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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
BUREAU OF FISHERIES
HUGH M, SMITH, Commissioner

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

Bureau of Fisheries Document No, 816

WASHINGTON
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
1915

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ADDITIONAL COPIES

OF THIS PUBLICATION MAY BE PROCURED FROM
THE SUPERINTENDENT OF DOCUMENTS
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
WASHINGTON, D. C.
AT

15 CENTS PER COPY
NY/

D: @F 5.
APR 23 1915

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

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CONTENTS.

Page.

Communication from the Commissioner of Fisheries to the Secretary of
ae EBRPET] G2 (seer een ween ea ne Nae ec a ea ee 5
Letter from Bureau committee to the Commissioner of Fisheries_._______ alae
Rit eM Gee ge Se eae ale
Beer eat: Damke tiSnenTies =. Seen wal ee 8 ee 14
CPSLEVETER I) CCT ASI S00 TF OTS Pa EE eo ee ee eee ee eee 14
ana cnimerdana: trawi-line: VeSSelso 2 eS te re 15
CO EASE a ALS ASS |S a OE ee ap Re a Sa A ye ena Bd 19
Hashing Danks of westerm North Atlanties_..—.--+2-_~-2- 222s 22
Comparison of the catch by otter-trawl and trawl-line vessels________ 24
Wastestromeomdrketineysmall, fishesi. 22 se see Saws ees 28
Edible fishes wasted and new kinds marketed_____-___--____-_____- 30

Fluctuations in the catch and evidences of impoverishment of the
(EVSUIVED gS as A ee SS ee eee nie 31
Denudation of the bottom by otter trawlers_____________________--- 43
Destruction Of spawn by otter trawlers_2 ee 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
2 UUPEN TED Cre SST CCG COT I 2 He a I FS Se a eee ae eee Ale SSD 55
/Maaor American trayinet fisheries_.__-_..-__.._-". "2 56
Cepynre Cereb asta Ves aS) (a Ol an, ee 56
: SAner raHcisco wananzelia fishery.) Sok se ees 57
Demersal fisheries of England and Wales_____________ _ | SE pe Sea 57
URW ES VOTE IVE (CT Et( CW Spo a PES Me Ea ai eee ie San ces en a a 57
BEATS ER PEROCANTTOER LCDR pet 02 2 a ne ee at 2 58
SINCE STOIsGHCHINOL LM SOAs = eae te ee ee ee OE ee SS 8 60
summary of conditions in the North Sea_____ == 68
EI Tord | Ge Rs ER oa Se ER ee Sas Ae a Oe Ce eee 69
DS EE as SS ee TE ee Ok Saree ee Pee cs Se eee 72
DONGLE O(E die A RES aes ee eee ee er Pe eee 74
Semen? fieneties of Scotland-...... -—.._ = 2 ee 76
LET SHIRES eCGRENC ON OVS | Si a TSS a, ee So Pe le nen ee om ah Ve Sct eye So Se 76
PIsBeLiesei CHecCASL COAST. o-oo - 22 oe ee 2 be ee 76
The catch as a whole______________ ee SR ee OE ae 16
RS RESUTAT CTE VLC Ss pee i we te ane SS Ros cs ot 8 ee Se 2 79
BCDECH BIO Y A SNCRICSS se oy yest oS) pie a pee ae th ee 8 86
Changes in the wnelassified fishes. =... --- 5 88
RHminAry. Cast, COASL.OL SCOlLAnG 22-000 sas Bees ee ee ee 89
ReeetTiaD) eve EO CONCHISIONS == 2 Ss oe 2 pee aS aed a, 90
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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,
Boreav oF FIsHERIEs,
Washington, January 20, 1916.
The Secretary or CoMMERCE:

There is forwarded herewith, for transmission to Congress, a re-

»ort 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

28, 1912, that he was given definite authority to proceed with the
work. Mr. Alexander had exclusive charge of the field investiga-

Pete 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

|

6 OTTER-TRAWL FISHERY.

man there were issued the following instructions and schedule of the
salient points at issue:

INSTRUCTIONS FOR OTTER-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.

. The days and dates trawling was carried on.

. The number of times the trawl was lifted each day.

. The length of time the trawl was down on each occasion before lifting. F
The speed of the vessel when trawling.

. The weather conditions each day.

. The kinds of fish taken from the net after each haul.

. 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 of
each kind that were alive when returned to the sea and the percentage that}
would be likely to survive. }

18. The size, up to which the various kinds of fish were regurden as jamal
and unmarketable by the captain of the trawler.

14. The number of times the trawl was worked over the same piece of srouneh
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, the|
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.

QO I > ON HOO LO

OTTER TRAWLERS.

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-TRAWL FISHERY. ¥(

ill 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-
me, 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,
ing to the invisibility of the buoys and other floating marks.
16. 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
ater and being overhauled, and, if fish appear plentiful, to sweep around the
dot and with the trawlnet carry away the gear with all the fish on the hooks.
/%. Further, that while steam trawling has been prohibited within the terri-
_ prial waters of Canada, such protection affords the inshore fisherman little
rotection, as their gear is frequently set even long distances beyond territorial
waters, and it, of course, affords no protection whatever to the “ bank” fisher-
en.
On the other hand it is urged:
1. That steam trawling is not an unduly destructive method of fishing, as
m 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-
tally 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
bre 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. Rich. 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 t
exception of Mr. Burrows, who had fished on a line trawler out
Gloucester 15 years or more previously, none was or had been e
gaged in either the trawl-line or otter-trawl fisheries. An effort w
made to obtain men capable of understanding and reporting on t
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 Jan
ary to December, 1913, 61 trips were made and 1,532 hauls were ob
served on otter trawlers; and from June to December, 1918, 17 trip:
and 9® sets of trawl lines were observed on schooners.

The field investigations were brought to a close in December, 191é
and on February 5, 1914, the Commissioner of Fisheries named fo
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, an¢
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:

“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 species or is otherwise harmful or
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 part
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 general condition of the trawl fishery
in Europe, and the steps that have been taken by the various Huropean 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,

hich, with others, will doubtless occur to you:
| (a) The general effects of the fishery on the permanency of the fish supply,
be a comparison of the relative effects of the trawlnet and other forms of

/sapparatus used in the same waters.

(0) The nature and extent of the destruction of young food fishes.

(c) The destruction or waste of edible fishes that have no present market

value.

(d) The extent to which the trawlnet fishery of the United States has con-
ae to the food supply in fishes, not generally taken with other apparatus.
| (@) Definite instances, supported by evidence, in which the scarcity of any
sinds of fish on given grounds may be attributable to the trawlnet fishery.

(f) Interference of the trawlnet fishery with other fisheries.

. (9g) The necessity for international agreement with Canada, Newfoundland,
Drance, 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-
jnendations you will be guided solely by the evidence afforded by the Bureau’s
es ae 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
ssible, and that it be handed to me for administrative approval and sub-
itted to Congress not later than April 15, 1914.

(

The report speaks for itself and no review thereof by me is neces-
ary. I will simply refer to the chapters containing the conclusions
jnd recommendations, and submit them as the official opinion of
ithe 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. Smiru, Commissioner.

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LETTER FROM BUREAU COMMITTEE TO THE COMMISSIONER OF FISH-
| ERIES TRANSMITTING REPORT ON THE OTTER-TRAWL FISHERY,

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE,
Bureau orf FISHERIES,
Washington, January 6, 1916.
The ComMMIssIONER 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 Royal 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

13 OTTER-TRAWL FISHERY.

this or that statement or came to this or that conclusion, affecs
the present question to the extent only that the statement or concli,-
sion holds good at the present day and that it applies on this side
of the Atlantic.

Although the present conditions in the fisheries of Great Britai
have been reached through changes and progress of many years, and
those of this country are of recent and comparatively sudden devalotl
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 Ameri.
When analyzed, the allegations against trawl fishing seem to have had
their origin in that one economic factor that has beet 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. Moors.
W. C. Kenpaut.

REPORT ON THE OTTER-TRAWL FISHERY.

By A. B. ALEXANDER, H. F. Moors, 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 Coguet, 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 24 to 34 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 sie ce:
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 800 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 rowsin 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 toa 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-TRAWL 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

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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
92 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 248 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 is of an inverted U,
inclined slightly outward. The forward pair stand slightly in ait’
vance of the foremast, and the after pair about abreast of the
mainmast.

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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
24 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 14
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 14 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 14 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 sait 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
94 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.

(Ghofiayol ci byrne eka We Ne eee oes 36, 000
Green, Batik Oi) Oo. ies ee ee ee 1, 450
Gi. ABiertel (Ranke) 22) see Fee Se ee ee ee 4, 800
QyOveNeeey hh 184 zh eee ee ee Se SS ee = 3, 000
Misaines (Banke == ee eee 1, 820
The Gully__-__-_----------------------------------------—---------= 1, 200
VSS HSTAG LBC nike eS a ee a s 6, 320
ue Have (Bank) 2h eee ee ee ee 790
We sEaAVe: RiGGeS! sf. a see ee ee eee 1,575
TRXGASYE NUP Nae SON a eo Ss Se ee Se Se 175
OW Ses sn Kee ee i anes
Gaal sland: Ground %2 3-2 S28 8 ee ee 17250
Georges Bank___---~------~-------------------~----- Be aa 8, 498
South ‘Ghannel ((about)2L 224552 ee eee eee 1, 300

Motil Senos e les ee Ne ee 69, 553

Grand Bank—The Grand Bank les 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,
964, 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 48° 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—WLe Have Ridges is an eastern continuation of
Le Have Bank, with a length of about 45 miles. Halibut, cod, and
bake are the principal species taken. 14

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 48 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
a —
Species. une to
F January sone to Decem-
to May. her ber.
ketable species, aa Per cent. | Per cent. | Per cent.
a d = 4.4 3.6 8.8
36.6 35.6
2.0 11.0
os) -8
“ 2.6
(a (2)
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: I. mi |
REN ISE RSS Nea tas SR icles weicinsis'sisin paca S oeise ac e'cp.= wines vice dfnneclae secs mia teecice mae tele
Li ARIES ho SJ SUE EE Oph Rape aE ey i te ae ne ee eee a eee eS ee (Pe 338 1.6
BORA oe io oa sic nS aie Stingers obs opie wemiacnelece cher cdeaos- (a) Cy ilecaceostes
PING RIRE OURS Aa oe oot oS acatoonasasc anise ch des ccuscecsacusnesc 79.6 48.4 60.6
Immature marketable species, wasted
fori rr mmm pres SSN 7 CPR Saad SU tite AN oe eae .2 2.4 (a)
SERED Ree eee ctr jcecacs aoa Sameera ne hoe ave secsmeeccunsievesis 9.1 22.3 ot
AREER cae n cca n onda ee ania sus omens e Rebee tine acc aeceidaandcacaem 9 15.2 7.5
PE eA CSR eee ciel oral siae nical ale ae pee oe e abisia/a aie claim miaiaje:e sei (a) (Co a ee
PMH Ue a eines pe tiescwacncotacctawetuciccnetabecs cneeccccscceeces ol (ay) aS eeese ak
Reet i a een ieee ial ain alerel a alin weal me S'siaaimiclajle ate sdlcmieteqctes oh wid feperanet alah Self tie elccapin tars
SEMPRE eee Oceana Jp ricki sae asad Guess tins dads speajeessdescnc 10.5 39.9 7.6
Nonmarketable seule wasted:
Silver hake... 25 3.3 Leal
Flounders..... 4.0 2.7 1.3
onkfish -6 ie | -5
TU QEEELE CAG: acted SSS g BEC ea a a 2.4 2.8 21.2
Pelcott meta Eeeaaeee Be aia tate a cieinis oiote a = Solin oe iced a aihisinia dicinle ecto Cale «alk dialels 2.3 1.8 3.5
Rehan eee ale tes vewwiteadccsececke tee nett c adda clecatcceasacs's 9.8 ab Sy 31.6
SR NEIEE SOULS DOUION se miatescst acne nome asad einen cS saecwalasaceesacececees 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. Eliminatiing
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, 19138.

eee

Otter trawls, June-| raw)
November. lines,
2 Je Se OR ose
Species. ae 2
Georges | South Es
South
Bank. | Channel. | channel.

Marketable species, saved: ; Per cent. | Per cent. | Per cent.
(CEG |e oe eke Oe oe nel Ar ee er ano | ie Niro Sor Gaara eeicc 3.7 3.7 7.8
ETAG CLOG leaa ce ie clae apacohsia pein Se aie cima eee Steve ee erage ler oie erate iata nacteraiatete 45.5 30.9 41.1
ET Oe rrc nate ae arate Sete ea ce ete Stn Cine oO Cac ee en iaiene seer 3.6 -8 9.6
RON O CK 5 eau sceicioae sore aie eae Serta Mi ete A clea eerie era 2 3 2

LIS othe 2 oS eae RN Rahs OR EES Se 0k Sa, Romine Mies meas aaa Sete (a) (a) 2B]
“10/01 100 12) «aR ye rat ROHN ar tn Cis Se Cora et aI yee yee (a) (2) (a)
PERAIDG RLE t ones see icant at See ce eee eee eae 2 tee einc wees (a) Bal ail
SER eee oad Se eae Oe occa Bete ae oe ee eee ee in ce 8 1.6 (2)
Bibterhisht 225203 -. 2 Seer eha s T eR Se AO oe RIT Ie Sao catr mre ee tte 1.0 10 1.7
RVOSSAUSMrion tac Ga aeons eae nae ee Be ee Onn eee occ 1.8 529s cer ees
EG DSUGES aco oor cbc hate hare fe Pec ae ater ee Ee oan Ie ree (a) (2) © 42. ce cet

Motaltmarketeds : dacs sein aeons ca soe ace ceees toe cucisiss waltare eee 56.6 43.8 63.8

Immature marketable species, wasted:

C OF os a a SS ee eee ta Oe RO ee ety. Ses eae se eee 20 DEY (a)
RAC OGk sie e oe Ee ee a Le ete tte ene ene Sg Dee 21.9 22. 4 (a)
TG pS SS eee abe eee erate eras Poh eS phen NR Saree ey 8.0 19.2 8.3
IRGHO CK 32 fiat oo ere ee ee ease SEE eRe eee se en I ee ee (a) (@) aN Saawes sete
Vai S a cso sae eee Ae ls tao Genes Seino Sac Renee hitaser ae (2) (2) )- fF lascste anes
S10) Oe eT ee sae BRO R eC Geer BAC ea Sem oA meron cea Dae ca MI eoS Jocccc estes leeeseeeeee

L410) of) NR Si reer ke SS oe ee er Pe eB e one 31.9 44.3 8.3

————S=—=—=_——_—_—_—

a 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-|} Trawl
ovember. lines,
once : any es er er a NOV Eiil~

Georges | South ee
B ank. ; Channel. Channel.

