31 



of the vessels for the time they were absent and the expense of out- 

 fits, victualing, etc., $127,517, then add the wages of the men at the 

 rate they would be paid for their time as sailors, $80,852, and we 

 have $208,369 actually expended to produce $86,859 worth of mack- 

 erel in the whole Gulf of St. Lawrence, and but $18,190 of it in the 

 limits of that magnificent fishery, for which $14,500,000 were claimed 

 and $5,500,000 paid. And in addition to this we find that the United 

 States remits in duties $624,000 yearly to Canada, making a total in 

 the twelve years of the treat}' of $7,488,000, which with the five and 

 one-half millions, make a total of $12,988,000, or nearly the amount 

 first claimed, viz., fourteen and one-half millions. 



And all this is for the privilege of taking a few mackerel, every one 

 of which costs us in labor and expense more than he is actually 

 worth. From July 1873 to Jan. 1885, the whole of the fishing sea- 

 son of the twelve years of the treaty, our vessels took in the Gulf of 

 St. Lawrence, 286,435 barrels of mackerel, of which 95,480 barrels 

 were taken inside of the three mile limit ; the value of the whole was 

 $2,100,802, the value of the inside catch $700,320 ; there were em- 

 ployed 1160 vessels at a cost on the average for charter, outfits and 

 stores and wages $2,801,122. 



There were 190,955 barrels caught outside of the three mile limit, 

 worth $1,400,472, making a difference in amount of expense against 

 the whole product of the Gulf of St. Lawrence mackerel fishery of 

 nearly $800,000, and against the inshore fishery of nearly $2,000,000 

 more expenses than value of mackerel. 



There were 267 American vessels fishing for mackerel off our own 

 shores and 92 of our American vessels went into the Gulf of St. Law- 

 rence for mackerel. 



The average catch of the shore fleet was 1870 barrels to each ves- 

 sel. The average catch of the bay fleet was 231 barrels to each ves- 

 sel. 



Now how do we account for this ? The former methods of taking 

 mackerel by hook and line, le*ft the mackerel free option whether he 

 would be taken or not. He had free course to make his way along 

 our shores or come in from the Gulf Stream, and in this passage, like 

 migratory birds, he went in flocks or schools. Nothing but his own 

 appetite betrayed him, and this is not alone peculiar to mackerel. 

 Then they filled our creeks and harbors, and the Gulf of St. Law- 



