324 APPENDIX TO BRITISH COUNTER CASE. 



195 Officer administering the Government of Canada, respecting 

 the action of the Customs officer at Magdalene Island in the 



case of the United States' fishing- vessel "Mascotte"; and I have to 



request that you will communicate a copy of the despatch, with its 



inclosures, to the United States' Secretary of State. 

 I am, &c. 



(Signed) IDDESLEIGH. 



No. 17. 1890: Extract from Seventh Annual Report of the Deputy 

 Minister of Fisheries for Canada. 



PURSE SEINES. 



The destruction that the use of these seines has worked in the 

 mackerel fishery, both on the coasts of the United States and Canada, 

 has ceased to be either a matter of doubt or controversy ; the consid- 

 eration, therefore, of remedial measures is of paramount importance. 



By reference to Appendix 9 it will be seen with what unerring cer- 

 tainty, the decline of this fishery during the past few years has gone 

 on, and although in particular localities the take of mackerel for the 

 season of 1890 shows an increase, as a whole the catch has been less 

 than any year in the history of the fishery. 



Shore fishing in Canadian waters was, during the past season, car- 

 ried on almost wholly by means of hook and line, and the high prices 

 obtainable for Mackerel rendered the operations of the fishermen very 

 profitable. 



It is, of course, well understood that United States fishing vessels 

 have, since the lapse of arrangements under the Washington Treaty, 

 been prohibited from fishing by purse seines, or any other means, 

 within the territorial waters of the Dominion, but they have been, 

 and are, free to pursue their fishing operations, outside such limits, 

 in any manner they see fit. When it is remembered that during the 

 season of 1885, the last in which United States vessels had free 

 access to our inshore fisheries, the total catch was 330,000 barrels, 

 while the catch during the past season was but little over 100.000 

 barrels, it will be realized how startling the decrease has been. The 

 fact, however, must not be lost sight of that the percentage of fish 

 taken by our own fishermen within our territorial jurisdiction largely 

 exceeded in 1889 that of 1885. 



The United States Government realizing the disastrous falling off 

 on its coasts of the mackerel fishery, but being unable to directly 

 control or successfully prohibit the use of purse seines, to which 

 such falling off was attributed, passed an Act prohibiting the land- 

 ing of mackerel taken by means of these seines on any part of the 

 coast of the United States, before the first of June in each year. 

 As by this date many of these migratory fish had found their way to 

 the coast of Nova Scotia and the Gulf of St. Lawrence, it will readily 

 be seen that had the fish been at all plenty in the waters named, the 

 seining operations of the United States vessels would, to a very 

 much larger extent than was done, have been there carried on all 

 such vessels being provided with purse seines. 



