XXIV REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



clams from dealers at Portland and other towns in the State of Maine, to he used hy 

 them in the cod fisheries. 



Since the introduction of the purse-seine the mackerel fishermen have required no 

 hait. 



In the halibut fishery it is only necessary To take a sufficient quantity to last one 

 or two days, as the remainder of the catch can be obtained on refuse fish taken on' 

 the trawls with the halibut, or, if necessary, small halibut can be cut up and used 

 for baiting the hooks. 



In the past the cod-fishermen frequenting George's Banks have at certain seasons 

 of the year obtained their bait from Canadian ports, but the experience of the pres- 

 ent year has proven that they are not dependent upon them, as most of the vessels 

 have obtained their supply on our own coast with comparatively little difficulty, and 

 frequently with less loss of time than was customary when visiting localities in New 

 Brunswick and Nova Scotia. 



It will thus be seen that though the privilege of obtaining bait and the ice neces- 

 sary for preserving it in British North American ports has been in the past and may 

 even still be considered a convenience to certain classes of vessels, it is not of vital 

 importance. 



The agitation of the question of bait supply has had a very beneficial influence 

 upon our own fishermen, and has resulted in the development of extensive shore-bait 

 fisheries along the coasts of Maine and Massachusetts, which give promise of being 

 able to supply in large part, if not wholly, the demands of our entire fleet. During 

 the past summer the experiment of shipping bait to Boston from the more remote 

 localities ou the coast of Maine has been made with success, and the cost of trans- 

 portation is not high enough to be a barrier to the continuance of the business. 

 If this practice increases, as at present seems probable, it will doubtless result in a 

 great saving of time to our fleet, which has often in the past been seriously incon- 

 venienced iu its fishing operations, owing to the time consumed in sailing from port 

 to port iu search of a supply. The U. S. Fish Commission has recently begun a se- 

 ries of experiments with a view to determining the praticability of preserving fresh 

 bait long enough to admit of its shipment from New England ports to the fleet fishing 

 on the more distant banks, but the work is not yet sufficiently advanced to warrant 

 an opinion as to the probable result. 

 Question 4. "The same question in regard to the fishing on the permitted coasts 



and the commercial entry in the prohibited bays and harbors, but not for fishing." 



There is at present comparatively little fishing by American vessels on that portion 

 of the coast to which free access is given by the treaty of 1818; but vessels fishing in 

 that vicinity should have the same privileges in other ports as are accorded to other 

 vessels, as it would seem unwise to discriminate, and it would, perhaps, owing to the 

 few settlements of any importance on the permitted coast, be more convenient for 

 the vessel to enter ports in the prohibited districts to purchase the necessary articles 

 than to go out of their way in an opposite direction, where there might be any un- 

 certainty of securing them. 

 Question 5. "What is your estimate of the total tonnage of the American vessels, 



the number of fishermen I hereon, eugaged in the Canadian and North Atlantic fish- 

 eries in 1886, and the total value of their catch V 



A careful estimate of the extent and importance of our New England vessel fish- 

 eries indicates that during the present year there have been 1,956 vessels, aggregating 

 115,130 tons, with crews numbering 17,996 men, employed in the various sea fisheries. 

 The fleet is estimated to have been divided as follows: 1,5)50 vessels in the food-fish 

 fisheries, 215 in the shell-fish and lobster fisheries, 177 in the capture of whales and 

 seals, and 34 in the menhaden fishery. 



The 1,530 food-fish vessels aggregated 71,200 tons and furnished employment to 

 14,240 men. The vessels, witb tlieir equipment, were valued at nearly $5,000,000, and 

 their catch is estimated to have sold at prices to fishermen for $4,590,000. Of this 



