xxvi BRITISH FISHERIES 



more efficient than the beam-trawl, but it is only 

 suitable for the larger boats. 



Lining. — A considerable proportion of the deep- 

 sea fishes landed is, however, caught by means 

 of "long lines." In some form or other this 

 is, of course, the most ancient method of fishing. 

 A typical long line may be as much as seven 

 miles in length, and is made up of a number 

 of pieces. At intervals of about a fathom, pieces 

 of line two or three feet long — the " snoods," 

 which carry hooks — are attached, and a long 

 line carried by a deep-sea " liner " may carry 

 seven thousand hooks. Ropes and buoys mark 

 the position of the line as it lies on the bottom, 

 one buoy being situated at each end of the line, 

 and one at each intermediate mile. The line 

 is " shot " in the evening and fished at morning. 

 The hooks are baited principally with whelks or 

 mussels. 



Drift-netting. — Trawling and lining are carried 

 on at any depth down to about a hundred fathoms, 

 and anywhere and everywhere almost round the 

 British Isles from Iceland to the Bay of Biscay. 

 It will be evident to the reader that only such 

 fish — soles, turbot, plaice, halibut, cod, ling, and 

 haddock, etc. — as lie at the bottom will be taken 

 by either method. There is, however, an abun- 

 dant class of fishes, living at any depth from the 

 surface to the bottom, for the capture of which 

 neither of the above methods is applicable, and 



