The Spanish Court at the late Fisheries Exhibition was large and well
furnished, there being several characteristic models of vessels. No
certain figures can be obtained of the results of the whole fishing
industry of Spain. It is, however, estimated that 14,202 boats, with a
tonnage of 51,397 tons, were employed during the year 1882. They gave
occupation to 59,974 men, and took about 78,000 tons of fish. The
Government interfere in the fishing industry only to the extent of
collecting and distributing information to the fishermen on subjects
that are most likely to be of use to them in their calling. In
consequence, principally no doubt of this wise policy, we find in
Spain a vigorous and self-reliant class of men engaged in the
fisheries. Some of the most interesting features in the Spanish Court
were the contributions sent by the different fishermen's associations,
and although the Naval Museum of Madrid supplied a collection of
articles that would have formed a good basis in itself for an
exhibition, yet in no other foreign court was the fishing industry of
the nation better illustrated by private enterprise than in that of
Spain. The fishing associations referred to are half benefit societies
and half trading communities. That of Lequeito has issued a small
pamphlet, from which we learn that this body consists of 600 members
divided into three classes, viz., owners of vessels, patrons or men in
charge, and ordinary fishermen. A board of directors, consisting of 22
owners, and 24 masters of boats or ordinary fishermen, has the sole
control of the affairs of the society. The meetings are presided over
by a majordomo elected triennially, and who must be the owner of a
boat over 40 ft. long. This functionary receives a stipend of 8,000
reales a year, a sum which sounds more modest when expressed as 80_l_.
He has two clerks, who are on the permanent staff, to help him. His
duties are to keep the books with the assistance of the two clerks, to
take charge of the sales of all fish, recover moneys, and make
necessary payments. In stormy weather he gets up in a watch tower and
guides boats entering the harbor. The _atalayero_ is an official of
the society, whose duty it is to station himself on the heights and
signal by means of smoke, to the boats at sea, the movements of
schools of sardines and anchovies or probable changes of weather. It
is also the duty of this officer to weigh all the bream caught from
the 1st November to the 31st of March, for which he receives a
"gratuity" of 100 pesetas, or say 4_l._, sterling. Two other señeros,
or signalmen, are told off to keep all boats in port during bad
weather, and to call together the crews when circumstances appear
favorable for sailing. Should there be a difference of opinion between
these experts as to the meteorological probabilities, the patrons, or
skippers of the fishing-boats, are summoned in council and their
opinion taken by "secret vote with black and white balls." The
decision so arrived at is irrevocable, and all are bound to sail
should it be so decided; those who do not do so paying a fine to the
funds of the association. The boats carrying the señeros fly a color
by means of which they signal orders for sailing to the other vessels.
These señeros appear to be the Spanish equivalent to the English
admiral of a trawling fleet.
The boats used by these fishermen are fine craft; one or two models of
them were shown in the Exhibition. A first-class boat will be of about
the following dimensions: Length over all, 45 ft. to 50 ft.; breadth
(extreme), 9 ft. to 10 ft. 3 in.; depth (inside), 3 ft. 10 in. to 4
ft. The keel is of oak 6 in. by 3½ in. The stem and stern posts are
also of oak. The planking is generally of oak or walnut--the latter
preferred--and is 3 in. thick, the width of the planks being 4½ in.
Many boats are now constructed of hard wood to the water line and
Norway pine above.
The fastenings are galvanized nails 4½ in. long. The mast-partners and
all the thwarts are of oak 1½ in. thick and 8 in. wide; the latter are
fastened in with iron knees. Lee-board and rudder are of oak, walnut,
or chestnut; the rudder extends 3½ ft. to 4 ft. below the keel, and,
in giving lateral resistance, balances the lee-board, which is thrust
down forward under the lee-bow. The rig consists of two lags, the
smaller one forward right in the eyes of the boat; the mainmast being
amidships. The lug sails are set on long yards, the fair-weather rig
consisting of a fore lug with 120 square yards, and a main lug of 200
square yards. There are six shifts of sail, the main being substituted
for the fore lug in turn as the weather increases, in a manner similar
to that in which our own Mounts Bay boats reduce canvas. The fair
weather rig requires two masts 42 ft. and 36 ft. long, and yards 28
ft. and 30 ft. long, respectively. The oars are 16 ft. long, and are
pulled double-banked. Such a boat will cost 90_l._ to 100_l._ fitted for
sea, of which sum the hull will represent rather more than half. These
vessels generally remain at sea for twelve hours, from about three to
four in the morning until the same time in the evening. Tunny, merluza
(a species of cod), and bream are the principal fish taken. The
first-named are caught by hook and line operated by means of poles
rigged out from the boat much in the same way, apparently, as we drail
for mackerel on the southwest coast. A filament of maize straw is used
for bait. The boat sails to a distance of about 90 miles off the land
and run back before the prevailing wind, until they are about nine
miles from the shore or until they lose the fish. When the fisherman
gets a bite the wind is spilled out of the sail so as to deaden the
boat's way. The fish is then got alongside, promptly gaffed, and got
on board. Tunny sells for about three halfpence a pound in Lequeito.
The season extends from June to November. Bream are taken in the
winter and spring, 9 to 12 miles off the coast. They are caught by
hook and line in two ways. The first is worth describing. A line 50
fathoms long has bent to it snoods with hooks attached, 16 in. apart.
