38 SBAD FISHERY COMMISSIOX 



Till- weir was one mile long, 10 feet high in the highest place and liail 1,000 to 1,600 

 stokes. It took two weeks to build but it was a slack time then. Sixteen mea had 

 shares, two men to a sharo, i.e., eight shares. We only worked in short sjiells at the 

 building. The weir took any amount of small fish, smelt and gaspercau and eels. Also 

 sr.iall shad 1 inch to 4 or inches long in July, but none before June 20; they were 

 bright silvery fish, either shad or gaspereau. Alewives also occurred with them. Wo 

 don't get these small fish in the nets. Any time spawn shad are got, they are in 

 poor condition at last of June or in July, and are a long lanky fish not filled up. 

 The spawn is two large roe's but hard. I don't know that I ever got a spawn shad in 

 the net. The net was -350 fathoms (or 25 bunches) and 4 or 5-inch mesh. I remember 

 2.') years ago getting 4,000 shad in the weir at one tide. Sawdust and killing spawn 

 shad are the causes of scarcity. I have seen 2 feet of sawdust in the weir, and the 

 water was thick when the mill was running. Shad feed in slack water in 4 or 5 feet. 

 AVc get them on the ebb tide. 



Adasi O'Brien^ Xoel. About 30 years ago I had my first experience with shad 

 nets. It was at Bass river more than this side of the bay. We got 300 to 600 or 

 700 on a tide, but on Monday fishing two tides (all day) we would get 1,000; this 

 would happen for two or three weeks in the best of the season. The length was 25 to 30 

 blanches, or J to one mile, and the depth or breadth 13 or 14 feet 1^50 meshes). Shad 

 had been more abundant before but the men used shorter lengths of net. They used 

 to think there were too many ' rover ' shad taken in the spring, and that sawdust both- 

 ered them getting in their gills, but that might be worse on small fish. Occasionally 

 a smaU shad was entangled in the net but the water was too roily to see small fish 

 if schools occurred. I have seen them in the weirs, but many would work out. I 

 agree with preceding witnesses as to the remedies. A total stoppage would be a benefit 

 to some, it would save them the expense of useless fitting up. 



Michael Dexsmore, East Xoel. He has known the shad fishery 40 years, espe- 

 cially the Xoel Point weir. It took great catches. Some were salted and others sold 

 fresh to the people of the back country. Xo. I's sold for 5 cents each and two-thirds of 

 the catch was Xo. I's. We got larger fish than in the nets iraless they were over 5- 

 ineh mesh. Twenty-six years ago was the last great catch when 1,200 to 1,500 were 

 got at a tide for two months. Occasionally I have known 2,500 at a tide; SOO to 1,000 

 would be small ; 15 years ago they fell to 30 or 40 at a tide, and some tides nothing at 

 all. The decrease has been general. We noticed small fish in the latter part of August 

 in great quantities, but we had a gate to let them out. Small shad are very blue 

 on the back. There are two kinds of gaspereau, the ' shiners ' or alewives, the name 

 for the small fish 6 or S inches long and the gaspereau 12 inches long, but thinner and 

 poor eating. Sawdust is hurtful and stops them from coming. Some people think 

 they have gone to other climes but we cannot hear of them. Some think dog-fish are 

 the cause; I saw 12 years ago 76 dogfish in a weir and the remains of two shad. Saw- 

 dust would cause strangulation but we did not see dead shad. Many say the river 

 shad is a different species, but perhaps fresh water makes them different. They are 

 nor so broad in the middle and not so thick in the back. 



Morris Dexsmore, East Xoel, weir fisherman, had fished both nets and weirs. 

 When there were no mills there were plenty of shad. Sawdust lodges on the feeding 

 grounds where the fish feed on something on the mud. Fishery officers should do 

 their duty and stop the pollution. Weirs take big shad four or five pounds weight. 



Seymovr Main, East Xoel, had worked on the weir at Xoel Point. Some young 

 fish caught and undoubtedly die. Sawdust and killing of spawn fish have done the 

 barm. 



