74 SHAH F/sHI'h'Y VU.U MISSION 



contain a large quantity of roe. Wlien I used to see bay sliad long ago we never saw 

 roe in them, the bay shad being caught later, viz., in July. These large spawn shad 

 did not differ so far as I could see from the bay shad excepting in size. I have heard 

 of the suecess^ of the shad hatching on the Pacific but as this is the natural home of 

 the shad I think any such steps should have even greater results here, I don't think 

 that the commission has started any too soon. I should think that close seasons and 

 propagation should be effective here in restoring the shad. Of course there is more or 

 less sawdust in every river, and at Folly lake or in the river there is some of it on tin 

 bottom to-day. 



Job Nelson said: I have fished shad formerly from Black Rock to Burn Coat 

 Head. There were plenty of shad. With ten bunches of twine we got 400 to 500 on 

 a tide. I often drifted up into the mouth of the Shubenacadie river but got few, not 

 more than six or eight. When fishing for gaspereau I got at times a ' spent ' shad 

 learlier, of course, than the shad were got in the bay. These spawn fish are not fit to 

 eat, and fishermen would not use them. No spawn shad were caught going up the 

 tay in May as they appear to swim deeper by instinct. They entangle at times and 

 are easily taken as they have not much life in tliem. No one made a business of 

 taking those fish. Gaspereau were very plentiful too, but the spirit of greed was not 

 as strong ns now. Formerly plenty were iu Green's ei'^ek and Short's lake, in the 

 lake, but obstructions, especially a dam at the head of Green's creek, have done harm. 

 As to small shad I have seen them 2 inches long in the channels of the beach in Juno 

 or Jxdy, ; nd in thj weirs I have seen shad 6 inches long. I think I have seen the 

 smaller ones also in the weirs. The large spawn shad are the mothers and are the 

 same species as the bay shad which are the half-grown fish, 1 pound up to 5 pounds 

 are the bay shad and they are taken in 4 or 5-ineh mesh drift nets in the bay. The 

 annual earnings of a shad fisherman would he $400. But now a catch of eight or ten 

 shad on a tide won't pay. It certainly would not be a hardship to the fishermen to 

 close them down. I know that 1,500 spawn shad have been sent to one dealer and put 

 on the Halifax market at the present time. In Truro last spring 8,000 to 10,000 shad 

 were handled. All these are from Shubenacadie and Stewiacke rivers and they 

 were examined and seen to be full of spawn. Bay shad very seldom have any spawn 

 in them. Formerly five or six salmon and 500 to 600 shad would be a catch, but 

 salmon have increased owing to hatcheries and no less than 2,000 pounds have been 

 taken in four weeks fishing. Bass fishing should be allowed in spring as they are 

 destructive. Sawdust is harmful, covering the food as well as the spawn. 



E. 0. Crib said that quite a few fish go up Salmon river and North river. Last 

 year I counted twenty-seven salmon at one time under the bridge ascending. As 

 soon as the ice breaks up at the latter p;irt of ^farch or in April salmon are taken, 

 anglers catch a quantity with red rag for bait. They are inferior compared with the 

 salmon fresh in from the sea, but they are sold and eaten. They are soft, slimy, spent 

 fish, very long and slinky. People call them grayling, and quite a number are caught 

 every spring. If on their way back to the sea to recover in the sea they should not be 

 caught. I wrote to Inspector Hockin and he said specimens had gone to Ottawa to be 

 determined. They recover ven- soon after going down. In Behr.ont, Dcbert and Sal- 

 mon rivers a quantity are taken every spring. The dam at Union obstructs lots of 

 salmon and they are then taken illegally by the barrel all through the winter by local 

 people. I have visited the dam; it is very high, and there is no fishway- People above 

 at Kempton complain that no salmon get up since the dam has stopped them. It is 

 40 or 50 feet high, and is never used excepting for a few days' raiting. It has ob- 

 structed the river for at least ten years. The dam once broke and people all along the 

 river dread that it may occur again and do great damage. Complaints have been 

 common about sawdust, and more has gone in this year, more on Salmon river beach 

 this year than ever before. It is much the same on North river as the small Lvons 



