66 COMMISSION OF CONSERVATION 



Cape Breton, is, without doubt, superior to that of Norwegian mackerel, 

 and, so far as herring are concerned, from my own experience I can 

 assure you that there are certain seasons of the year when the quality 

 of our herring is equally as good as the quality of those on the other 

 side of the Atlantic; and, yet, the price paid for European herring in 

 the United States is, generally speaking, more than double that paid 

 for Canadian herring, while Norwegian mackerel always command a 

 much higher price than Canadian mackerel in the same market. 



What, then, is the cause of this discouraging condition 



Badf ''pack^d °^ °^^ ^'^^'^^ *" *^^®^ products ? The answer is to be 

 found in the fact that both Dutch and British herring 

 and Norwegian mackerel are cured and graded with the utmost care 

 and packed in well-made, standardized packages, capable of with- 

 standing tough usage during transportation across the ocean, and 

 retaining the preservative pickle until the product is placed in the hands 

 of the buyer; while Canadian pickled fish have, hitherto, been care- 

 lessly cured and packed in slim, leaky packages, such as produce rusty, 

 bitter fish that are unfit for food. 



The Fish Inspection Act, 1914 



Recognizing this fact and realizing the necessity for taking steps 

 to have this state of affairs changed, Hon. J. D. Hazen, Minister of 

 the Department of which I have the honour to be an official, ordered 

 the preparation of the Act to which I have referred, and secured its 

 passage through Parliament. 



This Act, then, applies to salted mackerel, herring, 

 o/Act**'"** alewives or gaspereaux, and salmon, and to the pack- 

 ages in which such fish are marketed. The Act aims 

 at bringing into general use a strong, well-made barrel of a standard 

 size ; also it aims at raising the general standard of curing and grading 

 the fish, so that the cured product may be traded in with confidence, 

 to the benefit and profit of producer, dealer and consumer. 



Method of Inspection is not compulsory under the Act ; fishermen 



Carrying out and packers must decide for themselves whether they 

 Inspection ghall make use of the Government brand or not. To 



those who apply for it, the inspection is entirely free of charge. 



To carry out the provisions of the Act, a staff of competent inspec- 

 tors has been appointed. This staff, to begin with, had necessarily to 

 be a small one, as the extent to which the brand might be made use of 

 during the first year could not be predicted. Each inspector has been 



