UNDER THE STUARTS: JAMES I.: A NEW POLICY 133 



ated, but even the lowest shows how very valuable the sea 

 fisheries were to the Dutch at the beginning of the seventeenth 

 century, for the total value of all the commodities exported 

 from England in 1613 was placed at 2,487,435, and the value 

 of the imports at 2,141,151. 1 



The English fisheries, which Cecil had laboured to revive, 

 presented a striking contrast to the prosperous fishery of the 

 foreigners. As in the days of Hitchcock, our fishermen shot 

 their nets for herrings from small vessels near the shore, and 

 on the east coast, at least, only in the period from September 

 to November, with the exception of an occasional "summer" 

 fishing. 2 They had very " sorry " nets and poor frail boats, and 

 most of those going to the Yarmouth fishing from Yorkshire 

 and Durham were only " five-men " cobles. 3 " The Hollander 

 busses," it was said, " are greate and strong and able to brooke 

 foul weather, whereas our cobles, crayers, and boats, being 

 small and thin-sided, are easily swallowed by rough seas, not 

 daringe to adventure far in fair weather by reason of their 

 weaknesse for feare of stormes." The largest of the crayers 

 were of 20 tons burden, their catch of herrings for a 

 night being generally from one to three, and rarely as much as 

 seven, lasts. 4 One can only guess at the number of fishing 

 boats and vessels belonging to east coast ports at this time. 

 Gentleman stated that the number of " North Sea boats " 

 which fished for cod, and probably also for herrings, in autumn, 

 was from 224 to 237 along the stretch of coast between the 

 Thames and the Humber, the crews employed in them being 

 between 1500 and 1600. The Iceland barks numbered about 

 125 in 1614; 20 of them, as well as 150 of the North Sea 

 boats, belonged to Yarmouth. The town-clerk of that port, 

 writing about the same time, said that they sent annually 

 to Iceland and the north seas for cod and ling about 120 

 sail, while all the " ships, crayers, and fisher-boats " belonging 

 to Yarmouth numbered 220 ; the able-bodied mariners and 



1 Misselden, The Circle of Commerce, or the Balance of Trade, 1623, p. 121. It 

 may be said that the aggregate quantity of herrings now taken in the North Sea, 

 and mostly by Scottish and English fishermen, equals about 3,500,000 barrels in a 

 year. 



- Manship, History of Great Yarmouth, 119, 121. 



3 Gentleman, op. cit., 7, 32. 



4 Keymer, Observations on Dutch Fishing. 



