Chapter IX: Part 9

+-------------------------+---------------------+---------------------+----------+
| | Trawl and Line. |Drift and Stake-nets.|Shellfish.|
| Fishery. +----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+
| |Thousands |Thousands |Thousands |Thousands |Thousands |
| | of cwt. | of L. | of cwt. | of L. | of L. |
+-------------------------+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+
|England and Wales, 1905--| | | | | |
| East Coast | 6017 | 4713 | 3042 | 1145 | 202 |
| South Coast | 303 | 245 | 728 | 268 | 64 |
| West Coast | 1002 | 720 | 219 | 111 | 36 |
|Scotland, 1906-- | | | | | |
| East Coast | 2296 | 1202 | 2709 | 819 | 25 |
| Orkney and Shetland | 114 | 42 | 1735 | 642 | 10 |
| West Coast | 148 | 62 | 591 | 210 | 38 |
|Ireland, 1905-- | | | | | |
| North Coast | 9 | 5 | 177 | 70 | 7 |
| East Coast | 79 | 70 | 110 | 32 | 18 |
| South and West Coast | 46 | 35 | 577 | 148 | 28 |
+-------------------------+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+

In Ireland the mackerel and herring fisheries provide nearly three-quarters of the total yield, the mackerel forming the chief item in the south and west, and the herring on the north and east coasts. The remaining quarter is mainly derived from the trawl fisheries, the headquarters of which are at Dublin, Howth and Balbriggan on the east, and at Galway and Dingle on the west coast.

The value of the fishing boats and gear employed in the Scottish fisheries during 1905 is returned as nearly L4,120,000. Upon a moderate estimate, the total value of the boats and gear employed in the fisheries of Great Britain and Ireland cannot be less than L12,000,000.

The relative yield and value of the various fisheries on the separate coasts of the British Isles is illustrated in the table of landings from the latest data available.

From these figures it is manifest that the yield and value of the east coast fisheries of England and Scotland preponderate enormously over those of the western coasts, whether attention be paid to the drift-net fisheries for surface fish or to the fisheries for bottom fish with trawls and lines.

The preceding statistics and remarks, as well as the supplementary tables at the end of this article, indicate that the British fishing industry has enjoyed a period of unexampled prosperity. The community at large has benefited by the more plentiful supply, and the merchant by the general lowering of prices at the ports of landing (see Tables I.-IV. at end). But it is to be noted that this wave of prosperity, as on previous occasions, has been attained by the application of increased and more powerful means of capture and by the exploitation of new fishing grounds in distant waters, and not by any increase, natural or artificial, in the productivity of the home waters,--unless perhaps the abundance of herrings is to be ascribed to the destruction of their enemies by trawling. British fisheries are still pursued as a form of hunting rather than of husbandry. In 1892 the Iceland and Bay of Biscay trawling banks were discovered, in 1898 the Faroe banks, in 1905 rich plaice grounds in the White Sea. In 1905 one-half of the cod and a quarter of the haddock and plaice landed at east coast ports of England were caught in waters beyond the North Sea.

_Table showing, in Thousands of Cwt., the Quantity of Fish landed by Steam Trawlers on the East Coast of England from Fishing Grounds within and beyond the North Sea respectively._

+-----+--------------------------------+--------------------------------+
| | Within the North Sea. | Beyond the North Sea. |
|Year.+----+--------+-------+----------+----+--------+-------+----------+
| |Cod.|Haddock.|Plaice.|All Kinds.|Cod.|Haddock.|Plaice.|All Kinds.|
+-----+----+--------+-------+----------+----+--------+-------+----------+
| 1903| 729| 2301 | 812 | 4776 | 470| 389 | 114 | 1189 |
| 1904| 637| 2032 | 658 | 4228 | 447| 429 | 284 | 1389 |
| 1905| 640| 1560 | 621 | 3739 | 603| 518 | 244 | 1682 |
+-----+----+--------+-------+----------+----+--------+-------+----------+

The statistics of the English Board of Agriculture and Fisheries have distinguished since 1903 between the catch of fish within and beyond the North Sea, and between the catch of trawlers and liners. Neglecting the catch of the liners as relatively insignificant, and of the sailing trawlers as relatively small and practically constant during the three years in question, we see from the board's figures (see table above) that the total catch of English steam trawlers within the North Sea during 1904 and 1905 was in each year 500,000 cwt. less than in the year before, amounting to a gross decrease of more than 25% in 1905 as compared with 1903, and, in relation to the catching power employed, to an average decrease of 2-1/2 cwt. per boat per diem. This decrease may be largely explained by the occurrence in 1903 of one of those periodic "floods" of small cod and haddock which take place in the North Sea from time to time; but the steady decline in the number of North Sea voyages by English steam trawlers--from 29,300 in 1903 to 26,700 in 1905--affords a clear indication of the fact that many of our trawling skippers are deserting the North Sea for more profitable fishing grounds. The number of Scottish steam trawlers "employed" at Scottish North Sea ports has also declined during the same period from 240 in 1903 to 228 in 1905.

The following table shows the number of British and foreign steam trawlers registered at North Sea ports, and for English vessels the number of fishing voyages made within and beyond the North Sea respectively:--

+-----+-----------+-----------------------+---------+-----------+
| | |English Steam Trawlers.| | |
| | | Voyages.[4] | | German, |
|Year.| Boats +-----------+-----------+Scottish.| Dutch and |
| |Registered.| Within | Beyond |Employed.| Belgian. |
| | | North Sea.| North Sea.| |Registered.|
+-----+-----------+-----------+-----------+---------+-----------+
| 1903| 1060 | 29,328 | 1822 | 240 | 181 |
| 1904| 1049 | 28,589 | 2120 | 233 | 199 |
| 1905| 1064 | 26,670 | 2671 | 228 | 228 |
+-----+-----------+-----------+-----------+---------+-----------+

Unfortunately the North Sea gains no rest from this withdrawal of British trawlers, since the place of the latter is filled year after year by increasing numbers of continental fishing boats. The number of fishing steamers (practically all trawlers) registered at North Sea ports in Germany and Holland was 159 in 1903, 177 in 1904, 205 in 1905, and 330 in 1907.

