1912 AND FISHERIES COMMISSION. 259 



THE COMMERCIAL FISHERIES. 



Until the promulgation of the uniform Fishery Regulations, 

 under the treaty between Great Britain and the United States, for the 

 control of international water's, it would be futile for your Commis- 

 sioner to report on this section of the enquiry entrusted to him under 

 the instructions accompanying his commission, but in view of mislead- 

 ing statements Avhicli have appeared from time to time in the public 

 press as to the depletion of our Great Lake fisheries not being as serious 

 as alleged, he desires to draw to Your Honour's attention the following 

 facts in regard to the decrease in the numbers of our finest commercial 

 fish, namely, the whitefish. The documents consulted include : 



The Federal Government Royal Commission's Report on the Fish- 

 eries of Ontario of 1893-1:; The Ontario Government Royal Commis- 

 sion's Report on Game and Fish of 1892; The Reports of the Depart- 

 ment of Marine and Fisheries of the Dominion Government; The Re- 

 ports of the Department of Game and Fisheries of the Ontario Govern- 

 ment. 



In examining the tabulated returns of the fisheries of the Pro- 

 vince of Ontario it will be noted that the methods of compilation ob- 

 served have been somewhat changed from time to time. The earlier 

 reports were so arranged as to render a comparison of the weight of 

 fishes, caught in different years, more easy than the present system, 

 which, while making a comparison of the values in money simple, ren- 

 ders it impossible to get the difference in the weights of the catch of the 

 different fishes without some considerable labour.' 



Below is given a comparative table, calculated J^'pm tj^g. J34ue Book 

 of the Department of Marine and Fisheries at'OttS^va, of 1873, and 

 the report of the Department of Game and Fisheries for Ontario, of 

 1907: 



TOTAL CATCH OF WHITEFISH IN THE GREAT LAKE -SYSTEM ALONE. 



Year 1873. Year 1907. f^ecrease. Per cent of 



4.851.872 Jbs. 2,499,870 lbs. 2,352,002 lbs. 48 



The quantities of whitefish, however, in Lakes Erie and Ontario 

 especially, and also in the upper lakes, were vastly greater some years 

 previous to 1873 than in that year, according to the sworn testimony 

 of many commercial fishermen, given before the Dominion Fisheries 

 Commission of 1893, as the following quotations prove beyond shadow 

 of doubt. 



Mr. Albert Hutchins, commercial fisherman since 1850, under oath 

 stated : 



" I have fished in Lake Ontario about thirty years for whitefish 

 and trout; the great majority were whitefish, and were caught at Wel- 

 lington Beach. They were caught very numerously with seines, as 



