146 TRAWL VERSUS DRIFT-NET. 



by means of a seine-net, to which a " sole " or bottom 

 rope is attached ; and it is not so expensive to the fisher- 

 men as, while it is decidedly more productive (and, some 

 say, destructive) than, the drift. In Loch Fyne the trawl- 

 net is managed by three or four boats' crews, who row 

 round in a circle, immersing the net to a slight depth in 

 the water, and dragging it until they can join its two 

 extreme ends, the shoal of fish being swept into the 

 middle. The slower process of the drift-net, as the reader 

 knows, requires it to be paid out by the " buss " or smack 

 in a direct line, its course being indicated on the surface 

 of the waves by corks, bladders, or " bows " made of 

 tarred sheep-skins. But then the fish thus caught are 

 not crushed, pressed, or otherwise injured ; and though 

 the process is ]ess expeditious and more costly than that 

 of the trawl-net, it is probably more profitable in the long 

 run and an experienced purchaser can at once detect the 

 legal drift-net herring from the illegal trawl-net herring. 



Everybody knows that the herring is chiefly caught 

 during the night, when it approaches nearest to the sur- 

 face of the water. Its phosphoric properties, or " blaze," 

 to use the fishermen's vernacular. render the shoals 

 visible in the deepest darkness, and give to the rippling 

 waves a magical appearance of floating, flashing gems. 

 The fishermen appear to dread what they call " scoroders" 

 and "buckers" more even than the official police- boat, 

 which watches the fishing-grounds to prevent any breach 

 of the legal regulations. The "scoroders" are the jelly- 

 fishes which block up their nets, and the " buckers " are 

 large porpoises which tear the nets and prey upon the 

 herrings. 



Though an experienced fisherman seems intuitively to 



