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100<br />
has increased, and large quantities formerly wasted now find purchasers at prices<br />
which pay fishermen for catching them.<br />
Overseer logan, of Newcastle and North-Esk district, reports an average catch<br />
of salmon in that part of the river, but the bass fishery formerly so productive and<br />
profitable in the north-west branch of the river has shrunk to very small proportions.<br />
With more nets fishing the catch is but half that of last year, and but one-third the<br />
catch of 188ti. This scarcity, Mr. Hogan very properly attributes to the two causes<br />
to which he has called attention in all his rpports—overfishing in the past, and the<br />
great destruction f young bass in smelt nets in recent years. The catch of smelts,<br />
Mr. Hogan reports, as less than usual and the average size of the fish smaller.<br />
illegal fishing is not so common now as formerly, the new system of guardianship<br />
being more effective than the old. The great difficulty he and the other officers<br />
on the Miramichi now have to contend with is the detection of illegal fish when<br />
placed in charge of railway officials. If these men were prevented by law from<br />
carrying contraband fish, these could not be got to market, and there would be no<br />
iniucement for dealers to buy them, and cons&juently no inducement for poachers to<br />
catch them.<br />
Overseer Sutherland, of Red Bank district, reports salmon more plentiful than<br />
they have been for the last four or five years. He says that poaching has not been<br />
carried on to a very great extent, owing chiefly to heavy rains and unprecedented<br />
freshets, which cleared out all the salmon poois and made illegal fishing impossible<br />
His returns show no bass nor smelts taken in his district.<br />
Overseer Farher, of South West district, says :—.." This year Providence has done<br />
much for the protection of salmon in the close season. The water was so high that<br />
spearing and drifting was next to impossible. But the great freshet this fall cannot<br />
fail to have disturbed the spawning beds by sweeping away gravel and sand, which<br />
will have a bad efiect on the future supply. On Cain's River, the Renous and Dun—<br />
garvon, more salmon have been seen this fall than all seen in them for the last three<br />
years put together, and all have been fairly well protected from poachers.<br />
Overseer Freeze, of Doaktown, reports that the early part of the season was very<br />
dry and the drought continued until August. The water was very low and warm all<br />
through the nettitg season, and the run of salmon was light, as it always is under<br />
these circumstances. During September the water was too high for spearing or<br />
drifting, and on the 8th October came the great freshet which raised the water a<br />
foot higher than it was ever known to reach in this part of the river. Frequent and<br />
heavy rains kept up the freshet all through the spawning season, and Mr. Freeze fears<br />
that much of the deposited ova has been swept away and destroyed. If this should<br />
be so, the supply of fish in 1892 will be much reduced.<br />
Overseer Orr, of Boiestown and the upper district, reports that, in addition to his<br />
men, the Angling Club had two guardians and the Local Government one, so that<br />
there were nine guardians on the forty-five miles of river under his charge. The<br />
high state of the water assisted the guardians, and never was less illegal fishing done in<br />
this part of the Miramichi, where formerly the law was practically unknown. Anglers<br />
reported plenty of salmon and grilse and parr were seen in every part of the river;.<br />
so that there is every reason to anticipate the best results from the new system of<br />
protecting the spawning beds.<br />
KENT COUNTY.<br />
Overseer Hannah, of Richibucto district, reports an average catch of salmons cod<br />
and hake. The catch of smelts was not so large as last year, owing to the loss of many<br />
nets which were carried away by drift ice early in the season. Warden Harnett<br />
died very suddenly in the early part of December, and the Department has lost the<br />
services of an intelligent and faithful officer, who took an interest in his work and<br />
did it well. I have no report from him, but Overseer Hannah states that bass fishing<br />
has almost been abandoned on the river. The few that are caught are of small size<br />
and little value. The catch of gaspereaux, smelts and frost-fish, as shown in the.<br />
returns, was about the same as last year.