Nonipactapie species, wasted: Per cent. | Per cent. | Per cent.

(Si Se tiered a 2 Sd a Se SS ee nn 2 es 2:5 4.3 6.1
FEE ahaa Se ine ah onc wicic mig ciociene acing ebiniesta'sflemeicce 2.0 3.4 <5
REESE ese ts ee soe es a etine ic doce ts toads dsbessealalidesss 1.0 1.0 .3
See rey CAM Ep aa ed A ae oe wangecisacemseee 4,4 1.7 18.0
PEE eee tarde eek tists cides Aden clttdaealtwsse weasockes ccecs 2.0 1.6 3.0
BEN ee ted se Sn RoR e oad d a sinitep cise eed bale ce oe akg Seialelic Lis5 12.0 27.9

RTE MUCH ET CR GTIO CIOS Se ela aie = ciate ufsn obws no Se bagebvamiededeceseeeecssineds 53. 4 56.3

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 Trawl Otter Trawl
trawls. lines. trawls. lines.
Cod: Pounds. Pounds.
ATEB rock ons = sese acne soatn cc aceon ee ses eeeeetoeoasasee 409,559 | 6,927,763 24. 56 43.16
Marketoh sf cedses toach seat ea eae teen ced Te eee one 1,119,975 | 8,099, 221 67.15 50. 46
RCTOU See ote man cee mercado cic pen atte cp clen a ceee er enne 138,272 | 1,023, 129 8. 29 6.38
TOA tre eset iss eS aes alte ee ast eee 1,667,806 | 16,050,113 | 100.00 100. 00
Haddock:
LS ese Bea se eases Eee SRE eR ae ee One 10, 366, 002 | 30, 265, 920 83. 00 6.31
SCrOG ie Sessa Sess esos shoes 2 abeace we came rene semste cae 2, 122,990 1, 159, 795 16.99 3.69
OPAL Oh ceeds toes ted escee sleet seas Soe te eee nee 12, 488,992 | 31,425, 715 99.99 100. 00
Hake:
Tarpon 2 2558 hos ete etbidos tice eae SE Rte oe eee 99,890 | 3,411,107 47.68 38. 22
10 101 a ea ee ee gna soneee eae 109,595 5,513, 336 52.32 61. 78

MOLaLe ois Mais cis satinagie'sie.oe dese cisitiatice Seen bets ice saree 209,485 | 8,924, 443 100. 00 100. 00

OTTER-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 24 pounds to 10 pounds. 4

Serod, 1 pound to 24 pounds, inclusive.
Haddock :

Large, over 24 pounds.

Sctod, 1 pound to 24 pounds, inclusive.
Hake:

Large, 6 pounds and over.

Medium, over 24 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, HappocK, AND HAKE Mar:
KETED BY OTTER TRAWLERS AND TRAWL LINERS, RESPECTIVELY, FISHING IN
SoutH CHANNEL FROM JUNE TO SEPTEMBER, 1913.

Otter Trawl

Species and sizes. trawlers. | liners.

Cod:
Oe eed sas baer wins ee isceim b> 52 se 2b aH ia a8 ah a Simon's wets de anes nse = 6. 08 22.62
Se Se SS ren cnn cme Sinwlee cis MR aes He chin aln samme pige's' siaaaeee 71. 69.15
Stow iGl. weg ca Sea eA; fe ee OS A ee te eee eee, See ee 22. 42 8. 23
BMG losateter= eralotoy=twietetaete= ieee ela a5 - cles cern aeielas 2 w= Sa oat wns anete san wcne 100. 00 100. 00
Haddock
LUPE: SSeS SBS 3 a eae Se ee ea eae es 71. 81 82.16
een ee Sere oon sab minigem One dan cals oases Seine da ocean een ceees 28.19 17. 84
MMR RE: ees SRE Oke Ie > stead we carGdasat ha sactdea sven ch sconsienset eae 100. 00 100. 00
Hake:
EER Oeste eet ninco enlntm in w cla wenn viciemve = cme sesinw ss mcnne tice ines scesserssinwsnces 40. 57 76.70
OPER TET SYNE ene srs is See Eh SS nega eis SAR seine se 6 oo sie = Sele ode weeeew eee 59. 43 23. 30
Pan Cees eS ee oe hiss mam tbe ania ts dsp ot Senad Guine Shewis/d ce cismeneemenewe 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-

80 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
sssumption, 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. one

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 1918.

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.
We ate tite ccc bec cbt ewee 84; 794, 303-|) $2,225,383 1912. . ccecvccccea neues 104,978,427 | $2,718, 304
ct ccd cccss mess 96, 341, 387 AGIs SESW GE Ss ei anime claidect as 92, 317, 920 2, 869, 472

ey ee 99, 020, 127 2,705, 801 | Toi. Sg a cae, 2 92, 252,880 | 2,622; 919

This: table shows that there was a gradual increase in the total
eatch 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 THEIR CATCH AT BOSTON AND GLOUCESTER, 1891 To
1914, INCLUSIVE.

Cod. Haddock. Hake. All kinds,
nae a
Year. Seeh| Per Per Per Per

trips trip. Total trip Total trip. Total trip. Total.

Pounds.| Pounds. |Pounds.| Pounds. |\Pounds.| Pounds. |Pounds.| Pounds.

1c) eas 4,119 | 4,043 | 16,655,200 | 8,220 | 33,860,197 | 2,997 | 12,347,730 | 15,261 | 62, 863,127
1S VAL HR 4 ppoeetac | Gsec cnc Sopee espace GoeceCoo) Spaces emra Boreas MSsectetasse|icoscoga:)sssocsc2 -t
USO3R Lose tree 3,826 | 4,201 | 16,075,290 | 8,162 | 31,229,350 | 3,029 | 11,590,400 | 15,393 | 58, 895,040
Teodeee ates 4,537 | 4,780 | 21,687,330 | 8,706 | 39,502,450 | 3,275 | 14,863,100 | 16, 762 | 76,052, 880
URGBHs eee 4,271 | 4,674 | 19,965,150 | 8,475 | 36,199,900 | 2,457 | 10,497,400 | 15,608 | 66, 662, 450
TSM eee 4,187 | 4,836 | 20,251,160 | 6,904 | 28,909,200 | 1,560 6,535,300 | 13,302 | 55, 695, 660
Agog tee a 4,085 | 5,196 | 21,229,700 | 6,760 | 27,614,750 | 1,613 | 6,590,500 | 13,570 | 55, 434, 950
1898.....-...-| 3,491 | 4,263 | 14,882,500 | 6,235 | 21,769,300 | 2,114] 7,382,430 | 12,613 | 44,034, 230
ARGON A een: 3,866 | 5,091 | 19,684,550 | 6,504 | 25,145,160] 2,196 | 8,489,800 | 13,791 |-53, 319, 510
MONORe anc ee cee 3,731 |. 4,748 | 17,717,650 | 7,567 | 28,235,850 | 1,853 | 6,917,100 | 14,170 | 52,870, 600
LG QTE RSI Ee 3,403 | 4,963 | 16,892,450 | 7,267 | 24,731,350 | 2,191 | 7,457,850 | 14,423 | 49, 081, 650
LOO ee 3,981 | 5,836 | 23,233,900 | 8,575 | 34,138,850 | 2,065 | 8,223,850 | 16,477 | 65, 596, 600
1O0S MCs eee 3,818 | 5,600 | 21,381,350 | 9,747 | 37,216,200 | 2,519 | 9,617,750 | 17,866 | 68, 215, 300
OO capeenaee 1m 4,056 | 4,605 | 18,678,525 | 10,087 | 40,916,300 | 2,775 | 11,258,100 | 17,468 | 70, 852, 925
Teas, SG a 4,280 | 5,811 | 24,872,200 | 12,313 | 52,700,650 | 2,223 | 9,516,500 | 20,347 | 87,089, 350
WOOG hi s6 Sows sotdieo cs 3) wairwinaes acwins <cisccss saws can) ecee acismalsc sac ems cee elacte’s see ee ae ae eee ee eee
NONN Ore 2 eccw a Sisare srxctelateis cternl| sate lem'e clown a lanjaloo ere] aleiele ee ete cete ciclo -atereie e picll crates ae chem ale eral eee at eel at ae
LOOSE Se 4,493 | 6,258 | 28,119,400 | 8,518 | 38,272,500 | 2,764 | 12,419,500 | 17,540 | 78, 811, 400
1Q0D Sas ca bee 4,740 | 5,417 | 25,678,900 | 7,756 | 36,766,255 | 2,404 | 11,395,000 | 15,578 | 73, 840, 150
1QLQE cece 4,487 | 5,744 | 25,777,210 | 9,364 | 42,016,820 | 3,644 | 16,353,100 | 18,753 | 84, 147, 130
1911..........| 3,793 | 5,573 | 21,139,800 | 10,630 | 40,320,200 | 2,949 | 11,186, 225 | 19,152 | 72, 646, 225
TEAS ee Reece nce 3,381 | 6,347 | 21,460,350 | 11,774 | 39,810,500 | 3,335 | 11,276,050 | 21,457 | 72,546, 900
TOTS eo aeeeieee 3,250 | 5,577 | 18,127,912 | 10,313 | 33,519,547 | 3,046 | 9,900,945 | 18,937 | 61,548, 404
LOT aes ee 3,089.| 6,527 | 20,163,129 | 10,349 | 31,970,866 | 2,327] 7,190,065 | 19, 204 | 59,324, 060

a Data not available.

OTTER-TRAWL FISHERY. aa

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.

arr TT TKI

ane
Tore
a

gram showing the catch per trip by American line vessels fishing on all banks.

Dia

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 to
banks on which the otter trawlers fish little or not at all, and the
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 OF Cop, HappocK, 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, 1891 To 1914, INCLUSIVE.

,

Cod. Haddock. Hake. All kinds,
Num-
Year. ber of
trips. | Per | otal Per | Total Per | otal Per | ‘Total
trip. 3 trip. 4 trip. 5 trip. :

Pounds. |Pounds.| Pounds. |Pounds.| Pounds. |Pounds.| Pounds.
8,384,200 | 5,034 | 14,643,997 | 4,060 | 11,812,605,| 11,976 | 34,840, $02
7,719,690 | 4,728 | 12,226,750 | 2,985 | 7,720,000 | 10,698 | 27,666, 440
10,873,430 | 4,792 | 14,999,350 | 2,911 | 9,113,200 | 11,177 | 34,985, 980
8,580,750 | 4,804 | 13,518,900] 1,987] 5,593,000 | 9,841 | 27,692, 650
7,701,260 | 4,018 | 10,813,900") 1,128 | 3,035,600 | 8,008 | 21,550, 760
8,743,100 | 3,871 | 10,778,050 | 1,212] 3,376,000 | 8,224 | 22,897,150
6,649,900 | 3,536 | 9,000,150 | 1,435 | 3,652,230 | 7,584 | 19,302, 280
9,488,350 | 3,266| 8,779,460 | 1,527] 4,105,200 | 8,323 | 22,373,010
8,835,650 | 4,144 | 10,526,650 | 1,247 | 3,168,500 | 8,870 | 22,530,800
9,123,850 | 4,380 | 10,968,350 | 1,840] 4,608,750 | 9,864 | 24, 700,950
10,095,650 | 4,734 | 11,931,850 | 1,312 | 3,307,950 | 10,053 | 25,335, 400
10, 184, 750 6, 220 | 15,048, 500 1, 758 4,253,050 | 12,189 | 29, 486, 300
7,281,225 | 5,170 | 12,725,700 | 2,218 | 5,459,900 | 10,348 | 25, 466, 825
6,850,000 | 6,328 | 15,049,450 | 2,050] 4,877,100 | 11,260 | 26,776, 550

10,155,000 | 5,313 | 15,875,400 | 2,059 | 6,151,500 | 10,770 | 32,181,900
10,706,500 | 5,960 | 20,105,150 | 2,248 | 7,584,600 | 11,383 | 38,396, 250
10,516,100 | 5,630 | 17,599,550 | 3,871 | 12,102,300 | 12,865 | 40, 217,950
11,795,550 | 5,336 | 14,974,200 | 2,567 | 7,204,125 | 12,107 | 33,973,875
9,733,950 | 6,545 | 14,459,300 | 2,943 | 6,502,650 | 13,896 | 30,695, 900
8,805,648 | 7,609 | 17,060,431 | 3,096 | 6,941,526 | 14,633 | 32,807, 605
13,929,217 | 6,460 | 13,909,607 | 2,760 | 5,944,051 | 15,691 | 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 1918, 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

Diagram showing the catch per trip by American line vessels fishing on all grounds except
Georges Bank, South Channel, and Nantucket Shoals.

