AWARD OF THE FISHERY COMMIWJIO.t. 3221 



St. Laurence no Codfish are Caught inside the Water* of the Atlantic 

 Sea Coast of the Dominion of Canada except in the Gulf of St U.i 

 the falling off in the Catch of Codfish ban been about in the following 

 proportion, that while it now takes a Vessel O f Sixty Ton* to catch 

 thousand Quintle of Codfish about ten Week* it would take the iMM 

 Vessel about Eight Weeks to Obtain the same quantity of (Uh ten >nr* 

 ago, about twenty Years ago it would take six Week*, and about thirty 

 years ago about five Weeks to Obtain the same quantity of fUli in the 

 same sized vessel 



The Catch of Mackerel in the Gulf of St Laurence IMS gone down 

 about two thirds at any rate from what it wan In-fore that lime four 

 years ago five years ago a vessel during the season would take in a fare 

 and a half or Cargo and half, ten years ago a venae I would take in 

 about two Cargoes or fares about twenty Years ago about thrw? Car- 

 goes or fares 



I have been employed as a fisherman on board of American tithing 

 Vessels ever since I was Eighteen Years old with the Exception of three 

 Seasons when I did not go fishing, and another Season that I waa on 

 board a Colonial fishing Vessel I have never known American flitting 

 Vessels, curing fish or drying their Nets on shore. Except thoftc ve* 

 sels taking Herrings at the Magdalens Islands where they dry thrtr 

 Seines on Shore The Americans do not use the inshore tlMuVhe* at all 

 for the Catching of Codfish There is more mackerel caught outide 

 the three Mile limit than inside, as near as I can judge about two third* 

 of all Mackerel caught by Americans are caught from three to six Mile* 

 from Shore 



Mackerel fishing now begins oft' the Coast of New Jersey, fifthing 

 Vessels follow the fish in their run Eastward to the State of Maine, aud 

 thence to the Coasts of the British Provinces about from two third* to 

 three quarters of the mackerel remain during their run North KwtwarU 

 from New Jersey to the Gulf of St. Lawrence over three Milt* tnm 

 Shore, opposite the Southern Coast of Nova Scotia only a very MM! 

 portion of the Mackerel during their course Eastward come nearer 

 the shore than six Miles for the purpose of playing during tine Weath 



During the Seasons when Mackerel and Codfish were plenty 

 were in the Course of the Season in the Gulf of St Lawrence about 

 hundred American Mackerel fishing Vessels and about two h 

 and fifty to three hundred American Codfishing Vessels 

 present measurement the tonnage of American fishing N w 

 to were from thirty to ninety Tons the average would 

 five to fifty Eight Tons for an averaged sired N easel for 

 the number of the Crew would be about ten. and the nun. 

 for a Mackerel Catcher would be sixteen and the ' 

 average size after Herrings would be about six baud* 



For about ten Years I shipped on board American I 

 the United States generally during the mouth of April an., 

 in them until the close of the season about the 1 

 the other Seasons I shipped in the American \ eat 

 Canso. during these Seasons these Vessels were ^upp 

 eral Ports of the British Provinces from VannooU 



