[129] 



HISTORY OF THE MACKEREL FISHERY. 



219 



Table showing, hy States, the qiianiity of mackerel taken hy the Neio England fmhcrmen in 

 1880, and the value of the same in the condition in which they tvere placed upon the market. 



* Including both the fre-i^h and salt mackerel used for canning. 



As already iutimated, there was a great falling off in the Provincial 

 mackerel fisheries during the year, the bulk of the catch, which amounted 

 to over 70,000,000 pounds, according to the Canadian Fishery Report, t 

 being taken by the shore fishermen of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward 

 Island. Of the entire quantity 233,609 barrels were j^ickled. In the 

 Canadian report the average price of the salt mackerel is given as Ji)9.25 

 per barrel, but as the fish were much inferior in quality to the American 

 catch, these figures are evidently incorrect. Statistics show that 105,730 

 barrels of the above, equal to nearly one-half of the catch, were mar- 

 keted in the United States (and it is fair to iiresume that these were of 

 average quality), where they were ordinarily sold at lower figures than 

 the fish taken by the New England fleet. If we suppose the Canadian 

 fish to be equal to those taken on our own shores (a supposition which is 

 hardly warranted), the value of the (latch, as given by the Canadian au- 

 thorities, must still be reduced by $818,602, as the average price of the 

 New England fish during the season was only $5.75 per barrel. 



The following table shows in detail the extent of the catch for the 

 several Provinces : 



t Supplement No. 2 | to the Eleventh Annual Report of the | Minister of Marine and 



Fisheries | for the year 1880. ^== Fisheries Statements | for the year | 1880. 



Ottawa: | Printed by MacLean, Roger & Co., Wellington street. ( 1881. 



