THE COD-FISHERY 



notice that the buoys go in pairs, in some cases each two 

 being joined by a thin line, and the distance between 

 the two being anything from a hundred and fifty yards 

 to a quarter of a mile. On reaching these the dories 

 separate, one boat or perhaps two rowing towards 

 either end of the connecting line ; the others lying 

 between, and waiting to bear a hand as soon as they 

 are wanted. One of the men responsible for the tackle 

 now leans over the gunwale, seizes the buoy by its iron 

 ring and drags it aboard. It may now be seen that, from 

 each of the kegs another line the "buoy-line"" runs 

 downwards, and on this the men at either end begin to 

 haul for all they are worth, as though they were weighing 

 up an anchor. In point of fact, that is just what they 

 are doing; for presently the intermediate men make a 

 grab at something under water with hands outstretched 

 and, everyone pulling together, up comes a line equal in 

 length to the connecting cord, with a little anchor 

 fastened to each end of it. From this line, branching 

 in all directions, are others only a few feet long, each 

 bearing a hook from two to three hundred of them in 

 all ; and more than half of these have caught a cod. 

 This is what is meant by French trawling. 



Very speedily the dorymen release the fish, packing them 

 neatly away in their boats. Sometimes there will be more 

 than they can find room for, and these must either be left 

 on the hooks or thrown back into the sea. Another 

 method of clearing the tackle is, as in the seine-netting, 

 to tow the whole catch back to the vessel. The coast 

 fishermen of Miquelon and St. Pierre now use no other 



105 



