SH 221 .P6 I Copy 1 DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE BUREAU OF FISHERIES HUGH M. SMITH, CommUiJon«r OTTER-TRAWL FISHERY By A. B. Alexander, H. F. Moore and W* C Kendall V, S. Bureau of Fisheries APPENDIX VI TO THE REPORT OF THE U. S. COMMISSIONER OF FISHERIES FOR 19X4 Bureau of Fisheries Document No. 816 WASHINGTON GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 1915 fcionogrgpi DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE BUREAU OF FISHERIES HUGH M. SMITH, Commissioner OTTER-TRAWL FISHERY By A. B. Alexander, H. F. )VIoore and W. C. Kendall V. S. Bureau of Fisheries APPENDIX VI TO THE REPORT OF THE U. S. COMMISSIONER OF FISHERIES FOR X9I4 Bureau of Fisheries Document No. 816 WASHINGTON GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 1915 ADDITIONAL COPIES OF THIS PUBLICATION MAT BE PROCURED FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT OF DOCUMENTS GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON, D. C. AT 15 CENTS PER COPY APR 33 1915 V OTTER-TRAWL FISHERY By A, B. Alexander, H. F. Moore and W. C. Kendall U. S. Bureau of Fisheries Appendix VI to the Report of the U. S Commissioner of Fisheries for 1914 CONTENTS. Page. Communication from the Commissioner of Fisheries to the Secretary of Commerce 5 Letter from Bureau committee to the Commissioner of Fisheries 11 Introduction 13 The American bank fisheries 14 General considerations 14 Hand-line and trawl-line vessels 15 Otter-trawl vessels 19 Fishing banks of western North Atlantic 22 Comparison of the catch by otter-trawl and trawl-line vessels 24 Waste from marketing small fishes 28 Edible fishes wasted and new kinds marketed 30 Fluctuations in the catcb and evidences of impoverishment of the fishery 31 Denudation of the bottom by otter trawlers 43 Destruction of spawn by otter trawlers 48 Interference of the otter trawl with other fisheries 48 General economic and sociological questions 49 Effects of otter trawling on the price of fish 50 Insufficiency of data 55 Minor American trawlnet fisheries 56 Cape Cod flounder fishery 5G San Francisco paranzella fishery 57 Demersal fisheries of England and Wales » 57 Introduction 57 Fishing regions 58 Fisheries of the North Sea 60 Summary of conditions in the North Sea 68 Iceland 69 White Sea , 72 Faroe 74 Demersal fisheries of Scotland 76 Fishing regions 76 Fisheries of the east coast 76 The catch as a whole 76 Steam trawlers 79 Scotch line fisheries 86 Changes in the unclassified fishes > 88 Summary, east coast of Scotland 89 Summary and conclusions 90 Recommendations 94 3 (COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSIONER OF FISHERIES TO THE \ SECRETARY OF COMMERCE, TRANSMITTING A REPORT ON THE OTTER-TRAWL FISHERY AND MAKING RECOMMENDATIONS REGARD- ING THAT FISHERY. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Fisheries, Washington, January 20, 1915. The Secretary of Commerce : There is forwarded herewith, for transmission to Congress, a re- jport embodying the results of an investigation by the Bureau of Fisheries of the method of fishing known as otter trawling. The (investigation was undertaken, and this report thereon is submitted, (pursuant to the authority contained in the act approved August 24, 1912, making appropriations for sundry-civil expenses of the Gov- ernment for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1913, as follows : To enable the Commissioner of Fisheries to investigate the method of fish- ing known as beam or otter trawling and to report to Congress whether or not this method of fishing is destructive to the fish species or is otherwise harm- ful or undesirable, $5,000, or so much thereof as may be necessary. A similar provision was contained in the sundry civil appropria- tion act for the following year, the sum voted being for the comple- tion of the investigation. In anticipation of the foregoing action by Congress, preliminary inquiries were begun on otter trawlers operating out of Boston in June, 1912. On September 30, 1912, Mr. A. B. Alexander, assistant in charge of the division of statistics and methods of the fisheries, was ordered to proceed to Boston and other places to determine on methods for prosecuting the inquiry, but it was not until December l 28, 1912, that he was given definite authority to proceed with the work. Mr. Alexander had exclusive charge of the field investiga- tions, with headquarters in Boston, and, with the exception of insig- nificant intervals, was continuously in the field during the calendar year 1913; and he is responsible for the methods followed and the data collected. Under the plan of investigation adopted, men in the employ of the Bureau were placed on a number of the vessels, both otter trawlers and trawl liners, to make personal observations and records of the practices of the fisheries and the character of the catch. To each 5 Q OTTER-TRAWL FISHERY. man there were issued the following instructions and schedule of the salient points at issue : INSTRUCTIONS FOB OTTEB-TRAWL INVESTIGATIONS. The general purpose of the investigation is to determine the efficiency of the apparatus employed and its effects upon the fishes and the fishery. The principal points to be considered are as follows : 1. The defining of each separate fishing area over which the trawl wa worked. If within sight of land, giving the bearing of the nearest point o land and the distance from shore. If out of sight of land, giving the name o the fishing bank, and, if possible, the latitude and longitude. 2. The days and dates trawling was carried on. 3. The number of times the trawl was lifted each day. 4. The length of time the trawl was down on each occasion before lifting. 5. The speed of the vessel when trawling. 6. The weather conditions each day. 7. The kinds of fish taken from the net after each haul. 8. The quantity of fish, including shellfish, taken in each haul, showing th quantity of each kind and its proportion to the whole catch. (This should be ascertained by actual count or measurement, if possible. If this can not be done, then the closest possible approximation should be made.) 9. The quantity and kind of immature edible fish taken in each haul and the proportion of such to the whole. 10. What disposal was made of such immature fish, and what disposal was made of all nonedible fish taken. 11. The proportion of fish that were alive when each haul was brought on deck, and the kinds mostly found to be alive. 12. If immature and nonedible fish were thrown overboard, the percentage ol each kind that were alive when returned to the sea and the percentage than* would be likely to survive. 13. The size, up to which the various kinds of fish were regarded as immature and unmarketable by the captain of the trawler. 14. The number of times the trawl was worked over the same piece of ground in succession, showing whether the second or further drags were as successful as the first. 15. Whether fish eggs or spawn (except what might be emitted from the fish in the net by their own weight) were taken on any occasion, and if so, tbe kinds taken. 16. Whether fry of any fish were taken on any occasion, naming the kinds. 17. Whether ordinary fishing vessels at work were within sight on any occa- sion during trawling operation, and if so, giving the distance between such vessels and the trawler. 18. Whether any nets, lines, or other fishing gear were carried away or whether the fishing success of such gear was interfered with in any way by the presence of the trawler. 19. Details should be given showing the kinds of gear, where it was set, and the quantity damaged in each instance. OTTEE TEAWLERS. Urgent representations have been made to this Bureau to the effect that the method of fishing known as otter trawling, which has been introduced on this side of the Atlantic only a few years ago, is such an unduly destructive method that if generally adopted the lines and other gear of ordinary fishing vessels OTTER- TKAWL FISHERY. 7 Will be continually carried away and destroyed and the fishing grounds quickly endered nonproductive. The representations take the following form: 1. That the fishing areas where steam trawlers have already been operating ave become seriously depleted of fish. 2. That the spawn or eggs of fish are destroyed by the trawlnet when being ragged along the bottom. 3. That immature fish are taken in very large numbers, which are killed in e process of capture and are thrown away. 4. That valuable shellfish are destroyed in large numbers. 5. That steam trawlers carry on operations at night as well as in the day- ime, and that although an effort might be made to keep clear of the ordinary Sherman's gear during daylight, no such effort would be made in the darkness, wing to the invisibility of the buoys and other floating marks. 6. That it is not an uncommon thing for a steam trawler to come close to ■rdinary fishing vessels and their dories when the gear of the latter is in the rater and being overhauled, and, if fish appear plentiful, to sweep around the )Ot and with the trawlnet carry away the gear with all the fish on the hooks. 7. Further, that while steam trawling has been prohibited within the terri- prial waters of Canada, such protection affords the inshore fisherman little protection, as their gear is frequently set even long distances beyond territorial vaters, and it, of course, affords no protection whatever to the " bank " fisher- men. I On the other hand it is urged : 1. That steam trawling is not an unduly destructive method of fishing, as evidence of which is the fact that it has been intensively carried on in the orth Sea and other European waters for very many years without any diminu- on of the fisheries being apparent. 2. That continuous supplies are necessary to meet the demands of the grow- ng fresh-fish markets, and that as steam trawling can be carried on in practi- cally all weathers, it is the only means of providing such continuous supplies. 3. That edible flat fishes, for which there is an evergrowing market, and which lire taken in very limited quantities by hook and line, can be secured in large quantities by steam trawlers. The men were supplied also with printed forms on which to record full data respecting the date, location, duration, and length of each haul; the numbers and sizes of each species of commercial fish taken; and the numbers and sizes of edible fish of species never, or not usually, placed on the markets. They were required to record, also, all observations of facts bearing on the points in dispute, the condi- tion (living or dead) of the fish thrown overboard, the amount and character of the bottom material brought up in the trawls, any inter- ference with or damage to trawl lines, etc. The men making the observations on the vessels were : W. W. Welsh, assistant, Bureau of Fisheries, Washington, D. C. Thomas M. Douthart, Boston, Mass. Frank S. Terry, New York, N. Y. John H. Brennan, Port Clyde, Me. John N. Burrows, Southport, Me. Allan L. Black, McKinley, Me. Walter H. Eich. Portland, Me. 8 OTTER-TRAWL FISHERY. In addition, Dr. W. C. Kendall, assistant, Bureau of Fisheries made observations on the flounder otter-trawl fishery of Cape Co in November and December, 1912 ; and Mr. E. C. Johnston, assistant Bureau of Fisheries, investigated the paranzella-net fishery of Sa Francisco in September and October, 1912. With the exception of Mr. Terry, who made but one trip, all o these observers had knowledge of the fisheries, although, with th exception of Mr. Burrows, who had fished on a line trawler out c Gloucester 15 years or more previously, none was or had been ei gaged in either the trawl-line or otter-trawl fisheries. An effort wa made to obtain men capable of understanding and reporting on th matters which came under observation and at the same time as fr as possible from prejudice by reason of their vocations and previo associations. During June, 1912, the observers made three trips on otter-tra vessels and recorded the data of 101 hauls of the nets. From Jam! ary to December, 1913, 61 trips were made and 1,532 hauls were ob served on otter trawlers; and from June to December, 1913, 17 trip; and 9® sets of trawl lines were observed on schooners. The field investigations were brought to a close in December, 191^ and on February 5, 1914, the Commissioner of Fisheries named fc the consideration of the data and the preparation of a report a com mittee of three, of which Mr. A. B. Alexander was chairman anc Messrs. H. F. Moore, assistant in charge of scientific inquiry, aiv W. C. Kendall, scientific assistant, were members. The orders unde which this committee proceeded were as follows : You are hereby designated a committee charged with the duties hereinafte indicated in connection with the investigation of the American trawlnet fishery, as directed by Congress in the sundry civil appropriation act for 1913, as fo\ lows : y " To enable the Commissioner of Fisheries to investigate the method of fish- ing known as beam or otter trawling and to report to Congress whether or notl this method of fishing is destructive to the species or is otherwise harmful orm undesirable, $5,000, or so much thereof as may be necessary." Your inquiries will involve, first, a thorough consideration and interpretation of the data collected by the Bureau of Fisheries regarding the steam trawlnet fishery of Boston and New York, the boat trawlnet fishery of New England, the paranzella fishery of California, and other similar fisheries in various parts of the United States, special attention being given to the detailed records ob- tained by agents of the Bureau while stationed continuously on trawling vessels during the years 1912 and 1913. For comparative purposes, you will naturally give consideration to the avail- able data showing the present extent and geueral condition of the trawl fishery in Europe, and the steps that have been taken by the various European coun- tries to regulate, restrict, or abolish the fishery ; and the recent history of the fishery in Japan and Canada, and the action of those countries in regulating or abolishing the trawlnet fishery. OTTER-TRAWL FISHERY. 9 It is not my purpose in any way to influence the form and scope of your (report, but I venture to suggest that your conclusions cover the following topics, which, with others, will doubtless occur to you : (a) The general effects of the fishery on the permanency of the fish supply, and a comparison of the relative effects of the trawlnet and other forms of /apparatus used in the same waters. (6) The nature and extent of the destruction of young food fishes. (c) The destruction or waste of edible fishes that have no present market C ralue. (d) The extent to which the trawlnet fishery of the United States has con- ributed to the food supply in fishes, not generally taken with other apparatus. ! (e) Definite instances, supported by evidence, in which the scarcity of any ,;inds of fish on given grounds may be attributable to the trawlnet fishery. / (/) Interference of the trawlnet fishery with other fisheries. (g) The necessity for international agreement with Canada, Newfoundland, ^ance, and other countries in order to make effective any restrictive or pro- ibitory measures that may be determined to be desirable. It is believed that in drawing your conclusions and making your recom- mendations you will be guided solely by the evidence afforded by the Bureau's investigations and by the action of other countries having prolonged experience with this method of fishery. , It is desired that the preparation of your report be expedited as much as w>ssible, and that it be handed to me for administrative approval and sub- ' Jiitted. to Congress not later than April 15, 1914. IThe report speaks for itself and no review thereof by me is neces- ary. I will simply refer to the chapters containing the conclusions nd recommendations, and submit them as the official opinion of pie bureau. While I was entirely unaware of the results of the in- quiries until the completion and signing of the report, I have care- fully reviewed the work of the committee, commend their labors, and indorse their findings as justified by the evidence. Respectfully, H. M. Smith, Coirimissioner. A , i,. (..How pact 9.) LETTER FROM BUREAU COMMITTEE TO THE COMMISSIONER OF FISH- ERIES TRANSMITTING REPORT ON THE OTTER-TRAWL FISHERY. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Fisheries, Washington, January 6, 1915. The Commissioner of Fisheries : We are transmitting herewith our report on the effects of otter trawling on the fisheries, in accordance with your order of February 5, 1914, constituting us a committee for the consideration of the sub- ject. We have been unable to comply with your injunction in regard to the time at which the report was to be rendered for the reason that we speedily found that the data acquired by the field investigations in 1913 were inadequate as a basis for conclusions which would be either just to all interests or commensurate with the importance of the subject. In order to reach any useful conclusions whatever it has been necessary to consider the available facts presented by the history of otter trawling in Great Britain, and we decided that for this purpose it was advisable to go to the original official sources of information rather than to utilize the conclusions arrived at by the various commissions which have investigated the subject, and this has consumed much time, particularly as the inquiry had to be con- ducted without interference with many other duties. In reviewing the causes, conclusions, and results of various investi- gations of trawling in Great Britain, it must be borne in mind that the conditions of the sea fisheries there have always been and still are very different from those in this country. There trawling has under- gone a progressive evolution, here it has just begun in a small way at the modern end of that evolution, both in the development of the engines of that method of fishing and the fishes sought. Therefore the early considerations of the subject of trawling have only a general, if any, application to the question in this country, as the conditions, until recent date at least, are incomparable and a com- parison, to be of much value, must be of synchronous and analogous conditions What was concluded by the Eoyal Commission of 1863, or any other commission or select committee, or the fact that 40 years ago or at any time prior to the advent of steam trawling, and particularly the otter trawl, a great scientist or other authority made 11 12 OTTER-TEAWL FISHERY. this or that statement or came to this or that conclusion, affec ,g the present question to the extent only that the statement or conclu- sion holds good at the present day and that it applies on this sid e of the Atlantic. Although the present conditions in the fisheries of Great Britaijn have been reached through changes and progress of many years, anii those of this country are of recent and comparatively sudden develop- ment, the " bones of contention " have apparently been handed along little changed through the various periods in Great Britain; and finally, still little changed, have crossed the Atlantic to America^. When analyzed, the allegations against trawl fishing seem to have had their origin in that one economic factor that has been an ever-present cause of complaint against each and every innovation in fishery meth- ods and appliances in whatever country — competition. Therefore, most of the investigations and inquiries, while directly ascribable to localized self-interest, have been brought about by allegations mainly of general economic significance. The economic conditions, at least, changed from period to period, and each in- vestigation had a somewhat different problem, and its conclusions and recommendations were in accordance with the evidence pre- sented by the conditions of the time. Our investigations have the same characteristic, and it is not improbable that if we should be called on to conduct a similar inquiry in the future, we might find the conditions so changed as to require conclusions different from those we have now reached. This committee has based its findings of fact and its conclusions, so far as the conditions on the banks visited by American fisher- men are concerned, wholly on the mass of material that has been accumulated in the Bureau of Fisheries; and the opinions of per- sons other than the members of the committee have been rigorously excluded from consideration. We are pleased to be able to report complete accord in our de- ductions and unanimity in our recommendations. A. B. Alexander. H. F. Moore. W. C. Kendall. REPORT ON THE OTTER-TRAWL FISHERY, By A. B. Alexander, H. F. Moore, and W. C. Kendall. INTRODUCTION. Until 1905, American vessels fishing for demersal or bottom fish on the banks adjacent to the coast of the United States or on the more distant banks off the coast of Newfoundland and Canada con- fined themselves to the use of hand lines and trawl lines, the nature and methods of the use of which will be described later in this re- port. This fishery was, and is, conducted solely by sailing vessels. In the year mentioned, the steamer Spray was built at Quincy, Mass., for Boston owners, the Bay State Fishing Co. She was constructed on the general plans of British fishing steamers and was equipped for using the otter trawl, an entirely new method of fishing on the coast of the United States, also described further on in this report. In 1910, two more steam trawlers were built for the same owners, and in each of the years 1911 and 1913 three similar vessels were added to the fleet. In addition, a converted yacht owned in New York began fishing in 1912, and a small vessel owned in Gloucester sometimes uses an otter trawl. In the winter of 1914-15 a menhaden steamer entered the fishery. These, with the Coquet, a Scottish vessel which made several trips into New York, are the only vessels which have used otter trawls out of American ports or which have carried fares taken with otter trawls into such ports. The fishery has always been conducted predomi- nantly out of Boston, and at present is practically confined to that place. Although the merits and demerits of beam trawling and otter trawling, which are essentially similar, had long been the subject of much controversy and numerous investigations in Europe, there never had been occasion for either in the United States until the rapid augmentation of the Boston steam-trawling fleet after 1910 aroused the line fishermen to apprehension concerning the conserva- tion of the fishing banks and a realization that they were face to face with a possible revolution in the methods of fishing. As an outcome of this alarm, and in response to the appeal of the line fishermen and related fishery interests, the investigation on which this report is based was made. 13 14 OTTER-TRAWL FISHERY. THE AMERICAN BANK FISHERIES. GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS. In comparatively recent years the fishing fleet of the banks has undergone a great change in both model and rig. The introduction of a new class of vessels, having greater speed and superior sea- going qualities than were possessed by the old type, has made it pos- sible to prosecute the fisheries on a larger scale at all seasons, espe- cially during the winter months. In consequence of the increased size of the modern type of vessels, much more fishing gear is now operated per vessel than was customary 30 or 40 years ago. At that time fewer vessels, in proportion to the size of the fleet, were engaged in the market fishery — that is, landing their catch in a fresh condition — and more attention was paid to what is termed salt fish- ing — that is, the dressing and curing of fish on the banks where caught. As the demand for fresh fish increased, more vessels became en- gaged in supplying the market, with the result that in a few years a large fleet was permanently employed in fishing for cod, haddock, and other species throughout the entire year. These vessels fish chiefly on Georges, Browns, and Western Banks, and in the South Channel, although at times many of the inshore grounds are visited. Quick trips are usually made, but there are times when a continu- ance of gales interrupts fishing for a week or more. Fish that are over two weeks old, as a rule, do not command the price that is real- ized for those more recently caught; in consequence there is an in- centive for the fishermen to land their catch in as fresh condition as possible. In the early years of the haddock fishery only a small portion of the haddock grounds were resorted to, but as more vessels were added to the fleet and competition arose the accessible grounds were more thoroughly exploited and larger catches resulted. On Grand Bank, Western Bank, Quereau Bank, and other grounds where halibut were at one time very plentiful, there has, in recent years, been a decided falling off in the catch, and in some places where they were formerly found in abundance, it is no longer considered profitable to fish for them. This condition is thought to have been brought about by overfishing. Grounds that have been depleted in this manner require "rest"; and it has been found that localities which have been abandoned for a considerable length of time furnish a fairly good supply of halibut when again visited. Taken as a whole, however, the halibut grounds of the western Atlantic are less productive than they were 15 years ago (1899), when the catch of fresh and salted halibut amounted to 9,025,182 OTTER-TRAWL FISHERY. 