INTERIlt REPORT 81 



get some shad near the bottom rope. The length of nets we now fish is 250 fathoms, 

 and we use Xo. 22 twine, linen. It costs $5.25 for a hunch of 6 pounds. The net costs 

 $120 for a gang. The boat costs $125. There were 130 to 140 boats fishing out of this 

 river in a distance of 10 miles 35 years ago. At our landing there were 37 boats. At the 

 present time there is only one boat. To each boat there are two men. Sixty years 

 ago we would take SO barrels in the season or 1,500 shad per week. We sold them 

 aboiit the country for $8 per barrel. We split them in the back and left the head on- 

 We think the fish are better cured in that way. About 35 years ago I think that the 

 best catches were made. I knew the first man who caught a shad in the Petitcodiac 

 river. His name was Dawson Steeves. He made a net 5 fathoms long and drifted 

 about thre miles on the river and got 5 shad going up, and drifting down he got 5 

 more. That was about 90 or 95 years ago. ilr. Steeves himself told me this and said 

 it was the beginning of shad fishing in this river. About 25 years ago we noticed that 

 shad were getting less, but have had some good catches since. About 11 years ago 

 we had a good catch. I think it is 40 years since I knew they were cat«hing shad in 

 the St. John river. I think that they have been destroying the shad for themselves 

 as well as for us. I believe that sawdust has hurt the feeding grounds, but we have 

 never sent any petition to the government about it. The regulation about five days 

 in a week is all right. About the 25th of June we used to go out to look for shad. 

 There was a shad caught about the middle of May this year that was full of spawn. 

 Such spawn fish were not as nice as our summer shad, but were about the same as the 

 St. John shad. I never heard that shad went up our river to spawn until this spring, 

 when I heard of some being caught near Salisbury. I think the shad caught in the 

 rivers in the fresh water is the same breed of shad as we get in our river and bay. 

 The shad we get in September I think have spawned and have fattened up on the 

 flats here. We do not put the shad ofEal or guts in the water but bring them ashore 

 for manure. We have not so many dog-fish as there used to be. About 22 boats are 

 fishing out of this river now. It has not paid us to fish this year, and we would not 

 fit up now if we had to stairt with new gear. We would like to see the shad brought 

 back if it could be done. I think that if the St. John people did not catch shad until 

 after the 25th of June we would soon have plenty of shad. I would say from the 25th 

 rf June to the 15th September was the right time to fish about here. As to salmon, 

 there were not more than 30 salmon on an average taken to a boat this year. 



Ambbose Melaxsox said: I have fished shad 64 years. I have caught 1,400 shad 

 in three-quarters of an hour at Salmon river. There were 10 boats of us and we 

 caught 14,000 fish. This was 22 years ago. Too many shad are, in my opinion, caught 

 before they spawn. I don't think any shad should he caught before tht 1st of July 

 and then to the 15th September. In one year (1873) I have caught 9,975 shad. 

 Fifty-six years ago there were only four or five boats fishing shad about St. John 

 harbour. I heard that some shad were taken in a weir at Grande Anse this spring 

 that were full of spawn. That was in May- 



SniEON* Melaxsox said : I have fished shad for some years. This year I caught 850 

 shad that averaged me 25 cents each. I also caught 103 salmon for which I got 60 

 cents each. These weighed from 3i pounds to 5 pounds. One salmon weighed 14 

 pounds. I was fishing two weeks ago and I got a few salmon which wer quite mature 

 for spawning. I would very much like to see the shad restored. 



PRE D EX HAUT SITTIXG. 



List of Fishermen. 



Dosite Gotro, Philip OfFray, Samuel Gotro, Thomas Offray, Thomas Gotro. ^Faxime 

 Ofiray, Arcade Gotro,, Raphael Comeau, Patrick LeBlanc, Joseph Gotro, John Gotro, 



