454 



DEPTHS OF THE OCEAN 



of the North 

 Atlantic 



Food-fishes are closely correlated. If we know the area where a vessel 

 Sfferen't parts hshes, we Can predict the nature of the catch, and on the other 

 hand we may judge of the extent and nature of the area from a 

 knowledge of the fish caught in that area. This fact may be 

 illustrated by the following table giving the quantities of 

 important food-fish in millions of kilograms landed from 

 different areas of the North Atlantic : — 



Boreal fishes 

 on the slope 

 of the 

 Norwegian 

 Sea. 



According to this table the North Sea proves to be the 

 richest of all in plaice and haddock, just as it includes the 

 greatest area of shallow sandbanks and fiats with muddy bottom. 

 The sea of Norway is richest in cod, just as it represents the 

 greatest stretch of rocky coast with temperatures between 6° 

 and 8° C. 



Below lOO metres (50 fathoms) and down to 300 fathoms, 

 we find on the northern slope of the North Sea plateau the 

 following species to be the most important : saithe, ling, tusk, 

 and halibut (see Fig. 314). During the summer we also find the 

 cod in such depths, especially to the north of Lofoten, and on 

 the slopes from the Faroe Islands to Lofoten. A little higher up 

 on the bank these species are mingled with large hake, witch 

 iyPleuronectes cyjtoglossus), and megrim iyZeugopterus megastonia). 

 Lower down on the slope below 200 metres we find Norway 

 haddock [Scbastes), blue ling, black halibut (Hippogiossus 

 hippoglossoides), Macrurus fabricii, Argentina sihis, and Green- 

 land sharks. This latter group of species has been found during 

 the Norwegian fishery investigations along the " edge " of the 

 continental platform all the way from Spitzbergen and Bear 

 Island along the coasts of Norway, the North Sea plateau, the 

 Faroe Islands, and along the Faroe-Iceland ridge. 



If we follow the 600 metres line in the chart (Fig. 309) from 

 Spitsbergen and round the southern part of the Norwegian Sea 



