52 NORTH SEA FISHERS AND FIGHTERS 



placed in front of their vessels possibly the forerunner 

 of the torpedo-net-cutters to enable them to cut through 

 a fleet of nets without any interruption. 



The trawl revolutionised North Sea fishing and 

 drove out of the industry the old-fashioned methods. 

 From half a dozen in the early Sixties the smacks grew 

 in number until, twenty years later, there were 3000 

 British deep-sea trawlers, excluding the steam-carriers, 

 for, in spite of expert prophecies, it was found necessary 

 and profitable to employ steamboats to convey the fish 

 to market from the fleets. Even an authority like Holds- 

 worth, writing in 1874, when steam-carriers were at work 

 and a " steam-cutter fish-carrying company " had just 

 begun working from Yarmouth, wrote : "It is yet a 

 question whether it will pay to apply steam to the actual 

 trawlers." Yarmouth led with 700 smacks, mostly 

 owned by Messrs. Hewett, and Hull and Grimsby came 

 next, these three ports possessing about 1500 smacks, 

 the rest being attached to other ports around the 

 coast. 



It was calculated at that time that the total amount 

 of the capital invested in the industry was not less than 

 ^15,000,000, and that no fewer than 20,000 men and 

 boys were exclusively employed in deep-sea trawling, 

 mostly on the North Sea. From the earlier vessels of 

 24 and 35 tons the smacks had grown to a tonnage of 

 90 in some cases, with a corresponding increase in the 

 size of beam and net, the beam being as long as 50 ft., 

 and the net having a length of 70 ft. 



The cost of a modern, thoroughly well-equipped 

 sailing trawler was as high as ^1600, and, exclusive of 

 the wages paid, the yearly working expenses were about 