15 pounds, compared with 3,379,580 pounds in 1914. In 1910 the catch was 4,023,999 pounds: in 1911, 3,501,745 pounds; in 1912, 3,541,539 pounds; in 1914, 3,379,580 pounds; the average annual yield in the past five years being 3,947,003 pounds. The falling off in the amount of halibut landed in some years since 1899 may in a measure be accounted for by the fewer vessels engaged in the fishery, as it has- been found unprofitable to send a large fleet of halibut catchers each season to banks where the re- sults were extremely doubtful, especially in view of the fact that larger and more certain returns might be realized from the cod, had- dock, or mackerel fisheries. Aside from changes mentioned in the halibut and haddock fisheries, the general condition of the various banks enumerated, with the exception of Georges and South Chan- nel, remains about the same as it was 30 years ago. In order to make a clear presentation of the underlying differences between the old line fisheries and the new trawlnet fisheries a full description of the respective apparatus and methods is desirable. HAND-LINE AND TRAWL-LINE VESSELS. Line trawls have been extensively used by the fishermen of New England for many years. This method of capture has largely sup- planted hand lines, although in recent years, at certain periods, a considerable fleet of hand-liners has fished on Quereau Bank and Western Bank with marked success, fishing being carried on- from the deck of some vessels and from the dories of others. The first class are known as deck hand-liners and the second as dory hand- liners. Each method is still used in the cod fishery, but trawl-line fishermen greatly outnumber those using hand-lines. In the inshore fisheries, where formerly hand-lines were wholly used, trawl lines are now the principal means of capture, except on the local fishing grounds off Cape Ann, where gill nets have been extensively employed in the last three years for the capture of pollock, cod, and haddock. Dory hand-line vessels. — A dory hand-line vessel usually carries from twelve to fourteen 13-foot dories. When not in use they are nested on the main deck, an equal number on each side. In this kind of fishing one man goes in a dory and operates two and three lines, the number being regulated by the depth of water, strength of tide, and other conditions. Size of lines and leads. — The lines used by dory fishermen on Quereau and other banks, where this method of fishing is largely carried on at times, are tarred cotton, weighing from 8 to 10 pounds per dozen. The leads weigh from 2^ to 3^ pounds each. The depth of water in which fishing is carried on varies from 15 to 50 fathoms, 86066°— 15 2 16 OTTER-TRAWL FISHERY. while with trawl lines the depth is usually greater, 40 to 60 fathoir. being a fair average. Bait. — Salt clams, fresh squid, caplin, fresh herring, and other species are used for bait. Skill of -fishermen. — On good fishing ground a skillful fisherman will load his dory in a comparatively short time, and it is not un- common, when fish are plentiful, for a boat to be loaded three or four times in a day's fishing. At such times, when there is a considerable fleet of vessels on the bank, the weather being pleasant, it is not unusual for 200 or 300 dories to be fishing side by side. In other localities where fish are less abundant the dories are likely to be more scattered. While the dories are out the skipper and cook gen- erally fish from the deck of the vessel. Time of fishing. — Generally the men go out in the dories twice each day; the first time being before sunrise and again just before noon. In the middle of the afternoon they return to the vessel and eat their supper, after which they begin to dress the catch. The number of fish caught by each man is noted by the captain, and upon this record depends each man's share of the proceeds, it having been found that better results follow this system than on vessels where all fish are thrown together, all men sharing alike. Fishing is continued each day, weather permitting, until a fare has been secured or a scarcity of fish compels the vessel to seek a new berth. Sometimes the voyage is interrupted by the necessity of leav- ing the bank for a fresh supply of bait. Deck hand-line vessels. — Vessels of this class often fish on the same ground with dory hand-liners. The crew fish from the deck. The fishing gear is the same as that used in dories, excepting that the leads are heavier. Trawl-line vessels. — Line trawlers engaged in the market fishery are of two classes, known as single and double dory fishermen, so called because of one man being required in the single and two men in the double dories. The dories are 12 and 14 feet long, respectively. Number of dories and amount of gear. — Vessels that land fresh fish from offshore grounds, such as Georges, Browns, Cape Shore, and other banks, carry from 12 to 16 dories. Vessels fishing on local grounds are generally smaller in size and in consequence carry fewer dories. Ordinarily each dory is furnished with from 4 to 6 tubs of trawl, each tub representing about 500 hooks, seldom exceeding 525 hooks. A flour barrel, sawed off above the lower quarter hoops, is used for a tub. The trawls are coiled in tubs as they are baited, the baited hooks being placed at the side in rows in such manner that they can be thrown out quickly without fouling. A vessel having 12 dories, each dory operating four tubs of trawl, would use 24,000 hooks to a set, and OTTER-TRAWL FISHERY. 17 one having 16 dories 32,000 hooks. The number of tubs to be set is regulated by the abundance of fish, strength of the tide, and weather conditions. On first arriving on the bank it is frequently necessary to test the ground as to the abundance or scarcity of fish. At this time only a small portion of the gear is set, as it is not thought advisable to consume the bait on uncertain ground. Cod and haddock trawl lines. — Trawl lines consist of two parts, the ground line and the gangings, together with buoys, buoy lines, and anchors. The ground line is a small, tarred cotton line weigh- ing about 14 pounds per one dozen lines of 25 fathoms each. The size of lines varies somewhat. The gangings, to which the hooks are attached, are of tarred cotton line weighing about 5 pounds to 300 fathoms, are 2 feet long, and are fastened to the ground line at intervals of 5 feet, although some vessels employ gear with the hangings placed 38 inches apart, and others 5 feet 9 inches apart. There is no fixed rule governing the number of hooks on a trawl. Vessels engaged in the offshore fisheries generally use gear with the hooks closer together than those employed in fishing on local banks. Captains and crews of vessels entertain different ideas regarding the manner in which trawls should be rigged, and this in a measure ac- counts for the different styles of gear found on vessels engaged in the same fishery. Trawls set for both cod and haddock are now rigged practically in the same manner. In past years, however, the hooks and gang- ings on cod trawls were somewhat larger than on haddock trawls. Smaller gear has gradually come into use, and the haddock trawl has taken the place of the cod trawl on Georges, South Channel, and shore grounds. Dories and their outfit. — In making a passage to and from the banks and during stormy weather the dories are nested on the deck of the vessel and securely lashed. On arriving on that part of the bank where a set is to be made, the lashings are cast off and prepara- tions made for fishing. Into the top dories of the nest, previous to hoisting out, the necessary fishing gear is placed, consisting of tubs of trawl, buoys, buoy lines, anchors, fish gaff, bait knife, and dory roller. It may be stated that the trawls are baited before being placed in the dories. The other dories are equipped in the same manner by their respective crews, and as soon as ready are hoisted over the side and paid: astern, ready to set in the position selected by the captain. Setting a trawl line. — In setting a trawl two men usually go in a dory, one to throw the trawl and the other to row the boat. Having arrived at the place where the set is to be made, they fasten a buoy to one end of the buoy line and throw it over the side. The buoy line is allowed to run out until the end is reached, when it, together 18 OTTER-TKAWL FISHERY. with the upper end of the trawl line, is bent to the ring of the anchor. The anchor is lowered over the side, and the trawl is then thrown from the tub until the lower end is reached ; it is then fastened to the upper end of the second tub of trawl, and so on until all of the tubs — four, six, or more — have been set. The last end of the trawl, to- gether with the second buoy line, is bent to an anchor and thrown over the side, care being taken to prevent the buoy line from fouling with the hooks of the trawl as it runs out. To the free end of the buoy line is attached the second buoy. The distance between the buoys depends on the number of tubs set; sometimes it is a mile or more. Hauling a trawl line. — At an early hour in the morning the men turn out to their breakfast, following which the dories are hoisted over the side and preparations are made for hauling. In this case the trawls have been left out overnight. There are many times, how- ever, when two sets are made each day and no night fishing is done. The men row in various directions according to the bearings of their outer buoys. Having reached the buoy, the man in the bow of a dory begins to haul the buoy line, hand-over-hand, over the roller inserted on the gunwale in the forward part of the dory. This is kept up until all the slack is taken in and a strain is brought to bear by the anchor and trawl, when the services of both men are required. The man in the stern unfastens the buoy and coils the buoy line. The anchor having been unbent and stowed away, the man in the bow commences to haul the trawl, which is coiled away in tubs by the man stationed aft, who at the same time takes the fish from the hooks. In this manner the entire " string " of gear is hauled, each section coiled in a tub, the hooks placed in such a position as to make it com- paratively easy to rebait them. Before arriving alongside of the vessel everything connected with the trawl is stowed and fastened in such a manner that it can be removed from the dory to the deck without becoming tangled. Underrunning a trawl. — This method permits the removal of the fish from the hooks and rebaiting them in a single operation, thus saving a considerable amount of labor. " Underrunning " is sometimes performed on ground where fish are plentiful and the weather is suitable for such operation. A trawl intended to be " underrun " is set in the usual manner with slight variation. A becket is made in the buoy line about 10 or 12 fathoms below the buoy. Jn the becket is bent a small line which reaches to the bottom, and to the bottom end of this line is fastened a stone weighing about 6 pounds. The ground line of the trawl, instead of being fastened to the ring of the anchor, is attached to the small line close to the stone. When thus set there is sufficient distance between the an- chor on the buoy line and the stone on the small line to permit OTTER-TRAWL FISHERY. 19 of the trawl being lifted without disturbing the anchor. In haul- ing, the buoy line is pulled up until the small line running to the anchor is reached, the stone is hauled up and the end of the trawl is passed over the dory. One man unhooks the fish and the other baits the hooks. In this way the dory passes under the entire length of the trawl, the fish being taken from it and the hooks baited in a single operation. The object of operating trawls in the manner described is for the purpose of keeping them in one position during the time fish are plentiful. OTTER-TRAWL VESSELS. There are at the present time nine steam vessels regularly en- gaged in the otter-trawl fishery from American ports. These ves- sels were designed and constructed especially for this industry. There are also two other steam vessels employed in otter trawling, one a converted yacht, the other a menhaden vessel. The typical steam otter trawler is a two-masted steel steamer, about 115 feet in length between perpendiculars, with a beam of 22 feet and a depth of 11 to 12 feet, and equipped with an engine of 450 indicated horsepower. The hull is strongly constructed, and shows sturdy, seaworthy lines, with considerable shear. Ves- sels of this class range in size from 218 to 296 gross tons, and are quite similar in the character and arrangement of their gear. The forecastle deck is usually built up and covered in with a turtleback, forming a storeroom for fishing gear, and providing a breakwater which prevents the shipping of water over the bow. From here the deck is clear aft to the wheelhouse, which is situated about midships, over the fire room. From this point a low house runs aft in the center of the vessel, leaving a clear passage on both sides, and a considerable space of clear deck at the stern. A low bulwark extends entirely around the vessel. Just forward of the wheelhouse stands the trawling winch, con- sisting of two drums, steam driven, on which are wound the two wire cables which operate the net. In front of the winch is a hatch leading to the fish hold. The forward deck is divided by low, removable partitions, or " checkers," forming a series of pens of various sizes for the reten- tion of fish during the operations of sorting and cleaning. On each side of the vessel, fore and aft, stand the "gallows;" steel structures which support the sheaves through which the wire cables go outboard. These are usually in the form of an inverted U, inclined slightly outward. The forward pair stand slightly in ad- vance of the foremast, and the after pair about abreast of the mainmast. AFTER GALLOWS MIDSHIP FAIRLEAD TC'.v: atIlcick mSm STEAM Wlts(CH| -\k la Dal ^K |qoo| CES T^TRIFtr - e B0LLAJR0S F D DECK PLAN DIAGRAM OF STEAM TRAWLER SHOWING TISHING GEAR 20 OTTER-TRAWL FISHERY. The otter trawl, as used by steamers fishing out of Boston, is essen- tially a large, flattened, conical bag, which is towed along the bot- tom of the sea. The mouth of this bag is kept open laterally by two large boards, or doors, one on each side, so rigged that they operate like kites. These boards are secured to the towing warps by chain bridles, so adjusted that as the trawl is towed along the resistance of the water causes the boards to pull away from each other, thus spreading the bag. This conical bag is about 150 feet long. That portion of the mouth of the bag which lies on the sea bottom is secured to a foot line 140 feet long, reaching from board to board. The upper edge of the mouth is secured to a shorter headline, 110 feet long, also reaching from board to board. In operation this headline, being shorter, causes the top of the mouth of the bag to extend considerably in advance of the lower portion. The otter boards are usually about 10 feet long, 4 feet high, and 2% inches thick and are heavily shod and reinforced with iron. At ordinary towing speed their kite-like action extends the mouth of the net laterally to a width of from 70 to 90 feet. The flow of water into the net tends to keep it open vertically, but this force is assisted by a painted canvas float attached close to the center of the headline. The foot line is a wire cable served with marline and wound with rope, giving it a diameter of about 4 inches. This wrapping tends to prevent the line from cutting into the bottom, and thus reduces the wear and tear on the net. Chafing gear, consisting of sections of old nets, is used for further protection. The nets themselves, which are all imported, are constructed of strong manila twine, with a mesh of about 3 inches square in the forward third of the bag. The central third has a mesh about 1^ inches square. In the last third of the net, or cod end, the twine is doubled. This makes the knots larger and reduces the size of the mesh to about 1+. inches square. The end of the cod end is open and is secured, while fishing, with a draw string. In setting the trawl, the wire cables are run through fair leads to and through the gallow sheaves, one forward and one aft on the side from which it is proposed to set. The cables are then shackled to the chain bridles of the otter boards, which are in turn secured to either wing of the trawl. The vessel is then brought beam to the wind, the net being on the windward side. The cod end is then tied up and put overboard, the balance of the net being paid out as the vessel drifts to leeward away from it. The float (usually a balloon-shaped danvas bladder) is secured to the center of the top of the bag. The net is now all gone into the water, with the excep- OTTER-TRAWL FISHERY. 21 tion of the ends of the wings, which are attached to the otter boards hanging at the gallows. Both towing warps are now slowly paid out for a short distance, and the vessel moves slowly ahead, turning toward the side from which the net is being set. This is continued until the otter boards have spread the net properly, and the whole apparatus has assumed the position for fishing. The cables are then paid out until the net has reached the bottom, when they are stopped and shackled together near the stern of the vessel. The trawl is now towed slowly along the bottom at a rate of from 2 to 3 miles per hour, usually for about 1| hours. Then the cables are released from the shackle at the stern, the winches are started, and as the net comes up the vessel is again brought broadside to the wind, with the net to the windward, and stopped. The otter boards are brought right up to the gallows blocks, and the net is further brought in by quarter lines run to the gypsy heads of the trawling winches, the crew taking in the slack of the net by hand. When the ends of the quarter lines are in, the foot rope of the net lies close alongside the vessel. The remainder of the net is taken in over the side by hand until the cod end, which contains the catch, is reached. The throat of the cod end is now folded over and bunched together; a sling is passed around it, to which is attached a fall from the derrick boom on the foremast. A winch now hoists the cod end, with its con- tents, and swings it inboard, where it is lowered over one of the checkers. The draw string is now released, and the catch falls out onto the deck. If fishing is to be continued in the same locality, the trawl is immediately again set as before, and the crew start at once to sort, clean, and stow the marketable fish and dispose of the trash. This work is accomplished in the following manner : Two or more men, armed with pitchforks, attack the pile of fish in the checker, heaving overboard the skates, dogfish, monkfish, and other species considered worthless, and tossing the haddock, cod, and other marketable fishes into separate checkers. Here these fish (excepting the flat fish), are immediately cut and gutted, a stream of salt water from a hose washing away the blood and gurry. The livers of the cod, haddock, etc., are usually saved. The gutted fish are now forked into a bin where- they are further washed by a stream of salt water. When this bin is full it is opened by means of a hinged bottom, and the fish fall into the hold, where a man is stationed who packs them away in pens with chopped ice. The flat fish are packed in ice without cutting or cleaning. The fish being 22 OTTER-TRAWL FISHERY. stowed, the hose is turned onto the deck and the checkers cleaned in readiness for the next haul. % Fishing continues day and night The crew is divided into two watches, working six hours each. The average number of hauls per 24 hours, under ordinary circumstances, is about 10 to 12, although this will vary according to the nature of the ground, the amount of net mending necessary, and the weather. Including the passage to and from the fishing grounds, from four days to a week is usually required to get a full fare of fish. FISHING BANKS OF WESTERN NORTH ATLANTIC. The principal fishing banks of the western North Atlantic and their approximate areas, are as follows: Square miles. Grand Bank 36, 000 Green Bank 1, 450 St. Pierre Bank 4, 800 Quereau Bank 3, 000 Misaine Bank 1, S20 The Gully 1, 200 Western Bank 6, 320 Le Have Bank 790 Le Have Ridges 1,575 Roseway Bank 175 Browns Bank 1, 375 Seal Island Ground 1,250 Georges Bank — 8, 498 South Channel (about) 1,300 Total 69,553 Grand Bank. — The Grand Bank lies southeast of Newfoundland, and in area is about equal to all of the other offshore banks com- bined. It extends from latitude 42° 57' to 47° 04' N., and from lon- gitude 48° 06' to 54° 11' W. Its outline is that of an irregular triangle, with sides, respectively. 264, 225, and 264 miles long. In both area and extent of its fisheries the Grand Bank is the most important fishing ground in the world. Its principal fishery is that for cod, which is carried on by ves- sels from France, the United States, the Canadian Provinces, and Newfoundland. The fishing season lasts from April to October. Halibut also are taken in considerable numbers. Green Bank. — Green Bank, situated between Grand Bank and St. Pierre Banks, is of comparatively little importance, although one of the best halibut grounds lies in the deep water near its south- " No name is given on the charts, but it is known to fishermen as the Seal Island Ground ; it lies between Browns Bank and Seal Island. OTTER-TRAWL FISHERY. 23 ern part. Its length, north and south, is 62 miles, and its width is about 36 miles. Little is known of the abundance of cod on this bank, but vessels from Gloucester, Mass., fish here for halibut. St. Pierre Bank. — St. Pierre Bank is situated off the center of the southern coast of Newfoundland, and is distant about 10 miles from the islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon. Its length is about 125 miles, its width between 35 and 65 miles. Cod and halibut are the only food fishes found in considerable numbers, although a few cusk and haddock are sometimes taken. The season begins about the first of April and extends until November. Few except French cod vessels and fresh halibut fishermen resort at present to this bank, as other places offer better inducements. Quereau Bank. — Quereau Bank is one of the most important of the northern banks. It is somewhat rectangular in shape, about 120 by 47 miles in extent, and lies between 44° 04' and 45° 01' north latitude, and 57° 10' and 60° 05' west longitude. Cod and halibut are the principal fish, but hake, haddock, and cusk also abound. The best season is from May to November, but halibut are found throughout the year off the edges of the bank. Misaine Bank. — Misaine Bank lies north of the western two- thirds of Quereau Bank, from which it is separated by a channel about 20 miles wide. Its greatest length and width are 80 and 40 miles, respectively. The Gully. — The Gully is the deep passage lying between Quereau Bank and Sable Island. It is an important place for halibut, the grounds proper being limited to that portion of The Gully between the meridians of 50° and 60° west longitude. Most of the vessels resorting to The Gully are from Gloucester, Mass. Sable Island Bank or Western Bank. — This is one of the most important fishing grounds of the western Atlantic. It lies south of Cape Breton Island and the eastern part of Nova Scotia, be- tween 42° 55' and 44° 46' north latitude and 59° 04' and 82° 35' west longitude, and is about 156 miles long and 76 miles wide. At its eastern end is Sable Island. Cod and halibut are the prin- cipal food fish taken, the former being most abundant from March to June. Vessels from all along the New England coast and the British Provinces resort to this bank for cod, but the halibut fishery is almost exclusively carried on by the Gloucester fleet. Le Have Bank. — This bank lies between 42° 34' to 43° 25' north latitude, a distance of 52 miles, and 63° 50' to 65° 07' west longitude, a distance of about 54 miles. Cod and haddock are the principal species taken. These are found at all seasons of the year, but are most abundant during the early winter months. 