FISHERIES 



9 



aWe drift fisheries on the eastprn and sonthem coasts of 

 Eughiiiil, uiid thu iiiipoi'tiiiit iimckei'ul tisheiy is mainly at 

 tho westeni end of the Cliaimel. Tlio value uf that uiode 

 of fishing, technically known as " drifting or driving," will 

 be understood whim it is remembered that it is the only 

 method by which such fishea as herrings, mackerel, and 

 pilchards, which generally Hwira at or near the surface, can 

 be readily ci.nght in tlie open sea, at any distance from the 

 land, and in any dejith of water, so long as there is suffi- 

 cient for tho floating of the nets in the proper position. 

 The term " drift-net " is derived from the manner in 

 which the nets are worked. They are neither fixed nor 

 towed within any precise limits of water, but are cast out 

 or " shot " at any distance from the land where there are 

 signs of fish, and are allowed to drift in whichever direction 

 the tide may happen to take them, until it is thought 

 desirable to haul them in. The essential principle of the 

 working of the drift-net is that it forms a long wail or 

 barrier of netting hiinging for a f»w fathoms perpendicularly 

 in the water, but extending for a great length horizontally, 

 and that the fish, meeting these nets and trying to pass 

 them, become moshed ; they force their heads and gill-covers 

 through the meshes, but can go no farther ; and as the 

 gill-covers catch in the sides of the mesh, the fish are 

 unable to withdraw and escape. Whether it be mackernl, 

 herring, or pilchard, the manner in which the net works is 

 the same ; the variations which exist relate only to the 

 difference in habits and size of the fish sought after. 



We will first speak of tho Yarmouth herring fishery, one 

 of the most important English drift fishurJKs, and the one of 

 which we have the oldest records. The thriving town of 

 Great Yarmouth in Norfolk is said to have been the resort 

 of fishermen during the herring season as early as the 6th 

 century, and there is no reason for believing that the fishery 

 with which its name has bee.^ .^o long associated was ever 

 carried on by any other methor" than diift-nets, as at the 

 present day. An immense deal of information about the 

 early records of the herring fishing at Yarmouth and other 

 places has been compiled and published by Mitchell in his 

 book on Tke Hen-ing,^ and to him we must refer our 

 readers for numerous historical details on the subject ; but 

 we may mention that, according to authorities quoted by 

 him, Yarmouth was erected into a burgh by Henry I. in 

 1108, the annual payment for this privilege being "ten 

 fflilliers of herrings." The fishery was then evidently re- 

 cognized as being wll-establislied, and herrings as the 

 special trade of the town, A quaintly written account also 

 of the origin of Yarmouth, as given by Manship (who wrote 

 in 1619), is quoted in the following note by Swinden^ in 

 his history of the town : — 



" And now by pregnant prohnbilities, it is my opinion very clear, 

 that from the lamling of Ceiiliiik (ono of the Saxon adventurers) 

 in anno 495, now 1124 years past, this sand, by the defluxion of 

 tides, did by little and little lift its head above the waters ; and so 

 in short time after, sundry fishermen, as well of this kingdom, viz., 

 of the Five Ports (being then the princiiml fishermen of Kngland), 

 as also of France, Flanders, and the Low Countries, yearly about 

 the feast of St Michael ";e Archangel, resorted thither, where tliey 

 continued in tents, made for the pnqiose, by the space of forty 

 days, alx)ut the killing, trimming, salting, and selling of herrings, 

 to all that thither came for that purpose ; whereunto did resort tl\e 

 roerchants of London, Norwich, and olher places to buy herrings 

 during the season, and then lieparted ;''a8 those fishennen wlio kill 

 fish at Wardhouse use to do at this present. So in short time 

 after, as that sand became firm land, and that thereby traffic began 

 more and more to be increascil, men finding the same to be a com- 

 modious place to dwell and inliabit in, did for (' urpose gather 

 themsolres together, to have a continual reside .j therein, and 

 began tOk build houses, of which came streets, and of those streets 

 this flourishing township." 



