lines in Bermudian waters.

And the seven boats will also benefit the Island by providing jobs for at least 14 Bermudians.

The first two boats, the 86-foot Stephen B and the 65-foot Renee and Trevor sailed into St. George's yesterday to begin a five month fishing experiment.

Atlantic Horizon and Atlantic Optimist are expected over the weekend, and they will be followed from Halifax, Nova Scotia, by East Pack II , Polar Fish and Seven Girls .

Captain of Stephen B , Mr. Jim Redmond said it was a rough ride from Halifax in seas of 40 feet, making their arrival a day late.

"I could see a mountain coming towards us and it just broke over the boat.

There were severe conditions,'' he said.

The skippers all obtained licences to fish from Bermuda's Department of Fisheries.

Mr. Redmond explained: "Our fisheries have put a moratorium on fishing. There are no quotas left on the east coast. There are now 50,000 out of work in Atlantic Canada.'' The fishing ban is a measure to combat a drastic depletion of fish, mainly cod, in the ocean off Eastern Canada. Mr. Redmond agreed that the moratorium was necessary but said: "It's not because we have overfished the stocks; it is because of some big environmental change. The water has turned extremely cold.'' Mr. Redmond believed trouble was brewing in Canada early and contacted Bermuda's Director of Fisheries Mr. John Barnes. He was also helped by Captain John Moore of Meyer Agencies and their lawyer Mr.

Christopher Lavigne, of Cox and Wilkinson.

The licences will allow the boats to use long lines inside Bermuda's 200-mile exclusive fishing zone.

"I just looked at the map and saw Bermuda, which is only 750 miles from Nova Scotia,'' said Mr. Redmond. "We can be here in three days.'' He had visited Bermuda a couple of times on holiday, and returned recently to complete the licence negotiations.

If the five month trial period is a success he intends to try to arrange a longer deal. Having left the severe Canadian winter behind, he joked: "I would like to be here for the rest of my life.'' As part of the deal the seven boats must employ Bermudians among their crews. Mr. Redmond said they had had 20 applicants and would interview them before setting sail next week on the first eight to ten day trip.

He said many of the swordfish expected to be caught would be sold in New England and tuna would be sent to the lucrative Japanese markets. Excess stocks caught by Bermudian fishermen would also be bought by the group for sale in the United States.

Many people believe longline fishing could be the way ahead for the Bermudian fishing industry.

There has already been an experiment involving the Anna C and recently Mr.

David Young imported his own longline vessel Kelly Marie to enter the business.

Although the Anna C experiment proved disastrous, Government is keen to explore new ways of boosting the industry.

The progress of the Canadian boats over the next five months will be closely scrutinised by officials and fishermen.

LONGLINE FISHERMEN -- Mr. Merle Smiley and Mr. Jim Redmond aboard Mr. Smiley's boat Renee and Trevor which arrived in St. George's yesterday.