half-a-century. At the same time the take of by lacing together the upper and lower fish is estimated, on an average, at half-a-ton parts from near its mouth, their openings per diem for each vessel. Off Brixham, trawl-facing the cod end. To each trawl-head is ing has been carrried on for the last century, attached a stout rope or bridle,' about fif the greater proportion of the vessels fishing over a limited area. teen fathoms long; these are fastened to the The smacks are nearly one-half larger than they were formerly, and warp' by a shackle; this warp is about 50 per cent. more numerous.' 150 fathoms long, as thick as a man's wrist, and immensely strong; it is the rope by which the net is drawn or towed by the vessel. The meshes are of various sizes, ranging from four inches square near the mouth to an inch and a quarter square in the cod. This portion of the net is protected on its under side by pieces of old worn-out nets, called 'rubbing-pieces;' the upper part is of strong Manilla twine, so as to give it buoyancy; the lower portion is made of hemp of a heavier material. We will suppose we have arrived at our point of destination, and that the men are hoving the trawl over the side of the vessel. Down sinks the net with its beam uppermost, and about 100 fathoms of warp are payed out, the depth being about twenty-five fathoms. The trawl-heads are evidently on the ground, for had the net capsized in its descent, an irregular jerking of the warp would have apprised the men of the fact. In that case the net must be hauled up and 'shot' again. But the even strain upon the tow-rope tells us all is right. The net is drawn in the direction of the tide; and while we hope it is gradually adding to its stock of enclosed fishes, let us endeavour to describe its action. The ground is smooth; this is a necessary condition for a successful trawl; for rocky ground would soon tear the net to pieces. The trawl-irons rest on the bottom, and the inside curved margin of the net, with its border of ground-rope, gently rubs the noses of any. fish that may be before it. It is the nature of fish to lie with their heads opposite the stream, so when the ground-rope warns them they ought to keep moving,' the fish dart forwards; if they take an upward direction, the advanced upper portion of the net prevents their escape; if they find their way to the cod or lower end of the net, and, being in alarm, endeavour to gain its mouth and thus to escape, they are almost sure to enter one of the pockets.

That the reader may form some idea of the manner in which this mode of fishing is carried on, let us fancy ourselves on board one of the deep-sea Northern trawlers hailing from Grimsby. The fleet, about seventy in number, is just preparing for a start; the dark sails are flapping against the booms. The anchor of our craft, a cutter-rigged Torbay-man, is being heaved up, the operation being, of course, accompanied by the well-known chorus of Ho, heave ye ho!' repeated at regular intervals, which, when mellowed by distance, falls like music on the ear. Our smack is manned by five hands, the master, two strong men, and the same number of stout apprentice youths, and we are bound towards the great Silver Pits, a much-frequented trawling-ground to the south of the Dogger Bank, and about forty miles from Grimsby, where are soles and haddocks in abundance, besides turbot, brill, and other flat fish. While our vessel is making rapid way over the dark sea let us notice the different parts of the trawl-net, before it is lowered into the deep, 'bearing destruction,' as Homer would say, 'to the raw-devouring fishes.' We see that the trawl is a purse-shaped net between sixty and seventy feet long, being about forty feet wide at the mouth, and gradually diminishing to four or five feet at the commencement of the smaller end of the net, or 'cod,' as it is technically termed. This narrow part is about ten feet long, and is closed at the extremity by a draw-rope. The net is kept open at its broad mouth by a wooden beam, which is fixed upon two upright iron frames three feet high, one at each end; these are called the 'trawl-heads.' The bottom part of the 'trawl-head' is flat, to rest upon the ground. The under side of the net corresponds to the back, excepting at the mouth, where it is curved deeply inwards; along this portion runs the 'groundrope,' extending from one trawl-head to another; when the net is on the ground, this rope rests upon the bottom. The net has pockets, one on each side; they are formed