It is satisfactory under these circumstances to note the increased attention which has been paid in recent years to the acquisition of more exact knowledge upon the actual state of the fisheries and upon the biological and other factors which influence the supply.

A comprehensive programme of co-operative investigations, both scientific and statistical, was put into execution in the course of 1902 under the International Council for the Study of the Sea (see below). The Fishery Board for Scotland and the Marine Biological Association for England were commissioned to carry out the work at sea allotted to Great Britain, and the English fishery department was equipped soon afterwards with the means for collecting more adequate statistics.

Trawling investigations and the quantitative collection of fish eggs have located important spawning grounds of cod, haddock, plaice, sole, eel, &c.; marking experiments with cod, plaice and eel have thrown much light upon the migrations of these fishes; and the rate of growth of plaice, cod and herring has been elucidated in different localities. The percentage of marked plaice annually recaptured in the North Sea has been found to be remarkably high (from 25 to 50 %), and throws a significant light on the intensity of fishing under modern conditions. It seems probable that the impoverishment of the stock of plaice on the central grounds of the North Sea is mainly attributable to the excessive rate of capture of plaice during their annual off-shore migrations from the coast. On the other hand, it has been shown that the growth-rate of plaice on the Dogger Bank is constantly and markedly greater (five- or six-fold in weight) than on the coastal grounds where these fish are reared,--facts which open up the possibility of increasing the permanent supply of plaice from the North Sea by the adoption of some plan of commercial transplantation (see PISCICULTURE).

_History._--A brief review may now be given of the history of the administration of British sea-fisheries since 1860, and of the steps which have been taken for the attainment of scientific and statistical information in relation thereto.

In 1860 a royal commission, consisting of Professor Huxley, Mr (afterwards Sir) John Caird, and Mr G. Shaw-Lefevre (afterwards Lord Eversley), was appointed to inquire into the condition of the British sea-fisheries, the harmfulness or otherwise of existing methods of fishing, and the necessity or otherwise of the existing legislation. The important report of this commission, issued in 1866, embodied the following main conclusions and recommendations:--(1) the total supply of fish obtained upon the British coasts is increasing and admits of further augmentation; (2) beam-trawling in the open sea is not a wastefully destructive mode of fishing; (3) all acts of parliament which profess to regulate or restrict the modes of fishing pursued in the open sea should be repealed and "unrestricted freedom of fishing be permitted hereafter"; (4) all fishing boats should be lettered and numbered as a condition of registration and licence.

In 1868 full effect was given to these recommendations by the passing of the Sea Fisheries Act. Regulations for the registration of fishing boats were issued by order in council in the following year. (New regulations were introduced in 1902.)

In 1878 a commission was given to Messrs Buckland and Walpole to inquire into the alleged destruction of the spawn and fry of sea fish, especially by the use of the beam-trawl and ground seine. Their report is an excellent summary of the condition of the sea fisheries at the time, and shows how little was then known with regard to the eggs and spawning habits of our marine food fishes.

In 1882 the former Board of British White Herring was dissolved and the Fishery Board for Scotland instituted, the latter being empowered to take such measures for the improvement of the fisheries as the funds under their administration might admit of. Arrangements were made in the following year with Professor M'Intosh of St Andrews which enabled the latter to fit up a small marine laboratory and to begin a series of studies on the eggs and larvae of sea fishes, which have contributed greatly to the development of more exact knowledge concerning the reproduction of fishes. Under the Sea Fisheries (Scotland) Amendment Act of 1885 the board closed the Firth of Forth and St Andrews Bay against trawlers as an experiment for the purpose of ascertaining the result of such prohibition on the supply of fish on the grounds so protected. The treasury also, by a further grant of L3000, enabled the board to purchase the steam-yacht "Garland" as a means of carrying out regular experimental trawlings over the protected grounds. Reports on the results of these experiments have been annually published, and were summarized at the end of ten years' closure in the board's report for 1895. Dr Fulton's summary showed that "no very marked change took place in the abundance of food-fishes generally, either in the closed or open waters of the Firth of Forth or St Andrews Bay," as a consequence of the prohibition of trawling. Nevertheless, among flat fishes, plaice and lemon soles, which spawn off-shore, were reported to have decreased in numbers in all the areas investigated, whether closed or open, while dabs and long rough dabs showed a preponderating, if not quite universal, increase.

The results of this classical experiment point strongly to the presumptions (1) that trawling operations in the open sea have now exceeded the point at which their effect on the supply of eggs and fry for the upkeep of the flat fisheries is inappreciable; and (2) that protection of in-shore areas alone is insufficient to check the impoverishment caused by over-fishing off-shore. (For critical examinations of Dr Fulton's account see M'Intosh, _Resources of the Sea_, London, 1889; Garstang, "The Impoverishment of the Sea," _Journ. Mar. Biol. Ass._ vol. vi., 1900; and Archer, _Report of Ichthyological Committee_, Cd. 1312, 1902.)

A laboratory and sea-fish hatchery were subsequently established by the board at Dunbar in 1893, but removed to Aberdeen in 1900.

In 1883 a royal commission, under the chairmanship of the late earl of Dalhousie, was appointed to inquire into complaints against the practice of beam-trawling on the part of line and drift-net fishermen. A small sum of money (L200) was granted to the commission for the purpose of scientific trawling experiments, which were carried out by Professor M'Intosh.

The report of this commission was an important one, and its recommendations resulted in the institution of fishery statistics for England, Scotland and Ireland (1885-1887).

In 1884 the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom was founded for the scientific study of marine zoology and botany, especially as bearing upon the food, habits and life-conditions of British food-fishes, crustacea and molluscs. Professor Huxley was its first president, and Professor Ray Lankester, who initiated the movement, succeeded him. A large and well-equipped laboratory was erected at Plymouth, and formally opened for work in 1888. The work of the association has been maintained by annual grants of L400 from the Fishmongers' Company and L1000 from H. M. treasury, and by the subscriptions of the members. The association publishes a half-yearly journal recording the results of its investigations.

