* 96 
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In comparison with this, the last two pickerel that I saw taken from Clayton 
Bay—a place as thoroughly fished with hook and line as any on the St. Lawrence 
river—weighed twenty-five pounds. 
For the information of those present who may not be familiar with the 
locality, I beg to state that between Clayton N. Y., and Gananoque, Ont., the 
river is about seven miles wide, but owing to the many intervening islands, 
the shortest navigable channel is about nine miles. 
CHAIRMAN: Would any other gentlemen from the Association like to be 
heard ? 
Mr. THompson: Mr. Chairman, I think I may say ei what may not have 
any influence, but at the same time I am bere to discuss the protection of fish. 
The matter has been thoroughly discussed ; the necessity of it, which everybody 
concedes, and there is no doubt that everything i is being done in this State to 
propagate that could be done. It seems almost in its infancy. The people have 
come to see the necessity of having food fish, and the necessity of propagating fish 
for that purpose. That thing is now under way in good shape; but at the same 
time that we are spending so much money to propagate, we should attend to the 
protection of our food fish after we get them propagated. As it stands now in 
Canada, with the privilege of netting, they use nets down to a very small mesh, 
and they are taking the small fish as well as those well grown, and it has the 
tendency to keep the quantity down. If we could havea limited time, or a limited 
amount of fish, so that everybody should not have the privilege of going in and 
netting all the year round, or netting all that they see fit to, our fish might be 
kept in the waters, but, as itis, they are soon netted out and our waters are de- 
pleted. We find that true in the river St. Lawrence. Years ago, before they 
commenced netting, you could go out and catch any amount of fish; any man 
could be gone an hour or two and catch all the fish he wanted ; now you have to 
fish all day to get a good mess, literally speaking. That is all due to using nets. 
What we ask is protection in that direction. We have good laws; our Bill well 
provides for that protection. But the Canadian people on the opposite side license 
there the privilege of netting. It is hard to keep American fish from going into 
Canadian waters, therefore the whole river is depleted by that measure of netting. 
If we could persuade our Canadian friends to legislate some law prohibiting nett- 
ing, I think it would be very beneficial. I am speaking now of the river. When 
you go up into the lakes it is beyond my knowledge; but I think that, as Mr. 
Skinner says, taking it down the river, the Canadian authorities have put their 
islands on the market and they are trying to get them populated the same as they 
are on our side, and the only thing to induce people to come there is to enact a law 
to protect the fish; this would be to the interest of anybody, both commercial 
and steamboat men and everybody interested in the pleasure business of the river. 
It has got to be a very important thing. Let what has been said and done so far 
be carried out, to the end that we may see some good result, and I would only 
suggest that perhaps a copy of the bill as we have it, should be submitted to the 
Canadian authorities, and let them look the matter over and see how near they 
are willing to conform to it, and if there is anything that is in accord with them 
we will try to get together on those points: if we cannot doit to-day, some future 
day ; [think it would be beneficial to both sides. 
Mr. R. P. Grant: Mr. Chairman, I think the ground has been pretty well 
covered by the gentlemen who have spoken, but there are two or three points I 
want to give my opinion on, one is in regard to the State Fish Commissioners 
having control and jurisdiction over the state fishing grounds and everything per- 
taining to them, instead of the general government. I think the gentleman from 