The rate at which our smack has been towing the trawl has been about a mile an hour faster than the tide, and as it has been down during nearly the whole of one tide, the master has given orders for 'hauling or recovering the trawl-net. This operation is performed by the aid of a windlass; the bulwarks of the smack are taken away, The great and the hauling commences. weight bespeaks success. Steadily the warp

these last-named fish being thirty pounds'
weight, and more; spotted dogs, 'offal' in
the true sense of the word; plaice, flound-
ers, and brill. But what is this long, nar-
row, and compressed fellow, of which we
see but a single specimen? Take care o
that chap, for, by the powers, he'll mak'
your fingers tingle!' exclaims one of the
boatmen, as he sees us about to take hold
of him. His erect phalanx of dorsal spines
bespeaks mischief. This is the great-weever
or sting-bull, capable of inflicting a severe
wound with his poisoned weapons.
fish is the 'noli me tangere' of the ocean
beds. But the rubbish is soon thrown over-
board, and the men have plenty to do to
sort the fish, and to consign them to their
respective departments. There is a supply
of ice on board, and every facility for pre-
serving the fish in a fresh state. Home
again we return with our marine treasures,
and soon reach Grimsby with wind and
strong tide in our favour. In a few hours
after our landing, the result of our trawl is
distributed throughout the country.

is wound up, and the great trawl, with its welcome burden of treasure, is drawn along side and pulled on deck. What a scene of excitement it is, as fish of various forms and colours are emptied out of the cod and pockets! What a flapping of fins and shaking of tails, and opening and shutting of mouths! Crawling crabs of grotesque form scudding away, some with legs like a spider, others with the soft parts of their bodies encased in the deserted shells of certain univalve molluscs, old oyster-shells in profusion, perforated by numerous small round holes, the work of some boring annelid, and now the habitation of sponges belonging to the genus clionia; bearing on their surfaces delicate forms of serpula, now, indeed, hiding their diminished heads within their tortuous tubes; various starfishes, such as the red sun-star, the fragile ophiura, the snake-armed ophiocoma, the common five fingers, the detestation of oyster-cultivators, on account of the havoc they make with that highly esteemed mollusc, they meet with no pity at the hands of our boatmen ;-crawling worms of various speWe need not follow the Commissioners cies, and of rainbow hues when in their na- in minute detail; suffice it to say that it tive element, but exhibiting now, indeed, abundantly appears that so far from the none of their attractions. We observe also trawlers ruining themselves by over-fishing, many sea-urchins (echini), some as large as the contrary is the case. The Brixham a baby's head, others of the size of a wal- fishermen are adduced by the Commissionnut, with purple spines of different sizes ers, according to most convincing evidence, and forms; several sea-cucumbers, polyzoa, as an illustration of the prosperity that atand zoophytes in abundance, tunicated mol- tends trawl-fishing. At Ramsgate, fifty luscs, designated spawn' by line-fishermen years ago, there were not more than three opposed to trawling; aggregated masses of or four trawlers of twenty-eight or thirty whelk eggs, also 'spawn' in the zoological tons; at present there are fifty sail, averagsystem of the line-fishermen; grapelike ing from forty-five to fifty tons, the property bunches of cuttlefish eggs; leathery nida- of the fishermen themselves. From the menta of rays and dogs;' magnificent port of London, in the year 1822, there scallops; huge oysters, which, though very were not fifty sail of trawling vessels; there inferior in flavour to natives, are palatable are now, we are told, 200 sailing from the enough to an appetite sharpened by the in- Thames alone. Fishermen who have been vigorating sea-breeze. But nearly all these in business for the last twenty years find things are rubbish,' excepting to the eye of the supply of fish increasing. Each sepathe naturalist, so overboard they go. Let rate vessel catches more fish than it did ten us glance at the fish; we see several skates, years ago, and ten years ago it caught more with their long prickly tails and squinting than twenty years ago,'-satisfactory evieyes, not bad food, however, when pro- dence in support of the assertion that trawlperly cooked with cockle or egg sauce,* and ing has not exhausted the supplies was less popular than its merits deserve; had- taken at many other parts around the coast. docks, which, though classed as 'offal,' are The conclusion to which the Commissioners capital food; soles and turbots, some of come with regard to the all-important subject of trawl-fishing is contained in the fol lowing sentences:

*The skate is not duly appreciated in these days. College dons, however, in times long past, then doubtless, as now, good authorities on such points, held this fish in considerable estimation. Willoughby (lib. iii. cap. 8) tells us that the cook at St. John's College, Cambridge, bought a skate of a respectable fishmonger in that city which weighed 200 lbs., and that it was sufficient to dine (in prandium suffecisse)

120 men.

He omits to tell us the sauce.

