FISHING NETS, WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE OTTER-TRAWL. 581 



ruin to the trawl. Similar difficulties and experiences have been 

 encountered in the use of Petersen's trawl, but, as will be shown 

 presently, these arise in this case from the nature of the trawl, which, 

 as constructed, courts disaster on soft ground, 



Hjort {loc. cit.) has endeavoured to overcome this difficulty in the 

 latter by fixing a stone to the under part of the ground-rope in the 

 centre and counterbalancing it by means of a glass globe above, 

 the idea being, that if the weight of the stone is taken off by rising 

 ground, then the glass globe will lift the ground-rope out of harm's 

 way. Though one would imagine that the stone, by sticking in the 

 mud, would drag the rope down into it likewise, Hjort seems to have 

 found the method successful. Petersen suggests that a thick coir rope 

 should be fastened on the foot-rope when trawling on soft ground, 

 and indeed, the only thing that can be done with Petersen's trawl, if 

 one wishes to use it on soft, muddy ground, is to make the ground- 

 rope as light as possible and as large round as possible, then tow 

 over the ground as fast as the trawl will permit. Such ic the 

 method of the steam trawlers. They have no special fear of muddy 

 ground, but take care to increase the speed of the vessel. 



The otter-trawl, by the large meshes of the net, the thick ground- 

 rope, and the high speed it must be towed at, is well adapted for soft 

 ground. A greater difficulty is met with on hard or stony ground. 

 It is essential for good fishing that the ground-rope should grip the 

 ground to some extent, and in order to do this on hard ground all 

 trawlers, whether sailing or steam, reduce speed and at the same time 

 shorten the warps. To do this successfully demands great skill and 

 experience, and in the latter respect the beam-trawlers are many years 

 ahead. It is said, indeed, that they work constantly on rough ground, 

 which the steam trawler avoids after one or two trials. The reason 

 is not far to seek. On rough ground, the roughness is caused not 

 merely by stones, but also by the animal life present, as Lepralia 

 ("Ptoss"), Alci/ouium ("Dead Men's Fingers") on Oysters, Pectens, 

 and such like. The ground-rope of the o'tter-trawl is quite able 

 to get over these, but their sharp points tear the meshes of the 

 net. The sailing trawlers and the steamers have different devices 

 for overcoming this difficulty. In the former a series of iron rings 

 is suspended all along the ground-rope, and between each ring 

 hangs a short iron chain. There is thus a series of festoons hanging 

 underneath the ground-rope which, at one and the same time, helps 

 the rope to bite into the ground and to break up the material 

 which causes the roughness. To my knowledge, this device has not 

 been adopted, though it may have been tried, on any of the steam 

 trawlers; probably because the great weight the chains add to the 



