50 Fisheries of the Gulf of St, Lawrence. 



hundred barrels of Capelin taken in one tide, expressly for manure ; 

 and that he has also seen one thousand barrels of Herring caught, 

 at one time, and not taken away, but left to rot upon the beach. 



It has been remarked in the Bay of Chaleur, that owing to this 

 waste of the smaller fish, the Cod Fishery recedes, as agriculture 

 advances. The lazy farmer, who thinks he can increase the fer- 

 tility of his land by a single sweep of his seine, does so at the 

 expense of the fisheries, although a bountiful Providence has 

 furnished the shores with inexhaustible quantities of kelp and sea- 

 weed, and other valuable manures, which really enrich the soil 

 while it is admitted that the use of fish greatly deteriorates it. 



The Legislature of Canada has been strongly urged to make it 

 a misdemeanor, punishable by fine and imprisonment, for any per- 

 son to use either Herring or Capelin as manure ; and such a 

 measure would seem to be highly desirable in New Brunswick. 

 To be effective, there should he similar regulations on both sides 

 of the Bay of Chaleur. 



The deep-sea fishery for Cod is not prosecuted to any great 

 extent in the Gulf by the people of New Brunswick. A few 

 schooners proceed from the Fishing Stations in the County of Glou- 

 cester, already mentioned, to the Bradelle Bank, about fifty miles 

 from Miscou. In the summer of 1839, H. M. S. Champion, in 

 sailino- from the East Cape of Prince Edward Island to the Bay of 

 Chaleur, (crossing the Bradelle Bank) passed through a fleet of 

 600 to 700 sail of American fishing schooners, all engaged in Cod 



fishing. 



The vessels of Gaspe frequently resort to Anticosti, off the 

 eastern end of which Island, Cod are often taken in great abun- 

 dance and of good quality. 



The excellent fishery on the Labrador Coast is prosecuted almost 

 wholly by the Americans, and by vessels from Newfoundland, 

 Canada, and Nova Scotia. The vessels usually employed are 

 schooners of TO or 80 tons burthen, and they arrive on the coast 

 about the end of May. Every part of the coast is frequented by 

 fishino- vessels during the season, from Mount Joli, at the southern 

 boundary of Labrador, to the northern extremity of the Straits of 

 Bellcisle. On reaching the coast, the vessel enters some snug 

 harbour, where she is moored, and there remains quietly at anchor, 

 until a full fare, or the departure of the fish, requires the Master to 

 seek another inlet, or return home. 



The fisher} 7 is carried on entirely in boats, and the number 

 found most useful is one for every thirty tons of the vessel ; there 



