1150 AWARD OF THE FISHERY COMMISSION. . 



more than three miles from shore; the rest are taken within that dis* 

 tance. 



7. That I was out eight weeks one season in the Spray, belonging to 

 Charlottetown, carrying eighteen hands; in that time we took over one 

 hundred quintals of codfish and over two hundred and fifty barrels of 

 mackerel, but that was not half the season. 



8. That I was out in another Cbarlottetown vessel, carrying twelve 

 hands, for five weeks, and in that time we caught two hundred barrels 

 of mackerel. 



9. That I was out one season in the American schooner Mary S. Wan- 

 son, of Booth Bay, and we caught six hundred and fifty barrels of mack- 

 erel ; she was about eighty tons burden and carried seventeen hands ; 

 we made two trips and part of another in her. 



10. That I was out part of one season in the Burnside; we were out 

 about two months, and caught five hundred barrels of mackerel. She 

 carried sixteen or seventeen hands. 



11. That 1 was out in the Fox a long time ago ; she was a small ves- 

 sel ; I was not in her the whole season. She only took two hundred 

 barrels while I was in her. 



12. That we fished in these vessels all around the north and part of 

 the south side of this island, catching most of the fish in the bight of 

 this island. We got the fish all close inshore; none of the fish were 

 caught more than two or three miles off, and most of them right in 

 among the boats on the shore. Most of the American vessels fished in 

 the same places. Wherever the Americans saw the boats taking fish, 

 they came right in there. 



13. That the American fishermen do a great deal of harm to the boats 

 by coming in and lee-bowing, and taking the fish away. They come in 

 close to shore, throw bait and drift off, taking the fish with them. They 

 sometimes drift down on the boats themselves, and the latter have to 

 get out of the way to avoid being swamped. I have often had to do so 

 myself. The fishermen are sure, when the Americans come round, that 

 the boats are going to lose the fish. The vessels are the ruin of the boat- 

 fishing. They heave so much bait that they glut and sink the mackerel. 

 They also throw overboard the dirt and offal of the fish they clean, and 

 the fish get sickened by it and won't bite; in fact, that offal poisons the 

 fish. 



14. When the cutters were about, they used to keep the Americans 

 from fishing near the shore to a great extent. I have seen the schooners, 

 when the boats were getting plenty of fish in sight, not daring to heave 

 a line for fear of the cutters. Had there been half a dozen cutters, the 

 Americans would not have been able to fish inshore at all. 



15. That the right to transship their fish is a great advantage to the 

 Americans, as they can thereby save more than a fortnight each trip, 

 which, in the course of a summer, would amount to another trip. 



1C. That I was down at the Magdalen Islands herring-fishing one 

 season, and there were then fifty or sixty sail of Americans fishing her- 

 ring there. The herring are seined there, and a few are netted ; they 

 are caught right inshore, in Pleasant Bay. 



17. That one winter I was herring-fishing at Newfoundland; then there 

 were about thirty-five sail of Americans seining herring in Fortune Bay. 

 These herring they freeze for the George's fleet and for markets. 



18. That there are large fleets of American fishing-schooners in this 

 gulf every year. There are three, four, and five hundred sail at a time. 

 There are a great many of them coming down now ; they are arriving 

 fast. 



