48 THE REPORT ON [ No. 27 



has been on the increase, but trout and whitefish have fallen off. Local causes may 

 account for this, as heavy weather greatly affects the beach. 



Nearly all the fish is exported, only about five per cent, being used for home con- 

 sumption. 



The close seasons have been fairly well kept, through personal inspection of the nets. 



A quantity of net being fished illegally was confiscated in May, and the fish given to 

 charitable institutions. 



All the mills in his division burn their refuse, and none is dumped into the water. 



There is one fishway in this division, namely, on the river Sydenham at Florence, and 

 it was all right when last inspected. 



Thames River. 



Overseer Benson reports : 



That the only fishing carried on in his district is by residents with rod and line, in 

 the spring, and that many coarse fish are then taken, that there are numerous ponds 

 which could easily be stocked with bass and other game fish, and that no violations of 

 the fishery laws were brought to his notice. 



Overseer McRitchie reports : 



That the fishing in that portion of the river Thames between Louisville and Wards- 

 ville was almost a failure, owing to the ice remaining in the river till after the fishing 

 season was over, the principal time for fishing being early in the spring, while in the 

 other portions of the river below Louisville, the fishing was much better than in the 

 previous season. 



Most of the fish, he says, were exported to the United States. 



Overseer McQueen reports : 



That the fishery laws generally were well observed during the season; that the mill own- 

 ers were utilizing the sawdust and mill rubbish for fuel, none passing into the river, and 

 that he has no complaints to make. 



Lake St. Clair. 



Overseer Allen reports : 



That he has no statistics of the catch of fish in his district for the year 1898, but he 

 has been informed by the fishermen that the quantity caught in the two years was about 

 the same. Nearly all of the fish caught in his district for commercial purposes 'during 

 the last year was exported to the United States. Scarcely any was sold in Oanada as 

 far as he can ascertain. 



No abuses exist as far as he knows, and several close seasons were very generally 

 observed. 



No illegal timing came to his personal knowledge, and no prosecutions were insti- 

 tuted. It was reported to him that citizens of the United States ware angling in Can- 

 adian waters without a license, but if this were true he was unable to obtain any 

 evidence that would warrant him in taking any legal proceedings. 



There are so few saw-mills in that vicinity that if all the waste from all of the mills 

 were put into a very small stream it would probably do no harm to the fish. But as 

 a fact he believes that all the saw-mill waste in his district is burned or disposed of 

 otherwise than by putting it into the water. 



There are no fishways in his district and there is no necessity for any as there are 

 no dams, rapids or other obstructions in any of the streams. The country is low and 

 flat, and the streams are all slow and sluggish, and with very little current. 



Overseer Cousineau reports : 



That the past fishing season has been satisfactory in his district, though the fisher- 

 men were somewhat late in starting their operations ; that fish have been more plentiful 

 than for some years past, notably the sturgeon and coarse fi9h, which include German 

 carp; that the latter fiih are very plentiful and are increasing yearly: that prices, 

 especiaMy for the fall catch, were better than last year ; that if fishing for white fish had 

 been allowed for the first twenty days of November the catch would have certainly 

 raised the value of the total catch by at least $40,000. He further reports that the fish 

 sold to Canadian buyers will be less than 10 per cent of the catch, our principal 

 market being Buffalo or New York. 





