OUR FISHERIES 69 



difficult to haul the trawl in a swell than in quite smooth 

 weather, for the rocking of the boat in an unsteady sea slacks 

 the ropes at every lurch, and these can then be wound on the 

 winch with very little efFort. A large trawl cannot be brought 

 on board in less than an hour, so that the labour involved is in 

 any case considerable. There is some local variation of the 

 time in which fishing is conducted ; whereas, for instance, the 

 Brixham trawlers keep their nets down mostly at night, seeking 

 soles and plaice for their market, the Plymouth men, knowing 

 that the cheaper kinds, such as rays and conger, will sell best at 

 the Barbican, trawl for preference during the day. The so- 

 called " prime " trawl fish include red mullet, dory, mackerel, 

 bass, turbot, brill, sole, and halibut. The cheaper fish taken 

 in this way include rays, cod, haddock, hake, gurnard, conger, 

 ling, and some others. 



It will thus be seen that the victims of the trawl include 

 representatives of widely diffisrent kinds of sea fish, those which 

 pass a great portion of their life near the surface, such as bass, 

 grey mullet, and mackerel, being taken together with the true 

 ground-feeding kinds. There are two patterns of trawl : the 

 older " beam " trawl and the newer " otter " trawl, the latter 

 having superseded the other on many parts of our coasts. The 

 beam-trawl, briefly described, is a large conical bag, the mouth 

 of which is kept open by a beam of wood shod at the 

 extremities with irons that lie on the ground. Behind the 

 beam drags the foot-rope, a stout rope which keeps the net well 

 out. The trawl-warp, nowadays made of strong steel wire, is 

 made fast to the bridle ropes. When the haul is finished, the 

 trawl is brought on board and the contents are released at what 

 is called the "cod" end — that is to say, the pointed end farthest 

 from the beam. In Lancashire waters the beam measures from 

 18 to 50 ft., and sailing trawlers are there allowed to work 

 within the three-mile limit — that is to say, at a distance less than 

 three miles from the land. Steam trawlers are, however, com- 

 pelled to keep at least three miles away, and the same restriction 



