268 THE CONGESTED DISTRICTS BOARD FOR IRELAND. 



One of the first steps taken by the Congested Districts Board was to 



develop the resources which in the shape of sea 



The fisheries lay almost at the door of so many of the 



Fishing Industry. " Congests.'" In considering the potentialities and 

 drawbacks of this industry, the sea-coast of the con- 

 gested districts may be divided into two divisions, in one of which, consist- 

 ing of Galway, Mayo, and Donegal, transit for fish and marketing facilities 

 were defective ; while in the other division, comprising Kerry and Cork, the 

 means of transit both by rail and by steamship were far more complete, and 

 in this district, therefore, a much more profitable market already existed 

 than in the northern congested districts. Speaking generally, the Kerry 

 and Cork fishermen needed landing accommodation for boats more than 

 market facilities, while as regards the coast north of Galway the establish- 

 ment of a market was the chief necessity, though at the same time piers and 

 boat slips were much wanted at some places. 



The requirements of the fresh fish trade were of course different from 

 those of the cured fish trade. The fresh fish trade requires quick and 

 regular means of carriage to the English markets, and expensive plant — - 

 such as ice-hulks, ice, and packing boxes — is also necessary. The cured 

 fish trade, on the other hand, involves the erection of fish curing sheds and 

 stores, the hiring of fish-curers, and the purchase of salt, but there is not any 

 necessity for rapid or regular transit to market, and a steamship or even sail- 

 ing vessel can be chartered occasionally to take pickled or dried fish to the 

 market. A start was made by the Board in Galway Bay, but it was soon 

 evident that even there, where transit facilities were comparatively favour- 

 able, little less than the creation of the local industry was the task awaiting 

 the Board ; for to promote the fishing industry in such a way as to render it 

 ultimately self-supporting, it was not only necessary to provide boats, but the 

 men had to be shown also, to a large extent, how and especially when to fish. 

 Thus, though the Aran islanders were accustomed to avail themselves in an 

 elementary way, of the Autumn Mackerel Fishery, they scouted the idea of 

 Spring fishing. Another difficulty arose from the fact that most West of Ire- 

 land men are not sailors but only boatmen, and consequently are by nature 

 disinclined and unfit for fishing away from home. Fortunately the Board 

 did not start their work of encouraging deep-sea fishing, as was suggested by 

 some, by establishing schools to teach boys how to fish on dry land. Instead 

 of this, seven Arklow crews, accustomed to deep-sea fishing, were subsidised 

 to exploit the Spring Mackerel Fishery, and the Board bought a steamer to 

 help, as well as boats, nets, boxes, and, not least important, a cargo of ice. 

 After much weary waiting the mackerel came, and since then the fishing 

 has flourished and become profitable on a self-supporting basis, for the 

 Board has now ceased to act as the universal buyer, and private traders with 

 their own steamers and agents, have taken its place. The Board still sup- 

 plies boats by means of loans from the Reproductive Loan Fund, or the 

 Sea and Coast Fisheries Fund, repayable by half-yearly instalments. Two 

 instructors generally form part of the crew, who teach the natives the com- 

 plete art of fishing, and, above all, how to look after the gear and how to 

 mend the nets. 



These methods have been pursued with considerable success in most of 

 the other fishing centres of the congested districts. Recently a new 

 mackerel fishery has been opened at Blacksod Bay, and though the first 

 season's working resulted in a loss of over i^i,8oo, the Board very justly 



