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Loraqua la documant aat trop grand pour Atra raproduit an un saui ciichA, 11 aat film* A partir da I'angia aupAriaur gaucha, da gaucha k droita. at da haut an iMa, an pranant la nombra d'imagaa nicaaaaira. Laa diagrammaa suivanta iiiuatrant la m4thoda. 32X 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 r T^^tT ^-^^-^ REPORT ^^v. OS ON THB m SEA AND RIVER FISHERIES OF NEW BRUNSWICK, WITHIN THE GULF OF SAINT LAWRENCE AND BAY OF CHALEUR, BY M. H. PERLEY, Esquirb, HEB majesty's EJUOBATION OFFICER AT SAINT JOHN, NEW BBVN8WI0K. Laid be/ore the House (if Assembly by command of His ExceJkncy tite Lieutenant OovernoTt and ordered to be Printed. FREDERICTON : 3, SIMPSON, PBIHTBB TO THE QUEBN's MOST BXCBM.ENT MAJESTY, 1850. ccoD Government Emigration Office, /Statin/ John^ New Brunswick, January 2*2, 1850. Sir,— In obedience to the instructions contained in your letter of 3rd August last, I proceeded immediately on its receipt to execute the duties therein designated. ^" A Circular letter asking information as to the Fisheries of the Gulf Shore was prepared and printed for distribution, a copy of which is annexed. I left this City on the 12th of August last, accompanied by one of my sons, and proceeded directly to Miramichi, by Shediac and Richibucto. At Chatham I engaged two canoes and three Indians, and pro- ceeded to the northward, visiting every Island, River, Creek* Gully, Harbour, and Fishing Station from Miramichi, along the Coast, to Shippagan ; thence around the Islands of Shippagan and Miscou, to Caraquet Bay, from whence I coasted the southern shore of the Bay of Chaleur to Bathurst. Leaving the sea-going canoes at Bathurst, I hired a light river canoe with a resident Indian as pilot, and ascended the Nepisiquit River tq the Grand Falls, where I rested one night. On my return to Bathurst, I resumed the sea-going canoes, and proceeded up the Bay to Dalhousie, examining the Coast and Fishing Stations and the Jacquet River by the way. From Dalhousie 1^ went by land to Athol House, at the head of Ship navigation on the Restigouche ; and on my return to Dal- housie, I proceeded in the canoes down the northern or Gaspe side of the Bay of Chaleur, sixty miles, to Paspebiac. From that place, I crossed the Bay of Chaleur, in Messrs. Le Boutillier's yacht, with the canoes on board, to Little Shippagan, from whence I made the best of my way to Newcastle on the Miramichi, where I arrived on the 29th September, ir. The season being far advanced, and strong easterly gales haying set in, the Coast south of the Miramicbi could not be visited by water, and I therefore proceeded along that Coast by land to Shediao ; from thence I returned to Saint John, where I arrived on the 8th of October* The-distanoe performed in the canoes was nearly five hundred miles ; the whole journey was about nine hundred miles. I have now the honor to present the accompanying Report as the result of the information obtained on this tour of duty, with such other information in relation to the subject as is interesting or important. I crave leave, to refer to my Report on the Fisheries of the Gulf 9f daint Lawrence, presented to the House of Assembly on the 8th March last, which I beg may be taken as part of the present Report, in order to its being more clearly understood. It only remains for me to add, that myself and my son were every where received with the greatest kindness and attention^ and every facility was afforded us for obtaining information ; and I should be exceedingly ungrateful if I did hot publicly acknowledge the exceeding hospitality extended to us at isvery place throughout oar enture journey. ;fh}J3^ ■Mgiiqqrti'c: lo ebnsial ■ '■■ '■ ■.•■o;,'-. •>'■■)*'-.>' , I have the honor to be, ' vitao;.- •* ■ ViilTt .SHSV' Sir, Your very obedient servant, Mi'uiiHmxo .oiairoflUid v.i yuii sdi cjd imti^vjuM bin; .^-sOiUi:, ■!." . 'M. H. PERLEY. Tlw BoD^rable Jobn R. Fatrtdow, Provincial SMrttarjr. .•i^dtii**tq«c' PRECIS OF REPORT. -,v ' THE DISTRICT NORTH OF THE MIRAMICHI. Portage Island, Extent and character of this Island ; Cod Fishery ; Salmon and Lobsters preserved in tins ; American vessels fish near this Island, and Trade on the Miramiohi ; Great neglect of the Mackerel Fishery ; Salmon Fishing illegally prosecuted under a permission to out grass. Tahusintac Gully. Description of this Gully ; Depth of water ; Mr. M^Leod's Fish- ing Station ; Number of boats and men ; Quantity of Fisli caught. , Tracadi/ Gully. Mr. Young's Fishing Station ; flxtensive Fishery fiurmerly ; Capelin destroyed for manure. Shippagan Gully. F^ishing Room of Fruing & Co., in charge of Capt. Alexandre ; Quantity of Cod taken ; Countries to which exported ; De- tails respecting the Cod Fishing ; Monsieur Robicheaux's Fishing, and the prices he gets \ Herrings used for manure. Miscou Island. Very little good Land, but excellent Fishing Station ; Descrip- tion of Little Shippagan Harbour ; Mr. Wilson's Establish- ment ; Information ftom him ; His opinion as to Ameri(ian Fishermen ; Herrings taken here used as taiannre. Point Miscou. Fishing Room in charge of Mr. DeCarteret ; American vessel throwing over Cod to make room for Mackerel, which are abundant ; Fishing Room in charge of Mr. Le Bas ; Impro- vident grant at this place ^ List of Settlers on Miscou ; Their Petition ; Their poverty, and state of bondage and negl<^cj;. Shippagan Island. Its character and extent ; Grande Batture. Great Shippagan Harbour. r This a triple Harbour ; Facilities for tlie Fisheries ; Canal from ,St. Simon's Inlet to Pokemouche River. Caraquette Bay* The Fisheries described by Mr. Blaekhall and Mr. M'Intosh ; Establishment in charge of Mr. Briard ; The Herring Fishing in Caraquette Bay. Grande Ance. Cod Fishery j American yewels fishing here. VI. Teague'a Brook. A Breakwater and Landing Place needed. Petit Rocher. Mr. Woolner's fishing Station ; American veisels Fishing off this place. Green Point. Imperfect outfit of Fishing Boats. Heron Island. All the best