AWARD OP THE FISHERY COMMISSION. 1439 



5. That many of the British fish are better than the American mich 

 as the Strait salmon, and help to sell the American fish. 



G. That I was engaged in mackerel fishing in American vessels for 

 four years in the gulf; the first year I was out mackerel fishing WHM in 

 18C5, on board the B. D. Haskius, of Gloucester, of about 00 tons, and 

 carrying 15 men. We got within a few barrels of 800 barrels of mack- 

 erel in her that year. The greater part of these, I should say three- 

 quarters at the least, were caught within two and three miles of the 

 shore. Near the shore is always the best mackerel fishing. 



7. That in 1866 I was out in the Helen M. Woodward, of Gloucester, 

 of about 80 tons burden, and carrying about 18 hands. We caught loo 

 barrels of mackerel in her. These were all caught in close to shore; 

 half of them were caught when we were sprung up to anchor at the 

 Magdalen Islands, not having room to drift. 



8. That in 1871 I was fishing in the gulf in the Adele, a Charlottetown 

 vessel chartered by Americans. She was about 70 tons burden, and 

 carried 16 hands. We took 700 barrels of mackerel in her, all of which 

 were caught inshore; after the mackerel fishing was over she went to 

 Newfoundland for the herring fishery. 



9. That I was out part of the season of 1872 in the yacht Rambler, for 

 two mouths and a half; she was an American, and carried nineteen 

 hands. We caught four hundred and seventy barrels of mackerel in 

 her. They were all caught right round the shore of this island and 

 close inshore. We used to have to watch the cutters close that year. 



10. That I was out in the River Dale, the foarth American vessel, in 

 the gulf for about a month and one-half, after the 5th of September. 

 We caught three hundred and twenty barrels of mackerel in her. She 

 was about sixty-five tons burden and carried fifteen hands. Before 

 coming in her that season I had made two trips to the Banks in the 

 Yosemite, and in her we took over three hundred thousand pounds 

 weight of codfish. 



11. That when I was in the gulf there used to be a fleet of five hun- 

 dred sail of American schooners fishing down here in the gulf, and 

 nearly all their mackerel were caught close to the shore. It would not 

 have been worth while to come down to the gulf at all for fish if they 

 .were not allowed to fish close to shore. 



12. That the cutters interfered a great deal with the American fishing 

 when 1 was out, as at sight of the cutter's smoke the schooners had to 

 leave the fishing-grounds and clear out, sometimes losing the fish for a 

 week on that account. The sailing-cutters were better than the steam- 

 ers, as the smoke of the latter could be seen a long way off, and we 

 could either salt our fish or throw them overboard before the cutters 



I reached us. 

 13. That the American seiners are now seining down here already ; 

 they have left their own shore because the fish on their own coast have 

 been destroyed or driven away by the seines. The seiners take a school 

 of mackerel or other fish in their purse-seines and scoop as many of them 

 on board as they can, and then the rest of the mackerel get smothered 

 in the purse of the seine and sink, and the seiners h ive to let go tlu 

 lines and empty the fish out, or lose their seines. These dead tih si 

 to the bottom and rot, and poison or drive away the other fish, what! 

 mackerel or codfish. There are large quantities of herring killed i 

 same way. The opinion of fishermen, even the seiners themselves, i 

 that the seining destroys the fishery. 



14. The Americans clean their fish on board and throw the I 

 gurry overboard, and that poisons and kills the fish. That 



