THE SEA FISHERIES OF EASTERN NORTH AMERICA. 165 

 3 EQUALIZING THE SUPPLY OF I I 



A third subdivision of the subject of maintaining the supply of sea 

 fish along the coast, and of increasing it, may now be considered. The 

 connectiou between the fresh- water or rather the anadromous iisheries 

 of our coast and the sea Iisheries has been dwelt upon in previous re- 

 ports, and while not assenting to the possibility of diminishing the sup- 

 ply of sea fish by ordinary human agencies, I have been satisfied of the 

 disappearance of certain fish from our shores for the want of suitable 

 food, and their migration elsewhere. Of the possibility of attracting 

 fish from great distances by suitable food we have numerous instances. 

 Thus the mackerel fishermen have been in the habit of throwing chopped 

 bait overboard, which was carried a distance, possibly of miles, by the 

 tide. When the school of mackerel strikes this stream of food it follows 

 it up an indefinite distance and comes in immediate proximity of the 

 source of supply, where the fishes can be captured by the hook or the 

 net. Where many vessels are engaged in this business, it is said that 

 the schools of mackerel are brought from a distance of many miles and 

 held in the vicinity, against their ordinary instinct of migration. On 

 the occasion, some years ago, of the lamentable falling oil in the au- 

 tumn mackerel fishery on the coast of Nova Scotia, involving consid- 

 erable destitution and distress among the fishermen, the cause was be- 

 lieved to be in the immense amount of mackerel bait thrown overboard 

 in the Bay of Saint Lawrence by the mackerel smacks, which kept the 

 fish in the bay a long time beyond their usual period of leaving it, so 

 that when they once commenced their autumnal migration they passed 

 directly out to sea, without stopping, as was their custom, in the shores. 



The effect of gurry, too, on fishing-grounds may probably be explained 

 by the attractions of this stream of animal matter carried by the tide 

 over a distance of many miles to the dogfish, sharks, and other preda- 

 ceous species, these following it up and concentrating in the vicinity, 

 where they drive away the food-fishes which form the more special sub- 

 ject of the attention of the fishermen. A similar instance is found in 

 connection with the salmon in theGulf of Saint Lawrence, where thefish 

 are taken in quantities for salting, smoking, or other modes of prepara- 

 tion. Here immense quantities of offal are thrown into the water, where, 

 however, instead of attracting the destructive fishes, has the effect to 

 bring in such species as the cod and render them capable of capture. 

 At one time this practice of throwing offal overboard was considered 

 very objectionable, and an enactment was passed requiring it to be 

 brought on shore and buried or utilized there in some manner. As the 

 result of the diminution of tin's supply of animal matter the fishes aban- 

 doned the ground entirely, and great complaint was made as to the ab- 

 sence of the food-fishes, even of the salmon itself; and subsequently a 

 compromise was effected by which this matter was placed in perforated 

 boxes and the softer portion allowed to pass out and wash away. This, 

 in connection with the great numbers of maggots of the blue -bottle fly 



