1106 AWARD OF THE FISHERY COMMISSION. 



4. That the average catch of codfish per boat, out of this harbor, 

 would be about one hundred quintals. They would average at least 

 twenty five barrels of herring a boat, but all the boats do not go in for 

 herring fishing, or the average lor each boat would be much larger; if 

 all fished the average would be one hundred barrels, worth $3 a barrel. 

 The average catch of mackerel per boat would be about eighty barrels, 

 some catch more and some less, worth $8 a barrel. 



5. The mackerel are nearly all caught inside of three miles of the 

 shore, that is the best fishing for both codfish and mackerel. The half 

 of the codfish are caught within three miles of the shore. 



6. The sounds of the bake are an important item in fishing, there are 

 about three pounds of sounds to the quintal of hake. Each boat lands 

 on an average about one hundred and fifty pounds of sounds in a year. 

 The sounds are worth from eighty cents up to a dollar and a quarter 

 per pound. There is also about a gallon of oil, worth about sixty cents, 

 to the quintal of hake, so that the sounds and oil are worth considerably 

 more than the fish from which they are taken. 



7. That tbesea lobster-fishery is very valuable in this part, and is now 

 being pretty extensively prosecuted. The best and nearly all the lob- 

 sters are caught out to sea, from half a mile to one mile from the shore. 

 The lobster-fishery is increasing. There are now about five thousand 

 lobsters a day caught here. 



8. That I commanded the island schooner Alberton for three years, 

 commencing in the year 1868. She fished each year, but only for about 

 two months each season. She was twenty-eight tons burden, and carried 

 a crew of ten hands. The first year she took about two hundred barrels 

 of mackerel ; the second year she did about the same. In fact, she 

 averaged two hundred barrels of mackerel each year. She did not fish 

 the whole season any year. 



9. That I commanded the island schooner Bay State in the year 1873. 

 She was also of twenty-eight tons burden, and carried ten hands. She 

 did not fish quite two mouths. She took one hundred and seventy-five 

 barrels of mackerel. 



10. That in the year 1872 I fished for two months in the bay on 

 board the American schooner Flying Fish, of seventy-five tons burden, 

 carrying eighteen hands. She lauded five hundred barrels of mackerel, 

 only making the one trip. 



Jl. The principal part of the schooner fishing is done within three 

 miles of the shore. Some of the American vessels do all their fishing 

 inshore. About three-quarters of the fishing done by the Flying Fish 

 was done inshore. 



12. That I do not think that it would be any advantage whatever for 

 the Canadians or islanders to have the right to fish on the American 

 coasts. We would not bother with it, as our own fisheries are so much 

 better. There is an occasional good year for fishing on their shores, but 

 not very often. Last year was a good year on their coasts. 



13. On an average, there are eight hundred American vessels engaged 

 in the cod, hake, and mackerel fisheries in the bay that is, including 

 this island coast, the Magdalen Islands, the New Brunswick and Nova 

 Scotian coasts. There have been as many as fifteen hundred sail in a 

 season, according to their own accounts. 1 myself have seen three hun- 

 dred sail of them in a day. 



14. That the American schooners do a great deal of harm to the boat 

 fishing. They have run into boats ; they come in and lee-bow the boats 

 regularly ; they also come in and throw large quantities of bait, and 



