The Sun.
London, England, 1861-03-30 00:00:00

TUE SALMON FISHERIES.

Fifty years, ago salmon was sold at three •halfpence
a pound. It is now thought cheap at two shillings,
and-the fact deserves notice, if only for its unique
and astonishing character. There is no parallel to
it. Not another instance could be found in which
an article of food has been lost to the public, or con-
verted by the course of events from a common treat
into an expensive luxury. Things have generally
gone in exactly the opposite direction, the enjoy-
ments which were the priv,ilege of the opulent in
1810 are at everybody's Command in 1860. True it
is that the price of meat has risen, but that is sim-
ply because the demand has overtaken even the
increased supply. It is not true that the consumers
of meat have become fewer ; on the contrary, they
have been multiplied fivefold, and it is precisely
because so many people are ready with their money
that farmers and butchers drive ao good a trade.
With the single exception now before us, even the
rarest productions have been brought within ordi-
nary -reach; but, though pineapples are hawked
aboutthe streets at a halfpenny a slice, salmon still
averages two shillings a pound. •
This is the solitary example of a diminished
supply—of a supply which has failed without
any failure of demand ; and, if we examine the
matter, we may indeed lament over the history,
but we shall not be surprised at the result. It
is all our own doing. We have destroyed our
Salmon Fisheries, and_ consequently they yield no_
salmon. If it were not for, the rivers of Ireland
and Scotland, which have been better cared for,
we should get no salmon at
,all, or next to none.
The Duke of Richmond has efiishery ou the Spey
which produces a clear profit of £12,000 a-year
The Duke of Beaufort has a fishery on the Wye
which ought to be pretty nearly as profitable, but it
returns just one bundredth part of the sum. Of
course, some of thei:storieS'about cheap salmon in
times past- are fo'N,Accounted for, not merely by
the profusion of theisUpply, but by the restriction
.of the demand. When the only market for the fish
Was in the neareievillage it could hardly be dear,
whereas while railway_s_distribute itroverthe whblo
.country it can never be unreasonably cheap. This,
however, is only part of the story. There is evi-
dence in abundance to 'show that in former days'
vast ouantities of salmon were taken where Scarcely
a fieriii now to be seen. The monks of Finchsle,
iii PUrtaiai; lived on the banks of the Wear, and
,lied a flihery of their own on the river. Besides.
supplying themselves with fish, of _which the con-.
isumption in a religious house was very large, they
sold slalom, as' their records tell us, in the year
?1,348‘ totthe value of £9 Bd. As they bought a
bull undethree cows in the same year for £1 125.,. •
'the weight of fish sold to produce such a sum of
money must have been enormous. Many years
later the yield of the river was very great indeed,
but it is now doubted whether such a thing. as a
salmon, is to be found in it. All round our coast
towns 'it used to be a condition in indentures that
the apprentice should not be required to eat salmon
more than three times a week. Few such house-
holds now get it as many times a-year.
The case being clear about the actual decline of
the supply, the next question is as to the cause.
We can explain it in half-a-dozen words. Salmon
are migratory fish. At certain seasons they come
up from the sea and ascend the rivers for the pur-
pose of spawning. If a dam or weir is built across
the river so as to prevent their getting up the
stream, they either exhaust themselves in attempts
to surmount the obstacle. or they spawn in unfavour-
able places and other injurious conditions, or are
caught and killed while shoaling together at the
foot of the barrier. This is exactly what takes
place in many English rivers, and when such pains
are taken to shut the salmon out it is no matter of

wonder that they. should be unable to get in. They
endeavour to come to our doors, and we drive thein.
away. Besides this, they 'are trapped in all kinds-
of nets at all times of the year ; killed when they,
are uneatable, or before they arc half-grown ;
poisoned by the washing of mines end gasworks,'
and persecuted to such a degree that it is a marvel
the breed is not extinct. Hitherto, however, we have
not quite succeeded in exterminating the bountic3
of Nature. There are a few, but only a few, rivers
from which the salmon has utterly disappeared.
Unluckily, there are very many from which it is fast
disappearing, and we must bestir ourselves if we

