1366 AWARD OF THE FISHERY COMMISSION. 



cans. Those vessels were engaged in mackerel-fishing, and they took 

 mackerel mostly all within three miles of the shore; and in my experi- 

 ence I never saw any large quantity of mackerel taken beyond three 

 miles from the shore. I have made calculations, along with other cap- 

 tains, and we concluded that there were nine hundred sail of American 

 lishing vessels in the North Bay. 



3. The Americans carry from fourteen to twenty men on board their 

 mackerelmen, and took from three to four hundred barrels on board each 

 vessel ; some took as high as seven hundred barrels. They made from 

 two to three trips. American codfish vessels carry from ten to fifteen 

 men, and take in the bay from seven to ten hundred quintals to each 

 vessel, on each trip, and make about two trips. I have often seen 

 Americans in the spring of the year lying along Cape North, in Cape 

 Breton, within three miles of the shore, engaged in taking codfish ; and 

 the vessels which now go from here to take codfish, fish close in to the 

 shore. 



4. In my experience the mackerel fishery has varied. It may have 

 fallen off some during the past few years, which, I think, has arisen 

 from over-fishing. Codfish can almost always be taken plentifully if 

 bait is plenty. The herring fishery is good and has always remained 

 the same. 



5. The Americans took mackerel with hook and line and now use 

 purse-seines. They take codfish mostly by trawling, which I consider 

 a very improper method of taking fish. Trawling takes the spawn fish, 

 as the bait lies quietly upon the bottom. In hand-lining spawn fish are 

 seldom taken. The Americans trawled for codfish ever since I can re- 

 member. Our fishermen only commenced to trawl about five years 

 ago, and were driven to this plan to compete with the Americans. I 

 have seen American schooners take large quantities of herring inshore 

 around the Magdalenes ; some schooners took as many as two thousand 

 barrels. Those herring were taken with seines. 



6. In my opinion throwing overboard offals is injurious to the fishing 

 grounds, and the sound bone which is thrown over kills many large 

 fish. 



7. The Americans always fished inshore when they could. When a 

 cutter was in sight they disappeared, and when she went away they re- 

 turned ; and I have seen Americans kept off the shore beyond three 

 miles, and they could not catch a mackerel, and our vessels caught hun- 

 dreds of barrels. 



8. The inshore fishery is worth double of the whole fishery, and more 

 than double. 



1). The Americans made a practice of lee-bowing us, and I have often 

 seen them running into Nova Scotian vessels ; and I have myself been 

 driven off the grounds by American vessels, and away from schools of 

 mackerel. 



10. Over twelve years ago, I have seen American vessels in the North 

 Bay with purse-seines, and I consider these seines injurious to the fish- 

 ery. I have never seen a Canadian vessel with a purse-seine. 



11. The Americans catch bait all around our coast, as much as thev 

 can get. 



'. During the past six years there has been no increase in the quau- 

 ity of fish in Canadian waters. This, I think, is owing to over-fishing, 

 purse-seining, trawling, and throwing gurry overboard, and other im- 

 proper methods of taking fish. 



. The herring fishery is all inshore, and the Americans fish and buy 

 them for bait ; they buy because they find it saves time and expense. " 



