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THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



THE PROSPERITY OP BRITTANY DEPENDS 

 ON THE SARDINE 



Like other free-swimming oceanic fish, 

 of which the mackerel, bluefish, and her- 

 ring are conspicuous examples, the sar- 

 dine varies in abundance from year to 

 year, and at times has been exceedingly 

 scarce on the French coasts. Thus, 

 from 1887 to 1890 there was an alarming 

 scarcity, but after this four-year period 

 the fish returned in as great numbers as 

 ever. Again, from 1902 to 1906 the sar- 

 dine disappeared almost completely, only 

 to be followed by a period of great abun- 

 dance. All sorts of theories have been 

 advanced to account for these periods of 

 scarcity, which appear to be coming more 

 frequently than formerly and are giving 

 the French government and people much 

 concern. Among the causes assigned 

 are over-fishing, the ravages of other 

 fishes and of whales, the explosion of 

 submarine mines and torpedoes in the 

 French naval maneuvers, and divine 

 providence. 



It is difficult for us to realize what the 

 failure of the sardine fishery means to 

 the inhabitants of Brittany, for nowhere 

 in our country has the failure of a fishery 

 produced anything like the same results 

 as in this little French province. Re- 

 membering that fishing is the principal 

 occupation of the people, that the sardine 

 is the principal fish, and that the fishery 

 and the canneries bring in most of the 

 money, you may be able to appreciate 

 how it is possible in the winter following 

 several poor seasons for 20,000 fishermen 

 and 60,000 women and children to be in a 

 state of actual starvation, with absolutely 

 no means of helping themselves and de- 

 pendent on the bounty of the government 

 and private persons of means. The pitia- 

 ble plight of the Breton fishermen and 

 factory hands and their families has been 

 told again and again during the present 

 generation and the harassing tale has 

 aroused the sympathy of all civilized 

 countries. 



The fishery is conducted with small, 

 wide-beam, open boats, carrying two 

 rather tall masts, each with a large, 



square lugger sail. The boats are pro- 

 pelled also by oars, which are of an ex- 

 ceedingly clumsy type, the blade being 

 small and narrow, while the shaft is 

 square and four inches in diameter. 

 The length of the oars is extraordinary, 

 averaging 33 feet, and as only one man 

 plies each oar, we often find heavy stones 

 tied on the butt in order to counteract the 

 weight of the long shaft and blade. 



In the early days of the fishery, nets 

 were employed to surround the schools 

 of sardines, and then stones were thrown 

 to frighten the fish into the meshes. In 

 this way large catches were often made 

 and the markets were glutted, so the 

 method came into disrepute and is no 

 longer followed. Fishing is now done 

 exclusively with gill-nets made of fine 

 cotton twine ; the nets are 45 yards long 

 and 500 meshes deep, and the comple- 

 ment of each boat is 10 nets, representing 

 3 degrees of fineness, adapted for small, 

 medium, and large fish. The nets are 

 kept in position in the water by means of 

 numerous cork floats and a few large 

 stone sinkers. 



A peculiar thing about the nets is that 

 by means of an anilin they are dyed a 

 bright greenish blue. This is for the 

 purpose of preserving them and of ren- 

 dering them less conspicuous in the 

 water. When the nets are suspended 

 from the mastheads to dry, they add 

 greatly to the picturesqueness of the fish- 

 ing boats and the wharf scenes. 



Sardines are caught more or less 

 throughout the year, but fishing is largely 

 suspended from December to February, 

 and the most extensive fishing is in sum- 

 mer and autumn. The boats start out 

 early in the morning, so as to be on the 

 ground when day breaks. The best fish- 

 ing is then had, and the boats are often 

 back to port by 9 or 10 o'clock with full 

 cargoes. 



When a boat arrives on the grounds 

 the rear mast is taken down and the craft 

 is headed toward the wind. If there is 

 no wind, the sails are lowered and the 

 boat is rowed by the four members of 

 the crew. A net is put overboard and is 

 slowly towed behind the boat by means 



