|lotcs on t f*fo of the Jtsh rmnth) taken 

 on the hesil jftcnch. 



By NELSON M. RICHARDSON, B.A. 



URIXG the three years that I have been living near 

 Weymouth several interesting fish have come 

 under my notice which have been caught by the 

 fishermen on the Chesil Beach opposite to my 

 house, in the neighbourhood of the part which the 

 Field Club visited when it came to Weymouth 

 last August. I thought that a few notes on these fish might be 

 interesting, though, as I have never studied ichthyology, I fear that 

 my notes will be unscientific ones. 



The Mackerel (Scomber scomber) is the staple fish of the Chesil 

 Beach, and is what the fishermen fish for. It is caught from May 

 onwards during the summer in considerable numbers, but has been 

 comparatively scarce for the last few years. All other fish may be 

 regarded as accidentally caught in the nets which are cast for 

 mackerel. One side of a long and comparatively narrow net is 

 fastened along a rope with corks at intervals, and one end of the 

 rope is held by the men on the beach whilst a boat takes the net 

 out to sea and drops it along a curved line a little way from the 

 land, bringing the other end of the rope on shore at a short 

 distance. Each end of the rope is then pulled by 8 or 10 men, 



