THE SEA FISH OF TRINIDAD AS SEA-FOOD 41 



spliced together; one end of this warp is shackled to two 

 other pieces, each 15 fathoms long, and called the " spans" or 

 "bridles," which lead one to each end of the beam, and are 

 shackled to swivel-bolts in front of the iron heads, so as to 

 give a firm pull on the whole apparatus. 



There is a belief prevalent amongst the fishing folk here, 

 that steam-trawling would soon exhaust all the grounds, but 

 this is erroneous, as for some time at all events there would be 

 but one steam-trawl. At Brixham in Devonshire, where 

 trawling is believed to have originated, and fishing has al- 

 ways been the chief industry, one particular fishing ground, 

 practically about twenty miles long and from three to eight 

 miles from land, has been worked steadily for over a hundred 

 years, and yet there is no sign of the ground being exhausted ; 

 in fact it has never been so prosperous as in the past few 

 years. 



The trawler would also have to be provided with " drift- 

 nets" and "stow-nets." The "drift-net" in its use corre- 

 sponds to what is locally called a " fillet" but it is worked in 

 a more intelligent manner in British seas. The essential 

 principle of the working of the "drift-net" is that it forms 

 a long wall or barrier of netting, hanging for a few fathoms 

 perpendicularly in the water, but extending a great length 

 horizontally, and that the surface fish meeting these nets, 

 and trying to pass, become meshed, that is, get their heads 

 and gills in the meshes of the net, from which they cannot 

 withdraw, their gill-covers being caught. This system of 

 fishing is generally prosecuted at night. The "stow-net" 

 used from the trawler, ought to be particularly successful 

 with shoal-fish like "jacks" and "anchois", etc. It is the 

 same mode as followed in the sprat fisheries in England. 

 Long-lining, which consists of coils of line 7,200 fathoms, or 

 nearly eight miles long, and with nearly 5,000 hooks fastened 

 on snoods i ^ fathoms apart, I am afraid would not answer 

 on account of the predaceous fish, but the trawler would 

 have to carry hand-lines, as some of the choicest table-fish, 

 to wit, the "vivanot joUe bleu" can only be caught on the 

 deep-sea bottom, where nets cannot reach. The trawl would 

 have to carry plenty of ice to keep the fish fresh, the "well" 



