CHAPTER V THE FISHERIES OF NEWFOUNDLAND

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Since the days when Cabot left Bristol to roam across the Atlantic in search of new lands and new peoples, the fishing-grounds of the Grand Banks have become known all over the world. Indeed, their riches have been coveted by many countries, and more than one battle has been fought between nation and nation to gain possession of the famous “gold-mine of the Newfoundland fishery, richer than the famous treasures of Golconda and Peru.”

There are several kinds of fishing prosecuted by the fishermen of Newfoundland, but the cod is the most profitable to the Colony, as the catch is usually worth between seven and eight million dollars a year. The fishing-grounds are not confined to the Grand Banks; they stretch from the south along the east and west coasts as far as Labrador. Of course, the waters within a certain distance from the shore are the exclusive property of Newfoundland so far as fishing in them is concerned; but Americans, Canadians, Frenchmen, and Newfoundlanders may cast their lines into the water on the Grand Banks. If you were to ask a scientist why these teeming millions of cod congregate in this part of the sea, he would tell you that the water is crowded with various species of jelly-fish, and these delicacies are the favourite food of the cod.

DRYING FISH ON THE “FISH FLAKES.”

As the cod-fishery is the staple industry of Newfoundland, and as it is both in extent of area and wealth of production the largest cod-fishery in the world, it is interesting to know something about it.

“Our knowledge of the habits of fishes,” says a writer on this subject, “is yet extremely limited. Naturally, we cannot follow them through the waters, and in consequence we know very little about them. We are, however, aware that the varied courses of the cod are due to two main causes—the capture of food and the variation of temperature:

“Scientific investigation has shown us that the great ocean river, known as the ‘Labrador Current,’ which sweeps past the east coast of Newfoundland (the most valuable of our fishing-grounds), is one vast moving mass of fish food, full of minute crustaceans and animalculÆ, which afford abundant nourishment for seals, whales, and fish of all kinds. The surrounding, with its ever-abundant supply of bait—fishes, caplin, squid, and herring—and its suitable temperature, therefore affords an ideal home for the cod. “The stability and regularity about the incoming of the cod, and the consequent permanent character of this great fishery, proved by the experience of our centuries, without one single failure, is very marked when we compare it with its rival industry, the herring fishery. Herrings, for causes unknown, left the coasts of Norway for one hundred years. Nearer Newfoundland, the great Labrador herring fishery is now practically extinct.

“With respect to the movement of the cod there are two opinions, some maintaining that the fish remain in each bay, only in winter they retire to deeper water. This fact is proved by their capture in those localities in deep water; but the other view, that there are two large and extensive movements, is also clearly shown by various facts, the capture of cod on our coasts with French hooks attached to them proving that these fish have come in from Grand Bank district over many miles; also the everyday occurrence of the cod and caplin being taken along the Labrador coast later and later as the fishermen proceed north, until near Cape Chidley the voyage is limited to a few weeks’ duration.

“Next to the stability of this great fishery we may note the commercial value of the cod. Different from oily fishes, like the salmon and herring, its flesh is rich and gelatinous, without being fatty, and readily lends itself to a simple and efficient cure by salting and drying in the sun. The cured product is found to be the best of all the deep-sea fishes for use in tropical countries, and has never had a rival. It was imported into Spain and the Mediterranean countries as a staple article of commerce centuries before the discovery of America.

“We may add to this comment the remarkable effect of this great fishery on the making of England. It was the cod that first drew Englishmen from the narrow seas, and laid the foundation of her greatness as a maritime power.

“The wealth of New England was founded by this fishery, and a stuffed codfish remains in the great Municipal Hall of Boston to commemorate the obligations of the Commonwealth to this humble foundation of their progress and prosperity.”

From May to October is the cod-fishing season. The small fishing-smacks, manned by a crew of six or a dozen men, look very picturesque as they lie anchored in the fishing-grounds, with their sails proudly quivering in the breeze. These smacks are equipped with small boats called “dories,” which are frequently sent out some distance from the smacks to make independent catches. At nightfall these dories return with their treasure to the smack. Then begins the work of slitting, cleaning, salting, and packing away in the hold. To see an army of men brandishing their “slitters” over the silver bellies of the fish in the moonlight is one of the weirdest sights imaginable, when viewed from the deck of a passing liner.

The herring, salmon, and lobster fisheries are all of more or less importance, and the perils attending the prosecution of the former are many. The herring-fishing industry is subject to fluctuations every season. At one time there was a great trade in the famous Labrador herrings, but this has practically dwindled to nothing. This disappearance of large and well-known schools of herring from the Labrador coast has called forth many explanatory theories. One authority on the subject suggests: “The practice heretofore adopted of barring large masses of herring, causing many dead fish to sink and thereby pollute the ground, is a partial reason, and it is not unreasonable to suppose that the great increase of cod-traps at present used in the Labrador cod-fishery, fencing off much of the coast-line, has had the effect of preventing the herring from entering the bays, as was their wont when the cod-fishery was prosecuted mainly by cod-seines and hook and line. Schools of herring have recently been reported as having been seen by Labrador fishermen, but farther from the land than in former years; and it is not only possible, but probable, that drift-net fishing on that coast would be attended with favourable results, and go to prove that the herring had not really deserted the coast, but were frequenting water clear of the cod-trap obstruction, which may be said to be permanent, as the traps remain in the water both day and night, whereas cod-seines are only used during the day. The migration of the fish, it should be noted, is not an uncommon occurrence in the history of the herring tribe in other countries.”

The most interesting of all the Newfoundland fisheries is “whale-hunting,” as it is called, and so we shall endeavour in a special chapter to describe one of these hunts as prosecuted in the Arctic seas.


                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

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