[17] GILL-NETS IN THE COD FISHERY. 281 



mouth, making a grand total of 750,000 pounds. When to tliis is added 

 the amount which was probably taken by the vess<ds lioni other i)orts, 

 it is pefhaps safe to say that not less than li,000,000 pounds of this highly 

 valued and most excellent food-tish were caught in nets during the month 

 of December and the latter i)art of November. 



In the early part of the winter of 1882-'83 codfish were taken in nets 

 in great abundance on the rocky shoals in Massachusetts Bay. After 

 the beginning of January, however, the fish were found to be most jilen- 

 tiful in Ipswich l>iiy ; and, in consetpuMu^e of this, the fleet of shore cah\ 

 iisliermen resorted to that locality, where they met with the most re- 

 markable success, the catch during the first month of 188."> being, it is 

 said, much larger than at any i)revious time. According to Captain 

 Martin's report for January, 1883, 121,000 pounds of netted cod were 

 landed in Gloucester during the month. Writing to Professor Baird 

 under date of Febiuary (J, he made the statement that " ten sad of small 

 vessels which had been fishing in li)swich Bay, had landed at Rockport, 

 Mass., and Portsmouth, K. II., during the previous twenty days, 2;iO,()()() 

 ])Ounds of large codfish." (Jalculafing on tiiis basis, the total catch of 

 the whole fleet during the month of January, ISSo, must have been very 

 large. 



It was not, however, until the winter of 1883-84 that the real value 

 and imjiortance of the introduction of gill-nets into our cod fisheries 

 could be fully and fairly estimated. The results obtained during the 

 winter of 1882-'83 had inspired the fishermen with more confidence to 

 engage in the net fishing in the succeeding fall. Conse([u«Mitly, we fiiul 

 that the shore fishermen were prosecuting this method of fishing earlier 

 in the season than ever before, even employing it for the capture of pol- 

 lock before the winter school of cod had reache<l the sliori; grounds. 

 This method of fishing was found especially well adapted for taking the 

 large pollock, which generally visit, in the fall, the inshore fishing 

 grounds in Massachusetts Bay. The singular fact was also discovered 

 that many of the finest pollock, like the cod, may be taken with nets 

 when they utterly refuse to bite a hook, and consequently cannot be 

 captured by the old methods. 



Writing under date of October 28, 1883, Captain Martin says : '- I'ol- 

 lock and cod have been scarce this fall. Forty sail of small craft, which 

 were out two days on the pollock grounds, came in with 2,000 pounds. 

 CaiJtain Gill, of the boat Gracie, had four cod-nets given him that were 

 worn out in catching codfish last winter. He set them, together with 

 two new ones, and the first night he caught 5,500 i)Ounds of pollock and 

 400 pounds of large codfish. The pollock averaged 21^ pounds apiece, 

 while those caught on hand-linos averaged 13 pounds apiece. * * * 

 There are three boats which have nets set. They cntch three times as 

 much pollock and three times as much codfish as they do on hand-lines. 

 There will be more cod gill-uets used this winter than there have been 

 since they began to use them. * * * There are no si)irling this fall, 



