AWARD OF THE FISHERY COMMISSION. 3327 



6 to 20 miles, and when we find them there we get large decks of them. 

 The mackerel on the American coast are from the rocks to thirty miles 

 off. 



I consider the American fishermen are not at all compensated by free 

 fishing within three miles of the British coasts in lieu of the imposed 

 duty of $2 per barrel on British mackerel. 



WILLIAM ELWELL. 

 GLOUCESTER, MASS., 

 ESSEX, s. s., Sept. 17, 1877. 



Personally appeared the above named Wm. Elwell, who subscribed to 

 and made oath that the foregoing statement was true before me. 

 (L. S.) ADDISON CARTER, 



Justice of the Peace, and Special Deputy Collector 

 of Customs, for District of Gloucester. 



No. 261. 



I, Peter Sinclair, master and owner of the American schooner C. B. 

 Manning, was born in the Orkney Islands, am 58 years of age, and have 

 been engaged in the fisheries nearly 50 years. I am now seining off the 

 American shore for mackerel. 



I have been seven seasons mackereling in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. 

 I have not been there since 1873. The highest stock I ever made in the 

 Gulf of .St. Lawrence mackereling was $7,000.00 (1859.) My poorest 

 year I stocked $150.00 (one hundred and fifty dollars), gone six weeks ; 

 this was in 1860. Any American vessel, over 50 tons, with 12 or 14 men, 

 must stock at least $5,000 for a full season's work in the Gulf of St. Law- 

 rence mackereling, to pay her bills. Of all the mackerel I have taken in 

 the Gulf of St. Lawrence, not more than one-third were taken within 

 three miles of the shore, including the Magdalen Islands ; and the larger 

 the fleet of vessels in the Bay, throwing bait, the longer the mackerel 

 will stop in one place. The action of the mackerel is largely influenced 

 by the movements of the fleet. Four years ago, when I was in the Bay, 

 the mackerel fishery there was a partial failure, and since then the 

 American shore mackereliug has been much more successful and profit- 

 able. 



For the last six years the American shore mackerel have been of much 

 finer quality, and brought better prices than Bay mackerel of the same 

 brand. 



The mackerel feed on shrimp and a red seed that floats on the water; 

 wherever we find them we usually find mackerel. This food is generally 

 more plenty on the American coast than in the Gulf, and I have found 

 mackerel with young mackerel inside of them, having eaten them for 

 food. 



I never knew that throwing over mackerel cleanings would hurt the 

 live mackerel ; on the contrary, I have always noticed the mackerel to fol- 

 low the vessel while we were dressing, and eat all we threw overboard. 1 

 never knew of any American vessels interfering with the shore boats in 

 any way, except in cases where the boats got blowed oft', to pick them up 

 and tow them in, and in some cases to take men from the bottom of the 

 boats that had been upset, and save their lives ; and I have often given 

 the boat fishermen bait and also lines and hooks. I do not consider the 

 privilege to fish inshore of any real value whatever, and the duties re- 

 mitted on Canadian fish and mackerel is vastly in excess of compensa- 

 tion for what is of little value to our fishermen. The only advantage 

 gained by the inshore concession is security from annoyance, heretofore 



