FISH 



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FISH 



past. Broadly speaking, the water surround- 

 ing a country is the sole property of that 

 country for a distance of three miles from its 

 shores. Fishing within those limits is regu- 

 lated by state or national laws. Outside those 

 limits the sea is world property, and fishing 

 is governed by international laws. Fishing in 

 inland streams and small lakes is regulated by 

 state or provincial laws. The catching of fish 

 is prohibited at certain seasons, and in many 

 cases fishing in state and even in privately- 

 owned waters is restricted to those who pay 

 for the privilege or who have obtained a 

 license. In Canada the fishing laws vary in 

 the different provinces, but are based on the 

 principle of preserving the stock while permit- 



ting capture of sufficient fish to meet market 

 demands. 



Fish Products. The value of fish is by no 

 means confined to its desirability as food. The 

 cod, although one of the most nutritious of 

 food fishes, furnishes a supply of oil that would 

 warrant its capture even if it were not a food 

 fish. Cod-liver oil is used medicinally in every 

 part of the world. The menhaden, caught in 

 great quantities off the shores of New Eng- 

 land, is used as a fertilizer, and is also valued 

 for its oil. The skin of many large fishes fur- 

 nishes shagreen. From the cuttle-fish sepia 

 is prepared, and from the dried and powdered 

 refuse of all fish a very useful fertilizer is 

 manufactured. G.W. 



Deep-Sea Fisheries 



The deep-sea fisheries of the United States 

 have been carried on in waters adjacent to 

 the New England states continuously for more 

 than three hundred years. The pursuit of the 

 mackerel and the cod, with its allied species, 

 the haddock, hake, halibut, pollack and cusk, 

 constitutes the deep-sea fisheries of New Eng- 

 land. The chief ports of the industry are 

 Boston and Gloucester, Mass. Boston ranks 

 as the principal market for fresh fish, while 

 Gloucester excels in salted fish and fish prod- 

 ucts. In 1915 the value of the deep-sea fish- 

 eries of New England was $4,737,917. The 

 fishery was carried on by a fleet of 410 sails, 

 which made a total of over 7,000 fishing trips 

 during the season. 



The codfish, with the five others of his kin- 

 dred, are called ground-fish, from their habit 

 of living at the bottom of the ocean. The 

 fishery for ground-fish is pursued at all seasons 

 of the year, more especially during the warmer 

 months, except in case of the fresh haddock 

 fishery. The principal deep-sea fishing grounds, 

 or banks, in order of their importance, are the 

 South Channel, George's Bank, Brown's Bank, 

 the Bank of Newfoundland, the Cape Shore 

 of Nova Scotia, and the Gulf of Saint Law- 

 rence. George's Bank, southeast of Massachu- 

 setts, is the northeast extension of the Nan- 

 tucket Shoals toward Nova Scotia; it covers 

 an area of sea bottom greater than the area 

 of Massachusetts. Brown's Bank lies between 

 the George's Bank and Nova Scotia. The 

 Grand Bank of Newfoundland is southeast of 

 Newfoundland and has an area of 37,000 square 

 miles, or more than that of the state of In- 

 diana. American fishermen frequent the Grand 



Bank of Newfoundland principally for codfish 

 and halibut. 



Methods of Catching Ground -Fish. . The 

 ground-fish have a restricted movement over 

 their fishing grounds during the different sea- 

 sons of the year. When the fishing schooner 

 reaches the Banks it is anchored, and there 

 it remains as long as the fishing proves profit- 

 able ; but the schooner may be anchored at sev- 

 eral parts of the vast fishing grounds on a single 

 trip. Deep-sea fishing for cod and the other 

 ground-fish is pursued by means of hand lines 

 and trawls. Formerly fishing was carried on 

 by means of hand lines from the schooner's 

 deck; later, the hand-line fishing was done 

 from dories, each schooner carrying seven or 

 eight dories, with two fishermen in each. 



The ground-fishery to-day is carried on prin- 

 cipally by means of the trawl, which consists 

 of a stout cod line about a mile in length, to 

 which are fastened at intervals of six feet 

 smaller lines about three feet long, each fit- 

 ted with a hook at the end. After the trawl 

 has been baited with frozen herring or clams 

 it is coiled in tubs until it is used. Fishing 

 with trawls is done from dories, there being 

 two fishermen and two trawls in each dory. 

 The dories are rowed a mile or more from the 

 schooner in different directions; after reach- 

 ing the location where the trawl is to be set 

 one man rows the boat while his dory-mate 

 throws the trawl overboard. When the trawl 

 has been set it lies on the sea bottom, or 

 close to it. Each end of the trawl is buoyed 

 up by a small cask, which remains at the sur- 

 face to enable the fishermen to locate the 

 trawl. After one trawl has been set the fish- 



