FISHING NETS, WITH SPECIAL EEFEEENCE TO THE OTTER-TRAWL. 571 



ful,* we may ascribe to the Danish fishermen the honour of first using, 

 professionally, the otter-trawl from sailing boats. 



It was not, however, until 1894 that the otter-traivl began to make 

 distinct headway amongst professional fishermen. In that year Scott 

 of Granton, who had been experimenting for several years with the 

 otter-boards, became at last convinced of their utility and took out a 

 patent for boards of his own design. He then fitted up several steamers 

 on his own account and caused them to fish from different English 

 ports in succession. The transformation effected thereby in the fishing 

 apparatus of the English, and later the foreign, steamers was both 

 rapid and extensive ; within a few years the old beam-trawls had quite 

 disappeared, except in the sailing craft.f The advantages claimed for 

 the otter-trawl over the beam-trawl were mainly that it had a greater 

 spread, and that its head-line was higher from the ground, so that 

 it should catch more fish and in greater variety.:}: Eecent investigations 

 have cast some doubt on the first claim, but the second seems to be 

 well substantiated by the greater catches of round fish which the 

 otter-trawl brings in. 



From the figure of Scott's patent otter-boards given by Cunningham 

 in this Journal (loc. cit.) it appears that, as originally designed, the ground- 

 rope and head-line met together in a ring at the centre of the hind 

 margin. In all the boards used at the present day they are fastened 

 separately, the former near the foot of the board, the latter near the 

 top. In the present-day boards also, there are three transverse iron 

 bars running across the otherwise smooth front face and bolted through 

 to similar bars on the back. On the latter, one frequently sees two 

 long iron bars placed diagonally across the board. These are used 

 on the boards with chains in place of the patent triangles. 



The boards are made of deal wood and are 9 ft. to 10 ft. long by 

 4 ft. 5 in. to 4 ft. 6 in, high, and 4 in. to 5 in. thick. § The first iron 

 bar is placed 2 ft. 4 in. to 2 ft, 6 in. from the anterior border and 

 supports the base of the first triangle or " bracket " (see Cunningham's 

 figure). The second bar comes 18 in. further back and supports the 

 second and longer triangle. In working, the two triangles meet about 



* Petersen, Report from the Danish Biological Station, iii., 1892, p. 36. Mitt. 

 Deut. Secfiscli. Vereins, 1888. 



t According to Spillmann, loc. cit. (quoted by Petersen, loc. cit., 1898), Capt. Nielsen, 

 a Dane, was the first to make the otter-boards a success in 1895. As Scott and probably 

 many others had been successful during 1894, it would have been more correct to say 

 that Nielsen was one of the first successful fishermen. It appears further from Spillmann's 

 account that Nielsen was one of the first, if not the first, to avoid Scott's patent by 

 using chains instead of "brackets" on the board.s. 



X Cunningham, "North Sea Investigations," Journ. M. B. A., iv. pp. 114-121. 



§ According to Spillmann the boards used in Germany are shorter (7 ft.) and lighter 

 (7 cwt, ), but in proportion higher (4 ft.). The English boards are about 9 cwt. 



