iMWht; 



90 



:«■ .' 



t' 

 } 



in British waters has diminished, while, during the same period, the quantity 

 and quality of these fish taken off the coast of New England has greatly 

 improved. 



As early as 18G8, the following statement appears in the Annual Report of 

 JNIarine and Fisheries : — 



" Owing to somu unknown cause, tliu net as well as llie bait uuukevcl lislievy li.".*t nearly failed mi 

 our coasts. As alvcaily stated, the sprinj' lisliing at ^Magdalen Islands had yiekied almost nothing to 

 the inhabitants, and the tVaeign schoonei-s whieh resorted there to jairsue the same iishiug had liarely 

 covered the cost of outfit. Aecoriliug to general oiiiniou, luaekerel apiieared but in very small numbers 

 in Pleasant Bay. However bad this li.shery had lieeii, hopes were entertained of the residts of the 

 sunmicr fishery. There was, howover, to lie further disapiiointment in this instance. Mackerel, it is 

 true, was seen on the shores of Magdalen Islands, Uas]ie, aiul Bay des (.'Imleurs, but in such limited 

 numbers that, with the excejaiou of a few caught tVa- bait, a very limited (juantity was taken at the 

 Islands and at (ias])e Hiiy and Basin. The mackerel wouhl not take bait at the s\n'face of tin.' water; 

 and after trying every means for sevei-al weeks to induce the lish to come to the sin-face, by means of 

 bait, the Americau schomiers left the islaials and .shores of Gaspe, with only a fev barrels taken. I 

 have since asi'ertained tiait, at tlie end of August or beginning of .*>e]iteudier, mackerel had been abun- 

 dant on the shores of I'riiu'c Kdward's Island, and that the .schocnujr.s which liatl resorted there had 

 done well. It is to lie hojied that tliis report was true, as otherwise the loss incurred hy onr own and 

 foreign schooners inusl have lieen very large, if tliis tishing had been a failure evcrywlu'rc. The cost 

 of outfit is heavy; and, to compensate for expenses necessarily incuiTed by naist of the vessels, it was 

 necessary that there shi add be at least a miildling success. The scarcity of mackerel was, therefore, 

 the reason why I met .--o very few Ana'rici.n selaioners m>ar (an- shores. In June, July, September, 

 and October, however, when the results of this fishing were still uncertain, several scliooncrs Avere 

 seen in J'.ay des Chale\us, rii.s]iebiac. Port Daniel, and J'ercc. Fidui what I couhl iwcerlain, aliout one- 

 third had licenses ; but the rest, dre.iding a bad season, la'cferred tishing only on tla^ JJanks, at JIagdalen 

 Islands, or outside the limits, ratla r than to pay for a license. Jliaeover, from iid'orniatinn olitaiued, 

 I have reason to believe tliat fe'.' \'cre .'^ecn tishing iusi<le of the tliree-mile limits ; and even tho.se 

 may have been ]irovided with licenses. l)uring the whole of my cruise in August, I saw none of 

 them acting in contravention of the law : and llie owners of schooners wlaan I met without a license 

 had left witiiout infringing llie act, after lieing notified. The fact of the matter is, that, having tine 

 and costly vessels, of wliicli they are for the most iiart nwiuus, they can ill allbrd the risk of lo.sing 

 them, especially tiiis yeai-, by fishing witliin the three-mile limits." (Itejiort of Tlicophile Telu, Ksii., 

 on the Fisheries of the (iulf of St. Lawrence: Annual lieport of the Canadian Department of Marine 

 and Fisheries, 18U8, p. 54.) 



