llo\v.s striiii^ly, il [iirilles Llii; eu.sL of Llie Grand liaiik wit li a j^reaL cold wall which entirely resists 

 any encroachment from the Atlantic transgression. Waters of a mean temperature from 

 0" to 4° (".. cover all the Banks and the cod are very numerous. There is an excellent fishery. 

 As the fishermen of the sailing vessels used to say : " An iceberg year is a cod year ". 



When the volume of polar waters is reduced, the cold wall is not so compact and warm 

 surface waters break through to encroach over the banks. But the deeper waters remain cool. 

 The cuttle-fishes make their way over the cod who, without hesitation, dash out of the cold w alers 

 to seize this choice prey. Under these conditions the fishery is still good. But in years when 

 the Labrador ('urrent is feeble and when the transgressions are strong, these latter invade all of 

 the banks or raise the temperature of the local waters. The cod run before this rising temper- 

 ature to descend to the depths of the continental slope. The fishing is now unprofitable or 

 dinicult, even for large trawlers. The great transgression in 1921 had thus given rise to a " cod 

 crisis " the ellects of which were noted and the causes ascertained. In 193U also, basing ourselves 

 on the nine-yearly cycle of the transgression, we forecast that the fishery at Newfoundland would 

 be bad and ship-owners were advised to seek cod more to the north, on the banks olT west (ireen- 

 land. There they had good fishing. 



During these latter years, the warming-up of the Arctic has brought about great changes in 

 the hydrological conditions of the northern Atlantic. The Labrador Current has decreased 

 and the encroaching waters retreat much less in winter than they used to do. The latitudes of 

 the Barents Sea, Bear Island and Spitzbergen are now almost continuously accessible, and 

 the cod are moving further and further to the north, followed by the great trawlers. These 

 vessels mainly catch the younger fishes, for the larger and older cod have not ventured so far 

 afield but have sought deeper waters around Iceland and the Banks. Year after year, the activities 

 of the cod-fishermen are taking them to the Arctic Ocean and very soon these wide northern 

 seas will have taken the place of the Newfoundland Banks in this great fishery for cod. 



Haddock (Ofidna aeijlejiims) also live over the Banks, and the Newfoundland fishermen 

 call them Anons. The biology of these fishes is much like that of the cod ; for they are 

 stenothermal in habit and, depending on the races, live in waters between 2° and 8°G. The 

 haddock has a pur|)lish-bhie colour with a dark lateral line and a black spot on each of the 

 shoulders. The fixed number of vertebrae precludes any distinction of local races. Growth 

 is rapid at first and then diminishes : at one year they measure about 6 inches ; at 2 years about 

 12 inches, towards 5 years about 20 inches, at 10 years 2 Yo feet and towards 13 years nearly 

 3 feet. The life span does not exceed 15 years. Haddock are very voracious fishes and in the 

 North Sea shoals of them swoop down to feed on herring spawn. 



Close by the cod and haddock, living on the bottom, are the great halibut of the Arctic, 

 finding good living contlitions in the cold waters of deep channels. There are also other flat^ 

 fishes such as the long rough dab ( Drepanopsella platessoides ) , known to cod-fishermen as 

 '• brooms ". This pleuronectid, which does not grow much beyond 2 feet in length, is a parti- 

 cularly sedentary species and throughout its life does not mo\e very far from a resting-place, 

 not even at the spawning period. 



The cod is second only to the herring in economic importance to the fishing industry. Salt 

 cod is sold throughout the world, particularly in the Mediterranean basin, in the West Indies 

 and in South America, where it is used as lenten fare. Norwegian stock-fish, seasoned in a cold 

 dry wind, is exported as far as ceidral Africa. Frozen fillets of an excellent quality are prepared 

 by the cold-storage trade and fresh cod (cabillaud) is also greatly appreciated. Salted cod's- 

 roe is used as bait in the sardine fishery, and cod-liver oil with its rich supply of vitamins, has been 

 known to medicine for centuries. Considerable quantities of smoked haddock are eaten, and in 

 the British Isles " finnan hafldies " are well known on the breakfast table. 



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