of the Fishery Board for Scotland. 



many empty hooks come in. As the fishes are drawn over the gunwale 

 they are expertly swung into the further (broad or high) end of the 

 basket, and two other fishermen quickly remove tbem from the hooks, and 

 either throw them into the boxes or into the hold. In removing the hooks 

 from the fishes considerable laceration occasionally occurs, and in the 

 majority loss of blood to a greater or less extent takes place. Every fish 

 as a rule is alive and vigorous when drawn in, and several jerk them- 

 selves from the hooks just before reaching the gunwale. A wary fisher- 

 man, however, is generally ready with a landing-net and regains most of 

 them. The external appearance of the fishes is very satisfactory, for 

 being pulled singly through the water the cupreous sheen of most of the 

 haddocks is undimmed, while the cod, whiting, whiting-pout, flat-fishes, 

 and other forms are almost faultless in their several tints, when unin- 

 jured by predatory marine forms. The fishes are placed in boxes' accord- 

 ing to species and size, a box being set apart for odd fishes, such as young 

 cod, whiting-pout, and whiting. No water is allowed to touch the fishes 

 after removal from the lines. 



If the lines are shot on hard ground, i.e., on a stony bottom, they some- 

 times give way, leaving a longer or shorter portion with the hooked fishes 

 at the bottom. The broken line is searched for with a grapnel, and if 

 success attends the efforts the hauling-in is continued up to the last buoy, 

 sinker, and flag. Otherwise the boat is steered for the three latter, which are 

 taken on board, and the lines are drawn up from this end. The hauling 

 of the lines varies in duration according to circumstances, a period of from 

 20 to 25 minutes being an average space for each line. 



When the boats go to the ground in company it is evident that care 

 must be taken to shoot in a direction parallel to that of their neighbours, 

 else the lines might cross, and each might haul up a neighbour's lines 

 with his own, and thus fishes which are the property of others would be 

 brought in tempting proximity. This crossing of the lines might readily 

 happen when the boats have been somewhat early on the ground and 

 are ' lying-to ' till daylight approaches. If in such circumstances one boat 

 be started early, and a lantern instead of a flag be placed on the first pole, 

 the nearest fisherman might imagine the light to indicate his neighbour's 

 boat, and proceed by-and-by to shoot his lines right across those already 

 on the bottom. 



The black flags used by the liners have been found more useful than 

 white, since they are much more readily detected both against the horizon 

 and the water as it glimmers in the feeble morning light. A lantern on 

 the pole is somewhat heavy, unless special precautions are taken to balance 

 it, and then it is readily fractured, especially in rough weather. A keen 

 eye, however, does not alw^ays make out a black flag in the gray morning 

 light, especially if no boat be in sight, or if a slight mist be present. 



As soon as the lines are hauled the boat makes for the harbour, the 

 helmsman and the watch taking up their duties, while the other men 

 either rest or go over the lines, removing the mussels, star-fishes, and 

 small fishes, and ' bending ' the hooks on the twisted hemp. 



Injuries to Baited Hooks and to Fishes on the Lines, 



The injuries to food-fishes in the sea after capture off St Andrews are 

 not numerous, though they deserve attention. It is also noteworthy that 

 such lowly organised forms as the ordinary anemones {Tealia, kc) would 

 appear to cause injury when six or eight of them seize on the mussels 

 and hooks, for the strain causes rupture of the line. Their presence on 