In 1886 a fishery department of the Board of Trade was organized under the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Act of that year. The department publishes annually a return of statistics of sea-fish landed, a report on salmon fisheries (transferred from the home office), and a report on sea fisheries. It consists of several inspectors under an assistant secretary of the board; it has no power to make scientific investigations or bye-laws and regulations affecting the sea-fisheries. In 1894 the administration of the acts relating to the registration of fishing vessels, &c., was transferred to the fisheries department.

In 1888 the Sea Fisheries Regulation Act provided for the constitution (by provisional order of the Board of Trade) of local fisheries committees having, within defined limits, powers for the regulation of coast fisheries in England and Wales. The powers of district committees were extended under Part II. of the Fisheries Act 1891, and again under the Fisheries (Shell Fish) Regulation Act 1894. Sea-fisheries districts have now been created round nearly the whole coast of England and Wales. Under bye-laws of these committees steam-trawling has been prohibited in nearly all the territorial waters of England and Wales, and trawling by smaller boats has been placed under a variety of restrictions. Local scientific investigations have been initiated under several of the committees, especially in Lancashire by Professor Herdman of Liverpool and his assistants.

In 1890 an important survey of the fishing grounds off the west coast of Ireland was undertaken by the Royal Dublin Society, with assistance from the government, and in the hands of Mr E.W.L. Holt led to the acquisition of much valuable information concerning the spawning habits of fishes and the distribution of fish on the Atlantic seaboard.

In 1892, under powers conferred by the Herring Fishery (Scotland) Act of 1889, the Fishery Board for Scotland closed the whole of the Moray Firth--including a large tract of extra-territorial waters--against trawling, in order to test experimentally the effect of protecting certain spawning grounds in the outer parts of the firth. The closure has given rise to a succession of protests from the leaders of the trawling industry in Aberdeen and England. It seems that the difficulty of policing so large an area, as well as the absence of any power to enforce the restriction on foreign vessels, have defeated the original intention; and the bye-law appears to be now retained mainly in deference to the wishes of the local line-fishermen, the decadence of whose industry--from economic causes which have been alluded to above--is manifest from the figures in Table X. below. The controversy has had the effect of causing the transference of a number of English trawlers to foreign flags, especially the Norwegian.

_Statistics._--The following tables summarize the official statistics
of fish landed on the coasts of England and Wales, Scotland and
Ireland, and give some information relative to the numbers of
fishing-boats and fishermen in the three countries.

TABLE I.--_Summary of Statistics of Fish landed, imported and exported
for the United Kingdom._

+------+-------------------------+-----------+-------------+
| Year.| Fish landed | Net | Exports of |
| | (excluding Shell-fish). | Imports. |British Fish.|
|------+------------+------------+-----------+-------------+
| | Cwt. | | | |
| 1890 | 12,774,010 | L6,361,487 |L2,315,572 | L1,795,267 |
| 1895 | 14,068,641 | 7,168,025 | 2,453,676 | 2,282,406 |
| 1900 | 14,671,070 | 9,242,491 | 2,937,486 | 3,000,852 |
| 1905 | 20,164,276 | 10,210,369 | 2,250,259 | 4,164,869 |
+------+------------+------------+-----------+-------------+

_Note._--Imported fish afterwards re-exported (consisting chiefly of
salted or cured fish to the value of over L900,000 in 1905) are not
included in the above values of imports and exports. The exports
consist mainly of herrings.

TABLE II.--_Quantity and Average Landing Value of Flat Fishes landed
on the Coasts of England and Wales (all caught with Trawl-nets, except
Halibut in part)._

+-----+-------------------------------------+-------------------------------------+
| | Quantity | Average Price (per Cwt.). |
|Year.| (in Thousands of Cwt.). | |
| +-----+-------+------+-------+--------+-----+-------+------+-------+--------+
| |Sole.|Turbot.|Brill.|Plaice.|Halibut.|Sole.|Turbot.|Brill.|Plaice.|Halibut.|
+-----+-----+-------+------+-------+--------+-----+-------+------+-------+--------+
| | | | | | |L s. | L s. | L s. | L s. | L s. |
| 1890| 72.1| 51.9 | 15.4 | 623 | 95 |6 7 | 3 13 | 2 8 | 0 19 | 1 10 |
| 1895| 82.8| 77.9 | 19.0 | 789 | 114 |6 16 | 3 17 | 2 11 | 1 1 | 1 15 |
| 1900| 75.3| 60.7 | 20.7 | 752 | 136 |7 11 | 4 3 | 2 14 | 1 4 | 1 14 |
| 1905| 80.1| 89.5 | 22.4 | 1074 | 120 |5 18 | 3 11 | 2 11 | 0 19 | 1 17 |
+-----+-----+-------+------+-------+--------+-----+-------+------+-------+--------+

TABLE III.--_Quantity and Average Landing Value of Round Fishes,
caught with Trawls and Lines, landed on the Coasts of England and
Wales._

+-----+-----------------------------------+--------------------------------------+
| | Quantity | Average Price (per Cwt.). |
|Year.| (in Thousands of Cwt.). | |
| +----+--------+-----+-----+---------+-----+--------+------+------+---------+
| |Cod.|Haddock.|Hake.|Ling.|Sundries.| Cod.|Haddock.| Hake.| Ling.|Sundries.|
+-----+----+--------+-----+-----+---------+-----+--------+------+------+---------+
| | | | | | |s. d.| s. d. | s. d.| s. d.| s. d. |
| 1890| 363| 1585 | .. | 96 | 1151 |13 10| 9 7 | .. | 14 3| 14 0 |
| 1895| 496| 2433 | 132 | 114 | 1013 |12 5| 9 9 | 16 2| 11 8| 13 7 |
| 1900| 589| 2487 | 233 | 100 | 1190 |14 8| 13 8 | 15 10| 12 10| 14 10 |
| 1905|1423| 2148 | 484 | 165 | 1425 |12 4| 12 5 | 13 4| 11 3| 9 8 |
+-----+----+--------+-----+-----+---------+-----+--------+------+------+---------+

TABLE IV.--_Quantity and Average Landing Value of Surface Fishes
landed on the Coasts of England and Wales (caught with Drift-, Seine-,
and Stow-nets)._

