METHODS OF DEEP-SEA FISHERIES 299 



In case of all-night work the cook usually prepares cof- 

 fee about midnight and the crew have a ' * mug up. ' ' When 

 daylight finds the work only just completed it may hap- 

 pen that other fish are discovered schooling ; then the work 

 goes on as before, with no chance for sleep or rest and 

 little opportunity for refreshment. 



When the dressed fish have soaked long enough in the 

 water they are dumped out and then carefully packed into 

 the barrels, after being thoroughly salted. Here they re- 

 main one or two days to allow them time to contract and 

 settle to the normal size of a pickled mackerel. The bar- 

 rel is then filled with the fish, strong salt brine is poured 

 over them, after which the barrel is headed and stowed 

 away in the hold. If the trip is a long one the fish may 

 be inspected in the hold and if any barrels are found in 

 which the brine has leaked out they are hoisted on deck 

 and refilled. 



The life of the crew aboard a mackerel seiner is all work 

 or no work. When mackerel are abundant and school- 

 ing well, there is a great deal of hard work for the men. 

 If the weather is foggy or stormy, or if no fish can be 

 found, the amount of work required is very light. The 

 standing of watches must go on as ever, but the task is 

 easy when divided among sixteen men. There may be 

 some mending of the seine during these quiet spells, or a 

 new purse line may need to be put in, or some light work 

 done in repairing the rigging. With leisure on their hands 

 the crew do as other men in other occupations do when loaf- 

 ing, in so far as their surroundings will allow. Some lie 

 in their berths and read ; others sleep a great deal ; a knot 

 of them gather on the quarter and spin yarns; there is 

 always the sea-lawyer present to give final decision on all 

 questions that come up for consideration; and always 

 from early morn until nine in the evening one may find 

 part of the crew playing cards. There is no observance of 



