[347] HISTORY OF THE MACKEREL FISHERY. - 



mackerel fishery to the United States in 1879 was only $6,860 — this is cal- 

 culating the value of the fish at the price for which it can be purchased 

 unpacked in Prince Edward Island, and making- no allowance for the 

 expense of catching the mackerel. In 1878 more American vessels went 

 to the Gulf than any year since the treaty has been in operation. Early 

 in the season the fishing was poor upon the United States coast, and 

 many vessels went to the Gulf in hope that they would find the mackerel 

 there, but most of them returned at once and did much better on the 

 American shore. The whole American catch in the Gulf, in 1878, was 

 only 01,923 barrels, while 134,545 barrels were taken on our own coast. 

 Every vessel engaged in the Gulf mackerel fishery during the last two 

 years has lost money. * * * 



"On Friday, August 15, we left Prince Edward Island for the Magda- 

 len Islands, arriving there the evening of the 10th. Under the conven- 

 tion of 1818 the American fishermen have the right to fish on the shores 

 of the Magdalen Islands, without any restriction as to distance. Situ- 

 ated in the center of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, these islands were for- 

 merly the resort of large bodies of mackerel, which remained there all 

 summer, and uutil the last few years American vessels found around 

 these islands the best fishing places in the Gulf. 



"Mr. Fox, the collector and fishery overseer of the Magdalen Islands, 

 testified before the Halifax Commission that in 1861 he counted 500 

 American schooners engaged in fishing near the islands. When we saw 

 him there, this summer, he informed us he had not seen a single Uni- 

 ted States vessel. In 1877 about 30 vessels fished near the islands; in 

 1878,*only 20, and none of these did well. This year the mackerel catch 

 at the islands has been a failure; very few have been taken by the in- 

 habitants, and they were all small, not exceeding 13 inches in length. 

 * * * The great dependence of the Canadian fishing industry 

 upon the markets of the United States for the sale of their fish, and the 

 great benefit which they receive from the remission of duties, clearly 

 appear from the returns. Nearly one-half of all the fish exported from 

 Canada goes to the United States, while of mackerel alone nearly four- 

 fifths of the entire exportation is to the United States. In 1877, 102,698 

 barrels of mackerel were exported to the United States, and only 28,523 

 barrels to all other countries. Practically, the United States is the only 

 market for the best qualities of mackerel, and if a prohibitory duty 

 should be imposed, the fishery would be almost abandoned by the Cana- 

 dians. If an average duty of 20 per cent, had been imposed on Cana- 

 dian fish, more than two millions of dollars would have been received 

 by the United States since the treaty of Washington came into force.* 



1879. — High line of the mackerel fleet. 



Schooner "Ada R. Terry," of this port, Capt. Eussell D. Terry, master, 

 has lauded this season 4,150 barrels mackerel, and her net stock is 

 *House Ex. Doc. No. fe'4, 2d sess. 40th Congress. 



