lii SHAD FISHERY COMMISSION 



fully dwelt upon iu the body of this report, while the desirability of giving greater 

 publicity to the regulations, by means of linen posters prominently displayed in the 

 fishing localities requires no argument. It is desirable, as suggested in recommenda- 

 tion No. XV, that the meaning of " foul " and " unclean " in the Fisheries Act and 

 regulations under it should be clearly defined, and also that "shad" should be more 

 prominently mentioned in the Act, inasmuch as salmon trout, cod, lake whitefish and 

 other species receive prominent mention in some clauses in the Act. 



Again, recommendation No. XVII, referring to dams and obstacles to the ascent 

 of fish, sawdust pollution, &c., this is a recommendation of supreme importance and 

 requires urgent attention. The harm arising from sawdust, we have dealt with in the 

 body of the report. Flagrant cases of the obstruction of shad and salmon rivers by 

 dams came prominently to our notice in the course of our investigations, and some 

 notable examples call for mention, especially such a huge obstruction, 50 feet high, 

 as that on Salmon river, nine miles above Truro and adjacent to Union station. This 

 productive salmon river has been, in recent years, most seriously damaged on account 

 of this obstruction, and as the evidence showed, the main cause of the decline of the 

 fishery was attributed by witnesses to this cause. Other examples could be named of 

 obstructions on important rivers. 



Finally we would call attention to tlie verbal and other changes in the existing 

 regulations, which we refer to in detail in the last portion of the interim report under 

 Nos. XV, XVm and XIX. Such changes are rendered' necessary by the recommenda- 

 tions hereby made. 



Conclusion. 



In conclusion, we have only to add that, in one form or another, the restoration 

 of the great shad fisheries of the Bay of Fundy, so important in former years to the 

 ■whole resident population, has been before the Department of Marine and 

 Fisheries for over a quarter of a century, indeed almost from the earliest 

 official reports, published by the Department of Marine and Fisheries, atten- 

 tion has been called to the lack of effective regulations respecting this important 

 fishery, and in recent years the marked decline of this industry has brought about a 

 crisis, which can only be met by such measures as those we have recommended in the 

 foregoing report and in the interim report appended hereto. 



Our recommendations, we believe, will be effective with the least amount of 

 friction to the various interests concerned and with the least loss to those actually 

 engaged in the fishery. The consensus of opinion brought out by the evidence, has 

 demonstrated that the time has arrived when some remedial legislation must be 

 authorized and enforced to prevent the total depletion of this fishery, which was once 

 so prosperous and remunerative. Wherever local interests may appear to be affected 

 by our suggested regulations, we have made recommendations to, first of all, restore 

 the fish to plentitude, and secondly, to avoid unfair or unnecessary discrimination 

 against any locality or any resident parties interested in the industry. 



We have attempted to make as full and thorough a survey of the shad tisheries 

 of the Bay of Fundy as was possible and as a"ppeared necessary, and we have also paid 



