30 SHAD rrfiRKHY <-i)]l M I sslox 



a different saliiioii. It is nut like our Gaspereau river salmon, its game qualities are 

 diiterent. They are inferior in figlit, take the fly with less vim, and the colour of the 

 flesh is not so good as our fish. I would urge that spawn be secured from our own fish 

 fir stocking the river. 



Dr. McIvEXXA. Woi.KviLi.E, stated that be had known the (Jaspereau river for 13 

 years. It was a good angling river — indeed first class as compared with other salmon 

 rivers. The season begins Hay 10 and lasts along into June, about the last of June. 

 Fish once were numerous but have seriously declined so that there is not now the same 

 amount of sport as formerly. I have not seen any poaching, but it is said to be car- 

 ried on. Indeed I have myself heard shouting when on the river at early morning, 

 and I have bought salmon which had not been hooked but either speared or gaffed. 

 There are stone obstructions built to turn the ascending salmon from their upward 

 course. Dams too have been a great injury. The doctor here produced a document 

 ■written by a prominent gentleman who knew the river intimately. Some of the details 

 were questioned but the following summary will indicate its contents: — There are 

 eight obstructions on the Gaspereau river. 1. A stone wall opposite Andrew West- 

 cott's above the Simson bridge. It obstructs fish except at a few tides (new and full 

 moon). The square net close by set for alewives takes nearly all the salmon passing 

 up. 2. Two miles above the Westcott obstruction a stone erection is built across the 

 main current to turn the salmon up a small stream leading to Hunter's mill. Few 

 can escape. 3. Just above Gaspereau Bridge near the village, a square net is placed 

 obstructing the whole current as the river is very narrow. No fish pass this unless the 

 water is high. 4. At Jedrey's mill, a fish pass really a death trap is constructed and 

 is watched day and night so that a salmon rarely gets through it. 5. One and a half 

 miles above Jedrey's is another stone barrier and square net. 6. Another wall and 

 square net less than two miles above Tso. 5. 7. About one and a half miles above Xo. 

 6 is Xieley's (Kneeland's) dam across the river and no fishway. 8. Lane's mill dam 

 without fish ladder. The very few salmon that do pass up, alone keep up the suppl.v 

 (apart from hatchery fry) and extermination threatens. The law is right — enforce it. 

 On the Annapolis river the efforts of the fishery officer E. S. Dodge, have saved the 

 fish as obstructions have been removed when nearing extermination. Salmon are be- 

 coming more plentiful in consequence. 



Alexander Fullertox, Graxd Pre, farmer, said he first fished shad 47 years ago. 

 He used drift nets from a yacht, going out at high water at dark and fished on the 

 ebb tide, sometimes using 200 fathoms of a mesh of 4i inches, but we enlarged our 

 mesh to 4J inches to let some, small, get through. The depth was 12 feet and it had 

 floats and sinkers. There were ten or twelve boats and we always went up to put in 

 our nets and drift down. At a good tide, a high tide, we went off Blomidon. Some- 

 times we would drift back by earl.y morning, or else take out our net. No shad were 

 taken in the day time by drifting in clear water. I can't see that the seine man can 

 be right as to the damage being due to drifting. We got sizeable shad, Xo. 2's and 

 No. I's. They come in on the flood tide and feed on the bottom, on the flats. But 

 they also feed at the top as shad are gilled neai- the rope. We once tried a shoal net 

 not more than 5 feet deep, the outer end being on the sedge flats and at ebb we got it 

 full of shad. I have seined and drifted and gave np the latter. The size of fish 

 varied: but ever.v small fish would go through. I caught spawn shad more plentifull.v 

 as I went out. We seined about the middle of June and got them, x>erhaps a bushel 

 basketful, 200 shad. The eggs were well developed. Fp Stewiaeke river. I saw men 

 taking shad the last of .Tune, and all were spawn shad on their way to Grand lake. As 

 to the remedies I say ' close down ' as men are losing money and time putting up 

 seines. Or cut down the seines in length. They made big catches and I could have 

 let some out, biit left them in and pollution and waste was the result. I know from 

 experience for I seined on Long island near Boot island and gave np ten years ago. 



