THE HALIBUT FISHERY OF THE NORTHWEST COAST. 
143 
One of tlie best grounds yet discovered lies off the northern end of Graham 
Island, between Rose Point and North Island. All along this shore, a distance of GO 
miles, good fishing is found in from 25 to 40 fathoms of water. The bottom is chiefly 
sand. Fish are found here in considerable numbers at all seasons, but they are more 
abundant in the winter and fall months. 
From Rose Point southward below Cape Fife nearly to White Cliffs, a distance 
of nearly 30 miles, halibut are abundant. The bottom is sandy, and the water very 
shallow, from 4 to 5 fathoms being the depth where the most fish are taken. Vessels 
on this ground are frequently in a dangerous position, there being many bars and 
shoals not located on the chart. When fishing off the northern end of Graham Island, 
the only shelter to be had when a gale suddenly comes on from the northwest is 
under the southeast side of Rose Point. If vessels are fishing on this side of the 
island, and the wind increases fresh from the eastward, they are compelled to seek 
shelter on the west side of Rose Point. When the wind blows here with any great 
force, the sea becomes very rough. Fishermen say that it is a dangerous locality, 
and those not thoroughly acquainted should give it a wide berth. 
Across Dixon Entrance, on the south side of Prince of Wales Island, in the 
vicinity of Nicholas Bay and Cape Chacon, a few schooners have taken good fares. 
Here, as at Cape Scott, the ground is made up of small “spots,” which can only be 
located by landmarks. Only a few vessels can fish on this ground; it is said that 
even a small fleet would soon exhaust the ground, not permanently, but for some 
weeks. The Indians of this locality catch halibut here in considerable numbers, and 
from these people the white fishermen soon learn the best places. 
The best banks, so far as discovered, are in the Canadian waters; few places in 
southeastern Alaska have been found where halibut are in such abundance as on 
the above-mentioned grounds. 
Canadian vessels fish mostly on grounds off Banks, Goschen, and Stephens islands, 
which lie on the east side of Hecate Strait. The bottom is composed of sand, shells, 
and patches of rock, with a depth of water varying from 6 to 35 fathoms. A bank 
makes off from the Warrior and Seal Rocks and extends nearly across the Strait to 
Cape Fife. 
From the northern end of Banks Island to Shrub Island on the south, aud also off 
Goschen and Stephens islands, halibut are abundant during the winter months. 
Around the Gardner Islands, which lie 32 miles SE. by E. from Banks Island, 
is a good fishing-ground. In the winter of 1895, 90,000 pounds of halibut were caught 
there by one vessel in three days. About 12 miles S. £ W. from the southern end of 
Gardner Islands is a small bank covered by 14 fathoms of water, where at seasons 
halibut are found in abundance ; several trips have been taken here. 
Sixty miles farther south from the last place mentioned is a small bank off the 
north side of Hecate Island. Indians of this region fish with set lines. Few white 
fishermen have ever taken halibut here, though Indians catch considerable quantities 
near Killisnoo; but the ground is not large enough to induce a fleet of vessels to fish 
on it. In many places around Prince of Wales Island halibut are plentiful, but there 
are no extensive banks. 
Halibut on the northern banks are sometimes very erratic; in places where they 
are numerous one day few will be found the next. It frequently happens that a 
vessel will have good success for several days and in a few hours’ time fish will 
