The Coolidge examiner., 1935-02-15

Prepared By National Geographic Society.
Washington. y C-WSt Service.
\ZARMOUTH, Eagland. is In
sepurable from the sea-and
u the herring harvest Here
from October 10 December. herring
is king Hundreds of steam drifters
clutter the harbor OF the worlds
premier herring port. Tackles rat
tie; trucks and carts clatter over
the curing yards with bulky loads
Of fish baskets and coal; auc-
tioneers cry for bids from local and
foreign buyers; and. as back
ground TO shrieking whistles and
sundry other noises, there Is the
constant ring of laughter and chat
ter OF the rhythmic Gaelic tongue.
Incoming trains carry into Var
mouth some $500 Scottish fisher
girls and many hundreds OF long
shoremen TO handle and cure the
herring catches.
Here resort also the butchers and
bakers and sweetmeat makers. for
Scottish palates must be catered
10. Churches announce special sery-
ices. entertainment societies flour
ish. and shopkeepers display goods
TO appeal to the fisher folk. Count
less window signs urge visitors to
"Send a box OF famous Yarmouth
bloaters 10 your friends" while
candy makers. not To be outdOne.
advertise yarmouth rock. the can
dy with the fish center In It's IA
vor, however. II should be said the
FISH center of the candy refers to
n colored fish design In the stick
rather than to the flavor.
The bustling pageant centers on
Yarmouth's water front. Lowestoft.
also. a few miles distant down the
coast. presents similar scene OF
lesser magnitude.
IL seems almost incredible that
the fishermen should rely SO def
nitely on the belief that the vast
herring shoals are nj such n spe-
cific location at a certain time. But
for centuries the fish have ap-
peared with such unfalling regular
lty at their annual feeding and
spawning grounds that never las
n fishing season been without sue
cess.
They May Be Delayed a Trifle.
In some seasons. II Is true. their
appearance has been delayed for a
short time by local conditions OF
the water and unusual current.
Early In the 1893 season unusual
conditions did exist TO delay the
migration. Two large areas of
floating organisms (Phaeocystis and
Biddulphia sinensis), often referred
TO by fishermen as "weedy water"
or ''Dutchman's baccy juice" (be-
cause Of its brownish COLOR, lay
directly across their normal path.
Its recognized distastefulness to
the fish had halted their progress,
but by going around or making a
hurried dash through the obstacle,
the vast shoals eventually returned
unerringly to their old haunts.
The gill nets are about 80 yards
long by half that width and are
buoyed up to within 10 feet Of the
surface by inflated canvas pallets.
Although usually about 100 nets
are employed by each drifter, su-
perstltiOn dictates the use Of an un-
even number.
Many other superstitiOns prevail
among the herring fishing hands.
Deeply religious, as so many of the
Scottish fishermen are, they never
like TO see a minister come any
where near their boats. Herring
bones have TO be disposed of by
other means than burning, as an
ancient saying runs: Catch me,
kill me. but don't burn my bones"
Catches Are Enormous.
When hauled aboard. many of the
nets have the appearance of thick
silyery blankets, so closely together
are the fish massed. Some of the
crews. who are fortunate enough
70 land all or a greater portion of
their nets after long hours Of IA
tiguing labor, come into port with
cargoes of from 100000 to nearly
100000 herrings.
On the English drifters share
system prevails. Profits are divid-
ed into 16 shares, Of which nine go
to the owner of the boat and the
other seven to the crew.
Ashore the catch must be cured,
packed. and 0arreled for shipment.
A comparatively small but in
creasing portion of the catch is
"klondyked'--that is, iced fresh
when they are landed-and shipped
for immediate consumption. 9th
ers are converted into "bloaters, -"
"kippers," and ''reds"-all three
methods of curing which originated
in Yarmouth. Nearly half Of all Of
fhe landings however, are picked