158 THE WEALTH OF THE SEA 



fleets and as centers for the sale and preservation 

 of fish caught on these banks. The important food 

 fishes caught in these shoal waters include cod, had- 

 dock, cusk, pollack, halibut, and swordfish. 



The Georges Bank, which lies in the ocean about 

 a hundred miles east of Cape Cod, Brown's Bank, 

 and the South Channel, between Nantucket and 

 Cape Cod, furnish Boston, Gloucester, and Portland 

 with large quanties of cod, haddock, hake, cusk, 

 pollack, and halibut. The Georges Bank is one of 

 the richest fishing grounds of the world. It is rather 

 shallow, averaging about one hundred and fifty 

 feet in depth, and there are spots with as little as 

 fourteen feet of water over them. Between thesq 

 shoals and the mainland are depths of more than a 

 hundred fathoms. 



The waters of Georges Bank are often exceedingly 

 rough. The strong tide, shallow water, and fre- 

 quency of gales make fishing here a hazardous occu- 

 pation, especially during February and March. On 

 February 24, 1862, for instance, a terrible storm 

 from the northwest suddenly struck the seventy 

 fishing-vessels anchored on the shoals, and thirteen 

 vessels with their entire crews were lost. 



Brown's Bank lies about sixty miles north and 

 east of Georges Bank. It is similar to it in depth 

 and character but is only about one third of its 

 area. It yields the same fishes as are caught on the 

 Georges Bank. 



The Alaskan bank fisheries are relatively unde- 

 veloped and have been extensively fished only for 

 the past fifty years. They offer great opportunities 