24 OTTER-TRAWL FISHERY. Le Have Ridges. — Le Have Ridges is an eastern continuation of Le Have Bank, with a length of about 45 miles. Halibut, cod, and hake are the principal species taken. Roseway Bank. — Roseway Bank lies north of the western part of Le Have Bank and southeast of Shelburne Light, Nova Scotia, and is of small extent, about 21 by 15 miles. Cod, haddock, and cusk are the principal fish taken, but hake, pollock, and halibut also occur. It is mainly resorted to by small vessels from Nova Scotia, although a few from New England occasionally fish there. Browns Bank. — Browns Bank lies northeast of Georges Bank, from which it is separated by a gulley 15 miles wide. It is about 63 miles long by 43 miles wide. Cod, halibut, and haddock are the principal fish, but pollock and hake are also found. Cod and had- dock are quite plentiful in winter. Seal Island Ground. — Seal Island Ground is a direct continuation of the shore soundings, extending south nearly to Browns Bank, and northwest to about 35 miles beyond Seal Island. Cod, haddock, and pollock are the principal fishes, but halibut, cusk, and hake are also taken, and occasionally herring and mackerel. The fleet resort- ing there is composed chiefly of Nova Scotia vessels. Georges Bank. — Georges Bank is the largest and most important ground near the coast of the United States and is second only to Grand Bank in these respects. It lies to the eastward of Cape Cod and Nantucket Shoals, between 40° 30' to 42° 08' north latitude and 66° to 69° west longitude. Its greatest dimensions are about 150 by 98 miles. On its western part are a number of dangerous shoals. During February, March, and April large schools of cod and had- dock appear on this bank, usually on the " winter fishing grounds," whose area is about 11 square miles. South Channel. — South Channel is practically an extension of Georges Bank, or that part of it lying west of 69° west longitude and between 40° 45' and 41° 45' north latitude and includes the ground covered by Nantucket Shoals and as far north as Chatham Lights. It is a very prolific ground for haddock and is resorted to by the Boston and Gloucester fleets. Its closeness to the markets makes it possible to land fresh fish in excellent condition. COMPARISON OF THE CATCH BY OTTER-TRAWL AND TRAWL-LINE VESSELS. The character of the catch, as measured by the number, and espe- cially by the relative proportions of the species taken, varies with the time of year as well as with the apparatus employed, as will be seen from the following table, based on the records of observers stationed on both otter trawlers and line trawlers during the year 1913. OTTER-TRAWL FISHERY. 25 Percentage of Marketable and Unmarketable Species of Fishes Taken by Otter Trawls and Trawl Lines, Respectively, in 1913, on Certain Vessels. Otter trawls. Trawl lines, June to Decem- ber. Species. January to May. June to Decem- ber. Marketable species, saved: Cod Per cent. 4.4 70.3 .6 .2 Per cent. 3.6 36.6 2.0 .3 (•) (») .1 1.3 .7 3.8 (a) Per cent. 8.8 35.6 11.0 Pollock .8 Cusk 2.6 Wolf fish .i (a) 4.0 .1 Sole .1 1.6 <«> 79.6 48.4 60.6 Immature marketable species, wasted: Cod .2 9.1 .9 (•) .1 .2 2.4 22.3 15.2 («) («) .1 Hake 7.5 Pollock Halibut Sole Total 10.5 39.9 7.6 Nonmarketable species, wasted: .5 4.0 .6 2.4 2.3 3.3 2.7 1.1 2.8 1.8 5.1 1.3 .5 21.2 Skate 3.5 Total 9.8 11.7 31.6 20.3 51.6 39 2 a Less than 0.1 per cent. This is a record of the catch, not of the fares landed, and it includes the marketable, the unmarketably small of the marketable species, and the species which have no present market value. The question of the sizes of these fish will be considered later. All cod, haddock, hake, pollock, cusk, halibut, and sole of suitable size are saved, while wolf fish, butterfish, and rosefish are sometimes saved and sometimes thrown away. The "nonmarketable species" are all edible fish, but are not utilized in American markets. It will be observed that there is but little change in the pro- portions of marketable and nonmarketable species taken by the otter trawls in the first and second halves of the year, respectively, but that during the period from June 1 to December 31 the trawl lines catch a much larger proportion of nonmarketable species than do the otter trawls, the difference being due to the larger number of dog-fishes taken on the lines, 21.2 per cent of the whole catch as compared with 2.8 per cent taken in the nets. During this period the otter trawls observed took 88.2 per cent of marketable species and the trawl lines 68.3 per cent, and of the nonmarketable species 26 OTTER-TRAWL FISHERY. the nets took 11.7 per cent and the lines 31.7 per cent. Eliminating the dogfish, the proportion of total nonmarketable species taken by the two methods did not differ materially. The waste of marketable species too small for sale was compara- tively small in the otter-trawl fishery from January to May in- clusive, not being materially higher than the catch of immature fish on lines in the latter half of the year, but from June to Decem- ber, inclusive, the otter trawls were relatively almost five times as destructive of small fish as the lines. On the vessels under observation the lines took no young cod and practically no young haddock, while 2.4 per cent of the whole catch of the otter trawlers consisted of young cod and 22.3 per cent of young haddock regarded as too small to sell. Stated in another form, 40 per cent of the cod and 38 per cent of the haddock taken by the otter trawlers from June to December were fish too small to market. From January to May but 3 per cent of the cod and 11 per cent of the haddock were unmarketable on account of their size. The foregoing data are based on the entire catch of all vessels observed; since they cover trips to a number of banks and the returns for the two methods of fishing are not strictly comparable, for the steam trawlers and liners were in many cases not fishing on the same grounds, the following table has been prepared : Percentage of Marketable and Unmarketable Species of Fishes Taken by Certain Otter Trawlers on Georges Bank and South Channel, Respec- tively, and by Line Trawlers in South Channel, from June to November, Inclusive, 1913. Otter trawls, June- November. Trawl lines, June- Species. Georges Bank. South Channel. Novem- ber, South Channel. Marketable species, saved: Cod Per cent. 3.7 45.5 3.6 .2 (a) (a) (») .8 1.0 1.8 (a) Per cent. 3.7 30.9 .8 .3 (a) ( a ) .1 1.6 .5 5.9 (a) Per cent. 7.8 41.1 9.6 Pollock 1.2 Cusk 2.3 Wolffish (°) .1 Sole (o) 1.7 56.6 43.8 63.8 Immature marketable species, wasted: Cod 2.0 21.9 8.0 (a) (») 2.7 22.4 19.2 (a) ( a ) («) (°) 8.3 Pollock 31.9 1 44.3 8.3 , Less than 0.1 per cent. OTTER-TRAWL FISHERY. 27 Percentage of Marketable and Unmarketable Species of Fishes Taken by Certain Otter Trawlers, etc. — Continued. Otter trawls, June- November. Trawl lines, June- Species. Georges Bank. South Channel. Novem- ber, South Channel. Nonmarketable species, wasted: Per cent. 2.1 2.0 1.0 4.4 2.0 Per cent. 4.3 3.4 1.0 1.7 1.6 Per cent. 6.1 .5 .3 18.0 Skate 3.0 Total 11.5 12.0 27.9 53. 4 56. 3 36.2 a Less than 0. 1 per cent. An analysis of this table shows considerable difference between the catches made by otter trawls on Georges Bank and South Channel during the same part of the year. The former ground produced a large proportion of merchantable species of fishes and a corre- spondingly small proportion of immature individuals. Again, con- sidering the cod and haddock, it is found that the former ground relatively to the entire catch produced 3.7 per cent of marketable size and 2 per cent of immature fish and the latter 45.5 per cent and 21.9 per cent respectively of the two sizes. In other words, 35 per cent of all cod and 33 per cent of all haddock were too small to market. In the South Channel fishery, 3.7 per cent of the whole catch con- sisted of marketable cod and 30.9 per cent of marketable haddock, while the young of these species constituted 2.7 per cent and 22.4 per cent, respectively. In the line fishery in South Channel, 7.8 per cent of the whole catch consisted of marketable cod and 41.1 per cent of marketable haddock, and there were practically no young of these species. While all of the cod and haddock taken on lines were marketable, but 67 per cent of the cod and 58 per cent of the had- dock taken in the otter trawls were saved, the remaining 33 per cent and 42 per cent respectively being too small to sell. Summarizing, while the otter trawls were considerably less destructive to the young of marketable fishes on Georges Bank than in South Channel, they were in both cases incomparably more destructive than the lines fished in South Channel or on all of the other grounds collectively. The young fish not large enough to market are thrown overboard from the vessels in the case of the otter trawlers and from the dories in the line fishery. The testimony of the observers on the vessels is that a very large percentage or practically all of the immature fishes of marketable species are dead when thrown over from the steamers, 28 OTTER-TRAWL FISHERY. and the large percentages of young cod, haddock, and hake shown in the preceding tables are to be regarded as an absolute waste. The young fishes taken on the lines have a much better chance to live, as they have not been subjected to the pressure to which the netted fish are exposed and are immediately returned to the water, although some of them are killed or injured by being " slatted " against the sides of the dories. In respect to the catch of unmarketable species there is not much difference if the dogfish be eliminated from consideration. All of the waste species enumerated in the table are edible and most of them are regarded with considerable favor in Europe. The dogfish has long been eaten and the demand for it in Great Britain is steadily increasing, but its only economic aspect in the United States is that of a nuisance to the fisheries. The monkfish is one of the most highly esteemed fishes in Germany, and the skate has wide consumption in various parts of the world. Both the flounder and the silver hake are good fishes. WASTE FROM MARKETING SMALL FISHES. The foregoing deals with the catch as a whole and the waste which results from the fish discarded as unmarketable. There remains to be considered such waste as may result from marketing an undue proportion of small fishes which, if permitted to live, would not only increase in size and thereby mechanically augment the volume of fish in the sea, but would further increase the supply by procrea- tion. To develop the extent and character of such waste as may occur through the predominance of small fish in the catch the follow- ing tables are presented : Weight and Percentage, by Culls or Sizes, of Cod, Haddock, and Hake Marketed by Otter Trawlers and Trawl Liners Fishing on all Banks in 1913. - Quantity. Percentage. Species and sizes. Otter trawls. Trawl lines. Otter trawls. Trawl lines. Cod: Pounds. 409,559 1,119,975 138, 272 Pounds. 6,927,763 8,099,221 1,023,129 24.56 67.15 8.29 43. 16 50.46 6.38 Total 1,667,806 16,050,113 100.00 100.00 Haddock: 10,366,002 2,122,990 30,265,920 1,159,795 83.00 16.99 6.31 3.69 12,488,992 31,425,715 99.99 100.00 Hake: 99,890 109, 595 3,411,107 5,513,336 47.68 52.32 38.22 61.78 Total 209,485 8,924,443 100.00 100.00 OTTEK-TRAWL FISHERY. 29 The preceding table includes practically all of the cod, haddock, and hake marketed at Boston during the year, and it will be seen that not only, as has been previously shown, do the otter trawlers catch a larger proportion of the small fish than do the trawl liners, but the fish marketed are smaller in the cases of the cod and the haddock, although the reverse is true in respect to the hake. The regulations of the New England Fish Exchange at Boston prescribe the follow- ing weights of the several sizes in " culls " of these three species : Cod: Large, 10 pounds and up. Market, over 2\ pounds to 10 pounds. Scrod, 1 pound to 2\ pounds, inclusive. Haddock : Large, over 1\ pounds. Scrod, 1 pound to 1\ pounds, inclusive. Hake: Large, 6 pounds and over. Medium, over 2\ pounds to 6 pounds. We have at hand no data showing the average weights of the fishes of the several " culls," and the table presented can not be interpreted to show the economic loss due to the capture of a predominance of small fishes, even though they be marketed. Moreover, the table shows the catch from all banks, on many of which the otter trawlers fished but little or not at all. The only fishing ground for which there are sufficient data for a comparison of simultaneous fishing operations by both methods is South Channel, and the observed facts in respect to that locality are presented in the following table: Percentages by Count of Culls or Sizes of Cod, Haddock, and Hake Mar- keted by Otter Trawlers and Trawl Liners, Respectively, Fishing in South Channel from June to September, 1913. Species and sizes. Otter trawlers. Trawl liners. Cod: 6.08 71.50 22.42 22.62 69.15 8.23 Total 100.00 100.00 Haddock: 71.81 28.19 82.16 17.84 Total 100. 00 100.00 Hake: 40.57 59.43 76.70 23.30 Total 100.00 100.00 This table differs from its predecessor in that the percentages are based on the number instead of the weight of the fishes mar- keted, and the loss resulting from the capture of an undue pro- 30 OTTER-TRAWL FISHERY. ".'!! portion of small fishes is more clearly brought out. One large cod, for instance, weighs at least four times as much as a scrod, yet each scrod taken is, barring accidents and enemies, a potential large cod. We have, however, no way of determining the age or weight "expectancy" of the average scrod, and any consideration of the probabilities would be mere unfounded speculation. It is clear, at least, that the otter trawl not only destroys more fish too small to market, but it is also more wasteful than the line fish- eries by reason of the smaller average size of its marketable catch. EDIBLE FISHES WASTED AND NEW KINDS MARKETED. There is another type of waste which has not yet been considered. Failure to utilize a resource which from its nature is not imperish- . able is almost as economically indefensible as to needlessly destroy part of a product the other parts of which are utilized. Every edible or otherwise economically valuable fish left in the sea beyond the requirements of the maintenance of the species, or to serve as food for other species which are used, is a loss so long as the need of man for protein-bearing food remains unsatisfied. A waste of a recognized food species by any given method of fishing may be- come justifiable if large quantities of previously unutilized species, not possible to take by other apparatus, be made available to con- sumers. In final analysis the consumers' interest is paramount, and the real purpose of a fishery is that the people may have fish, both immediately and for all time. The species of flounder locally known as " sole " is practically the only fish marketed by the otter trawlers which does not feature in the market returns of the trawl liners. These fish average about 3 pounds in weight. During the period from January to May, inclusive, 4 per cent, and from June to December, inclusive, 1.3 per cent by count, of all of the fish caught by otter trawls con- sisted of soles, all or practically all of which were marketed, while the quantity of this species caught on lines was negligible. During 1913 the trawlers marketed an average of about 50,000 pounds of sole per month, or 600,000 pounds per year. This is about three times the total quantity of marketable hake, 36 per cent of the saleable cod, and nearly 5 per cent of the haddock marketed from the same source. It is therefore a material addition to the food supply. The average weight of the young cod, haddock, and hake killed and thrown away by the otter trawlers is not definitely known, but it is believed to be at least three-fourths of a pound. On this assumption, the total quantity of soles marketed by the otter trawl- ers is but one-third of the weight of small gadoids destroyed. As has been before pointed out, the catch of the young of these fish by trawl liners is comparatively negligible. Without considering the question of the potentiality for growth of these young fish and OTTER-TRAWL FISHERY. 31 their value for the perpetuation of the fisheries, the quantity of them destroyed is not compensated for by the catch of sole. The wolf fish or catfish is also taken more frequently in otter trawls than on the lines, but the entire quantity marketed by the trawlers did not exceed 75,000 or 80,000 pounds in 1913. Of the edible though unutilized fishes taken by the two methods of fishing, the otter trawlers take more flounders and monkfish and the liners more silver hake and dogfish, while there is not much difference in the relative quantities of skates. Although sev- eral species of skates are highly regarded in other countries, it does not appear that any determined effort has been made to estab- lish a market for such fishes in the United States. The relative prices of fishes are to a very large extent controlled by local taste, custom, and prejudice. For instance, the silver hake which is thrown away by American bank fishermen is the highest priced of the Irish demersal fishes (excepting flat fishes), the haddock being next in price. The skate sells in that country for but about 10 per cent less than the cod, and in England the fishermen receive for dog- fish but 50 per cent less than for cod. In Germany the monkfish sells for much more than fresh mackerel. There is nothing to indicate, therefore, that the otter trawlers added greatly to the supply of fish food by the introduction in the markets of fishes which are not yielded in considerable quantities by the line fish- eries, although their catch is such as to apparently make this to some extent possible. FLUCTUATIONS IN THE CATCH AND EVIDENCES OF IMPOVERISHMENT OF THE FISHERY. It is hardly to be expected that a fishery so recently established and of such moderate development as otter trawling in the United States would have any apparent effect on the abundance of fishes, but it has been alleged that a diminution of the catch of demersal fish already has become apparent, and it is necessary to examine the evidence in respect to the allegation. The statement made is that the beginning of the effects of otter trawling on the abundance of fishes on the banks became apparent during 1913 in the quantity of fish landed at Boston. The following table gives the landings at that port for a series of years: Year. Pounds. Value. Year. Pounds. Value. 1909 84, 794, 303 96,341,387 99,020,127 82,225,383 2,611,813 2,705,861 1912 104,978,427 92,317,920 92,252,880 $2,718,304 2,869,472 2,622,919 1910 1913... 1911 1914 This table shows that there was a gradual increase in the total catch from 1909, when there was but one otter-trawl vessel, until and including 1912, when there were six in commission, but that in 1913, 86066°— 15 3 32 OTTER-TRAWL FISHERY. when three more entered the fishery, there was a sudden fall in the quantity, though a slight increase in the value of the fish landed. In 1914 about the same quantity of fish was taken as in the preceding year. This may be the result of the operation of any one or several of a number of factors, among which may be mentioned the condition of the markets for fish and labor, the weather, the natural irregu- larities of the migrations of the fishes themselves or an actual de- crease in the fishes due to the fisheries or to natural causes. That the falling off in quantity was not due to a decrease in demand is indi- cated by the considerably higher price per pound brought by the fish in 1913 as compared with the preceding year. That for several years there has been a deficiency of fishermen to man the schooners in the line fishery is well known. This is due partly to the introduction of gill netting in the fishery for cod and haddock, which withdrew a number of men from the line fisheries, and partly to the migration of a number of the fishermen to the Pacific coast. Also, a number of schooners have been sold to persons in Nova Scotia and elsewhere, and this, together with the paucity of men, has reduced the activity of the line fishery. From 1908 to 1914 the number of trips of line-caught fish landed at Boston fell from 4,493 to 3,089, a reduction of 31 per cent. To eliminate this factor as far as possible and to reduce the catch to a basis of a unit of effort expended in making it, tables and diagrams showing the fish landed at Boston for a period of years are presented. Quantities of Cod, Haddock, and Hake Taken on all Banks by American Line Vessels Landing Theib Catch at Boston and Gloucester, 1891 to 1914, Inclusive. Num- ber of trips. Cod. Haddock. Hake. All kinds. Year. Per trip. Total. Per trip. Total. Per trip. Total. Per trip. Total. 1891 4,119 Pounds. 4,043 Pounds. 16,655,200 Pounds. 8,220 Pounds. 33,860,197 Pounds. 2,997 Pounds. 12,347,730 Pounds. 15,261 Pounds. 62,863,127 1893 3,826 4,537 4,271 4,187 4,085 3,491 3,866 3,731 3,403 3,981 3,818 4,056 4,280 4,201 4,780 4,674 4,836 5,196 4,263 5,091 4,748 4,963 5,836 5,600 4,605 5,811 16,075,290 21,687,330 19,965,150 20,251,160 21,229,700 14,882,500 19,684,550 17,717,650 16,892,450 23,233,900 21,381,350 18,678,525 24,872,200 8,162 8,706 8,475 6,904 6,760 6,235 6,504 7,567 7,267 8,575 9,747 10,087 12,313 3i, 229, 350 39,502,450 36,199,900 28,909,200 27,614,750 21,769,300 25,145,160 28,235,850 24,731,350 34,138,850 37,216,200 40,916,300 52,700,650 3,029 3,275 2,457 1,560 1,613 2,114 2,196 1,853 2,191 2,065 2,519 2,775 2,223 11,590,400 14,863,100 10,497,400 6,535,300 6,590,500 7,382,430 8,489,800 6,917,100 7, 457, 850 8, 223, 850 9, 617, 750 11,258,100 9,516,500 15,393 16, 762 15,608 13,302 13,570 12, 613 13, 791 14,170 14,423 16,477 17, 866 17, 468 20,347 58,895,040 1894 76,052,880 1895 66,662,450 1896 55, 695, 660 1897 55,434,950 1S9S 44,034,230 1899 53,319,510 1900 52,870,600 1901 49,081,650 1902 65,596,600 1903 68,215,300 1904 70,852,925 1905 87,089,350 1906a 1907 a 1908 4,493 4,740 4,487 3,793 3,381 3, 250 3,089 6,258 5,417 5,744 5,573 6,347 5,577 6,527 28,119,400 25,678,900 25,777,210 21,139,800 21,460,350 18,127,912 20,163,129 8,518 7,756 9,364 10,630 11,774 10,313 10,349 38,272,500 36,766,255 42,016,820 40,320,200 39,810,500 33,519,547 31,970,866 2,764 2,404 3,644 2,949 3,335 3,046 2,327 12,419,500 11,395,000 16,353,100 11,186,225 11,276,050 9,900,945 7,190,065 17,540 15,578 18, 753 19, 152 21,457 18,937 19,204 78,811,400 1909 73, 840, 150 1910 84,147,130 1911 72,646,225 1912 72,546,900 1913 61,548,404 1914 59,324,060 a Data not available. OTTER-TRAWL FISHERY 33 The preceding table and the following diagram based on it apply to the three most important food fishes of the banks— the cod, had- dock, and hake— and reduce the catches for the several years enumer- ated 'to a common basis of the average yield per trip, which, within certain limits, may be considered as indicating the relative annual abundance of the fish in the regions frequented by the fishing fleets. The yield per trip of trawl liners fishing on all banks was less in 1914 than in 1912, but was equal to or more than in three of the five years immediately preceding, and this is true not only of the aggregate, but essentially true of each of the species named. There is, furthermore, a general upward trend of the catch per trip from about 1896 to the present time, and the average since 1910, when the 34 OTTER-TRAWL FISHERY. steam-trawl fleet began to increase, has been higher than for any preceding like period since 1891. There is, therefore, no statistical evidence of a decrease on the fishing banks as a whole. A majority of the trips represented in this table were made tc banks on which the otter trawlers fish little or not at all, and th« point may be raised that the destructive effects of the trawls might be masked by the returns of fish from distant banks which were not affected. To examine into this phase of the subject and to develop the locale of such diminution as may have occurred, the following tables and diagrams have been prepared : Quantity or Cod, Haddock, and Hake Taken on all Grounds Except Georges Bank, South Channel, and Nantucket Shoals by American Line Vessels ' Landing Their Catch at Boston and Gloucester, 1S91 to 1914, Inclusive. Num- ber of trips. Cod. Haddock. Hake. All kinds. Year. Per trip. Total. Per trip. Total. Per trip. Total. Per trip. Total. 1891 2,909 Pounds. 2,882 Pounds. 8,384,200 Pounds. 5,034 Pounds. 14,643,997 Pounds. 4,060 Pounds. 11,812,605. Pounds. 11,976 Pounds. 