THEIR ROUND OF LIFE AND LABOUR. 55 
PELE TRISH, FISHER) FOLK. 
Number of persons engaged in Irish Fisheries—Increase of Irish boats 
engaged in fishing for Mackerel—Abundance of Pilchards—Cost 
of carriage of fish—Irish Salmon fisheries—Shell-fish fisheries— 
The reproductive Loan Fund—Its success—Social habits of the 
Irish Fisher Folk—The Claddagh. 
THE number of persons employed in the Irish fisheries in 
the year 1846 was 113,073, who were in possession of a 
fleet of 19,883 boats and vessels of various kinds. These 
were the persons supposed to be actively engaged in prose- 
cuting the various fisheries of Ireland; were we to take into 
account their families and dependents we would be able, we 
daresay, to make up the total number to a figure beyond 
half a million. 
The number of persons fishing and the number of boats 
have greatly decreased since 1846. According to the 
last published report of the Inspectors of Irish fisheries, it 
appears that during 1882, the number of registered vessels 
in Ireland fishing for sale was 6089, with crews numbering 
21,597 men, and 794 boys. Of these 1978 vessels, 7310 
men and 401 boys are returned as having been exclusively 
employed in fishing, and 4111 vessels, 14,287 men, and 393 
boys as partially engaged. 
These figures must not be accepted for more than they 
are worth; the Inspectors do all they can to ensure their 
being correct, but various difficulties lie in the way of obtain- 
ing accurate statistics. They explain in one of their 
