90 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



bank, as it is shore soundings, which slope gradually from the land to 

 the south and west, but continue in a northerly direction beyond what 

 may properly be considered the limit of the ground. To the south it 

 extends nearly to Brown's Bank, from which it is separated by a nar- 

 row gully.; to the west 38 miles from Seal Island, the western land of 

 Nova Scotia; and to the northwest about 35 miles. The southern limit 

 is in 43° 00', and the northern in 43° 45' N. latitude, while the western 

 boundary may be placed at G(i° 40' W. longitude. 



There is a small shoal, the Pollock Rip, with a depth of 7 fathoms, 

 which bears SW. from Seal Island, from which it is distant 9i miles, 

 but with this exception, the ground slopes quite gradually, the depth 

 varying from 15 to 70 fathoms. The bottom is principally composed of 

 coarse gravel and pebbles, with occasional rocky spots of more or less 

 extent. The tides sweep out and in the Bay of Fuudy with consider- 

 able force, the course changing with the direction of the land, so that 

 while they run nearly north and south on the northern part of the 

 ground, they swing around to northwest and southeast to the south- 

 ward of Seal Island. The flood is much stronger than the ebb, and the 

 fishermen estimate that one flood wdl carry a vessel nearly as far in a 

 northerly direction as two ebbs will in the opposite way. 



The fish that are principally caught on this ground are cod, haddock, 

 and pollock, although halibut, cusk, and hake are taken to a limited 

 extent, and occasionally herring or mackerel are netted for bait. Cod 

 are generally more plentiful from spring to fall than during the winter, 

 but haddock and halibut are found all the year. Fishing usually begin.s 

 in April or May, and continues until October. Halibut were formerly 

 very abundant, but are now comparatively scarce. 



This ground may be considered esseutially a feeding-ground for the 

 cod, which come here after the spawning season is over to fatten upon 

 the crabs and mollusks on the bottom and the herring and other species 

 of small fish that are swept back and forth in the tide-rips. All parts 

 of the Seal Island ground are fished on at the same time. This was 

 formerly a favorite fishing-ground for vessels from the coast of Maine, 

 but since trawling has come«to be so universally adopted but few Amer- 

 ican vessels except " hand-liners" go there. The fieet engaged in fish- 

 ing there now is principally composed of vessels belonging to the west- 

 ern part of Nova Scotia, which generally "fish at a drift," going back 

 and forth over the ground with the wind and currents. 



ROSEWAY BANK. 



• Roseway Bank lies in a northerly direction from Le Have Bank and 

 SE. from Shelburne light. It is oblong in shape and of small extent, 

 the greatest length being only 19 miles, and breadth 12 miles. The 

 limits are 43° 13' and 43° 32' N. latitude, and 64° 30' to G4° 38' W. 

 longitude. The bottom is sand, gravel, and rocks, and there is a depth 

 of from 33 to 48 fathoms. The current here is not nearly so strong as 