เ

trawl is the source of by far the greatest and '1. That fishing by the use of the beam most progressive supply of fish, other than herring, to the principal markets of this country; that certain descriptions of fish, such as soles and plaice, could not be largely supplied by any other mode of fishing; that it engages

the largest capital, employs the most numerous ted on all sides.' The question then as to body of hardy fishermen, is the least under the whether the alleged waste occurs must be control of the weather, and obtains the great- answered in the affirmative. The inference est returns of fish for the labour and capital employed. 2. That there is no reason to believe that trawling in the open sea destroys the spawn of fish.

3. That trawling in the open sea involves the capture of a certain very variable proportion of small fish, which is wasted or not, according to circumstances.

4. That there is no evidence to show that

trawling has permanently diminished the supply of fish from any trawling ground, but that there is proof to the contrary.

5. That trawling in the open sea has not interfered with the supply of fish from linefishermen; unless it be by catching in a more expeditious and regular manner fish which the line-fishermen might otherwise have taken.

6. That trawling in the open sea is not shown to be a wastefully destructive mode of fishing, but the contrary.

7. That any legislative restriction upon trawling in the open sea would result in a very great decrease in the supply of fish.'

6

that the waste must affect the supply of fish seems obvious enough. Nothing can seem more consonant to reason,' the Commissioners say, or more necessary à priori, than that the supply of any kind of fish should be permanently diminished by this great and constant destruction of the breeding fish, or of the young fry; and yet nothing is more certain than that in many cases this apparent necessity does not exist.' However illogical and paradoxical this assertion may seem to be, we fully concur with the Commissioners that it is true, but before we give the reason let us look at the facts :

'On the eastern coast of Scotland and England, herrings just ready to spawn have been captured in great and steadily increasing quantities every year for centuries, and yet the number of herrings is as great as, if not greater than, ever. It has been already demonstrated that although beam-trawling in the open sea does destroy a certain proportion of immature fish, the supply of trawled fish has not decreased, but, on the contrary, has largely increased.

In Morecambe Bay shrimps have been taken in vast and rapidly increasing quantities, without the least restriction upon their size or age, breeding or not breeding, for many years, but shrimps are as abundant as ever.'

Now for the reason.

It might perhaps be supposed, à priori, that no amount of fishing, of whatever kind, would have much effect upon the supplies furnished by the deep sea, an opinion which is fully borne out by the evidence; but with regard to certain modes of fishing carried on in bays and estuaries, it might at first sight appear that there is great danger of exhausting the supplies there. Although, The argument adduced in support of the unfortunately, little is known respecting the assumed axiom that waste necessitates dimspawning places of most of the marine fish, inution, owes its apparent force to the fact yet it is certain that young fry are at cer- that it overlooks one of the most importtain times of the year seen abundantly in ant conditions of the question. It is asthe bays and estuaries, and that a vast num- sumed that any destruction of fry effected ber of these little fish are captured by by man, bears a large ratio to the destrucshrimp net-fishing, and other small-meshed tion resulting from other causes, an assumpnets. This part of the evidence therefore tion which in several cases is certainly, and is highly interesting. The Commissioners in most is probably, altogether erroneous.' allow that shrimpers not only take great This interesting question as to the destrucquantities of immature shrimps, but num- tive agencies of man compared with those of bers of immature flat and other fish, a large natural enemies over which man has no proportion of which are doubtless killed. control, was admirably considered by the Every one who has examined the contents Royal Commissioners appointed to report of a shrimper's net knows well what a num- on the operation of the Acts relating to ber of infantile soles, turbots and plaice are trawling for herring on the coasts of Scotemptied out on the wet sand, and though land in 1863.

some of these may survive the effects of 'Consider the destruction,' the Commissiontheir capture, yet numbers, from their deli-ers at that time wrote, of large herring by cod cacy, undoubtedly perish. Again, seine and and ling alone. It is a very common thing to circle nets enclose small fish as well as find a codfish with six or seven large herrings, large. The trawl when used in bays brings of which not one has remained long enough to up more young fish than when used in deep to be digested, in his stomach. If, in order to water. Stow nets, and some kind of weirs, be safe, we allow a codfish only two herrings such, for example, as those used in the per diem, and let him feed on herrings for only seven months in the year, then two herrings neighborhood of Swansea, take vast quanti-x 210 days 420 herrings as his allowance ties of small and unsizeable fish along with during that time; and fifty codfish will equal those that are saleable. So much is admit- one fisherman in destructive power. But the

quantity of cod and ling taken in 1861, and ing. This witness having stated that he did registered by the Fishery Board, was over not think there would be any advantage to 80,000 cwt. On an average thirty codfish go establish a close-time during which shrimps should not be taken is further questioned :—