* Tht Herring; itt IVatural History and National Importance 

 (1864). 



* Hitior^ and Antiguitia </ ^^i^*^ rarmoutk, f. 6 (1773). 



Without placing entire faith in Manship'8 cpnclnsions, 

 however, there is sutticiunt evidence of tlie antiquity of the 

 Yarmouth herring fii^liery ; and as it keeps up its repute at 

 the present day, and h, « indeed considerably iii'Teased ia 

 recent years some details of its working may be acceptable. 

 The nets used in the drift-fishing were formerly all made of 

 hemp or llax, but for some years past cotton has almost 

 entirely superseded these materials. Cotton nets are manu- 

 factured at Bridport, Manchester, Musselburgh, and other 

 places, and are about 30 yards long and 9 or 10 yards deep. 

 One of the long edges of the net, called the " back," is 

 fastened to a rope corked at regular intervals, whose pur- 

 pose is to keep that part of the net uppermost. The 

 number of such nets used by each vessel depends chiefly on 

 her size, and ranges from 80 to 130, or even more. They 

 are fastened together end to end, and thus united form 

 what is called a " train, fleet, or drift of nets," often ex- 

 tending to a length of more than a mile and a quai ^r. The 

 size of the mesh was at one time regulated by law, and the 

 smallest dimensions allowed in herring nets were one inch 

 " from knot to knot along-the line,'' or, to speak more con- 

 cisely, one inch square. Under the present fishery regula- 

 tions, however, it is wisely left to the fishermen to choose 

 a mesh of such a size as will be most etl'eotive in catching 

 the fish, and their practical good sense does not often lead 

 them ast ray in this mutter. With herrings of average size 

 the inch mesh is found to do the uu)st profitable work. 

 An exception to this freedom from restriction tn any 

 particular sized mesh exists, however, on one part of the 

 west coast of Scotland, and to ti. we shall direct attention 

 when we speak of the Scotch fisheries. Twine nets are 

 coarser than those made of cotton, and the material not 

 being so flexible, machinery cannot be satisfactorily used 

 in their manufacture ; they are therefore netted by hand, 

 and are made in narrower pieces called " deepings," which 

 are laced together one below the other to make up the 

 required dei'th. The labour of hauling in these nets is of 

 course more severe than with cotton, on account of their 

 greater weight and faculty of absorbing the water; and the 

 comparative stiffness of the mesh is not so favourable to 

 the capture of the fish when they strike the net. On the 

 other hand, it was objected to the cotton nets that the thread 

 was so fine as to cut into the fish which were meshed, and 

 to tear off their heads as tho nets were hauled in. What- 

 ever force there may be in this objection, the advantages in 

 time and labour saved both in making and working cotton 

 nets have practically decided in their favour, and cotton is 

 now almost universally employed in all our drift-fisheries. 

 Tho object of the cork-rope is, as we have said, to keep that 

 edge of the net uppermost, but in the ordinary net the 

 corks are only sufficient for that purpose, and will not 

 prevent its sinking. This is provided against by the use of 

 buoys, or " bowls," as they are called, one being attached 

 by a rope to each net, and by lengthening or shortening 

 this rope the net can be kept at any distance below the 

 surface that may be considered best for catching the fish. 

 It is always a matter of uncertainty at what depth the fish 

 may be found, and a good deal of judgment is needed in 

 sinking the nets, if there are no signs of the fish being near 

 the surface. It is found convenient to colour these bowls 

 so as to mark the divisions of the fleet of nets. The first 

 net, or the one nearest the fishing boat, is marked by a 

 small white bowl, called the " puppy," and at the end of 

 the next four nets is a " dan," or buoy with a pole carrying 

 a small flag. The rest of the nets are marked in four 

 divisions ; at the first quarter from the pole is a bowl 

 painted one quarter red and three quarters white ; the next 

 is half red and half white ; and at the beginnihg of the 

 last division the bowl is three quarters red and one quarter 

 white. All the rest of the buwls from the bej^aaing to th« 



