Capelin (traditional Newfoundland spelling 'caplin') played an important part in Newfoundland's inshore fishery. Capelin spend most their lives offshore, only moving inshore to spawn. Spawning takes place on beaches in June and July. During the "capelin scull" you would find Newfoundlanders on beaches equipped with buckets, cast nets and dip nets to gather up this bounty of the sea. Traditionally capelin were spread on gardens as fertilizer, used as bait fish for catching cod, or salted and dried for the kitchen table or to be roasted on an open fire as a salty snack. Capelin are sometimes dried on flakes or make-shift racks, as depicted in this painting. Female caplin are called "spawneys." You can tell a spawney by its shape. Males have translucent ridges on the sides of their bodies while females are smooth.