AWARD OF THE FISHERY COMMISSION. 1097 



They throw a purse-seine of sometimes one hundred and fifty fathoms 

 in length, and sometimes twenty in depth, and sweep the bottom, thus 

 often causing great loss to our cod-fishing, besides disturbing our boats 

 lying at anchor. This I look upon as a most serious trouble, and it is 

 increasing. 



6. That when mackerel strike in here and we have a biting school of 

 them, I consider the coming of the Americans as the end of the fishing; 

 they interfere with our boats and draw the school right off the coast, 

 and break up the school. They do this by throwing bait and drifting 

 away, drawing the mackerel ai'ter them. In a number of cases they 

 drift down on the boats, and I have known a number of boats to be dis- 

 masted by them. Often the boats have to get under way to get clear of 

 them. 



7. The privilege of transshipment I consider is a very great one to 

 the Americans; they are thereby enabled to come into our harbors, 

 pack out and send home their fares by railway, without losing much 

 time, and I believe they can refit here much cheaper than at home. 

 This must save them at least three weeks in each trip, in the matter of 

 going home, which would be equal to another trip in the course of the 

 summer. They also get their fish home much quicker, and can take 

 advantage of the fluctuations of the markets. I have known instances 

 of Americans making as much as three and four trips a season into 

 Charlottetown to transship. 



8. Since having the Island Railway, they can pack out in Alberton 

 with greater facility than in Charlottetown, and without leaving the 

 fishing-ground. 



9. The cleaning of large quantities of mackerel on our coast by the 

 Americans, aud throwing over the offal, injures our cod-fishing. 



10. The American schooners often cause great injury and annoyance 

 to our boats fishing mackerel, by drifting down upon them and taking 

 away the mackerel, and compelling the boats to give way. 



11. To my own knowledge a large fleet of American schooners fish 

 around this island, from New London Head to North Cape, and thence 

 to West Point, and generally within three miles of the shore. Masters 

 and crews of American vessels look upon it as a very great privilege 

 to be allowed to fish near shore, and if they were not allowed to do so, 

 I do not believe many of them would fit out for the gulf fishing. 



12. When the cutters were about, the American captains used to run 

 the risk of capture and loss of vessel and outfit, in order to fish inshore, 

 and some of them were taken. The cutters did protect our fishermen a 

 good deal and our boats enjoyed greater security, but our coast was not 

 sufficiently protected; there were not enough cutters. I believe that 

 about ten schooners, as cutters, would protect the fisheries from Scat- 

 terie, in Cape Breton, all the island coasts, and up the New Brunswick 

 coast to Misko, and probably up the Bay Chaleur. Schooners of fifty 

 or sixty tons would be the best cutters. In fact, that number would 

 cover the whole mackerel fisheries for Cape Breton, Magdalen Islands, 

 and New Brunswick, and would effectually keep the Americans out of 

 the three-mile limit. 



13. Large quantities of herring are now seined every year at Magda- 

 len Islands by American fishermen, and they ship these herring away to 

 Sweden, Norway, and southern markets. 



14. The Americans derive great benefit from being able to go down 

 to the coast of Newfoundland, to Bay Fortune, and up to Bay of Islands, 

 where they catch large quantities of herring, which they freeze and send 

 down to bait their George's fishing fleet, and also to their city markets. 



