xl SBAD FISHERY COMMISSIO^f 



flavour and the fatty matter of the fish is lost by this method. Shad, iu our opinion, 

 should be cleaned and cured as soon as possible after being taken from the water, and 

 when this is done they retain their flavour and best qualities, and indeed are improved 

 in every way. Moreover, the shad washed in salt water, it is claimed, retain a superior 

 flavour and are better cured, than when fresh watfr is used. 



Of course, the chief demand in recent times has been for fresh shad, the supply 

 of which could not meet the demand, and if the restoration of this esteemed fish is 

 accomplished by proper methods of protection and replenishment, the development 

 of a great industry in the future is assured, as there is ample demand for all the 

 supply of shad, both fresh and salt, that can possibly be sent to the markets. The 

 recent increased demand for roe shad is a menace to the industry, and, as pointed 

 out in other parts of this report, the table qualities of roe shad are far inferior to 

 those of the fat summer, or fall shad. 



Prices of Shad. 



In early days, the catches of shad were so large that it was no uncommon thing 

 for the fishermen to dispose of quantities at a nominal price, or even give them away 

 to neighbours. In any case, the prices were so low that the very poorest could obtain 

 their winter's supply of shad without difiiculty. They were sold in a fresh condition 

 locally at from 3J to 5 cents each; whereas now they bring from 25 to 40 cents each 

 in the same localities. 



In the ofSci-al records, the Commission observes that the returns are somewhat 

 misleading. The total values recorded for the catches reported annually convey a 

 wrong impression, as the numbers of barrels recorded are barrels of pickled or salt 

 shad, whereas a considerable proportion of the catch was sent to market in a fresh 

 condition, and the reported barrels of shad in certain localities refer to fresh shad, 

 this lack of uniformity in the records conveys therefore no correct idea of the total 

 catch. Fewer fresh shad, probably not much more than half the quantity, will go 

 to make a barrel. Thirty-five or forty years ago, salt shad ran about $7 per barrel. 

 One witness, referring to this former price of shad, said — 



We used to split our shad taking the head off, in the back, leaving the backbone 

 in with the tail on. We struck them first in puncheons and repacked them in barrels. 

 They were sent to the States in schooners carrying stone. At that time they were worth 

 here from $3 to $3.50 per half-barrel. Sixty to sixty-five fish would weigh 100 poiinds 

 for the haK-barrel. 



Not only so, but the price per barrel of pickled shad has advanced from $S per 

 barrel in 1880 to upwards of $20 per barrel within the last two or three years. Indeed, 

 during the past season half-barrels of salt shad have sold as high as $12. A promin- 

 ent Moncton witness said: — 



We sold shad to St. John men by 1,000's of barrels, but we also sold to farmers 

 by the piece, and to St. .Tohn by the hogshead. Xow for a half-barrel as much as 

 $10 or $11 is the price. I gave $12 for a half barrel for my own use recently. Former- 

 ly sixty shad filled a half barrel, but now forty will do, hence the fish are larger now. 



Shad culture. 



The success of the artificial batching of salmon and white-fish had been generally 

 recognized in most countries, and Canada has almost taken the lead in developing 



