Report on the Sea Fisheries and Fishing Industries on the Thames Estuary (Classic Reprint) Review
Purport of Report. inshore fisheries (H arwich, Tollesbury, West Mersea, Margate, Deal, Dungeness, c.) ;estuarine fisheries (M aldon, Sheerness, Queenborough, Southend and Leigh) ;besides the great shellfish industries (W hitstable, Faversham, Burnham, c.), so characteristic of the conjoint counties. Expressed otherwise there are in use, beam trawl and drift-net, long-line and handline, seine, bag or stow-net; Leigh shrimp-net, shove-net, dredge and kettle-net, crab and lobster pots, and, even to a limited degree, rod, leger-line and hoop-net may be included altogether a very goodly array. In short, it would seem that the interests involved, and thereby modes adopted, whether at the greater or lesser fishing centres, are to some extent occasionally antagonistic; speciality of fishery and peculiarity of method depending greatly on locality, its surroundings and prevalence of kinds of fish at certain seasons. It follows and becomes evident that difficulties beset any hard-and-fast lines of recommendation strictly applicable, and equally beneficial to all stations concerned. Whilst one member of Sub-C ommittee submitted that the destruction of immature fish was the crying evil to be redressed, another supported the view that in our area the catch was plentiful enough with no diminution on the average, spite of supposed over-fishing ;a third thought reduction of carriage and better markets were points worth inquiring into ;a fourth held that it was essential, especially in the case of shell-fish, that aG overnment measure alone was the touchstone of improvement. But notwithstanding this seeming diversity of convictions, there was quite a consensus of opinion that deficiency of reliable information was the great drawback. I ndeed, until such data are acquired, there can be no solid basis whereon to found recommendations, as to the fisheries development. Of places
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