THE FUNDY SURVEY

W EI R S N D T R A P - NET S

by

Helen L Bat t l

Univ er si t y of ie s t er n Ontario

1 931

WEIRS ANTI TRAP - NETS

In the Special Fishery RegUlations for the

Provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick the "Weir" and

"Trap-Net" are defined as follows:

"Trap-Net" shall mean an apparatus that is so set as to en­

close an area of water, into which area fish are guided by

a leader and find entrance through an opening or openings."

"Weir" differs from a "Trap-Net" in that it is constructed

of brush and twine or wire netting."

Fishermen have for centuries made use of shore

gear consisting of enclosures or traps formed by fences of

woo~en stakes intertwined with branches and webbing. These

traps are placed at advantageous locations in shallow water

near the shore where they never become dry, or only become

dry at very low water. The openin~to such traps are so ar­

ranged that the natural path of the fi sh le ads into the trap

and, once in, it is difficult to locate the exit. A long

fence, the so-called leader, extends from the shore to the

mouth or door of the trap and assists in deflecting the fish

toward the mouth.

Weirs composed entirely of brush were extensively

used in Nova Scotia previous to the beginning of the nine­

teenth century and were introduced to the Passamaquoddy re­

gion early in the same century. They are still found in limit-·

ed numbers on the Nova Scotian shore of the Bay of Fundy. par­

ticularly in Cumoerland, Colchester and occasionally in Kings.

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Annapolis and Digby Counties. They are used extensively in

the herring and salmon fishery, and oaoamonally also take

cod, shad and pollock. Formerly great quantities of mackerel

were taken, but witn the exception of the present seaso'n, the

numbers of these have been limited for the past thirty or

forty years.

Brush weirs are usually located near a point of

land that extends out into the water for some distance or

in a channel frequently between two or more islands or ledges

where the tide runs with a considerable force. These loca­

tions are selected to take advantage 0f the fact that fish

such as the herring and mackerel . have a tendency to remain in

a strong cu~rent. The basis of the weir is constructed by

driving a row of posts, several feet apart, into the mud or

gravel bed of the channel. Smaller posts are placed close

together between the larger ones and fastened near the top by

one or two horizontal ribbons or stringer pieces that extend

from the top of one larger post to the next.

In most weirs of this t ype fine brush is ~hen in­

terwoven horizontally in and out on the smaller posts in a

similar manner to basket weaving. In shallow water where the

current is not strong it is usually sufficient to place small

brush trees vertically between the larger posts. The lower

end of the brush tree is driven into the bed of the channel,

while the upper end is nailed to the ribbon.

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The main body, the bowl o nd, of t he wei r i s

a rg e c i r cul ar or h eart-shaped enclo Bu re. A l eader with a

s i mi larl cons ruc t ed f r am ewor k usually extends from t he

sh or e to the door of the bowl and serves to def l ect fi sh i n t o

the trap. The pos i t ion of the l eader v aries accor di ng to th .

ti d 1 condi ti one of the immedi at e v i oi n i ty. ~ i gur e is re­

pres en t a t i v e of the mora common type of wei r where the door

of the bowl is kept closed on t h e opposi t e s de of the l ea der

to that tn Which the tidal current is fl o ring. In t h i way

t he weir can receive and hold fish both at t he flood and ebb

tid e . Fi , re 2 is a t ype of brush weir in use near Pubni oo ,

Yarmou t h Coun t y . There ar e t wo leaders at right a gles to

on anothe r . L der A extending f ro m the shore to the bO Tl

i s about 300 feet Io n and is braced against the ebb t i de . At

low wat er the s~o re end of t he leader is in 15 feet of wet r,

the bowl end in 20 feet of a t r. The s econdary leader , E,

serv es to fur t her deflect fish into tne bowl but it is no t

braced a s uc_ as lea de r A, since it goes with t } e eb b ti de .

At l ow wat er it is in 25 f et of wate r . T a b owl is elli p t i ­

cal n ou tlin e measuring 25 fatho ms a l ong i t a great e s t die­

me er, by 11 1 / 2 f a t homs . The leader stakes are l ac e 9 1 / 2

to 19 inches apart, those in the trap from 6 to 8 inches par.

One r bbon is suff i ci en t for the leaders, but two ri bb ons

abou t 16 inch es ap~ t are used for the t r a p or bowl wall.

I f t h er e is no tidal current to he flood de, the

leade r i s placed toward the seaward side of the bowl. fSee

Fi gur e :3 ).

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When the weir is to be placed in deep water the

small posts are generally arranged in sections and woven with

brush on shore. At low water they are placed in position be­

tween the larger posts.

