rd the west.

Formerly the cod and halibut were the food fishes most taken here, but
with the changed methods in the fishery (as the growth of the
otter-trawl fleet) and a changed taste in our public the haddock catch
has become the second most important in the receipts of fish from these
waters. The halibut fishery stands third in the list. Other bottom
feeders occur in less numbers, the pollock and the cusk perhaps being
next in order of importance, with hake and a considerable amount of the
various flatfishes in the otter trawls. These latter are marketed as
sole.

Noting the small amount of haddock in the fares taken from these waters
in former years, the writer asked a number of old-time fishermen as to
its abundance in the old days. The reply was usually "Oh, yes, there
were always haddock there; sometimes they bothered us a lot." Then,
noting my surprise at so putting it, "You know, the haddock isn't much
as a salt fish."

It will be noted that in 1923 the haddock catch here was a very good
second to the cod catch in poundage, though not so valuable
proportionately. In the otter-trawl catch from this ground it will be
noted that the positions of the two species are reversed. As a rule,
these steamers certainly take more than 2 pounds of haddock to 1 of cod
on other offshore grounds--perhaps the result of operating in the
shoaler waters and on the smoother bottom because of the difficulty of
dragging over the rocky and kelp-covered ground, which the cod seems to
prefer. But the bottom on the Western Bank is of such nature as to offer
little obstruction to the passage of the net, so that virtually all
parts of it may be fished by this method; and this, added to the known
movements of the cod schools makes it possible at certain seasons of the
year to catch a larger proportion of this species if it is so desired.

Haddock are found about the bars at both ends of the island in March and
from that time to about June 1 in from 15 to 22 fathoms. They are also
abundant 18 miles W. from the Northwest Light at the same seasons and
at the same depths. During April, May, and June they come in close to
the island in from 10 to 17 fathoms--even to 1 fathom. Through the
rest of the year (except for the colder months, when they have moved off
into deeper water) they may be found all over the bank on sandy bottom
in 28 to 30 fathoms, where most of the beam trawl fishing is carried on.

There is a good cod school each year on