1684 AWARD OF THE FISHERY COMMISSION. 



of labor. Then, if yon ask, " What is the worth to Mr. Hall or Mr. 

 Mvrick of the mackerel on the deck of the vessel ?" I say it is next to 

 nothing. The fish will perish if he is not taken care of. Skill is to be 

 used upon him, then ; what costs money is to be used upon him, ice and 

 pickle, and he is to be preserved. All this to the end that he may 

 eventually, after a great deal of labor, skill, and capital, be sent to the 

 market. But recollect that the vessel from whose deck he was caught 

 cost $8,000. Recollect that the men who maintain that crew and feed 

 them, and enable them to clothe themselves and follow that pursuit, are 

 pay ing out large sums of money. Recollect that the fisherman who catches 

 the fish has, as the result of many years' labor, which may be called an 

 investment, learned how to catch him ; and it is by the combination of 

 all these causes that at last the fish is landed. Now, in my judgment, 

 it is purely fallacious to attempt to draw any inference from the market- 

 value of the fish to the right to extend your pursuit of those animals 

 nearer the coast than before, or to the market -value of any right to fish 

 over a certain portion of the ocean, when all other oceans are open to 

 you, and all other fisheries. 



Your honors, of course, recollect that the mackerel fishery, taken at 

 its best I don't confine myself to the inshore fishery, I mean the mack- 

 erel fishery of the bay and gulf, at its best, the whole of it is of a 

 greatly decreasing and precarious value. 1 speak only of the salted 

 mackerel that is sent into the United States. The lake fish are fast be- 

 coming a substitute for salt mackerel. I will call your honors' attention to 

 two or three rather striking proofs which were not read previously by 

 Judge Foster. Sylvauus Smith, of Gloucester, on page 336 of the 

 American evidence, is asked : 



Q. What causes have been in existence interfering with the sale of salt mackerel 

 during the past few years? A. I think there have been several causes. One is the 

 facility of carrying our fresh fish into distant parts of the country. That has mate- 

 rially interfered with it. Then there is the lake herring; during the months of No- 

 vember and December until May they are very plenty. They are now used iu very large 

 quantities all throughout the West. 



Q. What are lake herring ? A. A species of white fish, only smaller. 



Q. What do they sell for per barrel ? A. This party I referred to, speaking of his 

 trade, said that last year he used 30,000 packages. A package is a half barrel. 



Q. How are these put up ? A. Pickled. And he told me they sold at $2 a package. 



g. You say they have interferred with the constancy of the demand ? A. I think 

 during the months we used to depend very largely on the consumption of our mack- 

 erel, tlu> lake herring has been one great cause for the decline during these months in 

 the value of mackerel. 



On page 4G3 Professor Baird testifies as follows : 



Q. Have you any statistics respecting the lake fishery for the years 1876 and 1^77 f- 

 A. I have only partial statistics for 1877. I published the statistics in detail in my 

 report for 1872, and I am now having statistics for 1877 collected, and will have them, 

 I Hiip]M>Hf, by the end of the season. 



O. KighK-eii hundred and seventy-two represents but faintly the present state of 



Can yon tell us how it was in 1872 ? A. In 1872 the American production of 



tie gn>at lakes was 32,850,000 pounds. That quantity of fish was taken, but how 



mor I cannot say. Those were marketed iu Buffalo, Cleveland, Chicago, and 



many other stations. 



g. Dow that Include the Canadian catch T A. I presume there is no Canadian catch 

 iou.it. I hose are the figures as they were obtained by my agents from the 

 Babermen and dealers. 



g. You obtained them from the dealers in the large cities? A. Yes; and the fisher- 

 n at the grounds. This year I have had every station on the American side of thf 

 lake* netted and canvassed. 



g. You hare steady communication with and reports from the dealers? A. I have 

 uly when 1 send specially after them, as I did in 1872 and am doing thi- 



reniVn'foT Chicago. ^ gOt '** **"* inqairy f r thi8 year ? ~ A ' J have ^ a ^^^ 