Beaches granted ; Good Herring Fishing ; Mr. Har- vey's opinion as to American Fishermen. Dalhousie. , * 3acce8S of the Settlers from Arran ; Capelin used for manure ; Mr. Stewart's opinion of American Fishermen. District of Gaspe — Tracadegaah. • The Fisheries in and near Carleton Bay ; Opinion as to Ameri- ' can Fishermen ; Proper cure of Herrings by Mr. Mann. Bonaventure Harbour. ">'"" Messrs. Boissonault's Fishing Station ; The Fisheries at this place ; Its description. Paspebiac. Establishments of Robin & Co., and Le Boutillier Brothers; American Mackerel fishers at this place ; Robin & Co. do not allow offal to be thrown on the Fishing ground. General Summary of Northern District. Return of Boats and Men, and quantity of Fish ; Duties col- lected at Shippagan in 1849 ; Opinions as to Smuggling. THE DISTRICT SOUTH OF THE MIRAMICHI. From Bay du Vin to Bichibucto Head. Statements of Mr. Powell, Mr. Long and Mr. Worthen ; Infor- mation from Prince Edward Island Fishermen; American Mackerel Fishers on this Coast. Bichibucto Head to Shediac. Buctouche and Cocagne Harbours ; Number of Fishing Boats on this Coast ; Information from Mr. M'Phelim and Dr. Theal. Shediac Harbour to Baie Verte. Aboushagan, Tedish and Shemogue Harbours. SEA FISH, FISHING, AND FISHING TACKLE. Varieties of Fish \ Nets and Tackle in use, 4^^;, THE RIVER FISHERIES. NORTHERN DISTRICT. The Miramichi River. The Fisheries, and the Law for their regulation ; Statements of Mr. M■•• it. v-o>,. •t.»!!/if iJtja ij; ii. APPENDIX. No. 1. Copy of instructions from Provincial Secretary. No. 2. Copy of Circular asking information. No. 3. Petition of the Fishermen of Point Misoou. No. 4. Mr. Duran's letter respecting Fisheries near Shippagan. No. 5. Rules and Orders of the Sessions of Gloucester respecting the Salmon Fishery. No. 6. Rules and Regulations of the Municipal Counoili second division, County of Bonaventure. No. 7. Statement of the Cod Fishery of the United States in 1 848. No. 8. Statement of Pickled Fish exported from the United States, and Bounties paid from 1843 to 1848 inclusive. No. 9> Exhibit of the quantity and value of foreign caught fish imported into the United States, in 1829, 1832, 1838, 1843, and 1848, and the duties on the same. No. 10. Extract from the Convention of 1818 relative to the North American Fisheries. No. 11. Opinion of the Law Officers of England as to the con- struction of this Convention. No. 12. Report on the Fisheries in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. r. 'H ■ ft I ';'^;i.,^ ;^''^- h.-i':l REPORT ON THU SEA AND RIVER FISHERIES OP NEW BRUNSWICK, WITHIN THB GULF OF SAINT LAWRENCE AND BAY OF CHALEUR. J I ,6 .'* In entering upon a description of the Fisheries of New Bruns- wick within the Gulf of Samt Lawrence, it is necessary to state, that they fall naturally into two Districts, separated distinctly by the Miramichi River. To the northward of the Miraraichi, the Sea Fisheries are prosecuted in a regular and systematic manner, from permanent Fishing Establishments, technically termed " Rooms," while to the south of the Miramichi, there are no such establish- ments, and the Fisheries, which might be prosecuted extensively in that quarter, are only followed in a desultory manner. This Report will therefore fall under three heads :-— "^^ 1st. The Sea Fisheries on the coast north of tlie Miramichi, around the Island of Miscou, and within the Bay of Chaleur, to the Canadian Boundary. 2nd. The Sea Fisheries from the entrance of the Miramichi River southwardly, to the Nova Scotia Boundary. 3rd. The Fisheries in all the Rivers within these two Districts. The various Fishing Establishments north of the Miramichi, will be first described in the order in which they were visited, with such information as to the Fisheries of the Coast as was obtained on the spot. THE DISTRICT NORTH OF THE MIRAMICHI. ^' Portage Island. On the northern side of Miramichi Bay, at the entrance of the Miramichi River, is Portage Island, which on some of the older Maps is called Waltham Island. It is about four miles and a half in length, and nearly a mile in width at its south western end, tapering gradually to its north eastern extremity, where it termi- nates in a long narrow sand-bar. J2 This Island is jet ungranted. It is low and sandy, much cat op with marshes, swamps, and small lakes ; a portion of it only w wooded, with dwarf white birdhi Itnjd icklibby pme and spmce trees. Near the north eastern end of Portage Island, some buildings were erected about five years ajgo, with the necessary conveniences for putting up Salmon and Lobsters, in tin cases hermetically sealed. mUitmn'iiriiamiifpmdiamg lU iejufUn! of 1 849^ :by'Mf. William J. Eraser, of Chatham, who then for the first time set up " Fish Flakes," and undertook te dry and cure Cod and other Fish caught near this locality.* When this istablishmeht was visited iii Augihitt Iiiit,''ii whs in charge of George Letson, who furnished the follonring information in relation to it. TkB, season for'pptting up ^dmon and Lobsters was over. There bod: been twenty two thousand pounds of Salmon, and four thou- sand iBounds of Lobsters, pu;tup.in tin casts, of one pound and two pdi^di eaeh. The quantity of Lobsters ppt up was much less than VSOI^, owing to the prevalence of Cholera iQ.t^j^Unitie^ ^tatesi and the Qonse^ent waait of » market there. 'r<^ii.^f iMfH;?