34,840,802 1S93 1NJ4 1895 2,586 3, 130 2, 814 2,985 3,473 3,049 2,861 3,140 2,012 3,529 3,478 3, 043 4, (ICO 4,210 2,958 2,881 7, 719, 690 10, 873, 430 8,580,750 7,701,260 8, 743, 100 6,649,900 9,488,350 8,835,650 9,123,850 10,095,650 10,184,750 7,281,225 6,850,000 4,728 4,792 4,804 4,018 3,871 3,536 3,266 4,144 4,380 4,734 6,220 5,170 6,328 12,226,750 14,999,350 13,518,900 10,813,900* 10,778,050 9,000,150 8,779,460 10,526,650 10,968,350 11,931,850 15,048,500 12,725,700 15,049,450 2,985 2,911 1,9S7 1,128 1,212 1,435 1,527 1,247 1,840 1,312 1,758 2,218 2,050 7,720,000 9,113,200 5,593,000 3,035,600 3,376,000 3,652,230 4,105,200 3, 168, 500 4,608,750 3,307,950 4,253,050 5,459,900 4,877,100 10,698 11,177 9,841 8,008 8,224 7, 584 8, 323 8,870 9,864 10,053 12,189 10,348 11,260 27, 666, 440 34,985,980 27,692,650 1896 2,091 2,781 2, 545 2, 688 2, 540 2,504 2,520 2,419 2,461 21,550,760 1897 22,897,150 1598 19,302,280 1899 22,373,010 1900 22, 530, 800 1901 24,700,950 1902 25, 335, 400 1903 29,486,300 1904 25,466,825 1905 2,378 26,776,550 1908 2,9SS 3,373 3,126 2,806 2, 209 2,242 2,153 3,398 3,174 3,364 4,203 4,406 3,927 6,469 10,155,000 10,706,500 10,516,100 11,795,550 9,733,950 8,805,648 13,929,217 5,313 5,960 5,630 5,336 6,545 7,609 6,460 15, 875, 400 20,105,150 17,599,550 14,974,200 14,459,300 17,060,431 13,909,607 2,059 2,248 3,871 2,567 2,943 3,096 2,760 6,151,500 7,584,600 12,102,300 7,204,125 6,502,650 6,941,526 5,944,051 10,770 11,383 12,865 12,107 13,896 14,633 15, 691 32,181,900 1909 38,396,250 1910 40,217,950 1911 33,973,875 1912 30,695,900 1913 32, 807, 605 1914 33,782,875 a Data not available. The otter trawls have been used almost exclusively on Georges Bank, South Channel, and Nantucket Shoals; and it will be seen that, excluding these grounds, the catch per trip of cod, haddock, and hake, collectively, by liners, has exhibited a gradual and almost uninterrupted increase from 1908 to 1914, the aggregate gain during that time being nearly 45 per cent. So far as the individual species were concerned, the catch of cod per trip in 1914 was larger than in any other year enumerated; the catch of haddock was larger than in any year, except 1912 and 1913, being much smaller than in 1913 ; and of hake about as many were caught as in any year, excepting 1891 and 1910. OTTER-TRAWL FISHERY. 35 v s 7$ 2 >* -v - £\ ■*-"- -^/ 5i-V v 1 ^^ -p. Z£C LaaQQ S _, t BllSl _ _ _ _ L /Z ^v > Zv S - ^3 ■g 7S /=»,! 7 Z. 4 \ i SQQ1 A 5^:11 Ij;^ + ; !~ _/ 2 v = * fDiiaici' 7 ~<* x v ~ — =.„ ^ Z'--Z'5> jyf s ""l!*"^ -"■" S ^ 7 _--°Ja 6 "J S.-' — " i - s---'"^ 7 1' EGaQi: laaS 31 120.0. 53 X913l 15 5S2a3»: Diagram showing the catch per trip by American line vessels fishing on all Georges Bank, South Channel, and Nantucket Shoals. grounds except Quantity of Cod, Haddock, and Hake Taken on Georges Bank, South Chan- nel, and Nantucket Shoals, by American Line Vessels Landing Their Catch at Boston and Gloucester, 1S91 to 1914, Inclusive. Year. Num- ber of trips. Cod. Per trip. Total. Haddock. Per trip. Total. Hake. Per trip. Total. All kinds. Per trip. Total. 1891- 1893a 1894- 1895- 1S96. . 1897. 1898. 1899. 1900. 1901. 1902. 1903. 1904. 1905. 1906. 1907. 1908. 1909. 1910. 1911. 1912. 1913. 1914. 1,210 1,240 1,407 1,457 1,496 1,301 946 1,178 1,191 899 1,461 1,399 1,595 1,902 1,901 1,674 1,505 1,367 1,361 987 1,172 1,008 941 Pounds. 6,835 6,738 7,685 7,813 8,388 9,597 8,702 8,655 7,457 8,641 8,992 8,003 7,145 9,475 10, 150 11, 256 11,936 10, 952 11,213 9,467 10,005 9,248 6,602 Pounds. 8,271,000 8,355,600 10,813,900 11,384,400 12,549,900 12, 486, 600 8, 232, 600 10, 196, 200 8, 882, 000 7, 768, 600 13, 138, 300 11, 196, 600 11,397,300 18, 022, 200 19, 296, 800 18, 843, 500 17,904,400 14,972,400 15,261,110 9,344,250 11,726,400 9,322,264 6,213,312 Pounds 15, 881 15,324 17,415 15, 566 12, 095 12, 941 13, 498 13, 892 14, 869 15, 309 15, 199 15, 845 17,674 19, 795 17, 565 12, 966 14, 881 12, 188 17,940 25, 679 21,630 16,328 19,230 Pounds. 19, 216, 200 19, 002, 600 24,503,100 22,681,000 18,095,300 16,836,700 12, 769, 150 16, 365, 700 17,709,200 13, 763, 000 22, 207, 000 22, 167, 700 28,190,600 37,651,200 33,392,000 21, 706, 600 22,397,100 16,661,100 24,417,270 25,346,000 25,351,200 16, 459, 116 18,095,059 Pounds 442 3,121 4, 086 3,366 2,339 2,470 3,943 3,722 3,147 3,169 3,364 3,834 3,635 2,439 2,113 2,271 4,164 2,787 3,123 4,034 4,072 2,935 1,344 Pounds. 535, 125 3, 870, 400 5, 749, 900 4, 904, 400 3,499,700 3,214,500 3, 730, 200 4,384,600 3, 748, 600 2, 849, 100 4,915,900 5,364,700 5, 798, 200 4,639,400 4,018,600 3,801,900 6,268,000 3,810,400 4, 250, 800 3,982,100 4,773,400 2, 959, 419 1,265,314 Pounds 23, 158 25, 1S4 29,187 26, 746 22, 824 25,009 20, 143 26, 270 25, 474 27,119 27, 557 27,683 28, 454 31, 709 29, 830 26, 494 30, 983 25, 928 32, 277 39, 181 35,709 28, 512 27, 177 Pounds. 28, 022, 325 31,228,600 41,066,900 38, 969, S00 34,144,900 32,537,800 24,731,950 30, 946, 500 30, 339, 800 24,380,700 40,261,200 38,729,000 45,386,100 60,312,800 56,707,400 44,352,000 46, 629, 500 35,443,900 43,929,180 38,672,350 41,851,000 28, 740, 799 25,573,685 o Data not available for 1892. Referring to the table showing the results of line fishing on Georges Bank, South Channel, and Nantucket Shoals, a different 36 OTTER-TRAWL FISHERY. condition is apparent. There the total catch per trip was smaller than in any year since 1908, excepting 1909; the catch of cod was the lowest recorded ; more haddock were caught than in any year, excepting 1905, 1911, and 1912; and fewer hake were taken than in any year since 1891. An examination of the following table and diagram, exhibiting the catch of the otter trawls, shows that the catch per trip of the gadoid fishes as a whole in 1914 was about equal to that of 1913 and lower than for any other year, excepting 1908 and 1909. Fewer cod were taken in 1914 than in any year, excepting 1910; fewer haddock than in three of the preceding six years. Quantities of Cod, Haddock, and Hake Taken by Otter Trawlers from Georges Bank and South Channel, 190S to 1914, Inclusive. Num- ber of trips. Cod. Haddock. Hake. All kinds. Year. Per trip. Total. Per trip. Total. Per trip. Total. Per trip. Total. 1908 44 47 59 178 295 326 387 Pounds. 4,767 3,400 2,133 3,171 6,620 5,115 2,970 Pounds. 209, 800 159,800 125, 850 564, 500 1,952,950 1,667,806 1, 149, 595 Pounds. 35, 045 36, 574 47, 033 41,388 43, 954 38, 309 39, 750 Pounds. 1,542,000 1,719,000 2,775,000 7, 367, 100 12, 966, 700 12, 488, 992 15,383,550 Pounds. 1,059 1,582 789 852 355 642 670 Pounds. 46, 600 74, 400 46, 600 151,700 105, 500 209, 485 259, 913 Pounds. 40, 872 41,557 49, 956 45,411 50, 932 44, 068 43,392 Pounds. 1,798,400 1909 1,953,200 1910 2,947,450 1911 8,083,300 1912 15,025,150 1913 14,366,2&3 1914 16,793,058 There is ample evidence, therefore, that the catch of the principal food fishes on the banks frequented by the otter trawlers was con- siderably smaller in 1913 than for several years preceding, while on the banks on which there is little or no traw 7 ling there was a material increase, the catch on all banks combined being slightly above the average for the past six years. If the investigations had been made in 1911 or 1912, the statistical evidence would have tended to show an increase rather than a decrease during the same period in the average catch of fish by both otter trawls and lines on Georges Bank and South Channel. In 1914, as compared with 1913, both liners and trawlers made smaller catches of cod per trip to Georges Bank, South Channel, and Nantucket Shoals and larger catches of haddock. On the other hand, the trips to all other banks yielded a smaller average catch of haddock and a larger catch of cod. If this can be held to mean anything, it is that during 1914 there were more haddock and fewer cod on the banks frequented by the trawlers and that the data indicate that there was merely a shifting of the schools of these fish from one region to another, the average on all banks combined remaining practically uniform. OTTER-TRAWL FISHERY. 37 The foregoing applies to that period only during which the steam trawlers have been a factor in the fishery, but the tables Diagram showing catch per trip by American line vessels fishing on Georges Bank, South Channel, and Nantucket Shoals. and diagrams of the line-fishery catches supply almost complete data back to 1891. Considering this longer period, it will be seen that 38 OTTER-TRAWL FISHERY. the average catch per trip fell rather sharply from 1891 to about 1896 to 1897, but that since those years there has been a net in- crease both on the banks fished by the steam trawlers and on those which are rarely or never so fished. The sharpest fluctuations, however, are shown on the banks and during the period covered by the otter-trawl fishery. On Georges Bank, South Channel, and _ SESJI it «._»»*_ _ _h j^ - c tx 4 X tX tx - t r-J r p i - thU t it tit i i i X^ b X 35£n :_i 3 3 _ ^ B ,_ _- J 3siji - tt t -ti- lt X tl ft X-, X + X7 X ,i t " * p ± I C ziin _i t v ' j X t A * t ibbtizciz •§ - ? P c- V | 35CEC Z.- + s 3E iliCCCf | A E2CD t_:_£3I3 -H i v j v - ± - sic ± 5: t 3 T \,^ -_S? , -J5J -- ± S "~N - EtHSE ± X 3l A( *5L'S IWIIIIJIIllllllllj i li iii Catch per trip by otter trawlers fishing principally on Georges Bank and South Channel. Nantucket Shoals, the heaviest catch of haddock ever made as well as the lowest since 1896 occurred within this period, but the lowest catches per trip were when but one steam trawler was operating, and the largest and next to the largest came after the fleet had been considerably augmented. After this report had been nearly completed, it was represented to the committee that during the year 1914 the fishery on Georges Bank, particularly for haddock, had been very unsatisfactory and that the line fisherman had practically ceased to resort to these grounds on that account. To test this allegation, the following OTT ER-T HAW t FISH ERY. 41 tables and the diagrams based on them have been prepared, show- ing the total annual catches and the average catches per trip of Gloucester vessels for a period of years. Gloucester alone was con- sidered because all vessels from that port are liners, while the Boston fleet comprises the otter trawlers, which have gradually increased in numbers and have made it more difficult, therefore, to present valid comparisons between the several years. Quantities of Cod, Haddock, and Hake Taken by Gloucester Line Fisher- men on Georges Bank, 1905 to 1914, Inclusive. Num- ber of trips. Cod. Haddock. Hake. All kinds. Year. Per trip. Total. Per trip. Total. Per trip. Total. Per trip. Total. 1905 478 418 361 316 207 187 211 268 1S1 123 Pounds. 11,410 15,215 17, 135 22, 930 23,940 28, 516 18,909 20, 306 21,927 19, 679 Pounds. 5,451,071 6, 359, 900 6, 185, 881 7,246,011 4,955,585 5,332,487 3, 989, 879 5,441,802 3, 968, 716 2,420,597 Pounds. 11,720 21,377 8,994 11,860 4,758 8,255 8,591 12,606 14,C14 21,305 Pounds. 5, 602, 212 8, 935, 735 3,246,682 3, 747, 820 984, 830 1,543,775 1, 812, 803 3,378,439 2, 645, 060 2, 620, 525 Pounds. 790 1,495 1,232 646 343 441 1,074 610 194 552 Pounds. 337, 804 625, 091 444,616 203,998 70, 930 82, 493 226,638 163,607 35, 143 67,919 Pounds. 23,921 38,0S8 27,361 35, 436 29,040 37,212 23, 836 33, 522 36, 734 41, 536 Pounds. 11,391,087 1906 15, 920, 726 1907 9,877,179 1908 11,197,829 1909 6,011 349 1910 6,958 755 1911 5 029 320 1912 8, 983' 848 1913 6 648 919 1914 5 109 041 From the tables and diagrams several facts appear. In the first place, since 1005 there has been a general large and fairly continuous decrease in the combined catch of the principal species and of the cod taken on Georges Bank by Gloucester vessels using lines. In the case of the haddock there was an enormous decrease from 1005 to 1000, but since then there has been a general increase in the total quantity landed at Gloucester. Synchronously with these developments, there has been a heavy decrease in the number of trips, and this decrease was numerically greatest prior to 1000, when there was but one steam trawler in service. The falling off in the totals was, therefore, to some extent due to a reduction of fishing activity by the Gloucester vessels, and to eliminate this variable we have reduced the catch to a basis of quantity per trip and have found that the catch per trip of cod, haddock, and hake combined was greater in 1014 than in any year since 1005 at least and of haddock was about equal to that of 1006 and much greater than for any other year of the period considered. The catch of cod per trip was greater in 1014 than during four of the preceding nine years. The average catch per trip of cod and haddock each, and of these two combined with the hake, was greater for the five years 1010 to 1014, inclusive, than it was for the preced- ing five-year period. 38 OTTER-TRAWL FISHERY. We find, therefore, that there is no statistical support for the claim that the haddock, or any other demersal fish on Georges, has Diagram showing the total combined catch of cod, haddock, and hake, in hundredweights, average catch per trip in pounds, and number of trips made by Gloucester line fisher- men on Georges Bank. The heavy horizontal lines show the average catch for five-year periods. shown signs of overfishing since the first use of the steam trawler in 1005. OTTER-TRA.I^ FISHERY. 41 The increase in the catch of haddock per voyage of liners in 1914 can not be ascribed to an increased catch of scrod, for very few of the latter were taken, and the data show that very few are taken by liners even when the small fish are present in large numbers and are taken by the trawlers on the same ground. An examination of the Diagram showing the total catch of cod in hundredweights, average catch per trip in pounds, and number of trips made by Gloucester line fishermen on Georges Bank. The heavy horizontal lines show the average catch for five-year periods. monthly returns of this fishery shows that about 80 per cent of the haddock were taken in August and September, when the average per trip was nearly 40,000 pounds, as compared with an average of nearly 21,000 pounds for the year. The average for the remaining months was therefore comparatively low, and this doubtless has 42 M OTTER-TRA»VL fishery. given rise to the opinion of the fishermen that the fishery has been a failure, a view in which we can not concur. The total yield for the year is the true criterion. It may be noted that the heaviest apppn 4V - ------ it 11 m - i- :::z::z T^ A it __ EE2aa 3_j:__: ,. ,__ I x~ ~~_ _ r t t :::: t __: -it : ii t X it t v __ _52&2G t 1 _ X i**K*__ i j j it I r - t t t 4 r " x jt — 1 — I i r . "i3a£ .. L 1 I - I _ i ;----- j --0 = - = = : = = = = = -ij ' * : ;_ :: see T Z.- — Z _ ~ -- ~z[i: zx : :::? t__ _ t -_~? t±_ i ?::::J::" _ _ ._ 2V - - - X S _ -»- - ._ ^_t_i. X _:t- i lac :x3m v it - « - £*>. _ i - _r s ie 2^ ::::j fc^ _ - SJ-, i- --,ti - ^' _-__- ISE£ t - j it _----« .Si \ Z -/■ . . ■ ,^» j ' 1 £ ; / aa o, _ - ;; ;;; ;;; ;; :;;;; ; ;; ;;;; ; _ ._ _ . _ . . gj . _ g; --itjcj. - cr -- 12"" ca C4 Mcs i^4" ~ll — nn " in mm 11 12 u :_::...: :: :; :: ::: ::: : ::: :; : : Jeci ::: ~:::_~:: 3: _ .. : — : : :;: :::::: ::: _:_ _::_ :::; :; : 3::^: ; :::::: x ; : i :: _ — :::::::: Li.1 J ! 1 I 1 1 1 1 Diagram showing average prices per pound received by fishermen for certain fishes landed in Boston. steam trawlers, the following table has been prepared. It should be explained, however, that the table immediately preceding and the one following, except for the year 1914, were derived from two sepa- rate sets of statistics and are, therefore, not exactly comparable, but each by itself indicates the general tendency of the prices. The first table was computed from the statistical bulletins of the Bureau of Fisheries, in which the trade sizes of cod, haddock, and hake were not available prior to 1914. The second table was taken from the books of the New England Fish Exchange, which provided data regarding the sizes as far back as 1909 only. R9 OTTER-TRAWL FISHERY. Average Prices of Fresh Bottom or Bank Fishes Sold at the New England Fish Exchange, Boston, 1909 to 1914, Inclusive. Species and sizes of fish. Cents per pound. 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 Cod: Lanre 3.3 2.1 1.8 2.4 1.7 1.9 1.2 2.3 3.5 2.4 2.4 2.5 2.0 2.4 1.6 2.4 3.S 2.7 2.1 2.2 1.9 2.3 1.5 1.9 3.9 2.4 1.8 2.1 1.5 2.7 1.3 2.0 4.6 2.5 1.7 2.9 2.1 2.9 1.6 2.9 4.1 Market 2.1 Scrod 1.4 Haddock: 2.6 Scrod 1.7 Hake: Large 3.1 Small 1.7 Sole 3.6 It appears from this table that between 1909, when there was but one steam trawler fishing, and 1913, in the latter part of which 10 such vessels were employed, there was an increase in the prices of all sizes of the principal demersal fishes, with the exception of scrod cod. This increase manifested itself in all years excepting 1912, when there was the largest catch of which we have record, and the prices of haddock and scrod haddock fell below those of the preced- ing 4 or 5 years. The figures for 1914, however, show a fall in the prices for all sizes of cod and haddock and a rise in the prices for large and small hake and for " sole," It is deduced from a combi- nation of the data presented by the two sets of tables that within the past few years the advance in the prices of cod and haddock as a whole has been slightly retarded by the large quantity of the smaller and cheaper fish brought in by the steam trawlers. It must be stated, however, that the otter trawl has not been used for a sufficient length of time in American waters, nor has it attained sufficient importance as compared with the line fisheries to have much influence on the trend of prices, but a study of the conditions in Europe throws some light on the subject. In England and Wales the otter trawl supplanted the beam trawl, to the practical exclusion of the latter, about 1898. Data dating from that time are available as showing the trend of prices of fish in the countries named, and these for several of the more important and characteristic species, and, combined, for all fish commonly taken in the trawls, are shown in the following table and diagram: OTTER-TRAWL FISHERY, 53 Average Prices of Fresh Fish Landed in England and Wales, 1898 to 3913, Inclusive. Cents per pound. Year. Cod. Haddock. Hake. Sole. Lemon . sole. Plaice. All fish. 1898 3.4 3.5 3.5 3.7 2.8 2.9 2.8 3.1 2.8 3.0 2.9 2.1 2.4 2.4 2.8 3.1 2.8 3.0 3.3 3.5 3.0 2.4 2.5 3.0 2.4 2.5 2.7 2.6 2.9 2.9 3.3 4.1 3.4 3.3 3.8 3.5 3.6 3.2 2.9 3.2 3.4 3.3 3.2 3.1 3.7 3.7 4.0 5.1 34.6 34.9 36.5 35.6 33.1 31.9 28.8 28.5 31.5 33.6 31.6 31.8 33.3 31.6 32.1 33.7 5.9 5.9 5.8 5.3 3.9 4.6 4.2 4.5 5.4 4.7 5.0 4.2 4.9 4.9 6.1 7.0 3 4 1899 3.5 3 7 1900 1901 3 6 1902 10.9 11.9 11.3 11.1 12.2 12.1 10.9 9.6 10.7 10.9 11.6 12.2 3 1903 3 1904 2.7 1905 3.1 1906 3.0 1907 2.7 1908 2.8 1909 2.6 1910 2.9 1911 2.7 1912 2.9 1913 3.0 Diagram showing average prices of fresh fish per pound received by fishermen for certain fishes landed in England and Wales. From 1898 to about 1900 or 1901 there was a slight increase in the average price, but henceforth to 1911 there was a distinct and consistent downward trend in all species excepting the hake, for 54 -OTTER-TRAWL FISHERY. which there was a growing demand outrunning the supply. In 1912, as is graphically shown in the diagram, there was a sharp upward turn in the price of all of the cheaper fish and a slight rise in the more expensive kinds, and this tendency was accentuated in 1913. In the latter year, haddock, hake, and plaice were all con- siderably higher than in any year here recorded, lemon soles were higher than at any time since they have been separately listed, soles and cod were higher than since 1901, and demersal fish as a whole had returned in average price to the level of 1912. Therefore, while the average prices of the most important species of demersal fishes have been, in general, lower since the otter trawl supplanted previous methods of fishing, they were in 1913, the latest year of which we have record, higher than in 1898, with the. single exception of the cod; and in the case of the haddock, hake, and plaice, the increase has been large. It should be noted, also, that with respect to the cod there has been a decrease in the proportion of the larger and more valuable sizes since 1903, at least, and a corresponding increase in the small ones. In the plaice, the large size has diminished proportionately to both the medium and small. In respect to these species, there- fore, the increased marketings of the smaller and cheaper sizes has had a tendency to repress the upward trend of prices, which would have been more marked if the relations of the sizes in earlier years had been maintained. In regard to the haddock, which is the other most important trawl-caught fish, the situation is peculiar. The statistics show a material increase in the proportion of large fish landed, a slight decrease in the medium size, and a considerable decrease in the proportion of small. As the total catch of the species has decreased, it is believed that the condition shown by the statistics has been brought about by the transfer of fish formerly rated as medium to the category of large, and of small fish to the medium class. That this may be true is indicated further by the fact that while small haddock brought but 28 per cent of the price of large ones in 1906, they brought 75 per cent in 1912 and 80 per cent in 1913. In later years, all three classes have more nearly approached parity in price, presumably because, to some extent, they were more nearly ap- proaching parity in dimensions. It should be mentioned, however, that this evening up of the prices was doubtless due, in some degree, to the education of the public to consume smaller fish. Unfortu- nately, there have been no fixed or recorded standards of the sizes of fishes, and it is known that the standards vary as between the several ports and at the same port from time to time. In view of all considerations, however, we believe that the average size of all haddock taken has decreased, and that the prices would probably OTTER- TRAWL FISHERY. 55 be higher than they are if the former standard had been main- tained. To summarize, while the otter trawl in England and Wales re- duced the cost of production of fish for a number of years after it became the predominant method of fishing, it did this to some extent by reducing the standard of sizes, and within the last two years prices have increased rapidly until they are higher than ever. To what extent the general increase in commodity prices has been responsible can not be determined. It may be noted that the increase in the price of fish in 1912 and 1913 occurred in the face of the heaviest fisheries that Great Britain has ever known, in which, however, the species taken in the trawl fishery did not participate. J INSUFFICIENCY OF DATA. While certain provisional deductions are drawn from the pre- ceding analysis, the data are not regarded as sufficient to warrant .' an opinion respecting the effects of steam trawling on the fisheries. The period during which the American trawlers have operated has been too short, the trawlers engaged have been too few, and their catch, relatively to the catch by liners fishing on the same banks, has been too small to make it probable that they could have shown any drastic effect. Such fluctuations as have occurred during the time may have been merely the periodical changes common to all fisheries. For this reason it has been necessary to consider what is known of the fisery in the North Sea, the region in which it has reached its greatest development, and where it has been prosecuted for the longest time. The only data for a sufficiently long period available to the committee considering the subject are those con- tained in the Annual Reports on Sea Fisheries of England and Wales and the Annual Reports of the Fishery Board for Scotland. These two countries have four-fifths of the North Sea trawlers, catch over two-thirds of all fishes taken in the North Sea and over three-fourths of all demersal fishes landed from that region, and, therefore, if an analysis of the statistics develops any pronounced facts, they can be assumed, with some safety, to be applicable to the North Sea fisheries as a whole. The statistical publications of The Permanent International Coun- cil for the Exploration of the Sea contain interesting detailed infor- mation respecting other countries in recent years, but as this can not well be correlated with the data from earlier periods it has not been used. Unfortunately, the same difficulty has been encountered in a measure in dealing with the English and Scotch statistics. The forms of the tables, the character of the data which they contain, the classification of the fishes, and the detail and particularity of the data have been changed from time to time. This has not only 56 OTTER-TRAWL FISHERY. entailed great labor in an effort to arrive at the facts, but has neces- sitated some lack of uniformity in the consideration of the several periods, and has also, taken in connection with modifications in the methods of the fishery, dictated the selection of the particular periods considered. If the data for the entire series of years had been pre- sented in the form adopted since about 1906, many difficulties would have been removed, and the matter presented in this report would have been more explicit in some respects. While this report appears to consider and compare certain years only, largely for the reasons just explained, all English and Scotch reports since 1891 have been laboriously examined, and it is not believed that if other years were substituted there would be any material change in the apparent trend of the analysis. MINOR AMERICAN TRAWLNET FISHERIES. In considering the matter of the regulation of the otter-trawl fishery on the oceanic banks adjacent to the coast of New England, which is the prime purpose of this report, it is necessary to keep in view two minor fisheries prosecuted by the otter trawl or its equiv- alent concerning which there appears to be little or no complaint. CAPE COD FLOUNDER FISHERY. The first of these is the flounder fishery on the shores of Cape Cod. The fishery was established about 1895 or 1896, and 27 trawl nets were in use in 1898. In 1902 the number had increased to 65, and in 1908, the latest year for which we have information, there were 126 ; it is understood that the number has increased since then. The vessels in the Cape Cod otter-trawl fleet, which is owned prin- cipally in Provincetown, Hyannis, and Falmouth, is composed of craft ranging from motor dories to auxiliary motor vessels of 25 to 30 tons. Beam trawls were formerly employed, but they have been practically supplanted by otter trawls measuring from 30 to 50 feet between the boards. The fishery is conducted in depths of 10 fathoms, more or less, and as it is confined to Cape Cod Bay and Nantucket Sound, it is within territorial waters and, therefore, within the jurisdiction of Massachusetts. Few fishes other than flounders are taken, the principal species being the winter flounder, locally known as the " black back," and the rusty dab, known to the fisher- men by the name of " fluke " and " yellow tail." . The present catch of these trawls is not known, but in 1898 they took 766,850 pounds, valued at $8,564; in 1902, 1,419,809 pounds, valued at $43,169; and in 1908, 2,893,000 pounds, yielding the fishermen $64,000. At Hy- annis and Falmouth the trawl fishery is of very recent development. Previous to 1908, from 6 to 12 small boats employing hand lines made an aggregate annual catch of 200 to 300 barrels. With the OTTER-TRAWL FISHERY. 