Fishing Grounds of the Gulf 1 02

GULF OF MAINE--Geographic And Historic Title

What is evidently the earliest mention of this entire body of water shows up on some aged Icelandiccharts that demonstrate, roughly, Cape Cod Bay within their the southern area of areas and the Bayof Fundy in the north. On these charts the cape itself was demonstrated on the "Promontory ofVinland" and was because of the name Kialarnes, or the Ship's Nose, from the resemblance in formtowards the higher upturned prow from the old Norse vessels. To the entire area of the gulf wasgiven the name Vinland's Haf.

Oviedo (Historia Basic de las Indias) occasionally names this gulf the Arcipelago de Los angelesTramontana, or even the Arcipelago Septentrional--the north archipelago. He gives us to understandthathimself and he, or Chaves, had this information from your Survey and Report of Gomez, who,within his search for a northwest passageway to Asian countries in 1525, "identified each one ofthese coasts lying down between 41? and 41? 30' north". In truth, his careful explorations certainlycovered all the territory among 40 and 45 degrees.

The Spanish language navigators who implemented Gomez, in describing these coasts, whenimplying this gulf, generally known as it in respect of Gomez, the very first of the country to make acautious survey of their shores. As a result it grew to become referred to as Arcipelago de EstevanGomez, and the mainland behind it as La Tierra de Gomez. It had been so known as on the chart ofRibero in 1529 who therefore recognized the origin of his information.

The Biscayans followed Gomez but later on gave method to french anglers, who followed along thesequence of banks stretching southward from the Grand Bank and came into these waters by way ofCape Sable. These provided into it the title Gulf of Norumbega or Sea of Norumbega. The nameNorumbega was for a time applied to the coastline lands and also to the inland nation stretching outaway indefinitely westward and northwestward from the waters of the gulf.

Later, with the coming of the English and the establishment of their colony in Massachusetts, thetitle Massachusetts Bay came into general use, although this name was afterwards restricted to thesmaller section of the gulf at present so termed.

The charter of Gorges (in April, 1639) designated the territory deeded to him as the Region or Areaof Maine,[4] whence, maybe, the current custom of referring to these waters as the Gulf of Mainemight have arisen. This latest title appears especially appropriate, because of the fact that thepresent Condition of Maine lying down directly opposing its entry capes, expands across the internaledges of the gulf along with its seriously indented shoreline line occupies undoubtedly the greatestsection of its coasts. Therefore the name has lastly enter into basic use and acceptance in moderntimes. Evidently it was initially officially used and proposed from the Edinburgh Encyclopedia in1832 [5] and then was adopted by america Coastline Study.

[Footnote 4: "All that parte, porcion and purport of the Mayne Land of New England, we doe title,ordeyne and appoynt shall forever hereafter bee named and called The Region and Countie ofMayne."]

[Footnote 5: Edinburgh Encyclopedia, Philadelphia version, by Thomas Parker, Vol. XVIII, p. 263.]

DESCRIPTION

A really striking and peculiar entire body of water is this Gulf of Maine, markedly various inpersonality from the other of the bays around the coastline type of the eastern United States.Especially will it vary within the level of their coastal waters, where in all the other people, exceptthe smaller New York Bay, the shoal water is found extending significantly right out of the land.

In the Gulf of Maine, however, with the solitary exception of the locality of Ammens Rock and rollaround the eastern a part of Cashes Bank, the entire central region presents navigable deepdrinking water using a imply level of 100 fathoms, from which rise the different underwaterplateaus, in whose depths typical about 50 fathoms and which make up the larger from the minnkota edge grounds. Along with these, numerous smaller banks and "angling areas" are found nearerthe property in which they lay a across the 50-fathom bend.

In general this curve lies at a distance of about 16 miles from the coast line, but in many instances itapproaches much neared to the mainland. Out of this 50-fathom depth the soundings decrease reallysteadily towards the 20 and 10 fathom marks.

