xvi SHAD FISHERY COMMISSION 



far north as the St. Lawrence, up which they ascended above Montreal, and are 

 s-tated on reliable testimony to have even been taken in the Ottawa river, ascending 

 almost to the site where the federal capital now stands. 



The Commission had the advautiige of hearing personal testimony from wit- 

 nesses far advanced in years fully confirming the statements as to the plentitude of 

 s-had in former days especially in the Bay of Fiuuiy. Mr. Jas. Fleming, Folly Vil- 

 lage, N.S., 93 years of age, said tliat he remembered the time, 6.^ years ago, when 

 siiad were 'sery thick. The witness was referring to the Colchester county shore, 

 Cobeijiiid bay. and similar evidence for the opposite. Hants, shore was given by Mr. 

 Isaac Douglas of Maitlaml, 86 years of age, who said: "In 1^37 men easily filled 

 their small boats, getting three 9r four hundred shad on a tide. Every one who had 

 a boat then fished and got all he could handle. There was no trouble to get fish." The 

 tame venerable witness added, " My grandfather said the bay was alive with fish, it 

 was swarming with shad." ^Mr. J. G. MacLellan of Noel shore, N.S., said he had 

 known the shad fishery for over 60 years and long ago these fisli were very plentiful, 

 but his grandmother before him spoke of their abundance when she first came to 

 Noel. She told of a brush weir set from one bank of a creek to the other bank and 

 it was filled to the top level of the brush wall with fish. They were large shad, 80 

 would fill a barrel. That was 125 years ago and the place was called Shad Creek 

 in consequence. Mr. E. T. Keillor at the Amherst sitting related a story that over 

 a hundred years ago there was a net put in on Amherst creek and it filled \ip with 

 such a great catch of shad that it broke; the creek was full of shad. 



The idea prevailed that the supply of this valuable fish could never be exhausted, 

 though even in the early years referred to there were fluctuations, that is. poor sea- 

 eons when fish were less plentiful, but never the scarcit.v which exists to-day. 



In the letter written to T)r. Perley by Amos Seaman of Minudie in 1850, wo 

 find he entertained this opinion, as he sa.vs "that the supply is inexhaustible, is 

 plain to every one; for notwithstanding the number of persons employed, and the 

 means for capture have greatly increased within the last few year-, there appears 

 not the least diminution in the quantity of fish — none complain." 



The early settlers along th-e Bay of Fundy, especially on the shores of Cobequid 

 bay, adopted the most primitive methods of securing supplies of shad. The fish were 

 so abundant that large captuivs were easily made, especiall.v from tidal pools on the 

 wide sandy flats, where such simple means as pitchforks, and later spears, proved 

 effective for procuring supplies for domestic use. One witness said, " Shad were 

 got on the flats in holes or pools left b.v the tide. We speared them tuid got as man.v 

 as we could carry on our backs; the flats were alive with shad." Brush weirs were 

 soon adopted in these early years, and ^Ir. Adolphus Bishop stated:— 



That he had fished shad from the age of 16 and he was now 80 years old. Sixty- 

 seven years ago, when he was twelve, he remembered the first weir made of brush, at 

 Ellison Point, near Starr's Point. The owner caught more shad than he could use, 

 as much as two yoke of oxen could draw. There were big seines, drift nets, polly- 

 wogs, &c. There were four seines at Four Island. Boot Island. &c. Big fisheries were 

 at all these places. Everybody caught hundreds and thousands of shad. 



Later, nets came into use and one of the earliest instances appears to have been 

 the adoption of the net on the Petitcodiac river. N.B.. about one hundred years ago. 

 Mr. Dennis Richard of Pre d'en Haut said: — 



