Fishing porbeagles. From Norway to Newfoundland in the 1960’s

Norwegian fishermen had been off the coast of Newfoundland before. In the 1950’s they fished for halibut and other species using long lines. They reported that they had seen a lot of porbeagles along the eastern coast of Canada. In spring 1961 the first two Norwegian vessels arrived.

“Teigenes” was the first vessel that set the porbeagle lines off the coast of Canada. The catches were good, and this was the start of a new fishery for the Norwegians. The following years the fleet grew and no one complained about the catches taken on the banks east of Newfoundland. Some vessels also fished along the coastline south to New York.

In 1964 the vessel “Teigenes” got 500 porbeagles on 1200 hooks. The vessel was then loaded (see the following photos on this page), and they had to let another vessel haul the last part of the long line.

“Teigenes” went to Halifax to get more ice. After 15 days the vessel entered Germany where the porbeagles were sold.
Already In 1965 the adventure was over. The catches on the eastern coast of Canada were then so poor that the Norwegian stopped their annual trip to Newfoundland. The porbeagle stock was then too low to make the fishery profitable.

Setting Up the Killifish Aquarium

Jeff and I had a head start when we were setting up our killifish tanks.

While we were at the Minnisota Killifish Association’s show we received a handout from the guest speaker, Jim Gasior, that listed the water softness, pH, tank size, and temperature for a variety of killifish.

Fortunately for us, most of the killifish we got were on that list, so we didn’t have to spend too much time wading through the information on the internet trying to determine which fish needed to go in which water, or which size tank.

Right now we have all of the fish except one pair in barebottom tanks with a few plants for cover.

The Fundulopanchax sjoestedti or Blue Gularis Killifish are in the 75 gallon downstairs where the discus used to reside.

They are still a little shy, but they seem to be eating bloodworms and pellets, so that’s good.

We learned from Jim that killifish are aggressive fish, and some in some species the male is more aggressive towards the females than others. He did mention that all of the F. gardneri females at the show were a little too thin, and they needed to be separated from the males so they wouldn’t constantly be on the run from them, or fighting for enough food.

Right now each male/female pair of killifish shares a tank, but we’re planning on separating them soon - then we’ll just put them together when it’s time to spawn, and see what happens.

Setting up a killifish aquarium is pretty easy, as long as you know what conditions the fish need, unfortunately the conditions vary depending on the species of fish.

It is important to make sure that you have the right temperatures in the tanks, especially for the killies that need lower temperatures. If the temps get to high, the fish can die.

You also need enough hiding spaces, as I’ve mentioned before.

Most killies also need live or frozen foods, so until you’re sure that your killies will eat pellets or flakes, make sure that you have live or frozen foods available for your killies.