4 HISTORY AND METHODS OF THE FISHERIES. 



2. THE FISHING GROUNDS. 



The fishing grounds frequented in 1879-'80 by the Gloucester fleet were (a) upon the outer 

 slope of Banquereau, in 100 to 400 fathoms of water ; (fc) on the slope to the south and west of the 

 Grand Bank, Green Bank, and Saint Peter's Bank, in 75 to 350 fathoms of water ; (c) upon the 

 southern and eastern slopes of Western or Sable Island Bank, and in the "Gully" between this 

 and Banquereau, in 70 to 350 fathoms of water ; (d) on the southern slope of La Have Ridges, 

 in 100 to 400 fathoms of water ; (e) in the deep water to the south of the western part of New- 

 foundland, in 150 to 250 fathoms of water; (/) north of Saint Peter's Bank, in 130 fathoms of 

 water ; (g) on the west coast of Newfoundland, in the vicinity of Green Point, near Bonne Bay, in 

 10 to 15 fathoms of water; (h) on the eastern slope of George's Bank and on the southern slope of 

 Brown's Bunk, in 200 to 275 fathoms of water.* 



On the grounds mentioned under the letters/, g, and 7t, the fisheries are, comparatively, of much 

 less importance than in the other localities. 



The New York halibut vessels fish on George's Bank and on Nantucket Shoals, in 25 to 100 

 fathoms ; also on Brown's Bank, Seal Island Ground, La Have, and occasionally, though rarely, 

 on the Western Bank, but in much shallower water than that frequented by the Gloucester schoon- 

 ers, seldom as deep as 150 fathoms. 



Since the culmination of the halibut fishery on George's Bank, in 1848 to 1850, the halibut ves- 

 sels have been constantly changing their fishing grounds. At first they caught the halibut on the 

 shoaler parts of the several grounds visited, seeking the fish first upon the banks which were 

 nearest home, then upon those which were remoter, something in the following order : (1) The Seal 

 Island Ground, (2) Brown's Bank, (3) La Have Bank and La Have Ridges, (4) Western Bank, (5) 

 Grand Bank, (6) Saint Peter's Bank and the "Gully," (between Banquereau and Sable Island 

 Bank), the grounds oif Flint Island and Scatari, Cape Breton, the Miquelon Beach, Pass Island, 

 Saint George's Bay, Red Island, and other points on the south and west coasts of Newfoundland, 

 the coast of Southern Labrador, and Anticosti Island. At times in the past halibut have also 

 been taken about Cape North.! 



In 1873 and one or two succeeding years a few fares of halibut were obtained in the vicinity 

 of the Magdalen Islands. The following notice of the first trip taken in that locality was thus 

 referred to in the Cape Ann Advertiser of August 15, 1873 : 



ti New halibut grounds. Schooner Notice, of this port, arrived here on Saturday, August 9, 

 with a fare of halibut caught off Bird Rocks, near the Magdalen Islands, Bay of Saint Lawrence. 

 The halibut were of good quality, and weighed off 32,000 pounds, her stock amounting to ;> 2,400. 

 Not a bad four weeks' work." 



A few good trips have also been obtained on various shoals between Western Bank and the 

 Nova Scotia shore; occasionally in the vicinity of Bryer's Island, which was for some time a favorite 

 fishing ground for the Connecticut vessels, and also at one or two points on the southern coast of 

 Nova Scotia, in the vicinity of Liscomb Harbor; but fishing on these grounds is now and for 

 several years past has been abandoned by large vessels. 



* Since the above was written, new halibut grounds have been discovered on the eastern slope of the Grand 

 Bank, between the parallels of 43 30' and 44 30' N. latitude. In the snmmer of 1885 this locality was the one chiefly 

 resorted to by the fresh-halibut catchers, since fish were very scarce on other grounds. A full account of this dis- 

 covery is given in succeeding paragraphs. 



tSome big halibut came from Cape North on Sunday. Three of these weighed 540 pounds. Cape Ann Adrer* 

 tiser, May 31, 1861. 



