196 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 
mean value of $1,875,840, which gives a ratio of 133,671 pounds per linear mile, and 
equivalent to $7,504 to the linear mile. The yield in the trap and pound fishery is 
over 78,610 pounds to the man, of a money value of $2,661, being the product of each 
man’s labor for an average not exceeding four months. That sum, to bring it to the 
annual amount, will have to be multiplied by three ; each man thus would produce 
$8,000 worth a year by this mode of fishing. 
Q. You do not mean to say that each man makes that amount?—A. No; but that 
is the ratio of fish tothe man. ‘Those pounds are generally owned by at least one of 
the men who run them, who sometimes hire what additional assistance they require ; 
perhaps, however, in half of the cases the owners manage the pounds and have no 
division of profits. 
Q. Those statistics were prepared to show the amount of the fish, including the 
fresh fish as well as those salted ?—A. None of these are salted except such of the 
salted menhaden as is for food. They do not enter into the returns of pickled fish. 
These fresh fish go almost exclusively to New York, very few to Boston. 
Q. It seems strange that you should be able to know the amount of fresh fish that 
passes into the great city and what is caught every day. What method have you 
adopted to ascertain those facts ?—A. The entire fresh-fish trade of New York is con- 
fined to nineteen firms which form the Wholesale Dealers’ Association, to whose books 
and figures I have had access through and by the assistance of the large wholesale and 
retail dealer in New York, Mr. Blackford, who has just taken great interest in my in- 
vestigations and is a very hearty coadjutor. He has succeeded in interesting those 
dealers, and I have just prepared a series of blanks in which I hope to have the 
dealers record all the catches of fish every day and give me the returns, 
Q. You have no doubt from your relations with the dealers who control the market 
that you know substantially the catch?—-A. I cannot say that I know the maximum 
catch on the coast, but I know I have reason to rely upon ¢he figures of the fish that 
is actually marketed and comes into the hands of the wholesale men. 
Q. A large amount escapes notice ?—A. Yes; all the local catch, the catch of fisher- 
men which goes for their own benefit and is consumed on the spot; the catch con- 
sumed in seaport towns and villages cannot be included in this enumeration. 
Q. Arethese caught within the treaty limits?—A. All those fish which I have men- 
tioned are caught east of Cape May. 
Q. Northeast ?—A. Yes; and all caught close to the shore, by traps or pounds, 
usually within 100 to 300 yards of the shore, or by gill-nets and hand-lines, used by — 
men also from the shore. ; 
Q. The whole fishery, with pounds and nets, that goes on from the shore, and with 
hook and line for market fish, all comes within the treaty limits?—A. Yes, of course, 
the mullet and winter bluefish are south of the treaty limits; but all the fish are 
practically within the treaty limits. : 
Q. And in those fisheries the Canadians have the same rights as Americans ?—A. 
The Canadians have the same rights there as we have. It does not include the fish- 
ery, north of Cape Cod Bay and round to Eastport. 
Q. Can youmake any comparison of the corresponding ratio per mile, or otherwise, 
of the Canadian fisheries?—A. Ido not think I could, because I believe the returns of 
the Canadian fisheries are not so large as they should be. I do not believe the Cana- 
dian returns are in proportion to the actual catch. I therefore think a comparative 
statement would be fallacious, and I would rather not make it. 
Q. Some Canada tables have been published of the fisheries of 1876, inelailinne per- 
haps, cod and herring ?—A. Those relate to all the fisheries. This estimate I submit 
is for weir-fishing on a limited coast. 
Q. The Canadian returns show a total amount of $11,000,000 7—A. I think the total 
estimate of the Canadian fisheries for 1876 is between $11,000,000 and $12,000,000. 
Q. If you put that of the United States at $50,000,000, would that be a low or high es- 
timate ?—A. I think we could figure up over $40,000,000 withont any difficulty ; that 
is, for all the fisheries, 
