REPORT OF THE COlIillSSlOSERS six 



At the sitting of the Commission at Folly village some interesting figures were 

 given of the catch of shad from Litte Dyke, Cobequid bay, of the Hon. C. X. Cum- 

 mings, who said: — 



That he was 75 years of age and had all his life been acquainted with the shad 

 fishery. All the local people used to go out upon the flats and spear shad there, and 

 carry the fish ashore. Then small short nets began to be used. Mr. Thos. Corbett got 

 a short net, over 60 years ago, and old Mr. James .Johnson, of Debert, got one, but 

 Mr. Halliday, of Halifax, came 1» Economy cove with six or eight boats and used 

 longer nets and got immense catches. He had buildings at Patty Hill's Cove. He 

 used 15 or 16 bunches of net to a boat. The mesh was 4r| to 5 inches, the same as was 

 used for salmon. I can give to the commission my catches of shad from 1864 to 

 1870, and we used 16 bunches of new nets — three bunches being sixty fathoms : — 



1864 6,500 



1865 9,000 



1866 11.600 



1867 4,513 



1868 9.146 



1869 5.105 



1870 5,067 



At the same sitting Mr. T. W. Morrison handed in a statement of individual 

 catches of shad and salmon made by Mr. T. F. Morrison for several years, which are 

 of special interest in this connection. Mr. Sargent Stewart also furnished the Com- 

 mission an interesting record of his own individual catches of shad and salmon for 

 the year 1908. These two statements of catches afford a striking contrast and forcibly 

 demonstrate the unquestionable decline of the shad supply. (See Appendix 3 and 4). 

 Mr. Isaac Faulkner, of Princeport, referred to the extent of the shad fishery in 1S60 

 and said that subsequently — 



' for years fishing was good, 5,000 to 7,000 to a boat. In 1879 they were more 

 plentiful than I remember. I fished for Lindsay Moore and got 14,000 in five or six 

 •weeks, Joe Taylor got 21,000 off Economy in that time. I fished 25 bunches, 4|-inch 

 mesh and later 5-ineh. Masstown fellows got two weeks' fishing before us. Fishing 

 ■was from Masstown to Parrsboro on our side, and Maitland to Windsor on the 

 opposite shore. In 1879 I got 1,200 shad in one night's fishing. In 1880 I got a total 

 of 6,000, but in 1881 not half so many. Fishing has never been good since, though 

 10 or 12 years ago it was 3,000 and it has dwindled till it is small fishing.' 



Record of some Shad Catches, 1869-1908. 



The following tables of shad catches in Xova Scotia and New Brunswick by 

 counties, each total of barrels being for every fifth year, not every year, from 1869 

 to 1908, confrm the decline of the shad: — 



3494-24 



