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of feeding ; but it never pursues, as true migrants do, any 
settled route. The fishermen have to search for their fish 
day by day. In the day-time the fish are taken by the 
scool or shoal in shallow water by the seine net, a net shot 
ahead of and around them. In the night-time they are 
taken by the drift-net, a net shot over the boat’s side, 
and fastened at one end to the drifting boat, which goes 
with the wind or tide or both as may happen. The fleet 
represents a capital of about ^240,000, the property of 
bond fide fishermen, and certainly deserves the protection 
which it requires. The drifters are much put upon by 
trawlers. These latter drive in hours which belong to the 
former. Trawling is a day fishery; driving is a night 
fishery, and every now and then the slow moving, helpless, 
illegally fishing trawler comes across the nets of the equally 
helpless but legally fishing driver and carries them away. 
This happens in the night time ; the driver never has a punt 
with her and cannot ascertain the trawler’s number. In 
fact she does not know that the mischief is done until she 
hauls her nets, and she has no remedy. I have known 
^400 of damage done to the drivers in this way in a single 
week. The thing could be easily prevented ; a gunboat 
or even a Government cutter cruising on the fishing-ground 
during the two months in Spring in which the mischief 
happens, would stop the whole thing. Some years since we 
had reasons for expecting to see that gunboat come round 
the Lizard every day for three seasons in succession, but she 
never came, and we gave up expecting her. 
There is another matter in connection with our Mount’s 
Bay fleet, and I believe it affects also some of the other 
fleets, which I think may interest you. Just before the 
Jane, of which I spoke just now, was lost, a Mutual 
Fishing Boat Insurance Club was started for the Mount’s 
