1900 FISHERIES DEPARTMENT. 23 



It has been my special effort to impress upon the local overseers and the 

 public the necessity of a careful watch over their local waters in view of a proper 

 protection, and especially for the first few years, in the hope that the waters will 

 be restored to their former status by natural and permanent increase, and the 

 law becomes better known and more acceptable to the people. 



In this I am assured beyond doubt tnat the officers are doing all that may 

 reasonably be expected of them or perhaps can be done under the circumstances, 

 and that there is an increasing tendency towards an observance of the law and 

 co-operation on the part of the public. 



There has been a decrease in convictions for infractions during the last year, 

 and a large increase in applications for licenses, while copies of the " Fishery " 

 laws are frequently requested from all parts of my territory and which have, as 

 near as I c^n learn, been fully supplied. Applications for licenses from men who 

 have for years fished unmindful of the laws are pouring in to your overseer to 

 such an extent that it is becoming an important question, in view of not over- 

 crowding the waters with nets, what to do in the matter. Every applicant urges 

 his case, and many are now, by means of petitions and letters from influential 

 men, pressing for licenses. I mention these facts as evidence of a gratifying 

 assurance of the interest taken in our fishery laws and an increasing disposition 

 to obey them. Yet. while this is true, it is quite as true that violations are being 

 perpetrated and that complaints are made requiring prompt investigation. 



Last year an extension of time to May 1st was given to licensees of hoop 

 nets and the regulation for spearing somewhat relaxed, which I humbly submit^ 

 affords a special opportunity for fishermen to evade the law. 



On the 22nd of April I visited certain hoop nets where an extension of time 

 had been granted, and found large quantities of bass in said nets, showing that in 

 the spring bass are working to the shores and in marshy places where fishermen 

 operate. 



The practise of spearing in the spring so much indulged in by the farming com 

 m unity has been greatly lessened and consequently the destruction of bass has been 

 less than in former years. While the problem of ridding our lakes and streams 

 of Ling and destructive fish requires consideration. 



In May I visited Perth and its adjacent waters, Christie Lake and Tay 

 river, and procured evidence of a general character of violations on the Tay 

 river in the spring by netting and the use of dynamite for a superior class of 

 pickerel which inhabit those waters and which are caught, during their running, 

 in great quantities, at Deacon's Rapids on said Tay river and are sold in Perth, 

 Smith's Falls and other towns and villages ; and to prevent this a man will be 

 required to be at Deacon's Rapids day and night for a period of about two weeks. 



I may further observe that a large and influential Anglers' Association has 

 been formed in Perth which has manifested a disposition to assist in protecting 

 said waters. 



In August last I visited St. Lawrence River upon information of gross viola- 

 tions in netting minnows below Prescott, in my territory. I learned that about 

 sixteen men were employed in catching in seins from five to ten thousand 

 minnows daily and shipping them to Alexandria Bay, N.Y., where 

 they were sold to fishermen, and upon which catch custom duties 

 were levied by American officers. The minnows were shipped in barrels 

 on the line of boats running from Ogdensburgh to Clayton, attended by a man 

 who supplied fresh water so as to keep them alive, and sold at a high price. I 

 took such steps as I could to prevent further violations, but the season was near- 

 ly over, and I was in no position to take legal proceedings. I apprehend, however, 

 that this will be repeated next year during the tourist season unless said river 

 be carefully guarded. 