* tri' n::; ' 'ttie Sfllmoi^ put tiw here were all taken arOunf^ the Inland, itiid v^ere^^tii^ehlEul^d of the fishermen, b^ this esfeibliibhinjent, at M.piH pouna, fresh caaght, Si^ith a di^cotmt-of ten per cent, for deanin|^, which was said to b^ eqtial to j£3 ds. p^r barrel* The Lohstiers weiTf clfi^jB^ panght by the French inhabitants of the neigbboviring I^egujac Villages, from w^om they were ptirbhadecl at ^s. 6d. c\ir- rency, per hundred. They were verjr plentiful the padtdieitsbm especially at Black Lands and Tabusintac GuMy ; ana as pfodtof ti*>M In the early part of thi§ ieason, the fishing boats here otitidti^ their fares at no great distance from Ported Island; bat as the season advanced, they had to go out from ten to fifteen miles from the land. In Angust, they were fishing near Point Esenminae,= about twelve miles from Portage Island. These fishermen split and salted their fi^ in the boats, which usually came into the ** room'* ftbout twice a week ; they were using Mackerel and Clams asbaii^> t>ut previously had used Herring. No Qapelin had come in on this tMtrt of the coast. it was stated, that early in J nly there were from twenty to thirty sail of American vessels fishing in Miramichi Bay, at the distsno9 of five to ten miles from Portage Island ; and that they all obtained full fares of No. 3 Mackerel. One of these schooners entered the Miramichi River, and went upas far as Oak Point trading with the SetUers for Salmon. The master of this vessel exchanged two banreto of Superfine flour for each barrel of Sdmon, but he neither entered^ Pf paid duties on what he landed. H6 took the dimensions of thit Viin6ui9 hetl9 in use, and told the fishermen he would furnish theitt iiei^t year with similar nets at half the prices they had been accucf- tomed to pay-. These American fisliing vessels have, during the last three yearsi teaded-iit Fol Island, on the south side of Minuniohi Bay;' ', •:')')J'l'/[ .'h«-tbi>f( •/d-'/TARifi^sH igBq-nrii XMii'uih r-.d^il '' t)n the bar at the Southwest point of Portage Island was found » hbvel occupied by a man and boy : they had been there a fortnight, with nets and lines, but had only caught a barrel and a half of Maqkerel. These were all the Mackerel which had been caught at this station during the season, by the New Brunswick Fishermen, except such as had been used for bait. This man and boy had taken some fine Fall Herring, and a small quantity of Gaspereaux, exceed- ingly fat — so fat that they were boiling the offal in a kettle to extract the oil, which appeared abundant. It was stated here thatnumerous shoats of large Basse Were then roving about Fox Island and along the coast, and that they could be, and were, readily taken, eveniS the day time, by a proper Basse spear. A quantity of coarse bent grass grows on the Marshes and Beaohev of Portage Island ; and certain Frenoh residents of the Neguac Vil'> lages, under an old Minute of Council, claim a permissive right to cut and carry away this grass, paying the Sum of £5 annufdly to the Crown. IN Presuming upon the permission to out grass, tiiese parties haye» of lute /ears, wt up a olaim to the Fisheries of tho Isliinc|> md dufing 14 the pftit season they aotnaUy leased the Salmon Fishing on its shores to various parties, at rents from £2 10s. upwards. Six of the per- sons to whom they leased are persons residing at or near Bamt Churoh, named Peter Morrison, Georgp Jjogie, Jo^n Davidsoni Gteorge Davidson, John Anderson, and Alexander Logie. These parties, during the past season, furnished the Salmon for Mr. Fra- ser's preserving establishment. But the most extraordinary part of this anair is the fact, that the Act regulating the Fisheries in the County of Northumberland, (29th Geo. 3, c. 5,) positively prohibits any net whatever being set off Waltham or Portage Island ; and this Salmon Fishery has been carried on here in open defiance of the Law, and as is alleged, much to the detriment of the Salmon Fishery of the Miramichi River generally. This case will be found more particularly referred to under the head of River Fisheries of the Miramichi. Tabusintac Gully. This Gully, (from the French goulet,) is a narrow entrance, between two low sand-bars, into the lagoon of Tabusintac, and through that lagoon to the large River of the same name. The depth of water in this Gully is six and a half feet at low water, and eleven feet at high water, an average tide being four and a half feet. The sides of the Gully are steep, enabling Fishing boats and small vessels to come directly up to the shore. On the west side of this gully, a Fishing " room " was estab- lished during the past season by Roderick M'Leod, Esquire, of Tabusintac. There were nineteen boats employed, with three men each, fishing here, and Mr. M'Leod himself had two small schooners of fifteen tons each. At this " room " there were taken during the season, one hundred barrels of Spring Herring, five hundred quintals of dry Fish, and three hundred barrels of pickled Fish, chiefly Ling and Haddock. Late in the season, Mr. M'Leod's vessels were sent to Caraquet, and they there caught eighty six barrels of the Fall Her- ring. This new establishment may therefore be considered to have ma^e a successful commencement. Only five barrels of Mackerel were taken here during the season ; a Mackerel seine was provided, but the Fish did not come sufficiently near the shore to be taken with it. It was stated here, that American Fishing Vessels were fre- anently seen in the distance, but that they did not come near the [tore, owing to the light draught of water. The Fishing Boats from this Gully went out a long distance to- wards Escuminac, and caught their Fish in 25 fathoms water. They used Herring and Mackerel as bait, when they could he pro- cured ; but in August, they were using Clams. They frequently took Halibut of large size, a single fish being sometimes sufficient^o . fill a barrel. 