§ MR. FIELDTo ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether he is aware that around the Irish coast the sailing trawlers, especially the smaller ones, have diminished in number, and that the line fishermen are gradually abandoning their occupation as they cannot earn a livelihood at it; and, if so, whether he proposes to take any action in the matter.
(Answered by Mr. Walter Long.) It is a fact that the number of sailing trawlers on the Irish coast has been decreasing for some years past. This decrease, how ever, is most noticeable in the neighbourhood of Dublin, where sailing trawlers have come into direct competition with the more efficient steam trawlers. The decrease in sailing trawlers is not confined to the Irish coast. It has occurred to a much greater extent on the English coast. By-laws have been made restricting inshore trawling, which have the effect of mitigating damage likely to be done to the line-fishing industry.