32 



MARINE AND FIfiHERIES 



6-7 EDWARD VII., A. 1907 



Canso, where we could scarcely go any distance from home without being exposed 

 to some danger in the open sea. The coast being bold and rocky yields little to 

 the shore collector and, as a consequence, reliance had to be placed on netting and 

 di-edging. But these again we could only perform near shore and for the latter a 

 rocky bottom is unproductive. Rarely has the dredge been used beyond fifty fathoms, 

 and this for two reasons: first, because of our inability to go far out from shore, and 

 second, because of the impossibility of hauling up the dredge by hand from a much 

 greater depth. 



Work was conducted at Canso 17 weel^s in 1901 and 19 weeks in 1902 — in the first 

 of these years for a month before the arrival of the station, in the second, which was 

 the longest term yet spent at the station, from May 1 to September 20. May and part 

 of June were so cold and windy that it was unsafe to venture against the unman- 

 ageably rough seas. Hence time was profitably spent in collecting from shore, exam- 

 ining fish brought to the wharfs by steamers and schooners, or working over former 

 collections madfe at the station. 



With these brief references to the areas examined, the time spent in work each 

 season and the means of visiting various localities it is appropriate to mention the 

 methods of collecting. These of course differ according to the nature of the collect- 

 ing ground and the kinds of animals sought. An excursion along the shore, especially 

 after a storm, yields animals washed up on the beach, some of which, like sponges 

 and jelly-fish, may have been brought long distances. An examination of the sea-weed 

 may prove fruitful in crustacea, snails, worms and the like. With long rubber boots, a 

 jDail and a dip-net, one «an wade in the water and look for ctenophores, shoals of shrimps 

 and small fish. The turning over of stones between tide marks is most fruitful and reveals 

 numerous species of worms, clams, &c., which may also be procured by digging with a 

 spade into gravelly, sandy, or muddy ground in similar localities. About low-water 

 mark is often to be found a different assemblage of animals, consisting of star-fish, 

 brittle-stars, sea-urchins, sea-cucumbers, &c., and flat stones below the lowest tide- 

 mark^ may shelter under them sponges, worms, molluscs, echinoderms, tunicates, &c., 

 as well as the eggs and larvse of many different species. Much can be learned by such 

 procedure, and sometimes one may come upon rare specimens in the most unexpected 

 positions. 



With a boat the piles of wharfs, the timbers of piers, the stakes of brush- 

 V7eirs, the sides of ships below the water-line, may be examined; old lobster pots and 

 such objects, that may have lain for some time in the sea- water, may be hauled up 

 and searched; and the shores of islands reached and investigated. On the way the 

 water is scanned and the dip-net is kept to hand, a large net may be towed behind the 

 beat, or small close-meshed nets may be towed along the surface or weighted to sink 

 to different levels. These catch the small adult forms and larvse that constitute the 

 food of many fish, and some of the latter may be obtained by hook and line, while 

 v:>-{hers may be secured in shallower, water. To procure animals that live on the bottom 

 a dredge, consisting of a quadrangular iron frame with a net attached at one .lide and 

 a bale at the other^ is dragged by a long rope let out behind the boat. The flat jaws 

 of iron scrape off sponges, mollusca, echinoderms, &c., from the rocks which fall into 

 the net behind, or collect shells and stones with hydroids, bryozoa and tunicates attached 

 or mud containing worms and shells. Both the propulsion of the boat and the hauling 

 of the dredge are best performed by machinery, but the smallness of the station's 

 boats prohibits the use of a winch. Generally it has been found more productive to 

 low the boat. Propelled by sail or by the engine the speed is usually suflicient to 

 L'fiise the small dredges off the bottom, but often good catches have been made by 

 simply allowing the boat to drift with the wind or in a surface current. The beam- 

 trawl, already mentioned, consists of a strong beam 12 feet long supported on runners 

 couple of feet from the ground. Behind is attached a large long-pointed, coarse- 

 meshed net of strong cord. The lower lip of this is strengthened by a rope weighted 

 b;^ small rods of lead, and hangs loosely on the ground into the depressions of which 

 it falls. A rope bale is attached in front, and the whole is dragged by a long rope 



