FISH-NOTES FROM GREAT YARMOUTH. L5 



and Lynn Fisheries during the previous season was 87,500 

 cwt. — verily a little harvest of the sea ! 



Mr. Donnison's opinion that, owing to the great restrictions 

 placed on the steam-trawlers, who on ordinary occasions follow 

 the spawning fishes " until the territorial limit is reached," 

 there should be more fish migrating thither, accords with my 

 own. He refers to a " Cod different to the Cod generally caught," 

 coming to the East Coast at the end of 1914, which " had dark 

 skins and small heads, were very plump, and went up to 29 lb. 

 in weight." A crew of long-liners received over ,£60 for catches 

 obtained in five days' fishing. By January 23rd the fish had 

 all disappeared. 



Young Codlings were brought in pretty freely on the Norfolk 

 coast in November ; on the 12th they were numerous in local 

 fish-shops. I have kept an eye upon them with a view to 

 verifying Mr. Donnison's note on the smaller- headed fish, but so 

 far have not satisfactorily done so. Codlings ran larger at 

 November end, a few up to 11 lb. (the largest) were hooked off 

 the Jetty. A sea-angler, fishing from the Britannia Pier, hooked 

 a large Cod, which broke away, taking trace and lead with it. 

 Thus encumbered, the unhappy fish soon became wearied out 

 and " blown," and the lead detached, a roughish sea tumbling 

 it ashore, when the hook, still fixed in its jaw, was identified as 

 the lost one. Fish weighed 22 lb. 



The Whitings were few, and no remarkable catches were 

 recorded ; probably the prevalence of so much easterly wind 

 may account for their scarcity. 



In the September Beport mention is made of Dog-fish 

 becoming a well-established marketable food. Hitherto those 

 taken have been used for bait. Trawling for " Pink Shrimps " 

 (iEsop Prawn) had been very remunerative, one crew's earnings 

 averaging £7 a week. " Occasionally 70 pecks were obtained 

 by a vessel in a day." It is interesting to note that horses are 

 employed around the Wash to drag nets. Crabs landed up to 

 September 30th approximately numbered 940,000, and Lobsters 

 29,050. " These totals were below those of the six seasons 

 (1909-14), the highest in Crabs being 1,250,000, and in Lobsters 

 48,100." 



Starfish (Uraster ruhena) of large size " raided " the Lynn 



