72 FISHING-GEOUNDS OF NORTH AMEEIGA. 



are cangbt except in the deep water along the soutliem edge of the ground, where they have 

 sometimes been found quite plentiful during nearly the entire year. Hake are also found in 

 large numbers in the deep water about the edges of the ground, and even on the ridges. As a 

 general thing, few vessels besides those from Gloucester have made a practice of fishing on Le 

 Have Eidges, though cod-fishermen from other places stop there now and then during the summer. 

 In the deep water bordering the southern side of Le Have Eidges, Gorgonian corals {Primnoa, 

 Paragorgia, etc.) occur on the rocky bottoms, while on the ridges themselves sea anemones, star- 

 fishes, mollusks, crabs, and other crustaceans abound. 



ROSBWAT BANK. 



Eoseway Bank lies nortli of the western part of Le Have Bank and southeast of Shelbnrne 

 light, Wova Scotia. It is oblong in shape, and of slight extent (about two hundred and seventy 

 square geographical miles), its greatest length being about twenty-one miles, and its greatest 

 breadth about fifteen miles. It extends from 43° 12' to 43° 33' north latitude, and from 64° 25' 

 to 64° 52' west longitude, and at the northwest corner is connected with the shore limit of 

 sixty fathoms by a narrow neck. The depths on this bank vary from thirty-three to forty- 

 eight fathoms, and the bottom consists of sand, gravel, and rocks. 



The currents in this region are not nearly so strong as in the vicinity of Cape Sable and 



Brown's Bank. The general direction of the flow is about west-southwest and east-northeast, 



the westerly current being usually much the stronger, although the force and direction of 



both are more or less influenced by the winds. The principal fish taken on this bank 



are cod, haddock, and cusk, but hake, pollock, and halibut also occur there. The best fishing 



season is generally-from May to October, during which time the bank is mainly resorted to by 



small sized vessels from the western part of Nova Scotia, although a few New England vessels 



also occasionally fish there. 



brown's bank. 



Brown's Bank lies in a northeasterly direction from George's Bank, and is separated from 

 it by a gully fifteen miles wide, in which the depths of water range from one hundred to four 

 hundred and fifty fathoms. This bank is Imperfectly laid down on the published charts now in 

 use by the fishermen, and no comprehensive idea of its extent and consequent importance as a 

 fishing-ground is, therefore, conveyed by them. 



The charts published by the United States Coast Survey define the boundaries of the bank 

 much more accurately and afford a better idea of the area visited by the fishing-vessels than 

 the Admiralty and Eldridge charts. The depths of water range from twenty to seventy -five 

 fathoms over this area, which embraces Avithin its limits about twenty two hundred and 

 seventy-five square miles. The greatest length of the bank, from southeast to northwest, is 

 sixty-three miles, and the extreme breadth forty-three miles. It is situated between 64° 52' and 

 G60 29' west longitude, and 41° 50' and 43° 02' north latitude. There is a small rocky shoal on 

 the northern part (the exact location of which seems not to have been definitely determined), on 

 which, it is said, there is not more than nine to fifteen fathoms of water. The bank slopes away 

 from the shoal on the south and east, to depths of fifty-five to seventy-five fathoms ; but at a 

 distance of twelve to fifteen miles off it again rises to depths of thirty to fifty fathoms. This 

 area of shoal water, within the fifty-fathom limit, is fifty miles long -with an average width of 

 fifteen miles. North of the shoal the bottom drops off suddenly to depths of seventy to eighty 

 fathoms. The bottom is largely composed of coarse sand, gravel, pebbles, and rocks, and is 

 rich in animal life. 



