LINE FISHING. 83 



times all in use, and containing from 15,000 to 20,000 

 live cod. 



Every day during the cod season a remarkable scene 

 is presented here, and the same thing occurs at Harwich, 

 although on a smaller scale, Grimsby and Harwich 

 being the two ports where the live cod are stored. A 

 certain number of fish being wanted for market, the 

 salesmen make their preparations accordingly, and the 

 cod are taken out of the chests and killed. I say 

 killed, because the fish are not merely taken out of the 

 water and allowed to die, but they are dispatched in a 

 very summary manner. A chest of cod is brought 

 alongside an old hulk kept for the purpose, and moored 

 in the dock close to the market-place ; tackles from a 

 couple of davits are then hooked on to the handles, and 

 the chest is hoisted up till nearly clear of the water, 

 which drains through the bottom and leaves the fish 

 dry. The cover is then taken off, and a man gets into 

 the opening and takes out the fish, seizing them by the 

 head and tail. As may be supposed, the commotion 

 among fifty or sixty cod just out of the water is very 

 great, and it is often a work of difficulty to get a good 

 hold of the fish ; but, one after another, they are lifted 

 out and thrown up to the deck of the hulk, when they 

 come into the hands of another man, who acts as execu- 

 tioner ; he grasps the fish tightly behind the head with 

 his left hand, holds it firmly on the deck, and giving a 

 few heavy blows on the nose with a short club, kills it 

 at once. It is sometimes as much as can be done to 

 hold down a large and lively fish on the slippery deck, 

 whilst giving it the coup de grace; but the work is 



G 2 



