LOBSTER PLANTING AREAS 121 



SESSIONAL PAPER No. 38a 



plentiful without being see^i. But even if they were seen and possibly if they were 

 recognized, not one in a thousand of those likely to see them would ex'er report. The- 

 chances are all against getting definite information in the matter. 



5. Favourable Eeports of Eesults. 



The only evidence that appears to be available, as far as the experiments in this 

 provijice go, is favourable. Of those planted in 1905 in the small bay at Mudge island 

 at the entrance to False narrows, we have direct evidence that they seemed to thrive 

 for a time. They were prevented from escaping by means of a net drawn across the 

 entrance of the bay. The net rotted and was kiken away by a storm in a couple of 

 months, but during this time the lobsters seemed to thrive although they had but 

 little room for exercise, especially at low-tide. There was no sign of any dead lobsters 

 and nothing to indicate that they were not in the best of health. Again in 1908 when 

 the shipment was taken to Sooke and the lobsters put in crates, the report already 

 quoted says that they lived for some weeks before they were distributed. But that is 

 not all. Inspector E. G. Taylor has informed me that when the crates themselves 

 were taken away to be broken up, some time later, there was an occasional lobster still 

 present, apparently hale and hearty. In both these cases if the lobsters got along so 

 well for the first few weeks, that there was no evidence of mortality, it would seem 

 that they should get along all right at any time. To this conclusion one objection 

 might be raised. While the lobsters were in the net or in the crates, they were pro- 

 tected from any species that might cause their destruction. When the protection was 

 removed and the lobsters were exposed in the open waters such enemies might appear. 

 As an offset to this it might be remarked that the mature lobster is fairly well able 

 to look after himself, and since other crustaceans, by no means so well provided with 

 weapons of defence, thrive in these waters, there cannot be many enemies that the 

 lobster would need to fear. 



6. Bottom, Food and, other Conditions. 



Comparisons have been made of conditions in the Pacific and in the Atlantic as 

 to the possibilities of or the suitability for lobster rearing. Rathbun^ has gone into 

 the matter rather fully, but, he has made the comparison chiefly in reference to the 

 San Francisco region, it may be worth while to make a similar comparison with the 

 Vancouver Island region. 



In the first place, as to natural resorts, there is no lack of such rocky, gravelly 

 and sandy bottoms, with ample provision of kelp and other large algse. The area for 

 such at suitable depths in this vicinity will be considered later. 



As to food material. Prince^, in speaking of the American lobster, says : " Lobsters 

 • may be almost said to be omnivorous. They are certainly not particular in their diet, 

 and greedily devour fish alive, dead, or even putrid, seaweed, eelgrass (Zostcra), 

 shrimps, starfish, indeed anything in the nature of edible material." Herrick^ men- 

 tions fish, crustaceans, chiefly isopods and decapods, molluscs, including clams, largo 

 and small univalves, echinoderms, including starfish and sea-urchins, hydroids and 

 algae. British Columbia waters could certainly supply a greatly varied menu along 

 those lines. There are bottom fish of so many species that it is quite probable many 

 of them have not even been examined. There are plenty of dead fish, particularly at 

 certain times of the year, e.g., when the dog salmon start up the streams to spawn. 

 As to Crustaceans, Taylor's list^ will give some idea of the variety of the decapods. 



1 Rathbun, R., Transplanting of Lobsters to the Pacific Coast, Bull. U.S. Fish Commission, 

 vol. VIII for 1888, pp. 453-472. 



2 Prince, E. E., Report of the Canadian Lobster Commission, 1899, p. 9. 



3 History of the American Lobster, pp. 183-187. 



