AWARD OF THE FISHERY COMMISSION. 3233 



UNITED STATES CONSULATE AT PICTOU, NOVA SCOTIA, 



PORT MULGRAVE July 21. 1877 



This is to certify that at said Port Mulgrave on this 21st day of July 

 the above named Samuel H. Peeples voluntarily made before me and 

 personally subscribed the foregoing "Solemn Declaration. 

 Attested : 



OSCAR MALMROS 



U. S. Consul 

 No. 158. 



I, James McNair do solemnly declare that I live at Port Mulgrave on 

 the Strait of Canso that I am 48 years old that ever since 1849 I have 

 been fishing every season except the two last seasons, mostly on Ameri- 

 can vessels but sometimes also on vessels belonging to the Strait of 

 Canso the Americans do not make use of the coasts of the Dominion 

 of Canada to dry nets or cure fish except that the American herring 

 fishers sometimes dry their seines on the Magdalen Islands the cod- 

 fishing is carried on by Americans altogether off shore the proportion 

 of mackerel caught inshore by the Americans averages I think about 

 of their entire catch^-I do not think that the Provincial fishermen catch 

 a smaller quantity of mackerel on account of fishing alongside of an 

 American fleet I think that mackerel fishing by seines-ought to be pro- 

 hibited as it breaks up the schools of mackerel and injures the fishing 

 only a few American vessels however fish with seines indeed I do not 

 think that fishing with seines is profitable as those at least that the 

 Americans use can not be employed in shore to advantage the Ameri- 

 cans often land their seines because they find the fishing by hook more 

 profitable I think that at least one half of the crew of Am. fishing 

 vessels are natives of and reside in the several Provinces of the Dominion 

 of Canada the mackerel fishery has very much fallen off during the last 

 5 years or so the reason why the mackerel catch has been poor 2 sea- 

 sons ago is that during that season the mackerel were very much chased 

 by the horse mackerel a fish from 5 to 8 feet long preying upon the mack- 

 erel ; the mackerels shift and take new routes during some seasons ; 

 they do not regularly return to the breeding grounds like the salmon 

 they, the mackerel were very plentiful, they say last season on the coasts 

 of Newfoundland while they were scarce in the Gulf of St Lawrence 

 the only fish caught by Americans off the Atlantic coasts of the Domin- 

 ion either in-shore or off shore are mackerel, codfish and herring, to a 

 small extent however the Americans prosecute also the halibut fishing 

 they do not employ more than from 6 to 8 vessels in halibut fishing and 

 these generally fish off the Coasts of Anticosti And I do make, this 

 solemn declaration conscientiously believing the same to be true and by 

 virtue of the Act passed during the 37th year of Her Majestys reign en- 

 titled u An Act for the suppression of voluntary and extra-judicial oaths. 



Dated Port Mulgrave July 21.st 1877. 



JAMES McNAIR 



UNITED STATES CONSULATE AT PICTOU N. S. 



PORT MULGRAVE July 21st 1877. 



I hereby certify that the above named James McNair on this 21st day 

 of July 1877, at Port Mulgrave, personally made before me and sub- 

 scribed in my presence voluntarily the above " Solemn Declaration. 

 Attested : 



OSCAR MALMROS 



U. S. Consul 

 203 F 



