AWARD OP THE FISHERY COMMISSION. 1115 



4. The cutters did not to any extent preveut the Americans fishing 

 within the limits. They would simply sail off till the cutters had gone 

 by and commence fishing again within the limits. 



5. I remained fishing in American vessels till the year 1867. I would 

 say that the average number of American vessels fishing mackerel in 

 the bay, between the years 1847 and 1807, was from four hundred to five 

 hundred sail each year, and that the average catch per vessel during 

 those years was 400 barrels each season. 



6. That without a doubt two-thirds of the above quantity was caught 

 within three miles from the shore. 



7. That in the year 1867 I was master of a British fishing-schooner. 

 The first trip of that season we fished between the Miramichi and Bay 

 Chaleur. During that trip the fish played chiefly inshore, about a mile 

 from the shore. At times during that trip I would be getting a good 

 catch, when the American vessels, to the number of fifty or sixty, would 

 come along, and by drawing off the fish spoil my fishing. During that 

 trip the Americans, I would say, caught fully three-fourths of their fare 

 within the three-mile limit. During the second trip of that season I 

 was fishing on the north side of the island and caught all that fare 

 within three miles from the shore. On several occasions during that 

 trip a fleet of American vessels would come up alongside and spoil my 

 fishing. 



8. That since that year I have not been personally engaged fa fish- 

 ing, but I have owned fishing-stages and have had boats engaged in 

 shore-fishing. 



9. That I have noticed the American vessels come in among the boats 

 fishing from one to two miles from the shore, heave their bait, and draw 

 off all the mackerel. The boats would then be obliged to give up fishing 

 for that day. This is a very common practice among the American 

 vessels, and I have noticed it on several occasions during the last few- 

 years. 



10. That the numbers of boats engaged in prosecuting the mackerel 

 fisheries have largely increased during the past few years. 



11. That fully three-fourths of all the mackerel caught in the boats is 

 caught inshore well within the three-mile limits. 



12. Without a doubt the Americans would not come to the bay at all 

 for fishing purposes if they could be kept outside of the three-mile limit 

 altogether. 



ALEXANDER CHIVEEIE. 



Sworn to at Souris, in Kings County, in Prince Edward Island, this 

 twenty -seventh day of June. A. D. 1877, before me 



JAMES E. MACLEAN, 



J. P. for Kings County. 

 No. 17. 



1, JAMES J. MORRISAY, of Tignish, in Prince County, Prince Edward 

 Island, fish-stage proprietor, make oath and say : 



1. I have fished for four years and have been proprietor of a fishing- 

 stage at Frog Pond the whole time. The first year I had one boat, and 

 caught about forty-five barrels of mackerel in her ; that year 1 also got 

 about one hundred and twenty barrels of herring, worth about three 

 dollars a barrel ; I caught about ten quintals of codfish in that boat 

 the same year ; she was a small boat. 



2. The second year I had five boats, and caught about four hundred 

 barrels of mackerel. I also caught about eighty quintals of ling the 



