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52<br />
be very great. The work in the past is now showing gool results, as the net fishing<br />
-was better this year than it has been for the past three or four seasons. The fly fishing<br />
is also reported to be ahead of any other season for the past fifteen years. It is<br />
the belief that, if it had not been for the fry which have been distributed from this<br />
hatchery from year to year, this valuable game and commercial fish would now be<br />
an article almost of the past, just in like manner as the striped bass, which used fornierly<br />
to swarm in this river, but which now are nearly exterminated simply because<br />
the law has not been enforced, and there was no proper protection given to them at<br />
the breeding time.<br />
Previous to the past two seasons I have witnessed poachers destroying parent<br />
salmon, after the close season bad set in, both with set, and sweep nets, by hundrech<br />
upon hundreds, until the river would be almost entirely cleared of fish; so much so<br />
was it the case that the men engaged by me to procure parent salmon for the hatchery,<br />
with all their skill and best appliances, would at times sweep the river from the head<br />
of the spawning grounds to the tide-way, and not capture ten fish—and the men<br />
appointed by law to protect the streams from those poachers, would be seen looking<br />
after other affairs and would perhaps only visit this scene of extermination once a<br />
month. Now those persons who may bear no animosity against,the artificial hatching<br />
should ask themselves where did the supply come from during this time? It cer<br />
tainly was not from the ova naturally deposited, for, in my opinion, during the six or<br />
eight years previous to the past two seasons, there were not as many ova naturally<br />
leposited, as would be laid down in the hatchery in one season. Therefore, as there<br />
has been a fair average catch of fish during the past six or seven years, I am certain<br />
that it is the result of planting so many fry in the head waters of the river from this<br />
establishment.<br />
But I am pleased to state that owing to the efforts of our newly-appointed overseer,<br />
and the men under his charge, the spawning salmon have been well protected<br />
for the past two years from poachers, which I may also state has rendered the work<br />
of procuring parent fish for the hatchery much easier, and more certain than in the<br />
past.<br />
Not having any means of obtaining statistics of the catch of salmon for the past<br />
season I cannot speak positively of the numbers, but all parties say that fish w9re<br />
plentiful. The tall salmon were present in great numbers, and parties say that after<br />
the high water which prevailed this fall, the pools on the heads of the rivers were<br />
literally alive with fish.<br />
Capture of Parent Salmon.<br />
In this branch of the work this season I have not been as successful as I would<br />
wish to have been. This was not due to the scarcity of parent fish, but to the extreme<br />
high water which rendered it impossible for the fishermen to do anything, and which,<br />
unfortunately, came before I bad a full supply, and owing to the continuous rains the<br />
'water did not fall sufficiently for operations to be resumed for nearly a fortnight.<br />
When the men again went to work, the river still being greatly above the general<br />
level, thereby rendering the work lull of hardship, and very difficult for capturing<br />
any parent fish, except a few that had previously spawned, I stopped operations and<br />
had to be satisfied with the supply previously obtained. The fish were captured on<br />
the North-West Miramichi and its branch the Little South.West.<br />
The number of fish taken from the North-West was 153, and from the South-<br />
West we procured 137, making a total of 490, of which ISO were females and 140<br />
males. From this number of salmon I gathered 830,000 ova, which I am pleased to<br />
state are in a very healthy condition, having met with a very small loss up to the<br />
present date.<br />
In conclusion, I beg to state that this hatchery and all its appliances are in good<br />
condition and that no unusual expense need be incurred during the next year,<br />
except that a new scow for towing purposes will have to be built, as the old one is<br />
completely worn out. The supply dam of the hatchery, which was torn away by
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