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    Before the advent of trawlers, freezers and later, factory ships, there were only two ways to fish cod and two methods to preserve it. The first was the migratory fishery practised on the Grand Banks and the coastal fishery practised along the coast.

    The migratory fishery produced what is called green cod, the coastal fishery, dried cod.

 

The Migratory Fishery and Green Cod
    The migratory fishery took place aboard sailing ships, three-masters, brig-schooners and schooners which left France in the spring for the Grand Banks. The ship captains and their fishing captains knew the sea depths like the backs of their hands and knew where to find the cod, as explained by Jean-François Brière in his work "L'armement français pour la pêche à Terre-Neuve" : (French outfitting for the Newfoundland fishery).

    The most experienced captains travelled the Grand Banks like the country folk do their native soil. The capability to sound would offer practical landmarks on the vast expanse of water; in the end one didn't navigate, one inched.

    Once having chosen the fishing spot the ship dropped anchor. Small boats or dorys were launched, two men in each, the skipper and his sailor commonly called "avant de doris". In large willow baskets (mannes) the fishermen had carefully coiled a long line with thousands of hooks, baited according to the season, with herring, capelin or squid and after 1890, whelk, shellfish fished directly on the banks.