Besides all these Pinks and Well-boats, the Hollanders have continually, in the season, another fleet of fishermen, at the north-east head of Shetland, which be of another quality: and there are more than two hundred of these, and these be called Fly-boats. These do ride at anchor all the season at Shetland, in the fishing grounds, and they have small boats within them, which be like unto Cobles, the which they do put out to lay and haul their lines, whereby they do take great store of Ling: the which they do not barrel, but split them and salt them in the ship's bulk [_hold_]; and these they sell commonly for four and five pounds the hundred. These go by the name of Holland Lings: but they are taken out of His Majesty's seas, and were Shetland Lings before they took them there; and for these Lings they do carry away abundance of England's best money daily. * * * * * Now having declared according unto truth, the numbers of their fishermen in Holland for herrings upon His Majesty's seas; and also of their Pinks and Well-boats; and their courses for taking, venting, and selling of their barrelled fish and fresh fish; and also of their Fly-boats at the north-east head of Shetland, for Shetland Lings: I think it now best, truly to show the true number of our English fishermen, and how they do employ themselves all the year long; first beginning at Colchester, nigh the mouth of the Thames, and so proceeding northward. I can scarce afford these men of that Water the name of fishermen; for that their chiefest trade is dredging for oysters: yet have they, in the summer, some eight or ten boats in the North seas for Cod; which if that they happen to spend all their salt, and to speed well, they may get some twenty pounds in a summer clear. But here, by the way, I will make known a great abuse that is offered to the common wealth, and especially to all the herring fishermen of England, only by those men of Colchester Water. For these men, from Saint Andrew [_October 24_] until Candlemas [_February 2_], and sometimes longer, do set forth Stale-boats, amongst the sands in the Thames' mouth, for to take sprats, with great stale-nets, with a great poke [_bag_]; and they standing in the Swinne or the King's Channel on the back of the Gunfleet, they do there take instead of sprats, infinite thousands of young herrings, smaller than sprats and not good to be eaten, for one sprat is better worth than twenty of those Bleaks or young herrings. But because they do fill the bushel at Billingsgate, where they do sell them for sprats; the which, if that they were let [a]live, would all be, at Midsummer, a fat Summer full Herring. And a peck is sometimes there sold for twopence; which number of herrings at Midsummer would make a barrel of summer herrings, worth twenty or thirty shillings.