Fishing Grounds of the Gulf of Maine | Page 6

purposes amounting to 76,756,250 pounds valued to the
fishermen at $957,665. This showing, poor as it is when compared with
the figures of other years, by no means represents the herring fishery as
an unimportant industry. There still remains to be accounted for the
catch of herring of Grand Manan and the neighboring Canadian
Provinces.
A new source of profit to the fishermen in this industry has been
developed in the purchase of herring scales by firms engaged in the
manufacture of artificial pearls. For this purpose there were collected at
Eastport and Lubec 700,000 pounds of herring scales, valued at
$39,000; and a further amount was taken at Grand Manan of 140,000
pounds, valued at $7,000. With other entrants already in the field, this
branch of the industry bids fair to grow to still greater importance.
An estimate of the number of weirs in St. Andrews Bay, by Capt.
Guilford Mitchell of Eastport, Me., is as follows: Canadian: 1921: 126

weirs 1923: 40 weirs Calais to Eastport: 1921: 35 weirs; 1923: 7 weirs
Total number in operation, 1923, Canadian, about 300; American less
than 130.
North Shore and coast of Nova Scotia. Along the North Shore and from
Yarmouth to Cape Sable, over a hard bottom, cod abound. The western
shore of Nova Scotia is virtually all fishing ground for cod, haddock,
hake, and cusk, but trawling is somewhat handicapped here by strong
tides and rocky bottom, these combining to destroy much gear. Halibut
are somewhat unusual on this western shore except about the mouth of
the Bay of Fundy, but in summer these fish are occasionally found
close inshore along the southwest coast, going somewhat beyond Digby
to the northward. Haddocking is quite an important industry off
Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, during the winter, the sets being of rather short
duration and made at the slack of the tide at high water. This practice is
made necessary by the heavy tidal currents on these grounds.
The whole western coast of Nova Scotia is herring ground at some
season of the year. "Drifting" for herring was formerly a considerable
industry from Digby to Briers Island, but in these last few years it has
not been important, although the year 1927 had a very good run of
large food fish. This western coast is also an important fishing area for
lobster men.
Swordfishing in the Bay of Fundy was formerly profitable in
September, although these fish were never so numerous here as upon
the outer shore of Nova Scotia.
St. Marys Bay is a summer herring ground. Good haddocking may be
had here, also, from April 15 to October 15, with the period from the
opening of the fishing in April up to July 15 the best of it.
The mackerel fishery of the Bay of Fundy seems of comparatively
small importance in these latter years. The local fishermen say that the
fish can not stem the tides of these waters! The abundance of small
herring should be an inducement sufficient to bring them here.
Apparently these fish pass straight inshore northwesterly and reach the
coast of Maine. A considerable amount of this species is taken by traps
and by netting in St. Marys Bay and in the general vicinity of
Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, as at Cranberry Head, Burns Point. Beaver
River, Woods Harbor, and at various other points between Yarmouth
and Cape Sable; but the inner waters of the Bay of Fundy show very

slim catches when compared with the great amount taken on the outer
shores of Nova Scotia in a normal mackerel season. It has been 32
years, it is said, since any number of mackerel have been "hooked" in
St. Mary's Bay.
Lurcher Shoal. This lies WSW, from Cape St, Mary 19 miles and
WNW, from Cape Fourchu, distant 13 miles, it is an irregularly shaped
piece of bottom, a rocky ground, about 5 miles long, north and south,
by 3 miles wide, There are a number of "nubbles" arising to 5, 7, and 9
fathom depths--with a spot reported as having only 12 feet of water
over it-- rising from the average depths over the rest of the shoal of
from 13 to 15 fathoms. Over this generally rocky bottom are scattered
patches of gravel and of shells, Depths about the shoal are from 30 to
50 fathoms over a bottom consisting mostly of stones, Tide rips are
very heavy here, The seasons and species found here are as on Trinity:
cod, haddock, pollock, and herring, it is a good lobster ground.
Trinity Shoal. This shoal, 14 miles N. by W. from Cape Fourchu and
7½ miles SW. from Cape St Mary, with a rocky bottom upon it and
over an indefinite area about it, is perhaps 3 miles long, NE and SW, by
some 2 miles wide.