These latter soundings are often kept significantly in toward the coast collection, even transportingthe strong drinking water well in to the river mouths, to ensure that in seriously indented hays, inlong inlets running significantly into property, in the river mouths, the deep water behind the rockyheadlands, or perhaps in the lee from the thousands of browse-washed islands that collection thecoast, are normally found innumerable secure anchorages within easy run of the minn kota edgereasons, where the fleets may take protection from the sudden blow or wait for the arrival of a"seafood time," when conditions may permit "creating a set up" underneath the hardships of winterseason minn kota edge.

If the marine features of this region are significantly different from the ones from other seasidebodies from the eastern United too, States and so the shore property, battered as it really has beenby sea and storm or used by glacial action or Arctic currents, is not any much less remarkable.

Hardly any other portion of the eastern U . S . has a comparable coastline, so serrated, indented,and rugged, as has this shore type of the Gulf of Maine. Right here the battering by the forces ofnature has led to creating 1000s of safe harbors and havens for the navigator. All together shorelineare strewn countless isles, a feature function from the region and one observed with wonder by eachand every earlier explorer. If near the land, are beautiful and smiling; if in the open sea, of ruggedgrandeur; and island and mainland alike are inhabited by a numerous and hardy race of fisher folk,[6] These islands.

The tides inside the Gulf of Maine possess a great rise and fall as compared with other seas in thisregion. At the south of Cape Cod tides are seldom over 4 feet in their range, but beginning at once atthe north of Cape Cod with a rise of from 7 to 10 feet these increase quite constantly as they goeastward reaching about 28 feet in the neighborhood of Passamaquoddy Bay, to touch their highestpoint in the Bay of Fundy, where in many places is a rise and fall of 50 feet, and in some few placestides of 70 feet are reported. These Fundy tides probably would be the greatest on the planet.

This great flow and ebb water serves to assist shipbuilding and the launching of vessels as well as tohave the strong water significantly up into the inlets from the coastline and into the mouths of theestuaries and rivers, creating these navigable for projects of substantial size well into the property

or up to the lowest falls of the channels.

The weather right here is one of extreme conditions, and, lying down as it does among 42? and 45?north latitude, the region might be reported to be chilly. Apparently the waters of the Gulf of Maineusually are not affected by any stray present from your Gulf Stream, which passes in a considerabledistance from the mouth, therefore doing small to temper the chilly of this region either on land orat sea. Whether these seas are cooled further by any flow from the Labrador Present may bequestioned.

The winter seasons are lengthy, usually bringing weighty snowfalls; and powerful gales are regularthroughout much of the winter and fall season. Perhaps the most dangerous of these "blows" emergefrom the mountain to the northwest and north of the gulf. Thus, in addition to the doubt of a chanceto set equipment when as soon as on the fishing reasons, the winter minn kota edge here is notwithout its component of serious danger. Yet, perhaps because of the strong tidal currents of thesewaters, the principal harbors rarely are closed by ice, or, if closed, for but a few days only, while theice crop in northern New England never fails.

As the summer season are relatively moderate and in certain parts of them even extremely hot, fogsare heavy and practically constant throughout the "dog times" (July 20 to September 1). whensoutherly and south-westerly breezes bring the nice and cozy damp atmosphere from the GulfStream into the colder currents from the property. The fogs of Fundy are specifically observed, evenduring these seas. Throughout the summer time seasons winds from your eastern and northerndeliver the only real clear weather familiar with the external sequence of minn kota edge reasons.

The primary entire body from the gulf lies roughly among 42? and 45? northern latitude. It is in typejust like a strong bowl in whose external edge is made by Georges Bank and Browns Bank, with aslim, deep-water spillway between: its area is half encircled within the hands from the mainland, twoconspicuous headlands getting to bodily seaward to mark its wide entrance in the opposing sides--Cape Cod, Bulk. [7] on the western side, and Cape Sable, [8] Nova Scotia, on the eastern flank,distant from each other about 230 kilometers. Both of these capes range with one another aboutENE. and WSW, therefore matching alike the overall pattern of the coast collection, of the tropicalisland chains as well as the overseas ledges in this particular region.