57 introduction of beam trawls, more than 125 men have gone into the business in Hyannis and Falmouth, and in the season of 1910 and 1911 they caught and marketed 11,500 barrels (over 2,575,000 pounds) of winter flounder, receiving therefor the sum of $57,500. a As com- paratively few of these fishes are taken by other methods, the otter trawl in this case has added to the food supply a fishery product not otherwise largely available. SAN FRANCISCO PARANZELLA FISHERY. This fishery was introduced from the Mediterranean many years ago and is prosecuted by Italian fishermen employed principally, if not entirely, by two San Francisco companies. In 1908 there were 20 of these nets in use at this port. The paranzella is essentially similar to an otter trawl, but the wings are kept extended not by otter boards but by warps or lines carried to tugs. Two vessels steer- ing on parallel courses are required to operate a net. The tugs are about 85 feet long and of 30 tons net register, with an engine of about 150 horsepower and a crew of 11 men. In 1908 the paranzella nets caught 4,722,000 pounds of fish valued at $87,000, of which 3,629,000 pounds valued at $68,000 were flounders and soles. No large numbers of fishes important to the line fisheries are taken. The fishing ground is a strip about 50 miles long and 5 miles wide lying about 12 miles seaward from the Golden Gate. There is practically no other fishing on this ground, and, therefore, the paranzella nets do not interfere with other methods of fishing. About 15 per cent of the fish brought up in the net are immature. The fishery is conducted beyond the limits of territorial jurisdiction. DEMERSAL FISHERIES OF ENGLAND AND WALES. INTRODUCTION. In the preparation of this report every effort has been made to trace the history of the demersal fisheries of England and Wales, and especially of the North Sea, continuously from 1891 to the latest date for which data are available, but after careful consideration it has been found necessary to break the continuity of the discussion, because there appears no basis for harmonizing the possible analyses of the statistics prior to 1901 with those which can be made after 1903. In other words, one basis of comparison is possible between the several years of the earlier period and another between those of the later series, but none whatever can be made between 1901 and 1903, when there was an abrupt change in the manner in which the data were presented. "Report of the Commissioner of Fisheries, 1911, p. 50. 58 OTTER-TRAWL FISHERY. From 1891 to 1901 there are no data relating to the North Sea specifically, but there is material for the consideration of the fishery out of certain east coast ports from which the operations in the North Sea were so overwhelmingly predominant to those carried on in other regions from the same ports that no violence is done to the validity of the discussion by considering that the fishery was conducted in the North Sea alone. These ports were North Shields, Sunderland, Hartlepool, Scarborough, Yarmouth, Lowestoft, and Kamsgate. Grimsby, Hull, and Boston were concerned largely or predominantly in the fisheries in other regions than the North Sea, which would introduce an important error, and they are therefore eliminated from consideration. Furthermore, during the period from 1891 to 1901, while the whole number of vessels is stated in the reports, there is no specific designation of the numbers of the respec- tive classes and types and the catch of each, and as the ratios of these to one another undoubtedly varied from year to year, and as the effi- ciencies of the different sorts and sizes of vessels and the kinds of fishes which they catch diverge widely no adequate measure of the intensity of the fisheries can be applied. From 1903 onward the data presented in the reports are much more specific, the catch from the North Sea is definitely given, as are also the number of landings of the different sorts of vessels, the catch of each, and, especially in the later years, the definite character of that catch. With the reservations and limitations imposed by the conditions thus summarized, it is possible, however, to make some use of the entire series of matter presented in the Annual Reports on Sea Fisheries of England and Wales. If, for instance, a certain tend- ency should be shown by a comparison of the several years of the earlier period inter se, and the same tendency should be shown by the different sort of analysis required by the character of the data available for the second period, the two presumably would be mutu- ally corroborative. It must be understood definitely and finally, however, that the specific data for one period must not be compared with those for the other. FISHING REGIONS. The fishing vessels of England and Wales fish in the following regions, which are specifically designated in the reports for recent years: White Sea, Iceland, Faroe, Rockall, North of Scotland, North Sea, English Channel, Irish Sea, Bristol Channel, Westward of Scotland, West of Ireland, Southward of Ireland, Biscay, and Portugal and Morocco. All of these regions are resorted to by Eng- lish steam trawlers, in some cases to the total or practical exclusion of other methods of fishing. OTTER-TRAWL FISHERY. 59 Prior to 1906 there is very little specific information furnished in respect to the fisheries on these grounds, but such data as are available indicate the increasing relative importance of the more distant regions as compared with the North Sea. The landings of fish at Grimsby, Hull, and Boston, the ports from which these fish- eries were predominant, as compared with the landings at six or seven other east coast ports where the North Sea fishery was para- mount, showed an increase from about 73 per cent of the total in 1891 to about 82 per cent in 1901. For 1903 and later years there are specific data for the " North Sea " and " Regions beyond the North Sea " — that is, all others — and the following table shows the proportions of all demersal fish taken by English vessels in these two, respectively : Percentile Peopoetions of Demebsal Fishes Caught in the Nobth Sea and in Regions Beyond the Nobth Sea, Respectively, by English and Welsh Vessels. Year. North Sea. Beyond North Sea. 1903 79.4 54.7 43.2 20.6 45.3 56.8 1906 1912 These complete statistics confirm the deductions from the earlier partial data, that the North Sea has rapidly lost in relative impor- tance to the whole demersal fishery, and that it has now lost its for- mer dominance. A discussion of all of the 14 regions previously named is not important to the purposes of this report. The North Sea, the seat of the oldest, most important, and most dominant otter-trawl fishery, furnishes the data of most value, and that region is, therefore, con- sidered at the greatest length, but for purposes of comparison, and as a check on the deductions made, it is desirable to analyze the information obtainable respecting certain other regions resembling it in the character of the fishery and the fishes caught. The most suitable for this purpose appear to be Iceland, the White Sea, and Faroe. The areas of the fishing grounds of the four regions, accord- ing to the best information obtainable, are as follows : Square miles. North Sea 152, 500 Iceland 36, 600 White Sea 128, 900 Faroe 4, 950 These areas, certainly in the case of the North Sea and probably in other cases, are the totals of the waters to which the fishermen resort, and it is at least probable that the whole is not equally pro- ductive and that some parts may be practically or completely barren 60 OTTER-TRAWL FISHERY. of commercial fishes. Certainly, some parts of the North Sea pro- duce comparatively little, some produce practically nothing but small fish, while others, e. g., Dogger Bank, are highly productive. Probably all of these regions show differences in their several parts, and the product differs with the physical characters. The North Sea south of a line from Flamborough Head to about the northwest point of Denmark is comparatively shallow and is the important plaice region. In this area small plaice abound near the shores and particularly in the southeast portion on the Dutch and German coasts, while the larger fish frequent the offshore banks. North of the line described and along the Norwegian shore the sea is deeper and the haddock becomes of relatively greater importance. The nature of the fisheries in the North Sea, White Sea, Iceland, ■ and Faroe, and their statistical histories, so far as it is possible to trace them from the information available, are shoAvn in the follow- ing pages. FISHERIES OF THE NORTH SEA. First-class vessels. — "With the exception of a wholly negligible quantity, all of the demersal fishes taken in the North Sea by English vessels are landed on the east coast. The following table makes com- parison of the landings of demersal fishes as a whole, and of round fishes and flat fishes, respectively, at east coast ports, the data until 1901 being the total for certain ports and after 1903 for all ports, for reasons previously explained. As practically the entire catch is made by first-class vessels, and as these are the only vessels for which more detailed data presented later are available, they alone will be con- sidered. Total Landings of Demebsal Fishes, Round Fishes, and Flat Fishes, from the North Sea on the East Coast of England in the First and Last Years of Certain Periods. Classes and periods. Quantity (hundred- weight) during— Gain or loss. First year. Last year. Hundred- weight. Per cent. Demersal fishes: 1891-1 898 570, 818 508,940 5,116,979 4,281,150 304,095 247, 109 3,492,414 3,158,062 266, 723 261,831 1,492,696 970, 509 508,940 585,436 4,281,150 3,675,862 247, 109 264,470 3,158,062 2,605,812 261,831 320,966 970,509 849,003 - 61,875 + 76,496 -835,829 -605,288 - 56,986 + 17,361 -334,352 -552,250 - 44,892 + 59,135 -522, 187 -121,506 —10 1898-1901 +15 1903-1906 —16 1906-1912 —14 Round fishes: 1891-1898 — 18 1898-1901 + 7 1903-1906 — 9 1906-1912 —17 Flat fishes: 1891-1898 — 1 1898-1901 +22 1903-1906 —34 1906-1912 —12 Note.— The data for 1891 to 1901, inclusive, are for certain ports only, enumerated in the text. OTTER-TKAWL FISHERY. 61 It is apparent from the foregoing that from 1891 to 1901 the catch of demersal fishes fluctuated, but showed a slight net gain for the period, and that while the fluctuation was exhibited in the catch of both round fishes and flat fishes, the former registered a net loss and the latter a net gain for the whole period. The period from 1903 to 1912 was characterized by consistent losses in both round fishes and flat fishes, but more especially in the latter, which of course resulted in a heavy loss in demersal fishes as a whole. The catches of cod, haddock, and plaice combined have averaged from 87 per cent of the demersal fishes taken in the North Sea to about 72 per cent; cod and haddock constitute about 90 per cent of the round fishes, and plaice from about 60 to 75 per cent of the flat fishes. The following table compares the catches of these three species in the respective years considered in this report : Total Landings of the Three Important Demersal Fishes from the North Sea on the East Coast of England in the First and Last Years of Cer- tain Periods. Species and periods. Quantity (hundred- weight) during— Gain or loss. First year. Last year. Hundred- weight. Per cent. Cod: 1891-1898 91,987 94,906 783,782 740,062 185, 877 125,457 2,310,340 2,046,204 200,475 207,933 956,358 570, 862 94,906 108, 722 740,062 825, 636 125, 457 124, 102 2,040,204 1,293,080 207,933 270,635 570, 862 527, 0S8 + 2,919 + 13,816 - 43,720 + 85,574 - 60,420 - 1,355 -264, 136 -753,124 + 7,458 + 62,702 -385, 496 - 43,774 + 3 189S-1901 + 14 1903-1906 — 5 1906-1912 + 11 Haddock: 1891-1898 —32 1898-1901 — 1 1903-1906 — 11 1906-1912 —36 Plaice: 1891-1898 + 3 1898-1901 +30 1903-1906 —40 1906-1912 — 7 Note. — The data from 1891 to 1901, inclusive, are for certain ports only, enumerated in the text. From this table it appears that the total catch of cod increased during the period from 1891 to 1901, but fluctuated, although regis- tering a small net gain from 1903 to 1912 ; the total yield of haddock from the North Sea decreased consistently and heavily in both pe- riods, while the plaice gained throughout the first period and lost heavily in the second. First-class steam trawlers. — The landings of fish by steam trawlers prior to 1903 are not separately given, but it can be safely assumed on the authority of a statement made in the report for 1901 that the vast majority of the fish listed in the preceding tables for the years 62 OTTER-TRAWL FISHERY. 'he )re 1891 to 1901, inclusive, were taken by this class of vessels. The trend of the catch of demersal fishes by steam trawlers is therefore indicated by that of first-class vessels as a whole. After 1902 the information is specifically given and is shown in the following table : Quantities of Demersal Fishes, Classes, and Ceetain Kinds from the North Sea Landed on the East Coast of England by Pirst-Class Steam Trawlers in the First and Last Tears of Certain Periods. Classes, species, and periods. Catch (hundredweight) during — Gain 01 loss. First year. Last year. Hundred- weight. Per cent. 4,776,081 3,983,020 3,983,020 3,361,391 -793,061 -621,629 -16 -15 3,382,316 3,074,932 3,074,932 2,464,094 -307,382 -610,838 - 9 -19 1,264,122 761,393 761,393 634, 157 -502,729 -127,236 -39 -16 729,311 705,306 705,306 786,481 - 24,005 + 82,175 - 3 +11 2,301,505 2,034,882 2,034,882 1,292,743 -266,623 -742, 139 -11 -36 811,637 440,920 440,920 386,690 -370,717 - 54,230 -45 -11 Demersal fishes: 1903-1906.... 1906-1912.... Round fishes: 1903-1906.... 1906-1912.... Flat fishes: 1903-1906... 1906-1912... Cod: 1903-1906... 1906-1912... Haddock: 1903-1906... 1906-1912... Plaice: 1903-1906... 1906-1912... Note.— The quantities for 1906 are the landing in England and Wales, but almost if not quite all were landed on the east coast. As the cod, haddock, and plaice are the important species, the foregoing data dealing with single years have been checked by comparing the catches of these species for three overlapping four- year periods between 1903 and 1912, inclusive. It will be seen that the results are essentially similar, as indicated by the trend of the total catches of these species by trawlers in the North Sea. Percentile Ratios of Catches of Cod, Haddock, and Plaice by Steam Trawlers in the North Sea, 1906 to 1909, and 1909 to 1912, Compared with 1903 to 1906. Four-year periods. Percentile ratios. Cod. Haddock. Plaice. 1903-1906 100 105 122 100 93 68 100 73 64 1906-1909 1909-1912 It appears that the catch of demersal fish in the North Sea by steam trawlers decreased from 1891 to 1898 and increased sufficiently from 1898 to 1901 to show a small net increase for the entire period, OTTER-TRAWL FISHERY. 63 and that round fishes and flat fishes each followed the same general trend. From 1903 to 1906 and again from 1906 to 1912 steam trawl- caught demersal fishes as a whole, as well as both round fishes and flat fishes, showed heavy decreases, the total percentile falling off in the flat fishes being the greatest. Steam trawl-caught cod gained in total catch from 1891 to 1898 and from 1898 to 1901 but exhibited a falling off of about 3 per cent from 1903 to 1906. From 1906 to 1912, however, there was a mate- rial increase, and it is apparent that the total catch of the species by trawlers increased more or less continuously from 1891 to 1912. Steam trawl-caught haddock on the contrary declined in total throughout the entire time, and in the two periods, from 1891 to 1901, and from 1903 to 1912, the decreases amounted to 33 per cent and 44 per cent, respectively. In the case of the plaice there was an increase in the catch between both 1891 and 1898 and 1898 and 1901, the aggregate of the two amounting to 35 per cent of the catch of 1891. In both 1906 and 1912 the catch was much less than in 1913, and the decrease in the entire period was nearly 53 per cent. For the entire term from 1891 to 1912 there was, therefore, an increase in the total catch of cod by steam trawlers and a decrease in the catches of haddock and plaice, especially the former. The foregoing discussion is concerned with the total catches of the several classes, categories, and kinds of fishes; but while the indi- cated changes were taking place there were synchronous but not necessarily parallel changes in the composition and fishing power of the fleet and variations in the intensity of the fishery conducted by it. To eliminate these variables as far as possible the catch may be reduced to the average per vessel, the average per voyage, or the average per day's absence from port. The first is objectionable in that it does not eliminate the effects of variations in the number of vessels tied up for variable' and undeterminable periods, and we have, therefore, confined ourselves to the consideration of the other two. Unfortunately these methods of analysis can not be applied at all prior to 1903, as the data are not furnished in the reports, and for 1903 and the following years the average catch per day's absence is stated for a part only of the total catch (that not landed in London where most of the fish are brought in by carriers and not by the fishermen). The catch per voyage is not given at all, although the average duration of the voyages is given for all ports excluding London. As this information applies to the major portion of the fishing operations, it may be assumed that it is reasonably applicable to all, 86066°— 15 5 64 OTTER- TRAWL FISHERY. and, following a suggestion in the report of 1906, a we have calculated from these data the hypothetical number of voyages and days' absence required to catch all of the fish taken by English trawlers in the North Sea. The following tables are based on the factors so derived. The total number of steam trawlers in England and Wales does not appear ascertainable for 1891 and 1898, but there were about 500 in 1893 and 1,116 in 1899. In 1901 there were 1,096; in 1903, 1,135; in 1906, 1,254; and in 1912, 1,341. While this rapid increase in the fleet was occurring there was a continuous growth in the size of the vessels from an average of 41 tons in 1893 to 72 tons in 1912. There was, therefore, not only a heavy increase in the size of the fleet, but also in the fishing power and efficiency of its units. Not all of these vessels fished in the North Sea, and some of them fished both there and elsewhere. We have no data as to the number fishing there in any year, but for 1903 and later years there is available the more specific information concerning the number of landings and the number of voyages referred to in the preceding paragraphs. Tot at. Number of Days' Absence and the Total Number of Voyages (Land- ings) by Steam Trawlers Fishing in the North Sea from Ports on the East Coast of England. Periods. Number during- First year. Last year, Loss. Number. Per cent Total days' absence: 1903-1906 1906-1912 Number of voyages (landings) 1903-1906 1906-1912 256,228 225, 923 36, 852 36,474 225,923 213, 286 36,474 36, 118 30,305 12,637 378 356 11.8 5.5 1.0 The number of days' absence from port has decreased, while the number of landings has remained practically stationary. The av- erage length of voyages, therefore, has decreased from 6.95 days in 1903 to 5.73 days in 1912, a development probably due to the in- creased steaming and fishing gear and improvement in the general efficiency of the vessels and their gear. That the number of land- ings has not increased with the increase in the number and power of English trawlers indicates that to a relatively greater extent than formerly the vessels are fishing in regions other than the North Sea, a fact known from other sources of information. • Annual Report Sea Fisheries, England and Wales, 1906, pp. viii-xi. OTTER-TRAWL FISHERY. 65 Avebage Catch of Steam Trawlers Fishing in the North Sea from the East Coast of England Per Day of Absence During the First and Last Years of Certain Periods. Species and periods. Catch (hundredweight) during — Gain or loss. First year. Last year. Hundred- weight. Per cent. Demersal fishes: 1903-1906 18.64 17.63 3.1 3.5 8.3 7.8 3.1 3.1 17.63 15.76 3.5 4.45 7.8 4.8 2.1 2.34 -1.0 -1.9 +0.4 +0.9 -0.5 -3.0 -1.0 +0.2 — 5 1906-1912 -10 Cod: 1903-1906 +12 1906-1912 +27 Haddock: 1903-1906 — 6 1906-1912 -38 Plaice: 1903-1906 -30 1906-1912 +11 Average Catch Per Voyage of Steam Trawlers Fishing in the North Sea from the East Coast of England During the First and Last Years of Certain Periods. Species and periods. Catch (hundredweight) during— Gain oi loss. First year. Last year. Hundred- weight. Per cent. Demersal fishes: 1903-1906 129.6 109.2 21.7 21.9 57.9 48.5 21.2 13.3 109.2 90.3 21.9 25.8 48.5 27.4 13.3 13.4 -20.4 -18.9 + 0.2 + 3.9 - 9.4 -21.1 - 7.9 + 0.1 -15 1906-1912 -17 Cod: 1903-1906 + 9 1906-1912 +17 Haddock: 1903-1906 -16 1906-1912 -43 Plaice: 1903-1906 -32 1906-1912 + 0.7 These two tables show the same facts, namely, that on whichever basis computed, the average catch of demersal fishes by steam trawl- ers has decreased from 1903 to 1912, the average catch of cod has materially increased, while the yields of haddock and plaice per unit of effort have decreased, the former over 53 per cent and the latter over 37 per cent. A frequent manifestation of the results of overfishing is the per- manent relative increase in the catch of small fishes, particularly if the absolute quantity of the catch of large fishes or of the species as a whole remains stationary or diminishes. As a fishery increases, the total quantities of the catch will also increase, while the ratios existing between the catch of the various sizes will be maintained provided that the size and composition of the fish schools remain unimpaired. When overfishing occurs, how- ever, there is a tendency to change the composition of the schools 66 OTTEIMKAWL FISHERY. even though the aggregate number of individuals composing them may not be reduced. The larger fish are taken in at least the full proportion in which they exist in the schools and at the same time increased numbers of the immediately smaller fishes are taken and fewer are left to develop into large, and the numbers of the latter are gradually reduced both absolutely and relatively. We have a particularly well-known and conspicuous example of this in the lobster fisheries of New England. The following table analyzes the catches of cod, haddock, and plaice in respect to their relative size components : Percentile Ratios of Each Size of Cod, Haddock, and Plaice to Total of all Sizes Landed in England and Wales from the North Sea by First- Class Steam Trawlers in 4-Year Periods, 1903 to 1912, Inclusive. Species and sizes. Percentile ratios to all sizes.