AWARD 'OF THE FISHER* COMMISSION. 1257 



Scotia around Cape Breton, on the eastern side of New Brunswick, 

 around Prince Edward Island, around tbe Magdalenes, on the Canadian 

 coast of Labrador, and am well acquainted with the inshore fisheries 

 along the southern coast of Nova Scotia. 



2. When in the North Bay, about eight or nine years ago, I saw large 

 numbers of American mackerelmen. From calculations then made by 

 Nova Scotia fishermen, we concluded that there were upwards of three 

 hundred American vessels in the North .Bay. I was in the North Bay 

 the fall in of 1872, and the mackerel were very plentiful. I was about a 

 fortnight ago engaged in fishing on the eastern side of Cape Breton. I 

 was at Gabarus, Louisburg, St. Ann's Ingouish, Bras D'Or, and Smoky 

 Cape, and around Cape North, and I found the fish there very plentiful 

 the mackerel more plentiful than the oldest inhabitant has any recol- 

 lection of. The mackerel are of most excellent quality, being very large. 

 Those mackerel are found inshore, within three miles of tLe shore, and 

 it would not pay any vessel to go to the North Bay unless they could 

 catch mackerel within three miles of the shore. 



3. The American vessels make, on an average, two trips when engaged 

 in taking mackerel. The Americans in a good season take, on an aver- 

 age, about three hundred barrels of mackerel to each vessel on each trip. 

 These mackerel vessels carry from ten to twenty hands to each vessel. 

 The American vessels which run into the North Bay take from five 

 hundred to a thousand quintals to each vessel. When on the Cape 

 Breton coast last year I saw an American vessel which took from six to 

 seven hundred quintals of codfish seven miles from Sydney Light, and 

 only changed her ground three times, as I was informed by the Ameri- 

 can skipper. The Americans take the most of the codfish in the North 

 Bay by trawling. This trawling I consider injurious to the fishery, as it 

 takes all the mother fish. In hand-lining very few mother fish are taken. 

 When on the Canadian coast of Labrador, I saw the Americans take 

 large quantities of codfish inshore, within three miles of the shore. 



4. In my experience, the mackerel fishery has always varied, being 

 good for a number of years and again poor. In the falls of seventy-one, 

 seventy-two, and seventy-three, the mackerel were very plentiful. The 

 cod-fishery has generally been good, except when bait is scarce. 



5. The Americans formerly carried on the mackerel fishery with hook 

 and line. They now use purse-seines, which 1 consider very injurious 

 to the mackerel fishery. I saw, four years ago, two large American 

 schooners engaged in taking mackerel at Cape Canso with purse-seines, 

 within a hajf a mile of the shore. These vessels carried about eight hun- 

 dred barrels of mackerel each. The Americans now take all their codfish 

 by trawling. The Americans around the Magdalenes and on the Labra- 

 dor coasts take herring by seining on the shore. 



G. The throwing overboard of offal, in my opinion, is injurious to the 

 fishery, as it pollutes the water, gluts the fish, and drives them away. 



7. In my experience, the Americans fished inshore whenever they 

 could. They made off shore when a cutter appeared and returned when 

 she disappeared. They lee-bowed us Nova Scotian vessete, weather- 

 bowed us, ran into us, and did nearly what they pleased, and have 

 almost entirely, since 1871, driven our vessels out of the mackerel fish- 

 ing. When the fishery was protected, and the Americans had not the 

 right of fishing into the shore, our vessels made better fares. 



8. In my opinion, the inshore fish are double the value of the off shore 

 catch in Canadian waters. 



9. The Americans get bait and ice all along our coast in the bays and 

 harbors. They jig squid in any lrrbor, cove, and creek, and wherever 