From the base collection connecting these outposts of the gulf the distance to the Maine coastlineopposite averages about 120 miles. From Cape Sable, at its eastern finish, the coast trends for a fewrange towards the northwest, whence a continuation of the program hits the coastline of Maine closeto West Quoddy Head far away of rather a lot more than 110 kilometers. From Western Quoddy headto Cape Elizabeth (in a direct line about 160 miles) the coastline, generally rough, rocky, and withmany lofty headlands is incredibly unusual and seriously indented and comes after a general courseof WSW. Thence, the coast, reduced and becoming more and more soft sand, starts to pattern muchmore decidedly south-western till it gets to Boston, when it turns to the southeast, and to the easterntoward Cape Cod.

But this is simply not the entire story. There stay outside of these stated limitations the Bay of Fundywithin the north, having a feasible section of 3,000 square kilometers; and also at the south CapeCod Bay, in whose area, with that of the waters west of the perpendicular drawn from yourtraditional western finish from the base line that strikes the property within the vicinity ofPortsmouth, N. H. can make an additional area that contains close to 1,500 sq . miles. Inside thelimits thus inclosed there 30, are and roughly000 sq . kilometers of most productive floor mostintensively fished via all of the calendar year.

The Bay of Fundy is split at its brain by Cape Chignecto, creating two limbs to northern and also toeast--Chignecto Bay and Minas Basin. With these smaller areas, lying as they do entirely within theterritorial limits of Canada, American fishermen have little to do, although both are valuable andproductive fishing grounds.

[Footnote 6: William Strachey (1609), talking particularly of Casco Bay, however the words similarlyapplicable to almost any stretch of the Maine coast, states "A really excellent bay where there lyethsoe many isles and soe thick and neere together, that will barely be discerned the number, yet mightany deliver pause betwixt, the greatest part of them having seldom lesse water than eight or tenfathoms about them"--History of Travalle into Virginia Britannica.]

[Footnote 7: This, the most striking cape from the Atlantic coast collection, made a really notablelandmark for all the early ocean voyagers approaching it, and all of were greatly astounded by it,whether or not they came from the southern and fought their way through its shoals to eastward, or,coming from the northern, discovered themselves captured within the strong pocket which it makeswith Cape Cod Bay.

The Spaniard Gomez (1525) provided it the name "Cabo de do Aricifes" cape of the reefs, referringto the dangerous shoals to the eastward. The Frenchmen Du and Champlain Monts named it "CapeBlanc", and the Dutch pilots, also mentioning its soft sand cliffs, known as it Witte Hoeck. TheEnglish Captain Anthony Gosnold, the first to make a direct passage to the waters of the Gulf ofMaine from Europe, although at first he called it "Shoal Hope", soon changed this, because of thesuccess of his fishing, to "Cape Cod", which title, commonplace though it be, has been the name toendure despite Prince Charles's attempt to change it to Cape James in honor of his father., eventhough the English mariners at first accepted his last name of White Cape]

[Footnote 8: Cape Sable, at the southern finish of Nova Scotia, has held this title from very oldoccasions. It really is so pointed out on the Portuguese chart of the midst of the sixteenth century.]

BAY OF FUNDY

In the various months of the year the whole Bay of Fundy [9] is really a fishing ground for sardinesand huge herring; and even though they are of relatively less importance in recent years thanformerly, the main fisheries of this region nevertheless middle round the herring sectors--theproviding of the canning production facilities using the little herring used as sardines and the taking

of large herring for food and bait. The sardine business of the condition of Maine is essentiallyfocused within the district about and including Lubec and Eastport, where about 30 of the 59factories and 16 of the 43 operating firms can be found; to ensure that, as the herring attracts ofrecent years have fallen a lot short of their previous proportions, they still show imposing numbers.