+-----+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| | Quantity | Average Price (per Cwt.). |
|Year.| (in Thousands of Cwt.). | |
| +---------+--------+---------+------+---------+--------+---------+------+
| |Mackerel.|Herring.|Pilchard.|Sprat.|Mackerel.|Herring.|Pilchard.|Sprat.|
+-----+---------+--------+---------+------+---------+--------+---------+------+
| | | | | | s. d. | s. d. | s. d. | s. d.|
| 1890| 509 | 1332 | 61 | 99 | 15 5 | 7 2 | 5 10 | 3 0 |
| 1895| 375 | 1437 | 65 | 91 | 16 3 | 5 10 | 5 3 | 3 1 |
| 1900| 321 | 2425 | 106 | 73 | 15 9 | 7 8 | 4 6 | 4 11 |
| 1905| 682 | 3062 | 169 | 75 | 8 11 | 7 7 | 5 0 | 3 6 |
+-----+---------+--------+---------+------+---------+--------+---------+------+

TABLE V.--_Quantity and Average Landing Value of Shell-fish landed on
the Coasts of England and Wales._

+-----+-----------------------------------+-----------------------------------+
| | Number. | Average Price. |
| +----------------+--------+---------+-------------------------+---------+
|Year.| Thousands. | Mills. |Thousands| Per Hundred. | Per Cwt.|
| | | | of Cwt. | | |
| +----------------+--------+---------+------+---------+--------+---------+
| |Crabs.|Lobsters.|Oysters.|Sundries.|Crabs.|Lobsters.|Oysters.|Sundries.|
+-----+----------------+--------+---------+------+---------+--------+---------+
| | | | | | L. s.| L. s. | s. d. | s. d. |
|1890 | 4808 | 922 | 47.6 | 505 | 1 4 | 4 18 | 6 1 | 5 0 |
|1895 | 4501 | 677 | 25.3 | 590 | 1 4 | 4 8 | 6 2 | 4 11 |
|1900 | 5177 | 654 | 37.8 | 539 | 1 2 | 4 7 | 7 0 | 5 8 |
|1905 | 5106 | 503 | 35.4 | 423 | 1 3 | 4 15 | 5 9 | 5 6 |
+-----+----------------+--------+---------+------+---------+--------+---------+

TABLE VI.--_Total Quantity of the more important Fishes and Shell-fish
landed in Scotland._

+-----+----------------------------------------------------------------------+--------+-------------------------+
| | In Thousands of Cwt. | Cwt. | Number |
| | | | (Thousands). |
|Year.+--------+-----+----------+--------+----+-----+--------+--------+------+--------+------+---------+--------+
| | | | Flounder,| | | | | | | | | | |
| |Herring.|Lemon| Plaice, |Halibut.|Cod.|Ling.|Haddock.|Whiting.|Skate.|Mussels.|Crabs.|Lobsters.|Oysters.|
| | |Sole.|and Brill.| | | | | | | | | | |
+-----+--------+-----+----------+--------+----+-----+--------+--------+------+--------+------+---------+--------+
| 1890| 3980 | 17 | 81 | 20 | 449| 170 | 754 | 75 | 54 | 181 | 2882 | 643 | 350 |
| 1895| 4077 | 19 | 80 | 29 | 459| 165 | 1001 | 43 | 59 | 194 | 2548 | 610 | 239 |
| 1900| 3520 | 21 | 102 | 26 | 434| 157 | 761 | 75 | 72 | 143 | 3128 | 680 | 796 |
| 1905| 5343 | 31 | 561 | 36 | 677| 151 | 932 | 184 | 100 | 103 | 1990 | 760 | 218 |
+-----+--------+-----+----------+--------+----+-----+--------+--------+------+--------+------+---------+--------+

TABLE VII.--_Total Quantity of the more important Fishes and
Shell-fish returned as landed on the Irish Coasts._

+-----+-------------------------------------------------------------------+-------------------------+
| | In Thousands of Cwt. | Number (Thousands). |
|Year.+---------+--------+-----+-------+----+-----+--------+--------+-----+--------+------+---------+
| |Mackerel.|Herring.|Sole.|Turbot.|Cod.|Ling.|Haddock.|Whiting.|Hake.|Oysters.|Crabs.|Lobsters.|
+-----+---------+--------+-----+-------+----+-----+--------+--------+-----+--------+------+---------+
| 1890| 502 | 85 | 4.5 | 1.4 |39.6| 14.8| 16.4 | 13.5 | 25.3| 576 | 228 | 238 |
| 1895| 339 | 171 | 1.8 | 1.0 |43.6| 29.7| 30.9 | 11.9 | 18.7| 563 | 240 | 276 |
| 1900| 278 | 284 | 3.1 | 1.5 |33.6| 11.9| 12.4 | 11.9 | 16.3| 236 | 202 | 286 |
| 1905| 505 | 354 | 3.5 | 0.8 |18.6| 9.1| 11.3 | 18.3 | 7.1| 348 | 175 | 236 |
+-----+---------+--------+-----+-------+----+-----+--------+--------+-----+--------+------+---------+

_Note._--The Irish statistics of shell-fish are very incomplete, owing
to the inadequate means at the disposal of the authorities for
collecting statistics over large sections of the coast.

TABLE VIII.--_Classified List of British Fishing Boats on the Register
for 1905, omitting 2nd Class Steamers and Vessels under 18 Ft. Keel or
Navigated by Oars only and Vessels unemployed._

+----------+-------------------------+-------------------------+-------------------------+
| | England and Wales. | Scotland. | Ireland. |
| Mode of +---------+---------------+---------+---------------+---------+---------------+
| Fishing. |Steamers.| Sailing. |Steamers.| Sailing. |Steamers.| Sailing. |
| | 1st Cl. |1st Cl. 2nd Cl.| 1st cl. |1st Cl. 2nd Cl.| 1st Cl. |1st Cl. 2nd Cl.|
+----------+---------+-------+-------+---------+-------+-------+---------+-------+-------+
|Trawling | 1173 | 904 | 586 | 244 | .. | 68 | 10 | 142 | 283 |
|Drift-nets| 263 | 562 | 539 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |
|Lines | 56 | 29 | 685 | 209 | 3403 | 2910 | .. | 229 | 2776 |
|Various | 21 | 215 | 2277 | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. |
+----------+---------+-------+-------+---------+-------+-------+---------+-------+-------+
| Total | 1513 | 1710 | 4087 | 453 | 3403 | 2978 | 10 | 371 | 3059 |
+----------+---------+-------+-------+---------+-------+-------+---------+-------+-------+

_Note._--1st class = steamers of at least 15 tons gross tonnage, and
other boats of at least 15 tons registered tonnage (in Scotland
exceeding 30 ft. keel). 2nd class = less than 15 tons tonnage, or from
18 to 30 ft. keel.

