DEPARTMENT OF FISHERIES,

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of certain landing places on bays, where only oysters may be brought ashore, so as
to bring them under the supervision of the Wardens, and, generally, a uniform
superintendence of the fishery.
OTHER FISH AND P1811 PHODUOTS.
As is usual, a quantity of halibut was taken in codfishing. The deeper the
wator the better chance of taking this fine fish. Quantity about four and-a.half tons,
cod fishers having taken them far off shore.
Shad are a rare fish in these waters; none captured this year. Five hundred
and ninety.five barrels of alewives.
As smelts do not come in until after the 1st of April fishing was virtually pro-.
hibited, to the great) discontent of the lovers of the delicacy. Smelts are not exported
from this Province.
Eels have become a growing article of export. The destruction of eels is the
salvation of trout and salmon rivers, as they feed largely on trout and snimoTi spawn.
From time immemorial they have been speared by torchlight on the mudflats in fall.
As torches and spears in boats are a temptation to seek for breeding salmon on the
shallows, I would recommend that lights be prohibited in eel-spearing after the
1st of November in each year.
Squid in fair quantity, chiefly around North Cape. Clams, although abundant,
are too expensive for bait.
Pish oil does not by any means show the quantity that the catch of fish would
warrant. Product only 18,33 gallons; it should have been as much again.
Tongues and sounds are likewise less that they should be. I believe that a
considerable quantity, that does not appear on the record, is used by the fishermen
in petty trading,
The column headed "Fish guano" is a blank so far as this Province is concerned.
:No condensed manure is manufactured. Large quantities of lobster debris are carted
away by farmers, and in the absence of lime are valuable as a fertilizer. It is difficult
to correctly estimate the quantity. I have put it down at close on 3,000 tons, or
11,580 barrels. There is ample room for the establishment of dry manure factories
at almost any central point along the coast.
RIVRRS AND STREAMS.
The increase in the number of American anglers who have visited the island
the past summer, and some of whom made a long stay, is a sufficient proof of the
good condition of the streams. These anglers make a favorable report of the catch.
Angling is the main recreation of the Prince Edward Islanders themselves. There
are few among the busy classes who do not spare a day or two in the season for fishing.
Consequently some of the haunts most easily reached are a little overfished
-..Miminigash, for instance. On the whole, theie is no decrease in the number or
size of trout. No trout are exported. The month of December should be added to
the trout close season, as the fishing with bait in that month is a pretext to cover
netting. Were December added it would practically mean a close season from 1st
October until the streams thaw in spring.
All our rivers are too small, shallow and warm for salmon. Within the past two
or three years, however, several clean salmon have been observed, although none
have been caught' The fish have been especially observed in the Morell River.
full arrival of breeding salmon is reported this fall in the Dunk, Tyne, Trout, Tryon,
Winter, Morell, Marie and other rivers. There is no regular salmon fishery around
the coast of this island, but there ought to be, especially along the stretch from St.
Peter's to East Cape.
With regard to sawdust—to persons accustomed to the extensive lumbering
and sawing establishments on the mainland the word "sawmill" as applied to Prinee
Edward Island, conveys altogether an erroneous impression. About 340 sawmills