FISHERY, herring. Herrings are chief ly found in the North Sea. They are a fish of passage, and commonly go in shoals, being very fond of following fire or light, and in their passage they re semble a kind of lightning. About the beginning of June, an incredible shoal of herrings, probably much larger than the land of Great Britain and Ireland, come from the north on the surface of the sea : their approach is known by the hovering of sea fowl in expectation of prey, and by the smoothness of the water; but where they breed, or what particular place they come from, cannot be easily discovered. As this great shoal passes be tween the shores of Greenland and the North Cape, it is necessarily probably con fined, and as it reaches the extremities of Great Britain, is divided into two parts. For we find one part of the herring steer ing west, or south-west, and leaving the islands of Shetland and Orkney to the left, pass on towards Ireland, where, being in terrupted a second time, some keeping the shore of Britain, pass away south, down St. George's channel ; while the other part, edging off to the south-west, coast the western ocean, till they reach the south shore of Ireland, and then steer ing south-east, join the rest in St. George's channel. The other part of the first divi sion made in the north, parting a little to the east and south-east, pass by Shetland, and then make the point of Buchan-ness, and the coast of Aberdeen, filling, as they go, all the bays, firths, creeks, &c. with their innumerable multitudes. Hence they proceed forward, pass by Dunbar, and rounding the high shores of St. Ab be's Head and Berwick, are seen again off Scarborough ; and even then not di minished in bulk, till they come to Yar. mouth-Roads, and from thence to the mouth of the Thames, after which, pass ing down the British channel, they seem to be lost in the Western Ocean.
The vast advantage of this fishery to our nation is very obvious, when we consider that, though herrings are found upon the shores of North America, they are never seen there in such quantities as with us, and that they are not to be met with in considerable numbers in any of the south ern kingdoms of Europe, as Spain, Por tugal, or the southern parts of France ; on the side of the ocean, or in the Mediterra nean, or on the toast of Africa. There are two seasons for fishing herring, the first from June to the end of August, and the second in autumn, when the fogs become very favourable for this kind of fishing. The Dutch begin their herring-fishing on the 24th of June, and employ no less than 2000 vessels therein, called busses, being between 45 and 60 tons burden, and carrying three or four small cannon. They never stir out of port without a con voy, unless there be enough together to make about 18 or 20 cannon among them, in which case they are allowed to go in company. Before they go out, they make a verbal agreement, which has the same force as if it were in writing. The regulations of the admiralty of Holland are partly followed by the French, and other nations, and partly improved and augmented with new ones, as, that no fisher shall cast his net within a hundred fathoms of another boat : that while the nets are cast, a light shall be kept on the hind part of the vessel : that when a boat is obliged to leave off fishing, the light shall be cast into the sea : that when the greater part of a fleet leaves off fish ing and casts anchor, the rest shall do the same, &c. By the late act of parliament
in Great Britain, the regulations are, that every vessel entitled to the bounty must carry twelve Winchester bushels of salt in new barrels, for every last of fish such vessel is capable of holding ; and as many more new barrels as such vessels can carry, and two fleets of tanned nets ; that is, a vessel of seventy tons shall carry one fleet of 50 nets, each net to be 30 yards full upon its rope, and seven fa thoms deep ; and so in proportion for greater or smaller vessels ; and be pro vided with one other fleet of 50 like nets, on board a tender, or left on shore in a proper place, for the use of the said ves sel, &c, There is nothing particular in the man ner of fishing. The nets wherein the fish are drawn should regularly have their meshes an inch square, to let all the lesser fry go through.
Curing and preparing herring. The com merce of herring, both white or pickled, and red, is very considerable. The white Dutch herrings are the most esteemed, being distinguished into four sorts, accord ing to their sizes ; and the best are those that are fat, fleshy, firth, and white, salt ed the same day they are taken with good salt, and well barrelled. The British her rings are little inferior, if not equal, to the Dutch ; for in spite of all their en deavours to conceal the secret, their me thod of curing, lasting, or tasking the herrings, has been discovered, and is as follows :—After they have hauled in their nets, which they drag in the sterns of their vessels backward and forwards in traversing the coast, they throw them up on the, ship's deck, which is cleared of every thing fbr that purpose ; the crew is separated into sundry divisions, and each division has a peculiar task : one part opens and guts the herrings, leaving the melts and roes : another cures and salts them, by lining or rubbing their inside with salt : the next packs them, and be tween each row and division they sprinkle handfuls of salt ; lastly, the cooper puts the finishing hand to all, by heading the casks very tight, and stowing them in the hold. It is customary with us to wash the herring in fresh water, and steep them 12 or 15 hours in a strong brine, before we proceed to barrel them.
Red Herrings must lie 24 hours in the brine, in as much as they are to take all their salt there, and when they are taken out, they are spitted, that is, strung by the head on little wooden spits, and then hung in a chimney made for that purpose. After which a fire of brush wood, which yields a deal of smoke, but no flame, being made under them, they remain there till sufficiently smoked and dried, and are afterwards barrelled up for keeping.