PROTECTION OF DEEP SEA FISHERIES. 345 



down their yards and work under fore-and-aft canvas. 

 The principal class of vessels are those which are dandy 

 rigged, whose size averages about 50 tons. They sail 

 principally from the port of Boulogne, but there are also 

 a fair number from the ports of Fecamp, Dunkerque, and 

 Calais. They usually fish with lines or mackerel nets on 

 the Irish coast from January to June, and herring nets 

 from June to December on the North Sea. The system 

 of payment was till recently a co-operative one, each man 

 finding his share of the nets or lines, but this gradually 

 died out, to give way to the ordinary share system, which 

 was soon superseded by the standing wages system, and 

 shipping of crews by the month (each man receiving 

 about 100 francs per month), the owner providing all 

 stores and provisions, and taking all losses. 



The foregoing may be taken as a very brief description 

 of the various craft which prosecute the deep sea fishing in 

 the North Sea and off the west coast of the United Kingdom. 



The trawl-net may be briefly described as a long bag General 

 braided with twine, having a wide mouth, say 40 feet O f nets, 

 wide, gradually diminishing down to a long bag end about Trawl 

 3 feet wide. It is kept open at the mouth by the upper 

 part of it being attached to a beam, which is kept off the 

 ground by two iron heads, one at either end of the beam. 

 These are about 3 feet high. A heavy rope is attached 

 to the lower part of the mouth of the net, which drags 

 along the ground, and which is shorter than the top 

 portion, so that in dragging it along the beam and upper 

 portion cover the fish before the lower part, on which is 

 the heavy rope, comes up to them and disturbs them. 

 They then rise and find themselves enclosed, and by the 

 draught of water through the net are drawn down to the 



rrow end. The net is usually made in six pieces. 





