956 A Brief Biography of the Halibut. [October, 
places at sea in which the fish is found, and that the name simply 
means “a deep-sea fish,” or “a deep-sea flounder.” 
The general distribution of the halibut having been sketched 
in outline, it may, perhaps, be appropriate to discuss more fully 
the range and abundance of the fish upon the coast of North 
America, and to describe the regions where it is sought by 
American fishing vessels. 
Halibut are taken very abundantly on Holsteinborg bank, at 
the southern entrance to Davis’ strait, latitude 67° north and 
longitude 54° to 56° west, where several Gloucester schooners 
have in past years obtained large cargoes of salted fish. In 
Etzel’s “ Gronland,” it is stated that halibut are taken chiefly in the 
southern part of North Greenland, and everywhere on the shoals 
among the islands in the district of Egedesminde, especially about 
Agto, Riskol and Ikerasak, in latitude 68°, and somewhat less 
near Disko, in latitude 76°. They are captured most abundantly 
in the spring and fall. They are even taken, at greater depths, as 
far north as Omenak, in latitude 71°. Ina later work Rink asserts 
that “the Netarnak or larger halibut is found on the banks, as 
well as in different places outside the islands, up to 70° north lat- 
itude, in depths of from thirty to fifty fathoms.” In the same later 
work Rink remarks that halibut are plentiful in the fall about 
Egedesminde, and especially about Agto, the southernmost out- 
post of North Greenland. Etzel goes on to state, regarding the 
occurrence of halibut in South Greenland, that in July and Au- 
gust they are taken on the outer coast and among the islands 
at depths of thirty to fifty fathoms, while in winter they frequent 
deeper regions and are but seldom seen. Rink narrates that in 
1809 there were taken among the islands off Godthaab (64° 8’ 
north latitude) 2000 halibut, and that in a single half-day two 
boats took over one hundred. They are rarely taken in the dis- 
trict of Julianshaab, in latitude 60° 43’ north. 
Peter C. Sutherland, writing of Riskol bank, in 1850, stated 
that halibut were then very abundant in that locality, and that the 
= cod-fishing vessels which visited Davis’ strait every season used 
_ them to bait their hooks, though the supply far exceeded the 
_ demand for this purpose. 
_ Sutherland narrates that on the return of the Penny expedition, 
in 1851, when crossing the Arctic circle, in longitude 53°, the 
ilors put over lines baited with pork and hooked a cod anda 
i wa at sea depth of forty fathoms. 
