Britain at Work
A Pictorial Description of Our National Industries

THE SEA FISHERIES OF GREAT BRITAIN. those of the single-boaters, entail longer absences from home. The crews have also to face the risks incurred in ferrying fish from their own vessels to the carriers, a proceeding, in bad weather, accompanied by a considerable element of risk, a danger the crews of single-boaters are not called upon to face. A great many lives have FISH CARRIER BOUND FOR MARKET. BOATS COMING UP TO PUT EISH ON CARRIER. been lost in this way or from small boats during the last few years. In the clays of sailing smacks the voyage sometimes extended to ten^>r twelve weeks, the minimum being eight weeks, but since the advent of the steam trawlers the length of the voyages has been governed by the state of the coal bunkers. As some idea of the extent of the trawling industry, it may be interesting to state that the two premier fishing ports of Grimsby and Hull have a capital of at least four and a quarter millions invested in steam trawlers, while the total value of the fish landed in the United Kingdom in one year (1900), taken at the average price of i^fd. a pound, was ,£9,688,000. Such a food supply, close at hand, to a country largely dependent on outside sources for the means of existence cannot be over-estimated. An average year’s catch would thus, by a com- parison of weight, be equal to a flock of 10,263,220 sheep and 1,047,267 cattle. The risks of the fisherman’s calling are eloquently testified to by the roll call issued by the Board of 1 rade, which records the fact that during the last ten years 1,790 men have been lost through ing or being missing, losses account for a greatest loss of life of the great gale of February, 1894, when 200 their vessels founder- while the individual further 796. The recent years was in men perished in a single night, the majority being lost through their vessels foundering with all hands. It is amongst the fleets of steam trawlers that the hospital vessels of the Royal National Mission to Deep Sea Fishermen have worked with so much success, sharing alike the danger and disappointment of the smacksman’s life. These vessels are admir- ably equipped, and possess small hospitals capable of accommodating six to eight patients needing nursing as the result of accident or illness, and are so up-to-date as regards their surgical equipment as to possess the Röntgen Ray apparatus. The Society’s fleet of vessels all bear the words “ Heal the Sick ” on their port bow, and “ Preach the Word ” on their starboard one, and these few simple words eloquently express their mission. The surgeon, who combines the dual office of doctor and missioner, can generally count upon having a busy time each morning attending to his patients, one of the most plentiful causes for his skill being poisoned fingers and hands resulting