THIRTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING. 217 
the nets in position until the work is accomplished. When 
the end of the gang is reached, it is thrown off the dory, and 
the nets remain setting as before, needing no further attention 
until the next day. 
As will be readily understood, this method of fishing can be 
carried on with the minimum of labor, and it has also this addi- 
tional advantage, namely: while the gear is still out, the vessel 
may take her morning’s catch to the market, or, if the weather 
is threatening, she may quietly remain at anchor over night 
in the nearest harbor, though, in the meantime, her nets are 
fishing. 
Ipswich bay, where the nets have been chiefly used, more par- 
ticularly in the winters of 1880-’81r and 1881-’82, lies north of 
the prominent headland of Cape Ann, which divides it from the 
waters of Massachusetts bay on the south. A sandy beach ex- 
tends 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 and sandy plateau, with only 
here and there small patches of rocks or clay, supporting 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 remain until late in 
the spring. The nets are usually set along the northern portion 
of the bay, only a few miles from the shore, in about fifteen 
fathoms of water, where there is less current than at many other 
points along the coast. | 
In this connection may be mentioned a curious fact which has 
been observed concerning the fish that have been taken in Ips- 
wich bay during the past two or three winters. It is stated that 
a large portion of the fish caught in this bay have been netted 
onasmall area not exceeding three-fourths of a mile in diam- 
eter. This piece of ground, I have been told by the fishermen, 
for a considerable portion of the season seems to be swarming 
with cod, while the adjacent bottom appears to be quite barren 
of fish. According to Captain S. J. Martin, the center of this 
area bears south by west from Whales-back light, Portsmouth, 
