Fishing Vessels

The type of fishing vessel employed would depend on the type of fishing grounds visited and the time of year. The two main types of vessels used in the Île Royale fisheries at this time were the chaloupes (shallops, or small boats) and the goélettes (schooners).

Chaloupes were utilized in the inshore fishery and were simple, small, undecked rowing boats equipped with a small mast and measured about 30 feet in length. Usually carrying a crew of three, they visited the grounds daily and returned to shore to have their catch cleaned and salted by an on-shore crew of four. The fish brought in by these small boats received only a light salting and, therefore, produced the highest quality cure. The chaloupe fishery operated during both the summer fishing season (May to September) and the winter (November to February) and accounted for 2/3 to 4/5 of Île Royale's total catch.

The goélettes were offshore fishing vessels, considerably larger than chaloupes. They were full-decked ships with two masts and were possibly about 50 feet long with an average weight of between 30 to 40 tons. These larger ships usually carried a crew of seven and were able to undertake fishing trips of 3 to 4 weeks, salting the catch in the hold and bringing it to their shore workers to be dried upon their return. Due to the duration at sea the fish were more heavily salted than that brought in by the chaloupes. As a result the goélettes brought in fish of a poorer cure, but were able to produce at least twice as much as their inshore counterparts. The goélette fishery operated during the summer fishing season only and produced 1/5 to 1/3 of the total catch of Île Royale.