32 THE REPORT OF THE No. 31 



line launches, etc., which keep the waters in almost a continual commotion. 

 The bass fishing in Lake Ontario in his district has not been as good in years. 

 A great number of black bass have been taken by anglers, who have been 

 quite numerous, many of them being non-residents, who paid the fee of $5. 

 Two great sources of protection are the winds and waves, anglers not being 

 as a rule able to stay out more than a few hours each day. But he finds it 

 hard to enforce the law regarding the number allowed to be taken, as Amer- 

 /• icans have motor power in nearly all their skiffs now, and something faster 

 is required than a rowboat to overhaul them. 



The close season has been well observed, only two complaints having 

 reached him, and of which he could get no proof. 



Overseer Clark, Picton, reports that the catch of whitensh, salmon trout, 

 and herring as well as coarse fish such as pike, catfish, perch, etc., has been 

 well up to the standard during the season, and would have shown a marked 

 increase had it not been that high winds prevailed to a very great extent 

 during the greater part of the fall fishing season, which interfered materi- 

 ally with fishing operations, more particularly in respect to the whitefish 

 and herring catch, which at best were not so plentiful as during the season 

 of 1903 and 1904, by far the greater portion of all the fish caught in these 

 waters are exported to the United States markets, probably less than twenty 

 per cent, being used for home consumption. 



The fishery laws with few exceptions, were on the whole never better 

 observed than during the past season. He had occasion to make some seiz- 

 ures of nets which he is of opinion were being fished illicitly by irrespon- 

 sible persons, the regular fishermen in every case so far as he could ascer- 

 tain, fished clearly within their rights, and observed the law. He had an 

 increased number of fishermen under license in his district, which was more 

 extended than in former years, having included Weller's Bay and Lake 

 Ontario waters adjacent thereto. Some considerable confusion must always 

 exist while the Townships of Ameliasburg and Sophiasburg, bordering on 

 the Bay of Quinte, are under outside jurisdiction. Late in the season illicit 

 fishing prevails to a considerable extent, without any apparent check in these 

 waters, the result being to give a bad name to Prince Edward County fisher- 

 men generally while the fact remains that local farmers with the daring 

 Buccaneers fished all kinds of contrivances in season anr^ out of season, 

 regardless of law or order. Persons do not inform until after the season 

 is over and too late to stoo this kind of work, which is to say the least very 

 unfair to regular fishermen whose interests are clearly identified with a strict 

 observance of the close seasons in order to protect the fish during the spawn- 

 ing season, and thus perpetuate the supply. 



For some years anglers have complained that the net fishing in that 

 section of the Bay of Quinte has depleted the waters of the game fish which 

 formerly frequented this locality in abundance. From close observation, 

 and a proper analysis of the facts, he is satisfied that if more attention were 

 paid to an observance of the laws by the anglers themselves instead of their 

 fishing in vast numbers from dawn until dark during seven days in the 

 week while there is a possibility of catching bass irrespective of size and 

 regardless of number taken, not to speak of the countless thousands of 

 minnows, comprising shoals of fish fry deposited by the Government hatch- 

 eries for stocking purposes which are annually destroyed for bait to supply 

 these alien anglers there would be no cause for complaint. The catch of 

 bass is invariably shipped illicitly out of the country to close dealers in 

 the bordering American cities at enormous profit from the high prices these 

 fish command. Regular net fishermen are particularly interested in the 

 protection of game fish in order to avoid a clash with the anglers' interests. 