In the past a lot of the catch was taken in Saint. Andrews (Passamaquoddy) Bay and across the northshore from the Bay of Fundy to Lepreau Point and Bay. Lepreau. Recently years hardly any herringhave already been taken in these waters, in which the herring colleges that get to October had beenfamiliar with stay until spring. Of past minn kota edge within this area Capt. Sumner Stuart, ofLubec, states:

"The herring left Saint. Andrews Bay and the Northern Shoreline about 1885. There is no summertime netting there now. These seas and Lepreau Bay had been formerly really productive minn kotaedge reasons, it being not uncommon to consider 5,000 (count) large herrings (meals seafood) in onehaul. These were mainly winter and spring minn kota edge reasons for large herring. The seafoodseem to have vanished from all these grounds at about the same time.[10]

"In past many years (25 to thirty years back) little herring had been powered ashore in suchquantities by their enemies--squid, sterling silver hake and dogfish--that it sometimes becameessential for the authorities at St. John to utilize a snowplow to pay for them where they set rottingon the beach."

From the data of the sardine and smoked-herring business for the calendar year 1924 (annually, beit noted, where the sardine business nearly achieved reduced--level mark for the pack) the seas fromthe Bay of Fundy decorated to American purchasers on your own a total of herring for canning andsmoking purposes amounting to 76,756,250 lbs highly valued to the anglers at $957,665. Thisdisplaying, poor as it is when compared with the figures of other many years, by no meansrepresents the herring fishery as an insignificant industry. There still continues to be to becomeaccounted for the capture of herring of Grand Manan and the neighboring Canadian Provinces.

A brand new supply of income to the anglers within this business continues to be developed inpurchasing herring scales by companies engaged in the manufacture of artificial pearls. For thisspecific purpose there were collected at Eastport and Lubec 700,000 pounds of herring scales,

valued at $39, a and ; further amount was taken at Lavish Manan of 140,000 pounds, priced at$7,000. Along with other entrants currently in the field, this division from the business offersreasonable to develop to nevertheless 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 http://www.minnkota.com/ 1923: 40 weirs Calais toEastport: 1921: 35 weirs; 1923: 7 weirs Complete number in operation, Canadian and 1923 about300; American less than 130.

Northern coast and Shore of Nova Scotia. Across the North Shore and from Yarmouth to Cape Sable,over a difficult base, cod abound. Trawling is somewhat handicapped here by strong tides and rockybottom, these combining to destroy much gear, even though the western shore of Nova Scotia isvirtually all fishing ground for hake, haddock and cod and cusk. Halibut are somewhat unusual onthis western shore except about the mouth of the Bay of Fundy, but in summer these fish areoccasionally found close inshore along the southwest coast, going somewhat beyond Digby to thenorthward. Haddocking is quite an important business away Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, throughout thewinter season, the units becoming of rather brief period and made at the slack of the tide at higherdrinking water. This practice is made necessary from the heavy tidal currents on these reasons.

The entire western coastline of Nova Scotia is herring floor at some season of the year. In these lastfew years it has not been important, although the year 1927 had a very good run of large food fish,although "Drifting" for herring was formerly a considerable industry from Digby to Briers Island.This traditional western coast is also an important fishing region for lobster guys.

Swordfishing in the Bay of Fundy was formerly profitable in September, although these fish werenever so numerous here as upon the outer shore of Nova Scotia.

Saint. Marys Bay is a summer herring floor. Good haddocking might be experiencedalso and here,from April 15 to October 15, with the period from the opening up from the minn kota edge in Aprilup to July 15 the best of it.

