74 



FISHES AND FISHERIES OF THE IRISH SEA. 



out their work they cruise about on the fishing grounds, boarding the different fishing vessels 

 at sea, and measuring the nets in use, as well as in harbour. They have frequently to visit 

 the shell-fish beds, examining the fish taken and the instruments used ; also to examine the 

 stake nets set along the coast. In cases where infringements of the bye-laws are observed the 

 illegal nets or instruments are seized. Another part of the fishery officers' duty is to make 

 hauls on the fishing grounds with different kinds of fish and shrimp nets for the purpose of 

 assisting in the observations which are being made in order to discover what size of fish 

 different sized meshes will take, and where the young fish congregate. They also collect 

 samples, specimens, and tow-nettings for the work of the Scientific Department. These 

 samples are sent to be investigated in the Laboratories. The fisher}' officers have to keep 

 diaries of work done, fill up forms of results of hauls, make reports of the results of the 

 different fisheries within their divisions, report offences against the bye-laws, and attend and 

 give evidence in cases of prosecutions. 



The work done by the steamer is similar to that done by the fishery officers on their 

 sailing cutters, with the addition of surprise visits, which have to be made to the fishing 

 grounds in all parts of the district ; and with so long a coast line, this entails a great amount 

 of steaming, and, owing to the wild nature of some parts of the coast, is at times dangerous 

 work. 



The observations taken from the steamer as to results of hauls with different nets, and 

 of various meshes, are also on a larger scale the offshore grounds, Cardigan Bay and other 

 distant fishing grounds, being frequently visited for this purpose. As an example of the 

 experimental and observational work carried on by the steamer, we give here the results of a 

 series of experimental hauls, which we made in 1894, with a trawl provided with two nets, a 

 finer outside a coarser, so as to show how under-sized sea-fish can be saved by the use of a 

 larger size of mesh, which allows of their escape. 



In these trials a trawl-net of 7-inch mesh was used. This had a second net outside, of 

 4i-inch mesh, laced round the cod end in such a manner that no fish could enter the outer finer 

 net without having first passed through the meshes of the trawl-net of 7-inch mesh. 



1st Haul Queen's Channel, Mersey, August 23rd, 1894: 



In net of 7-inch 

 mesh 



i sole 



580 plaice 



73 dabs 



29 small ray 



In net of 4^-inch 

 mesh 



683 



2437 plaice 

 1976 dabs 



44 i 3 



v Net down one hour. 



These fish passed through the meshes of the net of 

 7-inch mesh, and were detained in the net of 

 4|-inch mesh, and were all undersized. 



The result of this haul shows that under ordinary circumstances in this one short drag 

 4,413 small fish would have escaped through the meshes of a trawl-net of 7-inch mesh, but 

 would have been retained in a trawl-net of 4?, -inch mesh. 