to one cwt. of the dried fish. Hence at least

2,400,000 codfish were caught in 1861. But if fifty codfish equal one fisherman, 2,400,000 will equal 48,000 fishermen. In other words, the cod and ling caught on the Scotch coasts in 1861, if they had been left in the water, would have caught as many herrings, as a number of fisherman equal to all those in Scotland and six thousand more, in the same year; and as the cod and ling caught were certainly not one tithe part of those left behind, we may fairly estimate the destruction of herring by these voracious fish alone, as at least ten times as great as that effected by all the fishermen put together. When it is further considered that the conger and dogfish probably do as much mischief as the cod and ling; that the gulls and gannets slay their millions, and that the porpoises and grampuses destroy additional untold multitudes, it will probably be thought no exaggerated under-estimate if we assume that our fishery operations, extensive as they are, do not effect five per cent. of the total destruction of maties and full herring that takes place every year. And when it is further con

54,604. One reason you assign for that is, that shrimps are constantly increasing in quantity?-I think the shrimps are mostly destroyed in hot weather. There are little bits of sand edges left by the tide. The tide runs hard on those banks, and leaves ridges that will hold a table-spoonful of water. The young brood of all kinds stop in these little bits of crevices, and when the weather comes very hot, the water completely dries, and leaves them lying dead on the sand. There are a hundred thous and times more destroyed in that way than in any other way.

54,605. Nothing can prevent that?—I have seen them rolling up as far as the eye could follow them. I have seen a roll of the small fry going on the banks just as the tide took them; you would be surprised to see the quantity destroyed in that way.

54,606. There is a large quantity of dead fish left in that way?-Yes; there is an enormous quantity of small tiny things just shaped that are left dead.

'54,607. They are left dry by the evaporation of the water?—Yes.

all

sidered that sea-trout and innumerable other fish prey upon the herring-fry, and that flatfish of all kinds resort in immense numbers 54,608. What are they?-They are to the spawning-grounds of the herring to prey kinds of fish, but chiefly shrimps and little upon the freshly deposited ova, it would seem flukes. as we have said, that the influence of man, whether conservative or destructive, upon herrings, must be absolutely inappreciable.' “

Again, the waste of young fry as occurring by the retiring of the tide in the summer-time, bears an enormous proportion to that effected by human destructive agencies. That a great waste occurs in this way is allowed even by those fishermen who attribute everything that is injurious to the trawlers and shrimpers. The following evidence, elicited by cross-examination, is very instructive. A Morecambe Bay opponent of shrimping is the person interrogated :

'55,461. Have you, when the tide goes out in the summer, seen a large number of the fry of fish of all kinds destroyed by the sun and the heat?—I have seen it sometimes on the

sands.

55,462. Do you not think that there is a great destruction of fish in that way?-The Almighty who made them has made an allowance for that; there would be plenty and to spare for food for all our families, if they were not unhappily destroyed.

55,463. There is a vast destruction in that way?—Yes, plenty; but I think there is an

allowance for waste of that sort.

'55,464. There is a vast destruction in that way?-Yes, there is.'

'54,609. Do you think there are any small soles ?-Yes; there are small soles among them. There are small fish of every kind.

54,610. What other kinds?-They will be chiefly shrimps and flukes, I think. The flukes leave their spawn in the water, and it floats about and stops in these little bits of crevices, and when they are left dry they are killed at once.

'54,611. Do you ever see any young herrings or haddock or cod amongst them?-No.

'54,612. Has frosty weather the sanre effect upon the young fry which are left on the sands when the tide goes out?-They go into deeper water as the weather becomes colder.'

It has already been stated that in several cases fluctuations occur. Fish that have been caught in certain localities in great abundance suddenly disappear. Very natural indeed it is for those fishermen, who are opposed to some particular and successful mode of catching fish which they do not themselves pursue, to attribute to it these sudden disappearances. Haddock have disappeared from the coasts about Dingle Bay, in the south-west of Ireland. The opponents of trawl-fishing readily brought forward their reason, which, however, was found to be entirely untenable. The evidence of Mr. Andrews is full of interest on this matter:

The same fact is more strikingly demonstrated by the evidence of another More- 'There is one question,' he says, 'which is a cambe Bay fisherman favourable to shrimp-matter of great importance, and that is the dis

'54,344. Has anything been done to the scars to render them less productive of mussels ?-. No; but the sand gets on them, and chokes the mussels, and the fry of the young mussels cannot get them.