* 1903-1906 1906-191)9 1909-1912 Cod: 43 30 26 29 28 43 24 31 45 42 25 33 30 15 55 25 30 45 33 Medium 25 Small 42 Haddock: 39 Medium 13 Small 48 Plaice: Large 21 Medium 32 Small 47 a In 1903 the data of landings on the east coast only are available, but the landings elsewhere were negligible. It will be seen that the cod shows a material reduction in the ratio of large fish to the total, a smaller reduction in the medium fish, and a heavy increase in the ratio of small. The plaice exhibits a slight reduction in the relative catch of large fish, and a corre- sponding increase in the small, the proportion of medium fish re- maining about constant. The haddock, on the contrary, shows an increase in the ratio of both large and small at the expense of the medium size. So far as the large fish are concerned, we believe the actual facts to be other than as shown, and that the statistical increase has been due to the transfer of what were formerly classed as medium fish to the cate- gory of large. We know from official statements that there are no definite standards of size, and that they vary from time to time. In the face of the relatively high price of the large haddock, the absolute great increase in that price in the last 10 years, and the ab- solute decrease in the catch of that size, it appears to us to be more than probable that the standards have been lowered, and that all categories are as an average smaller fish than formerly. Even if this be the case, the combined catch of large and medium haddock OTTER-TRAWL FISHERY. 67 were somewhat smaller in the quadrennial period 1909-1912 and much smaller in 1906-1909 than it was in 1903-1906. First-class sailing trawlers. — The number of first-class sailing trawlers operating in the North Sea is not definitely determinable, but it is small relatively to the steam trawlers. In all England there was a heavy decrease in this class of vessels from 1891 to 1901, but since then the number has been practically uniform, and it may be assumed that the vessels in the North Sea followed the same course. Specific data of the catch of the sailing trawlers are avail- able after 1902 and are shown in the following tables, which are presented with nothing more than the comment that the operations of these vessels, so far as the catch is concerned, are of such rela- tively insignificant proportions that they are not worthy of con- sideration excepting to show that they are insignificant. Quantities of Demebsal Fishes, Classes, and Ceetain Kinds from the Noeth Sea Landed on the East Coast of England by Fibst-Class Sailing Tbawl- ebs in the flbst and last yeabs of ceetain pebiods. Classes, species, and periods. Catch (hundredweight) during— Gain or loss. First year. Last year. Hundred- weight. Per cent. Demersal fishes: 1903-1906 277,530 262,504 40,004 50,531 217,502 206,975 22,953 17,122 1,059 1,447 144,667 129,956 262,504 279,055 50,531 55,469 206,975 208,072 17, 122 14,500 1,447 129, 956 140,300 -15,026 +16,551 +10,527 + 4,938 -10,527 + 2,097 - 5,831 - 2,622 + 386 — 5 1906-1912 + 6 Round fishes: 1903-1906 +26 1906-1912 + 9 Flat fishes: 1903-1906 — 4 1906-1912 + 1 Cod: 1903-1906 —25 1906-1912 —15 Haddock: 1903-1906 +36 1906-1912 , Plaice: 1903-1906 -14,711 +20, 344 -10 1906-1912 +15 Avebage Catch Peb Day's Absence of Sailing Tbawlebs in the Nobth Sea feom the East Coast of England Dtjbing the Fibst and Last Yeaes of Ceetain Pebiods. Species and periods. Quantity (hundred- weight) during — First year. Last year Gain or loss. Hundred- weight. Per cent. Demersal fishes: 1903-1906 1906-1912 Cod: 1906-1912 Haddock: 1906-1912 Plaice: 1906-1912... 3.11 2.45 .16 .01 1.22 2.45 3.08 .16 .00 1.55 -21 +25 + .33 +27 68 OTTER-TRAWL FISHERY. Steam liners. — Steam liners, still more than sailing trawlers, bear but an insignificant part in the North Sea fisheries of England, as may be seen by the following tables : Quantities of Demersal Fishes, Classes, and Certain Kinds from the North Sea Landed on the East Coast of England by First-Class Steam Liners in the First and Last Years of Certain Periods. Classes, species, and periods. Catch (hundredweight) during— Gain or loss. First year. Last year. Hundred- weight. Per cent. Demersal fishes: 1903-1906 33, 338 a 9, 740 21,898 7,973 10,197 1,688 12,451 5,555 2,782 a 9, 740 20,678 7,973 17,394 1,688 3,265 5,555 15,031 -23,648 +10,938 -13,925 + 9,421 - 8,509 + 1,577 - 6,896 + 9,476 — 70 1906-1912 +112 — 63 Round fishes: 1903-1906 1906-1912 +118 Flat fishes: 1903-1906 — 83 1906-1912 + 93 Cod: 1903-1906 — 55 1906-1912 +170 Haddock: 1903-1908 1906-1912 46 Plaice: 1903-1906 54 1906-1912 1 1 a Landed in all England and Wales, but probably all on east coast. Average Catch Per Day's Absence of Steam Liners Fishing in the North Sea from the East Coast of England in 1906 and 1912, Respectively. Species. Catch (hundredweight) during— Gain. 1906 1912 Hundred- weight. Per cent. Demersal fishes 14.78 8.43 18.28 11.32 .04 3.50 2.89 23 Cod 34 Haddock Plaice SUMMARY OF CONDITIONS IN THE NORTH SEA. Summarizing the conditions of the fisheries of the North Sea, as shown by the examination of the English official reports, we find that since 1891 there has been a material decrease in the quantities of fishes caught, and that both round fishes and flat fishes have partici- pated in this decrease. During this time there has been considerable change in the strength and composition of the fishing fleet, the most important of which was the substitution of the otter trawl for the beam trawl, which became practically complete as early as 1898. Since that time, at least, this apparatus has been the predominant means by which the fishery was conducted, and it catches about 90 per cent of the fish taken by all means by English vessels, and the OTTER-TRAWL FISHERY. 69 English trawlers take about 45 per cent of the demersal fish, and rather more than that portion of cod, haddock, and plaice taken by all nations in the North Sea. Exact data respecting the activities and catch of this fleet, which are available since 1902 only, show that the average catch of demersal fishes, per voyage and per day's absence from port, has materially decreased between 1903 and 1912, and this decrease has occurred in both round fishes and flat fishes. There is, therefore, presumptive evidence of the depletion of the fisheries as a whole. Cod, haddock, and plaice combined constitute about 80 per cent of the demersal fishes caught by English vessels in the North Sea, and they represent an almost equal proportion of the catch by all countries in those waters. Of these we find that the cod shows an increase in the total catch and in the averages per voyage and per day's absence, the only sign of depletion appearing in the decrease in the proportional catch of large fishes and the increase in the pro- portion of small ones. The haddock shows indications of depletion in the heavy and con- sistent decrease in the total catch, p and in the average catches per voyage and per day's absence. Statistically it shows but slight indi- cations of overfishing in the ratios of the several sizes, but we believe this indication would be more pronounced if the standards of sizes had been maintained on equality with those of earlier years. The plaice, by every method of examination which the data will permit us to apply, "shows unmistakable signs of depletion. We believe, therefore, that there is overfishing in respect to both haddock and plaice, and that in consideration of its overwhelming predominance the otter trawl is responsible. The cod, being a rapa- cious, more nomadic fish, and less distinctly a bottom dweller, is not affected. ICELAND. The importance of the English steam-trawl fisheries in Iceland was second to that of the North Sea only in both 1906 and 1912, and the steam-line fishery in the region held first place in both years among the 14 regions enumerated in the reports. Practically no other method of fishing is pursued there by English vessels, and the trawlers took about 93 per cent of the total catch in 1906 and about 90 per cent in 1912. In 1906 there were 1,579 and in 1912 there were 1,430 voyages by trawlers, a decrease of about 9 per cent, and the total number of days' absences decreased 11 per cent, from 35,039 days in 1906 to 30,919 days in 1912. The average duration of the voyages was nearly equal in the two years, being 22.2 days in 1906 and 21.6 days in 1912. The total catch of the trawlers and the average catch per trip are shown in the following tables: 70 OTTER-TRAWL FISHERY. Total Catch of Demersal Pishes, Classes, and Important Kinds by English Steam Trawlers Fishing in Iceland Waters in 1906 and 1912. Classes and species. Quantity (hundredweight) . Gain or loss. 1906 1912 Hundred- weight. Per cent. 1,549,502 1,266,248 237,431 729,322 414,241 186,382 1,439,774 1,233,396 173,323 800,992 310,136 121,264 - 108,728 - 32,852 - 64,108 + 71,670 - 104,105 - 65,118 — 7 - 2 — 27 Cod + 9 - 25 - 34 Average Catc h per Landing by English Steam Trawlers Fishing in Iceland Waters in 1906 and 1912. Species. Quantity Oiundredweight). Gain or loss. 1906 1912 Hundred- weight. Per cent. 1,051 461 261 118 1,120 560 216 84 + 69 + 99 - 45 - 34 + 6 Cod --- + 21 • - 17 - 28 The table of total quantities shows that there was a decrease in all fishes excepting the cod, but as is seen from a comparison of the table of average catches per voyage this was in part due to a decrease in fishing activity. Nevertheless, while there appears to have been an increase in the cod, as measured by the catch per unit of effort, there were equally considerable decreases in the had- dock and plaice as measured by the same standard. In 1913 there was a further development of these tendencies, and while there was a heavy increase in the total catch of cod, due to increased fishing activity, there were material decreases in the total catches of had- dock and plaice, and very heavy decreases in the average quantities per voyage, especially in plaice, of which but half as many were taken as in 1906. Percentile Proportions of Trade Sizes to Total of all Sizes of Cod, Haddock, and Plaice from Iceland, Landed by Steam Trawlers in Quadrennial Periods Between 1906 and 1912. Species and sizes. 1906-1909 1909-1912 Cod: 67.3 19.4 12.7 69.3 27.6 3.0 53.9 43.8 2.2 57.3 21.9 Small 20.7 Haddock: 60.3 37 7 Small 1.9 Plaice: Large 36 6 57 7 Small 6.6 OTTER-TRAWL FISHERY. 71 As shown in the foregoing table, the increase in the cod catch has been due to some extent to an increase in the relative quantities of the smaller sizes landed, and the decrease in the quantities of haddock and plaice, especially the latter, has occurred notwithstand- ing the marketing of an increased proportion of the small and medium sizes. The statistical facts of this fishery, so far as they may be given weight on account of the brief period covered, point rather strongly to the possible depletion of the plaice fishery and to a less extent of the fishery for haddock. The cod, as appears to be the case everywhere, is unaffected. In 1906 there were 346 voyages by English steam liners, aggre- gating 7,526 days of absence per port, and of an average duration of 21.7 days. In 1912 there were 521 voyages, entailing an aggre- gate absence of 10,268 days, and the average voyage occupied 19.6 days. The total catch of these steam liners and the average catch per voyage are shown in the following tables : Total Catch of Demersal Fishes, Classes, and Important Kinds by English Steam Liners Fishing in Iceland Waters in 1906 and 1912. Classes and species. Quantity (hundred- weight). Gain or loss. 1906 1912 Hundred- weight. Per cent. 111,248 20,826 83,847 13,954 175 162, 241 82,859 74,300 58,388 659 +50, 993 +62, 033 - 9,547 +44, 434 + 484 + 45 +297 Flat fishes — 11 Cod +318 Haddock +276 Average Catch per Landing by English Steam Liners Fishing in Iceland Waters in 1906 and 1912. Species. Quantity (hundred- weight). Gain or loss. 1906 1912 Hundred- weight. Per cent. 321 40 .5 311 112 1 -10 +72 + .5 — 3 Cod +180 +100 It will be seen that no plaice were taken in these fisheries, and the catch of haddock, the other species of particular significance in this inquiry, was negligible. The decrease in flat fishes is due to the halibut, the principal species of that class taken by the liners. There 72 OTTER-TRAWL FISHERY. was a heavy increase in cod. Very few small fishes of any kind are taken on lines, as will appear from the following table: Proportions of Trade Sizes to Total Catch of all Sizes of Cod and Haddock from Iceland Landed by English Steam Liners in Quadrennial Periods Between 1906 and 1912. Species and sizes. 1906-1909 1909-1912 Cod: 99.6 .31 92.1 7.8 97.7 2.1 Haddock: 100.0 WHITE SEA. The fishery by English vessels in this region was conducted solely by steam trawlers, and, considering steam vessels only, it ranked eighth in catch among the 14 enumerated regions in 1906 and sixth in 1912. In 1906 there were 41 voyages to the White Sea, aggregat- ing 1,129 days, and with an average length of 27.5 days. In 1912 there were 212 voyages, an increase of 419 per cent, aggregating 5,490 days of absence from port, an increase of 386 per cent, and having an average length of 25.9 days, a slight decrease. There are no specific data available for years prior to 1906. The total catch of fishes, by classes and important species, is shown in the following table : Total Catch of Demersal Fishes, Classes, and Important Kinds by English Steam-Trawl Vessels Fishing in the White Sea in 1906 and 1912. Classes and species. Quantity (hundred- weight). Gain. 1906 1912 Hundred- weight. Per cent. 45,330 6,083 39,210 1,089 4,480 39, 176 210,636 95,813 113,945 52, 137 40, 297 110,848 165,306 89,730 74,735 51,046 35,917 71,672 364 1,310 190 Flat fishes Cod 4,686 799 182 This fishery was originally undertaken primarily for plaice, which constituted over 86 per cent of the total catch in 1906, but while the quantity of this species had increased about 183 per cent in 1912 the catch of cod and haddock had increased more rapidly and plaice comprised less than 53 per cent of the combined catch of the three species in 1912. To eliminate the statistical effects of the increase in OTTER-TRAWL FISHERY. 73 fishing activity and reduce the catches to the basis of units of effort expended in making them, the following table is presented: Average Catches per Landing by English Steam-Trawl Vessels Pishing in the White Sea in 1906 and 1912. Species. Quantity (hundred- weight). Gain or loss. 1906 1912 Hundred- weight. Per cent. 1,105 27 109 956 993 246 190 523 -112 +219 + 81 -433 10 Cod +811 + 74 45 Haddock It will be seen from this that the average catch of demersal fishes per voyage has decreased slightly, and of plaice, the principal species caught, heavily between 1906 and 1912. The average catches of cod and haddock have each increased, the former enormously. As the plaice is the highest-priced and most desirable fish of the three, the inference is that there was a deficiency of that species, which was made good in some measure by increased attention to the cod and haddock. This tendency appears to have been reasonably con- tinuous throughout the period discussed. In 1913 there were but 108 voyages to the White Sea, and the average catch of the cod and plaice per voyage was about the same as in the preceding year, but there was a further increase of about 50 per cent in the average catch of haddock. To determine whether there is any other indication of a deple- tion of the supply of these fishes, the following analysis has been made of the catch in respect to its composition by sizes during the two overlapping four-year periods for which information is available : Proportion of the Different Trade Sizes of Cod, Haddock, and Plaice to the Whole of the Three Combined, in Quadrennial Periods Between 1906 and 1912. Species and sizes. 1906-1909 1909-1912 Cod: Per cent. 11.8 22.9 65.1 89.3 10.5 .1 28.5 71.3 Per cent. 9 55 1 Small 35 8 Haddock: 35 64.8 Small .1 Plaice: 30.6 69.2 This throws but little light on the subject other than to show that the increases in the catches of cod and haddock were mainly in 74 OTTER-TRAWL FISHERY. the medium sizes, and to warrant the inference that probably only the larger haddock were saved in the earlier period when the species was less energetically sought. The large plaice have slightly more than maintained their proportional importance. Considering the facts developed and the brevity of the period which it is possible to discuss, we can draw no conclusions except- ing the dubious one that the supply of plaice in the White Sea may not be sufficient for the maintenance of the fishery for that species on the scale which it has attained. FAROE. This region, which is the smallest of the four considered in this discussion of the English fisheries, lies about midway between the North Sea and Iceland. Its product, which is about 7 per cent of all demersal fishes landed in England, is greater than that of the White Sea but less than that of Iceland. About 85 to 90 per cent of the fishes in this region are taken by steam trawlers, which made 1,085 trips in 1906 and 1,303 in 1912. The total number of days' absence was 17,215 in 1906 and 18,445 in 1912, the average duration of the voyages in the two years being 15.8 and 14 days respectively. The total catch and the average per voyage are shown in the following tables : Total Catch of Demersal Fishes, Classes, and Important Kinds by English Steam Trawlers Fishing on Faroe Grounds, 1906 and 1912. Classes and species. Quantity (hundred- weight). Gain or loss. 1906 1912 Hundred- weight. Per cent 536, 947 470, 675 30, 231 245,364 190, 740 4,346 584,484 539, 775 20, 155 341,704 147,525 989 +47,537 +69,100 -10,076 +96,340 -43,215 - 3,357 + 8 +14 -33 +39 -22 -77 Average Catch per Landing by English Steam Trawlers Fishing on Faroe Grounds, 1906 and 1912. Classes and species. Quantity (hundred- weight). Gain or loss. 1906 1912 Hundred- weight. Per cent. 495 434 28 226 176 4 449 414 15 262 113 .8 -46 -:o -13 +36 -63 - 3.2 - 9 - 5 -44 Cod +15 -35 -80 OTTER-TRAWL FISHERY. 75 The total catch of demersal fishes showed a slight improvement, but this was due to an increase in the intensity of the fishery. The quantity of plaice taken was insignificant, the principal flat fishes of the region being halibut and skates, the combined catch of which exhibited a large decrease both in the total and the average per voyage. Cod and haddock are the principal species taken, and of these the cod, the more important, was caught in greater quantities, while the take of haddock diminished. An examination of the following table shows that the improvement in the yield of cod was due solely to an increase in the quantity of small and medium fish marketed, the large fish undergoing an actual quantitative decrease. The same trend is shown in the catch of haddock, in which there was an actual increase in the quantities of medium and small fish in the face of a falling off in the total catch of the species. Proportion of ihe Trade Categories to Total Catches of Cod and Haddock Taken on Faroe Grounds by English Steam Trawlers in Quadrennial, Periods from 1906 to 1912. Species and sizes. 1906-1909 1909-1912 Cod: Per cent. 39.2 36.1 24.5 72.2 23.4 4.2 Per cent. 21 8 Small 46 8 Haddock: 68 2 20 6 Small 11 1 In view of the relatively small importance of the line fishery, it is not considered necessary to discuss it more than in the presentation of the following table: Total Catch of Demersal Fishes, Classes, and Important Kinds by English Steam Liners Fishing on Faroe Grounds in 1906 and 1912. Classes and species. Quantity (hundred- weight). Loss. 1906 1912 Hundred- weight. Per cent. 81,662 48,963 27, 661 29, S67 462 4 41,461 27,416 12, 788 14,827 114 40,201 21,547 14, 873 15,040 348 49 44 53 Cod 50 75 The Faroe fishery, as a whole, furnishes no data of value respect- ing the plaice, but making due allowance for the shortness of the period considered, the data available establish some presumption of a decrease in the haddock and a suspicion that there may be over- fishing of the cod. 76 OTTER-TEAWL FISHERY. DEMERSAL FISHERIES OF SCOTLAND. FISHING REGIONS. The Scottish reports furnish but little specific data respecting the fishing regions, such distinctions as are made indicating merely the part of Scotland in which the fish are landed, the east coast, Orkney, and Shetland, and the west coast, respectively. The latter two are of practically no importance to the purposes of this report and are not discussed. The major portion of the demersal fish caught in the Scottish fisheries are landed on the east coast; and as that is the region in which trawl fishing is of greatest importance, and as practically all fish taken in the North Sea by Scottish vessels are landed there, it is the only region which we have deemed it necessary to consider. FISHERIES OF THE EAST COAST. The statistics and the general information available for Scotland are not very satisfactory for the consideration of the effects of otter trawling on the fisheries, inasmuch as they lack, even to a greater extent than the earlier reports for England, that particularity of data which is necessary for a proper consideration of the subject. However, it is possible to trace some trend, and as this accords in general with that indicated in the English fisheries, it may be re- garded, with some caution, as confirmatory of the conclusions formed respecting the latter. In the following discussion the same historical periods and sub- periods are considered, partly for the sake of uniformity with the discussion of the English data and partly because the forms of the statistics underwent some change in the years of demarcation, or be- cause some change in the fishery became definitive in those years. For instance, 1898 is the first year concerning which it is known that all steam trawlers were using the otter trawl, which had gradually replaced the beam trawl ; in 1904 there was a change in the classifi- cation of the fishes; and in 1906 there was a material change in the particularity of the statistics in respect to certain important fisheries. The effects of these changes have been eliminated as far as possible in the following pages, but their existence dictated the form of the more comprehensive digest found in the appendix and colored the form of final presentation of the data adduced. THE CATCH AS A WHOLE. The east coast was by far the most important producer of de- mersal fishes in Scotland, the catch of that region in 1891 being over 70 per cent of the total product of the country and in 1912 over 76 per cent. OTTER-TKAWL FISHERY. 77 The statistical history of the yield of the region is shown in the following table: Catches of Demersal Fishes and the Several Classes on the East Coast of Scotland During the First and Last Years of Certain Periods. Classes and periods. Quantity (hundred- weight) during — First year. Last year. Increase or decrease Hundred- weight. Per cent. Demersal fishes: 1891-1898 1898-1901 1901-1903 1903-1906 1906-1912 1891-1912 Round fishes: o 1891-1898 189S-1901 1901-1903 1903-1906 1906-1912 1891-1912 Flat fishes:" 1891-1898 1898-1901 1901-1903 1903-1906 1906-1912 1891-1912 Unclassified fishes: & 1891-1898 1898-1901 1901-1903 1903-1906 1906-1912 1891-1912 Skates: 1891-1898 1898-1901 1901-1903 1903-1906 1906-1912 1891-1912 ,339,051 ,465,426 ,724,525 ,955,718 ,299,311 ,339,051 , 127, 452 ,267,938 ,413,385 ,668,275 ,979,205 ,127,452 94, 745 101,460 170,013 164, 295 139,282 94,745 84,347 47,373 81, 182 61,265 105,256 84,347 32,506 48,655 59,945 61,883 75,568 32,506 1,465,426 1,724,525 1,955,718 2,299,311 2,544,897 2,544,897 1,267,938 1,413,385 1,668,275 1,979,205 2,179,555 2,179,555 101,460 170,013 164,295 139, 282 135,063 135,063 47,373 81, 182 61,265 105,256 119,810 119,810 48,655 59,945 61,883 75,568 110,469 110,469 126,375 259,099 231,193 343,593 245,586 + 1,205,846 140,486 145,447 254, 890 310,930 200,350 + 1,052,103 6,715 68,553 5,718 25,013 4,219 40,318 36,974 33,809 19,917 43,991 14,554 35,463 16, 149 11,290 1,888 13, 735 34,901 77,963 + 9 + 17 + 13 + 17 + 10 + 90 + 12 + 11 + 18 + 18 + 10 + 93 + 7 + 67 - 3 - 15 - 3 + 42 - 43 + 71 - 24 + 71 + 13 + 42 + 49 + 23 + 3 + 22 + 46 +239 a Excluding fishes classified after 1903. b Including fishes classified after 1903. From the foregoing table it is seen that there has been a constant and fairly uniform increase in the catch of demersal fishes, amount- ing in the aggregate to about 90 per cent from 1891 to 1912, and that both relatively and quantitatively this has been in major part produced by the constant increase in the catch of round fishes, which in the same period increased 93 per cent in quantity. Flat fishes registered an increase of 42 per cent for the period, due mainly to a heavy increase from 1898 to 1901, after which there Avas a decrease to and including 1912. Unclassified fishes, including those classified after 1903, fluctuated until 1903, but increased after- wards until the total at the end of the period was 42 per cent greater than in 1891. The catch of skates increased heavily and continu- ously throughout the period. Cod, haddock, flounder, plaice and brill, and halibut are the most important species of demersal fishes landed on the east coast of Scot- land, and these kinds combined constituted 55.8 per cent of the land- 78 OTTER-TRAWL FISHERY. ings of demersal fishes of all Scotland in 1891, and about 53.3 per cent in 1912. Cod and haddock landed on the east coast in 1891 con- stituted nearly 61 per cent of Scottish round fishes and in 1912 nearly 57 per cent. In 1891 the flat fishes enumerated comprised about 43 per cent, and in 1912, 25 per cent of the country's landing of flat fishes. Furthermore, the catch of each of these species on the east largely exceeds the catch in all other regions. For these reasons, it is necessary to consider these fishes only in discussing the fluctua- tions of the fishery. Catch per Annum at the Beginning and Ending of Certain Periods of Each of the More Important Species of Demersal Fishes Landed on the East Coast of Scotland. Species and periods. Quantity (hundred- weight) during — First year. Last year. Increase or decrease. Hundred- weight. Percent. Cod: 1891-1898 1898-1901 1901-1903 1903-1912 1891-1912 Haddock: 1891-1898 1898-1901 1901-1903 1903-1906 1906-1912 1891-1912 Halibut: 1891-1898 1898-1901 1901-1903 1903-1906 1906-1912 1891-1912 Flounders, plaice, and brill 1891-1898 1898-1901 1901-1903 1903-1906 1906-1912 1891-1912 , Skate: 1891-1898 1898-1901 , 1901-1903 1903-1906 1906-1912 1891-1912 310,020 429,431 353, 506 454,527 310,020 672, 156 701,514 795,883 962, 122 ,027,988 672, 156 7,850 19,000 30, 377 27, 350 34, 168 7,850 64, 929 59,276 112,070 101,710 66, 861 64, 929 32, 506 48, 655 59,945 61,883 75, 568 32,506 429,431 353, 506 454, 527 833, 636 833, 636 701,514 795,883 962, 122 1,027,988 853, 710 853, 710 19,000 30, 377 27,350 34, 168 43, 758 43, 758 59, 276 112,070 101,710 66, 861 47, 702 47,702 48,655 59, 945 61,883 75, 568 110,469 110,469 +119,411 - 75,925 +101,021 +379, 108 +523, 616 + 29,358 + 94,369 +166,239 + 65,866 -174,278 + 181,554 + 11,150 + 11,337 - 3,027 + 6,818 + 9, 590 + 35,908 - 5, 653 + 52,794 - 10,360 - 34,849 - 19,159 - 17,227 + 16,149 + 11,290 + 1,938 + 13,685 + 34,901 + 77,963 + 38 - 17 + 28 + 83 +168 + 4.3 + 13 + 14 + 68 - 16 + 27 +142 + 59 -9.9 + 24 + 28 + 45 + 89 - 9.2 - 34 - 28 - 26 + 49 + 25 + 3.2 + 22 + 46 +239 From the foregoing it is apparent that both the cod and haddock, but especially the former, landed on the east coast of Scotland, exhibited material increases in total quantity between 1891 and 1912. and this increase occurred in all of the periods considered excepting from 1898 to 1901 in the case of the cod, and 1906 to 1912 in the case of the haddock. Halibut increased for the whole period and showed a recession only between 1901 and 1903, while flounder, plaice, and brill decreased on the whole and showed improvement between 1901 OTTER-TRAWL FISHERY. 