The above remarks apply more particularly to the smaller Macrura.
The Brachyura and Anomura are represented chiefly by a few small resident but interesting species; Cancer pagurus and one or two others are simply wanderers, drifted hither involuntarily by the action of the tides, although Cromer, not more than forty miles northward, is noted for the abundance of the Edible Crab. That it occurs occasionally and unwillingly is not to be wondered at, when, during severe north-westerly winds, weighted crab-pots have been found washed up on our beach.
The only local nets used in the capture of Crustacea are the dredge or drag-net, and the small trawl. The former has a halfoval mouth, a long thin willow pole being bent over a heavily lead- or iron-weighted beam. The net, which has a small mesh, is cone-shaped, ending in an acute angle. The trawl has a fourteen or fifteen feet beam, with all the usual fittings incidental to the ordinary smack's trawl, the mesh being, of course, sufficiently fine to keep within it Shrimps of edible size. In this a few Soles, small Rays, and other fish are sometimes taken. The drag-net is responsible for very little damage, if any, to the edible species; a few immature fish are occasionally taken, although Gobies, Pogges, and other—even for bait—useless species are abundantly netted. It is to be hoped that no harassing legislation will ever be made to hamper a very hardworking body of men who do surprisingly little damage, indeed, if any at all, to the undoubtedly diminishing edible fishes of the North Sea. The "shove-net" has become obsolete.
I have had some difficulty in identifying the various species, there being no very modern popular work on the subject, nor indeed any reference book on the subject in the local libraries, which goes for saying there has been no "call" for one. My best thanks are due to Mr. H.D. Geldart, of Norwich, for help rendered in naming difficult "finds" forwarded to him from time to time; and also to Mr. Liffen, an intelligent local shrimper, who has been particularly helpful in the procuration of specimens both of Crustacea and Fish.
The following abbreviations will denote the position each species holds in the locality:—R. Rare. F. Frequent. C. Common. A. Abundant.
