1913 AND FISHERIES COMMISSION. 31 



circumstances should a deliberate infringement of the privileges granted 

 by a license be tolerated, as is all too frequently the case to-day. 



Reference was made at the commencement of this 'section to the 

 recommendation made by the Georgian Bay Fisheries Commission in 

 regard to the matter of assessing the value of licenses. It would seem 

 that such a system would undoubtedly be more equitable on the commer- 

 cial fishermen than that at present in vogue, and, inasmuch as the tax 

 would be levied on the catch, and not merely on the class or extent of 

 net used, the Government would derive a proportionate benefit from any 

 measures it enacted, or any expenditures it undertook, which resulted 

 in an increased annual production of fish. Moreover, by adjusting the 

 tax to the necessary proportions, without causing any undue hardship 

 it could plainly be made to be profitable from the point of view of 

 revenue, as the following figures indicate : 



Revenue Fbom Net Licenses. 

 1908 — $46,000 approximately (the Department was unable to furnish the exact figures). 



Revenue Based on Estimated Catch. 



1908— Fine Fish, 21,799,990 lbs. at $2 $43,600 



1908— Coarse Fish, 5,800,651 lbs. at $1 5,800 



Total Revenue $49,400 



The tax being placed at |2 per 1,000 pounds of fine fish and |1 per 1,000 

 pounds of coarser fish. 



By licensing the shippers and buyers, and requiring from them a 

 sworn declaration as to the amount of fish handled and from whom pur- 

 chased, in addition to the sworn declarations, before referred to, ob- 

 tained from the net fishermen and countersigned by the responsible fish- 

 ery overseer, it would appear probable that a considerable proportion 

 of the illicit netting, which is at present being carried on, would auto- 

 matically be put a stop to, owing to the practical obstacle presented to 

 men so engaged of disposing of their catch, a fact which would not only 

 be beneficial to the fisheries, but would also tend to increase the revenue 

 of the Government, for it must always be remembered in considering the 

 available fishery statistics of the great lakes that a very considerable 

 quantity of fish is removed yearly from the lakes by illicit means which 

 is never accounted for, and that in certain localities the licensed men 

 have been known to meet with but very poor success, owing entirely to 

 the extensive and successful operation of trap nets and other illicit con- 

 trivances in the waters in which they pursued their vocation. 



It would appear, however, that the fisheries might .justly be expected 

 to produce an even greater revenue than that obtainable by the method 

 above indicated. 



In dealing with the timber resources of the Province it has become 

 customary, when throwing open limits to the public, to invite tenders 



