3236 AWARD OF THE FISHERY COMMISSION. 



The expenditure of the said American fishing fleet with me as a Mer- 

 chant during the last five years has been as follows : 



In 1872, for Supplies 100. 



" 1873 for Supplies 3314. 



Bait & Salt 180 3494. 



*< 1874 " Supplies 80. 



"1875 " Supplies 862. 



'1876 " Supplies 81. 



There are no fishing vessels employed out of this port. The fishery is 

 prosecuted to some extent at this port, but altogether by Shore boats,* 

 and fishermen make only a precarious living. 



According to my experience nearly one half of the crews of American 

 fishing Vessels frequenting this port are natives of Nova Scotia and 

 Cape Breton. 



I consider that the presence of American fishing vessels on our 

 grounds is of great pecuniary benefit to this country. 



Dated at North Sydney C. B. this 18th day of July 1877. 



W. H. MOOEE 



Sworn to before me. 



B. AECHIBALD J. P. 



No. 162. 



I Allan McDonald do solemnly declare that I was born and am living 

 about 1 mile from Cape Jack Antigonish County, Nova Scotia I am 

 41 years of age I have been mackerel fishing for about the last 25 

 years partly in American and partly in Provincial vessels I do not 

 think that Americans dry their nets or cure their fish or but seldom on 

 the coasts of the British Provinces the codfish caught by American 

 vessels is caught on the banks or other places on the high seas, at any 

 rate they catch them but seldom in-shore the only fish caught by 

 Americans off the Coasts of British America are codfish, mackerel hali- 

 but and herring during good seasons the American mackerel fleet in 

 the Gulf of St Lawrence consists of about (500) i.ve hundred sails but 

 during the last few years there were but few, the catch of mackerel hav- 

 ing much fallen off last year I don't think there were more than sixty 

 American Mackerel fishing vessels in the Gulf and I don't think that 

 they have averaged more during the last three years the American 

 herring fleet on the Atlantic coasts of the British Provinces has aver- 

 aged (luring the last 5 years from 30 to 40 sails a season I have never 

 seen more than 10 to lii sails of American halibut fishing vessel off the 

 Coasts of the British Provinces the American codfishing fleet on the 

 grand banks of Newfoundland is large, I have seen there as many as 

 four hundred vessels at a time I have been codfishiug, herring fishing 

 and mackerel fishing, we often go out early in spring codfishing or her- 

 ring fishing and afterwards mackerel fishing in the Gulf I know from 

 my own experience that all these American fishing vessels that I have 

 mentioned are in the habit of calling each at different ports in the Prov- 

 inces during each season and of leaving very considerable money in 

 each port they call at I think I have a pretty correct idea of what 

 their expenses amount to and according to my estimate the average ex- 

 penses of an American fishing vessel in the several ports of the British 

 Provinces amount during the season to about three hundred or four 

 hundred dollars I should judge that about one half of the crew of the 



