70 FISHING INDUSTRY OF PLYMOUTH. 



whicli miglit be used may be gathered from tlie fact tliat it 

 takes 1000 pilchards or six maunds of squid to bait a long 

 bulter. A maund of squid will weigh, say, 56 lbs. 



Say sixty boats average 2000 fathoms of line, i. e. 1333 

 hooks per boat. They will consume 288 maunds of squid or 

 say 144 cwt. (over seven tons) in baiting their lines. 



Value of Bait Used. — 



This amount represents in value at &d. a maund . .£740 



12*. „ . . 172 16 



or, they will use 48,000 pilchards, which represents in 



money — 



at &d. per 100 . . £ 12 

 at 5s. „ . . 120 



In the case of a single boat. When squid are cheap it 

 costs 3s. to bait a long bulter with 1666 hooks, when dear 

 £3 12s, whereas pilchards cost from 5s. when cheap to 

 50s. in the dearest times, to bait a long bulter. 



An average is not easy to calculate, but from the accounts 

 of two hookers which have been very kindly submitted' to 

 me, it appears that about £100 a year per boat is spent on 

 bait ; that is to say, bait for sixty boats of the same size for 

 the year would cost £6000. 



Making allowance for boats laid up at various times, the 

 smaller size of some boats, and the fact that certain of them 

 do not use their lines all the year round, the sum spent on bait 

 for the year by Plymouth boats may be estimated at not less 

 than £4500. The bait question is therefore a serious one. 



Squid {Loligo). — The supply of squid depends, as I have 

 stated, upon the trawlers. After a spell of rough weather the 

 hookers having no bait must wait until the trawlers can go 

 out and bring some, then if calms or storms should at once 

 come on the bait spoils, and again when fine weather comes 

 they have to wait until the trawlers have made a trip and 

 brought in bait before they can go out to fish. 



This obviously entails great loss of time and money, and 

 renders the bait question one of extreme importance for the 

 hooking trade of the port. 



Attempts have been made to preserve squid in salt or ic e 

 but they do not appear in this condition to attract the more 