15 r Tracady Gully. ! T)ie principal entrance to the Tracady Lagoon and Riven is at Little TracBdy Gully, in which there is six feet at low water, and nine feet at high water ; at Spring Tides there is ten feet. At this place Mr. James Young, of Tracady, has a small Fishing Station, which employed ton IxMits, with three men each, up to the 5th August, when (he season was closed. The cateh was 200 quintals of £y Fish. llie Jersey Houses, formerly, had an extensive Fishing "room" near this GuUy, at which they caught and cured from 3000 to 4000 quintiJs of Cod annually. The Capelin then came in on this part of the coast in great abundance, and they were largelv used by the Settlers for manuring the land. Apparently this haj the effect of breaking up the run of these Fish, as now they have almoM ceased to appear along this shore. With the disappearance of the Capelin, the Cod Fishery fell off greatly, and about six years since, the Jersey Houses found it necessary to break up their establish- ments here. A very few Capelin were seen at this place in the season of 1848, but none whatever in the season of 1849. ^^ At Little Tracady Gully, a number of the large White Sea Trout of the Gulf (Salmo trutta marina^) were taken in nets, during the early part of June last. ' ' > '* Shippagan Gully. This Gully is at the southern end of Shippagan Island, and between it and the main land. It forms an entrance to Shippagan Harbour, from the Gulf, and has nearly the same depth of water as Little Tracady Gully. Just within this Gully, on Shippagan Island, in a well sheltered and very convenient position, is the Fishing " room " of Messrs. Wm. Frning & Co., of Jersey, of which Capt. George Alexandre, of Jersey, was found in charge. At this place there were sixty boats engaged in Fishing, averag- ing two men and a boy to each boat. It was stoted, that each of these boats would probably fake 100 quintals of Fish during the season, but that the boats belonging to the firm, manned by Jersey men, would take more. On the 21st August there were at this << room " 2,500 quintals of dry Fish, exceedingly well cured. On the day it was visited there were 600 quintals of cod spread out to dry ; they were exceed- ingly white and hard, of the finest quality, and were about to be shipped to Naples, for which market the very best Fish are required. They are ihipped iu hulk> and the maunec in which they are u stoired in the holds of the TeaseUl Is yefy neat and compact. It fequires great skill and care to stow them without breaking, and in •aoh a manner as to prevent their receiving damage on so long a ^yage ; but long practice and experience have conquered these difficulties, and cargoes are rarely injured by bad stowage. The I^ng cured at this establishment are sent to Cork for the Irish market ; and the Haddock to the Brazils. The £rst quality- Cod cured here in 1848, instead of being sent to Naples were shipped to the Mauritius ; it was not stated what success had attended this adventure. Nearly all the fishermen at this establidiment were French •ettlers, who had small farms, or patches of land, somewhere in the vicinity, which they cultivated. It was the opinion of Captain ^exandre, that the fishermen here could not live unless they possessed land, and obtained something from the soil ; if they did not, they nearly starved. Those who are too poor to own boats hire them of the firm for the season, that is, until the 15th of Au- gust, when the Summer Fishing ends. If the boats are used for the Autumn or ** Fall ". Fishing, there is, of course, another hiring* The Fishing usually continues until the 15th October, and it was expected that the whole catch of the season of 1849 would amount to 3,500 quintals — if the weather proved favourable, probably 4^000 quintals. The boats come in here directly to the " stage head," upon which the Fish are thrown ; they are at once split and cleaned by the fishermen, on tables provided for the purpose ; and 300 lbs. of Fish, fr«sh from the knife, are weighed off as sufficient to make a quintal of dry Fish, with the allowance of one tenth for the curer. If the Fish are split and salted in the boats, and lay one night, then 252 lbs. are weighed as a quintal. The fishermen are allowed for a Suintal of Cod thus weighed, ten shillings, and for Ling and Had> ock, five shillings, — the amount payable in goods at the Store of the firm, on Point Amacque, where a large quantity of foreign goods is kept, of every variety. Here were found Jersey hose and stock- ings — Irish butter — Cuba molasses— -Naples biscuit, of half a pound each-*— Brazilian engar-^-Sioilian lemons-oNeapolitan hrandy — American tobacco — with EiRgUeb, Dutch, and German goods, — but nothing of Colonial produce or manufacture, except Canadian poric «nd flour. Some of the residents at Shippagan, who are la more indepen- dent circumstances, prosecute the fisheries in connectloa wHIi theor forming, curing the fish themsdves, and disposing of them at tiie dose of the season to the Jersey merchants, m to others, as they lee fit Of tlu8 cl«89 is MoBsieur lieon Robicdieauz, (who is men- 17 «< tioned' !n the Report of last year) . He has a good flurm on Shipp«> gan Island ; the past season he planted forty nine harrels of potatoes, as also wheat, oats, and barley, the whole of which promised to yield an abundant retnrn. Besides these forminc operations, Monsieur Robioheanx and his family, caught and oared durmg the season, two hundred and fifty quintals of dry fish — in all twenty four thousand fish, the whole taken in twenty five to forty fathoms of water. For these, well cured and of the best quality. Mens. R. would I'eceive from the Jersey merchants, in cash, for Cod, 12s., Ling, 6s., and Haddock, 5s. per quintal. They also took thirty barrels of Spring Herring, twelve large Halibut, and four barrels of Mackerel ; this small quantiiy of the latter being merely the surplus beyond what Mens. R. required for baitj fbc which alone they were caught. Mens. Robioheaux stated, that 9 large Salmon had been taken, only a week previously, (22d August) on a cod line, from one of his boats ; and he expressed an opinion, that there were many Salmon roving along the shores of Miscon, during the season. This opinion was subsequently found to be correct. At this place a large Clam, or rather Mussel, was exhibited, which had been taken from the stomach of a Cod. The shell was of a dark blue colour; the flesh was light red, and it protruded much beyond the shell— 'it cut like meat, which it greatly resembled. Tbese shell fish are said to exist only in very deep water ; whereveir they are found, there is always plenty of Cod, which are said to be exceedingly fond of them, and prefer them as bait to almost any other thing which can be used. It was stated that the settlers on