lyrERIlI REPORT 35 



favour four tliinsis: 1. Restrict the s:nvuiills and make them burn their sawdust. 2. 

 Protect spawn shad. 3. Limit the mesh and insist upon a big mesh. Shad ean"t jret 

 into a g:asi)ereau net. 4. Make them lift their nets as drift nets are lifted each week, 

 Friday to Mondiay. 



Ralph Redden said he agreed with the evidence given by his father. 



Frank Bukgess, Windsor, said he was a Dominion government officer and head 

 iif the Windsor hatchery. Spawn shad ascend the Avon, but owing to sawdust they 

 r-ie few. Formerly it was a good shad river. A few are dipped out on St. Croix 

 river at Smiley's farm below Spencer's bridge. In Annapolis river 200 or 300 spawn 

 shad are got by spring nets (set nets), which have been stopped by Mr. Dodge, game 

 warden. Farmers catch the spawn shad and ship them to Halifax — 30 tons perhaps in 

 tlio season. From Paradise up spawn shad are destroyed in gi-eat quantities. These 

 parent fish are 5 or 6 pounds weight. The Annapolis was white with small frjy 

 between June 1 and 10, 1905 ; they wei'e fry J-inch long. Of 100 shad in one case 

 taken when descending, 99 were males. There are two runs up the I^ictaux river, 

 namely, spring and summer runs, both going into fresh water. The iliddleton Board of 

 Trade got a prohibition of shad netting in Annapolis river. Small salmon are taken 

 by shad nets; two shad may be taken to three to sis salmon. I know of one 15 or IG 

 pound salmon taken entangled in a net, hence the large fish do occur. At Maitlanrl 

 they use a bigger meshed net and take 15 and 25 pound fish. The salmon takou by 

 our men are only half grown. At Hall's harbour salmon 25 to 40 pounds weiglit are 

 caught — over GOO tons last year, and I am informed 300 tons this year. 



Seventh Sitting. 



Texecape, X.S., August 7, 1908. 

 The evidence was opened at the Teneeape sitting by : 



Damd Lingard, who stated that he was 24, when he began and had fished from 

 that place all his life excepting one summer when he was sick. He had been 48 years 

 engaged in shad fishing. He used a skiS boat and drift net 300 fathoms (20) bunches 

 the mesh being 4J inches, but now the mesh is larger, viz., 5 inches. We use more net 

 when the weather is calm. The shad one summer long ago came on June 10, but have 

 been getting later and now it is June 25 to July 1 before we see them. As to size they 

 run 135 or 140 to the barrel (200 pounds) salted. The small pass through the mesh; 

 but in the weir we get them down to 2 inches with the others. Off Economy shore, 

 Colchester county, cart loads of small tak§n at high tides in the weirs, all dead. 

 There was no time to use them in any way, but just sweep them out with a two-inch 

 meshed net on a stick. I never saw any used as compost but heard of them. Here we 

 had seven weeks steady fishing as they occurred all through summer about two months 

 leaving about the middle of August. Shad came in to feed on shrimp, brown in 

 colour. We got them on the nets and pulled lots into the boat. We rarely saw any 

 spawn shad — an odd one in spring in ilay in the weirs . I once got a spawn shad with 

 roe as big as my wrist; and I could count h'~ ribs. He was very red inside. Those 

 with milt (males) were not so poor. The spawn fish should be allowed to go right up 

 the bay into the rivers into the Kennetcook and the Avon at Windsor where I know 

 they spawn. One spawning place is at Kennetcook corner seven or eight miles below 

 the station. Four years ago I got shad which I knew were spawn fish in my net. 