Each man handles three lines. On reaching the fishing ground the line,
to the end of which a stone is attached, is gradually paid out until
soundings are taken; then another stone is attached and the operation
repeated. If a bite is felt the line is slacked away freely, and this
goes on until about 500 fathoms are overboard. When, by the lively and
continuous jerking of the line, the fisherman concludes that he has a
good number of fish on the hooks, he will haul aboard and then prepare
to shoot again.
The second method of taking the bream is by long lining; fifty of the
lines we have just described being bent together and duly anchored and
buoyed. Spaniards do not much care for this way of fishing, as it is
costly in bait and the gear is often lost in bad weather. Bream sells
at about 3½d. a pound. Cod are taken during the first six months of
the year, about 9 miles off shore, by hand lines. Sold fresh the price
is about 6_d._ per lb. A small quantity is preserved in tins. Anchovy or
cuttlefish is the bait used; sometimes the two are placed on one hook.
A smaller description of boat, called traineras, is built especially
for taking sardine and anchovy, although in fine weather they often
engage in the same fishery as the larger boats. The traineras are
light and shapely vessels, with a graceful sheer and curved stem and
stern posts. The keel is much cambered, and the bottom is flat and has
considerable hollow. The usual dimensions vary between: Length, 38
feet to 42 feet; beam, 7 feet to 7 feet 6 inches; depth, 2 feet 6
inches to 2 feet 10 inches. The sails and gear are much the same as in
the larger boats, excepting that there are only four shifts in place
of six. The largest main lug has an area of about 90 square yards and
the fore lug about 50 square yards. The other sails for heavier
weather are naturally smaller. The largest masts for fine weather are
respectively 36 feet and 22 feet, long. The average cost of one of
these boats and gear is about £122, made up as follows: Hull, £32;
sails, gear, and oars, £30; nets and gear attached, £60. The season
for anchovy fishing commences on the 1st of March and ends 30th of
June; it begins again on the 15th of September, and continues until
the end of the year. Most fish are taken at a distance of about 9
miles from the land, although they often come in much closer.
Anchovies are sold fresh, or are salted to be sent away, some are used
for bait, and in times of great plenty quantities are put on the land
for manure. The greater part are, however, preserved in barrels or
tins, and are exported to France or England.
The net used in the capture of anchovies is called _traina_ or _copo_.
It is in principle like the celebrated purse seine of the United
States, but in place of being 200 fathoms long, as are many of the
nets, which, in American waters, will inclose a whole school of
mackerel, it is but 32 to 40 fathoms long. The depth is 7 to 10
fathoms, and the mesh ¾ inch. Sardine fishing commences on the 1st of
July and lasts until December. The principal ground is 2 to 10 miles
off shore. The price of sardines on the coast is about 2½d. per pound.
When the sardines appear in shoals they are taken with the traina in
the same way as anchovies, a net of ½-inch mesh being used. Sardines
are also taken by gill nets about 200 feet long and 18 feet wide. When
used in the daytime the fish are tolled up by a bait consisting of the
liver of cod. When the sardines have been attracted to the
neighborhood of the net, bait is thrown on the other side of it. The
fish in their rush for the bait become entangled in the mesh. These
nets are sometimes anchored out all night, in which case no bait is
used.
A third class of boats of much the same character are of about the
following dimensions: Length, 28 feet to 35 feet; beam, 7 feet 6
inches to 8 feet; depth, 2 feet 6 inches to 2 feet 8 inches. The two
lugs will contain 16 and 30 square yards of canvas respectively. They
are used for sardine catching, when they will carry a crew of four
men, or for taking conger and cod, in which case they will be manned
by eight hands.
Their cost will average approximately as follows: Hull, £15; gear and
sail, £10; nets and lines, £13; about £40. The conger season extends
from March to June, and from October to November. The fish are taken
by hook and line; sardine and fish known as berdel (which in turn is
taken by a hook covered with a feather) are used as bait.
There are other smaller fishing boats, among which may be noticed the
_bateler_, a powerful little vessel, 13 feet to 16 ft. long, about 5½
ft. wide, and 2 ft. deep. They are sailed by one man, set a good
spread of canvas, and are fast and handy. They are used for taking a
species of cuttlefish which supplies a bait, and is caught by hook and
line, the fishes being attracted by colored threads, at which they
rush, when the hook will catch in their tentacles. There is a small
well in the middle of the boat for keeping the fish alive. None of the
boats on the northern coast of Spain carry ballast. They have flat
hollow floors, and set a large area of of canvas on a shallow draught.
Lobster fishing is pursued in much the same manner as in England, but
often four or five miles from land, and in very deep water.
One of the most noticeable objects in the Spanish court was a
full-sized boat about 25 ft. long, which had a square hole cut in the
bottom amidships. Through this hole was let down a glass frame in
which was placed a powerful paraffine lamp. The object of this was to
attract the fish. It is said that tunny will be drawn from a distance
of over a hundred yards, and will follow the boat so that they may be
enticed into the nets. Sardines and other fish will follow the light
in shoals. It is claimed that the boat will be useful in diving
operations, for pearl or coral fishing, or for ascertaining the
direction of submarine currents, which can be seen at night by a lamp
to a depth to 25 to 30 fathoms.--_Engineering_.
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