MK. T. SOUTHWELL ON THE HERRING FISHERY. 
89 
salt Herrings after this can never reach a payable figure 
‘ Fresh ’ stuff will in a few days again, no doubt, command a ready 
sale. It seems almost paradoxical to talk about people starving in 
the midst of plenty, but that is what these awfully low prices mean 
to our fishermen.” 
In the last week in November the fishing was a little steadier, 
but a number of boats, fearing to incur further loss, were making 
up. Nearly all the Scotch boats had left, and reached their homes 
without any casualty ; on the whole they are believed to have done 
very fairly. The Scotch boats are not so large as ours, and do not 
go so far afield to fish ; consequently, if their catch is not so heavy, 
they, being fast boats, arrive in port sooner than ours, and their 
fish being invariably fresh and “ prime,” they secure the pick of 
the market, and realise prices accordingly ; added to this, they are 
a very sober, thrifty race, and their boats are worked at considerably 
less expense than the homo boats. During November the enormous 
number of 10,787 lasts of Herring were landed at the Yarmouth 
fish wharf. 
Early in December the fishing was rapidly drawing to a close, 
notwithstanding the vast shoals of fish. The men seemed to lose 
heart, and prices were not such as to give them renewed energy. 
Doubtless many more fish might have been brought in, but 
“ bloater stuff” at from .£6 to £7 per last, and salted fish from i:3 
to £G, offered no inducement to the boats to go out; added to 
which, about the middle of the month, owing to lack of wind, 
a good deal of fish arrived in anything but prime condition. By 
the 21st of December the fishing was over, with a result for the 
month of 1617 lasts, and for the whole voyage of 19,631 lasts. 
The principle features of the voyage may be thus summed up : — 
(1) A great glut of fish. 
(2) Great serenity of weather, so that practically nothing 
occurred to keep the boats at home. 
(3) Considerable loss, as a rule, to both owners and crews. 
The season has certainly been one of the worst, if not the worst, 
on record ; and that notwithstanding the excellent quality of the 
fish ; the weather, too, so fine, that more damage was caused to 
the fishing-gear by the over-weight of fish (in some cases a portion 
of the fleet of nets went to the ground and were utterly lost — in 
others, although recovered by the steam capstan, they were much 
