Seine Fishing, by Henry Meynell Rheam, RI (1859-1920). 1918. Watercolour on paper. H 54 x W 75 cm. Penlee House Gallery & Museum (bequeathed); accession no. PEZPH : 2013.29. Kindly made available via Art UK on the Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivatives licence (CC BY-ND).
The gallery's description of this work is simply, "Two boats with fishermen pulling in the seine nets, used for catching shoals of pilchards." Elsewhere we learn that seine fishing means deploying "a large wall of netting that encircles a school of fish. Fishermen pull the bottom of the netting closed (like a drawstring purse), herding the fish into the center. Purse seiners either haul the net aboard or bring it alongside the boat to scoop out the fish with a smaller net" (Fishing Methods Fact Card). This method is frowned on now, because of the other fish or seabirds which might be tangled in the net. But here we see the fishermen, mostly elderly in the closest boat, pulling in the net with the fish leaping within it. It was part of the traditional way of fishing then, captured by the artist in the very moment of joint effort — and success. — Jacqueline Banerjee
Bibliography
Fishing Methods Fact Card. Wayback Machine. Web. 6 April 2021.
Seine Fishing. Penlee House Gallery & Museum. Web. 6 April 2021.
Created 6 April 2021