LINE-FISHtfrO. 309 



during the cod season from some of the stores, and then a 

 remarkable scene takes place, and one peculiar to Grimsby 

 and Harwich the latter being also a storing place for live 

 cod. A chest of fish is towed alongside an old hulk kept 

 for the purpose close to the quay of the fish-market, and 

 is hoisted just out of the water, which drains through the 

 bottom of the box and leaves the fish dry. The cover is 

 then taken off, and a man gets into the opening and takes 

 out the fish, seizing them by the head and tail. The 

 commotion amongst perhaps forty or fifty cod just out of 

 the water is of course very great, and it is often no easy 

 matter to get a firm hold of them ; but, one after another, 

 they are lifted out and thrown upon the deck of the hulk, 

 where they are taken in hand by another man who per- 

 forms the duties of executioner ; he grasps the fish tightly 

 behind the head with his left hand, holds it firmly on the 

 deck, and giving two or three heavy blows on the nose 

 with a short bludgeon, kills it at once. It is sometimes a 

 difficult thing to hold a large and lively fish by one hand, 

 but the work is generally skilfully performed, and the dead 

 fish rapidly accumulate into a large heap, whence they are 

 taken on shore to be packed in bulk in the railway trucks 

 waiting close by to receive them. Each truck will hold 

 about twelve score of good-sized fish, and they are sent off 

 so as to arrive at Billingsgate for the market the next 

 morning. Such fish are known in the trade as " live cod," 

 and command the best prices. 



Long-lines are used on various parts of our coasts for 

 catching several kinds of fish, and in parts of Scotland the 

 deep-sea lines are known as " great-lines " as distinguished 

 from the smaller ones employed nearer the land for 

 catching haddocks. In the Shetlands long-lines are used 

 entirely for the important home fishery for ling and tusk, 



