214 FISHERMEN'S OWN BOOK. 



some of them of 120 tons burthen, and carry six dories, from 1,000 to 1,500 

 hooks to a dory. There are two vessels that carry eight dories each. 



The haddock fishery commences, as a general thing, about the first of 

 November. Some vessels go earlier. It is nothing unusual for a vessel to 

 be gone ten days and return with 75,000, 80,000 and sometimes 90,000 lbs. 

 The price of haddock has been high all this Winter (1881-2). In years 

 gone by, when there were twenty-five sail of vessels tending the market, the 

 market would sometimes be overstocked. Now there is a haddock fleet of 

 one hundred and fifty sail, carrying their catch to market — not to Gloucester 

 alone, but to Portland, Portsmouth and Boston — and all the haddock find a 

 ready sale. There has been but once this Winter when the market was 

 overstocked and the haddock were sold to be split and dried at $1.35 per 

 cwt. Twenty years ago that was considered a good price. 



Thirty years ago haddock were very scarce on Georges, and the vessels 

 used to carry them there for halibut-bait. Now a vessel will catch 50,000 

 lbs. there in one day. The haddock generally come on Georges the first of 

 February ; before that time the fleet go to Cape Negro and LaHave Bank. 

 The Georges haddock vessels, the large ones, discontinue that fishery about 

 the first of April. 



Sch. Martha C, Capt. Charles Martin, of this port, arrived in Boston 

 Feb. 17, 1882, with the largest trip of haddock and best stock ever reported 

 in the haddock fishery. She weighed off 93,000 lbs., stocking $1,943, the 

 crew sharing $91 each. This was the result of two and a half days' fishing; 

 time absent, ten days. On her next trip she landed 55,000 lbs. on a good 

 market, and stocked $1,513, giving her a stock of $3,456 on the two trips. 



Mr. George Steele's new schooner Dido, Capt. William N. Wells, made 

 eight haddock trips in nine and a half weeks, the present year (1882), stock- 

 ing $7,060. On one trip she was absent ninety-four hours, and stocked 

 $1,404. 



