52 THE REPORT ON [ No. 27 



consequently no fines were imposed ; that no confiscations were made, and that no injury 

 was done by the dumping of mill refuse in the water. That there are no fishways in the 

 district, and that nearly all the streams are inhabited by speckled trout, the ponds being 

 owned by private individuals. He further states that one of the greatest fishing indus 

 tries in the waters of Lake Ontario is kipper or bloater fishing. The fish, he says, are - 

 found in large quantities about fifteen miles from shore and when cured are very delicious 

 and sell readily, and believes if the fishermen could be psrsuaded to take it up it would 

 become the greatest fishery industry in our Province. 



He is opposed to seine fishing unless in the lake early in the spring or late in the fall ; 

 but he considers the hauling of seines in summer weather very injurious to small fish, as 

 during the warm weather the young fish remain along the shore in shallow water and 

 by hauliDg seine3 over them large numbers of them are destroyed. 



He thinks better results would be obtained in the propagation of fish if more care 

 were taken to put them in water of alike temperature to that in which they were hitched ; 

 that when young fish are taken out in the lake and dropped into cold water where they can 

 get no food not one per cent of them live ; that if put in our bays they could get plenty 

 of nourishment and that the greater number of them would come to maturity. 



Overseer Clark, of Prince Edward County, states : 



That he discovered several cases of illegal fishing which resulted in the seizure of 

 three hoop nets and about five hundred and fifty yards of gill nets. 



The close seasons were well observed. 



Overseer W. D. Rohlin states : 



That the, catch was slightly in excess of last season of which about 95 percent, were 

 exported. 



No abuses of any kind came under his notice and the close seasons were strictly 

 adhered to. 



Several reports of illegal fishing were made, none of which were confirmed on inves- 

 tigation . 



Muskoka, Parry Sound and Nipissing. 



Overseer Wilmott reports : 



That during the earlier portion of the past summer, anglers complained of a scarcity 

 of fish, but that the supply improved later on ; and on the whole, the season compared 

 favorably with other seasons in regard to the numbers taken though the catches were of 

 a smaller line of fish than usual. 



With respect to bass he observes that in almost every case the Muskoka waters are 

 connected with rivers and tributaries of the Georgian Bay, which would lead him to believe 

 that it was from this source the stock had first come. He is of opinion that fish can sur- 

 mount almost any natural obstruction in the shape of rspids, falls, etc., (except sheer falls), 

 but that when they come to an artifical dam their ingress is totally stopped ; that it is 

 therefore most important that fish ways should be erected in dams where none now exist ; 

 that to his knowledge there are many lakes in which, previous to the erection of dams, the 

 waters were well stocked with fish, but that since their erection the fishing has fallen off 

 to such an extent that fishermen do not consider it worth while to waste their time in en- 

 deavoring to procure a catch. 



The laws have been fairly well observed during the year ; though poaching no doubt 

 exists to a small extent. He recommends the issuing of one license for netting in each 

 lake for whitefish and herring, it being impossible to take these fish by other means ; 

 by adopting this means the licensee would be a protector, as he assuredly would never 

 countenance any one illegally netting while he alone was paying for the privilege ; the 

 licensee should be strictly bound under a heavy penalty not to catch or have in his posses- 

 sion any other classes of fish, and his premises should be required to be open to inspection 

 at any time. He further reports that mill men are, as a rule, most particular in the dis- 

 position of rubbish, and that very little trouble is experienced on this head. 



Overseer Huntington reports : 



That the only netting done in his district this year was done in a small way by the 

 Indians, which is permitted by treaty rights with the crown. 



There were no violations of the Fisheries Act in netting, but there were in grappling, 

 for which the offenders were duly fined and returns made to the department. 



