The evidence proves conclusively that large 
Bull. U. S. F. C., 87— — 24 