wisli to keep the supply from perishing altogether.
Here, however, arises a point of considerable
importance. How far has this evil been incidental
to our commercial progress ? To what extent has
the advantt of civilisation and enterprise produced
the conditions under which the Salmon Fisheries •
have declined? Mines and manufactures are of more
consequence, after all, than particular. fishing-
grounds, and if We „cannot have everything we-may •
well be content with what we have. On this pdallt
we are glad to sad that we, can
'ittr ere northe least reason for regard-

ing Salmon Fishcriesasincompatible with modern

enterprise. Here and there a liver may be ruined
by a mine or a manufactory, but those are rare
instances. The Commissioners who have just in-
vestigated the subject_inform us that, apart from
all the rivers thus corrupted, there exists a vast
area of water admirably adapted to the breeding of
salmon, and almost wholly free from natural ob-
structions. Even where it is desirable, for special
purposes, to dam a stream by means of a bank or
weir, a passage for the salmon may be easily pro-
vided. Their instincts make them intelligent, and
however strange it may sound to hear of a fish
getting up a ladder, the thing is nevertheless done.
Contrivances can be applied to the weir by the aid
of which the salmon will get over it as naturally
as fowls will march up a plank to roost, or horses
go down stairs to a stable. In fact, there is not
the least difficulty on this score. The salmon is
not like the red deer or the bustard. He does not

require a desert for his convenience, or an artificial
solitude for his protection. He comes to our
doors of his own accord, and only asks not to be
driven away. He wants no more " preserving"
than a sparrow, but, like a sparrow, unfortunately,
he is trapped and killed for little more than
killing's sake. It happens, however, that though
farmers and gardeners abominate sparrows, nobody
abominates salmon, and the decline of the breed is
a very serious business.
It would be a mistake to look upon this as a rich
man's question. The very object in view is to
make salmon once more an article of food instead
of a luxury—to bring it again, if possible, to the
ordinary price of meat, and to enrich our markets
with fresh supplies. At our rate of progress we
cannot afford to lose any article of consumption,
'least of all one so palatable and nutritious as this.
It is not much that is asked of us. The supply is

offered on very reasonable terms. The ground re-
quires no preparation, and the crop is self-sown ;
we have only to abstain from rooting it up in the
ear, or trampling it under foot. If we will but
leave off destroying the fish in the egg, killing the
young fry, and taking the old salmon when they
are unfit for food, the fisheries will soon set them-
selves right. People will ask why this havoc is
committed, or what can be the profit in sweeping
off unsaleable fish. The Commissioners tell us a
secret or two. Salmon out of season is sometimes
cured for keeping. Smoke and salt together will
cover many curiosities of flavour, and good and
bad fish come to a common level when well " kip-
pered." Then there are markets across the Chan-
nel. Either our neighbours are indifferent judges
of salmon, or their admirable cookery triumphs over
little defects of material; at any rate, even unsea-
-1 sonable fish fetches a price, we are told, on the coasts
of France.
It. must, we are sure, have gratified most peoplo
to observe that the Home Becretary is at length
prepared to take this subject in hand, and intro-
duce some proposals for the regulation and protec-
tion of our Salmon Fisheries while there is yet
time. We shall learn the intentions of Govern-
ment soon after the Easter recess, and, if the sug-
gestions of the Commissioners are not exactly car-
ried out, their Report will prove of the greatest
value in - the elucidation of the question.
It is curious to remark that though the
decline of the fisheries is owing, in great
measure, to want of local surpervisioti, there was no
want of local interest. The Commissioners found
that all people on the spot were anxious in the
extreme, but that, owing- to misconceptions, jea-
lousies, and absence of anything like co-operation,
no good could be accomplished. However, we trust
the evil has now reached its limit, and we happen
to know that the remedy is sure. Ireland and
Scotland were once in as bad case as England and
Wales, but judicious legislation has brought (Ine of
them round, and is fast setting up the other. It is
now our turn, and we hope that a short time hence
the salmon season mayopen for the benefit, not of
I the few, but of the million.—?ivies,

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