HERRING HARVEST.

Press, Volume LVIII, Issue 17632, 8 December 1922, Page 12

HERRING HARVEST.

The great East Anglian autumn betring season, is beginning m real earnest, and from now till the second week in December many thousands of persons will be afforded employment at Yar* mouth and Lowestoft (says the "Pish Trades Gazette" of October 25th). And the whole herring industry is concerned whether the season will show a mvtit or To&J. Before tho war Germany bought at least two-thirds of the uerring landed at Lowestoft, and a similar quantity would go to Russia from Yarmouth, pickled, 'ihese markets nave now disappeared, and if buyers have to rely to a large exte t on the noma consumption the season will be a poor one. The Germaa market is tue key to the situation. On it will depend th© measure of support accorded to the English season bv the Scottish herring trade. Yarmouth is a wonderful sight during the herring season. Special arrangements havo to be made for housing the hundreds of Scottish fisher lassies who follow the herring down the coast and are employed in pickling, keppering; and salting that part of the catch which is not consumed in the fresh state. Normally the Scottish buyers and curers come in larfje numbers; curing stock barrels, and other necessities are laid in in advance. An estimate of the number of boats which will be engaged in the fishing is from 1700 to 1800. The drifters carry nine or ten men each, and so about 15,000 fishermen will be anxiously awaiting good markets as an adequate return for their labours and to enable them to end up the season in profit. Herrings will be plentiful enough this ee 'son and quality should be sound, but the more herrincs caught when Continental markets are closed, or virtually eo, the bigger the loss to fisherman, owner, and eurer. Home demand for the humble, cheap, and wholesome herring is not what it was. and not what it should be. The vastness of the East Anglian fishing can ba appreciated from the fact that over 360,000,000 herrings were landed at Yarmouth alone in IS2I, and this was by no means a record catch.