Shippagan Island, used five hundred barrels of Spring Herrings, as manure, the past season. •1 > Miscou Island, This Island lies at the north easternmost extremity of Brunswick, at the entrance into the Bay of Chaleur. ft is about nine utiles in length, an^ four in width, at its broadest part. The whole of it is very low, and its greater portion consists of carriboo bo^s, mossy swamps, small lakes, salt marshes, and sand plains ; tli^ two latter producing a scanty growth of wild grass. There, are however, some small tracts of land upon it fit for agricultural pursuits, and these have been granted to Mr. Andrew Wilsont and Mr. John Marks, who reside upon their lands. But wild, barren, and almost desolate as is this island of Miscou, yet it is an admirable Citation for the Fisheries ; its value in this respect was well known more than two centuries ago to the French, in whoso history it has a conspicuous position. About the year 1635, a company was established in France for the purpose of carrying 3 18 on the For Trude and Firfieries in tire Ghdf «f Saint Lawrence, of ivhioh, the King of France was at the head. It was called the *' Roval Company of^ Miscou," and it had extensive powers and Eivileges. The principal station of the company- was on the land of Miscon, within the Harbour of Little Shippagan, which is formed between the Islands of Shippagan and Miscon, where it is said some of the foundations of the Company's buildings are yet to be seein. The principal pursuit of the Company of Miscon, was the taking of the Morse or Walrus, whose fovorite echouag^^ 9t strand, was near Point Miscou, the north eastern extremity of tiie Island. These huge animals were valuable for their skins and the oil they furnished, as also for the ivory of their tusks. They were frequently killed by three and four hundred at a time, and tiieir destrootion was carried on so unremittingly, and with such success, tiiat they have become wholly extinct at Misoou. On visiting the echouagey or place where the Walrus were> formerly slain in such numbers, a little to the westward of Point Miscou, it was found that the ancient beach is now nearly a quarter of a mile from the Sea ; a long strip of sand plain, covered with coarse grass uid a great abundance of Cranberries, at this time intervenes between the present Sea-beach and the former strand. This strip of recent formation is called the Grande Plaine ; and the curving shore in its front is called by the Fishermen UAnee d Grande Plaine. On examining the ancient shore, near Ikib outer edge of a belt of small spruce and fir trees, the bones of the Walrus which had formerly been slfun tliere, were found im- bedded in the sand in large quantities, and in good preservation, some of the skeletons being quite complete. The Harboiar of Little Shippagan is an exceedingly good one, and well sheltered ; it is much resorted to by American Fishing vessels during heavy easterly storms, and as many as ninety sail of these vessels have been observed in this Harbour at one time. — "ithe entrance from the Gulf is by a small gully, in which there is only eight feet at low water and twelve feet at high water, iii ordinary tides. This passage is only used by Fishing boats and small craft. The principal entrance is from the Bay of Chaleur $ it is about half a mile in width, with 8 fathoms at low water, which depth is maintained well into the Harbour, where the chan- M\ becomes narrow, with perpendicular sides, yet still very deep. This excellent Harbour is of great use and importance to tne numerous Fishing vessels frequenting the Gulf, and the Bay of Chaleur. {■i' ing eould be finer than the appearance of this erop, which jpromised an abundant yield. It was stated by Mr. Wilson, that in formed yeairs his potatoes had been but slightly affected with the potato9 disease, and that his crop of this vegetable was generally goodi fie keeps 70 sheep, and the mutton is peculiarly fine, owing to the character of the wild grasses on which his sheep are pasturedk Mr> Wilson is an Emigrant from Aberdeen, In Scotland, irvhd bag been settled on this Island upwards of sixteen years« He has a family of eight sons and two daughters, all residing with him ; firOni their unceasing industry and economy, this large family- is now liV* ing in much comfort, and apparently becoming quite mdependehlt. Mr. Wilson himself is a person of intelligence and observation, find he furnished much information as to the Island of Miscou, and'its Fisheries, which is h^re embodied. The family has three boats, manned by six of the sons ; np t» the 23rd of Angnst last, they had caught and cured 200 quintals of dry Fish, besides 140 barrels of Herrings. Last spring, the Herrings came in much earlier, and in greater quantities than were ever known befwe. Mr. Wilson sead, that wtien he put out bis nets on the l&th of Mav last, they became so completely filled with Herring, that he could not lift them ont again. He cured eA ittany as he could with all the salt at that time to be had. The Fish were in such abundance, and so close to the shore, that they came rolling in with the bi%akeriEi in masses^ and were picked ap along the strand by the children. ' )a ; .lit: fj ■.