AMFRICA'S FISHERIES 165 



ness, and so full of thrills that it might be called a 

 sport. Some of these large and powerful fish can 

 put up a mighty struggle which will give the fisher- 

 man more than he can do. Sometimes the fisherman 

 is forced to cut the line and allow the fish to go free 

 to prevent the upsetting of the dory. 



Strange as it may seem, steamships using the 

 most modern fishing gear, the otter-trawl, operate 

 on the same grounds fished by the hand-line and 

 long-line fishermen. Both catch large quantities of 

 cod and haddock, although the trawls take a larger 

 proportion of haddock than the lines, as more fish 

 of this species are found near the bottom. The 

 otter-trawl is little more than a huge, flattened 

 conical bag made of netting which catches all the 

 fish that come in its path as it is towed along the 

 bottom behind a steamer called a steam trawler. 

 The mouth of the bag is held open by two large doors 

 which are attached to the to wing- warps by chain 

 bridles. The bag net is made of strong manila twine 

 and is about a hundred and fifty feet long. The for- 

 ward end is of three-inch mesh, whereas the smaller 

 or cod end is made of one-and-one-half-inch mesh 

 twine. 



The net is towed along the bottom at the rate of 

 two to three miles an hour for an hour or two, or 

 until the smaller end is thought to be full of fish; 

 then it is hauled in and the fish dumped on deck, 

 after which it is again put overboard. The trawling 

 continues day and night, weather permitting, until 

 a ship-load of fish has been caught. 



