AWARD OF THE FISHERY COMMISSION. 1241 



4. I have never known codfish and halibut vessels to go through the 

 Gut of Canso, and I have known of many American mackerel-fishing 

 vessels go around the southern and eastern coasts of Cape Breton and 

 fish along those coasts. 



5. These Americans catch immense quantities of mackerel from one 

 hundred to a thousand barrels and I can safely say, average from five 

 hundred to six hundred barrels each vessel on each trip. These vessels 

 take from two to three cargoes each year. 



6. The mackerel during the past six years have been an average catch ; 

 and this year, and during the present summer, bait has struck in more 

 plentiful than I have ever known, and fish always follow the bait. The 

 mackerel are at present striking inshore plentifully, and I believe will 

 be as good as ever they have been. 



7. The Americans, to my knowledge, trawl much deeper than our 

 fishermen. They catch the mother fish by thus trawling so deep, and 

 destroy great quantities of spawn. They throw overboard the offal 

 from the fish, which is very injurious to the fishing ground, especially 

 the heads and maw bones. I have myself, this summer, caught codfish 

 with the heads of fish in their maws; these heads must have been thrown 

 from vessels offshore, because we take our fish inshore to dress, and the 

 farmers come and take all the offal away to their farms, which they say 

 is the very best manure they can find. These heads and sound-bones 

 which are thrown over kill the fish. 



8. During the twelve years of my experience the Americans always 

 fished within shore, and wherever they could get fish, and the inshore 

 fishery is of much the greatest value. The Americans diminish the 

 quantities of fish,* especially when they employ improper means for tak- 

 ing them. By improper means I refer to deep trawling. The quanti- 

 ties of offal thrown overboard sicken and destroy the fish, and thus 

 injure the inshore catch. During this summer, I, for a short time, and 

 for the first time tried two jigs ; I only caught two codfish with them, 

 and am sure that I destroyed more than one hundred, and whoever em- 

 ploys this method of taking fish must destroy vast numbers. 



9. The herring is taken inshore by Nova Scotia fishermen, and the 

 Americans buy them fresh for bait when they can get them. They also 

 buy ice all around the coast wherever they can get it, in which to pack 

 their bait. .This privilege is of great importance to them, for without 

 bait, and ice in which to keep it, they could catch no fish. 



10. It is my opinion that unless Americans are excluded that the fish- 

 ing will be much lessened. These fisheries I consider to be of untold 

 wealth, both to the Americans and to our own people, and would be of 

 very much more value to our Nova Scotia people if the Americans 

 were excluded. 



ANGUS MATHESON. 



Sworn to at South Sydney, in the county of Cape Breton, this 23rd day 

 of July, A. D. 1877, before me. 



A. HAKKY BOUMNOT, 

 Justice of the Peace in and for the County of Cape Breton. 



No. 122. 



In the matter of the Fisheries Commission at Halifax, under the Treaty 



of Washington. 



I, WILLIAM H. SWEET, of Fall River, in the State of Massachusetts 



