604 MISCELLANEOUS 



" Sometimes there is no good fishing at the first anchorage; in that 

 case the anchor is weighed and the boat is sailed away in search of a 

 better place. When the fish is plentiful it is not an uncommon case 

 to see the boats coming ashore in the afternoon with 2000 pounds of 

 fish, that is 1000 for each man." 



" The fishermen generally remain on the fishing .grounds until four 

 or five o'clock in the afternoon, after which they hasten ashore in 

 order that the cod they bring may be split and salted immediately, 

 before it has time to heat or soften " (Dr. Fortin). 



The bank fishing is made with long lines which our fishermen call 

 " Norman lines." These lines consist of a long and strong line of from 

 600 to 1200 fathoms with hooks fastened along its whole length at 

 regular distances by shorter and smaller lines, called snoods. The 

 snoods are three feet long and are placed on the long line six feet 

 apart to prevent the hooks becoming entangled. At each end of the 

 long line is an anchor, a buoy line and a buoy, and the line is always 

 laid across the tide; for if the tide runs upon the end of the line, the 

 hooks will become entangled and the fishing would be totally lost. 



On getting to the bank or fishing-ground, the hooks being pre- 

 viously baited and the line neatly coiled in tubs, clear for running out, 

 one of the two fishermen who are manning the boat sinks the line 

 whilst the other is steering the boat. 



The line remains in the water from six to eight hours, according to 

 the time when sunk and also to other circumstances, after which time 

 it is hauled in. In certain seasons of the year, especially in the month 

 of September, two fishermen in a few hours, with a line of 800 

 fathoms, will take five or six thousand pounds of fish. 



From the 15th of June to the 15th of October, two men carrying 

 on the bank fishing actively can easily take 600 quintals of cod-fish. 

 The average quantity caught by each boat is about 400 quintals, each 

 quintal being worth six shillings in the local markets. 



" The months of June, July and August are the most favourable 

 for the cod fishery; not only because during that period, the air is 

 frequently calm, there are long spells of fine weather, and storms are 

 more rare than at any other time during the season, but also because 

 it is then that the cod-fish resorts more to the coast either to spawn 

 or in pursuit of the caplin or sable launce, on which it feeds, and 

 because these fish, which serve as bait, are then more abundant and 

 easier to take; for it must be remembered that there is no good fish- 

 ing without fresh bait. The cod is not at all partial to salt-fish, and 

 it is only on the great banks where the cod feeds chiefly on Crustacea 

 and mollusca that it bites at a line baited with salt herring or salt 

 caplin." 



" It is therefore most essential for the fishermen to be always pro- 

 vided with fresh fish for bait, and they accordingly have herring, 

 caplin and launce seines which they make use of every morning and 

 every evening, to provide themselves with a sufficient quantity of 

 little fish for the day 'J (Dr. Fortin). 



On every large fishing establishment, from the end of May to the 

 beginning of August two or three boats, each of them manned by 

 seven men called seiners, are employed day and night in going 

 about the coast in search of the caplin, herring and launce. Some- 

 times they have to go 20 and 25 miles from the establishment. When 

 they meet with a shoal of these fish, they cast the seine, load their 



