132 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 



3 miles off shore upon a soft bottom. Here they caught from 3,000 to 

 4,000 i)ouuds. Most of the large boats will go to Ipswich Bay next 

 week. There are 54 boats using cod gill-nets. There are 5 dories with 

 3 gill-nets each from Salisbury. The weather has been very bad for 

 cod gill-netting during the week. 



Gloucester, Mass., Decernher 23, 1883. 



The amount of fish landed at Gloucester during the month of Decem- 

 ber was as follows : Fish caught in the cod gill-nets, 1,120,000 pounds. 

 Fish caught in cod gill-nets landed at other ports during the month of 

 December, 300,000 pounds. 



Gloucester, Mass., January 1, 1884. 



All the vesselsusingthe cod gill-nets are in Ipswich Bay. During the 

 last ten days the weather has not been favorable for fishing. Sixty 

 thousand pounds were landed at Portsmouth last week. In Ipswich Bay 

 the fish are in one place. Four hundred nets are set in a place one- 

 half mile wide by one-half mile long. The nets are across one another. 

 The vessels have set their nets all over the bay, but find only a few scat- 

 tering fish except in that one spot. There they get good hauls every 

 morning, when there is a chance to haul the nets. The three vessels 

 that have been fishing on the Georges have set their nets in Ipswich 

 Bay. One vessel has 40 nets. Six boats have taken x\y> their nets. 

 The boats are too small to fish in Ipswich Bay, and they have put their 

 nets on larger vessels. I think we shall have a good report next week. 

 The fishermen think strangely of the fish being in one place. They can 

 find nothing on the bottom to keep them alive. 



Gloucester, Mass., Jannary 7, 1884. 



In the gale of January 4, the vessels using the cod gill-nets met with a 

 great loss. They lost 35 nets and had a great many badly torn. No 

 fish were caught for four days after the storm. The last three days the 

 nets have done well. They have landed 150,000 pounds. There are 7 

 boats home preparing their n6ts. Fifty-two sails are using the cod gill- 

 nets. The fish caught in the nets sell for 4J cents per pound. I think 

 the nets will be used till the 1st of April. The fish are large, averaging 

 20 pounds. They are half spawning fish. 



Gloucester, Mass., January 15, 1884. 



Vessels using cod gill nets have done well the past week, except two 

 days when the nets could not be hauled on account of driving snow- 

 storm. During the week 409,000 iiounds were landed. The price has 

 been high, 4i cents a pound the whole week. The netters never get 

 any fish the day before storms and have learned to prophesy their com- 

 ing. 



Gloucester, Mass., January 20, 1884. 



