FISHING STATIONS— IllELANl). 389 



There is also an oyster fishery in Blacksod Bay, and 

 line-fishing for cod, ling, and haddock is more or less 

 carried on all along the coast towards Sligo. Bel- 

 mullet is a good locality for this kind of fishing, but 

 the fishermen there have been very much reduced in 

 numbers. 



There is very little requiring notice on the northern 

 coast of JMayo or in Sligo Bay ; the fisheries are 

 mostly by line, but there are shoals of herrings some- 

 times on this part of the coast, and good captures have 

 been made. In Donegal Bay there has been some 

 indication of an improvement in the fisheries during 

 the last few years, and herrings which at one time 

 seemed to have almost deserted the locality have 

 again been caught there in large numbers. One of 

 the principal and most regular fisheries there is that 

 for sprats, having its head-quarters in Inver Ba}^ It 

 begins at about the end of July and usually lasts for 

 three months. Sprats are taken by scans worked as 

 circle-nets, and not hauled on shore. These nets are 

 about 140 yards long, made up of two long wings, and 

 a bunt of small mesh ; they belong to the fishermen^ 

 who contribute a share each of everything required to 

 make them complete and ready for use. Row-boats of 

 3 or 4 tons with crews of seven or eight hands each 

 are used in this fishery, and when worldng by day in 

 clear water they do not like to go into a depth of more 

 than 9 or 10 fathoms, so that the foot of the net 

 may touch the ground ; but for night fishing or in 

 muddy water they can go into greater depths. Whales 

 are common in Donegal Bay during the sprat season, 

 and are rather dreaded by the fishermen, as accidents 

 have happened before now from their coming up among 

 the boats and capsizing them. These no doubt are. ror- 



