CHAPTER V 



THE NEWFOUNDLAND COD FISHERY 



THE cod is widely distributed in the northern and 

 temperate seas of Europe and America. It lives close 

 to the bottom, in from 25 to 50 fathoms of water, and 

 feeds upon fish, small Crustacea, worms and mollusca. 

 The cod spawns in the Spring. Of the 4,000,000 or so 

 eggs that are spawned by a single female cod, compara- 

 tively few are hatched, and fewer still reach maturity. 

 The young are about 1 in. long by the beginning of the 

 summer, and become fit for the market at the end of the 

 second year. Usually, the fish are mature at the end 

 of the third year, and then measure about 3 ft. in length, 

 and weigh from 12 to 201bs. They are in the finest 

 condition in October, November and December. 



In addition to its great value as a food fish, the cod, 

 like the sturgeon, yields isinglass (a pure fish gelatine) 

 from its swimming bladder, and oil from its liver. Cod- 

 liver oil is largely used as a remedy for scrofulous com- 

 plaints probably owing to its content of vitamins. 

 It is also used effectively in cases of pulmonary 

 consumption. 



Cod is fished along the coasts of Newfoundland and 

 Labrador, and on the Banks. The Banks stretch for 

 about 300 miles in a south-east direction from the coast 

 of Newfoundland towards the middle of the North 

 Atlantic. They are swept by the cold Labrador current. 

 A branch of the Gulf Stream passes over the southern 

 portion of the Banks. These currents bring enormous 

 quantities of plankton and small fish, which provide 

 excellent food for the many varieties of fish and small, 



