72 FISrilNG-GROUNDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 



arc caugbt except in the dct'i) water along the soutberu edge of tbe grouud, wbere tbey bave 

 .sometimes been found quite plentiful during nearly tbe entire year. Hake are also found in 

 large numbers in tbe deep water about the edges of the ground, and even on the ridges. As a 

 general thing, few vessels besides those from Gloucester have made a practice of fishing on Le 

 Have Ridges, though codfisbermen from other places stop there now and then during the summer. 

 In the deep water bordering tbe southern side of Le Have Ridges, Gorgouian corals (Prmnoa, 

 Paragorgia, etc.) occur on the rocky bottoms, while on the ridges themselves sea anemones, star- 

 fishes, mollnsks, crabs, and other crustaceans abound. 



ROSEWAY BANK. 



Roseway Bank lies north of the western part of Le Have Bank and southeast of Shelburne 

 light. Nova Scotia. It is oblong in shape, and of slight extent (about two hundred and seventy 

 square geographical miles), its greatest length being about twenty-one miles, and its greatest 

 breadth about fifteen miles. It extends from 43° 12' to 43° 33' north latitude, and from 64° 25' 

 to 04° 52' west longitude, and at the northwest corner is connected with the shore limit of 

 sixty fathoms by a narrow neck. The depths on this bank vary from thirty-three to forty- 

 eight fathoms, and tbe bottom consists of sand, gravel, and rocks. 



Tbe currents in this region are not nearly so strong as in the vicinity of Cape Sable and 



Brown's Bank. Tbe general direction of the flow is about west-southwest and east-northeast, 



the westerly current being usually much tbe stronger, although the force and direction of 



both are more or less influenced by tbe winds. The principal fish taken on this bank 



are cod, haddock, and cusk, but hake, pollock, and halibut also occur there. Tbe best fishing 



season is generally from May to October, during which time the bank is mainly resorted to by 



small sized vessels from the western part of Nova Scotia, although a few New England vessels 



also occasionally fish there. 



brown's bank. 



Brown's Bank lies in a northeasterly direction from George's Bank, and is separated from 

 it by a gully fifteen miles wide, in which tbe depths of water range from one hundred to four 

 hundred and fifty fathoms. This bank is imperfectly laid down on the published charts now iu 

 use by the fishermen, and no comprehensive idea of its extent and consequent importance as a 

 fishing-ground is, therefore, conveyed by them. 



The charts publisbed by tbe United States Coast Survey define the boundaries of the bank 

 much more accurately and afford a better idea of the area visited by the fishing- vessels than 

 the Admiralty and Eldridge charts. The depths of water range from twenty to seventy-five 

 fathoms over this area, which embraces within its limits about twenty two hundred and 

 sevetity-five square miles. Tbe greatest length of the bank, from southeast to northwest, is 

 sixty-three miles, and the extreme breadth forty-three miles. It is situated between 64° 52' and 

 €>CP 20' west longitude, and 41° 50' and 43° 02' north latitude. There is a small rocky shoal on 

 t\w. northern part (the exact location of which seems not to have been definitely determined), on 

 which, it is said, there is not more than nine to fifteen fathoms of water. The bank slopes away 

 from the shoal on the south and east, to depths of fifty-five to seventy-five fathoms ; but at a 

 distance of twelve to fifteen miles off it again rises to depths of thirty to fifty fathoms. This 

 area of shoal water, within tbe fifty-fathom limit, is fifty miles long with an average width of 

 fifteen miles. North of tbe shoal tbe bottom drops off suddenly to depths of seventy to eighty 

 fathoms. The bottom is largely composed of coarse sand, gravel, pebbles, and rocks, and is 

 rich in animal life. 



