AWARD OF THE FISHERY COMMISSION. 



your opinion, injure the fishing-grounds ! A. We now us,, menhaden 

 for bait, but when I first went fishing w< did not do HO. Our i.t.i.-ti,.- 

 tben was to grind up small tna'ckerel for the, purpose. Any quantify of 

 tbese mackerel were at that time to be found along the coast, and plenty 

 of them are there to be met with now. Those li.sh wore of no grwtt 

 account then, and so we ground them up for bait; and when we n.uM 

 not obtain any of them, we ground up for bait what you call gurry, tin- 

 inwards of fish with the gills attached ; we did not like to line large fifth 

 for the purpose. It is my opinion that the throwing overboard of the 

 offal which comes from mackerel, and which, in the aggregate, in com- 

 paratively small in quantity, does no damage whatever to the lUhing- 

 grounds. This may not be the case, but i fail to discover that tbi prac- 

 tice does any such damage whatever. 



Q. When any substance of that sort goes to the bottom of the sea, what 

 provision of nature is there for getting rid of it ! A. I know of place* 

 in the sea where you can put down any animal matter, and it will be 

 eaten up by marine animals, which we call sea-fleas. I have seen tjhift 

 happen on the Banks of Newfoundland. I was carrying menhaden for 

 bait at the time, and, having cut off a piece, I lowered it on a hook, ami 

 in a remarkably short space of time I hauled it up and found nothing 

 left save the skeleton. Every particle of flesh was eaten otr. Clam*, 

 however, were not touched. 



Q. What bait do the American fishermen almost exclusively use for 

 mackerel? A. Menhaden, when they fish with hooks. The superiority 

 of this bait over other kinds is such that when the fish can get meuha- 

 den they won't take any other. At first mackerel fishermen wen? afraid 

 of this bait. It is a very bony fish, and they then thought that if it wa* 

 cut up for bait the mackerel would soon get sick of it, owing to the num- 

 ber of the bones. There is a species of fish belonging to this family found 

 on our coast which is exceedingly fat, we call them blue-backed herrings, 

 and some preferred this fish for bait, as it was not so bony as tbe men- 

 haden; but when the poorer mackerel got to be worth having, about 

 everybody adopted menhaden for bait. 



Q. When did bait-mills begin to be used !--A. About 1834 or 1 

 think. In 1826, when I first fished on this coast, we bad bait-Bills; 

 previously they cut up bait with hatchets. Sometimes a double watch 

 was set, and two men chopped bait all night. 



Q. Those who fish now with bait use these bait-mills !- 

 menhaden if they can get them. This is the cheain-st bait, ami i 

 sidered a good bait. 



r uvsi/ nuv TT i,uc*u J- c*u- A j " v t j 



iias a tendency, to a large extent, to increase the dnmnut* 

 make the fish scarcer. It disarranges them and drives them a 

 ably to some extent. I think that, on the whole, seining t 

 injarious to the fisheries, which will be better and stand I 

 onted with the hook and by jigging in the old way, without 

 There is a diminution in the number of mackerel in certa:n phi 

 it is not seining that has made them scarce in the gul 



Q. Why do you say that it is not seining which hi made 

 in the Gulf of St. Lawrence !-A. I understood that I had 

 communicate information that comes from others and pe>| 

 the Gulf of St. Lawrence to fish tell me that they cannot 



seines work there. , f ,,- i^t^nm too 



Q. Why?-A. Because the water is too shal ow and 

 rough. I never found a man who was successful with semes 



