nSTIING STATIONS— IRELAND. 373 



kinds of fish from escaping over the top of it. This of 

 conrse would not affect the capture of flat-fish, which 

 seek safety in the ground. 



Shooting- the net is done over the stern, and the otter- 

 boards (as we have seen) are lowered one over each 

 quarter ; as soon as they begin to diverge the bridle is 

 slacked away carefully, the vessel having some way on 

 her so as to ensure a proper resistance to the boards and 

 make them open out the mouth of the net before it 

 reaches the ground. The spans composing the bridle 

 are proportionately much longer in the otter-trawl than 

 in the beam-trawl, so as to allow the wings of the net 

 to spread out and make a wide sweep over the ground ; 

 and a sliort pole or stick is lashed across between the 

 two ropes at a few feet from the shackle joining them 

 to the trawl- warp, to prevent the spans twisting 

 together. 



Proceeding westward we come to Ballycottin Bay and 

 Queenstown in the Cork district. Line-fishing is carried 

 on to some extent there, and scans, trammels, and trawls 

 are also used, but there is nothing in these fisheries re- 

 quiring special notice. 



Kinsale was at one time famous for its line fishermen, 

 and the Kinsale hookers stood high as sea-going fishing 

 boats. It is now the chief station for the mackerel 

 fishery, and at that season is the resort of boats from 

 other parts of Ireland, as well as from Scotland, the Isle 

 of Man, and Cornwall. The fishery, which is with 

 drift-nets, begins early in March, and is carried on till 

 about the end of June; and, as is the case with the 

 herring fishery on the east coast, the strange boats 

 capture by far the larger proportion of the fish. During 

 the last few ^^ears many French boats have taken part 

 in this mackerel fishery, but their captures are cured 



