AWARD OF THE FISHERY COMMISSION. 3029 



off the coasts which are to be thrown open to competition by the Treaty 

 of Washington ? Cannot state but Gloucester should be able to give 

 this information. 



9. Do Canadian fishermen procure bait or supplies in the waters of 

 your State! and if so, to what extent and value? Bait is purchased 

 & sent to their ports. 



10. What is the probable annual value to Canadian fishermen in being 

 able to procure bait, to laud and dry their nets, and to repack and cure 

 their fish on the coasts of your State, without any other restriction than 

 that contained in the Treaty of Washington ? The Menhaden Bait which 

 are used principally for mackerel fisherman are taken wholly iu Mass. 

 & Maine and are valuable, to what extent I cannot say. 



11. Will the admission of Canadian fishermen to our in-shore fish- 

 eries cause any detriment or hiuderance to the profitable pursuit of these 

 fisheries by our own fishermen; and if so, in what manner, and to what 

 extent annually ? They will necessarily diminish the catch of our fish- 

 erman as a large fleet is more destructive to schools of mackerel than 

 smaller ones and any increase has that effect. 



12. What number of Canadian vessels and boats are engaged iu the 

 fisheries of your State, and what are their tonnage and value, and the 

 number of men employed upon them? I cannot say. 



13. Of the fisheries pursued by American fishermen off' the Atlantic 

 coasts of the British Xorth American Provinces, what proportion con- 

 sists of the deep-sea fisheries, and what proportion of the iu-shore h'sh- 

 ries ? Mackerel fisherman are the only in shore fisherman and the num- 

 ber Gloucester could determine as I am not engaged in it. 



14. For what description of fish do American fishermen pursue the 

 in-shore fisheries ? Mackerel only. 



15. If you state that the iu shore fisheries are pursued wholly or chiefly 

 for mackerel, please state what proportion of mackerel is taken within 

 the in-shore limits, and what proportion is taken outside of the in-shore 

 limits ? I cannot state from my own knowledge but only from the 

 statements made by the fishermen themselves some state it at about ! 

 while others place the quantity much less and regard the inshore limit 



as of little or no value. 



16. Is not much the larger quantity of mackerel caught by American 

 fishermen off the coasts of British America taken outside the in-shore 

 limits ; and iu the summer season especially, are not mackerel generally 

 found on the banks, in the Gulf of Saint Lawreuce, and not within shore! 

 They are 



17. Are colonial fishermen injured by permitting American fishermen 

 to fish iu colonial in-shore waters ? I should consider not 



18. Are not more fish caught by Colonial fishermen, when fishing in- 

 shore, alongside a fleet of American fishing-vessels, from which hirge 

 quantities of bait are thrown out than wheu fishing alone ? I think it is 

 unquestionably so 



19. What is the best bait for the mackerel, and where is it principally 

 taken ? How much of it is taken within three miles of the shore, and 

 what is the annual value to the United States, or to the British Prov- 

 inces, *as the case may be, to take such bait within three miles ot 

 shore ? Menhaden are the princepal bait, and are caught usually in 

 Bays & harbors. Vessels use from 20 to 60 Bs in season, and value i 

 from 5 to $8 per Bl 



20. Please state as to each class of fisheries carried on from you 

 State or district, the cost of fitting out, equipping, furnishing, and man- 

 ning a vessel for carrying it on, estimating it by the average length c 



