THE FLEMISH CAP. 61 



12. THE OFF-SHORE BANKS, INCLUDING THE GRAND BANKS. 



THE FLEMISH CAP. 



The Flemish Cap is the outermost of the Great Newfouudlaud Fishing Banks, as it is also the 

 least perfectly known. The Admiralty chart locates its eastern end by three lines of soundings 

 extending about northeast and southwest, but of its western limit absolutely nothing is known. 

 The center of the series of soundings given on the chart lies about one hundred and fifty miles 

 east-northeast of the northeastern part of the Grand Bank. Less than one-half of the intervening 

 area between these two banks has yet been sounded, so far as indicated on the published charts, 

 and the soundings off the northeastern end of the Gi'and Bank show dejiths of sixty to one 

 hundred and forty-five fiithoms only. There is, therefore, a possibility that the Flemish Cap 

 extends much nearer to the Grand Bank, and has a much greater area than is indicated on the 

 charts of the region, and it is even i)robable that this outlying shoal is a direct continuation 

 northeastward of this same large bank. -Combining the soundings of the Admiralty chart with 

 information gathered from the Gloucester fishermen, who have visited this region, it would appear 

 that the known area of the Flemish Cap was irregularly elongate in outline, the longer axis 

 extending about north and south. 



This area lies between the parallels of 40° 50' and 48° north latitude, and the meridians of 

 44° 06' and 45° 25' west longitude, the greatest length being, therefore, seventy geographical 

 miles, and the greatest width fifty-six miles. Its extent is about two thousand seven hundred and 

 fifty square geographical miles. The soundings range from seventy-three to one hundred and 

 fifty-five fathoms, the least depth being located near the center and the southern parts of the bank, 

 and the deepest water occurring on the eastern edge. Beyond this, to the eastward, no depths 

 were reached by the vessels making the survey of this region, but the sounding line tliey used 

 appears to have had a total length of only about one hundred and sixty tathonis. 



The bottom is composed of mud, sand, gravel, pebbles, and rocks, distributed in patches of 

 variable extent and character. In the localities resorted to by vessels from the United States the 

 prevailing bottom is often a slaty rock, apparently in situ, and forming a smooth surface, on which 

 the anchor often fails to take a firm hold. 



Cod and halibut are the only fish that have been sought for on the Flemish Cap. Nothing 

 is known about their abundance in the winter, as the bank can only be visited in the spring and 

 summer (April to August at the most). But often during the spring the weather is so rough 

 that fishing can be carried on only a small part of the time, and after June the region is so 

 much infested with ground-sharks tliat the trawls are rapidly destroyed. Another danger 

 frequently arises from the presence of icebergs, which are often abundant. All of these causes 

 combined have deterred fishermen from frequenting this bank, which, so far as known, has only 

 been visited for cod and halibut by a few vessels from Gloucester during the past few years. 



The region thus far resorted to for cod lies mainly within a distance of ten to fifteen miles of 

 47° north latitude and 45° west longitude. In one or two instances, however, large catches of cod 

 as well as halibut have been obtained from eighteen to twenty miles west of the forty-fifth 

 meridian in 47° north latitude. According to the statements of the fishermen most familiar with 

 these grounds, no trouble is ever experienced in obtaining large quantities of medium-sized cod, 

 which are, however, below the standard recognized in the United States markets. Larger fish 

 are less common, although taken in considerable numbers, and very successful fares have 

 occasionally been made. The general opinion is that while fish are sufficiently abundant, no 