■|M«i£is» It was stated by Mr. Wilson, as also by other persons alon^ the coast, that none of the Jersey Houses would furnish salt, even to their best customers, to cure Herring, Mackerel, or any pickled Fish ; and that they discouraged the catching and curing of all Fish, except such as were dried and fit for the Foreign Markets already mentioned. This was assigned as one reason why t|ie valuable Herring and Mackerel Fisheries on this coast are not more extensively prosecuted. During the time Mr, Wilson has resided at Miscou, he ne^ec knew the Herring fail in any spring, but they were more abundant the last se«0oa than ho oyer knew then befote. Many Hemog 20 Fishers from the main land feiort to this Island every spring ; hni it is thought that not more than one tenth of the Fish they take are salted, the remaining nine tenths being put on the fiel$ls as manure. - ! ' There has always been a good snpply of Capelin at Misoou until the last two seasons, during which very few have been seen ; but this falling off is supposed to be only temporary or accidental. It is said that when Capelin are plentiful at Misoou, they- are «carce at Labrador, and vice versa. The past season Capelin were nnusually abundant at Labrador, and the Fishing there, in conse- quence, was better than usual. Some of the boats that were there, with two men only, caught 100 quintals each boat in twelve days* At Labrador, one hundred Cod of eighteen inches each in. length, are accounted a quintal. ! «.! v^^fj The ice usually clears away from the shores of Misoou at the latter part of March or early in April. During some winters the open water is seen at all times; but if easterly winds prevail the ice is driven in, and closes the coast. The fishermen sometimes go out in April in small boats to tf^e Seals among tlie ice in the Gulf, and it is said that they succeed well in*^ proportion to their outfit When the Spring Herring come to the shore, the Cod, which follow them in, are taken at a very short distance from the land. As the season advances, the Cod retire to the deeper water ; in August the best Fishing was at fifteen miles from the shore, or even more. Mr. Wilson's farm is bounded to the north eastward by a salt water Lake, called Grand Mai-Bay, which communicates with the Gulf by a very narrow gully through the sand reef, or sea wall, which separates the Lake firom the Gulf. Mr. Wilson stated, that some years since a run of Cod entered Mai- Bay through the gully, and as a large portion of this Lake is dry at low water, about ten thousand Codfish were then left dry. Of these Mr. Wilson secured about one thousand, which he cleaned and cured ; he was unable to take any more from, the want of assistance, and the rest of the Fish spoiled and were lost. On another occasion, he sur- rounded, and took at one haul of his net, the whole of a " schuU " of Basse, 570 in number, weighing from 4fts. to 81bs. each. In Ibis Mai-Bay, there is always during the season a great abundance and variety of wild fowl ; in August, black ducks and large plover were observed in very large flocks. In the latter part of eveiy season the sons of Mr. Wilson are accustomed to shoot, at this Slace, from 300 to 400 wild geese, for which sport they have proper eooys and large guns ; the feathers are valuable, and the bodies of the geese, then in fine condition, are frozen down for winter use. fll or It #:1 ''A mnall flit Hei'ring comes in on this oont at the end of June, and remains all the seasoni They are caught at various distances^ fipom half a mile to 20 miles from the shore, in a net with a mesh of one inch and a quarter. These fish' are quite distinct and alto* getlier di£fererit from the Spring Herring, or the ** Fall " Herring, The latter are usuallv caught in nets with a mesh of one inch and three quarters, but the finest are taken in Mackerel nets, with a mesh of two inches and a half. In oorroboration of the testimony of Monsieur Leon Rohioheaux, that Salmon were roving about Miscou, Mr. Wilson mentioned, that by way of experiment he put out a small Salmon net last June, and caught altogether twelve Salmon; the largest Fish weighed eighteen pounds, and the weight of the whole was 141 Itounds. In the same net he also took seven Mackerel of very tirge size, two sturgeon, two shad, and more than a dozen of the large white trout of the Gulf. During the last week in August there were many Basse along the shore, very fat and in fine con- dition. Mr. Wilson said that when salted these Fish ar^ nearly as good as Salmon for winter use. Halibut of large size are said to be abundant at this locality. >' ' '^^From the point south of Little Shippagan Gully, which is named V Pidgeon E[ill," to Point Mispou, the shore has a general cjurve inwara, forming a sort of hight in front of Mr. Wilson's farm. This bight is much frequeiited by American schooners fishing for Mackerel. They entice the Mackerel to the surface by bagit out up by the i3ait-Mill, (as described in the Report of 1849) aiid they are sometimes so abundant here that the ''jig" eyen is not used. One of Mr. Wilson's sons said he had seen the Mackerel almost in a solid mass alongside one of these American sdhotmers, the crew of which were lifting them in very rapidly with iron wireS» about three feet in length, having a hook at the extremity, which were fastened to a wooden staff, or handle, of about the same length. These schooners have been known to make full fares of Mackerel here in nine days. Since the Americans began taking these Fish in such quantities, they have become more scarce, or rather the resident fishermen are unable to take them, owing to their imper- fect tackle, and antiquated mode of fishing, ■■'■'•fd Mr. Wilson is dearly of opinion that it would be for better jfbr the resident Fishermen if the American fishers were allowed to land on these shores, for the purpose of cleaning and curing their Fish, than to compel them, as at present, to clean their Fish on the Fishing Grounds, where the bones and offal seriously injure , the Fisheries— he says, they should either be excluded altogether from the Gulf, or else allowed to land upon its shores. He conceiyes that great good would arise, both to the Herring and Maplierel S2 Piihtriem aad auMhiaprorMnenti if the Amerioans wen aUoired t& aitelilith Stetioiit on the dmres of Neir Brnnswiok, for proseoa^ [thoM Fisheriet* The benefit! of oomlMtitiDn were algoalloded to br Mr. Wilson, who saSd^*< the Jersey honses, exaol too large its, and keep the fishers in poverty ; they look only to ona loh of fishing) and disoonrage all others." Point Mucou, About (bar mOes to the north eastward of Mr. Wilson's fhrm, and near to Point Miscoa, are two Fishing *< rooms" belonging to the Jersey houses of Frning Sc Co., and LeBontillier Brothers. I . The first of these ** rooms," belonging to Fruing & Co., is very olose to