256 



FISHERY BULLETIN OF THE FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE 



1873; to the northern part of the Gulf of St. 

 Lawrence near Anticosti by 1881; to Iceland by 

 1884. 62 And the Gloucester vessels continued 

 sailing to the Greenland Banks for halibut until 

 the early 1880's. But by 1889 practically all the 

 salt halibut that was landed in Gloucester, was 

 being brought from Iceland. With salt fish in 

 less and less demand, it became unprofitable, 

 next, to sail so far afield. And it is many years, 

 now, since any halibut fisherman from Gloucester 

 has outfitted for Iceland. 



Long liners, out of New England ports, fished 

 especially for halibut in the northern part of the 

 Gulf of St. Lawrence until 1938; on the Grand 

 Banks grounds until 1940 or 1941, when competi- 

 tion with frozen halibut from the northwest coast 

 had become severe, while the majority of fisher- 

 men preferred to ship on otter trawlers, for com- 

 fort and safety. Vessels continued long lining for 

 halibut down the slopes of the Nova Scotian 

 banks, and in the deep gullies between these, 

 until the middle of the 1940's, but we have not 

 heard of a vessel making a special trip from any 

 New England port for these great fish, during the 

 past few years. 



Although there is not one halibut in our Gulf 

 today, where there were hundreds or even thou- 

 sands of them during the first quarter of the nine- 

 teenth century, the geographical range of this 

 noble fish is as extensive there as it ever was. 

 Thus a few halibut are still caught along Cape 

 Cod; in Massachusetts Bay (a few "chickens," 

 10 pounds and upward, are brought in every 

 summer with some larger fish); along the Maine 

 coast; and on all the offshore grounds. Rich, 

 writing in 1929, 63 listed 25 named inshore grounds 

 off the coasts of Massachusetts and of Maine as 

 still yielding a few halibut. We have enjoyed the 

 acquaintance of several fishermen, especially in- 

 terested in halibut, who treasure to themselves a 

 hard-gained knowledge of particular spots, not 

 too far offshore, where they are likely to catch 

 one, in a day's pleasure fishing. And small 

 groups of halibut accumulate occasionally on 

 suitable patches of bottom; soon to be decimated, 

 however, when their presence is accidentally dis- 

 covered. Thus, we knew of some 25 or 30 halibut, 



ranging from 40 to 110 pounds in weight, being 

 caught within 1 to 3 miles of land, near Mount 

 Desert Island, in 1930, in 10 to 15 fathoms of 

 water. And one of 54 pounds was caught off 

 Boston Harbor, from the steamer Westport, on 

 June 24, 1951. 6 * 



A catch of 9,500 pounds, or perhaps about 135 

 fish (assuming an average weight of 70 pounds) 

 was reported off the coast of Maine in 1947 on 

 hand lines, while eleven fish (largest 125 pounds) 

 had been caught inshore, off Casco Bay, by local 

 fishermen, up to the last week in May 1951. M And 

 many other instances of this sort might be quoted, 

 no doubt, were our knowledge sufficient. 



Halibut are also caught fairly regularly still, 

 about Grand Manan (4,700 pounds reported thence 

 in 1947), but only occasionally about Campobello 

 and near St. Andrews, and not at all along the 

 north (New Brunswick) shore of the Bay of 

 Fundy east of St. John. Small numbers occur, 

 however, right up to the head of the bay on the 

 Nova Scotia side. 86 And there are enough of 

 them off Brier Island at its mouth and on the 

 fishing grounds along western Nova Scotia to 

 have brought the landings for Digby County and 

 for Yarmouth County to 108,300 pounds in the 

 year in question. 



The largest catches of halibut now made within 

 the limits of the Gulf of Maine come from the 

 Cape Sable-Browns Bank ground, from the 

 deeper slopes of Browns Bank, from the deep 

 gully that separates Browns from Georges, and 

 from the eastern part and the deeper slopes of 

 Georges, where otter trawlers are likely to pick up 

 anywhere from 1 to 75 fish per trip. But not 

 many are caught now on Nantucket Shoals where 

 they were once so plentiful. 



In 1945 (most recent year for which detailed 

 information is readily avaUable for the coasts of 

 Maine and Massachusetts), landings for the 

 different parts of the Gulf, by United States and 

 Canadian fishermen, were about as follows: off 

 eastern Massachusetts, about 31,000 pounds; 

 off western Maine, about 800 pounds; off central 

 Maine, about 10,000 poimds; small banks in the 

 inner west central part of the Gulf (Cashes, 

 Fippenies, Platts), about 2,500 pounds; off eastern 



° See Collins, Fish. Ind. U. S., Sect. 5, vol. 1, 1887, pp. 43-89, and Kcudder, 

 Fish. Ind. U. S., Sect. 5, vol. 1, 1887, pp. 90-119, for historical surveys of the 

 fresh and salt halibut fisheries from New England ports. 



» Rcpt. TJ. S. Comm. Fish. (1929) 1930, pp. 85-86, 90. 



« Reported in the Boston Globe, June 25, 1951. 

 " Reported in Salt Water Sportsman for May 29, 1951. 

 « 11,300 pounds reported for Annapolis and King's Counties, Nova Scotia, 

 in 1947. 



