40 



SEA FISH OF TRINIDAD 



under the beam is a long way past them, and is steadily 

 moving on, their fate is sooner or later decided by their pass- 

 ing over the groimd-rope and finding their way into the 

 funnel-shaped end of the net, from which a small valve of 

 netting prevents their return. The ground-rope is the part 

 which directly bears on the ground, and to prevent the possi- 

 bility of the fish passing under it, the rope should have some 

 weight in it so as to ' bite' well, or press the ground closely. 

 It is, however, always made of old material, so that it may 

 break in case of getting foul of rocks or other obstructions as 

 may be met with on the generally smooth ground, where the 

 trawl can only be worked with advantage. If in such a con- 

 tingency the rope were so strong and good as not to break, 

 there would be serious danger of the tow-rope snapping, and 

 then the whole apparatus might be lost; but the ground- 

 rope giving way enables the net to be cleared and hauled up. 

 The remaining part of the trawl, extending from the bosom 

 to the extreme end, forms a complete bag, gradually dimin- 

 ishing in breadth to within about the last lo ft., which part is 

 called the 'cod' or purse, and is closed by a draw-rope or 

 'cod-line' at the extremity when the net is being used. 

 This is the general receptacle for the various fishes which 

 enter the net, and when the trawl is hauled up and got on 

 board the vessel, the draw-rope is cast off and the fish all fall 

 out on the deck. 



"The meshes of an ordinary deep-sea trawl vary in size in 

 different parts of the net, diminishing from 4 sq. ins. near the 

 mouth to I i in. in the cod or purse. The under part of the 

 net, being exposed to more wear and chafing than the upper, 

 is usually made with stouter twine, and the purse being espe- 

 cially liable to injury from being dragged over the ground 

 with a weight of fish and perhaps stones, has some protection 

 provided by layers of old netting called 'rubbing pieces' 

 laced to its under surface." 



A deep-sea trawl, such as now has been described, is there- 

 fore an immense bag-net, the largest size being about 50 ft. 

 the mouth and about 100 ft. long. The trawl is towed over 

 the ground by the trawl warp, generally a 6 in. rope, 150 

 fathoms long, and made up of two lengths of 75 fathoms each 



