1112 AWARD OF THE FISHERY COMMISSION. 



themselves entirely to it and study the habits of the fish, are by far the 

 best and most successful fishermen. The business of fishing is now be- 

 coming respectable, whereas formerly it was not considered so. The fish- 

 ery affords employment to an increasing population, which has not land 

 of its own 'to farm. People gather from the inland parts to the fishing 

 parts, in order to get employment in fishing. People come from other 

 provinces here attracted by the fishing. It is particularly the mackerel 

 fishing that is increasing. 



7. The year I was out fishing in the Frank ; we made a poor year's fish- 

 ing. We made two trips in the bay and caught only three hundred 

 barrels of mackerel. The Frank was about sixty-three tons and carried 

 seventeen hands. 



8. The year I was in the Frank was the year the cutters were around, 

 and there were a good many Americans kept away and some taken. We 

 were all in and about the American fleet that year, and they would num- 

 ber three hundred sail. They know the inshore fishing is the best and 

 they will run risks rather than not have it. I do not think it would be 

 worth their while to come down here to fish in the gulf if they could not 

 fish within three miles of the shore ; and it certainly would not be worth 

 their while if they could not fish within the three-mile limit. I should 

 certainly say that seven-eighths of the catch of the American catch is 

 caught within three miles of the shoi e. 



9. They lie among the boats. When they see the boats getting mack- 

 erel they come up and lee-bow the boats, throwing bait and drawing off 

 the fish, when the boats have to leave. They certainly do harm to the fish- 

 ing by throwing the offal overboard. By it the fish are glutted and poi- 

 soned. They also interfere with the bait-nets and get foul of the set- lines 

 and trawls. The set-lines are now being used very much along here, 

 and are increasing very fast, and as they increase, the damage done by 

 the Americans is becoming greater. 



10. The right of transshipment is of very great consequence to the 

 Americans, as they save the time they would otherwise consume in 

 going home with their fish, and that right in the middle of the fishing 

 season. The time saved in this way would certainly be equal to another 

 trip for the vessel during the season. By having this right they are 

 also enabled to take advantage of the markets, so that if the price of 

 mackerel is up they can at once send their fish up to take advantage of 

 the high price. They can do this even if they have only a few fish. 

 The mackerel market is one of the most fluctuating in the world, so that 

 it is a very great advantage to get them into market quickly. The 

 mackerel also get worse looking the longer they are kept and command 

 a smaller price. If they are kept in the hold of the vessel they are get- 

 ting poorer all the time. By being transshipped this deterioration is 

 avoided. 



11. There are plenty of salmon off this shore, and since attention has 

 been directed to them, the salmon fishery is found to pay, and when 

 properly attended to it will become very profitable. They are caught 

 off this coast in nets and traps. It is only recently that they were 

 known to be there. There are also plenty of shad and some bass off 

 this coast, which can be caught in traps. 



The sounds taken from hake are now very valuable. For three years 

 here the price of sounds averaged a dollar a pound, and the lowest price 

 they have sold for was thirty-five cents. They would average seventy- 

 five ceuts a pound one year with another. I would say that about four 

 pounds of sounds are got to a quintal of green hake weighing two 



