Part 20

+-----+-------------------------------------+-------------------------------------+ | | 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.).