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