72 THE FISHING INDUSTRY 



towards the dory. Each end of the trawl is attached 

 to an anchor by a line 1 fathom in length, and to a 

 buoy by a line 25 fathoms longer than the depth of the 

 water at that point. Thus, the trawl is situated just 

 above the ground. The trawls are set once a day and 

 drawn three hours afterwards, or set in the afternoon and 

 drawn the following morning. The shorter the time 

 between setting and drawing, the better the condition 

 of the fish. In hauling the trawl, one man stands in the 

 bow of the boat and hauls in the trawl, detaching the 

 fish, the other man receiving the trawl and coiling it. 

 A dory carries on an average 1,000 Ibs. of fish, and may 

 sometimes make two or three trips before the line is 

 cleared. 



The fish are " gaffed " from the dories to the fishing 

 vessel and are kept on deck, packed between division 

 boards to prevent sliding or turning of the fish by the 

 movements of the vessel. 



When the fish are all aboard, they are split and 

 cleaned and salted down. The crew is divided into 

 splitting gangs, each consisting of three men the 

 throater, the gutter, and the spHtter. The throater 

 grasps the fish by the head with the left hand, and, 

 holding it with its back on the edge of a tub, cuts its 

 throat just behind the gills, and makes a slit down the 

 belly. The head is then broken off by downward pressure 

 against the edge of the tub, and the fish is passed on to 

 the gutter. He opens the belly with his left hand, 

 removes the liver for oil, and tears out the viscera. The 

 fish then goes to the splitter, who completes the ventral 

 splitting of the fish and removes the backbone. 



After being well washed, care being taken to remove 

 all blood, the fish are passed down a canvas chute into 

 the hold, where they are carefully salted and piled in 

 " kenches." The fish are laid on their backs alternately 