QUANTITY OF CoD, HADDOCK, AND HAKE TAKEN ON GEORGES BANK, SoutuH CHAN-
NEL, AND NANTUCKET SHOALS, BY AMERICAN LINE VESSELS LANDING THEIR
CATCH AT BOSTON AND GLOUCESTER, 1891 To 1914, INCLUSIVE.

Cod. Haddock. Hake. All kinds.
a Num-
Year. ber of
trips. Per Per Per Per
trip. Total. irip. Total. trip. Total. trip. Total.

Pounds. |Pounds.| Pounds. |Pounds.| Pounds. |Pounds.| Pounds.
8,271,000 | 15,881 | 19, 216, 200 442 | 535,125 | 23,158 | 28, 022, 325
8,355, 600 | 15,324 | 19,002,600 | 3,121 | 3,870,400 | 25,184 | 31, 228, 600
10, 813,900 | 17,415 | 24, 503, 100 4,086 | 5,749, 900 | 29,187 | 41, 066, 900
11,384, 400 | 15,566 | 22,681,000} 3,366 | 4,904, 400 | 26,746 | 38, 969, 800
12, 549, 900 | 12,095 | 18, 095, 300 2,339 | 3,499, 700 | 22,824 | 34,144,900
12, 486, 600 | 12,941 | 16,836,700 | 2,470 | 3,214, 500 | 25,009 | 32,537, 800
8, 232, 600 | 13, 498 | 12,769,150 | 3,943 | 3,730, 200 | 26,143 | 24,731,950
10, 196, 200 | 13, 892 | 16,365,700 | 3,722 | 4,384, 600 26, 270 | 30, 946, 500
8, 882, 000 | 14,869 | 17,709,200 | 3,147 | 3,748, 600 | 25, 474 | 30,339, 800
7, 768, 600 | 15,309 | 13,763,000 | 3,169 | 2,849, 100 | 27,119 | 24,380, 700
13, 138, 300 | 15,199 | 22,207,000} 3,364 | 4,915,900 ! 27,557 | 40, 261, 200
11,196, 600 | 15, 845 | 22,167,700} 3,834 | 5,364, 700 27,683 | 38, 729, 000
11,397, 300 | 17, 674 | 28, 190, 600 3,635 | 5,798, 200 | 28, 454 | 45,386, 100
18,022, 200 | 19, 795 | 37,651,200 | 2,439 | 4,639, 400 | 31,709 | 60,312,800
19, 296, 800 | 17,565 | 33,392,000] 2,113 | 4,018, 600 | 29,830 | 56, 707,400
18, 843, 500 | 12, 966 | 21,706,600 | 2,271 | 3,801,900 | 26,494 | 44,352,000
17,964, 400 | 14, 881 | 22,397,100 | 4,164 | 6, 268, 000 30, 983 | 46, 629, 500
14,972, 400 | 12,188 | 16,661,100 | 2,787 | 3,810, 400 | 25,928 | 35, 443, 900
15, 261, 110 |-17, 940 | 24,417,270 | 3,123 | 4,250, 800 | 32) 277 | 43) 929, 180
9,344, 250 | 25,679 | 25,346,000 | 4,034 | 3,982, 100 | 39,181 | 38,672,350
11, 726, 400 | 21,630 | 25,351,200 | 4,072 | 4,773, 400 | 35,709 | 41,851,000
9,322, 264 | 16,328 | 16,459,116 | 2,935 | 2,959, 419 | 28,512 | 28° 740; 799
6,213,312 | 19,230 | 18,095,059 | 1,344 | 1,265,314 | 27,177 | 25,573, 685

@ 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 Cop, HappocK, AND HAKE TAKEN BY OTTER TRAWLERS FROM
GEORGES BANK AND SoUTH CHANNEL, 1908 To 1914, INCLUSIVE.

Cod. Haddock. Hake. All kinds.
Num-
bias ‘of P P P P.
“s er er er er
trips. trip. Total. trip. Total. trip. Total. trip. Total.
Pounds.| Pounds. |Pounds.| Pounds. |Pounds.| Pounds.|Pounds.| Pounds. |
NOB Soe crecacsyare wt 44 | 4,767 209, 800 | 35,045 | 1,542,000} 1,059 | 46,600 | 40,872] 1,798, 400
OOO Bi ton a 2 47 | 3,400 159, 800 | 36,574 | 1,719,000} 1,582 | 74,400 | 41,557 | 1,953, 200
TET T) 2 ia eli Se 8 59 | 2,133 125,850 | 47,033 | 2,775,000 789 | 46,600 | 49,956 | 2,947, 450
1h ee eee 178 | 3,171 564, 500 | 41,388 | 7,367,100 852 | 151,700 | 45,411 , 083,
POTD Mee ono oe 295 | 6,620] 1,952,950 | 43,954 | 12, 966, 700 355 | 105,500 | 50,932 | 15,025, 150
IGE Bae eee 826 | 5,115 | 1,667,806 | 38,309 | 12, 488, 992 642 | 209,485 | 44,068 | 14,366, 283

Mia) Ce 387 | 2)970| 1,149,595 | 39,750 | 15,383,550] 670 | 259,913 | 43,392 | 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 trawling 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

SuEeaaeee

oH
HAH Pr

| TN
ae

scsuiitiast
r H
i

2 i
EH

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~

2
Seoese

TT aagoa TT itt rT
— 2 BBBRREnR
Seeaea

=
t |
|
a
ny |
a
a
Ie!
a
a
|
a
an

Fe

fa HH
PEPE EEE aSCSeEEzsE

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

41

OTTER-TRAWL FISHERY.

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.

|

|

|

tables and the diagrams based on them have been prepared, show-

QUANTITIES OF Cop, Happock, AND HAKE TAKEN BY GLOUCESTER LINE FISHER-
MEN ON GEORGES BANK, 1905 To 1914, INCLUSIVE.

Cod. Haddock. Hake. All kinds.
ee
Year. os
A a (eae Per | ‘Total Per | otal. | Fe | Total
1PS- | trip 4 trip. trip. trip

Pounds.| Pounds. |Pounds.| Pounds. |Pounds.| Pounds.|Pounds.| Pounds.
478 | 11,410 | 5,451,071 | 11,720 | 5,602, 212 790 | 337,804 | 23,921 | 11,391,087
418 | 15,215 ) 6,359,900 | 21,377 | 8,935,735 | 1,495 | 625,091 | 38,088 | 15, 920, 726
361 | 17,135 | 6,185,881 | 8,994 | 3,246,682] 1,232 | 444,616 | 27,361 | 9,877,179

From the tables and diagrams several facts appear. In the first
place, since 1905 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
ease of the haddock there was an enormous decrease from 1905 to
1909, 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 1909, 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 1914 than in any year
since 1905 at least and of haddock was about equal to that of 1906
and much greater than for any other year of the period considered.
The catch of cod per trip was greater in 1914 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 1910 to 1914, inclusive, than it was for the preced-
ing five-year period.

88 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 1905.

OTTER-TRA Lu 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

‘ae
49 OTTER-TRAWVL 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

Diagram showing the total catch of haddock 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.

catch of the Boston fleet was made in January, February, and March,
when Gloucester vessels made a monthly average of four trips to

OTTER-TRAWL FISHERY. 43

Georges, as compared with an average of over 12 trips per month
for the rest of the year.

Considering all of the data available respecting the supply of fish
and particularly the haddock, the species most conspicuous in the
catch of the otter trawlers, we can see no evidence of the depletion
of the supply on the fishing grounds frequented by the otter trawl-
ers. The average catch per trip shows no diminution from that made
prior to the introduction of the steam trawlers.

DENUDATION OF THE BOTTOM BY OTTER TRAWLERS.

One of the most vigorously urged objections to the use of the otter
trawl is that it tears loose, dislodges, crushes, and destroys the marine
animal and vegetable growths which in places cover the bottom on
the fishing banks. It is upon these sessile or attached organisms and
the animals of many kinds to which they give harbor that the bot-
tom fishes feed, and if it can be shown that any method of fishing
or any practice of the fisheries denudes the bottom of any consider-
able proportion of these growths, it would establish abundant rea-
son for regarding such fishery or practice as inimical to the pro-
ductiveness of the banks.

The attached animals on the banks consist generally of sponges;
hydroids and bryozcans, collectively called “sea moss” by the fisher-
men; ascidians, known as “lemons” and “strawberries”; sea ane-
mones; mussels and other mollusks; burrowing and tube-building
worms (“macaroni”); barnacles, etc. With the exception of many
of the worms which burrow in sand or mud, the sessile forms are
attached to rocks, pebbles, and shells, or to one another. Finding
shelter among these or lying on the bottom are various species of
erabs, shrimps, and other crustaceans; scallops, clams, and other
bivalve mollusks; a variety of gasteropods or snail-like mollusks;
many starfishes and brittle stars; sea urchins; sea cucumbers or
“pumpkins”; worms; and fishes of various kinds, all preying or
being preyed upon and in complex and intimate relation to one
another generally. There are many minute animals and plants on
the bottom and on the bottom growths or in the overlying water.
Of these the microscopic plants are highly important, as they, with
the seaweeds, are the fundamental source of food, direct or indirect,
of all marine animals. Some of the fishes feed directly on these
organisms, while others feed on animals which ‘either consume them
directly or at some more or less proximate stage find them in the
chain of elaboration of their food supply.

The immediately important commercial fishes taken by the line
trawlers are haddock, cod, and, to a less degree, hake. The same
market fish with the addition of the “sole” are taken by the otter

44 OTTER-TRAWL FISHERY.

trawlers. Both methods of fishing catch a few halibut and certain
edible fishes which are not marketed. The haddock and the cod are
the principal species sought, and were it not for these the bank
fisheries would not exist under present economic conditions.

Both of these fish are bottom feeders, and while they feed to some
extent on young or small fishes, their diet consists principally of in-
vertebrates such as constitute the bottom fauna of the banks. They
all sometimes contain pieces of herring and similar fishes, but there is
good reason to believe that in most cases these are baits taken from
the lines. Most of the food consists of echinoderms (starfishes, brittle
stars, sea urchins, and sea cucumbers; lamellibranchs (scallops,
mussels, and other bivalves); gasteropods (various snail-like mol-
lusks) ; crustaceans (crabs and shrimps); and annelids (worms).
Although these fishes spawn on some of the banks, they resort to
them primarily for food; and there is no doubt that if the bottom
growth were destroyed the productiveness of the fishing banks would
be seriously impaired if not destroyed, and it is therefore important
to the present inquiry that the methods of fishing now pursued
should be considered in relation to their effects on the denudation
of the bottom. |

In this respect the trawl-line fishery is innocuous and need not be
discussed, but the otter trawl operates in such manner as to raise a
valid assumption against it and to demand a critical examination of
its effects. As the otter trawl, as a whole, sweeps over an area of
about 80 acres at each haul and many square miles in the course of a
year’s fishing, the assumption has been that its effects on the bottom
growths of necessity must be disastrous; and the observers on the
steamers were instructed particularly to note the quantity and char-
acter of the bottom materials brought up. Most of the sand, broken
shells, and other fine material not bound together by worm tubes, etc.,
undoubtedly would wash through the mesh and would not figure in
the load landed on deck, but a large part of the bottom growth,
which, and not the bottom itself, is the important factor in the pres-
ent inquiry, would come up in the trawl.

Much of the data submitted by the observers are too vague for
quantitative consideration, but one man definitely states the quan-
tities in bushels in his monthly analysis of the results of his obser-
vations on each bank. From his returns it is deduced that the aver-
age quantity of scallops, clams, shells, sponges, starfishes, and bottom
material generally, varied with the month and the locality, from a
small fraction of a bushel to 4.7 bushels per haul, the latter being
the average of 26 hauls made in South Channel in August, 1913.

A simple computation shows that this maximum represents a film
0.00024 inch in thickness spread over the area swept by the trawl, or,
to state the case in another way, a little pile of material 1 foot

| OTTER-TRAWL FISHERY. 45
‘square and 9 inches high on each acre traversed. This means
either that a small proportion of the existing bottom material was
captured by the net, which is probable, or that there was very little
material to take. In either case the result to the fishery is trivial and
negligible, as the whole quantity, shells and all, if eaten by the
marketable haddock and cod alone taken in the same hauls would
constitute a morsel of but about 24 cubic inches for each—a very
small meal, indeed—and leave nothing for the many other fishes
taken at the same time.

But, the evidence shows, this material was not destroyed but
thrown overboard when the decks were cleared after each haul, the
uninjured organisms in large part to carry on their lives as before,
and the dead shells to lie again on the bottom and serve as places
for attachment for other growths. Any crushed scallops, mussels,
etc., undoubtedly would be eaten by fishes or by animals on which
the fishes feed, for no dead organic matter is permitted to lie long
unutilized on the floor of the sea. Fragments of sponges would each
begin to grow into a new sponge, and mutilated starfishes would
soon reproduce the injured or lost parts, if they did not fall prey
to the fishes in the meantime. This modicum of captured and lib-
erated material would therefore be little if any diverted from the
function which it would have discharged if it had remained unmo-
lested on the bottom. It is claimed, however, that but part of the
damage wrought to the bottom by the trawls is represented by the
material brought up in the nets, greater quantities of the bottom
organisms being torn loose, crushed, and mutilated. To the extent
that this may be true, the preceding remarks on the utilization of
the detached and injured organisms also apply. It is, of course,
impossible to observe the action of trawls operated in depths as great
as are found in the bank fisheries, but by an examination of the catch,
the method of operating the apparatus, and comparison with the
known effects of similar appliances, conclusions of some value may
be deduced.

