Herring harvest is over until the following season.

In our talk on flat-fish we shall notice how they are caught, near the
bed of the sea, in the _trawl-net_. Now this net is of no use for the
capture of Herrings. They swim in the open water, near the surface, and
so another kind of trap, the _drift-net_, is used.

Hundreds of vessels sail from our fishing ports when King Herring is
about. Each vessel carries a number of drift-nets. These nets are to be
let down like a hanging wall, in the path of the shoal, at night. Corks
or bladders are fastened to the upper edge of the nets. Of course they
are all mended and made ready before the vessels reach the fishing
grounds. It is not easy to know where to shoot the nets; all the skill
and knowledge of the fisherman are needed to locate the shoals, and,
without this knowledge, he would come home with an empty vessel. Even as
it is, he sometimes catches no more fish than would fill his hat.

A sharp look-out is kept. An oily gleam in the sea tells the knowing
fisherman that the shoal is there; or he may see a Gull swoop down and
carry off a Herring. Then the nets are put out in the path of the shoal.
A big fleet of fishing vessels may let down a thousand miles of nets!

The Herrings, not seeing the fine wall of net, swim into it. Now the
openings in the net--the meshes--are one inch across, just wide enough
for the Herring to poke his head through. Once through, he is caught.
His gill-covers prevent him from drawing back again. Thousands of other
Herrings are held tight, all around him, and the rest of the shoal
scatters for the time being.

When the nets are hauled in, the fisherman beholds a mighty catch, a