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94
This report to the London County Council was considered by the Sanitary
Committee of the Corporation, and that Committee, on 10th June, 1909, issued a report
submitting a memorandum on a scheme, the acceptance of which, it was believed by the
Committee, would render persons sending unwholesome fish to the City fish markets
liable to incur the same risk of prosecution as obtains in the case of the salesmen in the
Meat and Provision Markets.
• The Report continues :—
“ During the past summer there has again been evidence of the need of
“ preventing the sale of unwholesome fish. Some of the retail vendors, in the
“ areas affected by excessive prevalence of typhoid fever, have told me that they
“ have experienced special difficulty during last August with regard to small
“ plaice. The Fish Trades Gazette records that on the 9th August ' small plaice
“ was abundant at low figures,' on 10th August such plaice ' was exceptionally
“ plentiful and cheap,' and on the 11th August 'heavy quantities of small plaice
“ met a poor market at low figures.' As has been pointed out, the evidence
“obtained in this investigation points to 'steamer plaice' as having been at fault,
“ and I therefore made special enquiries in this connection at Billingsgate. No
“ steamer plaice was, I was told, condemned during August.
“ It is the custom with many ' friers' not to go to Billingsgate until the higher
“ priced fish has been disposed of. Numbers of men do not attempt to buy in
“ the early morning. There is, therefore, special need of inspection in the case of
“this 'late fish.' In the Plaice Fisheries Report, it is stated that at Ramsgate,
“ the ' small stuff' is given to the crew as a perquisite, or ' sold to hawkers and
“ others on the open space outside the market.'
“ At Billingsgate, the ' late fish' falls largely into the hands of costers and
“ small ' friers,' and in the absence of a complete system of inspection at the market,
“ the question as to whether the fish should be sold or not is left to the discretion
“ of the coster or ' frier.'
“ Plaice is practically the only fish used by vendors of fried fish which is not
“ gutteda s a matter of course at sea. I was informed at Billingsgate that the nature
“of the food (shellfish, &c.) of the plaice makes it possible to retain the gut
“ without injuring the fish, whereas the character of the intestinal contents of fish
“ consuming ' softer' food necessitates removal of the gut forthwith. The
" practice of gutting plaice seems, however, to be coming steadily into favour as
" years go by, but the London Steamer companies do not, as a rule, attempt to gut
" the small plaice.
“ The extent to which the fish sold by fried fish vendors has been found to be
“ imperfectly gutted has been referred to in previous reports.
“ In dealing with small ' dabs,' which are sold at times when there are heavy
“ quantities available, at \d. a pound, or say three or four a penny, cleansing is
“ doubtless often left to be carried out by the purchaser, if performed at all.
“ It is a suggestive fact that in the instances last summer, in which several
“ members of one family were simultaneously attacked by typhoid fever, there
“ was generally speaking a history of the consumption by all the sufferers in each
“family, of small plaice or dabs. The fact that most or all of the consumers of