438 REPORT ON TRAWLING AND OTHER INVESTIGATIONS 



The large boats, generally called the smacks or dandies, formerly- 

 journeyed every year to the North Sea, but some twelve years ago they 

 were crowded out by the ever-increasing fleets of Lowestoft, Yarmouth, 

 and Grimsby. Some of the men remained at these ports, and have 

 aided in making them great fishing centres, but the majority turned in 

 the opposite direction, and as the English Channel was seemingly not 

 rich enough to support all, they made their way into the Bristol 

 Channel. There they discovered new and exceedingly rich trawling- 

 grounds, and year by year they have continued to pass round Land's 

 End in early spring, gradually extending their field of operations along 

 the North Cornwall, Welsh, and Irish coasts as far north as the Irish 

 Sea, and opening up new fishing centres, as Milford and Dublin, wher- 

 ever they went. 



Since the majority of these boats are away from Brixham for the 

 greater part of the year, and mostly land their fish at other ports, 

 it is impossible to obtain even an approximate measure of the value 

 of the grounds on which they fish. Some impression of their richness 

 may, however, be obtained from the quantities of soles occasionally 

 sent over to Brixham by rail from Padstow in North Cornwall. 



During March, 1902, 12,700 pairs of soles. 

 „ April „ 17,400 „ 

 „ May „ 8,300 „ 



The ground on which these are caught, said to be very coarse and rough, 

 is called by the fishermen " ross "-ground on account of the hard masses 

 of Lepralia and of Alcyonium on shells, which abound there. Plaice, 

 turbot, and rays are also caught in considerable quantities, but the 

 distinctive feature is undoubtedly the large supply of soles. 



As the boats move further up the Bristol Channel and on to the 

 Welsh grounds, their catches are quite lost to Brixham, which renders 

 it impossible to give even a sample of what they obtain. According to 

 all accounts, however, the characteristic of the fishing is still the great 

 capture of soles. 



Whilst the majority of the smacks spend the greater part of the 

 year on the west coast, a varying number remain nearer home, and 

 in the autumn all the boats are fishing in the English Cliannel. The 

 grounds they work over extend from Portland to Land's End, usually 

 between the twenty- and forty-fathom lines. The nature of the grounds 

 is practically the same throughout, and is of coarse sand, shell, and 

 gravel, with patches of stones and occasionally fine sand. As may 

 be imagined, the catches consist largely of rays, red gurnards, and the 

 prime fish — soles, turbot, etc. Sometimes the turbot seem to be 

 exceedingly abundant, as during the past autumn, and in certain places, 



