CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 265 



4:thl)ec. 1850. — The great abundance of young herrings 

 coming among the sprats in certain seasons, afforded an 

 easy supply to those indolent fishermen, at some localities, 

 who did not follow the legitimate mode, and consequently 

 these men prepared nets with small meshes, which en- 

 circled a great proportion of the young, or fry, of the herring, 

 threatening the destruction of the proper sized herrings. 

 The Board having had many complaints from different 

 quarters, even from the fishermen who fished the herrings 

 in a legal manner, wished to put a stop to such illegal 

 fishing, and directed their several superintendents to 

 apply the Act 48 Geo. III. cap. 110, which prohibits 

 using such nets, under a penalty of L.20 and the seizure 

 of the nets ; and as fishermen were enabled the more 

 easily to escape the penalties, in consequence of the boats 

 or fishing vessels not having the name on them, the Board, 

 of this date, directed a notice to be given to the fishermen, 

 that if the boats had not the name printed on them in 

 legal form the same would be seized. 



By the Act of 24:th Juhj 1851, 14 and 15 Vict. cap. 26, 

 the law which required the cured white herrings to lie in 

 the casks for fifteen free days was repealed, and the com- 

 missioners empowered to fix any other period, and they 

 accordingly reduced the time to ten days. In this Act a 

 penalty is applied to the illegally branding empty herring 

 barrels as well as full barrels ; and, by this Act, the law 

 is repealed which required that herrings exported to 

 places out of Europe should be repacked with great salt. 

 And it repeals the law prohibiting the exportation of 

 herrings in barrels under size, if shipped before the expiry 

 of the ten days after being packed, or in salt unbranded. 



It is also enacted by sect. 6, ' That wherever the 

 herring fishery is commenced or carried on,' no other 



