TRAWLING 



The men cast a swift, appraising eye over the catch 

 the more experienced can tell, within a very little, what 

 it is worth to them then lower the trawl again ; unless 

 the catch is entirely unsatisfactory, in which case they 

 may make sail a little farther away before doing so. 



" Is that all ? " asks the landsman. " Then where does 

 the hard work come in ? " 



The hard work is only beginning. All those hundreds 

 or thousands of fish that lie feebly gasping there, inter- 

 spersed with shrimps, crabs, shells, and seaweed, have to 

 be cleaned, sorted out, and packed in boxes ready for the 

 carrier ; cramping, back-breaking work it is, too ; and, by 

 the time it is done, the trawl is probably ready to be 

 pulled up again. Up it comes ; then the same moment 

 of expectancy; the same straining and dragging; the 

 same groping and stooping and sorting then another 

 net-full ready to be hoisted in. Night comes on, and the 

 men " turn in " one or two at a time, according to the 

 number of the crew. 



Till lately (in many instances the custom still exists), 

 in winter, the boats going off for a long spell carried 

 ice with them and stored the fish in it, bringing back the 

 whole cargo themselves at the end of the trip. This is 

 most largely done in the case of plaice, soles, and halibut. 

 But more commonly now, whether in winter or summer, 

 whether fishing off the Dogger or the Danish and Dutch 

 Banks, steam carriers go out from Yarmouth or Grimsby 

 or Hull almost daily, and their visit makes a break in the 

 monotony to which every one looks forward. 



The carrier is a boat of powerful build, very high in 



39 



