J. PISCICULTURE AND THE FISHERIES. 461 



and mackerel is also almost entirely carried on by the inhab- 

 itants of Gloucester. It is even stated that, a few years ago, 

 it was proposed there to fit out a fleet for mackerel fishing 

 on the coast of Norway and Sweden, but nothing came of it. 



In 1870, Captain John H. M'Quinn fitted out the schooner 

 Caleb Easton^ of Boston, for a summer trip to the coast of 

 Greenland in pursuit of halibut. He made a successful voy- 

 age, arriving home in October, and bringing with liim 176,300 

 pounds of fletched halibut, 183 barrels of fins, and several 

 barrels of salmon, the whole venture amounting to about 

 $20,000. The success of this enterprise induced the fitting 

 out of six vessels in the summer of 1871 ; but the result was 

 not as satisfactory as that of the previous year. In 1872, how- 

 ever, six vessels were again dispatched to that coast, and 

 brought in over 7000 quintals offish. We are informed that 

 the business has been resumed the present year by four ves- 

 sels. 



Encouraged by his success in the Greenland trip. Captain 

 M'Quinn started out in the schooner J/em^r^yjo Chief on the 

 23d of May, 1873, for the coast of Iceland, but unfortunately 

 did not meet with the success which the boldness of the vent- 

 ure deserved. The fishinsr-Q^rounds were reached on the 9th 

 of June, and after remaining five or six weeks, and visiting 

 various harbors, the result was so unsatisfactory that, on the 

 11th of July, the vessel sailed for home, reaching Gloucester 

 on the 6th of August. The principal difiiculty lay in the fact 

 of the roughness of the coast, rather, j^erhaps, than in the 

 scarcity of the fish; the season, however, being exceptionally 

 unfavorable. It is said that there are two schools of fish 

 which frequent the coast of Iceland, one arriving in April and 

 the other in September, the visit oi thQ 3Iemhrino Chief hsiv- 

 ing fallen in the interval. It is quite possible that, should a 

 renewed effort prove that halibut can not be taken to ad- 

 vantage, our fishermen may devote themselves to the capture 

 of the cod, which occur there in great abundance, and are 

 taken very largely by the French fishermen. The vessels em- 

 ployed for this purpose are of large size, and generally make 

 two trips in a season. The fishing is done principally by 

 hand-lines. 



The capture of sharks occupies a prominent part in the 

 fisheries of the coast of Iceland, and is generally followed by 



