3230 AWARD OF THE FISHERY COMMISSION. 



No. 155. 



I, E. Aug. Crittenden at Pirate Cove, Strait of Canso do solemnly 

 declare that : I have followed the business of fishing for 44 seasons, I am 

 a British subject & have always resided in Nova Scotia that during 

 the whole period of 44 years I have every summer been employed in 

 American fishing vessels that during the last six years the mackerel 

 fisheries in the Gulf of St Lawrence have much fallen off; it has dur- 

 ing those six years certainly been not more than one half () of what it 

 was before ; the cause of this falling off is I think entirely unknown 

 the annual number of American fishing vessels of every description in 

 the Gulf of St Lawrence during the last 5 years has averaged I think 

 50 sails fifty sails while ten years ago or longer they numbered from 40O 

 to 500 sails the average tonnage of an American fishing vessel i& 

 about sixty (60) tons, a vessel of this size is manned by a crew of 13 to 

 14 men ; fully one half of the crew of the American fishing vessels are 

 subjects of and residents of the Dominion of Canada; the American 

 make hardly any use of the privilege of drying nets and curing fish on 

 the Coasts of the Dominion I do not believe from my experience that 

 the catch of Provincial fishermen is smaller when fishing alongside of 

 an American fishing fleet on the contrary I think that more fish are 

 brought to the surface and caught when a number of vessels are fish- 

 ing together during the last two or three years the American herring 

 fishing fleet in the waters on the coasts of the Dominion have num- 

 bered about 20 to 25 a year, in former years it numbered about 40 or 

 50 sails during the last 3 years the herring fishing Am. vessels have 

 averaged per vessel about 400 to 500 barrels per vessel, in former years 

 that is 8 or 10 years ago they averaged about one thousand barrels the 

 codfish caught by the Americans is all caught outside of a line three 

 (3) miles from shore the halibut or other fish caught by Americans off 

 the coasts of the Dominion of Canada is totally insignificant and not 

 worth mentioning the American fishermen expend a great deal of 

 money in the Provinces for beef, mutton, potatoes & other vegetables 

 and supplies of every description as they are in the habit of visiting: 

 many ports of the Dominion in succession from the time they leave the 

 American coast until they arrive on the fishing grounds and during the 

 whole season while they are in the Gulf of St Lawrence and they are 

 buying more or less at every port they call at I think the average ex- 

 penditure of a seventy ton American fishing vessel in the several ports 

 of the maritime Province may be safely estimated at $200 per season, 

 unless they land their fare for re-shipment to the States in which case 

 the expenses for a re-outfit would be of course much larger a fishing 

 vessel of a size which costs here about 500 would cost about $1500 to 

 $1600 in the States and the outfit in the States is at least i higher than, 

 the cost of outfitting a fishing vessel of the same tonnage in Nova 

 Scotia I think that the presence of American fishermen on the coasts 

 of the maritime Provinces is a great pecuniary benefit to them i. e. the 

 Provinces and not in any respect injurious to the interests of the Peo- 

 ple of the Provinces ; and I make this solemn declaration conscien- 

 tiously believing the same to be true and by virtue of an Act passed 

 during the 37th year of herMajestys reign eutituled "An Act for the 

 suppression of voluntarv and extra] udicial oaths. 



Dated Pirate Cove July 19th 1877. 



his 



E. AUG. + CEITTENDEN 



mark 

 In presence of: 



OSCAK MALMROS 





