110 



HISTORY AND METHODS OF THE FISHERIES. 



The passage home was uneventful, the crew being unemployed the greater part of the time. 

 Some read, others walked the deck, smoked if they could get tobacco, and lay in their bunks. 

 Most of the food gave out, until toward the last nothing but salt meat and bread were left. We 

 reached Gloucester the 17th of September. 



4. THE VESSELS 



A part of the salted halibut is brought into port by vessels not exclusively engaged in this 

 fishery. Vessels visiting the Banks after codfish are in the habit of salting the halibut they catch, 

 and even the fresh-halibut fishermen, when the number of fish taken is greater than they have ice 

 for preserving, often salt the remainder. But at present the larger part of the salted halibut is 

 obtained by schooners "fitted out" for catching and salting these fish. These schooners, in size, 

 speed, and sea- worthiness are among the best of fishing vessels. Remaining on the fishing grounds 

 months at a time they often experience heavy weather such as only the stanchest vessels could 

 possibly survive, and, as the grounds are at a distance from home, size and speed are very desir- 

 able. 



The following table gives the names, the tonnage, and the date and place of building of vessels 

 engaged in the Davis' Strait fishery, which has for the last few years monopolized the salt-halibut 

 fishery: 



Tonnage, date, and place of building of vessels that have been engaged in the Davit 1 Strait fishery. 



5. APPARATUS AND METHODS OF FISHING. 



The fishing is done by means of trawls. A trawl is composed of several parts. First, there 

 is the ground-line, which is anchored at each end and lies on the bottom. The hooks are attached 

 to lines 5 feet long, called gangings, which are in turn fastened to the ground-lino at every 2 

 fathoms, sometimes at every 2. To mark the position of each end of the trawl, a line extends 

 from the anchor at the end of the ground line to a buoy on the surface of the water. 



The main or ground-line is about a quarter of an inch in diameter, and is made up of parts 

 50 fathoms long. Each of these parts has one end fastened, so that it will not unravel, while the 

 other has a loop spliced in it. The end not spliced is tied to the loop end of the next part by 

 a knot, which is both strong and secure, though easily untied. The trawls can thus, by using 



