112 The Frederick Gerring, Jr. 



to the seine in which a quantity of fish was enclosed. The Vigi- 

 lant passed on without disturbing her operations, as her captain 

 had decided from the bearing he then took that the Gerring was 

 beyond the three-mile limit. A couple of hours afterwards the 

 Gerring was seized by the Canadian steam cruiser Aberdeen at a 

 point within three marine miles of the Nova Scotia coast for the 

 offence of fishing within the proscribed limits. At the time of the 

 seizure the crew of the Gerring were engaged in bailing fish out 

 of the seine and claimed that these fish had been caught when 

 the seine was cast outside of the prohibited line, and that if they 

 were at the time of seizure within the three-mile limit (which 

 they denied), they had drifted across tlie line after the fish had 

 been taken in the seine, and further, that even if they were with- 

 in the three-mile zone, it was no ofifence against the treaty or the 

 statutes to continue to bail the fish from the seine into the vessel 

 after she had drifted across the prohibited boundary, for the "fish- 

 ing" and "catching of the fish" had been completed when the seine 

 was successfully thrown, outside. 



The trial judge found that the bearing taken showed that the 

 vessel was within the prohibited line when seized, and that the 

 operation of "fishing" or "taking fish" was then still being carried 

 on, the process being incomplete until the fish had been bailed into 

 the vessel and saved from the sea, thus being reduced into useful 

 possession. 



MacCoy, O. C. for the Appellant. 

 Newcomhe, Q. C, for the Respondent. 



The Chief Justice: For the reason given by Mr. Justice 

 Gwynne I am of opinion that this appeal should be allowed. 



GwYNNE, J. : This appeal must, in my opinion, be allowed 

 with costs. The evidence is conclusive, and indeed it is not disputed, 

 that the ship Frederick Gerring, Jr., on the day upon which she 

 was seized, had laid her seine for the purpose of catching fish in 

 the sea well outside of the line constituting the limit of three 

 marine miles from the coast of Nova Scotia, and that while out- 

 side of such limit she had caught a quantity of fish in the seine, 

 and had secured them there by hauling up the seine and tying the 

 ends so as to enclose the fish, pursing the net as it is called, and 



