10 THE FISHING INDUSTRY 



sea. This naturally enabled the fishing boats to catch 

 more fish, and also made possible the use of larger boats 

 fishing further afield. A logical development of this 

 step was the construction of actual steam-driven fishing 

 boats trawlers and drifters. These steamers soon 

 proved to be superior to the sail boats. They were able 

 to fish in all weathers, even in a calm. Owing to their 

 greater power, also, they were able to use much larger 

 nets and fish in deeper waters. 



Steam trawlers and drifters are much more expensive 

 than smacks or sailing drifters. They can only be 

 berthed and handled satisfactorily in harbours that are 

 equipped for the unloading and dispatching of large 

 quantities of fish. From the very beginning these 

 steamers were owned by large limited companies rather 

 than by individuals, and the industry has tended to 

 become more and more centralized at certain large ports, 

 for example, Aberdeen, Hull, Grimsby, Yarmouth, 

 Lowestoft, Milford Haven, and Fleetwood. The rise and 

 development of many of these ports, for example, 

 Aberdeen and Fleetwood, has been in direct response to 

 the demands made upon them by the new steam fishing 

 industry. 



The introduction of steam fishing made longer voyages 

 possible, and led to the development of new fishing 

 grounds. Steam trawlers from British ports now fish 

 as far north as Iceland and the White Sea, as far west as 

 Newfoundland, and as far south as Morocco, making 

 voyages of many week's duration. 



The re-organization of the fishing industry led to 

 specialization amongst the fishermen themselves. The 

 old sailing fisherman was essentially an all-round man. 

 He was equally expert at lining, drifting and trawling. 

 The skipper of a steamer, however, is a specialist ; he 

 is either a liner-, a drifter-, or a trawler-man. Generally, 



