EINE-FISHING. 



139 



sail of the smack is lowered, and the end buoy being 



taken on board, the vessel makes short tacks along the 



course of the line, which is shown by 



the buoys at every mile ; the line is 



hauled in as the vessel goes along, 



and the fish are taken off the hooks. 



Sometimes the line is hauled into 



the smack's boat, which is about 18 



feet long, and very roomy ; in this a 



water-tight space is set apart for the 



fish to be kept alive in till the boat 



returns to the smack; but this plan 



is only adopted when there is special 



occasion for it, as the water in the 



North Sea is rarely smooth enough 



for it to be carried out satisfactorily. 



As cod are not only the most valuable 



fish taken by these lines, but command 



a specially high price, everything is 



done to ensure their reaching the market in the finest 



possible condition, and this can be best accomplished 



by keeping them alive. They are accordingly placed 



in the vessel's well as soon as they are taken off the 



hook, having first undergone the operation of puncturing 



the air bladder or " sound," whicli, apparently from the 



long struggles of the fish to get clear of the hook, 



becomes unusually inflated, and would keep it floating 



in an unnatural position at the surface if put into the 



well in the condition in which it came off" the hook. 



The use of wells for keeping the cod alive was first 

 tried in 1712, at Harwich, a port for many years famous 

 as the head-quarters of the home cod fishery, and still 

 used as a station. The " welled-smacks," as they are 

 called, are specially constructed for the purpose ; the 



Buoy to Longline. 



