ANNUAL REPORT, 1935-36 11 



Notwithstanding the fact that these enforcement services are provided, there 

 are still those who, in the case of the Game and Fisheries Act as in the case of other 

 regulatory legislation, will either knowingly or otherwise infringe and who there- 

 fore are confronted with inconvenience and difficulty if contacted by the enforce- 

 ment service when the violations occur. 



During 1935-36 there were 1,216 cases in which offences were committed and 

 in which the offenders were relieved by various officers of their equipment and the 

 unlawful game or fish which might have been in their possession on these occasions. 

 An examination of the reports of these seizures of equipment and goods shows that 

 in 987 cases action was provided by Game and Fisheries Overseers; in 144 cases 

 by Deputy Game and Fishery Wardens; in 36 cases by members of the Ontario 

 Provincial Police Force and in 46 cases by co-operative action. Overseers, Deputy 

 Game Wardens and Provincial Police working in conjunction with each other; while 

 in three cases the action was taken by Municipal Police. 



A condensed summary of the articles thus seized is submitted herewith: — 



Description No. 



Fire-arms and ammunition 440 



Fishing equipment 308 



Fish 197 



Game 154 



Pelts 121 



Trapping equipment 118 



Angling equipment 62 



Water craft 38 



Lights (artificial) 37 



Live animals 16 



Motor vehicles 9 



Miscellaneous 412 



Duplicate entries on one seizure, such as fire-arms and game; Angling equip- 

 ment and fish; trapping equipment and pelts; and other combinations of a similar na- 

 ture account for the apparent discrepancy in the total of the above table, viz. — 1,542 

 as compared with the 1,216 actual seizure reports. 



Departmental records contain evidence of the fact that during the year under 

 review there were some 967 cases in which offenders against our legislation and 

 regulations were prosecuted in the courts, and in which convictions were registered 

 against such offenders. As in the case of the actual seizures these court cases were 

 somewhat varied as to origin, as follows: — In 806 cases Game and Fisheries 

 Overseers were responsible for the prosecution; Provincial Police in 51 cases; Deputy 

 Game and Fishery Wardens in 42 cases, and in 66 cases the prosecutions were by 

 Overseers, Deputy Game Wardens and Provincial Police acting in conjunction with 

 «ach other; while in 2 cases Municipal Police undertook the action. 



REPORT OF THE FISH CULTURE BRANCH 



Ontario's commercial fishing industry is an important factor in our industrial 

 life. In point of annual marketed value of production Ontario stands first among 

 the provinces. In the four year period 1926-1929, before the world-wide disruption 

 of economic conditions was felt, the average marketed value of Ontario's fish was 

 13,693,000. In the four year period, 1930-33, the average marketed value of the 

 catch was slightly in excess of $2,500,000 and in 1934 the marketed value was 

 $2,316,965., and in 1935, $2,633,512.90. These figures are cited to emphasize the 

 value of our commercial fishing industry, the hopeful signs of recent increasing 

 values and the importance of maintaining this industry on a proper basis. 



