

110 



CANADIAN FISHERMAN 



WHO'S WHO IN THE FISHING WORLD. 



He has been within ten degrees of the North Pole ; 

 seen the midnight sun in Northern Greenland ; entered 

 the North West Passage; wintered in Hudson's Bay, 

 and travelled all over the little known waters of our 

 three coasts — North, East, and West. Yet in Mr. An- 

 drew Halkett's appearance there is little to suggest 

 that he has lived an adventurous life. Slightly built, 

 studious, and particular of speech, one would never for 

 a moment connect him with the little scientist who was 

 picked up off the Alaska Coast adrift in a dug-out 

 with two frightened Siwash Indians by the United 

 States Revenue Cutter "Bear," during a blinding snow- 

 storm. Yet in the capacity of a naturalist, Mr. Hal- 

 kett has endured many hardships and taken many 

 risks in order to obtain reliable data upon the flora 

 and fauna of the Dominion. 



Our Who's Who is the Curator of the Fisheries 

 Museum at Ottawa, and Naturalist to the Department 



of Marine and Fisheries. Like a vast number of prom- 

 inent Fisheries men including Professor Prince, Mr. J. 

 J. Cowie, Dr. Hugh Smith of the U.S. Fisheries Bu- 

 reau, Mr. Andrew Halkett hails from old Caledonia, 

 having first seen the light in the ancient and honor- 

 able town of Brechin, Forfarshire, Scotland, on Octo- 

 ber 28th, 1854. His father- was the Rev. Andrew Hal- 

 kett, for many years minister of St. Andrews' Church, 

 St. John, N.B., ami his mother was a Canadian of 

 United Empire Loyalist ancestry, hailing from Pred- 

 ericton N.B. It was after his father and mother sailed 

 back to Scotland, that the subject of our sketch was 

 Ikhii, which accounts for his being a Scotsman in- 

 stead of a New Brunswicker. 



Educated in the Grammar School of the old Scottish 

 town, his boyish inclinations were early directed to 

 the study of Natural History and he lived much in the 

 woods and on the water making observations of birds, 

 animals and lishes. ( louring to ( lanada in 1873, the vast 

 flora and fauna of the Dominion proved a veritable 



Eldorado to the young scientist, and for six years he 

 travelled all over the country making a study of the 

 varied animal life natural to Canada. In 1879, Mr. 

 Halkett was appointed as Naturalist to the Department, 

 of Marine and Fisheries. 



Since his connection with the Fisheries Department. 

 Mr. Halkett has travelled extensively in order to ac- 

 quire a first hand knowledge of Canada's fisheries. He 

 has been upon the Atlantic and Pacific Banks aboard 

 the vessels with the fishermen as well as with the net- 

 ters of the Great Lakes. With the oyster dredgers and 

 lobstermen he has worked to obtain scientific data, and 

 among his many researches and expeditions are includ- 

 ed an Investigation of the fur seal in the Bering Sea ; 

 researches concerning the natural history of the lobs- 

 ter in various localities in the Maritime Provinces; 

 with the Neptune expedition to the northern seas and 

 Hudson 's Bay, besides a host of minor expeditions upon 

 the fisheries of inland lakes and rivers. 



At the Paris Exhibition, Mr. Halkett was in charge 

 of the Canadian Natural History exhibit and received 

 a diploma and medal. He also had charge of the Fish- 

 eries Exhibit at the last Toronto Exhibition, for which 

 a gold medal was granted to the Department. As Cur- 

 ator of the Fisheries Museum at Ottawa, Mr. Halkett 

 will always be found as a courteous and competent au- 

 thority to all wishing reliable information regarding 

 Canada's fish and fisheries. 



The results of many painstaking labours and years 

 of research has been embodied in Mr. Halkett's book 

 entitled, "A Check List of the Fishes in the Dominion 

 of Canada" recently issued by the Department. This 

 handsome volume may be characterized as a Dictionary 

 of Canada's Fishes. It includes 566 different species 

 and gives the technical and common names of each, 

 and the waters in which they are to be found. Every- 

 thing with fins, scales and gills to be found in Canadian 

 waters is enumerated in the book, and as a scientific re- 

 cord, it is one of the ablest and most comprehensive 

 works ever issued by the Fisheries Department. 



Though naturally precise in speech and manner, Mr. 

 Halkett has a keen sense of humor and possesses a de- 

 gree of vim and nerve not in keeping with his studious 

 personal appearance — which all goes to show that ap- 

 pearances are deceptive. However, as Naturalist to the 

 Fisheries Department, Mr. Halkett is the right man in 

 the right place and a right good fellow among his 

 many friends, and as Canada's representative Fisheries 

 Magazine, the "Canadian Fisherman" is pleased to in- 

 clude him with the other notables in the Fishing World. 



William J. Hackett, of 70 Long wharf, Boston, form- 

 erly of East Gloucester, has made improvements on his 

 patent torch, that brings the article up to a high stand- 

 ard of perfection. The whole top, which includes the 

 threaded lock nut and filler cap, is cast in one piece 

 of heavy galvanized iron, doing away with all soldering 

 on top, leaving nothing to melt from the heat of the 

 blaze. 



The keeper of the east light at Sable Islands reports 

 being able to see the newly discovered island quite 

 plainly from the light, according to information re- 

 cently brought to Halifax by the Government steamer 

 Stanley. 



The haddocking on Brown's Bank during March lias 

 been a record breaker. A great fleet of Georgesmei 

 have been making their sets on the Bank instead of c 

 Georges. Most of the American vessels are mann 

 and in many cases ownec 



