1905 DEPARTMENT OF FISHERIES. 11 



tions as to the number of fish which may be taken in a day, and the size 

 under which none shall be taken, are urged as additional steps towards 

 their conservation. 



Enforcement of the Law. 



A good many people appear to lose sight of the fact that the fisheries 

 are not the property of any particular class or individual, but that they are 

 the property of the people of the Province as a whole, subject of course to 

 the regulations which have been enacted for their preservation and perpetu- 

 ation; and it ought to be borne in mind that the laws for the protection of 

 this valuable asset from poachers and others who would despoil it are as bind- 

 ing upon the morals of the individual as are laws for the protection of his 

 cash or property upon those who would acquire it dishonestly ; and therefore 

 it follows that it is as wrong legally and morally to steal or destroy the pub- 

 lic's property as it is that of the individual. The dealer or fish buyer who, 

 with a greed and desire for personal gain, will buy illegally taken fish, is 

 much more guilty than the man who takes these fish in an illegal manner, 

 for if a market were not provided for his catch there would be no incentive 

 for the fishermen to break the law. A number of heavy fines were imposed 

 during the season upon dealers for offences of this character, and it is to be 

 hoped that they will serve as wholesome examples to others who may have 

 been doing likewise, and who so far have escaped punishment. The man- 

 date of the Department is that our overseers shall do their duty regardless 

 of persons, and that the man of position or influence shall be made to suffer 

 for his misdeeds the same as his less fortunate or less prominent neighbor. 

 All alike must be taught to respect the law by paying the penalties provided 

 for its violation. In the discharge of their duty, we desire our overseers to 

 use the iron hand, but with the velvet glove. 



Stocking. 



As the possibility of securing bass from the public waters to carry on 

 stocking operations is yearly becoming more uncertain, the subject of breed- 

 ing ponds is again referred to, and the matter of the advisability of their 

 erection submitted for your consideration. Pond culture has now passed 

 the experimental stage, and is being successfully carried on in a number 

 of the States, and the Province would benefit by their years of experiment- 

 ing. If care were exercised in selecting a location for the ponds with nat- 

 ural advantages, the work of construction need not be formidable nor costly. 

 It is believed that no similar expenditure of public moneys is bearing a more 

 bountiful return, or benefitting so large a number of our people, as that 

 which has been expended for restoring and maintaining the fishing in our 

 inland lakes and rivers, and that any further expenditure on that account 

 would meet with the public's most hearty approval. 



Catfish for Public and Private Waters. 



It is said that the popularity of the catfish for stocking public and pri- 

 vate waters has become so great in the United States that the Bureau of 

 Fisheries with its present facilities for providing fry is unable to meet the 

 demands therefor, and Congress has been asked to authorize the establish- 

 ment of a station where it shall be the principal species cultivated. The 

 catfish is a hardy and prolific fish ; there is always a ready market for it ; its 

 meat is excellent ; but for stocking purposes in this Province it is safe to say 



