SALT-HALIBUT FISHERY. 115 



After the flitches are cut from the fish they are thrown into large tubs, called flitching-tnbs, 

 to be there rinsed free from blood and dirt, previous to being salted in the hold. It is one man's 

 duty to attend to the washing of the flitches and to the passing of them below, while three men are 

 salting. The hold is divided by plnnk partitions, into six large bins, three on a side, in some 

 of which the salt is kept until needed for salting the fish in the others. One man carefully 

 places the flitches in layers, one above, the other; a second man, with a scoop such as grocers use 

 for flour and sugar, covers them with the salt, while a third shovels the salt within reach of the 

 second. The Hunker Hill left Gloucester with 270 hogsheads of salt, and out of this salted 9,000 

 fish, amounting to 140,000 pounds of flitches, having used a little over nine tenths of the whole 

 quantity. This salt came from Cadiz, Spain, and cost $1.50 per hogshead, or $405 for the whole. 



7. TABULAR VIEW OF A SUMMER'S WORK IN DAVIS' STRAIT FISHERY. 



The following tables represent in a concise form the time of setting and hauling the trawls, 

 the number of fish caught at each haul, together with the depth of water, tides, weather, &c., while 

 the trawls were in the water. I have taken the time when the men left the vessel for setting and 

 hauling to represent the time of these operations. To set four skates of trawl usually took a little 

 less than one hour, while for hauling the same, especially if there were many fish, required three, 

 and often four, hours. 



Since the outer end of the trawl was set last and hauled first, this would remain in the water 

 less time than that represented by the tables, while the inner end, set first but hauled last, would 

 be iti the water much longer. Yet, as a rule, more fish were caught on the outer than on the inner 

 end. Many things are unfavorable for the trawls remaining long in the water. In the first place, 

 if the fish are present they will soon hook themselves, and more time than is necessary for this is, 

 of course, wasted. Then, again, the tide, fish, or both combined, are apt to entangle the trawls in 

 the rocks, if these are left too long in the water ; besides, the voracity of the little shrimp would 

 soon leave nothing but the bones of the halibut for the disappointed fishermen, were they allowed 

 many hours to satisfy their appetite. So plentiful are these little creatures in some places that they 

 could be scraped off the fish by the handfuls, and, when the trawls had remained in the water two 

 or three hours, they had left the branchiostegals hanging loosely, besides making a general assault 

 on the whole body. 



There were three days of fishing before the 5th of July (the date first mentioned in the table) 

 of which I have no detailed notes, and have therefore omitted mentioning them in the table. The 

 fish caught during these days, together with those caught on the hand-line from the side of the 

 vessel, would certainly make the whole number taken during the trip over 9,000. Sixty-six hauls 

 are recorded in the table, by which 8,616 fish were taken, averaging 139 for each haul. The smallest 

 number taken at a. single set was 4, the depth being 27 fathoms, and the largest number was 497, 

 the depth being between 25 to 30 fathoms. The depths expressed, owing to the irregularities of 

 the banks and the extent of surface covered by the trawls, are, of course, only approximate, but 

 whenever this was measured I have used the depth where the vessel was anchored in preference to 

 the rough calculations of the fishermen, for I have found them, in this respect, a little inclined to 

 overestimate. It will be observed that the depth in August was less than in July: 



