In 1808 the bounty was raised to £3 per ton on every British built and British owned fishing boat of not less than sixty tons burden, properly manned, registered, and navigated and employed in herring fishing. The maximum tonnage on which the bounty was payable was one hundred tons. Two shillings per barrel was paid on properly cured and packed herrings. After the peace of 1815, the naval wars and the press gangs had reduced the sea fisheries to negligible proportions, but the existing bounties were continued until 1829, and encouraged the rapid revival of the industry. By 1829, the fishing industry was well established, and thereafter steadily developed in value and importance. The modern organization and development of the fishing industry began between 1870 and 1880, following the introduction of steam fishing vessels. The old sailing smacks and drifters were necessarily limited in their scope and capacity. They could only fish in certain weathers; they required skilled handling; their effective area of operation was restricted by the necessity for bringing the catch ashore as fresh as possible; their trawling power depended upon the wind. A sail boat was generally the property of a small family group of fishermen, who worked the boat and fished, while one of their number—the ship’s husband—stayed ashore to purchase stores and tackle, and dispose of the catch. The proceeds of the boat were shared among the owners. These privately owned sail boats were to be found in every little harbour on every coast of Britain. The fishermen themselves were a fine, sturdy, independent class of men, skilful seamen, and all-round fishermen, able to turn their hands to any form of fishing, whether lining, trawling, or drifting. The introduction of steam trawlers and drifters has completely changed the character and organization of the fishing industry. Instead of being individualistic, it has become collective, and instead of being the common industry of every seaside village, it has become controlled by large limited liability companies, and centralized in a few large ports. Steamers were first used in 1870, to collect the catch from the sail boats on the fishing grounds, bringing it home with all speed while the fishing boats remained at sea. This naturally enabled the fishing boats to catch more fish, and also made possible the use of larger boats fishing further afield. A logical development of this step was the construction of actual steam-driven fishing boats—trawlers and drifters. These steamers soon proved to be superior to the sail boats. They were able to fish in all weathers, even in a calm. Owing to their greater power, also, they were able to use much larger nets and fish in deeper waters.