THE PICKLED-HERRING TRADE. 



461 



The fish arrive about the 1st of May and continue in great numbers through the spawning 

 season, entirely disappearing about the 1st of June.* 



ANTICOSTI. Auticosti is an island about 30 miles wide by 120 miles long, lying in the month 

 of the Saint Lawrence River, about 90 miles north by west from the Magdalens, with good fishing 

 grounds along almost any portion of its coast. The principal herring grounds, however, are about 

 East Cape, the eastern extremity of the island. The fishing is at its height during the month of 

 June, and vessels failing to load up at the Magdalens can reach this island in time to secure their 

 fares. On account of an abundance of herring Jit jjther and more convenient places, few of the 

 American vessels visit this locality. 



NEWFOUNDLAND. Various portions of the coast of Newfoundland are visited by herring, and 

 they are taken, to a greater or less extent, in all of the larger bays and harbors. The principal 

 fishing grounds, however, are Fortune Bay, on the southern side, and Bonne Bay and Bay of 

 Islands, on the western shore, these being almost the only ones visited by the American vessels in 

 search of pickled herring. 



Bonne Bay is situated on the western shore of the island, about midway between the Straits 

 of Belle Isle and Cape Ray. It is a small, deep-water bay, with two arms, the southernmost of 

 which is frequented by the herring in the largest numbers. 



Bay of Islands is situated about 25 miles further south, and is not only a larger but a more 

 important fishing ground. This bay also has several arms extending 15 or 20 miles into the inte- 

 rior, and, like those of Bonne Bay, they are very deep. The principal fishing is in the southern 

 arm, locally known as the " Sou'west Arm." 



The fish are found in this region during the greater part of the year, visiting it in early spring 

 for the purpose of spawning and remaining through the season to feed upon the numerous small 

 Crustacea that are so abundant in these waters. When they arrive in the spring they are quite poor, 

 but with such quantities of food they soon become very fat, and those caught in the fall are consid- 

 ered superior to those taken on the American coast. 



The vessels occasionally visit Bonne Bay and Bay of Islands in the spring when failing to secure 

 fares at the Magdalens, but the principal fishing occurs in the fall. The fleet usually arrive in 

 October and leave about the last of December, though they are frequently obliged to leave 

 somewhat earlier to prevent being frozen in by the ice that forms in the bays. Vessels remaining 

 too long have frequently been caught in the ice and have been detained until the following spring. 



Fortune Bay, though occasionally visited by the pickled-herring fleet, is more frequently 

 resorted to by vessels engaged in the frozen-herring trade, and will be more properly considered 

 under that head. 



The following, taken from a table published by Mr. H. Y. Hind, gives the time of arrival of the herring at the 

 Magdalen Islands each season from 1861 to 1876, inclusive : 



