AWARD OF THE FISHERY COMMISSION. 3287 



No. 213. 



I, Charles H Nute Master of Sch Edward E. Webster of Gloucester 

 and formerly Master of Sch's Ben Perley Poore, Lightfoot, Ontario & 

 C. B. Manning all of Gloucester, was born in Gloucester, am 32 years 

 of age & have been engaged in the fisheries for 20 years & continuously 

 engaged in the Grand Bank fishery for the past twelve (12) years taking 

 Cod & Halibut for the first nine years obtained my bait upon the Banks 

 usually carrying from home a few barrels of Pogie Slivers to procure 

 the first fish & afterwards fishes peas & other refuse parts of fish, also 

 useing Bird-meat, a large quantity being obtained by catching the 

 Hagdon with a hook for the last three years I have bought my bait of 

 the inhabitants of Newfoundland paying cash for the same, the holding 

 of bait by traps and pounds by the people of N. F. enables us to obtain 

 our bait readily & is a source of income to them and convenience to us 

 the people will often chase us for miles for an opportunity to bait an 

 American fisherman, we meet their boats off St. Peters 'seeking for 

 American vessels to sell them bait, there being a very active competi- 

 tion in selling bait and supplies the Newfoundlanders carry this bait to 

 St Peters to sell to the French vessels & we could easily procure this 

 , bait there, as there are thousands of barrels annually thrown overboard 

 for want of a market & the only object in going to Newfoundland is to 

 obtain the bait in its freshest state I never have caught any bait at N. 

 F. but have purchased it when I have got any at N. F. I have never 

 known any American vessel to catch bait at Newfoundland having uni- 

 formly purchased the same. 



I paid on this last voyage, ending Aug 10. 1877, $271 to the inhabit- 

 ants of N. F. for bait 



I know that this trade is of great advantage to the inhabitants of 

 Newfoundland, as our vessels leave from one to two thousand dollars 

 some days, in some of the little Coves of the Coast the Squid are 

 entirely useless except for the purposes of bait, and the American and 

 French fleet provide the only market there is about 250 American ves- 

 sels engaged in the Bank fishery a portion say one half purchase 

 bait at Newfoundland I have never caught any Halibut or Cod within 

 one hundred & fifty miles of the British shores the american Cod & 

 Halibut fishery being entirely a deep-sea or ocean fishery and I knew of 

 no American vessels taking Cod or Halibut within three miles of the 

 shore there is no American vessel engaged in the Codfishery that car- 

 ries seines or nets to procure bait 



, CHARLES H NUTE 



COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS 



ESSEX ss. August 13th 1877 



Then personally appeared the above named Charles H. Nute and made 

 oath that all the above statements by him subscribed are true to the 

 best of his knowledge & belief before me 

 (Seal.) DAVID W. LOW 



Notary Public 

 No. 214. 



I, Joseph Oakley, Master of the Schooner Sarah P. Ayer of Glouces- 

 ter do depose and say that I was born in Nova Scotia, am 29 years of 

 age, have been continuously engaged in the fisheries the last eight 

 years of which being out of Gloucester & alwavs to the Grand Banks. 



