THE LANDINGS 121 



have greatly changed. The German ships 

 are gone : most of the English and French 

 vessels are in home waters, trawling for 

 submarines and mines instead of fish. 

 The ground is almost free from British 

 trawlers ; consequently the fish are left 

 to breed without molestation. The Ice- 

 landers have not neglected their oppor- 

 tunities. Early in the war they exported 

 their catches at the very high prices caused 

 by the empty markets, and being able to 

 purchase steam trawlers with their pros- 

 perity, they soon succeeded in wresting a 

 lot of the trade from outside competitors. 

 Hitherto the English trawlers travelled 

 1000 miles with their catches to Grimsby 

 and Hull, where in peace time a good 

 proportion of the fish was salted and re- 

 exported to the Mediterranean and South 

 American ports. There is a tendency for 

 firms dealing in salt - fish to establish 

 stations on the coast of Iceland, where they 

 can salt and cure the fish better and export 

 direct to those countries, thus saving the 

 expense which a long voyage entails in 

 carrying the fresh cargo to England to be 

 cured. The war, however, has^ontinued 