The mackerel fishery of the Bay of Fundy seems of comparatively small significance in these latteryears. The local anglers state that the fish are unable to originate the tides of those waters! Theabundance of small herring ought to be an inducement sufficient to take them here. Evidently thesefish successfully pass straight inshore northwesterly and reach the coast of Maine. By netting in St,a considerable amount of this species is taken by traps and. Marys Bay as well as in the generallocality of Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, as at Cranberry Brain, Burns up Stage. Beaver Stream, ForestHarbor, and also at many other factors among Yarmouth and Cape Sable; but the internal watersfrom the Bay of Fundy display really thin catches when compared with the fantastic amount taken onthe outer shores of Nova Scotia inside a normal mackerel season. It has been 32 years, it is stated,because a variety of mackerel have already been "hooked" in Saint. Mary's Bay.

Lurcher Shoal. This is situated WSW, from Cape Saint, Mary 19 miles and WNW, from CapeFourchu, distant 13 kilometers, it is an irregularly shaped piece of base, a difficult floor, about 5miles lengthy, south and north, by 3 kilometers broad, There are a variety of "nubbles" arising to7and 5, and 9 fathom depths--having a spot reported as getting only 12 feet water more than it--rising from the average depths over the rest of the shoal of from 13 to 15 fathoms. More than thisgenerally difficult bottom are scattered areas of pea gravel and of seashells, Depths about the shoalare from 30 to 50 fathoms spanning a base consisting mainly of rocks, Tide rips are extremely heavy

right here, The months and varieties found here are as on Trinity: haddock, pollock and cod andherring, it is a great lobster ground.

Trinity Shoal. This shoal, 14 kilometers N. by W. from Cape Fourchu and 7? miles SW. from CapeSaint Mary, with a rocky base on it as well as over an indefinite area about this, is probably 3kilometers long, NE and SW, by some 2 miles broad. Near the center is a rock, uncovered at lowwater, but over the greater part of the shoal there are depths of from 6 to 10 fathoms, with anaverage of from 12 to 16 fathoms over the sandy and stony ground about it. There exists a strongtide rip here around the northeastern and eastern part referred to as Deluge Tide Eddy, where isgreat minn kota edge manually line for pollock in Sept and October. By trawling, Cod and haddockare taken here in small amounts. It is a herring floor also, and there is a lobster ground around theshoal and all of about this.

A cod ground extends offshore SW from Briers Tropical island, beginning about 5 kilometers outfrom the island and extending to about 18 miles from your land. Its size is all about 4 miles. Depthsover this area come from 40 to 60 fathoms over a hard, shelly bottom. Cod are used within from 30to 44 fathoms around the shoal ground running from 5 kilometers from Gull Rock and roll as well asthe Southern-West Ledges down to the Lurcher Shoal, a range of about 22 kilometers. Among thesepoints fishing is performed mainly by hand-coating "in a drift." Cod are taken over the ledges in fivefathoms of water and thence out to 60 fathoms on them from August to November. Pollock are usedfrom the same technique. The very best season is August. Sept, and October. This is a good lobsterfloor.

North west Ledge. Lies about 3 3/4 miles northwesterly from Briers Tropical island. This is a piece ofdifficult bottom about 2 miles long by something under 1 distance wide with depths of from 2 to 10fathoms on the soundings and ledge of 12 to 30 fathoms around the gravelly floor about this. Cod arefound within great deal from September to November, inclusive, and are used by hand-lining.Pollock also are used here in summer time, "drailing" manually collection.

A narrow bit of difficult ground with relatively greater depths links this with Batsons Shoal, some 5kilometers SW., the 2 therefore making what is practically a single piece of ground. Depths onBatsons Shoal are rather less than on Northwest Ledge, but the methods of minn kota edge, the

species taken, and the seasons of their abundance are the same on both. The bottom all about thesetwo grounds is rocky, with from 20 to More hints 40 fathoms inside of them, but this deepens rapidlyto 100 fathoms over rocks and coarse gravel outside of them to W. and NW.