G08 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF Flf^H AND FISHERIES. [142] 



"whetlier a seine or small Kct is nsod in fisliiii.c'. In llic former case the 

 water should not he drained off as nineh as in the latter, and should be 

 left to stand in the fish-pit to the de])th of one meter, as otherwise the 

 fish will be injured by an excessive accumulation nf niud. If it requires 

 several days to drain a large pond the operation should be occasionally 

 looked after dnrin,u' the day ; and during the last <lays should be watched 

 constantly, partly to regulate the outflow of the water and partly to 

 l)revent thieving. 



Other preimrations for the fisheries. — Befoi'c fishing conimences the nec- 

 essary number of tubs, tilled with a sutiicient quantity of water, should 

 be placed along the edge of the fish-pit ; baskets'or large pieces of cloth, 

 for carrying the fish to the kegs, shouhl be in readiness, and the required 

 number of persons for attending to this work and for drawing the nets 

 should be on hand. Particular care should be taken that there is no 

 lack of carts, placed in convenient positions, for if the fish, after having 

 l)assed from the ])ond to the tubs, and from these, after having been 

 sorted, to the kegs, have to wait any length of time for the cart the tubs 

 will become too crowded, and it may even at times be necessary to stop 

 the fisheries for awhile. Thus the entire i)rocess is retarded, and will 

 take twice as much time as if everything had been in readiness. By 

 such delays the fish are apt to become languid in tlic tubs, they cannot 

 stand the hardships of transi)ortation, reach the pond in an exhausted 

 condition, and many die. It would, therefore, be false economy to try 

 and save laborers and carts in the fisheries. It should be remembered 

 that the death of one fish occasions a greater loss in money than the 

 daily wages of a laborer, and that the loss of seve;;il lish exceeds the 

 daily cost of a cart. After everything has been ])rei)nn(l, and thepoial 

 has been drained, fishing commences. 



If in a large pond a seine is used, it is set at some eistance from the 

 fish-pit, in a ])lace where, after the pond has been dniinod, the water 

 gathers, and it is held in a perpendicular position by a number of men, 

 who gradually approach the fish-i)it, and drive the fish before (hem by 

 beating the water with sticks. When they arrive at the tisli-])it, the 

 seine is drawn through it by ])ulling both ends towards the shore. The 

 two ends are gradually brought closer and closer, and are finally pulled 

 ashoie, where all the fish are inclosed. If the seine corresponds in 

 length to the extent of the i)it, all the fish will certainly be caught at 

 once. Eeimann says: " With a view to get all the fish together in the 

 seine, (rare should be taken that from the very beginning the lower 

 l)art ot the seine rests on the bottom of the pond and leaves no opeD- 

 ings through which the fish can escape below the seine."* In very 

 laige ponds it will be necessary to use one or several boats in setting 

 and hauling the seine. 



If the ponds have other holes besides the fish-pit, fishing should com- 

 mence in the smaller and end in the larger ones. In small ponds which 



*Reiujanii, Vmktmher Abriss der Fiacheri, 1804. 



