48 The Commercial Products of the Sea. 



report by Mr. Frank Buckland, fishery inspector, we are 

 able to glean some valuable statistics. Yarmouth for 800 

 years past has been celebrated for its herring fishery. The 

 total value of luggers, trawling smacks, and other vessels, 

 with the various buildings on shore belonging to the 

 herring and trawling fisheries, is supposed to be little short 

 of ^750,000 sterling at the present time. 



The fishing vessels belonging to Yarmouth and Gorles- 

 ton are : — 



First class, over 15 tons, luggers and smacks ... ... 512 



Second class, over 2 tons and under 15 tons ... .. 459 



Total .. 971 



The crews of these vessels would average eight hands. 

 There are also 37 small boats, with an average of two men, 

 and about 120 Scotch and West country vessels, which 

 land their fish in Yarmouth harbour during the herring 

 season. 



Of late years the number of boats and men has greatly 

 increased, and the depth and length of the nets have also 

 been augmented. Fourteen years ago there used to be 

 about 15 yards on a rope ; now an ordinary net is from 18 

 to 20 yards on the rope. Then the boats used to fish from 

 61 to 91 nets each ; now they fish from lOi to 161 nets. 



Many boats now fish with nets a mile and a third 

 long ; some boats have been known to use nearly two 

 miles of nets. During the months of September, October, 

 and November, it would be well within the mark to state 

 that there are fishing for herrings every favourable night in 

 the North Sea between 5000 or 6000 miles of netting. 

 Formerly the herring nets were made of twine ; of recent 

 years they are nearly all made of cotton. Cotton is much 

 softer, and fishes better than twine. 



