Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1909-12-25
FORLORN FISHERS.
The North Sea Is Gradually Being
Drained of Its Golden Harvest.

Drained of Its Golden Harvest.
The herring, despite his prolific pow
ers of reproduction, Is being rapidly
ilShed out of existence in the North
sea. owing to the Introduction of steam
trawlers. which arc capable of securing
hundreds OF thousands of fish In a sin
bic catch
In Yarmouth, where the men work on
the share system, the falling supply is
causing great anxiety. and the fishing
fleets are compelled to go to Iceland,
the Bay of Blscay, and the White sea In
order to find fish in paying quantities.
Since the Introduction of tho steam
trSuwlcrS, the number of which has In
creased by leaps and bounds In the
last few years, the North sea has been
so ceaSclessly raked and scraped that
experts declare that the fish must have
several years complete rest before
traWiers can expect to make decent
haul, and many owners are seriously
proposing to transfer operations TO the
west coast.
Last year the steam trawlers were
exceptionally busy draining the North
sea of its golden harvest One day dur
ing August n catch of 10 ''crans"-a
'cran" Is about 900 good sized her
rines-was landed by one Lowestoft
boat alone; whilst 100000 herrings were
landed at the same time by other traw-
lers ct Yarmouth and GrlmSbyl
The record earnings for a season OF
13 weeks is .c26G0 for a steamer. and
e1 200 for a sailing boat; whilst Var
mouth fishermen tell OF crew which
once made GAO I'm single night
Until recently 1t was thought that the
herring was absolutely ineXhaustible,
and to be rcckoned by millions and mil
lions-indeed his name is derived from
German word 'sHeer," which signifies
the multitude in which he swlms the
seas making that wonderful light upon
the surface of the water known as
tho herring light"
Hcrrings travel in huge shoals, often
five or six miles long, and three or
four miles broad, and II Is this 1act,
coupled with the introduction of steam
trawlers and other labor-savinG de-
vices for his destruction, which causes
The herring to be caught In such large
numbers.
When IL Is realized that the annual
catch OF herrineS in the North sea
alone during the last few years mas
been the almost unthinkable quantity
of over five hundred millions OF liSn-
in 1907 it was G3O OOO, ooo-it Is not 10 pe
wondered at that the herring is begin
ming TO feel IA bit played out. and that
experts are demanding a 1ew years
rest cure" on his behalf. .
Should the bad catches continue, 1t
Will be a bad lookout for the people OIL
the east coast, and it is to be doubted
whether Lowestoft and even Yarmouth,
popular as these places are with sum
mer holiday makers, would not rather
lose their popularity with visitors tnan
be denied the autumn visit of herrihGs
to the home waters.
Few people when they purchase their
humble bloatcr or kipper give thought
to the immense home industry they are
supporting. The Dogger Bank ana
North Sea bring in more than EI0,Ooo.-
900 n year and more than 1Oooo men
are engaged In the work.
But thousands of other people are
also affected. There are the hsh-pack-
ers who deal with the herrlngs after
they are landed. and the boN-makers
and coopers Hundreds of Scottish
girls come down to the East coast
every year to split herrlngs In readi-
ness for kippering.
There are men In the curing houses,
the carters and porters. the fish-sales-
men. the wholesale buyers. clerks, boat
builders, saIl-makers. rope makers. net
mnkcrs. and any amount more people,
all dependent on the herring harvest
for the greater part of their daily
bread,
But unless the draining of the North
Sea can be stopped. the prosperity of
Yarmouth Will be no moro The colos-
snl demands of steam trawlerS and
"hsh-sorting" special trains are more
than even the multltudinous herring
can keep pace with. He must have
rest cure" acknowledgements
Weekly.