FISHERMAN 



3176 



FISHING 



during the first three months of 

 the year. The season for herring 

 and other migratory fish is deter- 

 mined by the time of year at which 

 they come within reach of the 

 trawlers. Salmon are protected by 

 special laws. (See Close Time.) ^ 



Speaking generally, it is illegal 

 to buy or sell British salmon from 

 Sept. 3 to Feb. 1, but the law ap- 

 plies to fresh salmon only, not to 

 cured fish. Mackerel and whiting 

 are at their best in the cold months, 

 because they do not keep well in 

 warm weather. If perfectly fresh 

 they are also in season in the 

 summer. Oysters are usually 

 avoided from May to August, and 

 are not very good even in Sept. 

 Lobsters are always in season, as 

 far as fitness for food goes, but 

 the females are protected in most 

 places while carrying the eggs. 

 The legal seasons for fish are 

 usually posted up in all fish 

 markets. 



Fisherman. The term usually 

 applied to one who earns his 

 living by fishing in the sea. From 

 the earliest times off-shore fishing 

 has been the principal occupation 

 of dwellers on the sea coast, while 

 trawling and deep-sea fishing have 

 largely developed with the intro- 

 duction of steam and of wire haw- 

 sers. Fishing in streams and rivers 

 is usually called angling (q.v. ), and 

 is subject to various restrictions. 

 See Angling ; Close Time. 



Fisher's. Island of the U.S.A. 

 Situated at the E. end of Long 

 Island Sound, it forms a part of 

 Suffolk co., New York. It is 

 about 8 m. long by 1 m. broad. It is 

 frequented as a summer resort, and 

 the chief occupation is agriculture. 

 Fort Wright, one of the defences of 

 Long Island Sound, stands at the 

 E. end. Pop. about 200. 



Fishery Board. In Gt. Britain 

 a body of men whose work it is 

 to foster and protect the fishing 

 industry. Scotland has a separate 

 board, consisting of paid and un- 

 paid members. Its offices are in 

 George St., Edinburgh. In England 

 and Wales the fisheries are looked 

 after by the board of agriculture 

 and fisheries, and in Ireland by the 

 department of agriculture and 

 technical instruction. In Nov., 

 1919, the fisheries department of 

 the board of agriculture was placed 

 under the direct control of the 

 parliamentary secretary, who would 

 act as deputy-minister of fisheries. 

 The officer in charge of the depart- 

 ment is known as fisheries secre- 

 tary to the board. 



Fishguard OB ABERGWAEN. Ur- 

 ban dist., seaport, and market 

 town of Pembrokeshire, Wales. It 

 stands on the Gwaen riear its en 

 trance into Fishguard Bay, 12 m. 



N. of Haverfordwest. The ter- 

 minus of the G.W.R. on its route 

 to Ireland, Fishguard has an excel- 

 lent harbour and a fine break- 

 water (2,500 ft.), 

 a coastguard and 

 lifeboat station, 

 and a pier con- ; 

 structed by the 

 rly. co. in 1906. 

 Slate is worked 

 in the neighbour- 

 hood a.nd fishing 

 is an industry. 

 There is regular 

 steamer commu- 

 nication with 

 Rosslare in co. 

 Wexford, Ireland. 

 In 1797 Fishguard 

 was invaded by 

 somel,200French 

 soldiers, who were 

 forced to surrender to the local 

 yeomanry. Market day, Thurs. 

 Pop. 2,892. 



Fish Hatchery. Place for hatch- 

 ing the eggs of fish. Various fish 

 hatcheries have been established, 

 especially by the United States 

 Fish Commission. This body, in 

 1902, hatched and set free nearly 

 1,500,000,000 young fish, the prin- 

 cipal species dealt with being cod, 

 flounders, and lobsters. In Canada 

 the hatcheries established devote 

 their attention mainly to cod and 

 lobsters. In Europe hatcheries have 

 been started in Norway, England, 

 and Scotland, and the methods 

 for obtaining the eggs vary in 

 different places. See Fish Culture. 



Fish Hook. Apparatus for 

 catching fish. At first a flake of 

 flint sharpened at both ends, with 

 a thong attached to the centre, was 

 employed for this purpose. But the 

 antiquity of the metal hook is great, 

 bronze fish hooks of modern shape 

 having been found in lake-dwell- 

 ings in Switzerland and elsewhere. 



The modern fish hook is made of 

 soft cast steel wire. The wire is cut 

 into lengths and the barb formed 

 and sharpened before the wire is 



^bent into shape. The shanks are 

 then ringed or flattened, and the 

 hooks are hardened, tempered, and 

 scoured. Machinery performs the 



I.... 



ufj 



Fishguard, Pembrokeshire. Railway terminus and quay 

 for the steamer service to Rosslare, Waterford, and Cork 



various processes automatically. 

 Hooks vary greatly in size and 

 shape, from the huge hook with 

 swivel and chain attachment used 

 for catching sharks, down to the 

 tiny-eyed hook on which the 

 smallest trout flies are dressed. 

 See illus. p. 1251. 



Fishing. Art or practice of 

 catching fish. It is divided into two 

 main branches. Sea fishing is done 

 chiefly by men who work at it for a 

 livelihood, and to whose efforts are 

 due a considerable portion of the 

 world's food supply. In this trawl- 

 ing plays an important part. The 

 other branch is known more usually 

 as angling, and is pursued mainly 

 by amateurs for their own amuse- 

 ment, although in America great 

 quantities of salmon are caught for 

 food by professional fishermen. 

 Fly-fishing is a form of angling. 



The chief fish caught by the pro- 

 fessional are the cod, herring, and 

 mackerel ; by the amateur, salmon 

 and trout. Whale fishing, seal fish- 

 ing, and pearl fishing are special 

 branches. The culture of oysters, 

 lobsters, and other shellfish hardly 

 falls into the category of fishing 

 proper, although some of these are 

 caught by those 

 who are fishermen 

 by trade. 



Fishing is one of 

 the oldest arts 

 practised by man, 

 and there are 

 evidences that he 

 did something of 

 this kind 8,000 

 years ago. Various 

 devices were em- 

 ployed, and some 

 of the earlier forms, 

 made of stone and 

 bronze, have been 

 unearthed. Further 

 progress was made 

 & Co. until the existing 



Fish Hooks. 1. li-in. beetle 

 spinner. 2. Insect bait. 3. 

 Hollow-pointed Limerick hook. 

 4. Fennell turn-down eye hook 