_ There are three parts of the otter trawl which scrape the bottom:
The boards, the foot line, and the net itself. The boards each weigh
about 1,500 pounds in the air or about 900 pounds in the water,
and as they are 12 feet long and 24 inches thick they bear on the
bottom with a pressure of a little less than 3 pounds to the square
inch. This is a little less than the standing pressure of an average
man. When the net is fishing, the otter boards are set with the
short sides vertical and their long sides at an angle of about 20
degrees or less to the direction of motion, and as they are 12 feet
long each scrapes a strip about 43 feet wide. As the average haul
‘of an otter trawl is about 6 miles, the two boards scrape on each
haul a surface of about 64 acres. An average of about 35 hauls
‘was made on each trip observed, and on this basis it is computed

46 OTTER-TRAWL FISHERY.

that on the 326 trips made by the steam trawlers in 1913 the boards
alone scraped about 115 square miles of the bottom, provided they
were in constant contact.

The footline or ground rope forms the front border of that part
of the net lying on the bottom. It stretches in a curve between
the otter boards, is about 140 feet long, and 3} to 4 inches in di-
ameter. It is composed of a core of steel wire rope about 1 inch
in diameter, heavily served with marlin and rope partly to protect
the wire from chafing, but principally to prevent undue cutting into
the bottom. The ground rope weighs about 800 pounds in the air,
but as rope is but little heavier than water and the wire weighs
not over 150 or 160 pounds, it is certain that when at rest it does
not exert a pressure in excess of 2 pounds per linear foot.

The ground rope sweeps over a strip about 100 feet wide, and
using the same data employed in the discussion of the otter boards
this would cover an area of about 73 acres per haul and about
1,300 square miles for all hauls made by the steam trawlers in 1913,

The net with its chafing gear, a device of old netting to minimize
abrasion on the bottom, weighs about 800 pounds in air, but very
little in water. As fish weigh but little more than water, the catch
adds nothing to the pressure of the net on the bottom unless it
includes stones, sand, shells, and other heavy materials. The net,
being attached to and following the ground rope, sweeps over the
same area.

The otter boards, by virtue of their inclined position to the line
of draft through the water, act, when resting on the bottom, like
the scraper of a road machine, such material as they dislodge or
tear loose passing backward and inward toward the net. As the
purpose of the boards is to spread the net laterally, no useful pur-
pose is served by permitting them to plow deeply, and the ideal
practice is to have them skim over the bottom as lightly as possible.
The drag of the towing warps, inclining upward toward the vessel,
tends to lift the boards, especially at the forward ends, and this
tendency increases with the speed at which they are towed and, at
any given depth, inversely with the length of warp paid out. With
the speed too great or the warp too short, the boards and with them
the net may be lifted quite clear of the bottom. A slight lifting
of the boards is permissible and perhaps desirable, but if the ground
rope raises materially, the efficiency of the net is impaired.

There are two instruments employed in fisheries in other parts
of the world for taking bottom growths, the effects of which are
comparatively well known, and a consideration of these, by analogy,
may be of some assistance in the formulation of an opinion as to
the effects of the otter trawl. One of these is the dredge extensively
employed in the oyster fishery. This consists of a short chain bag

OTTER-TRAWL FISHERY. 47

or net, attached to a rectangular steel frame, about 4 feet on its
long sides. The average weight of these dredges is about 150 pounds,
and the long sides of the frames are provided with 15 or more long,
steel teeth which dig into the bottom as the instrument is dragged
over the beds. They are designed especially to tear the oysters
from the bed, and incidentally they bring up sponges, starfishes,
mussels, and other bottom organisms.

It is estimated on good data that in Maryland the dredging ves-
sels in the course of the season’s work cover with their dredges
an area equal to about three times that of the oyster beds, or, in
other words, an average acre or square mile is scraped three times
in the course of the year. These beds have been intensively dredged
annually for many years, and while some of them have been de-
pleted, they are still producing large quantities of oysters wherever
care has been exercised to return to the beds all shells and small
oysters. Where the beds have been depleted it is in nearly every
case due to neglect to comply with the requirements of the law in
this respect.

The other implement to which acs was made in a pre-
ceding paragraph is the gaugava, a peculiar type of dredge trawl
used in the Mediterranean sponge fisheries. It consists of a short
bag net of heavy twine attached to a rectangular frame about 35
feet long and 2 feet high. The lower side and about half of the two
ends is composed of an iron bar 24 to 3 inches in diameter weigh-
ing about 600 or 700 pounds, and the top of the frame is a wooden
bar 5 or 6 inches in diameter. This implement is towed at a speed
of about 1 to 14 miles per hour, and the length of the towing warp
is so adjusted that the iron bar scours the bottom without burrow-
ing. The purpose of the gaugava is to tear commercial sponges
from their firm attachments to the bottom and incidentally it brings
up all other bottom growths. It is undoubtedly the most destructive
method of sponge fishing, as it tears from their attachment many
commercial sponges too small for the market which would be valu-
able if permitted to become a year or two older. Yet 150 vessels
are using this appliance on the coast of Tunisia, and while the
beds have been depleted to some extent and require occasional peri-
ods of recuperation, they are after many years still profitably pro-
ductive. Now both the oyster dredge and the gaugava are designed
for tearing up and capturing the bottom growth, they are employed
in a way to accomplish that purpose, and a large part of the material
captured is not returned to the water. Each of them is much heavier
than the ground rope of the otter trawl, the dredge weighing in
water about 30 to 35 pounds to the linear foot, the gaugava about
15 pounds, and the footrope of the trawl less than 2 pounds.

86066°—15——4

48 OTTER-TRAWL FISHERY.

The footrope of the trawl is of larger diameter than the frames of
the other two implements, and, moreover, it is covered with rope, a
cushioning material, while the others are bare steel. It is evident that
if it were towed at the same speed as the oyster dredge and the gaugava
it would do much less damage owing to its comparatively small
weight per foot, but it is dragged at a much higher speed than the
oyster dredge and at about three times the speed of the gaugava,
which it more closely resembles. With the same length of warp,
dredges and trawls touch the bottom more lightly the higher the
speed at which they are towed, and at the same speed the lighter
and more bulky gear lifts more freely than the heavier and more
compact. That the otter trawl catches an insigificant quantity of
bottom material as compared with the oyster dredge and the gau-:
gava has been shown by direct observation, and that it does a neg-
ligible amount of damage not observable is clear from a comparison
of the construction and methods of operation of the three types of
apparatus and a consideration of the fact that years of intensive
operation of the dredge and gaugava have by no means destroyed,
although they have to some extent depleted, the beds on which they
work, especially when recklessly used. The only parts of the otter
trawl which have sufficient weight to effectively scrape the bottom
of its attached organisms are the boards, and they cover but about
10 per cent of the sweep of the net and undoubtedly are much of the
time largely and part of the time wholly supported by the draft of
the towing warps.

It is believed, therefore, that denudation of the bottom is not a
momentous factor in any injury which may be wrought to the fish-
eries by the otter trawls.

DESTRUCTION OF SPAWN BY OTTER TRAWLERS.

The allegation sometimes made that the otter trawl destroys the
spawn of food fishes can be dismissed with a simple negation. The
eggs of all of the important food fishes of the New England coast
and the banks, except the herring, are pelagic; that is, they float
at or near the surface.

The only destruction of spawn is that involved in taking spawn-
ing fish, and such fish are also taken on hand lines on Georges Bank
at least and by nets along the coast.

INTERFERENCE OF THE OTTER TRAWL WITH OTHER FISHERIES.

The observers on the vessels were instructed to make note of all
cases in which lines or other fishing gear were destroyed or inter-
fered with by the steam trawlers. Very few cases of such destruc-
tion or interference were noted.

Mr. Walter H. Rich, who served from June to November, inclu-
sive, most of the time on steam trawlers, but who made a number of

OTTER-TRAWL FISHERY. : 49

‘trips on trawl liners, says: “The captains of all steamers use care
in avoiding the trawls of the sail fleet when possible, often taking
up the net before a haul was finished when they approached a line of
dories engaged in fishing. On two occasions only did the writer see
the gear of the line trawlers fouled in the net, both in thick fog, and
in each case the line was cut and knotted together and put overside
with no apparent damage to the gear.”

Mr. John N. Burrows, who made 10 trips on trawl liners between
June 24 and December 29, most of them on banks fished by the otter
trawlers, and served on otter trawlers from April to December, re-
ports no cases of interference; and Mr. Thomas M. Douthart, who
made observations on the steamers from January 17 to May 1 and
one trip on a schooner, says: “'The trawlers make particular effort
to keep clear of other fishing gear.”

The testimony of the other observers was similar, and there is no
doubt that during the year 1913 the damage to trawl lines was neg-
ligible, and what little did occur was unintentional.

GENERAL ECONOMIC AND SOCIOLOGICAL QUESTIONS.

The general economic and social effects of a change in the charac-
ter of the bank fisheries, due to the introduction of otter trawling,
are matters which we do not regard as within our province to dis-
cuss in detail. We believe that the unregulated use of otter trawls
will inevitably result in the practical displacement of the less efficient
line fishery, and that this will induce a change in the character of
the men manning the fleet, as the substitution of steam for sail power
has changed the type of crews in the merchant marine and in the
Navy. There is also the probability, in fact almost the certainty,
that the change would result in a reduction in the number of in-
dividual vessel owners and the concentration of ownership of fishing
craft in the hands of a comparatively small number of firms and
corporations. Whether or not these changes be desirable is a matter
to be judged by the same criteria governing opinion respecting simi-
lar phenomena affecting other industries.

The regulation of the fisheries is predicated on the necessity of
providing and conserving a common food supply, and the special
protection which it receives at the hands of the Government is to
that end. The consideration of broad subjects of social welfare
should be divorced from special application, and we do not regard
them as germane or peculiar to the investigation with which we are
charged.

It should be indicated, however, that the changes enumerated
would have, in addition to a great reduction in the number of men
employed on the fishing fleet, certain collateral results of wide reach-

50 ; OTTER-TRAWL FISHERY.

ing effect. The men employed in catching bait* would lose their
calling; the cold-storage plants preserving food fish and bait at
various places on the coasts would lose a material part of their
business; shipbuilders, manufacturers, and artisans employed in
supplying the sailing fleet would find their business: destroyed or
seriously curtailed; and a wide economic readjustment would be
obligatory in many communities.

On the other hand, the general substitution of otter trawls for
lines will result in the stimulation of steel shipbuilding and related
industries and furnish additional markets for coal, oil, and engineer-
ing supplies. The trawl nets are now purchased in Great Britain.
A canning establishment which recently began utilizing the bank
fishes now depends largely on the otter trawls for its raw material..
Whether its continuance is contingent on the permanence of the
otter-trawl fishery is not known to us.

EFFECTS OF OTTER TRAWLING ON THE PRICE OF FISH.

An important element in the case of lines versus otter trawls is
whether the introduction of the admittedly more efficient apparatus
will result in a reduction in the cost of fish. The consumer, who is
the factor of paramount economic importance, rarely is heard when
industrial legislation is being considered, and for that reason we
have departed from our avowed purpose to refrain from discussion
of general economic matters not peculiar to the fisheries and have
endeavored to arrive at an understanding as to the probable effect
of otter trawls on the trend of prices. For this purpose we have
examined the prices at which the important species of the cod
family and fresh fish as a whole have sold in Boston during each
year since 1898. These data are shown in the following table and
in the diagram based thereon:

Pricks RECEIVED BY FISHERMEN FOR FRESH FIisH LANDED AT Boston, 1898 To
1914, INCLUSIVE.

Cents per pound. Cents per pound.
Year. = 4 a Year.
ad- Had-

Cod. Gack Hake. fish. ® Cod. douk Hake. fish.d
21 EE 0.9 1.8 2.9 2.9 1.9 2.8
22 2.2 1.1 2.1 2.7 2.5 Te 2.5
212) 2.0 1.4 2.2 2.8 2.5 15 2.5
PY | 2.4 1.5 2.6 3.0 2.5 1.6 2.6
2.4 2.2 ere 2.4 3.2 2.3 2.0 2.7
2.9 2.2 1.6 2.4 3.3 22 1.8 2.6
3.0 2.3 ES} 2.5 3.4 2.9 2:3 3.1
2.6 2.1 UB re 2.3 23% 2.5 2.2 2.8
2.4 2.0 1.9 2u2

a Some estimates indicate that 50,000,000 pounds of bait, caught by boat and trap fishermen, are
usod in the line fisheries conducted by New England bank vessels.
> Excepting mackerel. Herring could not be excluded for lack of data.

OTTER-TRAWL FISHERY. 51

The table, and particularly the diagram plotted from it, shows a
consistent, though fluctuating, increase during the 16 years ended in
1913 in the prices of each of the species separately enumerated, as
well as in the prices of fresh fish as a whole. At the end of that
period all prices except for haddock were higher than ever, although
for 1912 and the five years preceding there had been but little or
no general price increase, the cod alone excepted. In 1914, however,
there was a noteworthy drop in the price of cod, which was reflected
in the average price for all fish, while haddock and hake likewise
showed a decline.

To determine whether the recent comparative maintenance of
prices was due to the larger number of small fishes landed by the

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.

5g OTTER-TRAWL FISHERY.

AVERAGE Prices oF FRESH Bottom oR BANK FIsHES SOLD AT THE NEw ENGLAND
FisH EXCHANGE, Boston, 1909 To 1914, INCLUSIVE.

Cents per pound.

Species and sizes of fish. eo
1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914

Cod:
CARO 2 oases oa ee eet chee See Oo eee BBB} 3.5 3.8 3.9 4.6 4.1
MAT IEOL® cccick ene eRe tee Soe ees See emnees 2.1 2.4 PAT 2.4 25 2.1
FST E1107 Eg ati ie ee Poh ab 4 ie Mh ST om el iy Ree ae Bc 1.8 2.4 25a) 1.8 er 1.4
Haddock:
ALCO ce ee cen ne ee ae ee eee ee eae 2.4 20 2.2 2.1 2.9 2.6
S\Gn0(0 eee een eee es See eat ee ia 1.7 2.0 1.9 1.5 2.1 1.7
TWAT EG Sera scmp oc Se Mites ne irae a ae. a 1.9 2.4 2.3 27. 2.9 3.1
SINS es A ee cr ee SA REE aI. ec EM 122) 1.6 1.5 153 1.6 sir
Las (erence ihe aera ie Buk aie Bis aie ENA Se 2.3 2.4 1.9 2.0 2.9 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 1913,
: INCLUSIVE.

