42 REPORT OF ONTARIO GAME No. 53 



It would seem, therefore, that through the operation of the two 

 schemes together, the establishment of Provincial Fish Agencies and the 

 prohibition of the export of certain varieties, a maximum of beneficial 

 results could be obtained at a minimum of disorganization and friction, 

 but that in any case the organization and establishment of Provincial 

 Fish Agencies could not fail to be extremely advantageous, alike to the 

 growth of the Provincial fish trade and to the citizens of the Province 

 of Ontario. 



The Imposition of an Export Duty on Fish. 



The chief advantage to be derived from the imposition of an export 

 duty on fish would appear to be the revenue that would thus be obtained. 

 It has been pointed out that at the present time the citizens of the United 

 States are profiting to a far greater extent than the Canadians, both in 

 revenue and in fish, from the Canadian fisheries of the great lakes, so 

 that, although the markets of the United States are so firmly established 

 and insistent in their demands for supply that in all probability they 

 would still require all the Canadian fish that they could secure in spite 

 of an export duty, the tax in itself would at least serve as a means of 

 securing for the Canadians a reasonable compensation for the loss of 

 the bulk of their fish. 



It is improbable that the duty would in any serious way disturb the 

 power of the fish trust, for that corporation could confidently be relied 

 on to extract the amount of the tax from the consumer in the United 

 States, who, to judge by the price of forty cents per pound, previously 

 noted as having been paid in Chicago for pickerel, apparently is pre- 

 pared to stand the cost, no matter almost what it may be, provided only 

 that he gets the fish. 



Similarly the production of the fisheries would not be seriously 

 affected, as the demand would apparently continue to be as great as 

 ever in the foreign markets, and this cause also Avould tend to prevent 

 any general improvement in the condition of the Ontario fish market. 



It is evident, however, that the above remarks are only applicable 

 to a comparatively moderate tax, for there must exist a limit in cost 

 which would break even the demands of the established American fish 

 markets, and there is obviously no limit to the amount to which the 

 export duty could be raised if desired. If such a measure, however, 

 were contemplated, it would probably be on a broad general basis com- 

 prising all classes of fish, with an additional charge for the export of 

 certain of the fine varieties of fish. In such a case the finer varieties 

 would derive an advantage if the charge were raised sufficiently to effect 

 a decrease in the demands of the American markets, and it would seem 

 reasonable also to suppose that, in this event, the decrease in the quan- 

 tities shipped to the American markets might well result in the creation 

 of new and better markets in Ontario. The duty would have to be 

 placed very high indeed, however, to achieve such desirable results. 



