Reports of exploratory otter-trawling between Nova Scotia and Virgini 



369 



A few Greenland halibut {Reinhardtius hippoghssoUies) were taken, 20 of them 

 between Long. 63° 47' and 65° 10' (area A) and 1 at 67 59' (area B), this latter being 

 the most westerly known record. The depth range was 305-530 fathoms, the size 

 from 13 to 36 inches long. 



REDFISH OR OCEAN PERCH 



Although the redfish occurs in great abundance in the North Atlantic, especially 

 off New England, Nova Scotia and the Grand Banks, virtually all of our catch was 

 taken within area A. A list follows of those hauls in which more than 100 redfish 

 were caught: 



Table V 

 Catches o/ Sebastes marinus taken between Long. 63° 17' and Long. 65 59' W, 

 converted to a 1 hour haul with a 60 ft. otter trawl, arranged by longitude 



* As a maximum-minimum thermometer was used the temperatures given are presumed lo be lor 

 the deepest part of a haul. 



All of these fish ranged in length from 12 to 19 inches with a mean of about 15 to 

 16 inches, with the exception of one of 81 inches. The count in most cases ran from 

 30 to 35 fish to the bushel. Thus the populations sampled proved to contain exclusively 

 very large redfish and, according to present age studies, such fish were probably from 



15 to 20 years old. 



A ready explanation as to why virtually no small or medium redfish were taken in 

 these hauls is not available at the present time. True, this area had never been tishcd 

 before with otter trawls, so far as is known, and therefore being a virgin territory 

 might be the answer, at least in part. And it is of interest to note that the Fisheries 

 Research Board of Canada engaged in exploratory dragging for redfish in the Gull 

 of St. Lawrence during 1953 and 1954, and found areas in 100-175 fathoms where 

 the dominant sizes of the fish likewise were very large, ranging from 35 to 40 cm. 

 (14 to 16 inches).t On the other hand, the newly exploited redfish grounds m the 

 Grand Banks region where trawlers have been operating as deep as 175 laihoms. 

 and perhaps a Httle more, have from the beginning produced a substantial percentage 

 of small to medium fish. 



t MARTIN in Fish. Res. Bd., Canada. ^^ ' ,^^'-"% ^f ''f ^ /ri9M'u9'^sTpp'6U6?"' 

 Steele and Martin in Fish. Res. Bd., Canada, Rept. Atlatitic B.ol. Sta. for 1954 ( 1955). pp. t.^ M. 



