14 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 



letting the boat drift with the wind or tide and throwing them over as 

 it moves along, but, as a general rule, two men can accomplish this much 

 better. When setting for underrunning, the anchor is first thrown over, 

 and 25 fathoms of the line paid out, when the buoy -line is bent to it.* 

 The buoy and line are then thrown over, and the remainder of the an- 

 chor-line, the end of the latter being made fast to the nets, which are 

 the next to follow. A middle buoy is attached to the center of the gang. 

 When the nets are all out, the other anchor-line, with the buoy-line at- 

 tached, is veered out, and last of all the anchor is thrown over, which 

 finishes the work. The nets are usually set in the afternoon, and allowed 

 to remain setting for several days, unless for some reason the vessel 

 leaves the fishing ground. Even then, when forced to seek the shelter 

 of a harbor during a storm, they have sometimes been left out. The 

 distance at which the gangs of nets are set apart is said to be about 40 

 fathoms, but this is a matter to which no rule can be applied, as sur- 

 rounding circumstances will cause many variations. But few fish are 

 caught except at night, and, consequently, the nets are underrun only 

 in the morning, unless the men are detained by the weather until later 

 in the day. In underrunning, the fisherman goes to one of the buoys on 

 the end of his gang of nets, takes it in the dory, and hauls away on 

 the buoy-line, the buoy being thrown out on the other side and the line 

 allowed to run out on one side as fast as it is hauled in on the other. 

 When the anchor-line (underrunning line, as it is sometimes called) is up, 

 it is taken across the dory, and the fisherman hauls along towards the 

 nets. These are underrwn by pulling them in one si<le of the dorj , and, 

 as fast as the fish are removed, allowing them to pass over the other 

 side into the water, the anchors, which remain firmly fixed in the bot- 

 tem, holding them in position until the work is accompjished. When 

 the end of the gang is reached it is thrown off the dory, and the nets re- 

 main setting as before, needing no further attention until the next day. 

 When underrunning they may be taken across either the forward or after 

 part of the dory, as circumstances may require. Both of these methods 

 are represented in Plate XI I. 



The time occupied in underrunning depends somewhat on the smooth- 

 ness of the sea, but more particularly on the amount of fish taken. 

 When the catch does not exceed more than 4,000 to 5,000 pounds to 

 the vessel, it is done in about two hours, but when 15,000 to 18,000 

 pounds are caught, about four hours are required. 



The success that -has resulted from the use of nets in Ipswich Bay has 

 been quite remarkable, the catch being much more than that of the 

 trawlers fishing on the same ground. The amount taken for the first 

 three trials, with unfavorable weather and with inferior nets, was 4,000, 

 6,000, and 7,000 pounds, respectively. 



On a trip ending January 11, 35,000 pounds of cod were taken by the 



* It is probable that a better way -would be to fasten the buoy-line to the upper cor- 

 ner of the net where the end of the anchor-line is attached. 



