1912 AND FISIIEltlES COMMISSION. 131 



time thaft he would have to devote to it, and, secondly, that it would tend 

 to an undue destruction of small fishes, which are one of the main foods 

 of many of the best sporting fishes, for each licensee would be careful 

 always to have an abundant supply in order not to lose his proportion 

 of the trade, and the minnows cannot be retained alive in captivity for 

 very long periods. 



It would seem, therefore, that so long as the seining of minnows 

 can only be legally conducted under license special care should be taken 

 to ascertain that the licensees are supplying the needs of the public to 

 the best of their ability", and not to re-issue a license to any man who 

 through lack of energy or for other reasons within his, control fails to 

 produce a supply equal to the demand or abuses his privilege by the 

 imposition of exorbitant charges. 



Already the expenses of the angler visitors are by no means incon- 

 siderable, including as they often do not only board, but the hire of one 

 or more guides, oarsmen, canoes, boats, launches, etc., and it becomes, 

 therefore, a question whether it is really advisable to place the addi- 

 tional burden upon them of forcing them to purchase their minnows. 

 In any event there would always be those who preferred to do so rather 

 than take the trouble themselves, so that there would always be likely 

 to be some trade in this direction. It would, as a rule, seem impracti- 

 cable for the guides, the major part of whose day is spent on the waters 

 with the anglers, to undertake to provide minnows, and, consequently, 

 an independent individual would apparently be enabled to carry on the 

 business at a profit. There are, however, many anglers to whom ex- 

 pense is a great consideration, who would much prefer to take the 

 trouble of securing their own bait, seeing that by so doing they would 

 save several dollars a week, and as these constitute as high a percent- 

 age as, perhaps, a half of the total number of anglers, their interests 

 should plainly be considered. 



The main reason for the introduction of the minnow seine license 

 was to prevent, in so far as possible, the destruction of fish of immature 

 varieties, it being held that the average angler was not suflflciently ex- 

 pert to distinguish between such and the true minnows. Undoubtedly 

 this is the case, but, on the other hand, it is questionable whether the 

 average licensee under the present system is any more competent. The 

 centializing of the capture of minnows, however, renders supervision by 

 government officials comparatively easj^ or at least is calculated to do so, 

 so that the present system is plainly advantageous in that respect, but 

 it is to be noted that no real effort has ever as yet been made to deter- 

 mine what proportion of young fishes of valuable species are likely to 

 be caught among minnows where small lengths of seine net are em- 

 ployed. It cannot be denied that the present system entails hardship 

 on many anglers, and, moreover, it is to be remembered that in many 

 of the wilder districts, where it will not pay an individual to purchase 

 a minnow seine license, there ai-e none the lesis often a proportion of 



