96 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



is oblong in form, and extends in a northwest and southeast direction. 

 The length is 110 miles, and width 60 miles, and it lies between the par- 

 allels of 45o 15' and 16° 45' N. latitude, and the meridians of 55° 21' and 

 56° 21' W. longitude. There is from 22 to 50 fathoms of water. The 

 bottom is generally rocks and pebbles, covered with a growth of reddish- 

 colored bryozoans, but on some parts there are places of considerable 

 extent where it is composed of sand or gravel. Ordinarily there is 

 not much current on this bank, although sometimes, when driven by 

 strong winds, the polar current, which sweeps around the south coast 

 of Newfoundland, is quite strong. Cod and halibut are the only food- 

 fish that are found in any numbers, although a few cusk and haddock 

 are .sometimes taken. The season for both cod and halibut is from the 

 1st of April to November. The best season for cod is from the 1st 

 of June to October, when they come here in pursuit of capelin and 

 squid. Halibut were formerly taken on. the shcal parts of this ground 

 during the spring and summer, but at present are rarely found in 

 any abundance except in the deep water along the edge, or on rocky 

 spots, a distance of 15 to 20 miles from the bank, where there are no 

 soundings laid down on the charts. Some of the schools of halibut find 

 their breeding grounds on these rocky patches, but the greater part pass 

 along the edge in the spring on their way to the north. With the ex- 

 ception of the fresh halibut catchers, few fishermen besides the French 

 make an attempt to fish on Saint Pierre, as the other banks offer much 

 greater inducement. 



GREEN BANK. 



Green Bank is one of the least important of its size in the Western 

 Atlantic, if only that part laid down on the charts as such is considered. 

 But it may be said, however, that one of the best halibut grounds is in 

 the deep waters near its southern part, and as this is also called Green 

 Bank by the fishermen, it may not be out of place to consider it in this 

 connection. This bank is situated between Grand and Saint Pierre 

 Banks, being 7 miles distant from the former and 13 miles from the lat- 

 ter. The extreme length is 54 miles north and south, between 45° 15' 

 and 4G° 09' N. latitude, and it is 33 miles wide, the meridians of 54° 17' 

 and 55° 03' W. longitude bounding it on the east and west. 



The depth varies from 40 to 60 fathoms, and the bottom is composed 

 of sand, shells, pebbles, rocks, and corals. The general direction of the 

 polar current, which sets over this bank, is usually from northwest to 

 southwest, its course, as well as force, being more or less influenced by 

 the wind. But little is known of the abundance of the cod here, as the 

 fishermen prefer to go to grounds that are better understood than to 

 stop on this. 



Since 1875 halibut have generally been found very abundant in the 

 winter and spring and sometimes, even during the summer, in from 

 75 to 300 fathoms, along the edge of the ground between the Grand and, 



