1136 AWARD OF THE FISHERY COMMISSION. 



partly in B.iy Chaleur. On board of her, that season, we caught about 

 four hundred and fifty barrels of mackerel. 



9. That the year after I was on board the Corsair I fished in the 

 Octavia, a schooner of sixty-four tons burden, belonging to Charlotte- 

 town. She carried seventeen hands, and we made three trips, two of 

 which were along this island shore, and one up the Bay Chaleur. In 

 the three trips we caught eight hundred and fifty barrels of mackerel. 

 We did not go in for any other kind of fishing. In both those vessels 

 nearly all the fish were caught inshore, about two miles and from that 

 in being the best fishing. Fully two-thirds of our catches were within 

 two miles of the shore, and nearly all within three miles of the shore. 



10. That I fished on board the Letty for two years. She was a schooner 

 of fifty-seven tons burden and carried sixteen hands. We fished alto- 

 gether on the island coast, and the first year made two trips, and caught 

 five hundred barrels of mackerel, nearly all of which were caught near 

 the shore. The second year we fished in the same places, and caught 

 about four hundred and ninety barrels of mackerel. 



11. That the year after I was fishing in the Letty I went in the George 

 S. Fogg, of this island, a schooner of one hundred and three tons bur- 

 den, and having a crew of twenty-one men. We made two trips in her, 

 and caught in the two trips about seven hundred and eighty barrels of 

 mackerel. These were all caught along the island shore and Nova 

 Scotia coast. Nearly all were caught within three miles of the shore. 



12. That last year (1876), which was the worst year I ever knew, I 

 was out in the Little Belle, of thirty-eight tons burden, and carrying 

 twelve men. We only caught one hundred and eighty barrels that 

 year. The fish were too close to the shore for schooners to do much. 



13. That almost all the American fishermen fish close in to the shore 

 of the different provinces of the Dominion, and I do not think the 

 Americans would find it worth while to fit out for the gulf fishing if 

 they could not fish near the shore. The year the cutters were about 

 the Americans did not do very much, although they used to dodge the 

 cutters and fish inshore. 



14. That I fished on board of American schooners for about seven 

 years in the gulf, and during those years we used to land from six hun- 

 dred to one thousand barrels the season, averaging about eight hundred 

 barrels. We used then to generally fish about the Magdalen Islands, 

 and close in. 



15. That the boat fishermen complain that the American schooners 

 break up the schools of mackerel and injure the boat fishing. They 

 throw so much bait that the fish get glutted and sink to the bottom; 

 won't bite, and very often leave the grounds. The Americans also lee- 

 bow the boats whenever they see the latter getting mackerel, and take 

 the fish away, when there is no use for the boats to stop there any longer. 



16. That the right to land at our ports and harbors, ship away their 

 fish, and take in a new outfit without having to go home, is a very great 

 advantage to the Americans. Outfits are cheaper here than in the 

 United States, and labor also is cheaper, such as coopering. They save 

 a great deal of time, as they can go in and send away their fish and take 

 in a new outfit, and be back on the ground without losing much time, 

 while if they had to go on to the States they would lose about a fortnight 

 each trip, which would amount to a good trip saved in the summer. 

 They can also watch the fish markets and ship away their fish as soon as 

 they land, if the price is up, selling them " to arrive." The mackerel 

 market is a very fluctuating one, so that it is a great advantage to be 

 able to transship without delay. The fish also are getting worse the 



