AWARD OF THE FISHERY COMMISSION. _' ] 



commission terminated in the course of six months, and subsequently a 

 State commission was appointed in the same connection. Thin WM 

 done, I think, in 1864. My appointment took place in IHTiO. 



Q. Some, at all events, of the duties of that commission were t> All 

 with fish rivers which had been depleted of them f A. That i t lie ol>. 

 ject of these commissioners. 



Q. Are they succeeding I A. It is said that they are. When rtmt 

 appointed, the chairman wanted me to go to the Merrirnac and Connec- 

 ticut Rivers in our States and collect what information I could on the 

 subject. I spent a month at this work and I then made my report. 



Q. Are they really increasing the number of the fish T A. I have no 

 personal knowledge as to this being the case. I do not know HO much 

 about our inland as about our sea h'sheriCvS. 



Q. Have your inland fisheries, in your judgment, no effect on your 

 off-shore fisheries ? A. Well, they have a little effect on the latter. 



Q. Do not bait-fishes come down from the rivers T A. Some do 

 such as shad and alewives. They are used to some extent as bait for 

 cod. 



Q. Have not the States of Maine and Massachusetts of late years f n- 

 deavored to protect, as much as possible, the shad-fishery T A. Ye*; 

 and their artificial propagation has been attempted. 



Q. Are they succeeding in this respect in the State of Ma.Hsachn 

 setts? A. The commissioners report favorably, and say that they arv 

 making headway; but I have no personal knowledge regarding this 

 matter. 



Q. Has this commission no power over the sea fisheries along the 

 coast 1 ? A. No such power has been delegated to them to my knowledge. 

 A law passed the legislature last year, I believe, instructing the com- 

 mission to issue circulars to those who had pounds, weirs, traps, purse- 

 seines, nets, and gill-nets along the coast inshore. These were require*! 

 to keep a daily count of the different kinds of fish which were thus pro- 

 cured. These circulars were issued this year, and some were sent to mo 

 at Proviucetown, where I distributed them. 



Q. So that the object which the commission had in view was tojpre- 

 vent the destruction of fish in these traps, pounds, pane-Mine*, and 

 gill-nets, &c.f A. So much had been said about them that the com- 

 missioners wished to ascertain as nearly as possible the quantity of the 

 different kinds of fish taken from year to year in their traps, nets, &r 



Q. So much had been said, I presume, against this mode of f 

 A. Some were against it and some were in its favor. People are i: 

 apt to talk in favor of a different mode of fishing if it makes other? 

 cessful. 



Q. But there had been a good deal of talk against this 

 ing? A. Yes. 



Q. And the attention of the commission was directed 

 and they desired to discover what its effect was. 



Q. Have they made their report on this matter 

 kuo wlpdo'fl 



Q. Have thev made any report with regard to the evil effects of pn 



lining A Vft Thv luivtt not investigated this question to n 



_ ? A. No. They have not investigated this qiu 



knowledge. 



Q. Have they done so with respect to traps T- 

 Q. In your judgment are these traps injurious to y 



ies ? A. I think that they are. 

 Q. How long have they been in operation ?- 



126 F 



