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herring ; that their crews arc too hirge, and thoir vessels too expensive to engage in 

 catching so poor a fisii as herring; that it is ijcttcr for tiioin to Uiiy and pay for tliem, 

 and that so tiioy unirormly do. The inenibers of the (Jlouccstcr firms who own and 

 send out these vessels, Icll you that they go without iii'ts, without the a|)pliances to 

 catch herring at all, but with largo sums of money, tlii'v bring back the herring, 

 and they leave the money lu-hiiul them. 



This question seems to me to be disposed of i)y the Report of tlie Commissioner 

 on the New Brunswick fisheries for 187(>. 



Mr. Venning, the Inspector of Fisheries for Now Urunswick, quotes in ills Report 

 on Charlotte County (pp. 20(1 and 2()7), from Overseer Cunningham of the Inner 

 Bay. Some attempt was made to show that Overseer Cunningham, although the 

 official appointed for the purpose, did not know much about it; but it will be 

 observed that his statements, as well as those of Overseer Best (whose evidence is 

 ne.xt quoted), are affirmed by Mr. Venning, the Inspector of Fisheries for New 

 Brunswick, and inserted in his Report, under his sanction ; ami I think, that with the 

 Minister of Marine and Fisheries, himself from New Bunswick, at the head of the 

 Department, erroneous statements on a subject relating to the fisheries of his own 

 province were not likely to creep into ollicial documents, and remain there unobjected 

 to. I think we must assume that these official statements are truer and more 

 reliable than the accounts that come from witnesses: "The winter herring (ishery," 

 Overseer Cunningham says, " I am sorry to say, shows a decrease from the yield of 

 last year. This, I believe, is ow ing to the large quantity of nets, in fact miles of 

 them, being set by United States' fishermen, all the w ay from (irand Manan to Lepreaii, 

 and far out in the bay, by the Wolves, sunk from 'JO to 2.} fathoms, wiiich kept the 

 fish from coming into this bay. In this view I am borne out by .dl the, iisliermen 

 with wliom 1 have conversed on the subject. Our fishermen who own vessels iiave 

 now to go a distance of six or eight miles otf shore biTore they can catch any. The 

 poorer class of fishermen, who have noliiing but small boats, made but a poor catch. 

 However, during the winter months, there were caught, and sold in a fro/.eii state 

 to United States' vessels, l.UOO barrels, at from 4 dollars to .' dollars per barrel. The 

 price, being somewhat better than last vear, helped to m.ike up ihedeticiency in their 

 catch." 



Then he goes on tospeakof the injurious elfecl of throw ing over " gurry," which, 

 he says, is practised by provincial Iisliermen as well as American, and says that, 

 "as they arc tishing far offshore a week at a time, this destructive practice can be 

 followed with impunity and without detection." And Overseer Best speaks of the 

 falling-ofT in line fishing, but says that the yield of herring has exceeded that of 

 the |>rcvious year, disagreeing with his friend, Overseer Cunningham. lie aflrihulcs 

 the deficiency in line fishing to the use of trawls. He goes on to say, " The catch 

 was made chiefly in deep water this year, as far out as five to seven miles off the 

 coast, anti no line fish have been taken within two miles, except haddock." ' The 

 winter fishing," he says, "was principally done in <lee|) water, as rough weather 

 prevailed most of the time, the fishermen ft)und it very diHi( iilt to take care of their 

 nets, a great many of which were lost. A large number of American vessels now 

 frequent our coast to engage in this fishery, and pay but little attention to our laws, 

 which prohibit Sunday fishing and throwing over " gurry." This I am powerless to 

 prevent over a stretch of twenty miles of coast, on which from sixty to one hundred 

 vessels are engaged. A suitable vessel is necessary for this work, and she should 

 cruize around among the fishing grounds, and see that the laws are respected iiy 

 those who are participating in the benefits of our lisheries." 



Of course it is ditticult to jirove a negative; but ought not the British Agent to 

 be recpiired. upon a subject of such magnituili as this, lo produce si>me more satis- 

 factory evidence .' If a large fleet of American vessels are year by year catching 

 herring within three miles of land, among an equal body of British iisliermen, within 

 a limited space near Grand .Manaii, and if they arc taking from 1,0(UI,()(IO to 

 1,500,000 dollars' worth a year, is it not possible for our friends, the Minister of 

 Marine and Fisheries and the learned (ouiisel, both from .Vew Brunswick, to furnish 

 the names of just one or two vessels, or one or two captains .imong the great number 

 that are so engaged? 1,000.000 to 1,500,000 dollars' worth is the estimate that 

 they put upon the fishery. How many herring do von suppose it takes to come to 

 1,000,000 or 1,500,000 dollars? It takes more tluiii all the herring that are 

 imported into the United States, by the statistics, .lust in that little vicinity, they 

 say that a greater amount of such fish are taken than are imported into the United 

 States. Now, if an operation of that enormous ni.i^nitude is going on, it does ticeiu 