the Sea-beach, with an open road, stead in front, and a heavy sea rolling in with any wind from the eastward betweeq north and sonth. It was found in charge of Mr. DeCarteret, acting under the orders of Messrs. Alexandre at Shippagan. This establishment employs twenty boats, having two men each } on the 24th of August, there was on hand 1100 qnintals of dry Fish, and it was expected there would be 300 quintals more caught and cured before -the season closed. There was no pickled Fidi at this " room." Mr. DeCarteret stated, that an American vessel fishing o£f Point Misoou, a week previously, and having on board nearly a taXL fare of Cod, had found the Mackerel in such extraordinary abundance, that the crew had thrown overboard one hundred and fifty quintals of green Fish, in order to make room for Mackerel, with which the vessel had been quickly filled up. ..The "room" of Messieurs LeBomtilli^ is the nearest tp Point Misoou, and was found indaai^e of Mr. LeBas. The buildings here are well and substantially built ; they were in excellent order out- nde, and very cleanly within. The Fish Flakes are on a piece of ground neatly levelled, and now in grass ; it i» surrounded with high pallisades, aa Well to keep o£F marauders, as to prevent the loose sand firom drifting in upon the Fish while drying. At this "room " there were also twenty boats engaged, having two men each ; they had taken 1200 qumtals of Fish, and were expected to take 300 quintals more before the season closed. Mr. LeBas stated, that the Americans had injured the Cod Fishing by glutting the Mackerel, so that a sufficient quantity oouTd not be cangnt for bait ; and that this, added to the failure of tiie Capelin, had caused a great diminution in the Cod Fishing at Miscou. Other baits boing scarce in August, smelts wefre used, which were taken by a seine. While the writer was at thia " room," flie tseiae trae hauled three timetr, and besides seoufing a 23 ■apply of very fine Smelts, it brou^t on shore small Cod uid Ling, Flounders, one Plaioe, many Grabs, 8o0ljHn8 or CrapoMd de merit and Lobsters of all siies in abundance. At an earlier period in the ■eason, Mr. LeBas said, the seine brottfht on sli(nre large qnaotitief of Shrimps, whioh were turned out again as being of no use. Although the beaoh in front of Messieurs LeBontillier's " room'* is a little sheltered by two gravelly sand spits, whioh run out a short distance from the land, yet it is muoh exposed to easterW- gales, and a very heavy sea then oomes tumbling in. At suoh times the Fishing boats are moored outside the outermost roller, with the masts struck and all made snug to ride out the gale ; or dse they are beached, and hauled up above high water mark. — Except when the wind is off shore, there is much difficulty in landing supplies here, which are chiefly furnished from Messieurs LeBoutillier's principal establishment at Paspebiac in Gaspd. The extreme point of Miscou was granted some years since to Peter John Duval, of Jersey, after which it was occunied by his agent Mr. Falle, as a Fishing station. The grant induaes a wide, shallow, salt water lake, similar to Mai-Bay, designated on the plan "Munroe's Lake," but by the residents it is called *' Frye's Lake." The gully through the sea wall, by which this lake communicated with the Gulf, was formerly at its southern extre- mity, but this is now filled up ; and where Mr. Falle's ** stage head" fbrmerly stood in deep water, there was, last season, a field of barley growing luxuriantly. The gnlly, or out-let of the lake, is now at its northern end, very near the extremity of Point Miscou. The grantee of this property and his agent are both dead, and it is sua to be owned at present by some person in Jersey. It is not occupied as a Fishing station, and in its present position, is in the way of others who wish to carry on the Fishened. Thfs unfortunate and improvident grant should serve as a caution to prevent amilar grants hereafter, by whioh valuable and desirabte fishing stations may thus be shut up and rendered useless. The Settlers on Miscou, fr« The " Fishing Rooms" at Miscou are shut up in the winter season, and left in charge of one of the residents, who is called the ** Room keeper." The Jersey men employed here dnrbg the summer, either return to Jersey for the winter, or go to the Medi- terranean in the vessels whioh take the dried fish to the markets there, returning to their posts in the spring. They are complete^ birds of passage, having no tie in this Province, or any interest in its general prosperity. The actual residents on Miscou number one huadsea and tyrepty fire 0oul0> and are thus described-- 24 On the Galf Shore, Little Shippagan Harbour, Point Miscon, at Grande Plainer At Frye's Lake, East of Point Midcou, . (( « . '.iM r.! J -re it « . ri ( . << ■ ' f • ((if '•^:'>i ««;/ ff/> Andrew Wilson & family^ Robert Harper, John Marks, John LeCoutre, George Sevret, Teton Chasseau, Louis 6autier, Josiah Ward, Francis Bezean, William Ward, Michael Ward, Peter Bezean, George Brown, Michael Plaw, John Vibert, James Ward, Pierre Dupuits, John Burns, (single) « tt (C «( (( cc (I Id 6 6 6 6 6 11 6 7 10 5 6 10 3 6 9 5 I -VftFi- Total number of souls, 125 The settlers in Little Shippagan Harbour do not follow fishingy bqt. attend to the cultivation of the land, some of which is there tolerably good. The settlers at Point Miscou are all fishermen, who are employed every season at the Fishing Stations, to which they are more or leasi in debt. Their houses are built of logs and poles ; these are small, and very ill fitted to resist the severity of the climate. They cultivate little patches of ground, in a very imperfect manner ; the manure used is generally Cods heads. They are all squatters on Crown Lands, and appear very anxious to procure some title t6 occupy their several locations, either by licence of occupation or otherwise. While the writer was at Miscon they prepared the petition which is annexed to this Report, praying such licences of occupation, with privilege