4 i- BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 



Wheu 1<> tliis is added the amount which was probably taken by the 

 vessels from Swampscott, Portsmouth, and other ports, it Ls perhaps 

 sale to say that do less than 2,000,000 pouuds of this highly valued and 

 most excellent food- fish were taken by nets during the month of Decem- 

 ber and the latter part of November. The fish caught in nets have 

 been of extraordinary size, averaging more than 20 pounds each, while 

 some individuals weigh as much as GO or 75 pounds.* 



During the past two winters cod have been taken in nets, with rare 

 exceptions, only in ipswich Bay, but this season they have been caught 

 very extensively on the rocky shoals in Massachusetts Bay. Since the 

 beginning of January, however, the fish have been most abundant in 

 Ipswich 15. i? and the fleet of shore cod fishermen have resorted to that 

 locality, where they have met with the most flattering success, the catch 

 during the first mouth of the year being, it is said, much larger than 

 at any previous time.t The Cape Ann Advertiser of January L!(>, 1883, 

 contains the following item in relation to this subject: 



"The net cod-fishermen are meeting with good success iu Ipswich 

 Bay. On Thursday of last week three fares of handsome large cod-fish, 

 nearly 30,000 pounds, were landed at Portsmouth." 



An important matter for consideration, in this connection is, that not 

 only can the cod-lishery be successfully carried on even when bait is 

 not obtainable — for, of course, no bait is required when nets are used — 

 but a very great saving is made in time and expense. As an instance 

 of this it may be stated that the average bait-bill of a shore trawler 

 would not be less than $150 to $250 per month, when herring are so high- 

 priced as they have been this winter. Therefore it is safe to estimate 

 that, when such a large fleet is employed in gill netting as there has 

 been this season, the amount saved to the fishermen (which otherwise 

 must be paid for bait) cannot be less than $30,000 to $40,000. 



The day is now not far distant when the United States Fish Com- 

 mission will be able to supplement the many other important works it 

 has done, one of which is bringing about this innovation in the fish- 

 eries, by propagating the cod on a very extensive scale, this having been 

 found perfectly practicable. Wheu this is done, we may confidently 



* The above statements are based on the report of the Gloucester fisheries for No- 

 vember and December, by ('apt. Stephen J. Martin, of the United States Fish Com- 

 mission, pp. 159-161 of this volume. 



t According to Captain Martin's report for January, 18K5, 1*21, 000 pounds of cod that 

 were caught in gill-nets were landed in Gloucester during the month. (See page 

 168 of this volume.) Writing to Professor Baird, under date of February <>, 1883 (see 

 page 160 of I his volume), he makes the statement that ten sail of small vessels, which 

 had been fishing in Ipswich Bay, had landed at Rockport, Mass., and Portsmouth, 

 X. II.. dining the, previous twenty days, 2!!0,000 pounds of large codfish. Calculat- 

 ing on this basis, the total catch of the whole fleet during the month of January would 



be very large. Owing to the fact, liowever, that n<> accurate and reliable statistics of 



the entire catch in gill-nets, along the whole coast, is obtainable, estimates must be 

 based on the reports of the Gloucester fisheries, which have been carefully made by 

 Captain Martin. 





