J. PISCICULTURE AND THE FISHERIES. 405 



J. PISCICULTURE AND THE FISHERIES. 



REPORT OF THE FISH COMMISSIONER OF CANADA. 



The report of Mr. William F. Whitcher, Commissioner of 

 Fisheries of Canada, made to the Minister of Marine and 

 Fisheries, on the operations of his department for 1874, is, 

 like its predecessors, a document of very great value, and es- 

 pecially so on account of the very full and accurate statis- 

 tics of the yields of the products of the sea and the rivers 

 of the various parts of the Dominion. 



According to this report, the condition of the fisheries 

 generally is improving, their money value in 1874 amount- 

 ing to $11,681,886, or an increase of nearly $1,000,000 over 

 that of the preceding year. This, of course, embraces fish 

 and fish products for exportation, Avhile ten per cent., it is 

 thought, should be added to represent the domestic con- 

 sumption. The products of British Columbia, Manitoba, and 

 the northwestern territories are not communicated. 



Of the sum mentioned, Nova Scotia is credited with $6,652,- 

 000, New Brunswick $2,685,000, and Quebec $1,608,000, with 

 smaller quantities for Ontario and Prince Edward's Island. 



The report also includes an account of what has been done 

 in the Dominion in the way of artificial propagation of the 

 salmon ; and we are informed that there are five fish-hatch- 

 ing establishments now in successful operation namely, at 

 New Castle (Ontario), Tadousac, Gaspe, Restigouche, and at 

 Newcastle (New Brunswick). The quantity of eggs laid 

 down in these five establishments exceeds four millions, of 

 which about eighty-three per cent, will probably become 

 young fish. Similar establishments are recommended for 

 Nova Scotia, Prince Edward's Island, the Eastern townships, 

 and on Detroit River, near Sandwich. A favorable place 

 has been found near the Narrows, among the Thousand Isl- 

 ands, on the Canadian shore of the River St. Lawrence, for 

 hatching and rearing such fish as bass, pickerel, and mus- 

 kallonge. 



Special attention is called by the Commissioner to the im- 

 portance of the salmon of British Columbia and Frazer's 



