REPORT OF THE No. 32 



of dollars and cents. Tlie price of fish has increased in the same ratio as 

 other commodities. Scarcity of means or inclination to use them, and not 

 scarcity of fish, appears to be the trouble. 



Many consignments of fish were examined in transit by our officers, to 

 see if the requirements of the law were being observed, and the result was 

 that during the early summer some shipments were found to contain illegal 

 fish, and were confiscated, but the lesson proved a wholesome one, and after 

 that but few consignments were found to be wrong. To afford better pro- 

 tection of the fisheries, it is believed that if the fish were examined at import- 

 ant shipping points before being shipped, and the packages labelled bj an 

 officer of the Department as having been inspected, much of the illegally 

 caught fish which have been finding their way to the American markets 

 would be prevented from reaching the other side. 



The preservation of our Great Lake fisheries is one of the utmost import- 

 ance. The Department is unable to consider favorably a great many appli- 

 cations for fishing licenses, having in mind that the first care is to see that 

 the waters are not overfished. It is to be regretted that the co-operation of 

 the fishermen, which it would only be reasonable to expect, is seldom if ever 

 given, and one wonders when hearing the fishermen complain of what they 

 call the hard conditions of their licenses, but which, after most careful con- 

 sideration, were made a part of their licenses, the sole reason being the 

 better protection of the fisheries. 



During the past year much discussion has taken place between this 

 Department and the tug fishermen as to the amount of net that they should 

 be allowed to fish, and while the matter has not yet been definitely settled, 

 it is one that will have to be dealt with in the very near future in a manner 

 which will be fair and just to the fishermen, with due regard to the fisheries. 



During the past summer I had the pleasure of a visit from Hon. K. A, 

 Gupa, of the Indian Civil Service, Calcutta, who was desirous of obtaining 

 information regarding the fisheries of Ontario. He had been sent out by 

 his Government to study the fisheries in Europe, the United States and 

 Canada, and on his visit to me he was given all the information obtainable. 

 I also delegated an officer of the Department to show him the actual taking 

 of fish by nets, and upon his departure he assured me that he appreciated 

 very much the official attention and courtesy he had received, and that he 

 expected the information given would be of much benefit to him. 



Nepigon. 



The Nepigon River had this year many of its regular visitors, and in 

 addition many new faces were seen. The excellent fishing was a source of 

 much pleasure to those who were able to visit this renowned stream. The 

 cold backward season prevented many from going who had made arrange- 

 ments to spend a few weeks in that locality. 



Re-Stocking. 



The work of re-stocking the inland waters with parent bass had to be 

 abandoned this year, owing to the cold backward spring, which caused 

 these fish to delay their coming to their spawning grounds until it was too 

 late to carry this important work on with any probable degree of success. 

 The undersigned has been considering whether it would not be better to do 

 some of this work with fingerlings, and with this object in view enquiry 

 has been instituted to find where suitable ponds could be secured for the 



