During the 13th century, the cud abandonned little by little the Gulf 

 of Gascogne, then the Channel, and its fishery became insignificant. Since 

 then the French fishery for cod has been in the North Sea. But in time, ac- 

 cess to this sea was forbidden by the Dutch who intended to take for them- 

 selves by force of arms exclusive exploitation. The maintenance of this 

 important industry required that new fishing grounds be found, far as they 

 might be from France, since the salting of fish permitted it to be sold in a 

 good state of preservation after a long period at sea. 



It was thus that the fishermen of France and Brittany carried their in- 

 dustry to the vicinity of Iceland, where it was established in the first half 

 of the 15th century, to be extended, at the beginning of the following cen- 

 tury, in the rich fishing banks discovered in the vicinity of Newfoundland. 



Aside from the cod, one finds in the coastal waters of Newfoundland 

 and on the banks, many other species of fish. Four among them are par- 

 ticularly well-known among the cod fishermen. The haddock (Gadus aegle- 

 finnus), which the fishermen call anon , belongs, like the cod, to the impor- 

 tant family of Gadidae. In its general aspect, it is distinguished easily by 

 a black spot on each side underneath the first dorsal. Its length, moreover, 

 does not exceed 80 centimeters, with a maximum weight of eight kilograms. 



Also common in the North Sea, the English Channel, and the Gulf of 

 Gascogne, this fish (the haddock) is caught by deep-sea trawlers and has 

 been long known and appreciated in the French markets. But it is in the 

 vicinity of Newfoundland, Iceland, and other places of the cod fishery that 

 one finds this fish in great abundance. More of a bottom fish than the cod, 

 it never comes up, as sometimes the cod does, toward the surface waters. 

 It seeks water temperatures a little higher than those preferred by the cod, 

 so that although the two species have the same habitat, their great schools 

 seldom overlap. It is rare, however, that among a catch of one kind or 

 the other, the fishing gear does not catch a certain number of represent- 

 atives of the other. 



The common halibut (Iiippoglossus hippoglossus) is a flat-fish of the 

 family Pleuronectidae, of which it is the giant. Individuals have been taken 

 of this species attaining a length of 3-1/2 meters with weights exceeding 

 350 kilograms, and it is not unusual to take specimens of 2-1/2 meters 

 weighing 150 kilograms. 



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