The Sea Fish Catch of 1920 



The total value of the sea fish catch in 

 Canadian waters on both coasts in 1920 was 

 $26,153,844. British Columbia led the provinces 

 of the Dominion with nearly half the Dominion 

 value, or $12,612,773. Nova Scotia, on the 

 other side of the continent, took second place 

 with $8,763,000. The other provinces in order 

 were New Brunswick, $2,528,314; Quebec, 

 $1,513,432; and Prince Edward Island, $736,325. 



Salmon continues to maintain its place as 

 Canada's premier fish, and in 1920 it accounted 

 for the largest individual revenue with $8,130,- 

 876, from a catch of 1,182,278 cwt. Cod 

 secured the second place with a catch of 1,871,294 

 cwt., having a value of $5,053,369. The 

 lobster catch of 376,855 cwt. was worth 

 $4,249,480, taking the third place among Cana- 

 dian fish, and not far behind it in value was the 

 halibut, whose total of 245,364 cwt. had a value 

 of $3,368,058. Another fish which reached over 

 the million-dollar mark during the year was the 

 herring, with a value of $2,012,638 coming from 

 the catch of 2,146,986 cwts. Following in order 

 of value come haddock, mackerel, smelts, sar- 

 dines, pollock, hake and cusk, and pilchards, 

 well into the thousands of dollars in value, and 

 below this figure alewives, oysters and black cod. 



The principal fish of the British Columbia 

 catch is salmon, the province accounting for 

 almost the entire Dominion toll with a value of 

 $7,778,100. Nova Scotia's first fish is the cod 

 in which the province accounts for by far the 

 greater part of the Dominion's total. In New 

 Brunswick the largest revenue accrues from soles 

 with $345,380, smelts being a close second with 

 $313,627. In Quebec the premier honors go 

 easily to the lobster, which in 1920 accounted 

 for a revenue of $370,585. The waters about 

 Prince Edward Island also yield lobsters to a 

 higher value than that of any other sea product, 

 and the year's value in the little province from 

 this source was $497,248. 



An Untapped Industry 



An absolutely unique industry, a hitherto 

 untapped source of revenue, awaits the move of 

 enterprising men and capital in the Gulf of St. 

 Lawrence, which at the same time would turn a 

 national loss into a national gain, protecting 

 Canadian fisheries and preserving a greater 

 supply of the best fish for the home and export 

 markets. This is no less than exploiting the 

 myriad schools of porpoises which infest the 

 estuary of the St. Lawrence and take their 

 annual toll of the fish of these waters. 



An ocean traveller leaving a port on the St. 

 Lawrence cannot fail to observe the countless 

 schools of dolphins, combining in appearance 

 the pig and the fish, which sport on the tops of 

 waves and disappear beneath the surface, fol- 

 lowing the vessel until it is well on its way to 



sea. These mammals, which swarm the estuary 

 in the open months of the year, are at once an 

 ever increasing menace to Canadian fisheries 

 and a national loss, and an unexploited source 

 of enormous revenue. 



The porpoise is a gregarious animal which 

 usually travels in small herds and attains a 

 length of five feet or more. It feeds on mackerel, 

 pilchard, herring and other fish, being often 

 caught in fishermen's nets after pursuing schools 

 of its prey. It has been estimated that each 

 member of the herds of porpoise in the St. 

 Lawrence consumes about one hundred pounds 

 of fish per day, largely the cod and salmon, which 

 from the coolness of the waters are of a very 

 high excellence and some of the Dominion's best 

 fish. 



Great Variety of Uses 



Whilst the porpoise is a national pest the 

 process of protecting the Canadian fisheries 

 might be attended with considerable profit for 

 practically every part of the animal can be 

 utilized in some manner. The blubber contains 

 a valuable oil which has a constant commercial 

 value. The skin can be transformed into a fine 

 leather which has a variety of uses. Articles 

 made from this product are said to surpass, in 

 their capacity for wear, the same appurtenances 

 manufactured from the carcassesof otheranimals. 

 From body refuse, a valuable fertilizer, rich in 

 phosphates, can be extracted, indispensable 

 to lands in which this property has been 

 exhausted. It is stated that every particle of 

 the body can be put to commercial use and be 

 made revenue producing. 



Enterprise and capital are all that are needed 

 to put on foot this profitable industry, which 

 would be an asset to Canadian development in 

 the protection of fisheries, as well as a source of 

 handsome revenue to the instigators. 



Nova Scotia's Timber 



The timber tracts of Nova Scotia continue 

 to be among the first of her income-producing 

 resources, and in the year 1920, the total pro- 

 vincial cut was about 350 million feet exceeding 

 the normal cut by about 50 million feet -with a 

 value as raw material of $12,250,000. This does 

 not by any means comprise the value of the 

 lumber industry to the province where the 

 allied trades have always been important, and 

 the manufacture of wood products practically 

 doubles this value bringing it up to an estimated 

 total of $23,810,000. The additions to the lumber 

 cut already noted are: cordwood, $5,150,000; 

 barrels and boxes, $1,900,000; pulp, $1,560,000; 

 pit props and brooms, $750,000; telegraph and 

 telephone poles, $50,000; Christmas trees, 

 $50,000; hoop poles, $50,000; poles, etc., for 

 fences, $250,000; ship timber, $250,000; laths, 

 $250,000; wharf timbers, $500,000; shingles, 

 $150,000; miscellaneous, $150,000. 



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