524 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. [8] 
end of the sluice, towards the sea, there is placed a frame made of wire, 
with meshes 11 millimeters in width, and when this has been done the 
gate is raised entirely. The water of the sea rushes into the sluice, and 
creates a current. The fish which are in the pond are drawn towards 
the sluice by the movement of the water and by its freshness, and as it 
is always their tendency to go against the stream, they enter the sluice. 
When a sufficient number of fish have entered, the gate of the sluice is 
quickly closed, so as to prevent the fish from returning to the pond. 
They may then be caught in the water with a line, or one can wait till 
the water of the sea has receded, when the fish can easily be taken out. 
Fish of small dimensions are thrown back into the pond. This method 
of fishing is generally employed only in September and October. It is 
employed particularly for catching eels, called ‘“‘mouregains” by the coun- 
try people, by proceeding in the following manner: 
Beginning in October, and all during winter, when the weather is bad 
and there is much wind and rain, one drains off the water. for three to six 
hours during the early part of the night, especially during very dark, 
moonless nights (these are the times and conditions when the eel is 
liveliest), in order to attract the eels towards the sluice. 
When the sea has completely receded, generally after two hours, 
the wire frame is placed outside the sluice, as I have described above, 
and the gate of the sluice is raised about 14 centimeters; a strong cur- 
rent is thereby established from the fish-pond to the sea, and the eels 
pass with this current underneath the gate and gather in the sluice. 
At daybreak the gate is let down again to prevent the eels from re- 
turning to the fish-pond. Generally about 500 kilograms of eels are in 
this way caught in one sluice. This is a very excellent method of fish- 
ing, as it does not involve any expense. As a general rule, only full- 
grown eels are caught. Care should be taken not to drain off the water 
from the pond, or to catch full-grown eels during the month of March, 
for during that month the young eels would escape from the pond and 
would pass through the wire grating. During the other months the 
young eel is very quiet; it remains in the pond and shows no desire to 
escape. 
(2.) Trammel-fishing.—For trammel-fishing one uses an ordinary tram- _ 
mel with lead and cork. The fishermen who manage it are in a boat, 
and row about, describing circuits or labyrinths, all the while making a 
noise, in order to frighten the fish which become entangled in the meshes 
of the net. On account of the large size of the meshes, one only catches 
large or medium-sized fish. This method of fishing is only employed 
during the day, from the end of August till Easter. 
Pond-mullets are only caught from the end of August, for the follow- 
ing reasons: 
During the hot season the fish grow most rapidly; if, therefore, they 
were caught during this period of the year, this would occasion a con- 
siderable loss, not only in weight, but also in quality; for fish, trans- 
