1912 AND FISHERIES COMMISSION. 75 



beaux or other artificial lij^lits, and it would appear most desirable that 

 these restrictions should be extended to the inland waters of the Pro- 

 vince. When a hole is broken in the ice fish are readily attracted to the 

 light thus let into the water, and in consequence fishing carried on under 

 these conditions is liable to prove particularly deadly, for as the effect 

 is apparently the same on all classes of fish, it is impossible for the 

 fishermen to regulate the varieties of fish that his net or hooks will secure 

 for him, or to distinguish the species should he be using the spear. More- 

 over, when the spear is being used, a considerable number of fish will 

 inevitably escape with a more or less serious wound, and it is safe to 

 assume that there must ensue a considerable waste wherever this method 

 of fishing is adopted. As has been pointed out in a previous section of 

 this report, the more restricted the area of a body of water the more 

 easy is it to accomplish its depletion of fish, and since it is evident that 

 fish are particularly defenceless against these methods of winter fishing 

 almost as much, indeed, as against nets when they are congregating on 

 their spawning beds, it follows that it must be even more dangerous to 

 countenance them in the lesser lakes or rivers of the Province than in 

 the waters of the great lakes, especially so w^hen these lakes or rivers are 

 the habitat of any of the sporting fishes, for these will not fail to suffer 

 in like proportion to the other varieties. Evidence has been secured 

 sufficiently convincing to show that in the case of Hamilton Bay the 

 rapid disappearance of the bass was in no small measure due to winter 

 spearing, for which many licenses have been issued in the past, and this 

 in spite of the fact that the basis probably does not commence to move 

 until a few weeks prior to the breaking up of the ice. Hamilton Bay, 

 moreover, is by no means an isolated instance. There can, of course, be 

 no objection to any citizen of the Province breaking a small hole in the 

 ice and angling with hook and line in order to secure for himself and 

 family what fish may be required. In fact, such would appear to be the 

 rational means of winter fishing throughout the bulk of the Province, 

 and the only method that should, in general, be encouraged, or even 

 allowed, by the Government. It might, however, occur that in certain 

 of the remoter and unsettled portions of the Province it was essential 

 for some settler to secure a quantity of fish. In the winter the fish are 

 easily kept frozen, and by the use of a net it would be possible to lay in a 

 store sufficient for the winter months with comparatively little effort 

 and within a short space of time, thus freeing the settler from the 

 necessity of giving further thought to this source of food supply, and 

 enabling him, perhaps, to busy himself in profitable trapping and lum- 

 bering operations at some distance from his home. In such cases, no 

 doubt, the issuance of a domestic license for a limited amount of net 

 would seem desirable, but on no account should trading under the license 

 be tolerated. Again, it might possibly occur that to siome community in 

 the wilder regions of the Province fish food in the winter months was 

 a necessity of existence. In such cases it might be found advisable to 



