16 



Part III. — Twenty-fifth Annual Report 



tant. Many fishermen make use of more than one method, and it is 

 common for the seine-net or the drift-net to be used by the same crews 

 at different times according to the judgment of the men as to which is 

 likely to be the more successful. The set-nets, locally but improperly 

 called " trammels," are used principally at Ballantrae and on the Ayr- 

 shire coast, and also to a small extent in other localities occasionally, as 

 in the upper reaches of Loch Fyne and the Kyles of Bute. By far the 

 most important method nowadays is the seine, or so-called " trawl," as 

 is shown by the following figures representing the percentages of each 

 method of fishing in the Firth of Clyde districts for the year 1906. 



Seine-net. 



Drift-net. 



Set-net. 



Boats. 



Men. 



Herrings. 



Boats. 



Men. 



Herrings. 



Boats. 



Men. 



Herrings. 



Cwts. 



£ 



Cwts. 



£ 



Cwts. 



£ 



65 



71 



73 







70 



29 



25 



215 



25 



5 



4 



5 5 



5 



The seine-net, which is said to have been first used in Loch Fyne in 

 1838, and was then improvised from a drift-net, varies from about 150 

 to 180 yards in length when mounted on the ropes and ready for use. 

 The depth, which is the same throughout, may extend to twenty fathoms, 

 or about forty yards. The meshes of the sides or wings of the net range 

 from 33 to 35 to the yard, but in the central part or bag, where the 

 strain is greatest when the net is hauled, the meshes are 

 somewhat smaller and the twine of greater thickness. The upper 

 rope of the net is corked at intervals, and the sole 

 rope is weighted with leaden sinkers, while the draw-rope at 

 the bottom, by which the net is hauled, may be from 200 to 300 

 fathoms in length. The seine-net is worked by two boats, or pairs, each 

 of which has four men, so that eight men are employed, in connection 

 with each seine. It may be used from the shore or in shallow water like 

 an ordinary ground-seine, a method known as "scringing," and then it is 

 not uncommon for other fishes than herrings to be taken, especially flat 

 fishes on certain grounds. When employed in deep water, as towards the 

 middle of Loch Fyne, the method is known as "ringing" or "circling." 

 The pair of fishing skiffs sail slowly about, never very far apart from one 

 another, looking for the signs of herrings, and when it is decided to shoot 

 the net, the method is as follows. One of the boats is anchored or 

 stationary, and the end of the rope is passed to it from the other boat, 

 which then moves off paying out the net as it goes, and after making a 

 sweep to enclose the fish it returns to the stationary boat. The net is 

 then hauled, care being taken as far as possible to prevent the escape of 

 the herrings downwards by drawing the lower edge of the net under them 

 as the circle is contracted; this edge is then brought on board, and the 

 breadth of the net forms a bag in which the herrings are contained, and 

 from which they are removed to the boat. This method of fishing is 

 sometimes very successful, enormous quantities of fish being occasionally 

 obtained, and it is not uncommon for the net to burst owing to the weight 

 of herrings in it. From the fact that the meshes of the seine are narrow, 

 and the strain upon them when hauling tends to contract them still 



