THE GILL-NET COD FISHERY. 231 



hauled in the morning- Owing to the comparative lightness of the anchors fewer men are required 

 to haul these than ill Norway, as a single fisherman will sometimes take in one or more nets, 

 though in most cases two or three go in a boat. The net-fishing is far less productive than that of 

 Norway, but sometimes a large catch is made. Captain Jacobs states that on one occasion he 

 took from four nets 2,000 cod, but says that this is rarely equaled. These fish are what are known 

 in the American markets as medium cod. 



4. THE AMERICAN FISHERY. 



Mention has been made of the introduction and trial of cod gill-nets by the United States Fish 

 Commission in 1878, but no attempt was made by the fishermen to use them until the fall of 1880, 

 when Capt. George H. Martin, of Gloucester, Mass., master of the schooner Northern Eagle, fitted 

 out with them for the winter cod fishery off Cape Ann and in Ipswich Bay. The immediate cause 

 which led to this trial was the difficulty of procuring a supply of bait, which is a source of con- 

 siderable trouble to our shore fishermen, and its cost, even when obtainable, is such a heavy tax 

 on this branch of the fishing industry that often the fishermen hesitate to engage in it, fearing 

 the result will be a loss rather than a gain. It was to obviate this difficulty and to render 

 our cod fisheries more valuable in consequence, that led Professor Baird to bring the cod gill-nets 

 to the notice of the American fishermen. The bait principally depended on by the shore fishermen 

 in the vicinity of Cape Ann, during the fall and early winter, is young herring (Clupea harengus), 

 known as the "spirliug." The appearance of these fish about the cape is somewhat irregular; 

 sometimes large schools remain for several weeks, and at other times but few can be taken. There 

 was so little probability of getting a supply of bait in the fall of 1880 that Captain Martin hesitated 

 about fitting out, fearing that the cost and difficulty of securing a supply of this article, which is 

 indispensable to the trawl-line fishery, would render the undertaking unprofitable. While the 

 matter of fitting out was under consideration, gill-nets were suggested by the father of Captain 

 Martin, an employ^ of the Fish Commission, as a means of solving the perplexities of the bait ques- 

 tion. He thought the idea a good one, and, together with several of his crew, visited the station 

 of the Commission at Gloucester, looked at the Norwegian nets that were there, and consulted with 

 the agent in charge as to the probabilities of success. The result of this interview was that Cap- 

 tain Martin decided to fit out and give them a thorough trial, and nets were therefore obtained 

 for this purpose, part of them being supplied by the Fish Commission. 



Before the trial trip was made Captain Martin had an interview with- me at Gloucester, and I 

 briefly explained to him the Norwegian methods of using the nets. He thought, however, that 

 they might be "underrun," as trawls are sometimes, which would enable one man to handle a gang 

 of nets for which an entire boat's crew, six to eight men, is required in Norway. 



Ipswich Bay, where the nets have been chiefly used, lies north of the prominent headland of Cape 

 Ann, which divides it from the waters of Massachusetts Bay on the south. A sandy beach extends 

 along the northern and western sides of the bay, and the bottom sinks gradually from this, only 

 reaching a depth of 25 to 30 fathoms at a distance of several miles from the land. The bottom of 

 the bay is a sloping sandy plateau, with only here and there small patches of rocks or clay, sup- 

 porting but a small amount of animal life that may serve as food for the cod. It is, therefore, a 

 spawning rather than a feeding ground for these fish, and large schools visit the bay during the 

 winter for the purpose of reproduction, and generally remaining until late in the spring. The nets 

 are usually set along the northern part of the bay, but a few miles from the shore, in about 15 

 fathoms of water, where there is less current than at some other points along the coast. 



A peculiar habit of the fish taken in Ipswich Bay has been observed. The fishermen state 