TABLE IX.--_Number (A) of Men and Boys constantly employed and (B) of
other Persons occasionally employed in Fishing._

+-----+---------------+-----------------+-----------------+-----------------+
| | England and | Scotland. | Ireland. | United |
|Year.| Wales. | | | Kingdom. |
| +--------+------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+
| | A. | B. | A. | B. | A. | B. | A. | B. |
+-----+--------+------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+
| 1890| 32,503 | 9312 | 34,319 | 20,829 | 10,121 | 13,981 | 78,450 | 46,337 |
| 1895| 32,229 | 8995 | 31,044 | 12,329 | 8,692 | 18,218 | 73,090 | 41,230 |
| 1900| 31,589 | 7994 | 27,288 | 10,288 | 8,677 | 18,982 | 68,708 | 37,814 |
| 1905| 34,318 | 8132 | 29,064 | 10,487 | 8,744 | 17,079 | 73,293 | 36,131 |
+-----+--------+------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+

TABLE X.--_Catch and Value of Line-caught and Trawled Fish landed in
Scotland._

+------+----------------------+----------------------+
| Year.| Line-caught Fish. | Trawled Fish. |
+------+-----------+----------+-----------+----------+
| | Cwt. | | Cwt. | |
| 1890 | 1,577,299 | L591,059 | 291,812 | L203,620 |
| 1895 | 1,479,654 | 548,629 | 531,695 | 291,165 |
| 1900 | 757,416 | 371,173 | 1,077,082 | 703,427 |
| 1905 | 735,654 | 348,610 | 1,745,431 | 948,117 |
+------+-----------+----------+-----------+----------+

In 1893 a select committee of the House of Commons took evidence as to the expediency of adopting measures for the preservation of the sea-fisheries in the seas around the British Islands, with especial reference to the alleged wasteful destruction of under-sized fish. They recommended the adoption of a size-limit of 8 in. for soles and plaice, and 10 in. for turbot and brill, below which the sale of these fishes should be prohibited, on the ground that these limits would approximate to those already adopted by foreign countries.

In 1899 the Agriculture and Technical Instruction (Ireland) Act transferred the powers and duties of the inspectors of Irish fisheries to the Department of Agriculture and Technical Instruction for Ireland. The department is provided with a steam cruiser, the "Helga," 375 tons, fully equipped for fishery research, as well as with a floating marine laboratory. Mr Holt, formerly of the Marine Biological Association, was appointed to take charge of the scientific work.

In 1900 another select committee of the House of Commons was appointed to consider and take evidence on the proposals of the Sea Fisheries Bill, which had been framed in accordance with the recommendations of the select committee of 1893, but had failed to pass in several sessions of parliament. Owing to marked divergencies of opinion on the question whether the low size-limits proposed would be effectual in keeping the trawlers from working on the grounds where small fish congregated, the committee reported against the bill, and urged the immediate equipment of the government departments with means for undertaking the necessary scientific investigations.

In 1901 an international conference of representatives of all the countries bordering upon the North and Baltic Seas met at Christiania to revise proposals which had been drafted at Stockholm in 1899 for a scientific exploration of these waters in the interest of the fisheries, to be undertaken concurrently by all the participating countries. The British government was represented by Sir Colin Scott-Moncrieff, K.C.M G., with Professor D'Arcy W. Thompson, Mr (afterwards Professor) W. Garstang and Dr H.R. Mill as advisers. The proposals were subsequently accepted, with some restrictions, and an international council of management was appointed by the participating governments. The Fishery Board for Scotland and the Marine Biological Association from England were commissioned in 1902 to carry out the work at sea allotted to Great Britain, and a special grant of L5500 per annum was made to each body by the Treasury for this purpose. Two steamers, the "Huxley" and the "Goldseeker," were chartered for the investigations and began work in 1902 and 1903 from Lowestoft and Aberdeen respectively. Reports on the work of the first five years were published in 1909.

In 1901 the Board of Trade appointed a committee (the Committee on Ichthyological Research) to inquire and report as to the best means by which scientific fishery research could be organized and assisted in relation to the state or local authorities. The committee consisted of Sir Herbert Maxwell, M.P. (chairman), Mr W.F. Archer, Mr Donald Crawford, Rev. W.S. Green, Professor W.A. Herdman, Hon. T.H.W. Pelham, Mr S.E. Spring Rice and Professor J.A. Thomson. Sir Herbert Maxwell resigned his chairmanship before the report was drawn up (September 1902), and was succeeded by Sir Colin Scott-Moncrieff. The committee recommended the provision of more complete statistics; the provision and maintenance of five special steamers (where not already existing) to work in connexion with as many marine laboratories, viz. one for each of the three coasts of England and Wales, and one each for Scotland and Ireland; the provision of three biological assistants at each laboratory; the grant of statutory powers to local sea-fisheries committees to expend money on fishery research; the constitution of a fishery council for England and Wales, and of a conference of representatives of the central authorities in England, Scotland and Ireland. In 1903 the fishery department of the Board of Trade was transferred to the Board of Agriculture, Mr W.E. Archer, chief inspector of fisheries, becoming an assistant secretary of the new Board of Agriculture and Fisheries.

