1926 AWARD OF THE FISHERY COMMISSION. 



Q. How far from the land is it situated ? A. I should thiuk that it 

 is twenty miles off shore, or about that. 



Q. Where did yon go from Bank Bonaventure? A. Well, we went 

 down off the west shore, off what we call the Pigeon Hills ; we would be 

 about VI or 15 miles off shore. 



Q. Where are Pigeon Hills ? A. On the Canadian shore, at that 

 point. 



Q. How far would you be from the shore? A. I should thiuk about 

 15 miles. 



Q. Would you lie off' Shippegau ? A. We would be broad off Ship- 

 pegan. 



Q. And how far from the shore? A. From 15 to 16 or 17 miles. 



Q. Where did you go next ? A. About the 1st of July we generally 

 struck up along the coast and across to Magdalen Islands. We gener- 

 ally calculated on fishing there on the 4th of July. 



Q. What did you next do? A. We always finished up the season at 

 the Magdalen Islands; and along late in the fall we would go to Marga- 

 ree and Cheticamp. We would probably stay there for a week or 10 

 days. 



Q. During how many years did you successfully follow the mackerel 

 fishing? A. I was master of a vessel during ten seasons. 



Q. And during these 10 seasons, how far from the shore did you take 

 the greater part of your fish ? A. We got the most of them off shore 

 10, 12, 15, or 16 miles off shore. 



Q. At which of the points you have named was Oie best mackerel 

 fishing to be found ? A. At the Magdalen Islands. 



Q. I have heard something about the danger of fishing at the Mag- 

 dalen Islands ; is this correct ? A. The best harbor in the bay is there. 



Q. Explain. A. This is the case, because you can always make the 

 lee, no odds how the wind is around the land ; you can always put down 

 the anchor there, and be in smooth water. 



Q. Is the weather there rather boisterous ? A. It blows spells. 



Q. But no storms are peculiar to that locality ? A. No. 



Q. When it is stormy there, it is stormy throughout the gulf? A. Yes. 



Q. And though the water is rough there, you are always safe ? A. 

 You can always fish under the lee of the laud at the Magdalen Islands; 

 and this makes it the best fishing ground in the bay. You can always 

 be near the land, and in smooth water, if it is blowing a good breeze. 



Q. Laying aside the Magdalen Islands, what proportion of your 

 mackerel catch was taken, according to the best of your judgment, 

 within three marine miles of the coast, and what proportion, farther out 

 than that ? A. I do not think that I ever got 150 barrels inside of the 

 three-mile limit in my life in the bay. 



Q. What was your average catch, yearly, during these years ? A. It 

 was about 000 barrels, I should think, a season. 



Q. Were you in the habit of transshipping? A. I shipped two fares, 

 while I fished for mackerel. 



Q. From where ? A. The Strait of Causo. 



Q. And in what way did they go to Canso? A. One fare went in a 

 sailing vessel, and the other in a steamer. 



Q. What was the principal object to be gained by transshipping car- 

 A. I sent one trip home, in order to have the time that would 

 have been consumed if I had gone home with it to fish in the bay. 



Q. How much did it cost you to take the mackerel to Gloucester? 

 A. About what we made on the next trip. 



Q. What did it cost ? A. About $1.50 a barrel. 



