With 4 Text-figures.
- The Law.
The district of the Northumberland Sea Fisheries Committee is divided for administrative purposes into a northern and a southern region.
They present, when considered from a statistical point of view, interesting contrasts as to the relative quantities of the various kinds of fish landed by the inshore fishermen. These fishermen fish within the territorial limits and only to a slight extent in the waters just outside that area. It was pointed out, particularly in the Report of the Dove Marine Laboratory, Cullercoats, for the year 1904, that the two regions differ with respect t o the hard ground, that of the northern being much more extensive than that of the southern. Beyond this there cannot be said to be any important apparent difference between the two regions.
In the report just referred to, it was stated that every year about 1,000,000 crabs are landed in the northern district, and only some 350000 in the southern, the lobsters landed being ca. 20000 and 16500 respectively. The lobster-crab relationship of these districts and the districts immediately north and south of Northumberland, as shown by statistics is indicated in the following table :
The two regions are about equal in extent.