FISHING STATIONS— IRELAND. 



361 



northwards. The fishermen at Rush liave devoted 

 themselves principally to that kind of work, by which 



Skerries Wherry. 



they catch cod, ling, haddock, and conger, not only in 

 their neighbourhood, but also during their occasional 

 visits to the western and southern parts of the island. 

 About 1857, both trawlers and line fishermen had their 

 profits materially diminished by the unexpected dis- 

 appearance of most of the haddocks for which Dublin 

 Bay and the neighbouring coast had long been famous. 

 The scarcity of this favourite fish was of course attributed 

 by the line fishermen solely to the operations of the 

 trawlers, and the latter became more unpopular than 

 ever. It appears, however, that this was not the first 

 occasion on which haddocks had become scarce ; and, 



