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BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 
being 10 feet at the ends and 20 feet towards the middle, where the bag commences. 
The bag is small-meshed (1£ to 2 centimeters) and well corked at the head to keep it well 
open whilst in motion. It is also extra weighted at the foot, so that it falls quickly to 
the bottom and is thus trawled along the ground, the boats being under full sail, the 
faster the better, the Italian fishermen fishing in almost all kinds of weather. Two 
pieces of wood are fastened longitudinally to the under side of the bag to protect it 
from friction with the ground and to enable it to slide along with greater facility. 
The value of the cocchia is about 100 florins. This mode of fishing was prohibited by 
the Venetian Republic in former times and by the Austrian Government by the enact- 
ment of 1835; but the want of organized inspection rendered it impossible to enforce 
the prohibition, and it is once more recognized under the Austro-Hungarian and 
Italian treaties of commerce of 1867 and 1878.* 
A stationary form of fyke net is used in the Venetian lagoons and the head 
waters of the Adriatic Sea. The fish are led into the fykes ( cogoli ) by means of con- 
verging screens or hedges ( serragli ) constructed of netting or reeds. As the tide 
recedes, the fish which may be inclosed within the hedges find their way into the 
cogoli , which are drawn up by means of a float to which they are attached, and are 
emptied of their contents. 
In Spain and Portugal some of the fykes resemble the nets of northern Europe; 
some are similar to those of Italy and Austria; and some appear to be more or less 
peculiar to this part of Europe. Representations of some nets used in Portugal are 
shown in plates lxxxix and xc, the illustrations being copied from a report t on the 
fisheries of that country. 
The typical fyke is known in Portugal as the botirao , which is described in the work 
referred to as a “ trap ( armadilha ) made of bows and netting, with a pyramidal or 
prismatic form, having a funnel-shaped opening through which the fish enter.” The 
forms recognized are the movable or set fyke ( botirao de deitar ), the hand fyke (botirao 
de mao), and the stationary fyke ( botirao fixo). One of the most extensively used is 
the first named, shown in plate lxxxix , fig. 4. It has an arched entrance and 4 hoops, 
the second of which is largest, a short funnel arising from the second hoop. Connected 
with either side of the arch and extending backward along the hoops is a pole, which 
enters the cavity of the net at the third hoop, proceeds through the end of the final 
compartment, joins its fellow, and is finally fastened at a stake driven into the bottom 
a short dist jm the net. A heavy stone is placed in the arched entrance and 
another is tie : ;o the united side poles beyond the end of the net. From the top of 
the last hoop a piece of bait is suspended within the net. Two other forms of fykes, 
with only a single hoop, are represented in plate xc. One has a square entrance, 
supported by stakes, occupying the anterior third of the length of the net, the hoop, 
funnel, and bag constituting the remaining part. The other style has a leader, 
somewhat longer than the net proper, proceeding from the shore, the entire net being 
weighted and buoyed. 
Another form of Portuguese fyke, having the general appearance of a pot, is shown 
in plate lxxxix , fig. 3. It is called a muzuar , and consists of four broad bands of 
metal supporting a short bag; there is one funnel, and the end of the net is closed 
by a round door on a hinge, as is well exhibited in the figure. This net is employed 
principally in the capture of lampreys. 
* The Fisheries of the Adriatic. 
tEstado Actual das Pescas em Portugal. Por A. A. Baldaque da Silva. Lishoa, 1892. 
