Returns of the steam trawlers registered in 1907 in the chief European countries show the expanse of this industry, and the enormous preponderance of Great Britain. The numbers are as follows:—
| Belgium | 23 |
| Denmark | 5 |
| France | 224 |
| Germany | 239 |
| Netherlands | 81 |
| Norway | 20 |
| Portugal | 13 |
| Spain | 12-18 |
| Sweden | 11 |
| Scotland | 292 |
| Ireland | 6 |
| England and Wales | 1317 |
A simultaneous development of the sea fisheries has been manifested in other maritime countries of Europe, particularly in Germany and Holland, but the total number of steam trawlers belonging to those countries in 1905 scarcely exceeded the mere additions to the British fishing fleet in 1906.
The relative magnitude of British fisheries may best be gauged by a comparison with the proceeds of the chief fisheries of other European countries. The following table is based upon official returns and mainly derived from the Bulletin Statistique of the International Council for the Study of the Sea. It represents in pounds sterling the value of the produce of the various national fisheries during the year 1904, except in the case of France, for which country the latest available figures are those for 1902.
Values in Thousands of £.
| Herring. | Cod. | Plaice. | Other Fish. | Total. | |
| British Isles | 1870 | 1015 | 1100 | 5496 | 9,481,000 |
| Norway | 352 | 834 | . . | 443 | 1,629,000 |
| Denmark | 117 | 60 | 171 | 223 | 571,000 |
| Germany | 220 | 64[2] | 40[2] | 512[2] | 836,000 |
| Holland | 575 | 53 | 58 | 311 | 997,000 |
| France (1902) | 635 | 851[3] | . . | 3562 | 5,048,000 |
The total value of the sea fisheries in the three chief subdivisions of the British Isles in the year 1905, according to the official returns, was as follows:
| Fish landed in | Excluding Shellfish. | Including Shellfish. |
| England and Wales | £7,200,644 | £7,502,768 |
| Scotland | 2,649,148 | 2,719,810 |
| Ireland | 360,577 | 414,364 |
| Total | £10,210,369 | £10,636,942 |
These figures show an increase of £1,000,000 as compared with the total value in 1900, and of more than £3,000,000 as compared with 1895 (cf. Table I. at end).
In England and Wales the trawl fisheries for cod, haddock, and flat fish yielded about three-quarters of the total, and the drift fisheries for herring and mackerel nearly the whole of the remaining quarter. The line fisheries in England and Wales are now relatively insignificant and yield only about one-fortieth of the total (cf. Table VIII. at end).