190 BRITISH IND USTRIES. 



The boats with their crews are divided by them into 

 three classes independently of tonnage, and this plan 

 enables us in some measure to understand who are in- 

 cluded under the head of Fishermen. 



In 1875, the number of craft solely engaged in 

 fishing was 1341, and crews 6241 ; mostly engaged in 

 fishing boats 602, crews 1870; only partially engaged 

 in fishing boats 3976, crews 14,997; total boats 

 5919, total crews 23,108. To persons who are not 

 familiar with the habits of many of the coast popula- 

 tion in Ireland, it will probably cause some surprise to 

 hear, on the authority of the Inspectors, that the boats 

 and men in the third division, or those only partially 

 engaged in fishing, are not employed in that occupation 

 on an average for more than one month in the year. 

 The boats in this division form two-thirds, and the 

 men nearly that proportion, of the total number of 

 sea-fishing boats and fishermen in Ireland. 



The duty of collecting the information relating to 

 the number of Irish boats and fishermen devolves on 

 the Coastguard ; but there are extensive lines of coast 

 in some of the wilder and less populated districts, 

 which are not often visited by these officers ; and under 

 these circumstances, it is often impossible to depend on 

 the accuracy of the returns of either boats or men. 

 The returns furnished also by the Customs are in some 

 cases obviously incorrect, and I cannot attempt to 

 explain how, in 1875, they give 367 more boats, and 

 3739 more fishermen than appear in the undoubtedly 

 more carefully prepared returns furnished by the In- 

 spectors. As the statistics of fishing boats, published 



