At present (1874), under a law passed in 1851, the bounties to the cod fisheries are as follows: for each man of the crew of a vessel employed on the coast of Newfoundland or Iceland, 50 francs; for each metric quintal (220 1/2, lbs.) of dry codfish, 20, 16, or 12 francs, according to the country to which it is shipped, the highest bounty being given on codfish shipped to the French colonies in America, India, and the W. coast of Africa. The bounty paid from 1841 to 1850 averaged $780,000 a year; in 1858 it amounted to $735,000, and in 1869 to $430,000. The French herring fishery is of great importance, and is carried on chiefly from Boulogne, Fecamp, Dieppe, Saint-Yalery-en-Caux, Gravelines, Courseulles, and Berck. The following table exhibits the number of vessels engaged, with the tonnage and men, and the quantity of herring taken, during the most recent period of six years for which statistics are attainable:

Another valuable French fishery is that of sardines, which is carried on both in the Mediterranean and on the coasts of Brittany. The total value of the French fisheries in 1866 was $10,965,707, viz.: cod, $2,725,329; sardines, $1,369,787; herring, $1,357,437; mackerel, $490,575; oysters, $307,535; shrimps and other Crustacea, $294,473; mussels, $268,709; sea shells, $191,002; the rest miscellaneous. In 1871 the whole number of vessels and boats engaged in the fisheries of all kinds was 18,407, having an aggregate tonnage of 142,774, and employing 110,486 hands, including 60,635 men and 39,361 women and children engaged in the coast fisheries. The value of the catch was $13,978,451; in 1870, 811,975,460.

The imports of products of the sea in 1868 were valued at $8,034,900, of which $7,006,000 were for consumption; in 1869, $8,817,000, of which $8,479,000 were for consumption. Of these amounts about half are cod and cod oil, the product of the national fisheries. The other principal items in 1869 were fresh-water fish to the value of $525,000; herring, $252,-000; stockfish, $84,000; other fish, fresh, dry, salted, or smoked, $478,000; fish, pickled or preserved in oil, $180,000; lobsters, $169,000; oysters, $497,000; cod and mackerel roes, $948,000; whale and other fish oil, $510,000; whalebone, $289,000; crude coral, $428,000: fine pearls, $245,000. The exports in 1868 amounted to $4,675,000, of which $4,512,000 were the product of the domestic fisheries; in 1869, to $4,166,000, of which $3,892,600 were domestic. In the latter year the chief items were 54,415 quintals of salted cod, valued at $321,000; 20,922,946 lbs. of sardines, worth $2,853,000; and 1,108,507 lbs. of other fish, pickled or preserved in oil, valued at $305,000. -Spain participated in the fishery excitement following the discovery of America, and vessels from that nation visited Newfoundland as early as 1517. Sixty years later 100 vessels were employed in the fishery, but the number rapidly declined, and about the middle of the 17th century the connection of Spain with the American fisheries appears to have ceased.

Portuguese vessels also early visited the fishing grounds, the number employed in 1577 being estimated at 50, but the distant fishery was soon abandoned. Spain was noted from the 8th to the 16th century for the boldness of her fishermen engaged in the deep-sea fisheries, which were pursued chiefiy from the Basque provinces. The shore fisheries still continue, and flourish mainly on the coasts of the bay of Biscay. In 1866 the number of vessels and boats registered for the fishery was 12,127, with an aggregate tonnage of 42,026; number engaged, 10,348; men, 39,440; fish caught, 148,795,295 lbs.; value, $3,330,094: in 1867, registered, 12,596 vessels of 43,072 tons; engaged, 10,216; men, 37,558; fish caught, 106,-609,767 lbs.; value, $2,573,341.-The English visited Iceland for cod before 1415, and the fisheries at that island were prosecuted as late as 1580 or 1590. Sebastian Cabot, returning from his voyage of discovery in 1498, first called their attention to the American fisheries. The first voyages in quest of fish, however, of which we have any account, were in 1517. In 1522, 40 or 50 houses for the accommodation of fishermen were built in Newfoundland, though no permanent settlement was effected till about a century later.

In 1548 and 1563 acts were passed to encourage the fisheries, and at the beginning of the 17th century it is estimated that 200 English vessels annually visited Newfoundland, employing in catching and curing the fish not fewer than 10,000 men and boys. In 1602 Bartholomew Gosnold explored the coast of New England, and, catching cod near the southern cape of Massachusetts, gave it the name it bears. Capt. John Smith followed in 1614, and caught a considerable quantity of fish on the coast of Maine. From this time the fisheries on the coast of New England began to bo prosecuted with vigor. In 1616 full fares were taken by eight English ships. In 1620 the island of Monhegan off" the coast of Maine had become a noted fishing station. In 1622 profitable fishing voyages to New England were made by 35 English ships, and the number employed at Newfoundland was 400, which, however, in a few years decreased to 150 sail, partly from the diminished consumption of fish in Europe owing to the growth of Protestantism, and partly from the increase of the coast fishery by the settlers on Newfoundland. Notwithstanding that measures were taken by the government to promote the fisheries, the number of fishing vessels continued to decline, till in 1670 only 80 were sent out.

Several measures were accordingly adopted by the English government to prevent permanent settlement in Newfoundland, and consequent competition of boat fishermen from shore. These measures increased the number of fishing vessels, which in 1674 was 270, employing 10,800 men. Toward the end of the century settlers were again allowed to dwell in Newfoundland, but restrictions were imposed on the right to hold land. In 1701 the number of vessels employed was 121, with an aggregate tonnage of 7,991; number of boats, 993; fishermen, 2,727; curers (including women and children), 3,581; product, 216,320 quintals of fish and 3,798 hogsheads of oil. The boat fishery of the colonists again supplanted the fishery in vessels of largo size, and to encourage the home merchants parliament in 1775 allowed a bounty of £40 to each of the first 25 ships, £20 to the next 100, and £10 to the second 100, that should make fires of fish before the middle of July and return to the fishing grounds for a second lading. In 1774 the whole number of British subjects employed in the Newfoundland fisheries was 23,652, and the product amounted to 739,877 quintals.