146 EEPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. [56] 



a. large catch is obtained at the last set of a seine for the trip, and more 

 mackerel are secured than the barrels on board will hold, the dories are 

 taken on deck and filled with fish. During the mackerel season it is a 

 common occurrence to see, in any of the large fishing ports, vessels ar- 

 rive with both dories piled full of mackerel. 



(6) The seine. — Two kinds of seines are used. The large seine, only 

 cised in connection with the largest kind of seine-boat, is 190 to 225 

 fathoms in length, and 20 to 25 fathoms in depth when it is hung, being 

 deeper in the center of the bunt than at the extreme wings, one of which, 

 the "boat end," is from one to ten fathoms deep, and the other, the 

 ^' dory end," varies from about seven to fifteen fathoms in depth.* It is 

 made of three kinds of twine. The "bailing-piece," which is a section 

 of the net occupying about 10 to 12 fathoms along the center of the 

 cork-line, and having about the same depth as length, is made of the 

 stoutest twine. Beneath this, and composing the remainder of the bunt 

 and extending to the bottom of the seine, is a section knit of twine a 

 size smaller. There is also a band of large twine, 15 meshes in depth, 

 extending along the cork-line of the seine on either side of the bailing- 

 piece to the extremity of each wing. The remainder of the net is made 

 of smaller twine. 



A seine 200 fathoms in length is usually about 1,000 meshes deep, 

 both in the bunt and in the wings. The strongest twine is placed at 

 those places where the seine is subjected to the greatest strain. On the 

 ■cork-line are two or three sizes of corks, the largest being placed over 

 t\\e bailing-piece, the smallest generally at the ends of the wings. The 

 <iork in the middle of the seine is much larger than the rest, and is painted 

 orcfveredwith canvas in order that it maybe easy to find the center of 

 the net either night or d^y. To one end of the cork -line at the upper cor- 

 ner of tlie wing, which is first thrown out when the seine is set, is a buoy. 

 The seine is hung to lines which are called the hanging-lines. The lead- 

 line is ])laced as in an ordinary seine, and is weighted with sinkers 

 ^bout two ounces in weight, which are attached to it at intervals varying 

 from a few inches to several feet. The arrangement of the pursing rings 

 -and bridle is described elsewhere. In a mackerel seine of 175 fathoms the 

 bridles are about 15 to 18 feet in length, and the rings, which weigh 1^ 

 pounds and are 3 inches in diameter, are fastened to the middle of each 

 l)ridle. The middle ring is on the bottom of the seine, opposite the mid- 

 dle cork already referred to.t The purse-line extends through the rings j 



* Capt. Joseph Smith tells us that the depth of the seine-ends varies a great deal 

 according to the fancy of the fishermen. Some of the skippers prefer to have the ends 

 of their seines "taken up" enough to make them very shallow, while others think a 

 Bet with deep ends will fish the best. 



tThe middle ring is usually made of different metal from the others, or is larger, so 

 that the center of the bottom of the seine can be easily found. 



