LINE FISHING. 79 



whelks enter. The oldest method, perhaps, is that 

 called " trotting," and is adopted especially about 

 Harwich and near the mouth of the Thames. It is 

 virtually long-lining, but instead of having a hook at 

 the end of each short line or " snood " hanging from 

 the main line, each snood is baited with the common 

 shore crab, about twenty of these crabs being threaded 

 on each line. The carnivorous propensities of the 

 whelks here again lead to their capture, for they feed 

 eagerly on this crab-bait, and are so unwilling to leave 

 it when disturbed, that there is no difficulty in hauling 

 lines and whelks together into the boat. 



Some idea of the number of whelks required in the 

 North Sea cod fishery may be gathered from the fact, 

 that a smack takes with her on each " voyage " during 

 the regular long-line season, as many as forty wash of 

 whelks ; the " wash " being a stamped measure capable 

 of holding twenty-one quarts and a pint of water. At 

 the close of the season, about March, a smaller quan- 

 tity is sufficient. The whelks are kept in net bags, and 

 are placed in the vessel's well, where they remain alive 

 till taken out for use ; the shells are then broken, and 

 the animals extracted. 



Dogfish are the great enemies of the long-line fisher- 

 men, and in some seasons destroy immense numbers of 

 the cod, after they are hooked and before the line has 

 been hauled in. When the water is clear, the hooked 

 fish can be seen at a considerable distance, and their 

 struggles to get free only make them more likely to 

 attract the attention of the shoals of prowling " dogs." 



Long-lining is only carried on by the Grimsby boats 



