2742 AWARD OF THE FISHERY COMMISSION. 



always fish at anchor, and very rarely drifting, unless it is at a very 

 moderate rate. 



Q. Do these boats catch their mackerel from the bottom or the top of 

 the water? A. They may sometimes have to take longer lines and fish 

 from the bottom ; and then again the fish may come for a little while 

 up to the surface. I think that this season daring the latter part of 

 it particularly the men have fished nearer the surface; the fish have 

 come up, but they have been very delicate about biting ; it was hard 

 to make them bite any way ; they came up around the hooks and ate up 

 the bait that was thrown to them ; but they did not like the look of the 

 hooks, and they avoided them. 



Q. What bait do you furnish your boats with ? A. Herring mostly, 

 and sometimes pogies and menhaden. 



Q. Which is the better bait ? A. Pogies. 



Q. Why do you not use them altogether ? A. They come more ex- 

 pensive ; we have to get them wholly from the States, and they are too 

 expensive for boat-fishing ; and then this is lighter bait, it floats on the 

 surface. It is fatter, and it keeps the fish from going down. 



Q. You have seen, I suppose, the United States fishing schooners fish- 

 ing off your part of the coast? A O, yes. 



Q. At what distance from the shore do they fish ? A. Of course this 

 varies at different seasons ; but as a general thing the mackerel that are 

 caught inshore are smaller than those which are taken outside. Xow, 

 this season, I have known vessels come in, but not a great many, and 

 fish near the shore, within two or three miles off, fish awhile, and get a 

 few mackerel, and on finding what their quality was, go off somewhere 

 else; sometimes, however, they get better mackerel inside. 



Q. Do the United States schooners usually fish as near the shore as 

 the boats ? A. Xo ; this is not the case at the point where I am located 

 decidedly not. 



Q. How is it that the boats can fish successfully where the vessels 

 cannot do so? A. Well, a boat will go out and anchor down ; throw 

 over bait and take it very leisurely, sticking perhaps in the same spot 

 all day, or for a good many hours, and pick up a few mackerel, while a 

 vessel will come along, and finding the same kind of fishing, will not 

 think it worth while to stay there, but go off; then, again, I have in- 

 formation as to a great many instances of vessels coming and finding 

 boats picking up mackerel pretty freely, and throwing bait, and stay- 

 ing for half an hour or an hour and not catching any mackerel, go off; 

 that has been my experience for a good many years. I have been out 

 with the boats for half a day's fishing and seen it. 



Q. Do the vessels ever fish from the bottom as the boats do ? A. !Not 

 often, but they will do so sometimes. When they cannot find fish any- 

 where else, they may come among the boats, put their anchors down, 

 and spring up, as they call it, and catch a few mackerel ; but they do 

 not make a practice of it, as a general thing. They may do this some- 

 times. 



Q. Taking the past few years, say the past four or five years, to what 

 extent have United States vessels fished under your observation within 

 3 miles of the shore ? A. Well, during the past four or five years, and 

 during the past three years particularly, the fleet of American vessels 

 around the island has been quite small ; this has been more particularly 

 the case since the great storm. They have rather avoided fishing near, 

 that part of the island since then. 



Q. What do you mean by the great storm ? A. I refer to the storm 



