86 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 



For the last seven or eight years the " matanzas," or 

 takes of tunny, at Tunis have proved very equal and good, 

 Were the fish to exceed 14,000 in one season, they would be 

 beyond the preserving and curing capabilities of the estab- 

 lishment. The nets are laid jutting out to sea for upwards 

 of a mile, and are so placed as to form several chambers ; 

 the outer compartments are made of esparto grass-rope 

 nets, of very large meshes, which gradually decrease in 

 size as the " corpo," or slaughtering compartment, is ap- 

 proached. The nets in this part are made of the finest 

 hempen cordage. 



The tunny, in their annual spring migration from the 

 ocean to the Archipelago and the Black Sea, follow either 

 the southern or northern shores of the Mediterranean in all 

 their windings. A tonnara is so constructed off a promon- 

 tory or headland as to offer an obstruction to the fish, which, 

 in endeavouring to avoid it, enter compartment after com- 

 partment. Their migratory instinct is so strong, that they 

 never appear tempted to retrace their course, but always 

 endeavour to find a way out towards the east, which is 

 barred to them. 



On a sufficient number of tunny fish being noted in the 

 "corpo," a net is lowered at its entrance, and the net, 

 which forms the bottom of it, is gradually drawn up 

 towards the surface, so as to bring the fish within the reach 

 of the men, the majority of whom, about 160 in number, 

 are in two immense lighters, armed with harpoons and 

 boat-hooks, by means of which the tunny are killed and 

 drawn into the barges. A few of the men are also in small 

 boats in the centre of the enclosure. As many as 700 fish 

 are occasionally secured in a single " matanza," but more 

 usually from 400 to 500. From 30 to 35 days are ex- 

 pended in laying down the nets and otherwise preparing 

 for work. 