}
7
|

Cents per pound.

Year.
Cod. |Haddock.| Hake. | Sole. | YT | piaice. | All fish.

eee se 3.4 2.8 3.4 21. eae 5.9 3.4
Ee anne 0 Ss 3.5 3.0 3.3 a ae 5.9 3.5
3.5 3.3 3.8 Gira (oss 5.8 3.7

3.7 3.5 3.5 Be ligsdes chev 5.3 3.6

2.8 3.0 3.6 33, 1 10.9 3.9 3.0

2.9 2.4 3.2 31.9 11.9 £6 3.0

2.8 2.5 2.9 28.8 11.3 4.2 2.7

3.1 3.0 3.2 28.5 111 4.5 3.1

2.8 2.4 3.4 31.5 12.2 5.4 3.0

3.0 2.5 3.3 33. 6 12.1 4.7 2.7

2.9 2.7 3.2 31.6 10.9 5.0 2.8

2.1 2.6 3.1 31.8 9.6 4.2 2.6

2.4 2.9 3.7 33.3 10.7 4.9 2.9

2.4 2.9 3.7 31.6 10.9 4.9 2.7

2.8 3.3 4.0 32.1 11.6 6.1 2.9

3.1 Tg 5.1 33.7 12.2 7.0 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
1918. 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 19138, 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.

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 80 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. 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
Ramsgate. 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 PROPORTIONS OF DEMERSAL FISHES CAUGHT IN THE NorTH SEA AND
IN REGIONS BEYOND THE NorgTH SEA, RESPECTIVELY, BY ENGLISH AND WELSH

VESSELS,
Beyond
Year. North Sea. North Sea.
TOSS so wecceaecees 79.4 20.6
0) aa ante oe 54.7 45.3
AGES. sh amamacickes 2 3. 56.8

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.

SEMI SCalee Si see Go tet oe ld Sea Ls Coes ok 152, 500
SLED TIDYO|* eee da I SES Re ae oe Dep ene eer Oe ee ee ee ae eee” 36, 600
OTTER OES YEE I ent RG le I A es te Sere PRE AE ae eh he he ES Ee 128, 900
eS oe Sol ee ee ee ee eee 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 ve 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 shown 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.

ToTaAL LANDINGS OF DEMERSAL FISHES, ROUND FISHES, AND FLAT FISHES, FROM
THE NorTH SEA ON THE HAST COAST OF ENGLAND IN THE FIRST AND T.AST
YEARS OF CERTAIN PERIODS.

Quantity (hundred-

weight) during— Gain or loss.

Classes and periods.

First year. | Last year. ee Per cent.
Demersal fishes:

570, 818 508,940 | — 61,875 —10
508, 940 585,436 | + 76,496 +15
5,116,979 | 4,281,150 | —835,829 —16
4,281,150 | 3,675,862 | —605,288 —14
304, 095 247,109 | — 56,986 —18
247, 109 264,470 | + 17,361 257)
3,492,414 | 3,158,062 | —334,352 —9
3,158,062 | 2,605,812 | —552,250 17)
266, 723 261,831 | — 44,892 sail
261, 831 320,966 | + 59,135 +22
1,492, 696 970,509 | —522, 187 —34
970, 509 849,003 | —121,506 —12

Note.—The data for 1891 to 1901, inclusive, are for certain ports only, enumerated in the text.

OTTER-TRAWL 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 HAST COAST OF ENGLAND IN THE FIRST AND LAST YEARS OF CER-
TAIN PERIODS.

Quantity (hundred-

weight) during— Gain or loss.

Species and periods.

Hundred- | ber cent,

. | Last year. weight.

DNAS cC Fs 2 caps jaa ae ea pn 91, 987 94,906 | + 2,919 +3
1898-1901. .......... SREP ee Sais teeta ak aelene Soe ok sete 94,906 108, 722 + 13,816 +14
Uyhivetal Tie Ale Cit NI OE ie Re eee nee. ae 783, 782 740, 062 — 43,720 —5
PM ees cee aera oni oe ee ues tle wa cet deals wae 740, 062 825, 636 + 85,574 +11
Haddock:
POOE MOOS ea cee se wets tote ke es ea'ee SEE Riyal te Ge oie nse 185, 877 125, ral — 60,420 —32
LANDES RES Soe eae 5 MI Se na See ee 125, 457 124)1 02 — 1,355 —1
ES LO eee ee ee nie one Seca ca obs sericea tede tis 2,310, 340 2; 046, oe —264, 136 —ll
1906-1912. .: ee oe fee aetna a Belews eisiopatrese Gieitiw.e <6 Wi arcsle'e 2,046, 204 L, 293, 080 —753, 124 —36
Plaice:
UM UST 5 SE Se a es Se eo ee ae 200,475 207, 933 + 7,458 + 3
Les Tce il 5 2 el ae ee a er ae ee 207, 933 270, 635 + 62,702 +30
PS I ee te oe ene IE. SG Geis abicte ein leigde§ canes Se 956, 358 570, 862 —385, 496 —40
TELUS EE os a Sina Sih Aenea AO laa a Rae 570, 862 527,088 | — 43,774 —7

Notr.—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 ae
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.

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 CERTAIN KINDS FROM THE
NortH SEA LANDED ON THE East Coast oF ENGLAND BY First-Class STEAM
TRAWLERS IN THE FIRST AND LAST YEARS OF CERTAIN PERIODS.

Gain or loss.

Catch (hundredweight)
during—
Classes, species, and periods.
First year. | Last year. erin Per cent.

Demersal fishes:

UBT eee eae cce Scoce cone Sooc Sacer mse eee ece sa0 6 4,776,081 | 3,983,020 | —793,061 —16

LOG AM OS ices Mote nodes seca cs emea threes ae man asa see 3,983,020] 3,361,391 | —621,629 —15
Round fishes:

ANS “IOUGE: ce sa cece eee Re cee et eee eae 3,382,316 | 3,074,932 | —307,382 -9

19061919? Fs ASSIS EOS ae ee as 2 ee 3,074,932 | 2,464,094 | —610,838 —19
Flat fishes: ,

190210082 8s 5 065 iba see eet sees oes rae soca eee 1,264,122 761,393 | —502,729 —39
: US EO oe i Pociasen sc sdec cod -Bac-css sasossecseass 761,393 634,157 | —127,236 —16

od:

ae get eco QUO BaD OSCE bmodsaore Dong: Rec opeeanue 729,311 705,306 | — 24,005 -—3

WOGRSIDID ee 52, Seen nae 705,306 786,481 | + 82,175 +11
Haddock:

AOOSSIONG Meets cae oa eee eee eer oe eee 2,301,505 | 2,034,882 | —266,623 —11

GDB 1012 25355. oct sae cta- eee ce oe eR eee 2,034,882 | 1,292,743 | —742,139 —36
Plaice:

eS = teh is npcbopeccuacbeoneacorcesscdeboodes sonar 811,637 440,920 | —370,717 —45

TOQUE AOL ee etna Ooo nes aoc cou etme atone Dene 440, 920 386,690 | — 54,230 11

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 Cop, Happock, AND PLaAIcE By STEAM

TRAWLERS IN THE NortH Sea, 1906 to 1909, anp 1909 tro 1912, ComPpaRED
witH 1903 ro 1906.

Percentile ratios.
Hour-year perlods.3| —————————
Cod. |Haddock.} Plaice.

1903-1906.......... 100 100 100

1906-1909. ........-. 105 93 73
19001 Ot ee aes eee 122 68 64

Tt 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

sa 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,* 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.

TortaL NUMBER OF Days’ ABSENCE AND THE ToTAL NUMBER OF VOYAGES (LAND-
Incs) BY STEAM TRAWLERS FISHING IN THE NoRTH SEA FROM PoRTS ON THE
Hast Coast oF ENGLAND.

Number during— Loss.
Periods. ee
First year. | Last year. | Number. | Per cent.
Total aoe ane
OOS =1 ONG bees sees esincciee ns sonnicicemeeitccis seca nine 256, 228 225, 923 _ 80,305 11.8
i901 312 SERRA EE IE EITEL . Oia BONA UPANE A Sy ERT 2 Ee 225, 923 213, 286 12, 637 5.5
Nae of voyages (landings):
ad OG ae eet te ated etetctete aia sean mieten ates ioteiae ai sieieisinsislaie 36, 852 36, 474 378 1.0
9

1906-1912 BLO Boe. Rats saesot act. Sodas Ne one 36, 474 36, 118 356

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, Hngland and Wales, 1906, pp. viii—xi.

|

for)
1

OTTER-TRAWL FISHERY.

AVERAGE CATCH OF STEAM TRAWLERS FISHING IN THE NortTim SEA FROM THE
Hast Coast oF ENGLAND PER DAY OF ABSENCE DURING THE FirST AND LAST
YEARS OF CERTAIN PERIODS.

Catch rete i a Gain or loss.
Species and periods.
First year. | Last year. a tan Per cent.
Demersal fishes:
J) OPS ok ethG a6t OAS Be Sac socihose Soo oee Dg soc ore 18. 64 17.63 —1.0 -—5
ERSEE SFE Oe eis Fw noone se nciniamnicie ls pacnemajnecs cimueeuis 17. 63 15. 76 —1.9 —10
Cod:
NGS EMA Orton seteis eis alsin foto les atetlovcn,s aielsie'n's iain ui win’ 6 me 3.1 3.5 +0.4 +12
SoS Aree cen stains demewasinams deinelecalieicines © 3.5 4,45 +0.9 +27
Haddock:
DIR SUD) 2 SS SEE Se NS Soe Oe ee Se Se oce Score car 8.3 7.8 —0.5 — 6
SO ome Sem maioninicccsccleeccia= Sines cteumasnsidcies ss 7.8 4.8 —3.0 —38
Plaice:
US Dah Lbs - de Jig tabs bE o SOCS BSCS CSE COB ROC EEE eee 3.1 2.1 —1.0 —30
UNITS UALS os BRE EUR Res Cot OBS Sea SEE AE es ae 3.1 2.34 +0. 2 +11

AVERAGE CatcH PER VOYAGE OF STEAM TRAWLERS FISHING IN THE NORTH SEA
FROM THE Hast Coast oF ENGLAND DURING THE First AND LAST YEARS OF
CERTAIN PERIODS.

Catch rr eae Gain on ies
Species and periods. [|
First year. | Last year. cornitae Per cent.
Demersal fishes:
ee S Pee ne ae fats nra's ators si nie, tlm. S mininra,aimielaiaya @anaiaiaus 129.6 109. 2 —20.4 —15
NM AE ene oe ai miaceinein seca snes opie sqne cr aens an 109. 2 90.3 —18.9 —17
1 RI SSE See eee 21.7 21.9 oa Pap
LLU YEIM 12 6 i ee Sd oie ie ee 21.9 25.8 + 3.9 +17
Haddock
iI ELAE ee ees ae e 57.9 48.5 — 9.4 —16
Pb = on ca detsinc de cis be tie a cyadie maa,c cans tacicescscas 48.5 27.4 —21.1 —43
Plaice
MND a a See a woos Sa RE = a's <P eloie a cig eid, aieinis © e's acjea.e. 21.2 13.3 — 7.9 —32
BIRR aae tec cnc Sete cecciemiccveacecwcccseseasceces 13.3 13.4 + 0.1 + 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 OTTER-TRAWL 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 HAacH SIZE oF Cop, HADDOCK, AND PLAICE TO TOTAL OF
ALL SIZES LANDED IN ENGLAND AND WALES FROM THE NoRTH SEA BY FIRST-
Crass STEAM TRAWLERS IN 4-YEAR PERIODS, 1903 To 1912, INCLUSIVE.

Percentile ratios to all sizes.e
Species and sizes. mM a. cS
1903-1906 | 1906-1909 | 1909-1912

Cod:
DAU PO. parcicia wisiaie sane aes was ws SRS See ReUE sees eae eae ge soceceaeer 43 42 33
IMGGIIMs oe tet ccc Bees See yaar Se oe tie Cine eremeie nc oes are 30 25 25
SEIAIF ein tasisios < aisle sae teed Gs RoE ed ee oes oe de cube diacpumce bese 26 33 42
Haddock:
ATR! Bi i ectarctotes Seca een cial ene ee oe Oates Bee oy te ee are eee 29 30 39
LRU Dp hia ipl ass Pils Gok a a oi ek ea a 9 ee Be eee eee Oe 28 15 13
Small ee. Sees fs sa basics repr ose a de cebeet eee creme eel saan enone 43 55 48
Plaice:
WATHO: chose ta cant ce he cecnae tee cseee eee ocin eee eras uas ace te maaan 25 21
MOTO, Costus cus cemace ce ct osteencar nore bacon cee oe ener ene 31 380 32
SMA sa cioo Se sts ston aces a oe sees eonelne oa teh aac ete n chee eee 45 45 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

a eeeeeorrroooorrrerreorrrrrereeeooorroorrrereeeeee ee

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 DEMERSAL FISHES, CLASSES, AND CERTAIN KINDS FROM THE NorRTH
SEA LANDED ON THE HAST Coast OF ENGLAND BY FIRST-CLASs SAILING TRAWL-
ERS IN THE FIRST AND LAST YEARS OF CERTAIN PERIODS.

