272
THE ESSEX NATURALIST.
handled by a crew of at least four men ; they have to justify
their comparatively high labour costs by large catches and quick
return to harbour, and therefore usually have powerful engines
and heavy trawl gear. Recently, there has been a reversion
to a "long-lining," a method of fishing in which, as its name
implies, a very long line is baited at intervals with hooks, the
whole being run out and then, after a period of a few hours,
hauled inboard again. The weight of the line and difficulty of
handling demand a powerful boat and plenty of room on deck.
Colchester is the centre of the Essex oyster fishery, although
minor oyster grounds exist in the Paglesham district. The
oysters are laid as "spat" and after a few years' growth are
collected by small dredges or by handnets. The oyster beds
are in the nature of preserved ground and are very carefully
guarded against marine poachers.
Until the last century, Barking Creek was the home of a
fishing fleet and whitebait and flatfish could be caught in the
Thames right up to Greenwich before industrial pollution and
increasing river traffic made fishing impossible. Even now one
may see fishing boats at Gravesend and sometimes as far up
as Greenhithe or Grays, but catches in the river must be small
indeed. The Barking fleet did not confine their attentions to
river fishing, and vessels from Barking were formerly to be
found as far away as the Faroes, and even Iceland.
The last type of Essex boat which I shall attempt to describe,
and that again of a fast-vanishing type, is the Duck Punt.
With a gun like a miniature cannon mounted in the bows, the
duck punt is paddled or rowed with muffled rowlocks as silently
as possible to within range of a flock of duck or brent geese.
If all goes well, the pound or so of shot may account for twenty,
thirty, or even fifty birds, but increasing encroachments of
urbanisation, and what we are asked to believe is the lessening
severity of our winters, have led to the increasing rarity of large
flocks, so that the hazardous and often quite unproductive
business and sport of punt-gunning is becoming almost extinct.