The more modern type of weir most commonly found

throughout the Fundy area consists of poles set on heavy sills, '

ballasted with rocks. The poles are supported with guy ropes

and are placed about two or three feet apart in the heart­

1 'a~ he leaderes hape d bow or t rap ~ fOl ve t 0 e i. gh t or mor e f ee t in t

The whole frame work is covered with heavy tarred webbing or

wire netting from the channel bottom to the surface of the

water at high tide (See Figure 4). The leader is sometimes

still constructed of brush.

The simplest type of weir in use is a fixed common

gill or stake net found in Kings County. The leader consists

of a fence structure about 600 feet long extending outward

from the sh.ore at a right angle (See Figure 5). From its

outer end a Wing about 300 to 600 feet in length extends

shoreward at an angle of about thirty degrees. The fish are

trapped in the angle between the wing and the leader. For­

merly the upright poles were intertwined With brush, but now

a fine mesh webbing covers the intervening spaces.

It is customary to fish weirs at low water or half

tides, although, if the tidal run is not strong, they may be

seined at any time. A net is dropped over the mouth or door

of the trap and the fish are captured with a small purse seine

and bailed into dories for transfer to the boats.

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At Pubnico a typical seine has a one-inch mesh

(stretched) and is twenty fathoms in length. The lower

edge is elliptical in outline (Sse Figure 6) so the depth of

the seine varies from four feet at the ends to about nine feet

near the centre. Small lead sinkers are placed ab out eighteen

inches apart along the lower edge and weigh about t hirty-five

pounds. Cork floats are attached a few inches apart along

the whole upper edge. Large ciroular dip nets np to three

feet in diameter are used to scoop the fish into the dories.

Smaller flat ended dip nets about a foot in diameter (Figure

7) are effioient in transferring the fish to t he boats.

We'irs, unless located in sheltered loc.alities, are

usually taken up in late October and November and put out

again in Mayor June. The ice in winter causes so much des­

truotion that this procedu:r:e has been found necessary.

Section 27 of t he fishery regulations regarding

Weirs reads as follows:

1. Except as herein otherwise provided no one shall operate

a w~ir except under license from the Minister. The fee on

such license shall be one dollar.

2. The distance between licensed weirs shall not be less

than one hundred and ten fat homs.

The trap-net is known by a variety of names, the

set-trap, pound net or mackerel trap. It is a form of shore­

gear requiring a financial investment greater than for any

other in use in our Bay of Fundy fisheries. At the present

time (1931) four of these so-called trap-nets are in use in

Yarmouth County during the early spring months (May and June).

... 6 ~

but are sometimes also retained later for herring fishing.

One is located at Yarmouth Bar · (Overton Trap Company), ano­

ther off Cranberry Point (Allen's Trap), another at Sandford

and the fourth at Port Maitland (Burn's Point Trap).

In its simplest form the trap consists of three

seotions--the leader, the heart and the bowl (See Figure 8).

The leader extends from the shore or shallow water into deeper

water and serves to deflect the fish into the trap inolosure.

The heart, as the name suggests, is a heart-shaped inclosure

with its apex at the mouth of the inclosure and its sides ex­

tending shoreward and outward from the end of the leader, its Qre

ends~curved in toward the leader as well as toward the apex.

It serves just as the leader to further defleot the fish to­

ward the mouth of the trap. The third part of the trap is

the bowl (pot , or crib) usually oircular or oval in outline

in which the fish are oaptured.

Specific details of construction were obtained

. from the trap at Yarmouth Bar, but the other traps are es­

sentially the same although they vary in size (See Figures

8 and 9).

The leader is formed by frame poles or stakes 30

to 60 feet in length. The large end of each pole is anchored

to a conorete block (100 to 1000 pounds in weight) and held

there with an iron bolt (1 1/8 inoh in diameter). The poles

are connected with coarse meshed webbing (3-inch mesh) ex­

tending from the bottom to or slightly above the surface of

the water at high tide and each of them is anchored on either

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side by 400 to 600 pound anchors with anchor warps of appro­

ximately 25 fathoms. The leader may vary in length from about

100 to 250 fathoms (average 150 fathoms) and the supporting

"f r ame poles are approximately 35 feet apart.

The heart is supported on either side by seven

frame poles. The innermost one is known as the heart door

pole, and is in direct line with the inner leader stake or

the leader picket, and with two other poles on the outer sec~

tion of the heart, namely the heart butt polee. The heart

door p~les are about 20 to 23 feet apart and approximately

26 fathoms from the so-called innovation pole near the bowl

door. Each frame pole is bolted to a ooncrete blook as in

the oase of the leader. but the anohors are somewhat heavier

(650 to 700 Ibs.). The stakes are conneoted with 2 3/4 inch

mesh webbing. A three-inoh rope, the heart slab line. is

fastened to the upper end of the heart door pole and ciroles

the top of each of the heart frame poles to the bowl dooc

pole. It serves to support the upper ends of the poles and

takes the strain and weight off the webbing.