Catch om Sees Guin or loss.
Classes, species, and periods.
First year. | Last year. ae Per cent

Demersal fishes:

MeN RODGS IE aS ESSE «555 tte hs ese arieenc cnwiele 277,530 262, 504 —15,026 -—5

IN VESTN 2 ioe gl aa es ed ie 262,504 279,055 | +16,551 +6
Round fishes

Race Neen ent fe eee cea ict ie cyclin atone era ocec-o% nat 40, 004 50,531 +10, 527 +26

i LD Sane ace sick acmhine 50,531 55, 469 + 4,938 +9
Flat fishes:

DANO ais sence cae eS eae See ekes Shia wawetee 217,502 206, 975 —10,527 —4
a oe Seer een Sacre ee kt ceed ccmaceecaue 206, 975 208, 072 + 2,097 +1

od: -

AM TES) Es 05) hats 2 ale i i ee ak eee ee 22,953 17, 122 — 5,831 —25

Ee eae een yr. See ie ot asap 'wasicce seen 17, 122 14,500 — 2,622 —15
Haddock:

UME es ere ete niale iat 2a wince peiciec hie a ba sia ati oceelesisias.ca 1,059 1,447 + 386 +36

TST ek Bee i ap ee 1, 447 O emteen Sescelere2ees.

laice:
EMR NS te Sa ci cide Sat ow Scat awaited ans ee accesses 144, 667 129, 956 —14,711 —10
1906-1912....... 2 -kesetoe Sue Shae kee Ree ae Ne 129, 956 140, 300 +20, 344 +15

AVERAGE CATCH PER Day’s ABSENCE OF SAILING TRAWLERS IN THE NortTH SEA
FROM THE HAST CoAST OF ENGLAND DURING THE FIRST AND LAST YEARS OF
CERTAIN PERIODS.

Quantity (hundred-

weight) during— Gain or loss.
Species and periods,

First year. | Last year. eta Per cent.

Demersal fishes:
Per etree Seite cern Se aaa amine Sen cemee eR ee ee 3.11 2.45 —0. 66 —21
SP NLA State inch = wn pk] o/as wine" aloe iejnij-ie = sfarelap eee nisin’ aime 2.45 3.08 . 63 +25
Cod: 1906-1912........- -16 51) Ul eae sonazesc Feconn sen
Haddock: 1906-1912. ... 01 LUN EOS AE AS S3. El eae = Be

Plaice: 1906-1912.........--.--.---.--- 1.22 1.55 +733 427

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.

Catch pero ange Gain or loss.
Classes, species, and periods.
F Hundred-
First year. | Last year. weight. Per cent.

Demersal fishes:

TQOS-LO0GE SEU Re assests cteet macnn eee hoe uote 33, 338 a 9,740 —23, 648 — 70

TOOG=1912 <2 tse ten ORO ER een se a ce aaa i eee a9, 740 20,678 | +10,938 +112
Round fishes:

HOUS 1006 oS cow's aoucies momo ooo oe ais meses eee eons 21, 898 7,973 —13, 925 — 63

LQOG 1012 FAS ee RI a eee Ln Se 7, 973 17,394] + 9,421 +118
Flat fishes:

1903-1906 5 jcc: Ue cee weet seep chee xb ee eee ere aaete ene 10,197 1, 688 — 8,509 — 83
‘ 19DG 191 Oe Secasisisb eae se meepcteeeieeet acer neee ae nemecmre 1, 688 3, 265 + 1,577 + 93

od:

1903-1906 25 52,062 tos cameeerse eeeee maceameieteeeentase ns 12, 451 5, 555 — 6,896 — 55

WOOG HIST Do ows meteinieetne mice eet eee etree Sa OnoeUInS 5, 555 15, 031 + 9,476 +170
Haddock:

1903219065205 sage ee ae eee 2,782) |. s.e-cecae|Soodeeeeee ee eee

AQOG= 1912 os Sacisoinazee ciate c ees SOR eto ean gees eclowaeeeleeiatwe ce cison 460 | 2a cemis creates late e eee
Plaice:

QDS Q0Ge casin cc cocmicies ois aca Peee socncemee eevee iecioce ee Cpe Ere Poe pee srcs tesanc 6 a5

MOOG 1912 Fas aNae sos nc cenissocsuicc onpeascanueee nee comes lee scectne css locceseene ene Sone eee |ps"naeiniag

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 HAST Coast oF ENGLAND IN 1906 AND 1912, RESPECTIVELY.

Catch (hundredweight) *
during— Gain.
Species.
Hundred- «

1906 1912 weight. Per cent.

Doemiersalinshes swt. eee nocs dations ac cdaeseoee skeet 14. 78 18. 28 3.50 23
OG a sa esesecacek sschiccacismaseweSemnivceaecectuiseceesecee 8. 43 11. 32 2.89 34
Haddocksnt Sy sek sete oo aceessdseces cususiteecanstoal cd beets seaeene 204: cscc erect eee eceeeee

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

}
\

affected.

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, und 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, 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

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.

ToraL CATCH OF DEMERSAL FISHES, CLASSES, AND IMPORTANT KINDS BY ENGLISH
STEAM TRAWLERS FISHING IN ICELAND WATERS IN 1906 AND 1912.

Quantity :
(hundredweight). Gain or loss.
Classes and species.

1906 1912 ues Per cent
IDemersal tiShese te sect meses at eet tela re einen e ee taiae oeroteiete 1,549,502 | 1,439,774 | — 108,728 — 7
ound Wishes.) St 2 Skeeter tee aan lela ile eae cla ae ears setae 1,266,248 | 1,233,396 | — 32,852 — 2
Pst fishes = 2 scciscc sme n se eee eelecisiele nites een asta eee 237,431 173,323 | — 64,108 — 27
Cod eee oe EE LE ene ee 729,322 800,992 | + 71,670 Pana
Maddock. . 3. se-scmenseeewe cece eeeioeercisesp coe acacia 414,241 310,136 | — 104,105 — 25
JELEY Cs Beer Ae ee ea oe te eS ut EE ics fas 186, 382 121,264 | — 65,118 — 34

AVERAGE CATCH PER LANDING BY ENGLISH STEAM TRAWLERS FISHING IN ICELAND
. WATERS IN 1906 anp 1912.

Quantit :
(hundredweight). _ Gain or loss.
Species.

1906 1912 ae Per cent.
Demersal fishes-..- << sacs ----meeeecemereaccias ces sacar 1,051 1,120 + 69 + 6
SE IAD SOURCE BOSC One| Ona: Ob Serene nee eeees 461 0 + 99 + 21
Mad dnek: foo..52- e522 as<slecess neceeeeenas cosine Ore Sater 261 216 — 45 — 17
PlgiGe: 2 52 osama soaecmoce ene + odes vaeatieee es sees sseara 118 84 — 34 — 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 19138 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, HApDocK,

AND PLAICE FROM ICELAND, LANDED BY STEAM TRAWLERS IN QUADRENNIAL
PERIODS BETWEEN 1906 anp 1912.

Species and sizes. 1906-1909 | 1909-1912

Cod:

TALE J. Seal cc 8s ce Shc Set ee ete ee ee eS oe Oe Se ee ee ee 67.3 57.3
MOGI wre 225 Sess Nae caeh SRS ete Me Seats he ee eo Ta eee eee 19.4 21.9
aad Sos.) Bos Sak dee See See Se ee te eee tet oe one See ata ence ae ee ee 12.7 20.7

Haddock:
187:hd-( eh aS ee en BO neh Ue 7 ei Saat Db SN ay eee ee Sa oe eee 69.3 60.3
MO GTI is ore Slane Seco sa Se a ee oe ae eae Se are ee te aan aan 27.6 BY Awd
3.0 1.9
53.9 36.6
43.8 57.7
22 5.6

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.

Quantity (hundred- 5
wale. Gain or loss.
Classes and species.
Hundred-
1906 1912 weight. Per cent.
Ther 3ES UST Se a ee eee 111, 248 162, 241 +50, 993 + 45
Ta fi EELS Ae a Se ea 20, 826 82, 859 +62, 033 +297
TLDS CTS 6 en See Rn a SS See a ee 83, 847 74,300 — 9,547 —11
EE oe tre one wins aan peeatentae crane scence seine 13, 954 58, 388 +44, 434 +318
ERIE UMM eee eae are oe eineinisie sas oaiee cieie wow hectiecce 175 659 + 484 +276

AVERAGE CATCH PER LANDING BY ENGLISH STEAM LINERS FISHING IN ICELAND
WATERS IN 1906 anp 1912.

Quantity (hundred- P
weight). Gain or loss.
Species. Ce oe 2 Se Se
Hundred-

1906 1912 weight. Per cent.

BRRIMEDSIEMANES S 2 2 cose otisns se ansatmocasee ance eoemen eee 321 311 —10 —
. ot: oats ae Season Pee ec she ener inte 40 112 +72 +180
RAMAGU KML So cck ska acuwicc Seamus cat ateeteemeeseseueee 5 + .5 +100

Tt 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 Happock

FROM ICELAND LANDED BY ENGLISH STEAM LINERS IN QUADRENNIAL PERIODS ©

BETWEEN 1906 anp 1912.

Species and sizes. 1906-1909 | 1909-1912
Cod:
GAN. oa: c/evate Aete iio wiatare smo sion (@.s]o aicisisie SCO tee ree: ane et a aia eis oe ie eee 99.6 97,
Meditiin 225. eB: Seen ees 2s eee eee sk. Gace tons cece nee decane eeeceeeee 31 2
Haddock:
SMALE O! 2 OC ON SE Sebcke ce cccceccce conte cus sewer cecscccet ree cocaine aeeeeeee 92.1 100
MOCdT GIN oieaaiciante oss mais mw qian euise oe win wiepa wc saiwomiecise Saaiae te cjeaidnsiee memes Ca Biall emmeieeieterttate

WHITE SEA,

The fishery by English vessels in this region was conducted solely —
by steam trawlers, and, considering steam vessels only, it ranked —

eighth i in catch among aN 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

i i a te tie

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:

4

ToTaL CATCH OF DEMERSAL FISHES, CLASSES, AND IMPORTANT KINDS BY ENGLISH ~

STEAM-TRAWL VESSELS FISHING IN THE WHITE SEA IN 1906 anp 1912.

Quantity (hundred-

weight) Gain.
Classes and species.

Hundred-
1906 1912 weight. Per cent.
DYEMETSa SHES Se tent sicteerciae see risk ae wick a enemies 45,330 210, 636 165,306 364
RGUINGifish caw. 5 brs oc less hess ie ak Oe ae 6, 083 95,813 89, 730 1,310
MAT TSNES sac nee eoietba sjon he cialelos damiclee Sea ele coe ne eae 39, 210 113, 945 74,735 190
SRE Besa ets oA NOU SSE SOC OBEE CPCOr HORE re Tanmeosrae 1,089 52, 137 51, 046 4,686

ELA docks! Sided c se becicis ata '0ciiaiso seas ncuakeameneenices 4,480 40, 297 35, 917
Blaice ss ts sscoseciceteccesse Scie Soetencassyescondbcdskee 39,176 110, 848 71, 672 182

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 FISHING IN
THE WHITE SEA IN 1906 anp 1912.

Quantity (hundred-

weight). Gain or loss.
Species.
Hundred-

1906 1912 weight. Per cent.

IRENE SHO See oad Solsiicam at oe va ceccenucasante badass = 1,105 993 —112 — 10
faites in'pindisiaw cena dectnes.s heiae sin neice a ceisw'swaws ice 27 246 +219 +811
PAM GUE Cece Snes c ancien dg ens aaceckesveaccaseeess 109 190 + 81 + 74
LCA Nee see ceaoucst tales catdisct andd acess deidustaneeaddcay 956 523 —433 — 45

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 1918 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. Per cent.
SIRI eo Lice de w/2imareis Sica bis im wicca siamieree Sones e Facade scans Sens mene cese ee 11.8 9.0
MMRSAMT Tee. aac cate ac snccanemciee ace ance pate tees o> oe Mabiniencicis oaiele eteoe 22.9 55.1
URSe PS rec cise aioe ceeeie antec ams arate = aaa mine © era nem ence ene iors aa te lee ce 65.1 35.8
Haddock:
IDC TIRES ac ete Met BORE OP apes dr GE OBNCT Dee te: SAS RTcUce parce saa sbcaarcOmaease ss 89.3 35.0
INES TATE = erate a © A ele ses winks Sw'eiSpeinioetn otic. 2 shin hele ciattnlele ce eit eons catelore Sletieicie 10.5 64.8
SURE eT et Oe Saar ris one DO Scmcpricocoouceecanede sbebsriicinc 1 Gi
Plaice: :
SMe Stee mlal a's a aise odo d'nic niet: animate let ofel Mala) ~/ af mene ota almtetn ol eaet oteintane sfenetes itetetetette 28.5 30.6
PN TER as swe oie tee sia u's 2 ciao eoe asa es See cee ein alay on menela tae Scala feline tates ona 71.3 69.2
eRe ee boa cies cciikh <lacc's ce cictdieian = oside ome eine plete aa siete Sitar nie Slee lefties ale alate) ee aaa rt ae

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, hes 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 1,803 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:

ToraL CATCH OF DEMERSAL FISHES, CLASSES, AND IMPORTANT KINDS BY ENGLISH
STtramM TRAWLERS FISHING ON FAROE GROUNDS, 1906 AND 1912.

