SHELLFISH 93 



Shrimps are caught with a fine-meshed trawl net, 

 drawn by a boat or by horse and cart, or with push nets or 

 hose nets. One great objection to shrimping is that the 

 shallow, sandy areas on which it takes place are much 

 frequented by young fish particularly dabs, plaice, 

 soles, whiting and codling. Owing to the small mesh 

 of the shrimp trawl, these small fish are captured in 

 large numbers and are generally dead or dying when 

 discharged from the net. Generally, the shrimps are 

 separated from the small fish by riddling, and the 

 smaller shrimps are then separated from the larger ones 

 by a second riddling process, and are returned to the 

 sea. The shrimps are thrown into boiling salt water, 

 rapidly stirred for a few seconds, and spread out on the 

 deck to cool. From three to four hauls are made per 

 da}-, a good day's fishing consisting of from 30 to 40 

 quarts of shrimps. Large numbers of shrimps are 

 potted. 



The other important group of shellfish is the mollusca. 

 Molluscs, i.e. " soft creatures, " are essentially soft, 

 mobile animals, protected by shells. They are classed 

 as bi-valves, for example oyster and mussel, and 

 uni-valves, for example limpet and whelk. There 

 is no real difference between a bi-valve and a uni-valve, 

 for what appear to be the two shells of the bi-valve 

 are really one shell divided into two parts by a line of 

 soft, uncalcified material which forms a hinge between 

 the two halves of the shell ; this hinge tends to keep the 

 shell open, but the muscular action of the living animal 

 inside keeps it closed when required. 



With the exception of the mussel, very few shellfish 

 actually live on the shore between the tide marks. 

 Most of the seashore shells are brought by the sea from 

 animals that lived in from 10 to 20 fathoms of water. 

 The cockle lives buried in the sand, about an inch below 



