58 



THE FISHERIES OF THE ADRIATIC, 



Saints' Day, the patron saint of the town in June, and for the fair in August. 

 The scenes of festivity at these seasons are very gay and lively. 



The return of the father, the brother, the son, the husband, and the sweet- 

 heart, is celebrated with a sincerity and good-will, tempered with sobriety, 

 which is the result of the fisherman's humble and laborious calling, producing 

 alike the simplicity of his habits and the morality of his life. His only 

 ambition consists in becoming one day the owner of his own craft, in which 

 he may continue and probably end the rest of his frugal, uniform and always 

 perilous existence. 



The number of fishing craft engaged in the fisheries of the Venetian 

 estuary maybe given at 3,000, of which 1,000 belong to the deep-sea fisheries 

 and 2,000 to the lagoon fisheries. The deep-sea fishing craft {barche da mare) 

 employ the whole population of Chioggia. In the year 1784, 164 tartane 

 and 1 50 bragozzi were engaged in the deep-sea fisheries, and employed about 

 3,500 men. 



At present, they are carried on mostly by the smaller bragozzi, which have 

 increased to about 800, whereas the tartane have decreased to only about 50, 

 about 6,000 fishermen being" engaged. 



The number of pieleghi has not perceptibly increased, the fisheries being 

 carried on mostly by the bragozzi} 



Italian Fishing Boats. 



1st class 

 2nd „ 



In 1871 



1 st class 

 2nd „ 



In 1876 



In 1878 



Number. 

 I 1,222 



Tonnage. 



3,867 

 39,620 



Crew. 

 ? 

 ? 



11,652 43487 l_ 



483 3,884 6,920 



I3>543 44,901 30,788 



13,926 48,785 37,708 



Average 

 tonnage. 

 9— 

 3,53 



3^73 



3>3* 

 3,5o 



15441 



52,339 



,39 



1 The Italian Fisheries. — The Italian coast, including the islands, has an extent of 6,341 

 kilometres, and the aggregate value of its territorial and deep-sea fisheries is variously estimated 



