The gutting, heading and splitting processes occurred as quickly as possible, and when it was over the other section of the stage would be utilized. Unlike the front portion which was organized for ease of rapid work, the back portion was organized for clean and efficient storage of fish; cleanliness was the prime determinant of this interior space. Each stage had a series of fish pounds--square fixed containers made by nailing poles from the rafters or collars to the floor, and then creating boxes with smooth planking (figure 25).

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(figure25) Fish pounds in Dan Greene's stage, Tilting

Pounds were a long series of bins along one or both exterior longitudinal walls of the stage where fish would be stacked after it was split and salted. Smooth planking was needed to line these bins to ensure that no offal would breed maggots; more planks could be added to make each pound higher and higher as fish were added, enabling fish to be stacked to wallplate height. Separating the bin into different sections would also permit fish that had been setting in salt for different amounts of time to be worked on at the opportune time. One pound usually was set aside for bulk storage of salt; Leslie Coles' salt pound used to hold 40 hogsheads of salt--approximately 2600 gallons.

While most stages had what were essentially fixed pounds along the exterior walls, the number of pounds was in fact expansible to cover almost all of the stage interior when the amount of fish warranted it. The number of pounds could be expanded, much as the building unit of the stage itself was expanded to reflect the scale of operation. During the height of the fish curing season, new pounds were made by simply taking more poles (pound poles) and fastening them from rafter or collar into a hole drilled in the floor bedding, or between cleats on the floor. Pounds could thus be built out in all directions, limited only by the walk and work space needed in the interior. Many men recall that when fish were plentiful, the entire interior of a stage would be covered in pounds filled with fish from floor to wall plate, with only a narrow walkway running from the entrance door to the splitting table work area. Most stages still have the evidence of these expanded pounds, with numerous holes in the floor bedding visible where pound poles have either been removed or broken off.

The fish that had been split and washed would be brought to a pound, to be stacked and covered in salt for a certain period of time. Fish would be laid with alternating tails and napes, and over each layer salt would be shovelled or, more commonly, sprinkled by hand (figure 26).

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(figure26) Layers of fish covered with salt stacked in a pound; Stanley Waterman's stage, Deep Bay.

As Bill Godwin recalled, the "old scouts" knew exactly how much salt was needed for each layer of fish; "one throw of salt" would be all that was needed for each section. As layer by layer of the fish were laid in the pound, it was especially important to make sure that every hole and crevice was completely filled with salt. If there was not enough salt, flies might leave their eggs in any small hole, leading to the spoilage of sections of the pile. According to Dan Greene, larger holes--usually along the edges of the pound--were filled in with the backbones of the fish that had been split. These bones would ensure that the pile was "chintzed" right to the wall, packed in as well with salt. All interstices were filled in with sound bones and covered over with salt; "you wouldn't shove your finger down there hardly" according to Dan. To cut down on the problem of possible fly damage at the edges of stacked fish, some men did not use divisions in their pounds but made one long rectangular pile. Men who would be catching large quantities of fish at one time using cod traps often preferred this method.

When the work was most intense, it was impossible to dry all the fish at one time after its two or three weeks in salt. Therefore, many stages became saltfish warehouses, filled with fish in salt that had to wait for processing until the fall of the year when the fishery was over. Some years would see 600 or 700 quintals (68000-78000 pounds) caught during a trapping season; according to Doug Primmer of Barr'd Island, much of it had to wait in the stage to be dried right up until the snow came in October or November.

When fish were salted, each pound would eventually be stacked full to the wall plate; each pound would hold approximately 20 quintals (2240 pounds) of fish. If pounds were expanded so that only a small walkway and the space around the splitting table remained, a twenty-five foot stage like Frank Waterman's (figure 27) would hold 30,000 pounds of fish; Doug Primmer's original 65' stage would hold over double that amount.

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(figure27) Plan of Frank Waterman's stage, Deep Bay.

When the stage was full, it would never move, but men had to frequently check shores and other supports, as sometimes the large iron nails or bolts would break under the weight and have to be replaced. According to Dan Greene, many stages in the past had a "side span" for support. This brace kept the side of the stage from breaking out when a large amount of salted fish was stored inside (figure 28).

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(figure28) Stage with a side span to prevent the walls from collapsing from the weight when full of fish; Greene's Point, Tilting.

These were essentially timbers that spanned out past the normal plane of the flooring, and braced diagonally on the wallplate to counteract any pressure. According to Dan, the typical sixty foot stage had three of these spans on each side.