FISHERIES 



.5 



now have the long boam supported nt each end by a more 

 or luHH Htirriip Hliiipcd iron lilted ut right niigleH. The next 

 thing to be coimidered in the net. Tliia was previously 

 spoken uf lis flattened and purse-shaped. When the net is 

 8|)rund uut in the manner it would bo when working, the 

 U|)pcr part or buck has its straight front edge fastened to 

 the beam, but the corresponding hiwer part or belly is cut 

 away in such a manner that tin front niiirgin forms a deep 

 curve extending from the sliio uf one trawl-head to the 

 other, the centre of the curve or " bosom," as it is called, 

 being at a considerable distance behind the beam. The 

 usual rule in English trawls is for the distance between 

 the beam and the bosom to be about the same as the length 

 of the beam. In French trawls this distance is generally 

 much less ; but in all cases the beam and back of the net 

 must [)Hss over a considerable space of ground when the 

 trawl is at work before the fish are disturbed by much of 

 the lower margin of the net. This lower edge of the mouth 

 of the trawl is fastened to and protected by the " ground- 

 rope," which is made of an old hawser " rounded " or 

 covered with small rope to keep it from chafing, and to 

 make it heavier. The ends of the ground-rope are fastened 

 at each side by a few turns round the bock of the trawl- 

 beads, just above the shoe, and the rope itself rests on the 

 ground throughout its entire curve. The fish which may 

 be disturbed by it have therefore no chance of escape at 

 either the sides or back of the net, and as the outlet under 

 the beam is a long way past them, and is steadily moving 

 on, their fate is sooner or later decided by their passing 

 over the groand-rope and finding their way into the funnel- 

 shaped end of the net, from which a small valve of netting 

 prevents their return. The ground-rope is the part which 

 directly bears on the ground, and to prevent the possibility 

 of the fish passing umler it, the rope should have some 

 weight in it so as to " bite " well, or press the ground 

 closely. It is, however, always made of old material, so 

 that it may break in case of getting foul of rocks or such 

 other chance obstruction as may be met with on the 

 geuerally smooth ground where the trawl can only be 

 worked with advantage. If in such a contingency the rope 

 were so strong and good as not to break, there would be 

 eerious danger of the tow-r(>pe snapping, and then the 

 whole apparatus might be lost; but the ground-rope giving 

 way enables the net to be cleared and hauled up with pro- 

 l>ably no more damage to it than the broken rope and 

 perhaps some torn netting. The remaining part of the 

 trawl, extending from the bosom to the extreme end, forms 

 a complete bag gradually diminishing in breadth to within 

 about the last 10 feet, which part is called the " cod or 

 purse," and is closed by a draw-rope or " cod-line " at the 

 extremity when the net is being used. This is the general 

 receptacle for the various fishes which enter the net; and 

 when the trawl is hauled up and got on board the vessel, 

 the draw-rope is cast off and the fish all fall out on the 

 deck. 



We must now say a few words about the ingenious con- 

 trivances for preveating the escape of the fish which have 

 entered the purse and reached the farthest extremity of the 

 net It has been mentioned that the body of the net 

 tapers away to the entrance to the purse. It is at this 

 point the opening of the pockets are placed; and they are so 

 arranged t}iat the fish having passed into the purse, and then 

 seeking to escape by returning along its sides, are pretty 

 sure to go into the pockets, which extend for a length of 

 about 15 or 16 feet aloug the inner side of the body of the 

 net, and there, the more they try to press forward, the 

 more tightly they become packed, as the pockets gradually 

 narrow away to nothing at their upper extremity. These 

 pockets are not separate parts of the trawl, but are made 

 0/ merely lacing together the back and belly of the net, 



beginning close to the miirgin or flule nearly on a level with 

 the bosom, and then carried on with slowly increaning 

 breadth downwards as far as the entrance to the purse. At 

 this point the breadth of the net is divided into three nearly 

 equal spaces, the central one being the opening fnmi the 

 main body of the net into the purse, or general receptacle 

 for the fish, which must all pass through it, and those 

 on (!ui:h side being the mouths of the pockets facing the 

 op[)i)site direction. The central passage has a valve or veil 

 of netting called the " flnpper," which only opens when the 

 fish press against it on their way into the purse. To under- 

 stand clearly the facilities offered to the fish to enter the 

 pockets, it is necessary to remember that the trawl, when 

 at work, is towed along, with just sufticient force to 

 ex[)and the net by the resistance of the water. But this 

 resistance directly acts only on the interior of the body of 

 the net between the pockets and then on the purse; it does 

 not at first expand the pockets, but tends rather to flatten 

 them, because they are virtually outside the general cavity 

 of the trawl, and their openings face the further end of it. 

 The water, however, which has expanded the body of the 

 net, then passes through the flapper or valve, and enters 

 the purse, which, being made with a much smaller mesh 

 than the rest of the net, offers so much resistance that it 

 cannot readily escape in that direction ; return currents are 

 consequently formed along the sides, and those currents 

 open the mouths of the pockets, which, as before mentioned, 

 are facing them ; and the fish, in their endeavours to 

 escape, and finding these openings, follow the course of 

 the pockets until they can go nc farther. The whole of 

 the net is therefore well expancied, but it is so by the 

 pressure of the water in one direction through the middle, 

 and in the opposite direction at *he sides or pockets. 



The meshes of an ordinary deep-sea trawl vary in size 

 in different parts of the net, diminishing from 4 inches 

 square near the mouth to IJ inches in the cod or purse. 

 The under part of the net, being exposed to more 

 wear and chafing than the upper, is usually made with 

 rather stouter twine ; and the purse, being especially liable 

 to injury from being dragged over the ground with a 

 weight of fish and perlm})s stones in it, has some (irotection 

 provided by layers of old netting called "rubbing pieces" 

 laoed to its under surface. The French fishermen fre- 

 quently fasten a stout hide to this part of their trawls 

 with the same object. 



A deep-sea trawl, such as has now been described, ia 

 therefore an immense bag-net, the largest size being about 

 50 feet wide at the mouth and about 100 feet long. Many of 

 these nets are much smaller, some of them not having the 

 beam more than 36 feet or even less, and the net reduced 

 in proportion ; but there has been a great increase in the 

 size of the trawl-vessels in recent years, and at the same 

 time there has been an enlargement of the nets, although 

 not quite in the same ratio. The trawl is towed over the 

 ground by the trawl-warp, generally a 6-inch rope 150 

 fathoms long, and made up of two lengths of 75 fathoms 

 each spliced together ; one end of this warp is shackled to 

 two other pieces each 15 fathoms long, and called the 

 " spans or bridles," which lead one to each end of the 

 beam, and are shackled to swivel-bolts in front of the iron 

 beads so as to give a fair pull on the whole apparatus. 



The great development of the trawl fishery in recent 

 years has led to a vast improvement in the kind of fishing 

 vessels employed in it. Fifty years ago the only deep-sea 

 trawlers were in the west of F igland, and from Barking 

 on the Thames. They were not nearly the tonnage of 

 many of the vessels now used in the North Sea, but were 

 stout, heavy, seagoing craft of their size, and ca|)able of 

 standing almost any description of weather ; and, although 

 comfortable, they were certainly not very fast At ths^ 



