172 American Fisheries Society 



lobster regulations being enacted by Order in Council in 1873, 

 when three provisions were authorized: viz., (1) Prohibition 

 of spawn lobsters; (2) lobsters under 1^ lbs. weight for- 

 bidden; and (3) soft-shell lobsters illegal. The following 

 year (1874) a close time, July and August, was specified, and 

 a nine-inch size limit introduced. 



Special Dominion Regulations for Provinces. — Sub- 

 sequently special codes of fishery regulations for the several 

 Provinces were framed modifying the general provisions of 

 the act to meet local and special conditions, and these have 

 been found more handy and convenient in each Province in 

 the work of enforcing fishery regulations. The first clause 

 (with the exception of the Nova Scotia regulations) always 

 required that a license shall be obtained by any person desiring 

 to fish in such Province. 



Too Many Regulations. — It must be admitted that this 

 accumulation of legislative enactments, fishery acts, provin- 

 cial codes of laws, authorized by Dominion special Orders in 

 Council, to meet conditions arising from time to time, forms 

 a rather confusing body of legal provisions; but on the whole 

 these Canadian laws have worked beneficially, and accom- 

 plished great things for the fishery resources of the Dominion. 



Disputed Fishery Rights, Federal and Provincial. — 

 After confederation was accomplished, and especially after 

 British Columbia in 1871, and Prince Edward Island in 1873, 

 and Alberta and Saskatchewan in 1905, were admitted to 

 confederation*, it was felt that the exact limits of fishery 

 rights and prerogatives remained in many respects ill-defined. 

 Some friction was caused, and important cases, such as that 

 of "The Queen versus Robertson" on the famous salmon 

 river Miramichi demonstrated the desirability of some au- 

 thoritative decision on these disputed rights. f In 1892 the 



* Manitoba was a Territory incorporated in 1870 in the Dominion. 



t According to this decision of the Supreme Court of Canada (in 1882) the Do- 

 minion can legislate in regard to all fisheries, but has no power to interfere with or 

 control or grant exclusive fishery leases in any non-navigable river whether the bed 

 or soil be vested in the Crown in right of a Province, or in a private owner hold- 

 ing a title from the Crown. 



