DRIFT-NET FISHING. 49 



fact, it enters our bays and harbours mostly after the 

 spawning is over. The subject of the spawning habits 

 of sea-fish is a very interesting one, and I have now 

 noticed it, in the hope that it may receive more atten- 

 tion than hitherto from fishermen and persons who 

 have opportunities of studying it along our extensive 

 line of coast. 



DKIFT-NET FISHING. 



THIS mode of fishing has been in use for many cen- 

 turies; and although there is no evidence to show 

 where it originated, or when it was first adopted in this 

 country, there is every reason to believe that the long- 

 famous Yarmouth herring fishery, of which we hear 

 as early as the sixth century, has always been carried 

 on by means of drift nets. The importance of drift- 

 net fishing is shown by the fact, that it is the only 

 method by which fishes such as herrings, mackerel, 

 and pilchards, which generally swim at or near the 

 surface, can be readily caught in the open sea, at any 

 distance from the land, and in any depth of water 

 sufficient for the nets to float in their proper position. 



The term " drift nets " is derived from the manner 

 in which the nets are worked. They are neither 

 fixed, towed, nor hauled within any precise limits of 

 water; but are cast out or "shot," the technical ex- 

 pression for throwing out or putting a net into the 

 water, at any distance from the land where there are 

 signs of fish, and are allowed to drift in any direction 



