432 U. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES 



first hauled in by hand. The buoy line was then slipped under the 

 fingers of the net lifter, the engine started, and the line reeled in at 

 full speed. When the anchor appeared the machine was stopped, the 

 anchor lifted inboard by hand, and the end of the line placed under 

 the fingers and the machine started again. Of the crew one man 

 ran the engine; one stood along the rail just aft of the machine with 

 a long-handled gaff, ready to gaff cod that might break loose from 

 the hooks; another stood just back of the machine itself and shook 

 as many of the fish off the hooks as possible ; while two men removed 

 and killed the balance of the fish, coiled down the line as it came 

 from the machine, and attended to other work. 



The vessel used for the experiment was not well suited to the 

 purpose because of its slow response to the rudder (a serious handi- 

 cap, as it is necessary for the vessel to be kept well over the line at 

 all times and thus relieve it as much as possible from strain) and the 

 high freeboard, owing to which a number of fish were lost, because 

 their weight caused them to break loose while traversing this long 

 distance. Despite this, however, the experiment indicated clearly 

 the value of the machine in hauling long lines from the deck of a 

 suitable vessel. 



As experienced fishermen were not available for carrying on power 

 long-lining from the deck of the vessel, the- crew trawled by hand 

 from dories during the rest of the season and met with good success. 

 In operating from dories the long lines were rigged in the same 

 manner as on board the Vega. 



Gill netting. — In the summer of 1913 the author conducted some 

 experiments in gill netting for cod in the waters adjacent to Pirate 

 Cove, in the Shumagin Islands, Alaska. No originality is claimed 

 for this method, as for a number of years gill netting for cod has 

 been carried on in Ipswich Bay, Mass., and at a few other places 

 along the New England coast, while about 13 years ago some of 

 the Great Lakes fishermen visited Gloucester with their steam tugs 

 and engaged in gill netting for cod, haddock, and pollock on a large 

 scale. For a number of years the Great Lakes fishermen have carried 

 on important gill -net fisheries for lake herring, trout, and white- 

 fish. Steam tugs have been employed almost universally, and from 

 5 to 10 miles of netting were set at one time. The use of this im- 

 mense quantity of netting was made feasible by the employment of a 

 patented power device, known as a net lifter, for hauling in the nets. 



The net lifter is a circular machine fitted along the outer rim with 

 a number of fingers. The mechanism that operates these fingers 

 moves on tracks and is so arranged that the fingers take hold as they 

 come opposite the rail of the vessel and let go when they have com- 

 pleted about two-thirds of one complete revolution from the point 

 where they first gripped. By this means the net is grasped by the 

 fingers as it comes aboard, and after being carried about two-thirds 

 of the way around is released and allowed to drop on the deck. 

 A framework extends from the lifter outboard and at the outer end 

 is a roller, while a sheet-iron trough for the passage of the net and 

 fish runs from the roller to and partly around the machine and rests 

 upon the framework. The machine is operated either by a small 

 gasoline engine or directly from the main engine. 