In 1907 a departmental treasury committee was appointed to inquire into the scientific and statistical investigations carried on in relation to the fishing industry of the United Kingdom. The committee consisted of Mr H.J. Tennant, M.P. (chairman), Lord Nunburnholme, Sir Reginald MacLeod, Mr N.W. Helms, M.P., Mr A. Williamson, M.P., Dr P. Chalmers Mitchell, F.R.S., Mr J.S. Gardiner, F.R.S., the Rev. W.S. Green, Mr R.H. Rew and Mr L.S. Hewby. This committee reviewed the work that had already been done and urged its continuation and extension under the direction of a central council composed of representatives of the government departments concerned with fishery matters in England, Scotland and Ireland, with a scientific chairman and director, and further insisted on the need of international co-operation in the investigations.

_United States Fisheries._--The administration of the fisheries of the United States of America is under the control of the several coastal states, but the Bureau of Fisheries at Washington, which reports to the secretary of commerce and labour, conducts a vast amount of scientific fishery investigation, issues admirable statistical and biological reports, and conducts on a very large scale work on the replenishment of the fishing stations by artificial means (see PISCICULTURE). Although in recent years Canada has given an increasing amount of state support to the investigation, control and assistance of her fisheries, an amount actually and relatively far exceeding that given in Great Britain, the fishing industry of the United States still far exceeds that of Canada. A considerable bulk of fish, taken by American ships from the Newfoundland coasts and from those of other British provinces, is landed at American ports, but as the following recent table shows, it is much less than that taken from American waters.

_Quantities and Values of Fish landed by American Vessels at Boston and Gloucester, Mass., in 1905._

+------------------------------------------+--------------+----------+
| | Quantities. | Value. |
+------------------------------------------+--------------+----------+
|(a) From fishing grounds off U.S. | | |
| coasts | 152,241,139 | L669,640 |
|(b) From fishing grounds off Newfoundland | 17,165,083 | 103,145 |
|(c) From fishing grounds off other | | |
| British provinces | 32,608,343 | 192,517 |
+------------------------------------------+--------------+----------+

The fisheries of the United States show a substantial increase from year to year. There has been a decline in some important branches owing to indiscreet fishing and to the inevitable effects of civilization on certain kinds of animal life and in certain restricted areas. Such diminution has been more than compensated for by growth resulting from the invasion of new fishing grounds made possible by increase in the sea-going capacity of the vessels employed, by improvement in the preservation and handling of the catch, and by the greater utilization of products which until comparatively recently were disregarded or considered without economic value. The annual value of the water products taken and sold by the United States fishermen now amounts to over L11,000,000, and this sum does not include the very large quantities taken by the fishermen for home consumption or captured by sportsmen and amateurs. Between two and three hundred thousand persons make a livelihood by the industry, and the capital involved exceeds L16,000,000.

The oyster is the most valuable single product, and the output of the United States industry exceeds the combined output of all other countries in the world. The most notable feature of this fishery is that nearly half the total yield now comes from cultivated grounds, so that the business is being placed on a secure basis. Virginia has now taken the first rank as an oyster-producing state, oyster farming being now highly developed with an annual yield of nearly nine million bushels.

The high-sea fisheries for cod, haddock, hake, halibut, mackerel, herring, and so forth are on the whole not increasing in prosperity, the annual value being between one and two million pounds. The lobster fishery shows a markedly diminishing yield, the diminution having been progressive since about 1890, and being attributed to over-fishing and violation of the restrictive regulations. At present a large part of the lobsters consumed in the United States comes from Nova Scotia, but there is evidence of useful results coming from the extensive cultural operations now being carried out.

The whale fishery, at one time the leading fishing industry of the country, is now conducted chiefly in the North Pacific and Arctic oceans, but is decaying, being now expensive, uncertain and often unremunerative. The annual value of the take is now under L200,000.

The important group of anadromous fishes (those like salmon, shad, alewife, striped bass and sea perches, which ascend the rivers from the ocean) has continued to provide an increasing source of income to fishermen, the combined value of the catch on the Atlantic and Pacific seaboards now amounting to over L3,000,000 annually. The fisheries of the Great Lakes yield about L600,000 annually. (W. Ga.; P. C. M.)

FOOTNOTES:

[1] For fisheries in the cases of CORAL, OYSTER, PEARL, SALMON,
SPONGES and WHALE, see these articles; for fishing as a sport see
ANGLING.

[2] Estimated as regards about one-third of the total.

[3] Including the Newfoundland fishery.

[4] Excluding the voyages of the fleeting trawlers which supply
London by means of carriers.

FISHERY (LAW OF). This subject has (1) its international aspect; (2) its municipal aspect. On the high seas outside territorial waters the right of fishery is now recognized as common to all nations. Claims were made in former times by single nations to the exclusive right of fishing in tracts of open sea; such as that set up by Denmark in respect of the North Sea, as lying between its possessions of Norway and Iceland, against England in the 17th century, and against England and Holland in the 18th century, when she prohibited any foreigners fishing within 15 German miles of the shores of Greenland and Iceland. This claim, however, was always effectively resisted on the ground stated in Queen Elizabeth's remonstrance to Denmark on the subject in 1602, that "the law of nations alloweth of fishing in the sea everywhere, even in seas where a nation hath propertie of command." The enunciation of this principle is to be found, also, in the award of the arbitration court which decided the question of the fur-seal fishery in Bering Sea in 1894. (See BERING SEA ARBITRATION; ARBITRATION, INTERNATIONAL.) The right of nations to take fish in the sea may, however, be restrained or regulated by treaty or custom; and Great Britain has entered into conventions with other nations with regard to fishing in certain parts of the sea. The provisions of such conventions are made binding on British subjects by statutes.

Instances of these are the conventions of 1818 and 1872 between Great
Britain and the United States as to the fisheries on the eastern
coasts of British North America and the United States within certain
limits, and the award of the Bering Sea arbitration tribunal under the
treaty of 1892; the conventions between Great Britain and France in
1839 and 1867 as regards fishing in the seas adjoining these
countries, the latter of which will come into force on the repeal of
the former; the agreement of 1904 with respect to the Newfoundland
fisheries (see NEWFOUNDLAND); the convention of 1882 between Belgium,
Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain and Holland, regarding the
North Sea fisheries; that of 1887 between the same parties concerning
the liquor traffic in the North Sea; and the declaration regarding the
same waters made between Great Britain and Belgium for the settlement
of differences between their fishermen subjects in such
extra-territorial waters. At the instance of the Swedish government
the British parliament also passed an act in 1875 to establish a close
time for the seal fishery in the seas adjacent to the eastern coasts
of Greenland.

