1964 AWARD OF THE FISHERY COMMISSION. 



Q. Where ? A. At Magdalens. I believe that was the most I saw 

 at a time. I thiuk there was about 300 sail in the bay, as near as I can 

 judge ; sometimes 250 to 200 odd sail at the Magdalens. Then again 

 there would be a few days there would be no mackerel, and they would 

 run round some to East Point, some to North Cape, some to Cape Bre 

 ton. and so on. If they didn't find anything they would come back 

 again. 



Q. You have made inquiries, more or less, and have a general knowl- 

 edge of the places where the Gloucester fleet has fished for mackerel in 

 the bay? A. The Gloucester vessels mostly fish at the Magdalens. 



Q. Are you able to make an estimate of the proportion of the mack- 

 erel caught in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by the whole of the Ameri- 

 can mackerel fleet which is caught within three miles of the shore? 

 A. Well, I could make an estimate of what I have done myself. I could 

 make an estimate of what the Gloucester vessels have done, because I 

 have fished with them, and they generally fished mostly where I have 

 fished. 1 should say the Gloucester vessels, since I have been skipper 

 of a vessel, haven't caught over one-eighth inshore. 



Q. By "inshore" what do you mean f A. Within three miles. Be- 

 cause they mostly fished at the Magdalens. We have caught them^at 

 the Magdalens within three miles of the land, but most of the mackerel 

 we got there is seven or eight miles off. 



Q. Now, about fishing among the boats that come out from the shore, 

 have you been in the habit of fishing among them ! A. I have shot up 

 among the boats and tried to get mackerel yes. 



Q. How often ? A. Well, I never did very often, until the last year I 

 went, 1876. Then the mackerel were scarce in the bay. We could not 

 find any at Magdalens or to the northward ; we could not find them, 

 anywhere for the matter of that. We ran over toward the land and 

 spoke to the boats. They would tell us that the day before they had 

 got plenty of mackerel, but that day they were doing nothing. We 

 would then anchor and try. 



Q. How far off shore have you seen the boats fishing at the far- 

 thest ! A. 1 have seen them on the north side all the way from three to 

 ten miles ott' (that is, Prince Edward Island). On the south side, pretty 

 near in generally. 



Q. Have you ever had dealings with them in the way of buying or 

 selling fish or bait ? A. I never bought any fish or sold any bait. I 

 have had them come aboard and have given them bait ; and I have had 

 them grind their bait in our mills. They had no mills and they would 

 have herring, and would want to know if they could grind it. I was, 

 of course, perfectly willing. When we had plenty of bait we would give 

 it to them. We have done that often. 



Q. Now explain the manner in which your vessels catch their mack- 

 yrel, and whether there is any difference according to your observation 

 in the mode of catching by boats and by vessels. A. The difference is 

 just this, they can catch them in the boats when we can't begin to catch 

 them in the vessels. 



Q. Why ? A. The boats go off and there will be a shoal spot say two 

 or three miles oft' from the laud, or whatever it might be. There are a 

 number of places where there are shoal spots where our vessels can't 

 get. If we were to anchor there, why the keel would be on bottom. 

 We could not anchor, especially with the wind on shore. Sometimes 

 when the wind was off shore we could anchor or heave to and drift. 

 But as a general thing those boats, there would be places where they 

 would PO in where we could not, and get mackerel. When we would 



