STATISTICS OF NORTH AMERICAN HADDOCK FISHERY 



33 



considerable fluctiiation.s to about 150,000,000 pounds in 1911), de- 

 creased to 108,000.000 pounds in 11)21. and readied 214,0()0,()00 i)ounds 

 in 1927. 



T.vnr.E 4. — Totdl ratcJiex in North Amcricon iratem, in poundn. of fresh 



(/lifted haddock 



' Canadian catches before 1888 unreliable (see text) . 



2 Estimated by replacing the extraordinary catch of Digby Cour^y, Nova Scotia, by the average for the 

 2 adjacent years. 



Considering the two countries separately, we see that both the 

 United States and Canadian catches show a general increase from 

 J.903 to 1917. The United States catch, however, fell off only very 

 slightly from 1919 to 1921, the postwar depression of the total catch 

 being due largely to a decrease in that of Canada from 78,000.000 

 pounds in 1917 (the largest recorded) to about 27,000,000 pounds 

 in 1921 (the smallest recorded). Reference to Table 3 shows that this 

 depression of the catch was coincident with a ffvll in the prices paid 

 to the fishermen. It was apparenth' due to economic factors at the 

 close of the war rather than to any decrease in the abundance of the 

 fish. " The marketing of fish and fish products was found to be 

 difficult and prices fell to a figure which made it impossible, in some 

 districts of tlie Atlantic coast especially, to carry on.'' (Report of 

 the Deputy ^Minister of Marine and Fisheries. Canada. 1921.) This 

 decrease was general, affecting both offshore and inshore fisheries 

 and all parts of the coast. On the whole, the recovery has been slow, 

 particularly in the .shore fisheries. 



CANADA 



The inshore and offshore catches are not given separately before 

 1918. The}" are sliown since that date in Table 3. It may be seen 

 that they are similar in size at the beginning and end of the period 



