44 FISHERIES OF THE NORTH SEA 



in the capacious stomach of an invisible foe. 

 For instance, the monk fish, an ugly beast 

 with a head four times the size of its body, 

 lies on the sea meadows and is hidden by its 

 greenish colour. On the top of its head is a 

 small elongated fin, a filament which it 

 allows the current to waft to and fro. 

 This tempting bait is seen by the unsus- 

 pecting haddock or cod-fish, but just as the 

 morsel is about to be seized the capacious 

 jaw of the monk opens. By this action 

 the " tickler " is, of course, thrown back 

 and the fish gulped in. 



The variety of more useful edible fish 

 inhabiting the North Sea is greater than 

 in any other sea : this variety gives an 

 additional value to these fisheries. The 

 herring, cod-fish, and haddock predominate, 

 supplying perhaps 90 per cent of the 

 quantity landed : still, of the scarcer and 

 more costly varieties the assortment is 

 extensive. The sole, turbot, and brill, 

 the most delicious of flat fish, are fre- 

 quently met with in the North Sea, but are 

 unknown on the banks farther north. 

 The different banks are, comparatively 

 speaking, more or less specially suited for 



