414 



SCANDIXAVIAX FISHES. 



thoins of ^vatcl• and (|uite close in shore." According 

 to CoLLETT most of the Halibuts caught in Norway are 

 taken on the banks oft" the Government of Bergen, and 

 oft" Nordland and Fininark. In autumn and winter these 

 fish are said to ])enetrate far into the Norwegian fjords, 

 Halibuts 6 ft. long being taken yearly oft" Christiania. 

 With regard to the migrations of the Halibut in Nor- 

 way even Strom" stated that "in winter it keeps to the 

 very deep water oft' the tisliing-bank of Storegg, but 

 in summer haunts the bank itself or its edges". Oft" 

 the south and west coasts of Iceland, according to Fa- 

 BEi!, the Halibut appears togetlier with the Cod at the 

 beginning of ^larch, is commoner in April, and some- 

 times stays there the whole summer, long after the 

 Cod has departed. To tlic north of Iceland it is found 

 from May to July, and to the east from July to No- 

 vember. On the coast of Greenland it is taken accord- 

 ing to Fabricius in autumn and spring, according to 

 KiN'K in summer and autumn, at a depth of 20 or 30 

 fathoms. According to Bruwn-Goode observations have 

 been made on the east coast of the United States of 

 North America which show that the Halibut comes up 

 in ^lay and June into comparativelv shallow water, 60 

 or 70 fathoms dee]), but in July begins to return to 

 greater depths. In those parts, however, it has l)een 

 experienced how variable a fishery of this kind may 

 be. '"At the beginning of the present century"', says 

 Biiowx-GooDE, "these fish were exceedingly abundant 

 in Massachusetts Bay. From 1830 to 1850 and even 

 later, they were very common on George's Bank; since 

 1850 they have partially disappeared from this region, 

 and the fishermen have since been following them to 

 other banks, and .since 1874 out into deeper and deeper 

 water, and the fisheries are now (1884) carried on al- 

 most exclusively in the gullies Ijetween the oft"-shore 

 banks and on the outer edges of the banks in watei- 

 100 to 300 fathoms in depth." At this depth, accord- 

 ing to Collins, the Halibut is taken all the year round, 

 from George's Bank to the Grand Bank. 



In the Gulf of St. Lawrence, oft' the coasts of New- 

 foundland, Anticosti and Labrador, the Halibut has 



often been observed in shallow water and close in shore, 

 or even at the surface, in pursuit of the Capelin {3I(il- 

 lotus). It is then very active and swift in its move- 

 ments. Commonly, however, it is described as of slug- 

 gish temperament, resting at the bottom in wait for 

 its prey. Gottsche found in its stomach (Jurnard 

 {Trifila f/iiniardtts), Armed Bullhead {J(/oiiiis cafapJno- 

 cfns). Whiting {(Jadits merJaiifius), Cod {(utdiis (aJhuias), 

 and a number of seaweeds. Others have found the 

 stomach to contain Rays, Flounders, Turbot, Wolf-fish, 

 Mackerel, Herrings, lobsters, crabs and large clams. 

 CoLLETT also found among the contents of its stomach 

 a Black-billed Auk {Alra forda), a bird Avhich dives to 

 the bottom in fairly deep water in seaix-h of food. The 

 Halibut is so voracious that it apparonth' rejects no- 

 thing that comes into its gape, -which as we have men- 

 tioned, is armed uith sti'ouii' teeth, l^ven the leaden 

 plummet of a sounding-line has shai'ed the same fate*. 

 The Halibut also takes a hook freelv; and the fishery 

 for it is carried on chiefly with this kind of tackle, in 

 the same manner as the Cod-fishery and usually at the 

 same time. Most of the Halibuts that are brought to 

 market are taken on long-lines set in deep \\'ater or 

 ordinary hand-lines. In NorAvesfian Fiumark, according 

 to LiLLJEBORG, a kind of standing hook Avitli a float is 

 employed. The Indians of British Columbia carry on 

 the Halibut-fishery on the Pacific coast with primitive 

 tackle, but nunc the less successfully'. For some 

 reason or other they Avill not use .steel hooks, but make 

 their Halibut-hooks themselves of bent wood, tipped 

 M'itli bone. Their lines are made of seaweed, but the 

 part nearest the hook of sinews or twisted tAvigs. They 

 use clams or small fishes as bait. The fishing-season 

 lasts from March to June. The line is trailed slowly 

 after a canoe, with the hook in deep water. In this 

 maimer thousands of Haliljuts are taken, some of which 

 Aveigh more than 200 lbs., and bartered for potatoes, 

 gammass, rush mats, and other articles''. The best fish- 

 ing-grounds lie about twelve miles oft" the land; but 

 the Halibut is also caught near the shore. Hundreds 

 of canoes, each Avith a crew of two or three men, start 



" Sendmors Beskrivehe, I, p. 301. 



* "In tlio stomach of the Halibut," says Olafsen {Reise Isl., p. 589), "all sorts of things may be found — pieces of timber from 

 boats, rvisty iron hooks, and, stranger still, though on good authority, pieces of Cirecnland ice of the size of one's fist. Off Oddbjorn Cliff, 

 in 1731 at midsummer, on cutting ojieu a large Halibut one of these pieces of ice was found, though at tljat season there was no ice to 

 be found anywhere near land." 



' See BucKLAND, Nat. Hist. Brit. Fish., p. 178. 



'' In the same way the Norwegians of Finniark barter their tisli to the Russians in exchange for flour. 



