482 
MR. G. H. HARRIS ON THE HERRING FISHERY. 
the share-system seems to assure a fair bonus at the end of the 
voyage. 
Prices were, undoubtedly, held down this year by the poor 
quality of the fish. It was a mild season, and in mild weather 
Herring are never good. There was noticeable this year as last year, 
a great demand for the pickled Herring in barrel, a trade which 
bids fair to entirely supplant the old bloater business, so far as 
foreign markets are concerned. 
The bloater is a somewhat discredited commodity on tlie Mediter- 
ranean shores, shipments having seriously deteriorated in quality 
during the last few years. The year 1898 may be taken, too, as 
signalising the advent of the steam drifter, which must be carefully 
distinguished, of course, from the steam trawler. Steam drifters 
are not a novelty, but their muster has been too small to exercise 
an appreciable influence in the trade. This year they numbered 
twenty, and can no longer be reckoned a negligeable quantity. 
Probably they are destined to extirpate the sailing lugger, just 
as the capitalist who will own them will drive out the small 
boat-owner, and so the Herring fishing will develop on the lines of 
the trawling industry. The new fashion of following the fish 
round ilie coast, and the Mackerel fishing off Ireland, all tends to 
pull things in this direction. It would not pay to build a steamer 
that could follow her business for three months only and lay up on 
the “hard” for the rest of the year, as the old luggers did. But if 
a plan can be found whereby she can drift for the better part of 
the year, she may pay. And apparently, in the development of 
the West Coast and Irish fishings, such a place has been found. 
Opinions, however, differ as to whether the effect will be detrimental 
to the trade or no. Many people think the fishing pays only as 
gambling may be said to pay, where some people get rich prizes 
and others suffer ruin. Markets, they argue, will always be in 
equilibrium, the speculative element will be nearly eliminated ; and 
a constant supply of the Herring, as a food-stuff, will pay no one 
a sufficient dividend to make the game worth the candle. 
The land of fish on the Yarmouth Fish Wharf (19,025 lasts) 
was about 21 per cent, below that of last year; that of Lowestoft 
(about 11,905 lasts) 18 per cent, below. The number of boats 
fishing from the two ports was 638 (332 from Yarmouth including 
190 Scotch), a decrease of no less than 218 boats, due to the small 
number of Scotch boats at Lowestoft. These 638 boats caught 
30,430 lasts, giving an average catch of about 47.75 lasts, or 5.25 
