PERCH-LIKE FISHES I47 



northern folk ". Many of the classical writers sang the praises 

 of this fish as an article of food, and certain parts of its flesh, 

 notably the abdomen, were reckoned among the most highly 

 appreciated delicacies at Roman banquets. 



Various methods are employed for catching Tunnies, 

 including the use of seine nets, baited hooks, and harpoons. 

 The net fishery of Europe has existed for many years, and a 

 brief description of the nets and the methods of operation 

 may be of interest. The net is known as a " madrague ", 

 " thonnaire ", " tonnara ", " armacoe ", or " almadraba " in 

 the various countries in which it is employed, and is a very 

 large affair of complicated structure. Essentially it consists 

 of a system of walls of netting, anchored to the bottom of the 

 sea, and sometimes miles in length. This is so arranged as to 

 intercept the migrating shoals of fish, and is divided into a 

 number of compartments communicating with one another, 

 into which the fish are guided. All these lead into a final 

 compartment, the " death chamber ", the floor of which is 

 formed of further netting. Here the fish are imprisoned, and, 

 at a given signal, the floor is raised, the surrounding boats 

 close in, and the hapless victims, massed together in the 

 enclosed space, are clubbed and speared by the fishermen. 

 As soon as the slaughter is over, the huge fish are dragged into 

 the boats and taken ashore, where they are hung up in sheds 

 to allow the blood to drain from their bodies. After hanging 

 for several hours the flesh is cut up, and either soaked in 

 brine and packed into tubs or boxes, or cured and canned. 



These huge nets can, of course, be used only in certain 

 places and at specified times, their operation depending upon 

 the movement's of the migrating shoals. They are used mainly 

 in Sicily, Sardinia, Tunis and just outside the Straits of 

 Gibraltar, and are brought into operation between May and 

 July. That is to say, they are intended to catch the shoals 

 on their way to and from the spawning areas, and the pro- 

 fessional fisherman distinguishes between " Thons d'arrivee " 

 and " Thons de retour " respectively. At other times of the 

 year the Tunny in the Mediterranean are caught by means of 

 hooks baited with fish maize, or merely with a tuft of feathers. 

 Similar methods of capture are adopted in more northerly 

 European waters, but recently the harpooning of individual 



