The effect on the stock of the capture of undersized plaice in Danish waters inside the Skaw

Until some time past the middle of the last century the stock of plaice in the waters inside the Skaw consisted of an overcrowded and very closely populated stock of comparatively slow growing specimens of which many were large and very old. The fishery was mainly a coastal fishery with fixed gears. When the fishery by Danish seines from bigger sea-going cutters became more general in the Cattegat, the density of the stock decreased; the bigger and very old specimens were first caught and made room for the younger plaice the growth of which gradually quickened and the quality of which increased. When motors were introduced in the Danish plaice fishery, about 1900, the field of the cutters’ activity was enlarged to include also the Belt Seas. In the course of some 10 years the same development took place here as in the Cattegat; the previous dense stock of old and slowly growing plaice was substituted by a thinned stock of young and quicker growing fish.

Reports of the proceedings of a special meeting held on June 24th 1932, at Copenhagen; 'The Effect upon the Stock of Fish of the Capture of Undersized Fish'. 

This publication is part of  Rapport et Proces-Verbaux des Reunions Vol. 80. To see all other articles in this volume, please click on the keyword "RPVR Vol. 80".