XIV EXPLANATION OP CHARTS. 



the presumption that schools of halibut which have been thinned out and scattered by incessafit fishing require at 

 least many years to recover their former size, or even to show a perceptible increase. The history of the halibut 

 fishery of the Great Banks covers a comparatively short period, and future observations may correct some of the pre- 

 vailing opinions respecting, that fishery. These remarks do not apply to the regular migrations of the halibut, which 

 have been elsewhere discussed. 



Fewer references are made to the localities of cod than to those of halibut fishing, and the former relate mainly 

 to certain areas on the Grand Bank which are deserving of special notice. They also furnish an idea of the prin- 

 cipal localities where fishing is carried on in the different seasons, and the character of the bait used in different 

 places. 



Special localities are designated by Eoman numerals to facilitate reference. All of the fishing schooners men- 

 tioned by name belonged to ports in the United States and most of them bailed from Gloucester, Mass. 



Chart No. 3.— The Banks of Newfoundland. 



Banh of Saint Pierre. — Cod and halibut, although once abundant on this bank, were scarce during the few years 

 immediately preceding 1880, and during that period not a single fare of halibut was taken in depths of less than 

 70 to 100 fathoms, and no good cod fishing was obtained there by American vessels. Since 1880, however, cod have 

 apparently returned to Saint Pierre in as great abundance as ever, and we understand that several vessels from New 

 England secured good fares there in a short time, during 1883 and 1884. Halibut were still scarce up to the last- 

 mentioned date. From 1865 to 1872 tfts bank was much' resorted to for halibut. The spots inclosed by the dotted 

 lines marked I on this chart, and XIV on the chart of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, were formerly good halibut grounds, 

 but these are not the only localities where this species was taken on the bank. 



I. The space inclosed by the dotted line is the so-called "Southern Shoal Water" of the Bank of Saint Pierre, 

 and was formerly the most important halibut ground on the bank. 



II. In this position, in a depth of 140 to 170 fathoms, halibut were abundant in 1878, and &om May to Septem- 

 ber of that year the schooner Gwendolen took four or five good fares on a small area of hard bottom, surrounded by 

 mud. Halibut have occasionally been taken since then, but are less common than when the place was first discovered. 



Green Banlc. — The gullies separating Green Bank from Saint Pierre and the .Grand Bank, and the extensive deep 

 plateau that extends from Saint Pierre to the Grand Bank, along the southern border of Green Bank, constitute together 

 one of the most important halibut grounds that has been recently discovered. In their spring migrations, the halibut 

 follow nearly along the course indicated by the dotted line running along the edge of the Grand Bank to the Bank of 

 Saint Pierre. Since the deep-water halibut fishery was begun, in 1875, halibut have been abundant along the edge of 

 the slope south of Green Bank, and have generally been most numerous from February to May. In some years they 

 have been plentiful all summer and even in the fall. In the fall of 1882 one or more good fares of cod were obtained 

 just south of this bank, in 65 fathoms of water. 



III. The schooner Nathaniel Webster caught a fare of 80,000 pounds of 'halibut in this position, in March, 1879, 

 and many other large fares have been taken in the same locality. 



IV. Excellent fishing ground for halibut, in depths of 90 to 140 fathoms, from May to October, 1875. In April, 

 1876, halibut were again very abundant in 80 to 90 fathoms, and were noticed to be moving slowly westward along 

 the edge of the ground. In the position marked, the schooner Howard took a fare of 95,000 pounds of halibut in a 

 few days, and eight or ten other vessels obtained fares at the same time, ranging from 75,000 to 115,000 pounds each. 

 Halibut were found here again, March 25, 1877, March 15, 1878, and February, 1879. In the years succeeding 1875, 

 halibut, though abundant in the late winter and spring, were generally scarce in the summer and fall. In 1882, how- 

 ever, they were exceedingly plentiful during the entire summer and a part of the fall. 



V. Halibut abundant in October, 1875. 



VI. Large oatches^of halibut made in April, 1877. 



The Grand Banlc or Great Banlc of Newfoundland— YU. Good halibut fishing found by the schooner Ocean Belle 

 at this place, in 52 fathoms, in April, 1877. 



VIII. First fishing for fresh halibut on the Grand Banks in upwards of 100 fathoms at this place, in April, 1875. 

 The fish were very abundant in depths of 100 to 160 fathoms. 



IX. Very good halibut fishing, February, 1879. 



X. The schooner G. G. Kidder found halibut abundant here in the spring of 1874 in 90 fathoms, and obtained the 

 first fare of fresh halibut taken in deep water on the Grand Banks. 



XI. The area inclosed by the dotted line afforded excellent halibut fishing during several years, the season lasting 

 from February until May. Since 1877 the fish have been scarce here. 



