36 



THE OSPEEY. 



ior and less desirable bait may be used on the 

 shanks. 



On some parts of the (iraiid Bank cod are 

 found in j^^reat abundance, iind the clams taken 

 from the "pokes" (stomachs) often furnish a con- 

 siderable percontaj^-e of the reiiiiisite amount of 

 bait for the trip. The roes of the cod, when 

 partially developed, are also used as bait, since 

 they make a fairly attractive lure, and if proper- 

 ly attached to the hooks cannot be easily pulled 

 off by the fish. When this bait is used the "pea" 

 is cut into strips in such a manner that they may 

 be turned inside out; the hook is then ])assed 

 throug"h and throu<;ii the membraneous covering- 

 in several places, a turti being- made aroinid the 

 shank each time. 



Shack-tishing- differs from other styles of 

 Bank fishing- only in the method of obtaining- 

 bait supplies. A vessel engaged in shack-fish- 

 ing- remains on the Bank until she has secured 

 her fare, and, as before stated, depends solely 

 upon getting her bait on the g-round instead of 

 — as is the custom of other vessels — leaving- the 

 Bank and running- into the harbors of New- 

 foundland and Nova Scotia to obtain a "baiting" 

 of herring-, capelin, or squid. 



The method of shack-fishing- has its advant- 

 ag-esanddisadvantag-es. One of the advantages, 

 and a very important one, is that no time is lost 

 in seeking bait, and the vessel is enabled to 

 prosecute her fishing- on the bank whenever 

 favorable days occur. On the other hand it 

 must be acknowledged that the kind of bait em- 

 ployed by the shack-fishermen is comparatively 

 unattractive to the fish, and the supply some- 

 times has of late years been inadequate; con- 

 sequently, it has g-enerally been found more 

 profitable for our bankers to obtain supplies of 

 fresh bait in the provincial ports. At the pres- 

 ent shack-fishing- is rarely undertaken. It may 

 may be worthy of mention, however, to state 

 that fine fares of cod have been obtained by this 

 method as late as 1874-'75, and, indeed, this 

 mode of capture has, since then, sometimes been 

 preferred by the most experienced fishermen, 

 especially when cod have been extremelj' abund- 

 ant on the Banks; for when a large school of 

 fish is around a vessel a fisherman is very re- 

 luctant to heave in cable and fill away, even for 

 "fresh baiting". 



As birds were considered as good or better 

 than any other kind of shack bait, and as they 

 could often be taken in large numbers, it will 

 readily be understood their presence on the fish- 

 ing banks often was of material aid co the fish- 

 ermen in securing their fares of cod. 



In these notes the writer expects to do nothing 

 more than to give, in an oft"-hand, and, perhaps, 

 rather disconnected manner, the resvxlt of his 

 study of the habits and methods of capture of 

 these sea birds, which for many j'ears were his 

 almost daily companions; the chief object being, 

 of course, to convey some idea of the importance 

 of several species as a source of bait supply to 

 our fishermen. 



THE CRKAT SHEARWATER {Piiffi)ius wajor).* 



This s])ecies, the "hagdon", or "hag", of the 

 fishermen is, ])erhaps, one of the most interest- 

 ing- which is to be found on the outer fishing 

 grounds; it is used for bait more than any other 

 bird, and has many peculiarities essentially its 

 own. It has a wide distribution in the western 

 Atlantic, and I have myself observed it all the 

 way from latitude 39° 50'"N., longitude 71° 2.S' W., 

 to north of the (irand Bank in latitude 47°, long- 

 itude .SO". ( The j)lace of its greatest abundance, 

 however, is prohalily from near Le Have Bank 

 to. and including-, the Grand Bank, the latter 

 locality seemingly being its favorite resort dur- 

 ing the summer season. There it occurs in re- 

 markable numbers for several months of the 

 year; indeed, so abundant is the species that, in 

 many cases, as will be shown further on, it has 

 become of considerable importance as a source 

 of bait supply for the cod fishermen on that 

 bank. It appears (ui the fishing ground usually 

 in the latter part of May or about the 1st of June. 

 In a daily journal kept bj' myself I find the fol- 

 lowing note, under date (jf May 26, 1879: "I saw 

 a hag this morning, the first I have seen this 

 spring".! This bird was probably a straggler 

 from the large flocks, and very likely it reached 

 the fishing ground sooner than its companions. 

 Three days later, however, on May 29, when in 

 latitude 43° 35' N., and longitude "59° 47' W., I 

 saw several large flocks of these birds, and shot 

 one individual. The birds were at that time sit- 

 ting on the water, and had apparently just 

 reached the locality. Their stay on the Banks 

 continues until about the middle or last of Octo- 

 ber (occasionally later), when thej^ gather in 

 flocks, sitting around on the water for a few 

 days before taking- their departure. 



Occasionally, in midsummer, they seem to be 

 scarce, but what the cause of this scarcity is I 

 am unable to say. Under date of August 1, 1879, 

 I And the following note: "Shot three hag'-s, but 

 they are very scarce". I am somewhat inclined 

 to the opinion that they find abundance of squid 

 at that season, and therefore do not come about 

 the vessels so nuich as when hungry. When or 

 where the hagdon breeds is unknown to me. 

 My opinion is that it breeds in winter. I have 

 opened many hundreds of these birds, but have 

 never found their sexual organs in a condition 

 that would indicate they were incubating-. 



It may be well, in this connection, to allude to 

 the social habits of the hagdon as they have 

 come under my observation. When the birds 

 reach their destination in the spring, for a few 

 days after their arrival, they do not seem to 

 make any special eft'ort for the purpose of secur- 

 ing food, but pass most of their time sitting in 

 large numbers on the water, and at this period 

 it is somewhat difficult to catch them on hook 

 and line. Occasionally a flock will make a 

 short flight and ag-ain settle down, but there ap- 

 pears to be a strong inclination, at that time, to 

 huddle together and keep up the organization 



*It is altogether possible, perhaps probable, that :;here may be other species of P iiffimis which freQuent the fishing 

 banks, besides the two I have named in these notes. On several occasions I have seen birds of this senus which were 

 piuch smaller than P. /najor, and which I then thought were the .younK of that species, but I now believe they were a 

 smaller variety. My object, however, is not to define the species, but simply to give some idea of the habits of the birds. 



•(■Mr. Ridgway tells me that P. major is found as far south as Cape Horn or vicinity. 



JOur position at that time was latitude 43° lo'; longitude 62° 23'. 