79 and 1903 only. Skates increased constantly and consistently through- out the entire period considered. The increase in round fishes pre- viously noted is therefore due principally to cod, but in a consid- erable part to haddock also. The increase in flat fishes is due mainly to the improved catch of halibut. STEAM TRAWLERS. In 1891 over 98 per cent and in 1912 over 95 per cent of the steam trawlers of Scotland hailed from the east coast. The composition of the fleet prior to 1898 is not known, but it probably contained some beam trawlers, but in 1898, and thenceforth to the present time, all of the vessels were equipped with the more efficient otter trawl. The statistical history of this fleet is shown in the following table : Number of Scotch and Foreign Steam Otter Trawlers on the East Coast of Scotland During the First and Last Years of Certain Periods. Period. Number during— Increase or decrease. First year. Last year. Number. Per cent. 1891-1898 60 144 254 273 261 60 144 254 273 261 306 306 + 84 +110 + 19 - 12 + 45 +246 +123 + 77 + 7 1898-1901 1901-1 903 1903-1906 1906-1912 + 17 +410 1891-1912 Total Catch by Steam Trawlers on the East Coast of Scotland in the First and Last Years of Certain Periods. Classes and periods. Quantity (hundred- weight) during— Increase or decrease. First year. Last year. Hundred- weight. Per cent. Demersal fishes: 1891-1898 332,950 778, 731 1,310,907 1,543,679 1,837,146 332,950 212,020 660, 609 1,079,526 1,322,463 1,585,889 212,020 80,492 69,183 112,998 129, 175 104,417 80,492 778,731 1,310,907 1,543,679 1,837,146 1,934,337 1,934,337 660,609 1,079,526 1,322,463 1,585,889 1,683,215 1,683,215 69,183 112,998 129, 175 104,417 84,413 84,413 + 445,781 + 532,176 + 232,772 + 293,467 + 97, 191 + 1,601,387 + 448, 589 + 418,917 + 242,937 + 263,426 + 97,326 +1,471,195 - 11,309 + 43,815 + 16, 177 - 24, 758 - 20,004 + 3,921 + 133 + 68 + 17 + 19 + 5 +480 +211 1898-1901 1901-1903 1903-1906 1906-1912 1891-1912 Round fishes: 1891-1898 1898-1901 + 63 + 22 + 19 + 6 +693 1901-1903 1903-1906 1906-1912 1891-1912 Flatfishes: 1891-1898 — 14 1898-1901 + 63 1901-1903 + 14 1903-1906 — 19 1906-1912 — 19 1891-1912 + 4 S600G° — 15 6 80 OTTER-TRAWL FISHERY. The catch of demersal fish by steam trawlers increased constantly during the period from 1891 to 1912, and at the end was 480 per cent greater than at the beginning. This was made up mainly of round fishes, taking into consideration those .species only which were so classified in all years. If to these were added the species which were classified after 1903, the increase would be practically entirely among the round fishes. The catch of flat fishes fluctuated, but there was a practical parity between 1891 and 1912, notwithstanding a heavy increase in the fleet shown in another place in this report. The history of the catch of the principal species of round fishes and flat fishes is shown in the following table: Total Catch of Important Species of Fishes by Steam Otter Trawlers on the East Coast of Scotland in the First and Last Years of Certain Periods. Species and periods. Quantity (hundred- weight) during — First year. Last year. Increase or decrease. Hundred- weight. Per cent. Cod: 1891-1S98 1898-1901 1901-1903 1903-1906 1906-1912 1891-1912 Haddock: 1891-1898 1898-1901 1901-1903 1903-1906 1906-1912 1891-1912 Halibut: 1891-1898 1898-1901 1901-1903 1903-1906 1906-1912 1891-1912 Flounders, plaice, and brill: 1891-1898 1898-1901 1901-1903 1903-1900 1906-1912 1891-1912 Skate: 1891-1898 1898-1901 1901-1903 1903-1906 1906-1912 1891-1912 33, 165, 203, 311, 462, 33, 157, 461, 706, S26, 868, 157, 165,593 203,099 311,928 462,476 571,694 571, 694 461,208 706,403 826, 122 868, 137 469,099 469,099 1,520 6, 665 7,399 12,679 8,235 8,235 44,595 93, 868 86, 703 53,711 35,000 35,000 11,092 25, 639 33,342 40, 707 49,831 49,831 + 132,004 + 37,506 + 108,819 + 150,448 + 109,222 +538, 105 +304, 149 +245, 195 + 119,719 + 42,015 -399,038 +312,040 1,486 5,145 734 5,280 4,444 8,201 - 6,489 + 49,273 - 7, 165 - 32,992 - 18,711 - 16,084 + 3,221 + 14,547 + 7,903 + 7,365 + 9,124 + 41,959 392 28 53 48 23 + 1,062 + + 193 53 16 5 45 198 + 4,370 + 338 + U + 71 - 34 +24, 120 - 12 + 110 - 12 - 38 - 34 - 31 40 131 30 22 22 533 Cod and haddock, particularly the former, provided the major part of the recorded increase in round fishes, but their relative importance to the total catch of round fishes changed materially. In 1891 cod constituted about 16 per cent of trawled round fishes, and in 1912 over 33 per cent, while the proportion of haddock fell from 75 per cent to about 28 per cent. It appears from this OTTER-TKAWL FISHERY. 81 that, considering the increase in the fishing power of the trawl fleet, there was either a depletion of the haddock or the vessels resorted to other grounds, which would imply, although not posi- tively indicate, the same thing. A decrease in haddock would re- quire increased attention to other species, e. g., the cod, to main- tain the productiveness of the fishery. This is further elucidated in considering the average catch of the trawlers. In the case of flat fishes, halibut, which were of no importance in the catch in 1891, increased to almost 10 per cent of the whole class in 1912, while the category of flounder, plaice, and brill, which com- prised over 60 per cent in 1891, was reduced to about 42 per cent in 1912. This leads to the same assumptions as in the case of the cod and haddock. In other words, the most important fishes in 1891 showed signs of depletion in 1912. The average catch per vessel probably furnishes the best avail- able criterion for comparison of the condition of the fishery in the several periods, and these data are tabulated below. The average per voyage and per days' absence can not be computed for lack of data. Average Catch per Annum per Steam Otter Trawler on the East Coast of Scotland During the First and Last Years of Certain Periods. Classes and periods. Quantity (hundred- weight) during— Increase or decrease. First year. Last year. Hundred- weight. Per cent. Demersal fishes: 1891-1898 5,549 5,407 5,161 5,654 7,038 5,549 3,533 4,587 4,250 4,844 6,076 3,533 1,340 480 444 473 400 1,340 5,407 5,161 5,654 7,038 6,321 6,321 4,587 4,250 4,844 6,076 5,500 5,500 480 444 473 400 275 275 - 142 - 246 + 493 + 1,384 - 717 + 772 + 1,054 - 337 + 594 + 1,234 - 576 + 1,967 - 860 - 36 + 29 - 73 - 125 -1,065 2 1898-1901 1901-1903 + 9 +24 10 1903-1906 1906-1912 1891-1912 + 13 +29 7 Round fishes: 1891-1898 1898-1901 1901-1903 + 13 +25 1903-1906 1906-1912 1891-1912 +55 64 Flat fishes: 1891-1898 1898-1901 7 1901-1903 + 6 15 1903-1906 1906-1912 31 1891-1912 79 The average catch per steam trawler in respect to demersal fishes fluctuated irregularly between 1891 and 1912 but exhibited a net increase of about 13 per cent. The total yield of the fishery, there- fore, a little more than kept pace with the increase in the number of vessels but did not increase in proportion to the probable fishing 82 OTTER-TKAWL FISHERY. power as measured by the increase in average tonnage and general efficiency. Such improvement in the average yield as has been noted was due to round fishes alone, the average yield of that class in 1912 having increased about 55 per cent. Flat fishes in 1912 exhibited a loss of 79 per cent as compared with 1891, and the decrease was continuous between those years with the exception of a small increase between 1901 and 1903. Average Catch of Certain Species per Annum per Steam Otter Trawler on the East Coast of Scotland During the First and Last Years of Certain Periods. Species and periods. Quantity (hundred- weight) during — First year. Last year. Increase or decrease. Hundred- weight. Per cent. Cod: 1891-189S 1898-1901 1901-1903 1903-1906 1900-1912 1891-1912 Haddock: 1891-1898 1898-1901 1901-1903 1903-1906 1906-1912 1891-1912 Halibut: 1891-1S98 1898-1901 1901-1903 1903-1906 1906-1912 1891-1912 Flounders, plaice, and brill: 1891-1898 1898-1901 1901-1903 1903-1906 1906-1912 1891-1912 Skate: 1891-1898 1898-1901 1901-1903 1903-1906 1906-1912 1891-1912 559 1,149 799 1,142 1,171 559 2,617 3,202 2,781 3,027 3,330 2,617 .50 .50 851 309 369 317 205 851 131 77 100 122 156 131 1,149 799 1,142 1,771 1,864 1,864 3,202 2,781 3,027 3,330 1,533 1,533 10 26 27 48 26 26 309 369 317 205 114 114 77 100 122 156 162 162 + 590 - 350 + 343 + 629 + 93 + 1,305 + 585 - 421 + 246 + 303 -1,797 -1,084 9.5 16 1 21 22 25 542 60 52 112 91 737 54 23 22 34 6 31 105 30 43 55 5 233 22 13 9 10 54 41 + 1,696 + 160 + 4 4- 77 - 45 +4,542 - 64 + 20 - 14 - 35 - 44 An analysis of the foregoing table shows that the cod was the chief contributor to the increase in round fishes, increasing 233 per cent. This species supplanted the haddock in 1912 as the most im- portant round fish, although the latter maintained its quantitative supremacy in decreasing ratio to 1906. The average catch of had- dock underwent various vicissitudes of increase and decrease, but showed a net decrease of 41 per cent for the period as a whole. Eliminating the subperiod 1906 to 1912, there was a net increase of OTTER-TRAWL FISHERY. 83 27 per cent, but even so its importance as compared with the cod showed a marked recession. The category of flounder, plaice, and brill was the most important element in the decrease of flat fishes, falling off almost continuously until in 1912 the average quantity taken by trawler was but 14 per cent of that of 1891. So far as trawlers are concerned, this category may be regarded as practically composed of plaice, as the quantity of the other two species comprised hardly more than 10 per cent in 1906 and probably less than that in earlier years. It is evident, then, that, certainly with the plaice and probably with the haddock, the two essentially trawl-caught fish, the catch per trawler shows significant reduction, notwithstanding the pre- sumably increased efficiency of the vessels as measured by their in- creased size. As has been previously suggested in the discussion of the total catch by trawlers, this appears to mean that there is a de- pletion of the supply of these fishes on the grounds frequented by these vessels, or that the vessels are fishing to an increasing extent on grounds little resorted to in the earlier years of the period dis- cussed. The possible change in grounds in favor of the cod and to the detriment of the haddock and plaice catch can hardly, if it occurred, have any other reason than the depletion of the supply of the latter two species on the grounds previously resorted to, for the plaice has always been a more valuable species than the cod, and the haddock, while of approximately equal value to the cod in 1908 and previously, is now more valuable. The halibut is more valuable than any of the other fishes men- tioned, but the quantitative increase is not sufficient to offer an ex- planation of a change of fishing grounds, although the fact of the increase probably indicates that such change has occurred. There are no specific data to show where the fleet fished in the several years. The only other basis on which the foregoing comparisons could be made while eliminating the statistical effects of changes in the in- tensity of fishing activity would be through the consideration of the catch per landing. The data necessary are not available for the east coast as a whole, but they are recorded for the trawlers t fishing out of the ports of Montrose, Fraserburgh, and Aberdeen after 1905, which comprised nearly 80 per cent of the Scottish steam trawl fleet. This period is too short for a comparison of much value to the pur- poses of this report, but the data may be used to test in a measure the validity of the presumptions and discussions. The following table compares the percentile increases and decreases in the average catches of the trawlers from those ports per vessel and per landing: 84 OTTER-TRAWL FISHERY. Increase ok Decrease in Quantity per Vessel and per Landing of Fishes Landed at Montrose, Fraserburgh, and Aberdeen by Steam Trawlers in 1912, as compared with 1906. Species. Average catch per vessel. Average catch per landing. Hundred- weight. Per cent. Hundred- weight. Per cent. -305 + 198 -(597 - 17 - 27 + 10 - 4.3 + 10.4 -21.9 -36.0 -18.0 + 5.5 - 6.0 + 4.1 -13.8 - .3 - .5 + .2 — 4.3 Cod + 10.6 —21.8 —35.9 —17.3 + 5.5 The number of landings per vessel was practically the same in the two years and, therefore, the table shows an almost exact parallelism in the percentile changes calculated on the two bases and tends to confirm the general validity of deductions based on the average catch per vessel. It is quite probable that in other years the results would not be in such exact accord, but it is equally probable that the diver- gence would not be sufficient to change the trend of the whole series of apparent facts. It has been seen that the landings of cod by steam trawlers on the east coast of Scotland have shown a practically continuous heavy increase in both aggregate quantity and the average per vessel dur- ing the period from 1891 to 1912. Haddock increased in total, but decreased in the average catch per trawler, while plaice displayed a practically continuous decrease in both. There are no data which will show the proportions of the several trade sizes of these species for the east coast as a whole, but they are available for Aberdeen for the period from 1906 to 1912; and as the great majority of the steam trawlers hail from that port, an analysis of the statistics is of interest. The records of the landings at Aberdeen indicate the general re- gions in which the fish were taken, and as the great majority of the voyages and but a slightly less proportion of the catch were made on the "east coast grounds," near Aberdeen, and on the northern grounds (Orkney and Shetland), the data respecting these two regions throw some light on the change of conditions of the fishery during the comparatively short period from 1906 to 1912. The following tables compare the percentile ratios and the quan- tities of cod, haddock, and plaice of the several sizes taken by steam trawlers at Aberdeen in 1906 to 1908, inclusive, and 1910 to 1912, inclusive, respectively: OTTER-TRAWL FISHERY. 85 Average Annual Catch of Certain Fishes, in Hundredweights, per Steam Otter Trawler at Aberdeen, Scotland, 1906 to 1908 and 1910 to 1912, Respectively. Species and sizes. " East coast grounds." " Northern grounds." 1906-1908 1910-1912 1906-1908 1910-1912 Cod: 8.0 4.9 5.9 7.2 17.4 15.1 26.4 31.0 Total 12.9 13.1 32.5 57.4 Haddock: 5.2 5.2 21.1 3.0 3.1 16.6 43.0 20.0 42.3 35.8 15.6 Small 26.0 Total 31.5 22.7 105. 3 77.4 Plaice: .08 1.30 .18 .05 1.13 .60 .51 2.07 .15 .33 .70 Small .06 Total 1.50 1.78 3.33 1.09 Average Annual Percentile Ratios of Sizes of Certain Fishes to Total of the Same Species Landed by Steam Otter Trawlers at Aberdeen, Scotland, in 1906 to 190S and 1910 to 1912, Respectively. Species and sizes. "East coast grounds." "Northern grounds." 1900-1908 1910-1912 1906-1908 1910-1912 Cod: 61.9 38.1 16.6 16.2 67.2 5.1 82.7 12.2 44.7 55.3 14.2 13.8 72.0 2.6 64.4 33.0 54.5 45.5 41.3 18.9 39.8 20.8 72.3 6.8 45.9 Small (codling) 54.1 Haddock: 46.4 Medium 20.1 Small 33.5 Plaice: 4.2 88.0 Small 7.8 On the "east coast grounds," which include »the fishing grounds nearest to Aberdeen, to which the voyages were shortest, most fre- quent, and most numerous, and on which the catch per voyage was least, there has been an increase in the proportionate quantity of the small sizes of all three species. In the case of the cod there have been a decrease in the actual quantity of large cod and an increase in the small, the species as a whole remaining stationary. In the haddock both the total and the several sizes have decreased in average catch, with small decreases in the proportion of large and medium sizes, and a corresponding increase in the proportion of small ones. In the plaice there was an increase in the catch, owing solely to a material increase in the small, the take of the 80 OTTER-TRAWL FISHERY. other sizes having decreased both quantitatively and proportionately to the whole. On the "northern grounds" both large and small cod increased very materially, but the latter, which formed but 45 per cent of the catch in 1906 to 1908, constituted 54 per cent in 1909 to 1912. All sizes of haddock decreased, but the large and medium categories were both of proportionately greater importance in the catch in 1909 to 1912 than in the earlier years, while the ratio of small fish to total haddock declined. There was a heavy quantitative decline in all sizes of plaice, but relatively the small, and especially the medium size, increased at the expense of the large fish. It appears from the foregoing that all of these fish, excepting the cod on the northern grounds, show signs of depletion either in a quantitative decrease in the catch of large sizes of fish, or a rela- tively greater catch of small sizes accompanied by a stationary or decreasing catch of the species as a whole. The evidence is most emphatic respecting the plaice, less conclusive as regards the had- dock, and contradictory in the case of the cod. The increase in the quantity and ratio of the catch of small cod on the northern grounds suggests increased attention to this species to compensate for some deficiency in other kinds, e. g., haddock and plaice. The period covered by this analysis is too short for the conclusions to carry great weight by themselves, but they are of value when considered with the deductions from other data previously examined. SCOTCH LINE FISHERIES. The number of line fishing boats and vessels on the east coast of Scotland can not be definitely determined from the reports, and the only data showing the extent of the fishery are those pertain- ing to the length of lines. Length of Lines Fished by Vessels of all Classes on the East Coast of Scotland During the First and Last Tears of Certain Periods. Periods. Length, in 1,000 yards. Decrease. First year. Last year. 1,000 yards. Per cent 1898-1901 54,989 46,320 40, 230 39,047 54,989 46,320 40, 230 39,047 32, 888 32,888 8,669 6,090 1,183 6,159 22, 101 15 1901 1903. 13 1903-1906 3 1906-1912 16 1898-1912 40 The data are not available prior to 1898, but since then there has been a continuous and conspicuous decrease in the length of line. The smallest decrease occurred between 1903 and 1906, the only period in which the number of steam otter trawlers waned. OTTER-TRAWL FISHERY. 87 Unfortunately the various classes of lines, "great," "small," and " hand," while all exhibiting heavy decreases, did not maintain their ratios to one another, and as they differ materially in their fishing power unit of length and as the catch of each was not separately recorded in the reports, it is unsafe to venture conclusions on the data available. Steam liners use more nearly one class of gear, great lines ; and as, so far as the statistics show, the other kinds of lines were used in negligible quantities, the statistics of those vessels are more nearly comparable in the several years, and afford the only basis for a comparative study of the intensity of the line fishery. Length of Trawl Lines Fished bt Steam Vessels on the East Coast of Scotland Dueing the First and Last Yeaes of Certain Periods. Length, in 1,000 yards. Increase. First year. Last year. 1,000 yardsJ Per cent. 1898-1901 1,474 3,195 3,542 6,050 1,474 3,195 3,542 6,050 11,702 11,702 1,721 347 2,508 5,652 10,228 117 11 71 93 693 1901-1903 1903-1906 1906-1912 1898-1912 While the total length of lines. fished on the east coast of Scotland was decreasing, the length of the lines used by steam vessels was steadily and rapidly growing, but it was not until after 1903 that it exceeded 10 per cent of the total. In 1906 it comprised over 15 per cent, and in 1912 about 35 per cent. This kind of line was undoubt- edly more effective per unit of length than that fished from the sail- ing vessels, and the catch of steam liners should be separately con- sidered, but unfortunately the landings of these vessels were not separately recorded until 1906. Total Quantities of Demersal Fishes Taken by Steam Liners on the East Coast of Scotland in 1906 and 1912, Respectively. 1906 1912 Gain. Classes and species. Hundred- weight. Per cent. Total demersal fishes Hundred- weight. 162, 195 109,481 20,836 31,567 o311 52,047 114 20,836 Hundred- weight. 255,414 161,679 35,047 57,956 a 732 61,291 345 35,044 93,219 52, 198 14,211 26,389 421 9,244 231 14,208 57 48 68 83 138 17 202 Round fishes. ... Skate Unclassified Cod Haddock Halibut 68 o Includes fishes classified since 1903. 88 OTTER-TRAWL FISHERY. There is here shown a percentile increase in the total catch of all categories and important species of demersal fishes, greatest among the unclassified fishes in respect to general categories and in had- dock among the specific kinds. As this increase occurred pari passu, with a heavy increase in fishing activity or power, any significance which the facts presented may possess can be shown cnly by reducing the data of the two years to a comparative basis. Two standards of fishing activity suggest themselves — the length of line employed in the respective years and the number of land- ings, but the two sets of results obtained by reducing the total catch to the average per 1,000 yards of line and the average per landing at those ports in which both are obtainable are contradictory and un- reconcilable on any basis of which we have been able to conceive. This throws doubt on any deductions which might be drawn in re- spect to the data pertaining to the east coast steam liners as a whole. The uncertainties as to the lengths of the voyages on the one hand and to the character of the lines fished on the other make a further discussion futile, and the subject is mentioned here merely to show that it has been considered. CHANGES IN THE UNCLASSIFIED FISHES. The Scottish reports distinguish between two general groups of demersal fishes, classified and unclassified, the former including round fishes, flat fishes, and skates. The classified fishes embrace all of the more important kinds, which in most cases are separately designated, while the unclassified fish comprise a miscellaneous lot not separately listed and of minor importance in both quantity and value. Until 1903 there were but 11 or 12 species in the classified lists, but in 1904 a number of species were transferred from the unclassified category, the total quantity of which was thereafter somewhat re- duced to the benefit of the other categories. These changes are in themselves significant, but when accompanied by an increase in the ratio of unclassified to demersal fishes as a whole they indicate that the supply of classified fishes is unequal to the demand; and when the catch of certain species, as for instance the haddock and the plaice, exhibit a falling off, as has been shown in preceding pages, it means not that the commercial incentive to catch them has been lessened, but that the supply is insufficient. This subject need not be considered further here than to say that since 1904, when the unclassified fishes were reduced by transfer, their ratio to all demersal fishes has increased from 0.5 per cent to 4.2 per cent in 1906, 4.9 per cent in 1910, and 4.6 per cent in 1912. OTTER-TRAWL FISHERY. 