Cases have come before British courts with regard to the whale fishery in northern and southern seas; and the customs proved to exist among the whaling ships of the nations engaged in a particular trade have been upheld if known to the parties to the action. In territorial waters, on the other hand, fishery is a right exclusively belonging to the subjects of the country owning such waters, and no foreigners can fish there except by convention.

(a) _Tidal Waters._--In British territorial waters, it may be stated, as the general rule, that fishery is a right incidental to the soil covered by the waters in which that right is exercised.

The bed of all navigable rivers where the tide flows and reflows, and
of all estuaries or arms of the sea, is vested in the crown; and
therefore, in Lord Chief Justice Hale's words, "the right of the
fishery in the sea and the creeks and arms thereof is originally
lodged in the crown, as the right of depasturing is originally lodged
in the owner of the waste whereof he is lord, or as the right of
fishing belongs to him that is the owner of a private or inland
river." "But," he continues, "though the king is the owner of this
great waste, and as a consequent of his propriety hath the primary
right of fishing in the sea and the creeks and arms thereof, yet the
common people of England have regularly a liberty of fishing therein
as a public common of piscary, and may not without injury to their
right be restrained of it unless in such places or creeks or navigable
rivers where either the king or some particular subject hath gained a
propriety exclusive of that common liberty." (_De Jure Maris_, ch.
iv.).

This right extends to all fish floating in the sea or left on the seashore, except certain fish known as royal fish, which, when taken in territorial waters, belong to the crown or its grantee, though caught by another person. These are whales, sturgeons and porpoises; and grampuses are also sometimes added (whales, porpoises and grampuses being "fishes" only in a legal sense). In Scotland only whales which are of large size can be so claimed; but the rights of salmon fishing in the sea and in public and private rivers, and those of mussel and oyster fishing, except in private rivers, are _inter regalia_, and are only enjoyable by the crown or persons deriving title under it. As salmon fishery was formerly practised by nets and engines on the shore, and the mussel and oyster fisheries were necessarily carried on on the shore, the opinion was held at one time that angling for salmon was a public right, but the later decisions have established that the right of salmon fishing by whatever means is a _jus regale_ in Scotland. In England the crown in early times made frequent grants of fisheries to subjects in tidal waters, and instances of such fisheries belonging to persons and corporations are very common at the present day: but by Magna Carta the crown declared that "no rivers shall be defended from henceforth, but such as were in defence in the time of King Henry, our grandfather, by the same places and the same bounds as they were wont to be in his time"; and thus bound itself not to create a private fishery in any navigable tidal river. Judicial decision and commentators having interpreted this statute according to the spirit and not the letter, at the present day the right of fishery in tidal waters prima facie belongs to the public, and they can only be excluded by a particular person or corporation on proof of an exclusive right to fish there not later in its origin than Magna Carta; and for this it is necessary either to prove an actual grant from the crown of that date to the claimant's predecessor in title, or a later grant or immemorial custom or prescription to that effect, from which such an original grant may be presumed. This exclusive right of fishing may be either a franchise derived from the crown, or may arise by virtue of ownership of the soil covered by the waters.

In Lord Hale's words: "Fishing may be of two kinds ordinarily, viz.
fishing with a net, which may be either as a liberty without the soil,
or as a liberty arising by reason of and in concomitance with the soil
or an interest or propriety of it; or otherwise it is a local fishing
that ariseth by or from the propriety of the soil,--such are
_gurgites_, wears, fishing-places, _borachiae_, _stachiae_, which are
the very soil itself, and so frequently agreed by our books. And such
as these a subject may have by usage; either in gross, as many
religious houses had, or as parcel of or appurtenant to their manors,
as both corporations and others have had; and this not only in
navigable rivers and arms of the sea but in creeks and ports and
havens, yea, and in certain known limits in the open sea contiguous to
the shore. And these kinds of fishings are not only for small
sea-fish, such as herrings, &c., but for great fish, as salmons, and
not only for them but for royal fish.... Most of the precedents
touching such rights of fishing in the sea, and the arms and creeks
thereof belonging by usage to subjects, appear to be by reason of the
propriety of the very water and soil wherein the fishing is, and some
of them even within parts of the seas" (_De Jure Maris_, ch. v.)

An instance of the former kind of fishery is to be found in the old case of _Royal Fishery of the River Bann_ (temp. James I., Davis 655), and the modern one of _Wilson_ v. _Crossfield_, 1885, 1 T.L.R. 601, where a right of fishery in gross was established; but the latter kind, as Hale says, is much more common, and the presumption is always in its favour; _a fortiori_ where the fishing is proved to have been carried on by means of engines or structures fixed in the soil. In England the public have not at common law, as incidental to their right of fishing in tidal waters, the right to make use of the banks or shores for purposes incidental to the fishery, such as beaching their boats upon them, landing there, or drying their nets there (though they can do so by proving a custom from which such a grant may be presumed); but statutes relating to particular parts of the realm, such as Cornwall for the pilchard fishery, give them such rights. In Scotland a right of salmon fishing separate from land implies the right of access to and use of the banks, foreshores or beach for the purposes of the fishing; and so does white fishing by statute. But otherwise there is no right to do so, e.g. in a public river for trout fishing. A similar privilege is given to Irish fishermen for the purpose of sea fishery by special statute. There is no property in fish in the sea, and they belong to the first taker; and the custom of the trade decides when a fish is taken or not, e.g. in the whale fishery the question whether a fish is "loose" or not has come before English courts.

