Mease (Maze or Maise)

A traditional bulk count for herring standardised at 500 fish.

Positioned neatly between small dockside tallies and massive barrel lasts, the mease provided a reliable intermediate count for dockside auctioneers and fishwives packing baskets for local markets. Local practice varied. An account of the Aberystwyth herring fishery describes a meise nominally of 600 fish which actually contained 620, arrived at by setting aside one tally fish every two score and a further one every sixth score. Whether a mease meant 500, 600 or 620 depended entirely on which quay you were standing on.