AWARD OP THE FISHERY COMMISSION. 3245 



catcb of fish is good they are in the habit of buying at a great num- 

 ber of Ports supplies of every description of the merchant and the 

 farmer and I don't know in what respect their presence would be dis- 

 advantageous to the people of the Provinces and I make this solemn 

 declaration conscientiously believing the same to be true and by virtue 

 of the Act passed in the 37th year of Her Majesty's reign entituled 

 " An Act for the suppression of voluntary and extra judicial oaths. 

 Dated at Bear Island July 23d 1877. 



HUGH McPHERSON 

 In presence of 



OSCAR MALMROS 

 U. 8. Consul 



PROVINCE OF NOVA SCOTIA 



COUNTY OF RICHMOND- 



I hereby certify that the above named Hugh McPherson voluntarily 

 made and subscribed before me at Bear Island settlement in said County 

 f Richmond the foregoing Solemn declaration 

 Given under my hand and Notarial Seal this 23rd day of July 1877 



JAMES G. McKEEN 



(Seal.) Notary Public. 



No. 172. 



I Chandler Embree do solemnly declare that I have been born and 

 always living at Bear Island Settlement about 2 miles below Hawkes- 

 bury on the Strait of Causo that I am 30 years of age that ever since 

 I was 14 years old I have been employed in fishing in boats and vessels 

 (jhat during 4 summers I was employed on American fishing vessels in 

 the Gulf of St Lawrence the mass of American Mackerel fishers ar- 

 rive in the Gulf about the 4th of July a few American vessels may be 

 there before that time I do not believe that the catch of Colonial fish- 

 ermen is lessened on account of an American mackerel fleet fishing along- 

 side of them the average crew of an American fishing vessel consists of 

 about 13 to 14 men I think that fully one half of the crew of the Amer- 

 ican fishing fleet is composed of natives of the several British North 

 American Provinces who continue to reside in these Provinces I think 

 that about fth of the entire catch of mackerel by the American fleet is 

 usually caught outside a line 3 miles from shore and about ^th in shore 

 the Americans do not one in a hundred make use of the privilege to 

 dry nets and none to cure fish on the Colonial coasts as far as I know 

 the outfitting of an American fishing vessel is much more expensive 

 than that of Colonial vessels of the same tonnage but I cannot say how 

 much higher it comes The Americans do not fish for Codfish inside 

 the 3 mile limit from shore I know although I have not seen them that 

 a few American vessels are engaged in halibut fishing of the coast of 

 Anticosti but I can not say how many codfish, mackerel, herring and 

 halibut are all the fish that Americans catch ofl' the coasts of British. 

 North America the average of herring caught annually by an averaged 

 sized American herring fishing vessel is about I should think 1200 baT- 

 (1200 barrels) I don't think that there have been over 7 seine fishing 

 mackerel vessels on an average during the last 5 years in the Gulf of 

 St Lawrence they have to go into deep water to get their seines to 

 work seine fishing is injurious to fishing as it breaks up the schools of 

 mackerel the American seiners do not seem to have been successful 

 in the Gulf of St Lawrence the presence of American fishermen OH 

 the coasts and in the ports of the several Atlantic British Provinces 

 has pecuniarily greatly benefited the people of the Colonies and as far 