་

54,345. Then that is according to the weather and tides ?-If the scars are bare and keep clean, they will get covered with "freer " directly.

'54,346. Is that the spat of the mussels?Yes; if there be plenty of that "freer," there will be plenty of flukes.

appearance of the haddock on every part of the coast. That is easily accounted for. They are a voracious kind of fish, which go together in shoals, and they do not feed, like the cod and ling, extensively on the sprats or smaller fish, but they feed on the crustacea and mollusca. They feed on the ground, where there are quantities of maritime animals, such as the different kinds of crustacea and mollusca and the hermit-crab, which in deep water is without its shell. The haddock comes in on those places, and is taken on the south side of the bay in great quantities. For the last two years they '54,347. Does that vary in different seasons? have moved out of Dingle Bay, but I am cer--Yes; it depends on how the channels work tain that off the islands, the Skeligs and others, they are in as great abundance as ever. It is only in consequence of the boats not being able to go out for a long distance to fish that they are not caught. Čahirciveen is a place where the haddock used to be in great abundance for years, and they were taken by the canoe-men. I believe there is not a single haddock to be had there now, yet no trawlers have ever fished there. They have disappeared off certain grounds in that manner, but upon the coast, and all round the coast, I believe the haddocks are as abundant as ever, if the boats went out to the proper grounds.'

and run up.

54,348. What is the nature of the soil of the scar?-It is stone. It is about thirty years ago since we came into this country, and from Preeside; then they could not get a fluke. And what was the cause of that? It was because the scars were sanded up, and they were obliged to go over to Cardornock to fish there. The sanding up of the scars was the cause of it.

54,349. Is it within your knowledge that thirty years ago there was as bad a flounderfishery as there is now ?—Yes; and I have been told that the Preeside men went across to fish.

'54,350. Is there any witness here whose experience goes as far back as that?—The man from whom I had that is not here, but he told us that he was for some time going from Preeside to Cardornock to fish for flounders, and that was all on account of the scars being bare. present an appearance favourable to good '54,351. You say that the scars this year flounder-fishing?-Yes, they do, and it will be a good flounder-fishing.

It would appear from the above evidence that a failure of the haddocks' principal food was the cause of their retiring to other and deeper parts of the bay, where they would find a greater abundance. De Gustibus non est disputandum. The haddock has a weakness for mollusca, in preference to the softer and more readily digestible fish, while the flounder, we are told, is more restricted as to diet, and depends for the 54,352. Then, in your opinion, it is not the most part upon a supply of young mussels; mode of fishing that has injured the flounderand if either kind of fish finds his favourite fishing, but the want of food for flounders ?food not readily procurable in sufficient Yes, just the want of food.'

quantities to satisfy his appetite in any par- Another witness bears the same testiticular locality, he very wisely goes elsewhere in search of it. The following evi-mony; he says that wherever there is a dence,given at Dumfries, is most interesting

both to the fisherman and the naturalist :

'54,339. Do you know whether the men who trawl for flounders make a good business of it on the whole?-It all depends on the season of the year. There is a very good prospect for flounders this season, because Brewing Scar is all covered over with young mussels, which has not been the case for six years before.

54,340. Have you found any other banks on which to trawl for flounders, where you could make a good catch this year?-We got eighteen stone on Monday, and, with a good breeze of wind, we might have doubled it.

'54,341. What is that compared with last year and the year before?-The catches were very thin then, on account of the scars being sandy.

'54,342. Has flounder-fishing fallen off?Yes.

'54,343. On account of the scars not being well covered with mussels ?—Yes.

strike of mussels, the flounders will come from a long distance to that strike; that is

when the mussels are about the size of cof

fee-beans. They crack them and eat them, and they are attracted there from places all round.

Sometimes the prejudices of the fishermen come out very strongly, and in a most amusing manner; thus a staunch opponent of shrimping-who thought the decrease in the quantity of flounders was entirely due to that dreadfully destructive business, and considered the matter to be so serious that he was almost afraid to think about it 'cannot conceive how any man could ever eat a shrimp. Shrimps were 'never intended for food for man. Anybody can see that they were only intended for food for fish.' So impressed with the truth of this observation is our worthy friend, that he repeats it again: he would 'stop the trade.