376 THE SEA FISHERIES OF IRELAND. 



been taught that, when got across channel fresh, there is more trade in them 

 than in cod and ling. 



In the development of line-fishing, the bait difficulty is very great, and 

 provision to meet it calls for further organisation. 



The Spring Mackerel Fishery. 



In the early days of the spring mackerel fishing, the fish were generally 

 expected to appear off the South-west coast about the 17th of March. Of 

 late years they are rarely caught by the large boats before the first or 

 second week of April, and the fishing closes about the middle of June. 



Stormy weather frequently prevails in April, thus reducing what is under 

 any circumstances a short season, to one which leaves little time to pay 

 expenses and make a profit. 



The expenses, in all directions, are heavy. The merchants must lay in 

 immense stores of ice and boxes, and keep expensive steamers in waiting. 

 The fishermen have their long trains of nets to prepare, nets useless except 

 for this one venture, and in many cases the boats' crews count on this season 

 alone to give them any profit above what is necessary for the weekly 

 support of their families. 



The fleets of large deep-sea fishing vessels which congregate on the 

 south-west of Ireland, have recently been made up in about the followmg 

 proportions : — 



Irish 350, Manx 160, English and Scotch 50, and French 70, 



while on the coasts of Galway and Mayo about 75 large boats owned and 

 fished locally, have recently come into existence. All these vessels use 

 drift nets, forming trains of from one and a-half to two miles in length, and 

 many of them have steam capstans for hauling in their gear. The value of 

 the boat and her outfit varies from about i5^300 to £600. 



The mackerel nets are shallower than herring nets : 6 score of 3-inch 

 meshes deep being about the standard size, and they are set at the surface, 

 carrying the boat with them as they drift with the tide. 



A great number of row boats and canvas canoes join in the sprmg 

 mackerel fishery, and they usually get the fish close to shore, earlier in the 

 season than the larger vessels can capture them in the offing. After a short 

 time the fishing moves off seaward, and the small boats, which have secured 

 the high prices of the early fishing, are then compelled to give it up. 



The largest vessels which join in the spring fishing are those from France. 

 They carry longer trains of nets, much larger crews, and salt the mackerel 

 on board until they have a full cargo, when they sail for home. 



Drift net boats propelled by steam are the latest innovation. 



The Autumn Mackerel Fishery. 



The spring mackerel fishery lasts, as we have seen, for about two months, 

 and is mainly a large-boat fishery. The autumn fishery, which begins in the 

 end of August, often lasts on, when weather permits, into the winter, and up 

 to Christmas. It is a row-boat and canoe fishery, the fish as a rule lying too 

 close to the coast for large boats to approach them with safety. It is also 



