328 



APPENDIX TO BEITISH COUNTER CASE. 



Apart from the damage to the fishing grounds by purse seines breaking up 

 the schools of fish, the proportion of useless fish thrown overboard dead, as 

 previously explained, with attendant deleterious results, is almost incalculable. 



The Minister desires to invite attention to the statistics of the mackerel im- 

 portations in the State of Massachusetts for three decades : the first from 1850 

 to 1859, during which period the purse seine was not in use; the second from 

 1863 to 1872, ten years following the general introduction of the purse seine; 

 the third from 1880 to 1889, after the purse seine had been continuously used 

 for many years. (15th Annual Report of the Boston Fish Bureau, 1889). 



198 



Barrels of mackerel inspected. 



Year. 



No. 1 

 grade. 



Total 

 catch. 



1850 88,401 242,572 



1851 90,765 329,244 



1852 84.030 198,120 



1853 49,015 133,340 



1854 30.595 135,349 



1855 29,302 211,956 



1856 89,333 214,312 



1857 84,519 168,705 



1858 75,347 131,602 



1859 61,330 99,715 



Total... 682,637 1,864,915 



Yearly average 68,263 186,491 



1863 67,985 306,943 



1864 103,383 274.357 



1865 153,723 256,796 



1866 150,332 231,696 



1867 122,808 210,314 



1868 93,091 180,056 



1869 72,924 234,210 



1870 66,046 318,521 



1871 105,187 257,416 



1872 71,866 181,856 



Total... 1,007,345 2,454,265 



Yearly average 100,734 245,426 



1880... 20,453 243,958 



1881 15,598 256,173 



1882 39,045 258,382 



1883 20,852 154,140 



1884 22,377 283,794 



1885 15,742 215,576 



1886 19,574 66,042 



1887 23,893 77,488 



1888 14,545 50,907 



1889 7,143 12,143 



Total... 198,222 1,618,603 



Yearly average 19,822 161,860 



These figures reveal a most alarming decrease in the total catch of mackerel, 

 and especially so in that of No. 1 grade, for during the first decade, without 

 the assistance of this improved and destructive method of catching fish, the 

 take was very large, being 1,864,915 barrels, or an average of 186,491, while 

 of this quantity there was of No. 1 quality 682,637 barrels, an average of 68,263 

 barrels per annum. 



The next decade covers a period almost immediately following "the general 

 introduction of purse seines and, as is to be expected, shows an increase catch, 

 the total take being 2,454,265, an average of 245,429 barrels per annum, while 

 of No. 1 quality the catch was 1,007,345, a yearly average of 100,734 barrels. 

 This productive state however, could not long obtain, as the fish could not 

 withstand the enormous drain upon its marketable and immature product by 

 the destructive purse seine. 



The last decade, which comes down to the year 1889, after about 20 or 30 

 years, use of purse seines, shows that notwithstanding the improvements of 



