Изображения страниц
PDF
EPUB

had their factors, &c. here, and many fish were yearly made and transported from these isles, to the great advantage both of the seller and buyer. Now all is sunk is sunk in indolence and sloth,—with but faint hopes of our soon emerging from it.

The cod-fish is very voracious; devours every thing eatable; often shifts its ground, either for conveniency of prey, or to shun the dog-fish, which often come in shoals, and sweep the ground of everything living. The cod is the most prolific of any fish in these seas, and is commonly found high in roe in April, and a few in the beginning of May, at which time their quantity of roe is surprisingly large, and the eggs being very small, must give birth to an immense number of fry.

Mr Lewenhoek's calculation of nine millions three hundred and eighty-four thousand eggs, though a surprising quantity, is, I dare say, much within truth, as to the spawn of these fish in general; and yet, notwithstanding of the numerous myriads that must arise from these, we very seldom see many of the fry, so that I suppose their growth is sudden, and their place, till arrived at some bulk, the deeper waters.

Cod are found of very different shapes and colours, and even the taste differs according to the place they feed in.

They are often, when poor, tormented with a sort of worm, which insinuates itself into the flakes of the fish, and there lies in many folds; but this is never seen in a cod while in

season.

The best places for the fishery of cod on these coasts, are the banks to the north-west of the Burgh of Birsay, the eddies in the Pightland Frith, round the east side of Orkney, in the Ger

man Sea, and, in a few words, very few places on the northern coasts of Scotland, where a ship or boat can ride safely, but cod may be got in quantities, and these sizeable, besides other fish in plenty.

Species 2.-The Haddock.

Raii Syn. Pisc. 55. Gadus Æglefinus, Lin. Sys.
Brit. Zool. 144. Sib. Scot. 23.

Haddock, Wil. Icth. 170. 435.

THIS species is not so frequent on the coasts of Orkney as cod-fish, nor are they caught in any quantity; they seem only to visit us by the bye, and to make no great stay. A few very fine ones are got in the west sea, but very seldom can they be got in season, owing to the stormy weather on our coasts in their time. A few are got in summer in Hoy-Sound, and through the other tide-ways of Orkney, especially the southeast corner of it; but these are but small and poor.

Perhaps, indeed, our fishermen have not the method of catching haddocks, which makes us imagine them scarcer than they really are. However this may be, very few hadocks are got in a year in the Orkneys.

1

Three Dorsal Fins; Chin Beardless.

Species 3.-The Coal-Fish.

Cole-Fish septentrionalum Anglorum. Rawlin Pollack. Cornubiensium, Wil. Pisc. 168. Raii Syn. Pisc. 54. Gadus carbonarius, Lin. Sys. 438. Brit. Zool. 152. Brit. Zool. Illus. 29, tab. 33. Sib. Scot 23. Orc. * Seth, Kuth or Silluck, Piltock or Cuddin +.

As things are at present with us, this species is the treasure of the Orkneys; while these are to be found, none else are regarded.

The fry of the coal-fish appear first with us in May, but small quantities, and themselves very small. About August they begin to be taken with small rods in great numbers, but still this is nothing to the shoals that set in towards winter, when the sea begins to grow stormy; then the harbour of Stromness especially, and many other places, are quite filled with them, and thus they continue for the whole winter. About this time they measure from six to ten inches, and are very much esteemed; all ranks and ages eat them under the name of Sillucks. About March, the shoal, or what is left of them, begin to retire to the deep, and grow very fast, insomuch that, though perhaps not above eight or ten inches when they

* Vide Sib. Scot. Illus. P. II. Lib. 3, p. 28. In boreali Scotia plaga, the Seath-Fish.

+ Vide Addend. Sib. Scot. p. 37. Cet. ad finem.

B b

3

go out in March, yet in May, when another fishing of them begins, under the name of kuths, they are fifteen; still they are tolerable for eating, either fresh, as our Orkney folks eat them, roasted with the liver, or dry. A few of the same shoal are caught next year, when they are called Harbines, or two year old kuths, but they are now large and coarse, and not much sought after. After this they grow to a vast bulk, and are then called Seths; but very few of these are found here, not perhaps one in a season: they retire farther to sea, and are got in some quantities on the coast of Shetland.

In the winter-time, while the fry of this fish is in the harbours, it is common to see five or six hundred people, of all ages, a-fishing them, with small angling rods of about six feet long, and a line a little longer; but with this simple apparatus they kill vast numbers, none going away without as many as he inclines. The whole harbour is covered with boats, and the piers with men, and all are supplied; for from the surface to the bottom of the water it is crowded.

It is very certain these fish are of vast service to Orkney, as things are; because children of a few years old, that can be of no other service, and old age that is past it, can all wield the silluck rod, and in a few hours kill as many as serve a moderate family for a day, and sell some, which is commonly done from thirty to sixty or more for a halfpenny. Yet, I say, though in our present circumstances these small fish are the most valuable we have, yet I know not if this is the case all things considered; for, in the first place, they encourage laziness in our fishermen, who, when they are to be found, never trouble

themselves to seek any thing better: next, all other fisheries being neglected, the fish withdraw from our coasts, having nothing to detain them: for I am fully persuaded, that the more a fishing is followed, and the greater care taken to clean and throw overboard the garbage, the more fish will be drawn to the ground, and of consequence the fishery will be more valuable. But all these things are neglected; and, instead of leaving children, and those who are not able to go further to sea, to fish at home for subsistence, bait, &c. whilst the abler men go to sea, all hands go to work in their boats, and destroy these fry in such quantities, that sometimes more spoil than are made use of. However, this is not to be remedied as things are, for there are many discouragements to hinder the fishermen from following a fishery of the larger kinds, such as a want of a proper method in conducting their fishing;-want of proper markets to bring their fish to, which cannot be sold, were they to get any quantity, to any purpose here; want of ability to send them to market;—and want of ability to spare the price of them till they could be sent;-all which is obviated in their small fishing, for what they can spare they have an immediate market for amongst their neighbours, which serves their present purpose better than labouring for cod and ling, which they must either keep, or sell below what is worth their trouble. From this short view we may see the state of fishing in Orkney; we may see, at the same time, that, till some set of public-spirited gentlemen, merchants, or other monied-men, take into their hands, and draw our fishermen out of their present indolence,-en

« ПредыдущаяПродолжить »