140 SALMONID^ OP BRITAIN. 



and between them Is a poke or bag-net that works on sliders and is used on a flood 

 tide. On the top of the couples is a platform where the fisherman can remain 

 concealed by a straw hurdle and sees or feels, by means of a string attached to the 

 net, wben a fish comes in, then he hauls up the net and kills his prey._ A leader 

 may be attached to the sea end of the couj)les for the purpose of directing the fish 

 into the poke-net. 



The fixed nets w]ien permitted along the sea coast have, as might be expected, 

 a family resemblance to those existing in estuaries, but are more extensive and 

 complicated. 



Stale-nets are formed by driving stakes firmly into the sands and attaching 

 nets to them. The principle is by means of a leader running to about high-water 

 mark to obstruct or divert the natural course of the salmon and guide them into 

 an opening leading to a trap or chamber from whence they cannot get out. Some 

 of these are of great extent and have many chambers, as the Scottish bag-nets, or 

 they even have attached what is termed a fly-net, being anchored and floated by 

 corks with leaders extending a very long distance out. 



The old weir or yair is on much the same principle, being an enclosure situated 

 within tidal influence and which starts from the shore, and made by driving very 

 strong posts into the ground to form a crescent, and this is made firm with 

 wattlings. The open side of the crescent is up stream on the tide flowing over it, 

 consequently on the ebb the fish are left impounded. 



These bag- and stake-nets are very inimical to the Scotch salmon fisheries, 

 some being situated so close to the mouths of rivers as to impede the ascent of 

 the fish (see jDp. 115, 124, 129). They keep these fish out of rivers where they 

 could be taken by net-and-cobble fishermen, and it has been a source of dispute as 

 to whether salmon captured in these fixed engines or in seine-nets are best for 

 food.* One party insists that salmon killed by net-and-cobble are knocked on the 

 head as soon as netted and sent ofl" unbruised to the market, asserting that those 

 captured in the stake-nets dash about when in the chambers, endeavouring to 

 force their way out, and thus often become much bruised, also that it not 

 infi-equently happens that if left there they swell a good deal, some being absolutely 

 drowned. The stake-net fishermen on the contrary consider their fish the best. 



As food these fishes are highly esteemed, and although in most opinions they 

 cannot be eaten too fresh, some persons prefer them after they have been kept a 

 day or two, while in selecting them cai'C should be taken, provided there is any 

 choice, to choose those which are bright and silvery, rejecting such as arc of a 

 muddy tinge. During the winter those which are out of season are red or dull in 

 colour, their flesh is soft and white, and they are wanting in flavour if dressed. 

 If the fish is newly captured, it is usual, in order to set the curd, to put it into 

 boiling instead of into cold water. f It may be boiled, but should be removed from 

 the water as soon as done, or both its appearance and flavour will deteriorate. It 

 is generally served with cucumber and anchovy, lobster, or shrimp sauce. This 

 fish may be baked, done in slices, or sent up in a hot or cold pudding. 



Salmon are cured in different ways as by simply drying, salting or pickling. 

 " Kippered " is well-cleansed salmon which has received several dry rubbings of 



* In the interests of fisheries and fish-cousumers these fixed engines ouglit to be treated as 

 common nuisances and summarily abolislied, leaving the question of compensation to sonic 

 competent court. Mr. Steavenson gave evidence before the Committee of the House of Commons 

 in 1824 that previous to the introduction of stake-nets into Cromarty Firth his fishing in the 

 Cannon produced 7656 salmon in one year, while after the Firth was covered ^Yith fixed engines 

 he only obtained 633 salmon during a season. 



Jardine observed (see p. 107) that in the Friths of Scotland " where sand eels are used for 

 bait, a line is attached to a buoy or bladder and allowed to float with the tide up the narrow 

 estuaries. They are also occasionally taken on lines baited with sand eels and set for haddock." 



t Mackenzie, Salmon Fisheries of Scotland (p. 52), remarked " Salmon are always better for 

 being a few days in their native (river) water. It increases, like crimping, the firmness of the fish, 

 insomuch that while a salmon caught in the morning in the sea is soft enough to be boiled and 

 pickled the same evening, one caught in the fresh water retains its firmness, and would break in 

 the kettle if boiled before next morning. The fish-curers or boilers, who are great epicures, 

 always, accordingly, prefer for their own palates fish that have been some days in fresh water." 



