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Part III. — Eighth Annual Report 
fishing population; namely, whether the fishing with so-called 'kuil'- 
nets was injurious to the increase of the food- fishes, or whether the 
damage caused hy those nets was of no consequence. The opinion of the 
fishermen was, and is, divided in regard to this point, and this partly at 
least might be ascribed to the circumstance that those nets are not used 
by all the fishermen to the same extent and in the same way. Three 
different forms of ' kuil '-nets are to . be distinguished. There is the so- 
called ' wonder ' kuil (' the marvellously-fishing trawl ') which is slung 
between two ships ; then there is the ' kwak ' kuil, the same net as the 
' wonder ' kuil, attached behind the rudder to one vessel only, not taking 
so abundant catches as the ' wonder ' kuil does, but used with success in 
the shrimp-fishery ; finally, there is the ' dwars ' kuil, smaller than the 
others and attached to a spar which projects transversely (whence the 
name ' dwars' = ' transverse ' kuil) far beyond the sideboard of the vessel. 
The vessels using the ' dwars ' kuil are smaller than those fishing with the 
aid of the ' wonder ' and ' kwak ' kuil ; and the ' dwars ' kuil itself is smaller 
than the other trawls. In one principal point, however, all the ' kuil '- 
nets are alike ; they all take everything which enters their mouth, they 
do not choose their catch, and not only mature or full-grown fishes are 
taken, but also young and even very small ones. Originally the main 
use of the ' wonder ' kuil was for catching anchovies {Engvaulis encrasi- 
cholus), the 'kwak' kuil for catching shrimps (Crangon vulgaris), and 
the 'dwars' kuil for taking eels, and also for taking bait for the eel- 
bownets. "With the decrease of the Zuider-Zee fishery, and in consequence 
of the difficulty to gain a living from their legitimate industry, many of 
the fishermen began to use the ' wonder ' kuil and the ' kwak ' kuil for 
taking young and very small fishes, only fit to be sold to the peasants, 
who use them as food for ducks and as manure. 
It can hardly be doubted that the fish production of the Zuider-Zee has 
suffered severely from this practice, the more so as the number of the 
fishing boats has increased considerably during late years. Most pro- 
bably the increase of the fishing fleet in the Zuider-Zee has even been 
more pernicious than the fishing with the ' kuil '. In this connection the 
term ' Zuider-Zee fishery ' only means the fishing in that part of the Zui- 
der-Zee which is south of the line Enkhuizen Staveren. This part has a 
surface of only about 300,000 hectares, while over 1000 boats from 16 
to 35 tons burden, and perhaps 500 smaller ones are fishing there, and 
over 3000 fishermen, heads of families, try to gain a living from this 
limited area. 
To understand the difficulty of the case it is necessary first of all to 
know which fish form the principal object of the Zuider-Zee fishing, and 
in the second place to be acquainted with the differences which exists 
between the fishermen of the west coast of the Zuider-Zee, and those in- 
habiting the south coast. 
The herring, the flounder (Pleuronectes flesits), the anchovy, the smelt, 
and the eel are the principal fishes taken in the Zuider-Zee. Of those the 
first in every respect is the most important j the Zuider-Zee herring is 
rather small and not very fat, and in the smoked condition is highly 
esteemed, and so forms a valuable article of food not alone for the Dutch, 
for it is exported to Belgium and Germany in great quantities. This 
herring is caught in the Zuider-Zee in the early spring months, spawns in 
May and June, and begins to enter the Zuider-Zee in autumn. In mild 
winters it is taken in all months from October until May ; it ceases to 
enter, however, as soon as the water becomes too cold, so that in most 
years there is no herring fishing in the Zuider-Zee during December 
and January. The fish is in superior condition in autumn, and then 
