476 
MR. T. SOUTHWELL ON THE HERRING FISHERY. 
IX. 
NOTES ON THE HERRING FISHERY OF 1887. 
By Thomas Southwell, F.Z.S. 
Read 2 Sth February, i888. 
In tlie midst of the deep depression which has so long prevailed in 
almost every branch of industry, it is pleasing to be able to point 
to one bright spot in the gloomy prospect. There can be no doubt 
that, compared with the results of the past few years, the autumn 
Herring voyage, especially from Yarmouth, has been a fairly 
successful one, and that both curers and boatowners, more 
particularly the latter, who have been such severe sufferers of late, 
have every reason to be satisfied with their “ making up.” There 
have been no extremely high prices ; and the catches, although 
frequently very good, have not been extraordinary ; the qualit}'^ also 
has been fairly good on the average. But the two circumstances 
which have tended so much to help the boatowners and men are 
the absence of the gluts which in previous years have had such 
a disturbing effect on tlie markets, and the fact that, with the 
exception of the latter half of October, the weather has been 
exceptionally fine, resulting in a freedom from the heavy losses of 
boats and gear which so frequently blight the prospects of what 
might otherwise have proved a successful voyage. As Lowestoft 
makes a greater feature of the Spring Fishery, which as I shall have 
to explain further on proved as usual a failure, the commercial 
result for that port for the year would not be so good as Yarmouth, 
but I think with the result of the autumn voyage from Lowestoft 
there was every reason to be fairly satisfied. 
In my remarks last year on the pernicious effects produced by 
the use of too small a mesh in the herring nets (pp. 377 — 8), 
I gave some e.xtracts from the report of the Scottish Fishery 
