This view of the docks at Harbour Grace belies the fact that the fishery from that port was in serious decline towards the end of the century. Though the town was something of a ghost town for several months of the year with most of the men up the coast fishing or sealing, there were still periods of intense activity when schooners, such as those seen in this photograph, were outfitted for the season. Many men were leaving the fisheries to work in the pulp mills and iron mines of the Island, but there were still lots of ready hands to man the annual excursion to the north for the traditional occupation of the men of the outports. These small schooners, with a crew of anywhere from four to ten men and boys, were a home for several months for the fishermen who sailed the northern waters in search of cod or seals.
