SEA-FISHERIES LABORATORY. 865 



may be 120 feet long. The mouth is kept open by being 

 attached to " otter boards," which are very large and 

 heav}^ wooden boards shod with iron, one edge of each of 

 which rests on the ground. They take the place of the 

 irons in the beam trawl. They are set at an angle to the 

 direction in which the net is dragged, and by being- 

 pressed outwards when pulled keep the net open. The 

 net is hauled by two warps, one of which is attached to 

 each otter board and passes in over one of the quarters of 

 the vessel. The otter trawl is stated to have an efficiency 

 37-50 per cent, over that of the beam trawl. 



These are the two principal methods of fishing in 

 this country. In Denmark the ik seine " net takes the 

 place of the trawl. The Danish Plaice seine is a bag of 

 netting about 20 feet long, the mouth of which is produced 

 out into two wings of about 180 feet in length. The depth 

 of the mouth and wings is about 7 feet. There are 5 or 

 6 meshes to the foot in the netting. The apparatus is 

 used from an anchored vessel by being " shot " in a wide 

 curve at some distance from the vessel. It is then hauled 

 by two warps, one attached to each wing. The net drags 

 on the bottom in the same manner as the trawl. In 

 Denmark the fish are landed alive, a custom which is quite 

 exceptional in British fishing, the fish being brought to 

 the port of landing preserved in ice. 



What the real value of the Plaice fishery in British 

 waters may be is difficult to determine accurately. The 

 official returns made by the Board of Trade collectors of 

 statistics show that for the year 1898, 35,788 tons of Plaice 

 having an initial value of £873,680 were landed at British 

 ports. Of this total quantity 31,544 tons were landed at 

 East coast ports, 2,355 tons on the South coast, and 1,882 

 tons on the West coast. It will be seen how important 

 the East coast Plaice fisheries are, those grounds yielding 



