The Sun.
London, England, 1863-10-06 00:00:00

TRAWL AND LINE FISHING.

On Saturday the inquiry into the state of the British.
Fisheries was opened at Hull before Mr. Caird, MX., and
Professor Huxley. Several trawl fishermen were examined,
all of whom stated that the fish were in no way diminished
in size or yield, and it was also their opinion that trawling
was a beneficial system in every case. Without it, it would
be impossible to supply the large demand which had sprung
up since railways had taken it to the inland towns. The
trawl also tended to increase the number of the fish, for it
ploughed up the sandy bottom, and in this way exposed in-
numerable slugs and worms, on which the fish fed. On
almost all the grounds frequented by the trawl fishermen
the supply had considerably increased during the past 20
years, Mr. William Isaac Markcrow, one of the largest
smack-owners at Hull, stated that 20 years ago there was
only one fishing-smack sailing out of Hull, and at the pre-
sent moment no fewer than 300 trawlers belonged to the
port. Trawlers had visited the ground off Flamborough
for the last 30 years, and they were still catching immense
numbers of fish. The total capital invested in trawl fishing-
smacks at Hull would be about £300,000. The number of
trawlers in the port had considerably increased during the
past 3 years, and not less than £300,000 had been invested
during that time in that class of vessel. Notwithstanding
much more fish was now caught and brought to market, the
price had considerably increased. Haddocks, a class of fish
which used to sell for about 2s. 6d. a basket,were now worth
10s, or 15s. As a proof that trawl fish was not scoured
and bruised, as represented by the enemies of trawling,
the witness stated that the Hull fish was preferred to that
from any other port, and it as sent from the Hull market
in very large quantities to London, Bath, Cheltenham,
Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham, and even to Edin-
burgh and Glasgow. The weight of the fish landed at Hull
would be fully 12,000 tons. The average price was £l5
per ton, making the total annual value of the fish landed
at the port £lBO,OOO. The witness stated that he had
never seen spawn brought up in the trawl, neither did
he believe that the spawn was deposited on the grounds fre-
quented by the trawlers, but on the rocky shores of Norway
and in other parts of the northern seas. All the witnesses
who were called gave similar evidence. The commission sat
on Thursday at Filey, and on Friday at Flamborough. At
the former place Benjamin Simpson, an o/d man, deposed
as to the falling off in the yield of the fish, and stated that
since trawlers had visited their coasts the line fishermen
had been almost unable to make a living. About £lO,OOO
had been spent in line-fishing boats at Filey during the last
20 years, and this money was the earnings of the fishermen.
Several other fishermen gave similar evidence, and said that
they would like to have the trawlers all condemned. The
evidence at Flamborough was precisely similar, both as re-
garded the difficulties of the fishermen, and the increase in
the number and size of the boats. At Hull the inquiry

lasted nearly six hours, and at each of the places above
named about three hours.