88 SUAD FIi<UEnT C0.1/J//.S.S70.V 



Twenty-seventh Sitting. 



Hampton Village, N.B., October 9, 190S. 



Professor Prince and Commissioners Morrison and ilelanson having opened the 

 proceedings, evidence was talven as follows : — 



Fred. D. Pki^ce, farmer and fisherman, Lower Norton, said: I fish through the 

 ice in winter and fish in summer and send my fish to Boston. In spring I fish shad 

 as they go up above Xorton and spawn up there. From the 24th of May to 10th of 

 June is the best fishing and about June 18 the shad fishing ends, a stray one after that 

 only. All are full of roe. The male is smaller than the female, which are not only the 

 biggest but are very fat. The first shad are very fat (about June 1) but they fall off as 

 the weather becomes warmer. The general weight is 4 j)ounds but some run as high as S 

 pounds and they are sold locally. Mr. Barnes takes them from me, and I have sold to 

 Mr. Doyle during the last two years; he is at the north end of St. John. Evei-y farmer 

 on the river has a net but I catch the most, about 1,000 shad every year. The fishery is 

 failing. I first fished shad 12 years ago. As far back as I remember my father had a net 

 and set it anywhere we liked and the river was full of fish. Four miles belov.' here the 

 water rises and falls 18 inches, but at very low tide it gets brackish at my place. Five 

 miles below it widens out. There is a big tide here in spring. The farmers just fish for 

 their own use and no big catches are made. We don't set our nets square across, don't 

 want to, hut we let the net go down as the tide ebbs and as it turns we get fish and 

 take out the nets as the tide runs up. Shad soon die. The fish stay only- a few days. 

 A few shad go up above Percy Point and then go away above Norton. I see small shad 

 in Darling's lake in October; millions are there now 2 or 3 inches long. They swim 

 on the top of the water and look exactly like little shad or gaspereau. They may be 

 schools of young that have lost their way but most have gone down. There are more 

 in spring, the water being full of them. The other day (Monday) WdS a still day and 

 we saw a school 10 feet wide so thick that we could catch them easily with our hands 

 from the gasolene launch. It was quite a surprise to me. The pike we call chain 

 pickerel were feeding on them. Other fish we take are eels (in traps), yellow and 

 white perch, pickerel and salmon. Further up the raver is narrow and salmon are 

 taken readily, whereas we can't get them. I did not get a thousand shad this year 

 and the total catch in the Kennebecasis would be 10,000 ; up above big catches 

 were made this year clear to Norton, a total of forty people probably fishing. Mr. 

 Drew fished only a short time and only got 200 shad, but down at the harbour a great 

 many more than we get are taken. Not much can be done in the wide river below, 

 possibly not more than 500 shad taken between here and St. John. The nets we use 

 are cotton gaspereau cotton net cut into two and making eight lengths 18 meshes deep. 

 The net is thus 18 fathoms or 60 yards long of 3i-inch mesh. Shad nets are 4J inches, 40 

 meshes or 12 feet deep and 75 yards long with a float rope along the top and sinkers 

 along the bottom. In spring when we use these nets the water is high. The shad go 

 lip quickly so that one day we see them five miles below and nest day they are up at 

 Norton. Late one year when there was high water after rain I saw many shad run- 

 ning round each other, no doubt engaged in spawning. Shad are quick in going back 

 after spawning. Lamper eels are caught sticking to shad — large ones. Common eels 

 are enemies to shad and they attack a shad in the net in a moment. They are an 

 injury to us. Eels bring 8 cents a pound, pickerel and perch, &c., 10 cents per pound. 

 Perch are often large, the biggest being 5 pounds weight. Shad sell for 15 cents dur- 

 ing the last two years, but Barnes only gave 10 cents, but I heard that 40 cents was 



