30 



by the American fleet off our own shores, the larger the American 

 fleet the more mackerel taken, and they are afforded at a low price to 

 the consumer. This years experience proves this. 



The exaggerated valuation of all the fisheries will be better under- 

 stood when it is shown as it already has been, that fish in the water 

 are really valueless. That is, it costs all they are worth to pursue, 

 take and deliver them at the wharves. This is a plain fact, and the 

 books of any fishing concern will show, that allowing a fair valuation 

 for the charter of the vessel, wages of the crew, subsistence and other 

 outfits, that the average expenses are equal to the average trips taken. 

 The business is a partnership, pure and simple, in which the owner 

 of the vessel represents the capital and the fishermen the labor ; one 

 half of the proceeds of the voyage going to the vessel's share and one 

 half to the crew. If no fish are taken the owner loses the use of his 

 vessel and the cost of outfits, victualling, &c, and the crew lose their 

 labor. Consequently an} r legislation for the benefit of the fisheries 

 cares for the direct interest of the operative fishermen as well as the 

 owner, and the investment in the business comprehends the value of 

 the time and labor of the crew as much as capital in vessels' outfits, 

 wharves and store houses. 



Therefore in the matter of comparative valuation of the raw ma- 

 terial, the price of the fish at the wharves before they are shore dried 

 or stripped and packed, represents the credit side, and the expenses 

 of vessels' outfits, depreciation, insurance, etc., together with the 

 wages of the crew, at a fair rate, indicates the debtor side. 



Take our own mackerel fleet in the Gulf of St. Lawrence this year, 

 60 of the finest and best equipped vessels, commanded by the most 

 experienced and persevering captains that sail out of Gloucester. 

 They gave the fishery a thorough and fair trial, and this is the re- 

 sult : Whole number of mackerel taken, 15,299 bbls. ; number bbls. 

 taken outside three miles, 12,161 ; number bbls. taken inside, 3,138 ; 

 value of outside catch, $68,662 ; value of inside catch, $18,190; val- 

 ue of the whole, $86,852. 



This is the consolidation of the trips as they were reported and 

 sworn to by the captains of the vessels after they arrived home ; it 

 comprehends the value of the fish minus the expense of barrels, salt, 

 packing and inspection. 



Now what did it cost to produce those fish. Take first the charter 



