Most trap berths are located along the shoreline off cliffs or points of land but some are found around shoals off shore. The trap season occurs during the annual inshore cod migration. This migration is tied to a similar inshore migration of countless millions of smelt-like pelagic fish called capelin, which usually begins in early June. Cod usually stay inshore a few weeks longer than the capelin , held there partly by another annual shoreward migration, this time of squid. T he fishing operation of the cod trap is simple.
Fish swimming along the shore or nearby rock shoals come up against the leader.
Thus diverted, they turn seaward and follow the leader into a trap. The traditional vessel that evolved for use in the trap fishery, the trap boat, is an open boat powered at first by sail and oars, later by a small gas or diesel engine. It is usually supplemented by one or two smaller row boats of similar design, or by dories. In recent years another vessel has been developed for the trap fishery. This is the trap boat longliner, a 35 to 60 foot boat, decked and diesel powered.