Bounty

A Federal fisheries subsidy, a grant to cod fishermen, from 1792 to 1866. The bounty was an annual allowance based on vessel tonnage paid to cod fishermen who were actively fishing for at least four months of the year. In Maine, its major effect was after about 1830, and it formed an important part of a cod fishing vessel's earnings. Amendments in 1819 encouraged the kinds of smaller vessels found in Maine.