172 DEEP-SEA FISHING. 



mark to be able to get round the arms of the weirs. 

 The result of an examination we made of the fish 

 caught on such an occasion was that nine-tenths of 

 the small fish taken — and the catch of all kinds was 

 trifling — were round-fish, including diminutive cod, 

 whiting, and many kinds which never come into the 

 market. At neap tides the case may be different, as 

 for several tides the water may never leave the weirs. 

 In some instances nets have been substituted for the 

 wattled fence, and fewer small fish are said to be 

 caught by them ; but as a great many sprats are taken 

 in this manner, the meshes must necessarily be very 

 small ; and we should think there was not much 

 difference between them as regards their capacity for 

 capturing small fish. 