Rosny Lp Gain or loss.
Classes and species.
Hundred-

1906 1912 weight. Per cent,

Demersal SRBPS= cs avs occ ac asm ete oe decennse case aera 536, 947 584, 484 +47,537 +8
HOuTIG SH esa ces sects sess ae eet eee ea eae ee steers ete 470, 675 539, 775 +69, 100 +14
Hlat fishes scone. eeasnes eee: cae ee 30, 231 20,155 | —10,076 =—o0
rs gay 5 are ip Mie tere ih, Sab See aaa ed le Be 245, 364 341,704] +96,340 +39
FERC COCK ears ta ba ote ee ee hae ee ans see eee 190, 740 147,525 —43, 215 —22
Plaica, Meee oh Se sae sete ee ae ose see eee see ee oo eet 4,346 989 — 3,357 —77

AVERAGE CATCH PER LANDING BY ENGLISH STEAM TRAWLERS FISHING ON FAROE
GRounps, 1906 anp 1912.

Quantity (hundred-

weight). Gain or loss.
Classes and species.
Hundred-

1906 1912 weight. Per cent.

Demersal fishes! 2. 3/05 2s ete esse osc se eee eee ane cee 495 449 —46 -9
Round fishes) 2 ae se eens ee recs sacs cee sees 434 414 —20 —5
IAT ASHES oso. Sele cece abe aneren tee eases 28 15 —13 —44
pata w cue sc ccemenalesekbise se eee ace ne aeene dene secre 226 262 +36 +15
Haddoek:« 22. seis iow cctaee nee cnee acea sa eee eereneaeeels 176 113 —63 —35

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 THE TRADE CATEGORIES TO TOTAL CATCHES OF Cop AND Happock
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. Per cent.
LCT 20 Reece eee rae ees Ree ane eee acic bn oa ans wae Ovicdalschs 39.2 21.8
REAP PEE te Se San ee a one Sew eee eae cea cae wee OSs te hice eda cewsacsateccccccce 36. 1 31.2
Spree ase eee eee Maree Pe. ies Ub vee as eivclec spond ovinnseeus 24.5 46.8
Haddock:
Ste Ce eee rs te EE RE ote Geb me aes Suwce seco cnlenvcceiacdoceesd 72. 2 68. 2
DNV CAA ee ose Seas oe ae onc aes Son. cee av pe eck Sane wads Coc ewab veld sbamice s 23. 4 20.6
UTE lee yee S eS pe AS UGH SE = SSE Ono een ee er ee 4.2 LSE

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.

Quantity Samet; Loss,

weight).
Classes and species.
1912 Hundred-

1906 weight. Per cent.

BRAIMIRIRAUTISUOSE 5 clas cscsc.coccocccns ndeecwesseecadecescne 81, 662 41,461 40, 201 49
I ABE ORD tia sos woaiawis can nes Soup nwaoecenaeasewentomes 48, 963 27,416 21,547 44
BEPIVASHOS eta vec ccsceccaccunoces ddadecmesentecearseese 27, 661 12,788 14, 873 53
PT cS a A ee I Vee SP, SE TR er 29, 867 14, 827 15,040 50
BPTI oe occ cceacecuseecccactlaceveeeraseccereeseeecas 46: 114 348 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-TRAWL 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-TRAWL FISHERY. Fea

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
ScorLAND DURING THE FIRST AND LAST YEARS OF CERTAIN PERIODS.

Quantity (hundred-

weicht) during— Increase or decrease

Classes and periods.

First year. | Last year. poe Per cent.

Demersal fishes:

PORE RO rt Een nat cue Pel oe nics mins acim eal eae ala 1,339,051 | 1,465,426 |+ 126,375 + 9
PRON eae ceo ee ete Pe ae Coe at eas emcee neice occas 1,465,426 | 1,724,525 |4 259,099 +17
LOTUS TSS BOSS oie: eee Cee eee ete 1,724,525 | 1,955,718 |+ 231,193 + 13
Se Mee cose = oe tae eivcise maces aca acias oe 1,955,718 | 2,299,311 |+ 343,593 +17
RRRSBIER gs Ne ge a 2,299,311 | 2,544,897 |4+ 245,586 + 10
1,339,051 | 2,544,897 |+1,205, 846 + 90

1, 127, 452 1,267,938 |+ 140,486 | + 122

1, 267,938 | 1,413,385 |4+ 145,447 + ll

1,668,275 |4+ 254,890 + 18

1,979,205 |+ 310,930 + 18

1,979,205 | 2,179,555 |+ 200,350 + 10

~TESTLATGY 2, oe okey a nas eR 1,127,452 | 2,179,555 |+1,052, 103 + 93

Flat fishes: {

Lie SEC es ee Oe ISS SRE iin oe ae ae 94, 745 101,460 |+ 6, 715 + 7
MeN crete ee is eae cine sa nsinca hens a's == 101, 460 170,013 |+ 68,553 + 67
DET SIM LES Ser eee id Ss 5 eens oe ee eee 170, 013 164,295 |— 5, 718 -—.3
PSO Sarde en cee ea ISIS pie nts dhe Slntatete, <n: d www eic's 164, 295 139,282 |— 25,013 -— 15
TOTTI | <2 eine 71S 2 aan a a a 139, 282 135,063 |— 4,219 = ae
RSMSMIBE 2 Se A? ae en eee 94, 745 135,063 j+ 40,318 + 42

Unclassified fishes: 6 ;

MCE tS a Jee Bae es eS eee 84, 347 47,373 |— 36,974 — 4
OSS 738 Ce Seine As SCS chee Ce ce ee oer eee 47,373 81,182 |+ 33,809 + 71
BRO tee i ee SSF Re oencn's 81, 182 61,265 |— 19,917 — 2
REE NT Se Mee <= a ta era ceiats C:2'c.a 5 ee aininints hace seen es 61, 265 105,256 |+ 43,991 + 71
1906-1912.........-..- eee hc bark tase <wciie sein eelas 105, 256 119,810 |+ 14,554 + 13
DEMS DDL: 2 ee Oe Seen oe eee Seraeeer 84, 347 119,810 |+ 35,463 + 42

Skates:

INS MEDS o.6)> SOB ae RCRee Iba Pane eee 32, 506 48,655 |+ 16,149 + 49

Pane immern aah eis aah Moe fue 8 as 48, 655 59,945 |+ 11,290 + 23

LEDS SS oo 2k Seis Re eee ene reer 59, 945 61, 883 |+ 1,888 + 3

PIS A ere x cache eas Sec omen ceewe cocesee 61, 883 75,568 |+ 13,735 + 22

POU SSUG TM. 2 SOS SSG <2 eS eee eee 75,568 110,469 |+ 34,901 + 46

tint nee etic rer Rp as 28 sce 32,506 110,469 |+ 77,963 +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
was 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 HacH
OF THE MorE IMPORTANT SPECIES OF DEMERSAL FISHES LANDED ON THE HAST
COAST OF SCOTLAND.

Quantity (hundred-

weight) during— Increase or decrease.

Species and periods.
Hundred-

First year. | Last year. weight. Per cent.
Cod:
1891-1898 eae o ce cance cieeue Sac oeee eee clas decementes cre 310, 020 429, 431 +119, 411 + 38
ASOS=1901 So: seo cee cee eae oe ee eee eee aeem ines 429, 431 353,506 | — 75,925 —17
1901-1908 810 fet. 222 ee eae ee ee 353, 506 454,527 | +101,021|] + 28
NODS 191 Sa aires ass Laide ee banes » seen ceeeietealenis 454, 527 833, 636 | -+379,108 + 838
TOOT sea Sok osimie cts oa 6 nie ae eee eee eee ate 310, 020 833,636 | +523, 616 +168
Haddock: ,
ARO1- 1898 ees. ciccsca tunes nsmecenee ceeat aeaeeecee 672, 156 701,514 | + 29,358 + 4.3
BSOS=1 901 Roh a cite eo cm ae ones See ree ene ae eres nie 701, 514 795,883 | + 94,369 + 13
1901-1903 aes ode ce nS ec te cee anet bee eeemae aeiio marae 795, 883 962,122 | +166, 239 + 14
WQ0S=190G Sass eee rea ce ihce se occe ba eeeeaeme csciemeneie 962,122 | 1,027,988 | + 65,866 + 68
1906-1912 id cade eebat at ben cen sooo ee sereeeee nae 1, 027, 988 853,710 | —174, 278 — 16
ISG =1G1 Dues st isscdgodsd cela ees ateeeetenion aoe omens 672, 156 853,710 | +181, 554 + 27
Halibut:
ASOIA1ROB Yee Fs, ck ci acetal cic aos Sas Rese eee ce meteian 7, 850 19,000 | + 11,150 +142
1898—1 90U 2S aee So nc cata eat ene eee e comes Sean eites pee 19, 000 30,377 | + 11,337 + 59
19011903 oe oc: ORS SR Sie eis a ae 30, 377 27,350 | — 3,027| — 9.9
1903-1906 een t2 see eee ee Sens ee ee 27, 350 34,168) + 6,818] + 24
190621912 Suet oo ee sae vie b Sees a ini eres 34, 168 43,758 | + 9,590 + 28
AROU=IOIDs 2, 52 cease ee nee ees boo a: eek See 7, 850 43,758 | + 35,908| + 45
Flounders, plaice, and brill:
1891-1898 64, 929 59,276 | — 5,653 — 8.7
1898-1901 59, 276 112,070 | + 52,794 + 89
1901-1903 112,070 101,710 | — 10,360 — 9.2
1903-1906 101, 710 66, 861 — 34,849 — 34
1906-1912 66, 861 47,702 | — 19,159 — 28
1891-1912 64, 929 47,702 | — 17,227| — 26
Skate:
1891-1898 32, 506 48,655 | + 16,149 + 49
1898-1901 48,655 | - 59, 945 + 11,290 + 25
AOQUAQ0RS F452. REL Meee ue Oke ee eae 59, 945 61,883 | + 1,938] + 3.2
1905-19062 ot Se Skok aetawtew cc aaceelcecsebeapeeeenneee 61, 883 75, 568 + 13,685 + 22
TOOGELOID Sty, eres SE ee ee es ee 75, 568 110,469 | + 34,901] + 46
BOTH NON ee re eta icitemis meiatlaiecie ini epimisteitelaheis ininceisine steel 32, 506 110, 469 + 77,963 +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

VE

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 Hast Coast
OF SCOTLAND DURING THE FIRST AND LAST YEARS OF CERTAIN PERIODS.

Number during— Increase or decrease.
Period.

First year. | Last year. | Number. | Per cent.

La Sued! o Ue 2 scape dges Seo ccto EEE OS ee eee ees sees 60 144 + 84 +123
le Aang ea ania eee en emi sacar dace icueescss sess cs 144 254 +110 + 77
eee sete ae casa ees sinis aw sichie victecuicia's cc's’ seas ec Sa 254 273 + 19 + 7
Mi UME ee ea deteoedae cme escins J bssieewadicaducqccices cise 273 261 — 12 — 4
1906-1912......... hi cemocse(acieeee Eisitatatetelate mlm'cisisisie sista: a a 261 306 + 45 +17
Pa ONOE A, Soeeeee nw asicweane scenes acaticnccntcewsosseewcsces 60 306 +246 +410

TotaL CATCH BY STEAM TRAWLERS ON THE EAST COAST OF SCOTLAND IN THE
First AND LAST YEARS OF CERTAIN PERIODS.

Quantity (hundred-

weight) during— Increase or decrease.

Classes and periods.
Hundred-

First year. | Last year. weight. Per cent.
Demersal fishes:
1891-1898 332, 950 778,731 |+ 445,781 +133
1898-1901 778,731 | 1,310,907 |+ 532,176 + 68
1901-1903 1,310,907 | 1,543,679 |+ © 232,772 + 17
1903-1906. . . 1,543,679 | 1,837,146 |4+ 293,467 + 19
1906-1912. 1,837,146 | 1,934,337 |+ 97,191 4 5
1891-1912... 332,950 | 1,934,337 |+1, 601,387 +480
Round fishes:
1891-1898... 212,020 660,609 |+ 448,589 +211
1898-1901... 660,609 | 1,079,526 |4 418,917 + 63
1901-1903... 1,079, 526 1,322,463 |4+ 242,937 + 22
1903-1906 1,322,463 | 1,585,889 |4+ 263,426 + 19
1906-1912 1,585,889 |} 1,683,215 |4+ 97,326 + 6
1891-1912 212,020 | 1,688,215 |+-1, 471,195 +693
Flat fishes
1891-1898 80, 492 69,183 |— 11,309 —i4
1898-1901 69, 183 112,998 |+ 43,815 + 63
1901-1903 112,998 129,175 |+ 16,177 + 14
1903-1906 129,175 104,417 |— 24, 758 -— 19
1906-1912 104,417 84,413 |— 20,004 — 19
1891-1912 80,492 84,413 |+ 3, 921 + 4

86066°—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. ;

Quantity (hundred-

weight) during— Increase or decrease.

Species and periods.

