THE NORTHEAST COAST FISHERIES 455 



ceeds in commercial value any other product of the ocean, 

 possibly excepting the herring, which, in northern Europe, 

 forms the basis of a colossal industry. The natural home of 

 the cod is in the shore waters extending from Greenland to 

 Massachusetts, but they are taken in small numbers as far 

 south as Hatteras. They frequent the coast waters of moder- 

 ate depths, having no definite migratory habits other than 

 during certain seasons to pass to and from somewhat deeper 

 water offshore, in order to find a temperature more appro- 

 priate, or perhaps necessary to their existence. The largest 

 and best cod are those which betake themselves from the 

 shore stations to the more suitable conditions that seem to 

 be offered by those " elevated tablelands " of the Atlantic, 

 those great submarine plateaux that lie to the south and east 

 of Newfoundland, and to the east of Nova Scotia and New 

 England, and which are known as the " Banks." Here, at a 

 depth of fifty to four hundred feet, they are found in countless 

 numbers. Notwithstanding the fact that for several hundred 

 years the Banks have furnished to the fishermen millions of 

 cod, the supply seems to be but little less abundant than 

 when first discovered. On shore stations their decreas- 

 ing numbers may be attributed to the exhaustive raids 

 made upon the smaller species of fish which serve the larger 

 ones as food, rather than to the direct catch of shore cod. 

 On the Maine and Massachusetts coasts cod have long 

 since ceased to exist in quantities sufficient to warrant ex- 

 tensive operations as are now carried, on by the fleets of 

 American vessels employed on the Banks. Bartholomew 

 Gosnold, in 1602, arriving at Cape Cod, reported that the 

 fish were so abundant that they u did vex the ship." With 

 due allowance for Gosnold's enthusiasm, the prevalence of 

 cod in New England in colonial days is evidenced by the 

 flourishing business carried on along its shores by the 

 early settlers, even so late as the revolutionary era. The 

 decline was felt, however, even before that period, and it 

 continued in increasing ratio on account of the steady 

 development of manufacturing interests in New England. 

 The damming of rivers to secure water power for machinery 