(b) _Fresh Waters._---In non-tidal waters in England and Ireland, for the reason given above, the presumption is in favour of the fishery in such waters belonging to the owners of the adjacent lands; "fresh waters of what kind soever do of common right belong to the owners of the soil adjacent, so that the owners of the one side have of common right the property of the soil, and consequently the right of fishing _usque ad filum aquae_, and the owners of the other side the right of soil or ownership and fishing unto the _filum aquae_ on their side; and if a man be owner of the land on both sides, in common presumption he is owner of the whole river, and hath the right of fishing according to the extent of his land in length" (Hale, ch. i.). There is a similar presumption that the owner of the bed of a river has the exclusive right of fishery there, and this is so even though he does not own the banks; but these presumptions may be displaced by proof of a different state of things, e.g. where the banks of a stream are separately owned the owner of one bank may show by acts of ownership exercised over the whole stream that he has the fishery over it all. The crown prerogative of fishery, never it seems, extended to non-tidal waters flowing over the land of a subject, and it could not therefore grant such a franchise to a subject, nor has it any right _de jure_ to the soil or fisheries of an inland lake such as Lough Neagh (_Bristow_ v. _Cormican_, 1878, 3 App. Cas. 641). The public cannot acquire the right to fish in fresh waters by prescription or otherwise although they are navigable; such a right is unknown to law, because a profit _a prendre in alieno solo_ is neither to be acquired by custom nor by prescription under the Prescription Act. It has been decided that the "dwellers" in a parish cannot acquire such a right, being of too vague a class; but the commoners in a manor may have it by custom; and the "free inhabitants of ancient tenements" in a borough have been held capable of acquiring a right to dredge for oysters in a fishery belonging to the corporation of the borough on certain days in each year by giving proof of uninterrupted enjoyment of it from time immemorial, on the presumption that this was a condition to which the grant made to the corporation was subject.

In Scotland the law is similar. The right to fish for trout in private streams is a pertinent of the land adjacent, and owners of opposite banks may fish _usque ad medium filum aquae_; and where two owners own land round a private loch, both have a common of fishing over it. The public cannot prescribe for it, for a written title either to adjacent lands or to the fishery is necessary. A right of way along the bank of a river or loch does not give it, nor does the right of the public to be on or at a navigable but non-tidal river. The right of salmon fishing carries with it the right of trout fishing: and eel fishing passes in the same way.

In England and Ireland private fisheries have been divided into (a) several (_separalis_), (b) free (_libera_), (c) common of piscary (_communis_), whether in tidal or non-tidal waters. The distinction between several and free fisheries has always been uncertain. Blackstone's opinion was that several fishery implied a fishery in right of the soil under the water, while free fishery was confined to a public river and did not necessarily comprehend the soil. He is supported by later writers, such as Woolrych and Paterson. On the other hand, the opinions of Coke and Hale are opposed to this view. "A man may prescribe to have a several fishery in such a water, and the owner shall not fish there; but if he claim to have common of fishery or free fishery the owner of the soil shall fish there" (Co Littl. 122 A); "one man may have the river and others the soil adjacent: or one man may have the river and soil thereof, and another the free or several fishing in that river" (_De Jure Maris_, ch. i.). Lord Holt, though in one instance he distinguished them, in a later case thought that they were "all one." Later decisions have established the latter view, and it is now settled that although the owner of the several fishery is prima facie owner of the soil of the waters, this presumption may be displaced by showing that the terms of the grant only convey an incorporeal hereditament, and that the words "sole and exclusive fishery" give a several fishery _in alieno solo_. In the words of Mr Justice Willes, "the only substantial distinction is between an exclusive right of fishery, usually called 'several,' and sometimes 'free,' as in 'free warren,' and a right in common with others, usually called 'common of fishery,' and sometimes 'free,' as in 'free port.' A several fishery means an exclusive right to fish in a given place, either with or without the property in the soil" (_Malcolmson_ v. _O'Dea_, 1863, 10 H.L.). A common of piscary, or "a right to fish in common with certain other persons in a particular stream," is usually found in manors, the commoners of which may have the right to enjoy it to an extent sufficient for the sustenance of their tenements; but they cannot, except by immemorial special prescription, exclude the lord of the manor therefrom, and have no rights over the soil itself. Decisions also establish that a grant of "fishery" will prima facie pass an exclusive fishery; a grant of soil covered by water or a lease of lands including water will pass the fishery therein; a several fishery will not merge on being resumed by the crown; and a fishery situate within a manor is presumed to belong to the owners of adjacent land, and not to the lord. A several fishery, as already seen, being an incorporeal hereditament, can only be transferred by deed, and therefore cannot be abandoned, and so acquired by the public, even on proof that the public have, as far back as living memory, exercised the right of fishing in the _locus in quo_ to the knowledge of and without interruption from the claimant of the fishery. But to establish a title to a several fishery, a "paper title," i.e. one founded on documentary evidence only, is not sufficient; it must be supported by evidence of acts of ownership in recent times, for otherwise it will be presumed that a person other than the alleged owner is the real owner. If the waters of a tidal river leave their old channel and flow into another, the owner of a several fishery in the old channel cannot claim to have it in the new one; but, on the other hand, the owner of a several fishery can take advantage of a gradual encroachment by the river upon and into the land of a riparian owner, the limits of whose land are ascertained. The owner of an exclusive fishery, whether in tidal or fresh waters, has the right to take as many fish as he can, and may do so by means of fixed engines or dredging, provided that in navigable waters he does not interfere with the right of navigation, and that in navigable and other waters he does not interfere with the fishing rights of his neighbours or infringe the provisions made by old or modern statutes as to the methods of taking the fish, e.g. by weirs. These were forbidden in rivers by Magna Carta and later statutes, and on the seashore by a statute of James I.; but all weirs in navigable fresh waters traceable to a date not later than 25 Edward III. are lawful, for the statutes forbidding weirs do not apply to navigable waters. It seems, however, that at common law any fixed structures put up by the owner of a fishery in his part of a river, which at all prevent the free passage of fish to the waters above or below, give the owners of fisheries therein a right of action against him. So the grantee of an exclusive fishery with rod and line in an unnavigable river can prevent any person from polluting the river higher up and so damaging the fishery. At common law there is no property in fish when enjoying their natural liberty; the taker is entitled to keep them unless they are caught from a tank or small pond; or except in the case of salmon by statute.