First year. | Last year. weight Per cent.
Cod:
G05 ESS ASG ce ee ee aoa ies se Se ae eee tiaacade 33, 589 165,593 | +132,004]} + 392
SOB LOOM ep eoccnee ce eee cco nee cee scam dase eels. 165,593 | | 203,099 | + 37,506) +4 28
LOOT TODS Ee a aes a cc.a ctottia cicicin ats wie Be eee reer reir 203, 099 311,928 | +108,819 | + 53
TOD S=T90G se oo ia 2 wrmisisrai= sistas ware sical a ai detiseaietlelsetaelesancicts 311, 928 462,476 +150, 448 + 48
TOOG=19I DS rae cs cin: Seaweed wnt sce soap eee ere Saete eae 462,476 571,694 | +109,222) + 23
COE Se SES ee eeneeeemaroe raha. be oecnar ce seteeas 33, 589 571,694 | +538,105 | + 1,062
Haddock:
19911 908 See J eeuee ecticegneae see eee 157, 059 461,208 | +304,149] + 193
AROS TODIE SMe ec ee cet ene ae ele emmnee een te iE 461,208 706,403 | +245,195| + 53
TO01— 1908 «oe ste ocela~ a ae < etn oe eee oes 706, 403 826,122 | +119,719} + 16
LOOSE OO Go Wee Peete ee Ae eerie ee ee eae 826, 122 868,137 | + 42,015 | + 5
1906-1912. jose ais eo eee aes ee ae ee Bee 868, 137 469, 099 —399, 038 - 45
UC UE EES Cea ASS BAe ane ASrie densa earaneucenaens 157, 059 469,099 | +312,040} + 198
Halibut:
TP SOU 1 S98Y ere icteric tte aa mietle oe einai ee ce eee eae eins 34 1,520} + 1,486 + 4,370
TSOS=19O0N setae a an eaten ee orem eee cicicern emer 1,520 6,665 | + 5,145| + 338
WGOT= 1903! = Soca ae ae win sree seie Seema ssatsese aca de eamescte 6, 665 7,399 | + 734 a. 11
OOS =U GUG sos eetee tae -iteetieinis se mis clea sisi mire eaee Sateen eee 7,399 12,679 | + 5,280] + 71
IQOG=191 Dee ee oc cnewics seek ae ocean Sees tae eee 12,679 8, 235 — 4,444 = 34
VEO NOD eee pol aca elninc sane toon ee oaenianee ae + 8,235 | + 8,201 +24, 120
Flounders, plaice, and brill:
BON ROG oe coca moe oe eine cient ame aun ke aie erie 51, 084 44, 595 — 6,489 —- 12
ISOS =1OOM eerie k Gemnicere anid diso eae etce See as eee 44,595 93,868 | + 49,273 + 110
AOQU 1908 sorts ca cpels wiajcewis dio eya.c ce bles omincise Saale lereiapaetale 93, 868 86, 703 — 7,165} — 12
OCS LO OG oie ie incite Seite aiucte Vls Crea taicnaat seein eee 86, 703 53, 711 — 32,992} — 38
O06 LOUD e ae aa acm a a noe mine otis amin eee cern cee 53, 711 35,000 | — 18,711) — 34
RON UDR Rete aceite nate taped alae anions eaicmrs tae reer ere 51, 084 35,000 | — 16,084] — 31
Skate: ;
TSW =LROS ES gee is See eee ds araie tei elon eee ahbcimare meres 7,871 11,092 + 3,221 + 40
TROR= TO Ieee ite eee as Sot See Sen Sing See eee ae ee oe 11,092 25, 639 + 14,547 + 181
1901=1903 5 S25. Pies. thee Beseek ees tele cacaaeee ceases 25, 639 33, 342 + 7,903 + 30
QOS“ TODS Seeraeee Accs nt Cees tae ee een Red 33,342 40,707 | > "%B650) eee
OG 21 O17 ewes Ph MPa PCL. oi See aes, ow eae 40,707 49831" 4) Ona | steno
TSO =TOT IA tek, AEs RUA Re Sle Peer 7, 871 49,831 | + 41,959) + 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-TRAWL 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 Hast Coast or
ScoTLAND DURING THE FIRST AND LAST YEARS OF CERTAIN PERIODS.

Quantity (hundred-

weight) during— Increase or decrease.

Classes and periods.

First year. | Last year. spat Per cent.
Demersal fishes:
(SST 2 ch fue, RW ge OR) a eg Ss 5,549 5,407 — ae a
Pee ae ea Cebarars Sccee cite cie rete e Ks ckuwacicuices 5, 407 5,161 — 246 —4
Re anes cca nope eee dors tee gaauc elds cucgiciewmonets 5, 161 5, 654 + 493 +9
TATE STG Ee jek ROS os eee eye a ae aaa 5, 654 7, 038 +1,384 424
SORT Pl eee an Sain eens woes as Paice Oe 0.0\e Siaicemeetan 7,038 6, 321 — 717 —10
TAS ci. [aoe SO? Se re a 5,549 6, 321 + 772 +13
Round fishes:
PRE mee heise sick cine winaicivieidicdis s ercincjes See Ges acc bed 3, 533 4,587 +1, 054 +29
PS Leen Be Sek itis sacs anim ace hoes «ee visite cision 4,587 4,250 — 337 —7
4) 250 4, 844 + 594 +13
4, 844 6, 076 +1, 234 425
aa 6,076 5,500 — 576 —9
TU STG yO] Sa: CERES” Sa Sines STi ere mine cs 3,533 5,500 +1, 967 +55
Flat fishes:
REO erie ate ccraneia eins os, cinihicinine eo inin as eine ame © se 1,340 480 — 860 (4
PRD Bk Merten etal taaisets o's anna a aeinig sisjeis me gielevs sisiceie ge ema 480 444 — 36 —7
eee PEEVES owas et ele a cin cle ein ma srapece e kiciniaw Seizes Sib w sinew 444 473 + 29 + 6
PASEO Soha 9 Aseln Solinde tases ac se eae space bemetenoae 473 400 — 73 —15
EMME snd fens ac iaate eae a a ncaa amma a MSS a Aisicieip wii 400 275 — 125 —31
ON Mn eer aictcla era wisic a ale cin ci vidnwiaitin.« acide cege's scemeee 1,340 275 —1,065 —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-TRAWL 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 Hast Coast oF SCOTLAND DURING THE FIRST AND Last YEARS OF CERTAIN
PERIODS.

Quantity (hundred-

weight) during— Increase or decrease.

Species and periods.

Hundred-

First year. | Last year. weight Per cent.
Cod:
1891-1898. . 4 559 1,149 | + 590 + 105
1898-1901 5 1,149 799 | — 350 — 30
1901-1903 799 1,142 + 343 + 4
1903-1906 1,142 1,771 + 629 + 55
1906-1912. 1,171 1,864] + 93 See
1891-1912... 559 1,864 | +1,305 + 233
Haddock:
1891-1898 2,617 3,202 | + 585 + 22
1898-1901 3, 202 2,781 | — 421 - 1
1901-1903 2,781 3,027] + 246 + 9
1903-1906 3,027 3,330 | + 303 + 10
1906-1912 3,330 1,533 | —1,797 eae
1891-1912 2,617 1,533 —1,084 — 41
Halibut:
1891-1898 .56 10; + 9.5 +1, 696
1898-1901 10 26; + 16 + 160
1901-1903 26 27 + 1 + 4
1903-1906 27 48; + 21 + 77
1906-1912 48 26 — 22 — 45
1891-1912 . 56 26; + 25 +4, 542
Flounders, plaice, and brill:
ARGIA1SO8: Fa Sees oS Sates oa cise cease ante a ee eenieees 851 309 | — 542 — 64
ASOS=WG0L 2\- ater oon te tere wince spe stele brclsixiasinsice piss sais 309 369} + 60 + 20
TOOL 190 iio Seles ceo ain win icinio nie Peel iets ccleeertinesaae 369 317 — 52 —- 44
TO0S=190O4 > (nce sie see eine =a A Remeac coos meee 317 205 — 112 — 35
LQG =I ON Oe so .5 Besa e eictca we iciael= = oe Mea temtece oeseeh eee 205 114 — 91 — 44
SOT 1GI De ote eeeme eae eae oe oes seein ince cemeee 851 114} — 737 — 86
Skate:
LEGIT S986 a «sees Roe Se actie le wie ci nereemmecaeeemascaanee 131 77| — 54 — 41
SOS 100 Pics see os Semin pis ois mise phase aaiomersielaeminaste eee 77 100} + 23 + 30
1901-1903 ee etek ciceetem ie eaaase ve eee aa ce eainsieemee 100 122} + 22 + 22
1903-1906...... BBG ane obo Heenan) ocaesceee ode acess 122 156 + 34 + 28
Ue) Pe ee ee eee 156 162 + § + 4
abot EE het Pe ee Sopa CpcScsoSacede an sonecobsecbad: 131 162} + 31 + 23

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_ 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 O8 DECREASE IN QUANTITY PER VESSEL AND PER LANDING OF FISHES
LANDED AT MONTROSE, FRASERBURGH, AND ABERDEEN BY STEAM ame IN
1912, AS COMPARED WITH 1906.

Average catch per Average catch per
landing.
Species.
Hundred- Hundred-

weight. Per cent. weight. Per cent.
Pemercal FISH s,s. sc cu jajaedae cs acteaea sta bes saree eae seems —305 — 4.3 — 6.0 — 4.3
aeehneu cc dub dene cae eaed doce Momeanee eetetetes Bmamne ees +198 +10. 4 + 4.1 +10.6
Haddock Shine cise tates we emisears Seite caeattesiae cee ete terete emteterd —697 —21.9 —13.8 —21.8
EL ALIDUb ys one vest « Oh cise re ea occk seeciectartos nape teeeene —17 —36.0 — .3 —35.9
PIRES: w Bos Scere ee eh Rmcemnene Sees aocmeee ne on talon — 27 —18.0 — .5 —17.3
SEAIOS. tasemascadesccseean dneece sensee coteespece Rome cese + 10 + 5.5 + .2 + 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 “éast 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 :

© ee a

OTTER-TRAWL FISHERY. 85

AVERAGE ANNUAL CATCH OF CERTAIN FISHES, IN HUNDREDWEIGHTS, PEB STEAM
OTTER TRAWLER AT ABERDEEN, SCOTLAND, 1906 To 1908 anp 1910 To 1912,
RESPECTIVELY.

“ Kast coast grounds.” | “Northern grounds.”

Species and sizes.
1906-1908 | 1910-1912 | 1906-1908 | 1910-1912

Cod:
Peat SPA MICATOM s <o)< oj mniccciec\soc'aie me wine's seen ece= 8.0 5.9 17.4 26.4
Preiss COUN) Ss HEELS pian eee on teeoss 22 4.9 7.2 15.1 31.0
12.9 13.1 32.5 57.4
5.2 3.0 43.0 35. 8
5,2 3.1 20.0 15.6
21.4 16.6 42.3 26.0
31.5 22.7 105.3 77.4
08 05 51 33
1.30 1.13 2. 67 70
18 . 60 15 06
1.56 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 1908 anp 1910 To 1912, RESPECTIVELY.

“Fast coast grounds.” | ‘‘ Northern grounds.”’

Species and sizes.
1906-1908 | 1910-1912 | 1906-1908 1910-1912

Cod:
Sle ehaneialirea tg Wey b a oe Oe Wee © Seat ee 61.9 44.7 54.5 45.9
‘SEAL? LU Cea Toth save) ees alee eae ee ue a 38.1 55.3 45.5 54.1
Haddock:
ILE T ST eas 38 Se ee oe ee een eee eee 16.6 14.2 41.3 46.4
iPS NV s (Se See, Se ee Ot ee oe ee ee oe 16. 2 13.8 18.9 20.1
REI eles Se eae cio o a Sere make an te «bres cane ieee cee 67.2 72.0 39.8 33.5
Plaice:
REDE ne alclate aoe Salata ae clot ici wectctewenaciscdcu weed sce 5.1 2.6 20. 8 4.2
RTT ee Sem ae e eee tt ee UN eS ee 82.7 64.4 72.3 88.0
PITRE etree fae been aaeace howe meneciet oo dca elesecece 1252 33.0 6.8 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

86 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 HAST CoAst or
ScorLAND DURING THE FIRST AND LAST YEARS OF CERTAIN PERIODS.

Length, in 1,000 yards. Decrease.

Periods. jo fhe (tp Sap) ae | ee
First year. | Last year. |1,000 yards.| Per cent

iL |) Ci AR OPEL Mea koa AMR Eas fob x REA 54,989 , 320 8, 669 15
POQUIONAS Pi ce ack. Tite oer ob caret (ie stead 46, 320 40, 230 6,090 13
TOGA 1906) 5 oh ee ethene ee Oa eee 40, 230 39, 047 1, 183 3
PODS IBID FP Pet oan) 9.5 Gut sees, ea ie bre Pee ae 39, 047 32, 888 , 159 16
ROS NOINS Chie Solos oO RRA TES e OR Cone tet a een 54,989 32, 888 22; 101 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.

Se ee ee

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.

LrenetH oF TRAWL LINES FISHED By STEAM VESSELS ON THE Hast Coast or
ScoTLAND DURING THE FIRST AND LAST YEARS OF CERTAIN PERIODS.

Length, in 1,000 yards. Increase.
Periods. Za Gea Sea

First year. | Last year. | 1,000 yards.| Per cent.
Ree Ee eae ne ae em 1,474 3,195 1,721 117
CIS DV RSIIGT SSO Sek OES ee ne eee ee 3,195 3,542 34 rh
IAP TREO TG 8G ae Sn Ree aa Ee 5 See se me a ee 3,542 6, 050 2,508 val
Tay Lge Fn le a 6, 050 11, 702 5, 652 93
LES ESTO TDL SOS ASS ey eS Ce eee ee eee nn a cee 1,474 11, 702 10, 228 693

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 Hast
Coast oF SCOTLAND IN 1906 AND 1912, RESPECTIVELY.

SSS 770O=“——ooLo>swwwauww OO OO 0000600 ooo

Gain.
Classes and species. 1906 1912 SANE EG
undred-
weight. Per cent.
Hundred- | Hundred-
weight. weight.
SispalMeIMUrial MSHS. 3.5 lad.005~ ad02oncs=cacne coe ectncse se 162,195 255, 414 93,219 57

Oo SE FE EL 2 ee ee pe ee ie 109, 481 161,679 52,198 48

a 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 miscéllaneous 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.

Ps

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. Ata 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 ot 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 8 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

OTTER-TRAWL 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
ianded 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

99 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
vield 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 presamption 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 avafMable 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 1918 English and Scotch (Aberdeen) otter trawlers oniy 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 bcttom 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. Im 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 i. 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 te excess and that the fisheries for
certain fishes have suffered in consequence. The problem before us,
therefore, is to suggest measures tor 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 ofthe 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.

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