The same deterioration of inshore mackerel fishing has steadily continued down 

 to the present time : — 



"Is ii uiii an extraordinary tiling," says the Ueport of the same Department forlS7C), "that halibut 

 .'ind mackerel, whicli have only a cnmjiaratively interior value in our markets, are always (juoled at a 

 liigh ]irice with oar neighlioiirs ; Tliey are ditlicnll fish to cure, and this may ex]ilaiii the difl'erence 

 ill jiricc between I'oih markets ; and. as this tishery is very uncertain, our jicuple dare not enter into it, 

 on iiccdunt of the ii.i^sibiliiy til' licavy lusse.s in time and laoiiey. With the c'xe(']ition of tlie iiihaliitants 

 of Mii^'dalcii Islands and some tlirei> or four lisiieniieii frniii (las]n', imlxidy in the whole division 

 ]ilace(l under my charge takes any interest in citlu'r uf these fisheries, Tla^ importance of this fishery, 

 even as carried du by strangers, has greatly climinislied. 'hi/ nf Jic'- or .s/.c liiniili'iil scliiiniirrs irhich 

 fiinitcrlij /'irijiiiiili(/ Jiin/ i/i:^ C/in/i'i'f.-i. Miii/i/d/i ,1 Jsliiiiils, (If., /,( fiDrr/i. of iiuirhi I'll, Imnllij iiiif livmlrnl 

 arc //«)" rmnilnl. (Jne schooner (Hily. ' Tlie W. Merclianl,' of (llnucester, was this year engaged in 

 haliliul tishing; and, win u I visited her at Ksi|iiiniaux I'ninl, she had caught notliiiig, — not even one 

 barrel nl herring. Tlie restrictions tn which i'laeigners fishing in our waters wi'iv siilijccted during 

 past years, loid the seizures of vessels whicli were the eoiisciiaence of \iolatioiis of Canadian tishery 

 laws, must unduulitedly iia\e coiilriliuted a great deal to deter .\inericans li<im the the waters of llio 

 < Iulf, and compelled tliem to lake another direction, where they veiy likely find more remunerative 

 results. In the course of a cunversatidn with the I'nited States' (.'onsiil at ( iaspe, lie handed Uco ii 

 newsjiiijier from (iloueester, Ma.ss,, which c.xjilains in a few words tiiis decrease of American schooners 

 in our waters: — 'Our large firms,' said lliat ]ia]ier, 'far from curtailing tiieir tishing outlits, have 

 increased them. Mcist cif them have added anotluM- vessel to the number already po.ssesseil. The 

 attentiiiu iif outfiiters seems now t(i be solely lieiit uikui cod-fi.shing. In fonner times, their whole 

 reliance was )ilaci'd upon mackerel fishing, which was jiractised on shore on George's liaidv, or in the 

 ( lull' of Si. Ijiwreiice : luit very lilth' notice is taken uf it now, — so much so that tlie total catch of 

 mackerel liv our vessels is unv reduced to one-tenth ef what it used to be. Several causes have been 

 ftdducei! Ill exjilain 'his change ; Imt the first is iiiidniibtedly ihi' use of seines. It is almost an iui|ios- 

 sible 1 1, ii!g now 111 catch mackerel, as furnierly, with lioiik and line, and seining is sip uncertain that 

 nio.l ij' the masters wen^ cniii|ielled to aliandon this lislieiy. Mackerel lisliing in (he (Iulf of 

 St. I.,!\,i('iice fiiinierly ciin.^tiliiled the nc'iijiation uf the ulmle Cldiieester fleet during tin! fall season ; 

 b'll iiiiw hardly fifty or sisly silmoners are met within its waters.' The aliove statcni(>iits agree per- 

 feetlv with llie (ili.servatiiiiis j have made during the past seiistm. A few years ago, no more tliaii lialf- 

 ailn/ell tdmicesler >ehimiiers wcie eiigiigi d ciiil-tisliing on the Imliks; liiiW there are two hundred. Nil 

 iitL'Ulinii whatever was iheii given to eod-lisliin,i;. lull nipw it has attracted the notice of the trade of 

 ( Ilouci sti'i. Ibdibul-lisliiiig is aiiotlier ]iiirsnit uhicli is daily growing more and more ini)iorliiiil for 

 Oloucesler lishermeii ; but the latter iijipear to have abandoned the Culf, or rather the grounds which 



