INTRODUCTION. IX 



On the Pacific coast the sea fisheries have as yet been but little developed, and sueh as exist 

 are mainly carried oh along shore. No attempts are made to discover oflfshoro grounds, probably 

 because of the scarcity of markets for the sale of fish. The principal fisheries between the Straits 

 of Fuca and Lower California are in the neighborhood of San Francisco, but the grounds resorted 

 to do not extend seaward beyond the Farallone Islands. In Alaskan waters sea fishing is pursued 

 mostly by the natives, but rich cod and halibut grounds exist in that region. 



Of special sea fisheries, the mackerel, menhaden, and sponging grounds have been briefly 

 treated, and accounts of the fishing grounds of the Great Lakes have also been admitted into this 

 section. The mackerel and menhaden greunds furnish ocean fisheries of great magnitude, in the 

 same general region in which are located many of the more important inshore fishing banks and 

 ledges of the northeastern coast of the United States, and are frequented by large fleets of vessels 

 built and equipped expressly fcr the purpose. The lake grounds are all situated comparatively 

 near shore, but often extend into considerable depths of water ; they are seldom characterized by 

 any peculiarities in the nature of the bottom, but are generally favorable localities for the setting 

 of nets, or passage-ways used by tlie fish in moving from place to place. The principal kinds of 

 fish taken are the lake-trout and whitefish, the appliances used being chiefly pound-nets, gill-nets, 

 and seines. In seme places, as at the Sault de Ste. Marie, dip-nets are employed from canoes in 

 the capture of whitefish, and some hook-and-line fishing is also done. 



In locating and definihg the various fishing grounds, the writers have resorted both to brief 

 descriptive accounts and to sketch maps or charts, the latter being employed only where the 

 grounds are sufQciently well known to permit of their being plotted with at least approximate 

 accuracy. This has been possible for almost the entire eastern c«ast of North America, but that 

 region alone has been thus graphically represented. 



The information upon which the report is based was derived from many sources. The fishing 

 grounds of Davis Strait were visited in 1879 by Mr. N. P. Scudder, then an assistant on the 

 United States Fish Commission ; and he has prepared a full account of his trip, from which we 

 extract that portion bearing upon the cod and halibut banks, adding a few notes made by other 

 observers. The map of the same region was also furnished by Mr. Scudder. As to the inshore 

 grounds of the British coast Provinces and the grounds of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, we have 

 relied in part on Canadian fishery reports, in part on accounts received from United States fisher- 

 men, who have repeatedly visited that region. 



The outlines and principal contours of the offshore banks, from the Flemish Cap to, and 

 including, Brown's Bank, have been taken mainly from the British Admiralty charts, and those of 

 George's Bank from the charts of the United States Coast Survey. The data respecting the char- 

 acteristics of those banks, their productiveness and their history, were almost entirely brought 

 together by Capt. Joseph W. Collins, whose personal experiences for many years in the fisheries 

 of every part of that extensive region entitle his statements and opinions to our fullest confidence. 

 The same author is also to be credited with obtaining most of the information concerning the fish- 

 ing grounds of the Gulf of Maine and the New England coast north of Cape Cod, many of these 

 grounds having likewise come within his personal observation. The account for Southern New 

 England, New York, and New Jersey was prepared from information procured by Mr. B. Eath- 

 buu directly from reliable authorities, and that for the Southern Atlantic coast mainly from the 

 observations of Mr. E. E. Earll. The report upon the fishing grounds of the Gulf of Mexico was 

 furnished complete by Mr. Silas Stearns, of Pensacola,Fla., one of the best informed authorities on 

 the sea fisheries of our southern coast. Prof D. S. Jordan, who reports upon the western coast of the 

 Dnited States, and Messrs. Kumlien and True, who prepared the account for the Great Lakes, 



