AWARD OF THE FISHERY COMMISSION. 1387 



of Luuenburg, this 8th day c 

 JAS. H. WENTZEL, ./. /'. 



Sworn to at Rose Bay, in the county of Lunenburg, this 8th day of 

 August, A. D. 1877, before ine. 



No. 253. 



lu the matter of the Fisheries Commission at Halifax, under tin- Treaty 



of Washington. 



I, THOMAS RITCEY, Sr., of Lower La Have, in the county of Lunen- 

 burg, fisherman, make oath and say as follows : 



1. I have been engaged in the fisheries for thirty-three years, and have 

 a vessel now engaged in the fisheries. I have fished along the HOIK hern 

 coast of Nova Scotia, around Cape Breton, Prince Edward Island, the 

 eastern side of New Brunswick, and around the Magdalen Islands and 

 Lower St. Lawrence. I have fished mackerel, herring, and codfish, and 

 all the fish taken in Canadian waters. 



2. I have seen in one day, in the North Bay, upwards of one hundred 

 and fifty sail engaged in taking mackerel. All those vessels were Amer- 

 ican. We often made calculations among ourselves, and put the Amer- 

 ican vessels down at between five and six hundred in the North Bay. 

 The American vessels carried from fifteen to twenty-five hands. The 

 Americans fished in close to the shore, and took mackerel wherever they 

 could get the most of the mackerel. The Americans got inshore. Very 

 seldom they got much mackerel three miles from the shore. In my opin- 

 ion it would not pay the Americans to go to the North Bay to Ash mack- 

 erel unless they could fish within three miles of the shore. 1 have Keen 

 the Americans trawl inshore within three miles for codfish around Prince 

 Edward Island. 



3. The American vessels averaged about four hundred or upwards bar- 

 rels to each vessel on each trip. They average two trips. The codfish- 



"vessels carry from twelve to eighteen men, make two trips, and take from 

 eight to twelve hundred quintals to each vessel on each trip. 



4. In my experience mackerel has always varied, being some years 

 good and others poor. Overfishing during the past few years may have 



-something to do with the falling off in mackerel. This year mackerel 

 have struck in plenty. The cod-fishing during the past fifteen years ban 

 been good, and if bait is plenty, plenty of codfish can be had. The her- 

 ring has always been plenty. 



5. The Americans take mackerel mostly with hood and line. I have 

 seen them seining them around North Cape, in Prince Edward Island, 

 with purse seines. This plan of taking mackerel with purse-seines is 

 injurious to the fisheries. I never saw any Canadian vessels using purse- 

 seines. The Americans take codfish mostly by trawling inshore and oil 

 shore, and wherever they can catch them. Trawling, in my opinion, 

 will be the ruination of the codfish, as by it the mother tish are taken. 



*_ v i i .11. 



ago I have seen Americans trawling. 



practice of trawling until the last four or five years, when they wen 



pelled to do so in order to compete with the Americans. 



6. The throwing overboard of offal I consider very injunou. 

 fishing grounds. I have seen the Americans throw overboard 

 a certain number of inches, which I also consider injurious to the \ 

 By these practices the fish are glutted and driven away, 

 overboard of the sound-bone I consider injurious, and 



