38 



'■•At this fishery, tlie seines in use are about one hundred 

 rods long. A S2;ang of thirty men are employed from Sei)- 

 tember to the middle of November, working in two relays, 

 night and day. and averaging about one SAveep of the seine 

 evei-y liour. In each pond, from twenty-five to forty thou- 

 sand white-fishes, and a number of other species, are penned 

 up every season." 



By making the spaces between the piles sufficiently large 

 to allow the small fish to escape, but small enough to retain 

 the marketable ones, many would be left to increase in size, 

 which are now wantonly destroyed. The use of such ponds 

 would be"of great economy to fisheries, irrespective of the 

 prospective benefits which might be derived, as they might, 

 by keeping the fish alive, save the use of ice, and instead of 

 having boats running every day to market, whether full or 

 not, they could have certain days to send the produce of sev- 

 eral days catch to market, and neighbouring fisheries could 

 enter into co-operative transportation arrangements. . 



Wo deem the adopting of the pond arrangement, of sucli 

 advantage to our people, by saving the "ofl:al," to become edi- 

 ble fish, that we recommend that the State should offer in- 

 ducements for their construction as hereinafter suggested. 



The floats or batteries, such as are ojierated on the flats in 

 tlie neighborhood of Havre do Grace, might be readily ar- 

 ranged, so that the seines could be landed as in the ponds de- 

 scribed, and the smaller fish allowed to escape. The float of 

 Messrs. Sadler & (lilbert, who operate a seine of 800 fathoms 

 and employ about 40 hands, is simply a large raft 60x80 ft., 

 of sufficient buoyancy to be moved to any desirable point on 

 the flats, wlierc it is secured into position by piles, which pass 

 th.rough wells in th? raft. On the float, are quarters, stabling, 

 a storehouse, salting sheds and windlasses. Each of three 

 sides of the float iy ])rovided with an apron 4o feet wide, 

 which is held in position by heavy chains, and can be raised 

 or lowered at will. This apron provides an inclined plane, 

 up which the seine is hauled, and landed in the same man- 

 ner in which shore seines are. The selection of the side on 



