38 THE REPORT OF THE No. 31 



the month of November the herring fishing was better than it has been for 

 a good many years, and the fish caught were large. The fishermen 

 sold their fish in Hamilton and Toronto markets, for which they realized 

 good prices. During last winter 121 spearing licenses were granted, but 

 it is impossible to get returns for the quantities speared, although they have 

 promises to fill the returns attached to their license. Some make the excuse 

 that they lay them away and cannot find them, and some forget about thein. 

 He has received about thirty, and has averaged the catch at 140 lbs. each, 

 which would amount to 16,940 lbs. The angling season has been fairly 

 good. There are no angling permits issued in his district, as the angling 

 is done only by summer residents and Hamilton people. The carp and 

 dogfish are getting to be so numerous that they seem to drive other fish out 

 of the inlets, and the angling is not much good after they make their ap- 

 pearance. 



As regards Forms B, C, D, F and G, nothing has come under his notice 

 except that some farmers and fruit growers pile their brush on the shore, 

 and when the sea gets high it washes it into the lake, which injures the 

 fishermen's nets, and when he notifies them vthey claim it is their own pro- 

 perty. 



Overseer Oliver, Little Current, Manitpulin Island, reports that the 

 season has been extraordinarily windy and rough. The catch in the east 

 end of his division, i.e., the Bustard Island,* Killarney and Squaw Island, 

 was a little less than last year; in the west it was about the same as last year. 

 The pound net catch in the east end was short, owing to the delay in the 

 issuing of the licenses. The pound net catch west of Spanish River was 

 greater than the previous year. Taking the season's catch as a whole, he 

 thinks it was fully as good as last year. The prices obtained were good, 

 averaging about 4| cents per lb. About 80 per cent, of the catch was ship- 

 ped to the United States; the remaining 20 per cent, was sold and used in 

 Ontario. He thinks the granting of pound net licenses in the vicinity of Kil- 

 larney was a good thing; it not only gave the Government a revenue, but 

 did away with more than 50 per cent, of the illegal fishing that has usually 

 been done in that vicinity. He thinks it would be a good thing if the De- 

 partment would grant pound net licenses from Killarney east as far as Bad 

 River, also from Cape Smith westward to Owen Channel. There has not 

 been much illegal fishing in his division this past year, excepting- between 

 Killarney and Bad River, and Cape Smith and Owen Channel : in that 

 locality he thinks there has been considerable of it done. 



The angling for bass, pickerel and maskinonge was very good. There 

 were not nearly as many tourists this summer as the previous summer: he 

 says the reason for the falling off was the Presidential election in the United 

 States, and the St. Louis Exhibition. The tourists tha.t did come were well 

 satisfied with their catch. The fishing grounds are close to the steamboat lines, 

 therefore, there is good hotel accommodation for those who desire it. There 

 were quite a number of large steam and sailing yachts visiting his district 

 during the season, and great numbers of tourists also camped on the numer- 

 ous islands. The catch of herring was about the same as last year. The 

 laws and regulations were fairly well observed. 



District Overseer Pratt, Penetang, reports commercial fishing to be 

 falling off very rapidly in the Georgian Bay, almost wholly by reason of 

 the abnormally high wages in almost all other occupations, which, together 

 with a more continuous employment that they give, naturally draw from 

 the ranks of the fishermen, whose calling employs them for the season of 

 navigation only, and is precarious at best. On the other hand, line fishing 



