PART I. 
THE HALIBUT FISHERIES. 
1—THE FRESH-HALIBUT FISHERY. 
By G. BRown GOODE AND J. W. CoLLins. 
1. GENERAL REVIEW. 
_In the year 1879 there were forty vessels, of 3,168 tons, from Gloucester, Mass., employed 
exclusively in the fresh-halibut fishery. Vessels hailing from New London and the eastern end of 
Long Island were also employed, except during the winter months, in the capture of halibut, 
which they carried to New York; these vessels, however, take a considerable quantity of codfish. 
In addition to the Gloucester vessels already mentioned, which fish for halibut throughout the year, 
there were eight vessels, of 647 tons, which fished for halibut in the winter season and engaged 
in other fisheries, generally the cod fishery, from May to November.* 
The vessels of the George’s fleet, though their chief object is the capture of cod, catch consid- 
erable quantities of halibut, which are brought to Gloucester fresh; a few also are sometimes 
taken by the Western Bank cod fleet, and a still smaller quantity by the Boston Market fleet. In 
1879, and probably in 1880, there were a few small vessels on the coast of Maine which engaged 
in the fresh-halibut fishery for three or four months in the summer, carrying their fish chiefly to 
Portland. The total catch of halibut on the New England coast for 1879 was estimated at 14,637,000 
pounds, distributed as follows: 
Pounds. 
Glowcéster halibut Me6t: 0:00 seicees ct nig:s ccc seseis ose ccigigi sntinins tines see eeeewneds 8, 300, 000 
Gloucester vessels fishing in winter only.....--- .----. 2200 cece cee cee cee e ee eee 1, 000, 000 
New York halibut catchers. ...2.. 0.2206 ceccee cece cece cece ee cece cece ee cece ceee 3, 000, 000 
Gloucester, George’s fleet (incidental) -..----. 22.02. eee cece ee cone cee eee eee 2, 000, 000 
Western Bank cod vessels (incidental)... ..-. 2-22. .20. cee cee cece ee eens cece cee 37, 000 
Small vessels on the coast of Maine and Massachusetts. .........---.-2---- eee 300, 000 
TOtalcs scccicwmeewa asics sisicis-aisiels viele wetiow wu sie:s oeienicicigie sia ee'es tieteise seeweeiess 14, 637, 000 
In this chapter it is proposed to discuss in detail only the operations of the schooners engaged 
exclusively in the capture of halibut. 
* Since 1879, at which time the fresh-halibut fishery was at its greatest activity, there has been a very marked 
decline in the quantity of fish taken if not in the number of vessels employed. The product of this fishery has sel- 
dom been larger than it was in the above-named year, but since that time halibut have gradually become scarcer 
on all of the old and well known grounds, until now a “ big trip ’—of 70,000 or 80,000 pounds of fish—is seldom made, 
and 40,000 to 45,000 pounds of halibut constitute a ‘good fare.” In 1335, at the time this paper is being printed, the 
fresh-halibut fleet does not probably include more than 40 vessels, and the total catch is estimated not to exceed 
5,000,000 pounds; for the first three months of the year the Bank fleet landed only 612,000 pounds. 
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