AWARD OF THE FISHERY COMMISSION. 138'J 



1. I have been actively engaged in the fish business in the way of a 

 supplying establishment for the past thirteen years. I am owner of 

 the fishing establishment on Port Hood outer island, and furnish mip- 

 plies to fishing vessels and take fish in payment, and have a pretty good 

 opportunity of judging of the condition of the fishing business on this 

 part of the coast. 



2. During the period I have been engaged I have known as many an 

 200 American vessels in Port Hood Harbor at one time. Mackerel 

 and codfish are the chief fish obtained by the American. 1 * in the gulf, 

 though they take small quantities of haddock, hake, and halibut. 



3. The average cargo of American fishing-vessels is three hundred 

 barrels per trip of mackerel and from 600 to 1,000 quintals of codtUh, 

 and they make on an average from two to three trips during thesea-sou. 

 The American vessels begin to arrive at about the first of May to pro- 

 cure bait for that cod fishing. In July they arrive here for the mackerel 

 fishing, and continue fishing in the- gulf and on the coast for several 

 months until November. 



4. The catch of mackerel has somewhat decreased during the past two 

 or three years, but there is no reason to believe that this has been due. 

 to any falling off in the number of mackerel frequenting our coasts and 

 waters. I believe that our mackerel fisheries will be as productive dur- 

 ing the next eight years, if properly cared for, as during any past time. 



5. The American mode of fishing in our waters is very destructive to 

 our cod fisheries. Their system of trawling is very injurious ; meeting 

 the fish and killing the mother fish early in the season before they have 

 spawned. I believe this mode, if continued by the Americans, will do 

 serious damage to our fishing grounds. 



6. I am not sufficiently familiar with practical fishing to understand 

 fully the injury done to our fishing grounds by the practice ot the Amer- 

 icans of throwing overboard offal ; but I have understood that the fish 

 were glutted by it, and I attribute the falling off in the catch of mackerel 

 during the past two years as due to this practice of throwing bait over- 

 board, which has prevented the mackerel from biting as Ireely as l>e- 

 fore. Our own fishermen exercise greater care in disposing of the offal, 

 and usually bring it on shore with them. 



7. I cannot speak positively as to the relative quantity offish caught 

 by the Americans at the time of the Keciprocity Treaty inshore and out- 

 side ; but I know that the Americans fished there inshore, and I know 

 that the inshore fisheries are much more valuable than those outside. 



8. The Americans have injured our boat-fishing by their system of 

 throwing bait overboard to entice mackerel to leave the shores. This at 

 one period was a source of great damage to our boat-fishing. 



9. The effect of the use of purse seines by the Americans in any great 

 numbers would be the destruction of the fishing grounds and the glut- 

 ting of the markets. The fish would be caught in such large quantities 

 that many of them would be lost and thrown into the sea dead, which 

 would be very destructive to the grounds. 



10. The Americans, I understand, do catch small quantities of herring 

 and squid for bait inshore, but chiefly purchase, their bait from traders. 

 The small fish used for bait is taken almost exclusively mshore and in 

 bays and creeks. 



11. Since the Treaty of Washington, to the best of my knowledge 

 there has been a slight decrease in the number of codtish frequentii 

 the gulf, and I attribute the cause of it entirely to the system of trawl 

 ing adopted by the American fishermen. 



12. The herring fishery on our coast is a very large industry, and very 



1 



