INDUSTRIES 



whom we are indebted for the valuable informa- 

 tion relative to the fishing industry of Lowestoft. 



The women engaged in the fish-curing industry 

 of Lowestoft are employed, first, in splitting the 

 fresh herrings prior to the process of 'kippering,' 

 and, secondly, in packing the kippers in wooden 

 boxes and nailing the lids down. If no herrings 

 arrive on the completion of this part of their 

 task the workers are engaged in making boxes 

 while awaiting the coming of a catch. After 

 this they resume the splitting of the fish, which 

 work is carried on while there are any herrings 

 left. After the split herrings have been put 

 through the pickle and washed in fresh water 

 the women commence putting the herrings on 

 hooks or sticks, and hand them up to the men in 

 the curing tubs till this process is completed. 1 



The following are the number and description 

 of sea-fishing boats at Lowestoft in 1904 : — 



Class 



Number 

 of boats 



Steam (45 ft. keel and upwards) : 



Trawling 7 



Other than trawling 105 



Sailing (45 ft. keel and upwards) : 



Trawling 234 



Partly trawling — 



Other than trawling I 22 



Less than 45 ft. keel : 



Trawling — 



Partly trawling — 



Other than trawling 8 



Second Class 



26 ft. keel and upwards : 



Trawling — 



Partly trawling — 



Other than trawling — 



22-26 ft. keel : 



Trawling 2 



Partly trawling — 



Other than trawling — 



Less than 22 ft. keel : 



Trawling — 



Partly trawling 10 



Other than trawling — 



Third Class 



Registered 10 



Unregistered — 



Total 



4Q8 



There are at the present time four fishing 

 stations in Suffolk : Lowestoft, Southwold, 

 Thorpe, and Aldeburgh. The following table ' 



1 Ann. Rep. Factories and Workshops, 1903, p. 

 ' Ann. Rep. Board of Agric. and Fisheries, 

 App. ii, 34-5. 



33- 

 1904, 



gives the methods of fishing at each port, the 

 kinds of fish caught, and the dates of fishing 

 seasons : — 



The regulation of the sea fisheries of Suffolk 

 at the present time is by the Board of Conser- 

 vators for the Stour, Suffolk, and Essex Fishery 

 District, acting as a Local Fisheries' Committee 

 under the Sea Fisheries' Regulation Act of 1 888, 

 their jurisdiction lying between Covehithe, just 

 above Southwold, and Harwich. The coast 

 between Covehithe and Happisburgh (between 

 Cromer and Yarmouth) is the only piece of coast 

 on the east and south shores of England which 

 is not included in a sea-fisheries' district, or sub- 

 ject to regulation by a sea-fisheries' committee. 

 It includes the two great fishing ports and ancient 

 rivals, Yarmouth and Lowestoft. It is interesting 

 to note in passing that the latter port has almost 

 entirely absorbed the trawling trade from the 

 former. 



In the light of its beating on the pursuit and 

 development of the fishing industry, it may be 

 mentioned that the Marine Biological Association 

 of the United Kingdom, whose head quarters are 



299 



