THE FISHERIES OF NEWFOUNDLAND
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.
[Illustration: 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.