THE SEA FISHERIES OF EASTERN NORTH AMERICA. 203 
Q. What are these scales for?—A. I cannotsay. The theory of the fishermen, how- 
ever, is thatit is to curb the roving habits of the mackerel, and make it more ready 
to stay in the mud; and that otherwise they would not want to stay there; that is 
the hypothesis of the fishermen, and I give it for what it is worth. 
Q. You do not assent to it?—A. No; it is not proven to be true. 
Q. Andit is not disproven?—A. All that is proven in this respect is, that in winter 
we do not see the mackerel; they do not then school on the surface, nor do they go 
to the West Indies, or to Bermuda, or to Florida; nor do they then appear on the 
surface anywhere as far as the testimony has gone. 
Q. With reference to the inshore fisheries in the State of Maine, and in the States 
of New England, generally, are they depleted or not ?—A. The boat-fisheries there 
are not what they were fifty or one hundred years ago; that, I think, I am perfectly 
safe in saying ; but whether there has been any decrease in them during the past few 
years I cannot say. 
Q. I now quote from your own report, part second, for the years 1872 and 1873, page 
xi; it is headed “Conclusions as to decrease of cod-fisheries on the New England 
Coast,” and it states: 
“Of all the various fisheries formerly prosecuted directly off the coast of New Eng- 
land, north of Cape Cod, the depreciation in that of the cod appears to be of the 
greatest economical importance. Formerly the waters abounded in this fish to such 
an extent that a large supply could be taken throughout almost the entire year along 
the banks, especially in the vicinity of the mouths of the large rivers. At that time 
the tidal streams were almost choked up with the alewives, shad, and salmon that 
were struggling for entrance in the spring, and which filled the adjacent waters 
throughout a great part of the year. 
*¢ As is well known, the erection of impassable dams acréss the streams, by prevent- 
ing the ascent of the species just mentioned to their spawning-grounds, produced a 
very great diminution, and almost the extermination, of their numbers, so that 
whereas in former years a large trade could be carried on during the proper season, 
now nothing would be gained by the effort.” 
On page xii you say this: 
“Tt would, therefore, appear that while the river-fisheries have been depreciated 
or destroyed by means of dams or by exhaustive fishing, the codfish have disappeared 
in equal ratio. This is not, however, for the same reason, as they are taken only 
with the line, at a rate more than compensated by the natural fecundity of the fish. 
I am well satisfied, however, that there is a relation of cause and effect between the 
present and past condition of the two series of fish ; and in this I am supported by 
the opinion of Capt. U.S. Treat, of Eastport, by whom, indeed, the idea was first 
suggested to me. Captain Treat is asuccessful fisherman, and dealer in fish on a very 
large scale, and at the same time a gentleman of very great intelligence and knowl- 
edge of the many details connected with the natural history of our coast-fishes, and 
in this respect worthily representing Captain Atwood, of Provincetown. Itis to Cap- 
tain Treat that we owe many experiments on the reproduction of alewives in ponds, 
and tho possibility of keeping salmon in fresh waters for a period of years. The gen- 
eral conclusions which have been reached, as the result of repeated conversations 
with Captain Treat and other fishermen on the coast, incline me to believe that the 
reduction in the cod and other fisheries, so as to become practically a failure, is due 
to the decrease off our coast in the quantity, primarily, of alewives, and secondarily 
of shad and salmon, more than to any other cause. 
‘“‘Tt is well known to the old residents of Eastport that from thirty to fifty years 
ago cod could be taken in abundance in Passamaquoddy Bay and off Eastport, where 
only stragglers are now to be caught. The same is the case at the mouth of the Pe- 
nobscot River and at other points along the coast, where once the fish came close in 
to the shore, and were readily captured with the hook throughout the greater part 
of the year.” 
A. Yes, 