The bowl has a 50 foot sweep and a door about 10

feet in diameter measuring from the bowl door pole on one

side to the bowl door pole on the opposite side. The upper

ends of the two bowl door poles are joined together by a

frame cross bar known as the cross tree.

Inoluding the door poles, the bowl is supported by

eight frame pol~s on either side. a nd a back centre pole. As

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in the heart, the outer poles directly opposite the door

poles are bowl butt poles. The concrete blocks, anchors etc.

are similar to those used for the heart secti on, but a 1 1/4

inch mesh webbing is used for t he bowl bottom which is iden­

tical in shape to a paper bag with a rim 6 1/2 fathoms in

depth. A three-inch rope, the bowl slab line, circles the

upper end of t he bowl frame poles from the bowl door pole on

one side to the bowl door pole on the opposite side. As in

the heart, it supports the upper ends of the poles and takes

the strain and wei ght off the webbing.

The real supporting back-bone of the trap is com­

posed of a 5/8 inch steel wire cable hauled as tight~as pos­

sible with a tackle. This cable extends as the leader wire

from 'a rock in line with the leader and out at half-tide, along

the tops of the leader frame poles until it is in direct line

with the innovation poles. Here the cable divides and t extend­

ing to the bowl door poles on either side, it forms the heart

crow foot. Mid-way in the bowl the two cables join once more,

forming the bowl crow foot. Another single wire cable extends

from here to the back centre pole. On either side cross sup­

ports (heart butt wires) to this main cable extend from the

heart butt pole to the heart door pole and to the leader picket,

and from the bowl butt pole to the bowl door pole (bowl butt

wires) inclosing a section of the bowl, the so-called "\oting ll •

The frame poles of the bowl are further supported during in­

clement weather conditions by the two pole ropes. Each of

these ropes extends above the bowl crow fo~t from the bowl door

pole to the back butt pole on the opposite side of the back

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centre pole.

A hole is bored in the lower end of each of the

bowl frame poles about a foot above their concrete base. A

rope (the down hauls rope) is .drawn through this hole and

passed to the top of the pole where it is fastened and then

extends down to the bottom of the bowl net. Another rope

(the tide-line rope) is passed through a hole bored mid-way

in the frame pole and hauls the bowl net in about half way

up. thus preventing the slack from flowing up. These ropes

also keep the webbing from flowing toward the bowl door and

frightening the incoming fish away.

The cotton twine or webbing used in the trap can

seldom be used for more than two fishing seasons. It is

coated with coal tar to prevent deterioration in the salt ;

water. Generally after the webbing has been in the water a

couple of months it becomes covered with a 3 or 4 inch growth

of alga giving the appearance of a solid mat.

There may be many variations to the type desoribed.

In some traps ooarse wire netting is substituted in all parts

except the bottom of the bowl which of necessity must be more

or less flexible.

Sometimes the heart door is closed at one side of

the leader on the flood tide when it has been found that the

fish come into the trap more fre~uently in greater numbers

on the ebb.

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1. No one shall operate a trap-net except under license

from the Minister. The fee on a trap-net license shall be one

dollar.

2. Except. as herein otherwise provided no seine shall be

drawn nor any net set within one hundred and ten fathoms (one­

eighth of a mile) of any trap-net ,nor shall anY trap-net be set

or placed nearer to another trap-net than one hundred and ten

fathoms (one-eighth of a mile).

3. All trap-nets shall be legibly marked by a tag or

float attached thereto, with the full name of the owner or

operator of the net, and the number of his license, which tag

or flo'at can be readily seen at all stages of the water without

raising the net.

4. In cases where a double bowl is used on a trap-net the

distance across the widest part of the second bowl must not

exceed the distance across the widest part of the original bowl.

5. The distance to obtain between trap-nets Shall be

measured from the trap twine nearest the next adjoining trap

twine.

It is generally considered that this form of gear is

one of the most effective in use and generally no more des­

tructive than other forms of Shore-gear.

The follOWing is a list of the shore-gear in use

in 1890 and 1930 throughout the Fund,y area:

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County 1 890 1930

Trap Nets Wei r s Trap Nets Wei r s

Charlotte 250 11 237

St. John 28 30

Albert 2 4

Westmorland 0 1

Cumberland 3 7

Colchester 10 5

Kings 36 22

Annapolis 10 16

Digby 24 14

Yarmouth 8 4 5 1

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