Fisheries of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. 41 



Labrador, and Newfoundland, and three or more establishments in 

 New Brunswick ; but they by no means confine themselves to 

 any particular locality. They employ upwards of one hundred 

 vessels almost exclusively in carrying the rich products of the deep 

 to various foreign markets, besides the smaller craft required upon 

 the coast. Two of the leading Jersey firms, Messieurs Robin and 

 Company, and Nicolle Brothers, are supposed respectively to afford 

 employment, directly or indirectly, to nearly one thousand persons. 



The inhabitants of those shores of Cape Breton and Nova Scotia 

 which are within the Gulf, pursue the Fisheries in their immediate 

 neighbourhood to a moderate extent ; and a few of their vessels 

 visit the Magdalen Islands, and the Labrador coast, during the sea- 

 son. The people of Prince Edward Island, who are favourably 

 placed for securing a goodly portion of the riches of the sea, make 

 still more limited efforts ; but their efforts cm scarcely be describ- 

 ed as more limited, or more feeble, than those of the people of 

 New Brunswick, who dwell upon its shores, from Baie Yerte to 

 the western extremity of the Bay of Chaleur — those shores com- 

 manding as great an extent and variety of fishing ground, and as 

 abundant supplies of valuable fish of every description, as can be 

 found in any other part of the unrivalled Gulf of Saint Lawrence, 

 while they possess equal, and perhaps superior, facilities for prose- 

 cuting its Fisheries, both extensively and profitably. 



The most valuable Fisheries of the Gulf are those for Herring 

 Cod, and Mackerel. But before entering upon the question of 

 their encouragement and extension, by increased facilities of com- 

 munication, it will be proper to give some description of each. 

 "With this view they will be taken up in the order of the fishing 

 season; after which, the secondary Fisheries of the Gulf will be 

 briefly noticed. 



THE HERRING. 



The common Herring (Clupea harengus) appears in the Gulf of 

 Saint Lawrence at the end of April, or early in May, and the fish- 

 ing continues until about 10th June, when they retire to deep 

 water, having deposited their spawn. These " Spring Herring," 

 as they are termed, are taken in "set nets" along the whole 

 eastern shore of New Brunswick, around Miscou Island, and 

 within the Bay of Chaleur. Being caught while in the very act 

 of spawning, they are thin and poor, of little value as an article of 

 food, whether fresh or salted. Another Herring appears on the 



