THE BANK TRAWL-LINE COD FISHERY. 153 



fog is so dense that there is no probability of finding their outer buoys, in which case they com- 

 mence at the iuiier ends aud haul outward. Fishermen, however, become so expert in rowing 

 through the fog that they often succeed in finding the outer buoys when it is impossible to see 

 more than one-eighth of a mile through the fog. A row from 2 to ,"> miles brings the dory to its des- 

 tination, and the line is hauled in the manner elsewhere described, the operation requiring from 

 three to six hours. The length of time depends upon the strength of wind and current, the number 

 of fish 011 the hooks, aud the dexterity of the fishermen. Sometimes the boat has to carry five or 

 six loads of fish to the vessel during the process of hauling a whole trawl. When it is necessary 

 to leave a trawl which has been partially hauled the anchor is kept in ihe boat and the end of trawl- 

 line is fastened to the buoy with the black ball and left swinging free in the tide. If the men are 

 hauling from the inner end of the trawl the inner buov is used for the same purpose. At the 

 present time two or two and a half dory-loads from a string of trawl would be considered very fair 

 fishing. A fair avei age dory-load of fish would weigh from 1,500 to 1,800 pounds, though in smooth 

 water as much as 2,500 pounds might be carried. 



In using their trawl lines the bankers, as a rule, pursue the method known as setting and 

 hauling, though the process of under running is not nnjusual. The manner of setting is thus 

 described by Capt. D. E. Collins: "One man sitting on the forward or midship thwart rows the 

 dory, while the other, standing aft, first throws over the buoy and then pays out the buoy-line until 

 he readies the end which is fast to the anchor. He then lifts a ' tub of trawl' upon the thwart in 

 front of him, and clearing the end makes it fast to the anchor. He then throws out the anchor 

 and the trawl follows it, hook after hook being thrown over the side of the dory, the thrower seizing 

 each time the ground-line and heaving it out with a quick, nervous jerk. Considerable dexterity 

 is required to seta cod-trawl without fouling the line or getting the hooks in the clothing or 

 hands of the fishermen. When one tub is out the bottom end of its line is bent fast to the top 

 end of the next tub and the empty tub put aside, and so it goes on until the end of the last line 

 is reached. This is bent to the anchor, the anchor is thrown overboard, the buoy line paid out, 

 and last of all the buoy is thrown over : this, if the outer buoy, has a ' black ball' on it. Owing 

 to the small size of the hooks and baits the men are obliged to bait the hooks bare handed, and in 

 cold weather they suffer severely." 



The same expert describes the method of hauling the trawl : "A 'patent roller,' similar to that 

 used in the halibut fishery, is attached to the gunwale of the dory 3 or 4 feet from the stem, the 

 iron shank being shipped in a hole in a cleat which is fastened to the inside of the gunwale. This 

 apparatus is used to aid in hauling the trawl-line, which passes over it, and the new method is a 

 decided improvement over the old in pulling the line over the side of the boat. While hauling the 

 'first buoy-line' the positions of the men are the same as when hauling a halibut trawl, one stand- 

 ing forward and the other aft. When, however, the anchor has been lifted and the trawl cast off 

 from it, the after man shifts his position farther forward so as to stand just behind the man that 

 hauls. Placing his tub on the thwart in front of him he coils in it the trawl, 'slatting' (or jerking) 

 the fish off behind. Such as do not come off with a 'slat' lie unhooks by using the 'gob-stick. 1 " 

 At the end of the process of hauling, the trawl-line has been coiled in the tubs to be carried on 

 board the vessel to be rebaited." 



When fish can be caught, both at night and during the day, aud the weather is suitable, two 

 sets are usually made each day. It frequently happens, however, especially on the Grand Bank 

 and in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, that but few fish can be caught in the daytime. In such eases 

 the trawls are set only once in the twenty-four hours, being put out about sundown and hauled 

 the following morning. Owing to this peculiarity of the cod which frequent the Grand Bank, 