89 SUMMARY, EAST COAST OF SCOTLAND. On the east coast of Scotland demersal fishes and round fishes both showed a continuous increase in the quantities landed from 1891 to 1912, and flat fishes increased until 1901, after which they decreased. These increases are due largely, if not wholly, to the development of steam trawling, which was responsible for about 25 per cent of the catch in 1891, 75 per cent in 1901, and about the same in 1912. The total catch of the trawlers, therefore, follows the same course, although the increases are heaviest between 1891 and 1901, when the fleet was developing most rapidly. Neither the average length of the voyages nor the number of days' absence in the several years are known, and the only basis for the determination of the catch per unit of effort is the catch per annum per trawler. With some fluctuations this has shown an increase in respect to both demersal fishes as a whole and round fishes, and an almost continuous and material decrease in flat fishes. As has been shown elsewhere, this does not furnish a very satisfactory basis for comparison, as the effects of vessels lying idle for indeterminate and possibly important periods are not eliminated. As in England, cod, haddock, and plaice are the most important species, and of these the latter is recorded in combination with two other species, neither of which, however, is quantitatively of much relative importance. Of these the cod has almost continuously in- creased in the average catch per vessel, and the net gain from 1891 to 1912 was large. The haddock has fluctuated, but in most years the average catch per vessel was higher than in 1891, although a heavy fall in 1912 caused a net decrease of 41 per cent for the entire period. The plaice, including the flounder and the brill, has de- creased almost continuously, and the catch of 1912 was but 14 per cent of that of 1891. At a few ports where the number of landings has been given in later years, the average catches per voyage in 1912, as compared with 1906, showed an increase of 10 per cent in cod, a decrease of nearly 22 per cent in haddock, and a decrease of 17 per cent in plaice. As to the proportions of the several sizes of these fishes, data are available for the landings at Aberdeen, whence hail the majority of the trawlers, but for recent years only. The catch on the "east coast grounds" in near-by portions of the North Sea exhibited an increase in the proportionate quantity of the small sizes of all three species. From the region of Orkney and Shetland, on the northwest border of the North Sea, large cod and plaice de- creased proportionately to the whole, while large and medium had- dock increased somewhat. While all of the foregoing applies to fish landed on the east coast of Scotland from all regions, most of them came from the North Sea, concerning which, it may be said, there- 90 OTTER-TRAWL FISHERY. fore, that there is strong evidence of a depletion of the plaice and some evidence of a falling off in the haddock, the two most distinctly trawl-caught fish. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS. 1. Otter trawls do not destroy the spawn of the commercially im- portant demersal fishes, all of which have pelagic or floating eggs. 2. Otter trawls do not seriously disturb the bottom over which they are fished nor materially denude it of the organisms which di- rectly and indirectly serve as food for commercial fishes. 3. The investigations conducted by the Bureau of Fisheries indi- cated that during 1913 trawling interfered but little with line fish- ing and caused practically no damage to the trawl lines. From the nature of the two fisheries, however, it is believed both can not be extensively conducted on the same grounds without resultant acci- dental damage to or interference with the lines, especially in foggy weather. 4. Otter trawls as compared with lines take a much larger propor- tion of commercial fishes too small to market. From January to May 3 per cent of the cod and 11 per cent of the haddock, and from June to December 40 per cent of the cod and 38 per cent of the had- dock were unmarketably small, while the lines caught practically no such fish. These proportions were fully maintained in the respective classes of vessels fishing at the same season on the same grounds. These young fish are practically all destroyed. 5. Otter trawls as compared with trawl lines market a much larger proportion of small fish, and, therefore, they not only destroy more small fish not utilized, but are biologically more wasteful, by reason of the smaller size of the marketable fish. As, however, a large pro- portion of these smaller fish would undoubtedly die or be destroyed under natural conditions before reaching the large or medium size, the effects on the total supply of fish are less to a conceivable, but at present indeterminable, degree than the data presented would indicate. 6. Practically the only food fish which the otter trawl has added to the present yield of the fisheries on the banks is the " sole," of which about 600,000 pounds were caught in 1913. This is equal to about three times the quantity of hake, 36 per cent of the cod, and 5 per cent of the haddock, or about 4 per cent of the three combined marketed by the trawlers. On the other hand, it is estimated that this is less than one-third of the weight of the immature cod, had- dock, and hake destroyed by otter trawls. The trawlers have not added greatly to the food supply by the introduction of fishes not previously taken in quantities by the liners. They may have con- ferred some benefit on the consumer by catching and marketing OTTEK-TEAWL FISHERY. 91 larger quantities of the smaller and cheaper fishes of the cod family, provided, of course, that this does not induce the depletion of the ultimate supply. Both trawlers and liners catch considerable quan- tities of edible species for which they have failed to develop a market. 7. There is but little evidence to show that the introduction of the otter trawl in the American fisheries has had any material effect in keeping down the price of fish. Since 1898 there has been a gradual, although fluctuating, increase in the price received by the fishermen for all kinds of fish. The haddock has increased propor- tionately less than the other demersal fishes and since 1908 has kept close to or below the level of that year, and this is probably, to no small extent, due to the large quantities of small and cheaper fish landed by the trawlers. The catch of the American trawlers, how- ever, is too small in proportion to the total production of demersal fisheries to have a material effect on prices, and we have therefore examined the price statistics of England to determine what light they shed on the subject. We find that while, apparently, the otter trawl reduced the cost of production of fish for a number of years after it become paramount in the fishery of that country, it did it to some extent by reducing the standards of size, and that recently there has been a rapid increase in the prices of fish which are now higher than ever. Undoubtedly the general increase in commodity prices has had some effect. 8. We have been unable to discover from the examination of offi- cial records, extending from 1891 to 1914, any evidence whatever that the banks frequented by the American otter trawlers are being depleted of their fishes. Since 1905 when the first steam trawler began operations off the New England coast there have been fluctua- tions in the total yield of the bank fisheries, but they have been no more violent nor significant than in the period before 1905 when lines alone were used. In fact, some of the heaviest yields recorded in the line fishery have been made in years since the otter trawl was introduced, and, while the catch of line fishemen in 1914 on Georges Bank, South Channel, and Nantucket Shoals, where the otter trawl- ers operate, was less than half of that in the extraordinary year 1905, this was accompanied by a proportionate reduction in the intensity of the fishery as measured by the number of trips to these grounds. The average catches per trip of haddock and of cod, haddock, and hake combined have been considerably higher since 1910 than for any similar period of which we have record. The average catch of cod per trip to these banks has decreased since 1910, but it is higher than for any similar period prior to the introduction of otter trawl- ing. As the liners catch, proportionately, more cod and the trawlers more haddock on these banks, and as quantitatively the liners catch 92 OTTER-TRAWL FISHERY. more of each, the statistical facts of the fishery eertainly do not indicate that it has yet shown signs of depletion from the use of the otter trawl. 9. We recognize that the conclusions arrived at in the preceding section are necessarily inconclusive for the reason that the otter- trawl fishery in American waters is too recently established and relatively too small to have had a very material effect on the fish supply of the banks frequented. We have therefore examined the accessible data relating to the fishery in England and Scotland, par- ticularly that conducted in the North Sea, where it is most intensive and has been longest established. We have used the data without reference to the opinions others have expressed and have endeavored to arrive at independent conclusions without prejudice from previous investigations of the subject. While the statistical information, par- ticularly that contained in the English reports, is more useful for the purpose than is that pertaining to our own fishery, it is in recent years only that it is given in sufficient detail. Proof respecting the depletion of the fisheries, on the contrary, can not be deduced. The most possible has been the establishment of more or less strong pre- sumptions one way or the other. 10. The cod, haddock, and plaice are the most important and abundant of the demersal fishes of the North Sea, and the three combined comprise about 75 per cent of the catch. English vessels take between 50 and 60 per cent of the total of these species landed from the North Sea, and the English trawlers alone take from 45 to 50 per cent. These three fishes are, therefore, the only ones which it is important to consider. The statistical data of the English fisheries indicate by a decrease in the total catch, in the average catch per unit of effort, and in the proportion of large fish to the total that probably the plaice fishery is being depleted. The first two criteria also point to a decrease in the haddock, and it is believed that the third test fails to do so only because a lowering in the standard of sizes makes the statistics in this particular misleading. The cod does not show in- dications of overfishing, probably because its different habits make it less vulnerable to the effects of the predominant fishery, steam trawling. The statistics of Scotland are less satisfactory for our purpose than are those of England, and it is not possible to obtain sufficient separate data for the North Sea. We have therefore considered the fuller information obtainable in respect to the east coast, the fishery of which is prosecuted mainly in the North Sea. The same three species are discussed, the catch of these by Scotch vessels in the North Sea proper constituting about 25 per cent of the total yield of the three in that sea. The plaice show signs of depletion OTTER- TRAWL FISHERY. 93 in the heavy decrease of the total yield and of the average catch per vessel and in the proportion of large fish to the smaller sizes. While the haddock has increased in the total catch, the average catch per vessel has fluctuated to an extent which makes any deduc- tions from the data uncertain; and there is a small decrease in the relative proportion of large fish compared with the total. The cod has increased in total catch and in the average catch per vessel, but relatively fewer larger fish were taken in later years. Considering the English and Scotch fisheries in the North Sea together, there is a strong presumption of overfishing in the case of the plaice, considerable evidence of the same thing in respect to the haddock, and practically none concerning the cod. As the steam trawler is overwhelmingly predominant in the fisheries for these species, it must be held responsible for such overfishing as may have occurred. 11. Three regions other than the North Sea support more or less important English trawl fisheries yielding essentially the same species which have been discussed. They are Iceland, the White Sea, and the Faroe Islands. Separate data concerning them are available for years subsequent to 1905, and while the period covered is too short to admit of deductions of much value, it has been employed for purposes of comparison with the North Sea. In Iceland the total catch of both haddock and plaice and the average catch of each, especially the latter, showed heavy decreases, while the cod increased. In all species, but particularly the plaice, there was a decrease in the proportion of large sizes to the total. In the White Sea the total catch of all species increased from 1906 to 1912, but this was in part due to an increase in fishery activity. As measured by the quantity caught per trip there was an enormous increase in cod, a heavy increase in haddock, and a heavy decrease in plaice. The proportion of large fish was approxi- mately maintained in the cod and plaice but was much smaller in later years in the case of the haddock, thus indicating that the in- crease in the catch of that species was due to the saving of smaller fishes previously discarded or unsought. In the Faroes there was a slight increase in the average catch of cod per trip, owing mainly to an increase in the smaller sizes, and a decrease in the haddock, accompanied by a similar increase in the take of smaller fish. The catch of plaice was negligible in all years. The data from these regions are therefore in general confirma- tory of those relating to the North Sea, namely, that there is a pre- sumptive decrease in the plaice, a probable smaller decrease in the haddock, and little or no change in the numbers of cod. 94 OTTER-TRAWL FISHERY. 12. The North Sea embraces an area of about 152,000 square miles, which is not all equally productive and part of which is resorted to not at all or very little by English and Scotch trawlers. Georges Bank, South Channel, and Nantucket Shoals cover about 9,800 square miles, a considerable but indeterminate part of which is not resorted to by fishermen and presumably not by fishes in large numbers. In 1913 English and Scotch (Aberdeen) otter trawlers only made 50,590 fishery trips to the North Sea. Assuming the entire area of the sea to have been fished, there was one trip to each 3 square miles. In the same year 326 trips to Georges Bank, South Channel, and Nantucket Shoals were made by American otter trawlers, which therefore had 30 square miles of bottom to each trip. This unsatisfactory comparison is the best that we can give of the relative intensity of the otter-trawi fishery in the North Sea and on the banks frequented by the American trawlers. In the estimate re- specting the North Sea some unproductive bottom is included and the trawlers of other nationality than the British are omitted, and the estimate of 3 square miles is too high. In the case of the American banks a considerable unproductive area is also included, and while all trawlers are taken into account the estimate of 30 square miles is also too high, but in neither case can we estimate the error. The most specific information concerns the Dogger Bank, having an area of 6,216 square miles, to which English trawlers made 2,196 trips in 1913, or approximately a trip to each 3 square miles. RECOMMENDATIONS. While the facts before us show no proof or presumption of any de- pletion of the fisheries on the banks frequented by American otter trawlers, it is possible that the seeds of damage already have been sown and that their fruits may appear in the future or that the development of a wholly unregulated fishery eventually may result in injury where none now exists. The matter presented for our con- sideration is the safeguarding of the food supply not only of the ex- isting but of coming generations, and we are therefore less concerned with present conditions than with those which may develop, less with the immediate interests of the parties to the controversy re- specting otter trawling than with the ultimate interests of the entire country in the perpetuation of some sort of productive fishery for all time. We have in the history of our own bank fisheries sufficient infor- mation to warrant the belief that there is but little danger of their depletion by line fishing as at present conducted, but there is no such accumulation of data respecting the recently introduced otter OTTER-TRAWL FISHERY. 95 trawl; and for an indication of what may be expected from it we must have recourse to the history of the fishery in other places. Otter trawling has been practiced longest and has attained its great- est development in the North Sea, where there appears to be ample evidence that it is being carried on tc excess and that the fisheries for certain fishes have suffered in consequence. The problem before us, therefore, is to suggest measures for the prevention of the develop- ment of similar conditions in the American fisheries. The injurious effects of the otter-trawl fishery in the North Sea are believed to be in part due to the destruction of large numbers of small fish, and it has been proposed by certain European authorities to reduce its destructiveness by increasing the size of the meshes of the net to dimensions which will permit the escape of fishes too small to market. We do not regard this as an effective or feasible pro- posal for the reasons (1) that the meshes tend to close as the drag on the net increases with its burden, (2) that the accumulation of fishes in the cod end closes the avenues of escape there, and (3) that the fishes in any event would not attempt to pass through in large numbers until the net is being hauled in, when the possibility of escape would be reduced to a minimum. An increase in the size of the mesh in the cod end of the net would probably result in an increase in the number of fish gilled, thus not only inducing little mitigation of the destruction of young fishes but entailing additional labor in fishing the apparatus. There remain three other methods of regulation : The absolute pro- hibition of the use of the otter trawl or similar apparatus; the re- striction of the number of nets or vessels which may be employed; and the restriction of the area on which the apparatus may be used. The first and most drastic measure would of course be most effec- tive, but in view of the fact that it appears to be the excessive use of the otter trawl which has caused injury to the North Sea we do not regard it as justifiable to prohibit its use on the American banks where it is not yet shown to be injurious. In other words, our pres- ent information indicates that it is not fishing with the otter trawl but overfishing which is to be guarded against. The fact that it is undoubtedly more destructive than line fishing is not sufficient for its condemnation, for the same objection can be raised with more or less validity to almost any other net fishery, and we do not know to what extent the destruction of young fishes in the open seas in reality injures the fisheries. The regulation or restriction of the number of vessels or trawls permissible in the fishery we regard as objectionable for the reason that it would establish an actual or virtual monopoly. The regula- tion could be made effective only by the issuance of a limited number 86066°— 15 7 96 OTTER-TRAWL FISHERY. of licenses or permits, and this would involve either some selection or discrimination among the applicants by the issuing authority or an undiscriminating issuance of permits to the earlier applicants and their refusal to those making application after the predeter- mined number had been granted. The restriction of the use of the otter trawl to certain definite banks and grounds appears the most reasonable, just, and feasible method of regulation which has presented itself to us. It would have the effect of automatically placing some limitation on the number of vessels engaged in the fishery, for the reason that caution would be imposed on prospective investors by virtue of their knowledge that no other fishing grounds were open to exploitation if those allotted to them should be exhausted. It would cause the trawlers, for reasons of self-interest, to exercise care to reduce as far as possible such abuses or economic defects as may be inherent in the method and to eliminate those which are not essential to it. The results of offenses against good fishery practices would be imposed directly on the prime offenders and would be mitigated to those using other methods by their freedom of resort to other areas where the evils would be manifested little or not at all. Any injury to the fishery which might result from the develop- ment of otter trawling under such restriction would be localized. It would manifest itself chiefly on the banks to which the fishery might be restricted and, especially in respect to the haddock, the fish likely to be most severely affected, would extend but little or not at all to the banks from which the otter trawl might be excluded. There- fore neither the whole, nor even the major part of our bank fish- eries, could be depleted by any conceivable development of otter trawling under such restraint. Being thus localized, inherent evils would more certainly manifest themselves, the effects could be more closely observed and more quickly and surely detected, the fishery could be kept under closer and more accurate observation, and it would be possible by compari- son with the conditions on the proscribed banks to discriminate in some measure between accidental fluctuations in the abundance of the fishes and those which might be due to overfishing. We therefore recommend that the taking of fishes, excepting shell- fishes, by means of the otter trawl or beam trawl, or any adaptation or modification of either, or by any other apparatus drawn over the bottom by a vessel in motion, be prohibited on all bottoms in the Atlantic Ocean, outside of territorial jurisdiction, north of the for- tieth degree of north latitude, excepting Georges Bank, South Chan- nel, and Nantucket Shoals east of the meridian of Sankaty Head on the island of Nantucket. OTTER-TRAWL FISHERY. 97 This will retain to the otter trawlers sufficient ground on which to prosecute their calling, it will not exclude the liners therefrom, and it will reserve to the latter exclusively the banks to which they make over two-thirds of their trips. It gives a large measure of absolute protection to the important line fisheries of New England, and at the same time will permit the development of an otter-trawl fishery for flounders and other bottom fishes from New Jersey south- ward on bottoms where they are not, and probably can not be, taken in large quantities by any other means. The flounder fishery of Massachusetts being conducted in territorial waters will not be in- terfered with. The regulation can be readily enforced, because the open areas are well known, well defined, and can be kept under sur- veillance. Moreover, every line fisherman in the area affected will be a self-constituted fish warden, prompted by every motive of self- interest to bring infractions of the regulation to the attention of the proper authorities. It must be understood that this recommendation is based on what we believe to be the conditions at this time. Next year or 10 or 20 years hence they may be different, and it will be necessary to closely observe the developments of the future to the end that a situation shall not arise such as has arisen in the North Sea, which will be recognized as requiring correction, but which will present such far- reaching and important economic aspects as to make rectification difficult or impossible. In conclusion, we emphatically state it to be our opinion that this regulation will prove futile and an unnecessary imposition on Ameri- can fishermen unless Canada, particularly, and, possibly, Newfound- land and France will take such action as will prevent or restrict the use of the trawl on the banks in the western North Atlantic. o