[9] OPERATIONS OF SCHOONER GRAMPUS. 709 



hauled on board the vessel. These fish were lifted over the rail with 

 the greatest "care. They were immediately unhooked and put iuto the 

 well. Every possible effort was made to guard against the fish receiv- 

 ing auy injury. The conditions under which they were captured were 

 certainly as favorable as they well could be, in deep water, to insure 

 their living in the well ; and it was felt that this would be an unusually 

 good test of the feasibility of keeping alive halibut that had been 

 caught in such a depth. The result, however, was contrary to our 

 hopes; for, although we did not complete hauling the lines until 8.25 p. 

 in., six of the fish were dead next morning, and all died in less than 3G 

 hours after they were put into the well. This, though somewhat dis- 

 couraging, was not entirely unexpected. It is self-evident that a fish 

 taken from a depth of 200 to 300 or more fathoms must undergo a very 

 great change in pressure and temperature in reaching the surface. 

 Such changes are generally fatal to many species of fish, and might be 

 particularly so to a halibut caught on a trawl-line, and which must 

 necessarily be half drowned and so much exhausted that it would not 

 have sufficient vitality left to endure what otherwise it could success- 

 fully withstand. It will, therefore, in my opinion, be difficult, if not 

 absolutely impracticable, to get halibut from deep water which will have 

 sufficient vitality to live until they can be carried into port alive. 



This being the case, the attempt to obtain a supply of gravid halibut 

 will be attended with many difficulties, and it is probable that success 

 will be attained only after considerable experimentation. The fact that 

 the breeding grounds of the halibut are usually, so far as known, in 

 depths ranging from 150 to 400 fathoms, and that the species is now 

 seldom found in any considerable abundance in shallow water, compli- 

 cates somewhat the solution of the problem. 



It is, however, a fact that halibut may yet be caught in a few locali- 

 ties on the west coast of Newfoundland, and along the shores of south- 

 ern Labrador, in very shallow water — 5 to 15 fathoms — during mid- 

 summer. There is a strong probability that fish caught there would 

 live for a considerable period in a vessel's well. The conditions of the 

 water in the well would be the same as those in which they were liv- 

 ing, and their capture on such shallow grounds would not seriously af- 

 fect their vitality. It is, of course, not yet certain what effect the 

 change of temperature might have on them before they arrived at 

 Wood's Holl, for undoubtedly there would be a considerable difference 

 in this respect between the littoral waters of Newfoundland and Lab- 

 rador and those of southern Massachusetts. 



We had hoped that some fish might be found with ripe eggs and 

 milt, so that the eggs could be impregnated and some experiments 

 made with them on board. But, although the majority of the halibut 

 we caught, as well as those seen on board of the M. A. Baston, were 

 apparently well advanced, none of them were ripe. This fact, together 

 with our total lack of success in keeping any halibut alive, made me 



