308 DEEP-SEA FISHING. 



position was not known with certainty till 1810, when 

 it was ascertained by Mr. T. Harvey Martin and others 

 of the 'Endymion' frigate. The bank has since been 

 carefully surveyed. The Dutch were, we believe, the 

 first persons to work on this bank ; it wns then tried by 

 the English, and is still fished occasionally by the Shet- 

 landers, and by the Grrimsby smacks when on their way 

 to the Faroe Islands. 



Another fishing ground still more to the westward 

 has also been visited, but with only occasional success. 

 It having been reported that cod were abundant in 

 Davis' Straits, Mr. Hay, of Lerwick, sent some of his 

 vessels there in 1846, and had a very successful season ; 

 the three following ^^ears also proved to be very good, 

 but 1850, 1851, and 1852 were very bad seasons, and 

 no more attempts were made until 1802. An interval 

 of ten years had then passed without the fish having 

 been disturbed, and there had been plenty of time for 

 restocking if the failure had been due to overfishing. 

 But the cod were as scarce then as they were in 1852; 

 and the fishery in Davis' Straits was accordingly 

 given up. 



The really important fishery in the home waters at 

 the Shetlands is that for ling and tusk. It is carried on 

 entirely by longlines worked from open boats, which 

 liave a crew of six men each. The share of line 

 belonging to each man consists of twelve " strings," 

 with ten hooks to a string ; the hooks are fastened to 

 snoods a foot and a half long and three fathoms apart, 

 and the bait is always some kind of fish — " pelticks " 

 or young coalfish being commonly employed. The 

 season for this fishery, which is carried on with great 

 success, particularly on the north-east coast, is from 

 Mav to tlie middle of August, the same as for the home 



