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16<br />
Many United States captains admit that this net is injuring the fishery, but hav<br />
ing capital invested in it they are averse to having it rendered worthless by legisla.<br />
tion. Some of their more enterprising capitalists have, however, been lately increasing<br />
the destructive power of the purse seine, by the adoption of steam, instead of row<br />
boats, and by the use of steamers, instead of sailing vessels. The steam seine boat is<br />
a large whale boat with engine and boiler covered in; with this boat the 300 fathom<br />
seine can be thrown round a school of fish in an incredibly short space of time, when<br />
the seine is shot, the purse rope is brought to the winch, and the net pursed by steam<br />
in a few seconds. in calm weather also this boat can cruise away from the ship with<br />
dories in tow. The use of steam for the vessel as well as the stsam launch, enables<br />
her to move about in calm weather, when the fish can best be taken, and though the<br />
additional expense, may in bad years make the venture unprofitable, with fish in any<br />
degree plentiful, the destructive power of these steam seiners and seine boats would<br />
be terrific. The objection on the ground of expense to the use of steamers does not<br />
apply to these boats, which can be taken down by many of the larger schooners<br />
earrying the necessary coal as ballast for the vessel.<br />
Such additions to the fishing fleet not only add greatly to the destructive power<br />
cf the purse seine, but they wouLd rendert almost impossible to effectually patrol<br />
our territorial waters by sailing vessels.<br />
In Canada the opinion among those interested in the fisheries greatly prepon.<br />
derates in favor of the prohibition of the purse seine. It is held, and correctly so,<br />
that it is a very wasteful method of fistiing. Large quantities of small or unsaleable<br />
fish, both herring and small mackerel are destroyed for the sake of a few good mack.<br />
erel, a school may contain. In this particular the United States fishermen are more<br />
wasteful than Canadian, as the latter can find a market for much of the small fish<br />
which a United Siates seiner, at such a distance from his base of supplies, cannot<br />
handle. As an indication of the strength of Canadian opinion on this matter, of two<br />
hundred and fourteen people asked if purse seining was injurious to fishing an4<br />
should be stopped, only seven declared it not irjurious.'<br />
It is not only in the mackerel fishing that injury has been done; the herring<br />
bait fishing has suffered in places, and this injury reacts on the cod fishing.<br />
The purse seine fishing is, however, not oniy destructive by waste of immature<br />
fish and herring, but I am convinced that to its use during the spawning season is<br />
due the present lessened productiveness of the mackerel fishery.<br />
The mackerel, when they come first on our coast are poor and full of spawn, and<br />
but for a perverted taste which has decreed them a delicacy, would be considered<br />
unfit for food. The spawning season in our waters is not over till 20th July, and the<br />
following evidence is given to show the proportion of unspawned fish captured :—<br />
Captain U. Nason, 25 years a master, 40 years mackereling, says all mackerel<br />
taken in Gulf prior to 1si July are killed before spawning.<br />
Captain John S Staples, 20 years a master, 30 years mackereling, in the North<br />
Bay; before let July two•thirds of catch are female spawn mackerel killed before<br />
spawning.<br />
Captain Hillier, 8 years a master, a quarter of the whole catch is made before<br />
spawning<br />
Captain Sydney Smith, 20 years a master, 26 years mackereling; one-fifth of<br />
whole catch in North Bay is killed before spawning.<br />
Captain Hammond, 25 years a master, 35 years mackereling, half at least of total<br />
catch in North Bay is killed before spawning.<br />
Captain McEachern, 7 years a master, 13 years mackereling, says half the catch<br />
is killed before spawning.<br />
It seems safe to say that one-third of the total catch, made north of Cape Sable,<br />
N. S., is that of unspawned fish. If we examine the record catches of fish, some<br />
idea may be formed of the magnitude of the injury thus done to the fishery, in what<br />
fishermen call a good year. In 1885 the United States catch was 330,000 barrels, onethird<br />
of which was probably taken north of Cape Sable, N.S., say 110,000 barrels; to<br />
this add Canadian catch, 148,000, making, say 250,000 barrels, one.third of which, or
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