3418 AWARD OF THE FISHERY COMMISSION. 



in small boats, ami is essentially an inshore fishery. I was in a good 

 many of these boats, and I went with the fishermen, especially in the 

 great Bay of Notre Dame, where the mackerel frequently appear in con- 

 siderable abundance, and where many years ago they made their ap- 

 pearance in such numbers that it is still a common saying among fisher- 

 men there that they were then "cursed off the coast" because they filled 

 the herring nets and were a great nuisance to them, as they could find ' 

 no market for these fish, and so they used them for manure. 



By Sir Alexander Gait: . 



Q. At what distance from the shore do the French prosecute the cod 

 fishery ? A. They fish inshore, sometimes to five miles out, but gener- 

 ally close inshore. The water is deep there quite close inshore. They 

 are fishing all along the shore. 



Q. Are the seines which you have described dragged from the shore! 

 A. Not necessarily ; very frequently they inclose the fish and bale 

 them out. 



Q. They do not draw them to the shore ? A. No ; in many instances 

 they cannot draw these seines to land ; the water is so deep and the 

 coast so sheer. 



Q. I want to understand how these seines are managed ? A. I only 

 saw one handled once, and I would not like, under the circumstances, 

 to give a general description of the way in which they are used ; but 

 they are managed in the ordinary way in which seines are managed at 

 sea. They drag the seine together where the bottom of the seine 

 will reach the bottom of the sea, for otherwise, of course, the fish in- 

 closed would escape. 



Q. How do they get the fish to the surface ? A. In a large seine, 

 there is always what is called the bag, and they get the fish into this 

 bag. These seines are not drawn together with strings like purse nets, 

 but knowing little or nothing about them, I will not venture to offer a 

 description of them. 



FRIDAY, October 26, 1877. 



The Conference met. 



The examination of Prof. HENRY YOULE HIXD was resumed. 



By Mr. Whiteway : 



Question. Have you a general knowledge as regards the French fish- 

 ery as carried on, on the coast of Newfoundland and on the Grand 

 Bank " Answer. I have no personal knowledge in this respect except 

 as to what I have seen between Cape St. John and Quirpon. I was only 

 in one of the harbors there twice, but in the course of conversation with 

 different fishermen, I accumulated as much information as I could ; and 

 I have informed myself as far as possible concerning the history of the 

 French fisheries, particularly as derived from French works on the sub- 

 ject and also from official statements relating to the last 40 years, con- 

 tained in the records of the various Parliamentary works to be had in 

 Newfoundland. 



Q. From your information and general knowledge as regards the 

 French Bank fishery and the French coast fishery, what in your opinion 

 would be the effect, if the French were prevented from getting bait in 

 any way from the coast of Newfoundland ! A. With reference to the 

 French Bank fishery of course any information which I can give on the 

 subject is necessarily that which I have derived from official documents, 

 because I have no personal knowledge in relation to the French Bank 

 fishery ; but from the information which I have gathered, embraced in 

 records that go back over perhaps a period of 40 years, the uniform tes- 