of the beaches in front of their locations ; and also some arrangements with respect to the wild grass on the marshes an^ beaches of the Island. . T|ie Petitioners stated, as a great hardship, that the Wild Mea- dows in the County of Gloucester are sold every season at Bathurst,^ wb^re they are unable to attend, at a nominal sum ;^ that those on Ajfii^eou ^re purchased for a few shillings by one of the Jersey mer- chants, who charges them ten shillings per ton for the marsh. hay, and five shillings per ton for the beach grass, which the fishermen themselves cut and cure. To thesa terms they must submit, or * The whole of the Wild Meadows in the Coanty of Gloucester were sold in 1848 for one pound only«—|8ee ^ppeAdte to Jouraalf of the AMembfy for 1819* :: 25 ^Miihey can make no provifflon for their cows, by wbioh they en- dMKrour to eke ont a miserable subsistenoe during the winter. T6 acdonht for their abject poverty, they famished the following statement, of the rates at which they were paid for the fish they caught : — For 252 ft>s. of Cod, fresh from the knife, (supposed equal to a Suiotal of dried fish,) 8s. ; for the like quantity of Ling or Had- ock, 4s. These rates are paid in supplies at the following prices : For Canadian fine flour, 5 Is. per barrel; for pork, (very poor) lOd. per lb ; molasses, 3s. 6d. per gallon ; tobacco, Is. 9d. per ib ; men's coarse shoes, 14s. per pair ; coarse calicoes, Is. 3d. per yard ; tea, (very inferior quality) 4s. per lb ; other articles in proportion* For any supplies advanced in the winter or spring, 15 per cent, additional is charged. The settler at Frye's Lake, Louis Gautier, has a wife and nine children, a very ban ome and healthy family. Gautier himself is a fine figure of a n* .ii, and an excellent specimen of the French veteran soldier. He belonged in former days to the grand army, of France, under Napoleon, and served in the 69th Regiment of the line, which was in Marshal Ney's Division at Waterloo, where Gautier's military services ended. His house, which is very slight, contains but a single room, in the centre of which is a Canadian stove ; there is a bedstead in one corner for Gautier and his wife— > the children *' encamp" around the stove, as they may. The house, when visited, was a perfect pattern of cleanliness, and the few articles it contained were arranged with true military pre- cision. There was part of an acre of ground in cultivation ; but Weeds and thistles were more abundant than the crop. The situa- tion of this settler will give a general idea of the position Of the wliole, except as to cleanliness. AH the settlers at Point Miscou complained bitterly of their poverty, and state of bondage. They said they were completely in the hands of the Jersey merchants, to whom they were indebted, and who dictated their own prices and terms of dealing. They ap- peared to feel very much the want of a School ; and they stated the surprising fact, that they had never been visited by Priest or Clergyman of any denomination. The children are growing up unbaptized, and in total ignorance ; this state of things ought not longer to exist in a Christian community which patronizes Foreign Missions. Their excellent health requires no aid from the Physi- cian ; but they desire a resident Magistrate to enforce the Laws and maintain good order at all times, but more especially during the Fishing Season, when the Island is the resort of many lawless fishers from abroad. dv; 26 The general votee indicated Mr< Wilson as a fit and proper person ; he is highly respected, and if he accepted the office, would perform the duties of a Magistrate fearlessly and faithfully. - ^ The absolute state of serfdom of the fishermen of Point M)^|^ has been particularly described, because there are like bodies, pi fishermen at other localities in the northern part of the Province, who are held in nearly the same state of poverty and bondage. The more favoured inhabitants of New Brunswick, who dwell at a distance from its remote northern shores, will no doubt be sur- prised to learn, that there are any of their fellow subjects, dwelling in the same Colony, who are even in a worse position than southern slaves, and of whose moral, physical, and spiritual wants, less care has been taken. Shippagan Island. This Island is about twelve miles in length, and from three to seven miles in width. A small proportion of it only is granted, but the shores, in every part where the land appears at all suscep- tible of cultivation, are settled by persons who are presumed to be .squatters, as their locations appear by the official plan to be nn* granted. The Island is all very low land, rising but little above the sea, and like Miscou, a large portion of its surface consists of b(^s, barrens, swamps, and marshes, with many small shallow lakes, much frequented by waterfowl, which breed in the interior and unfrequented parts of the Island. Like Miscou also, it pro- duces large quantities of cranberries, blueberries, and a variety of other wild fruits, of large size and fine flavor, 0£f the western part of this Island, within tlie Bay of Cha- leur, there is an extensive shallow flat, extending nearly two miles from the land, called the Grande Batture. On this flat there are numerous large blocks or boulders of granite firmly im<' bedded, which rentier it dangerous to cross, even with a fishing boat ; the wreck of a fishing boat was noticed upon it when the writer crossed in his canoe. These boulders are brought over from the wild and mountainous shores of Gaspe, directly across the Bay, by the huge masses of floating ice driven over by the northerly gales, which ground upon the Grand Batture, and there melting, add the rocks they bring to those already deposited. With reference to this moving of rocks by ice, Mr. Wilson mentioned that there was formerly a very large rock directly in front of his landing place at Miscou, which was much in the way of his boats, and against which, in stormy weather, they had often received damage. But the severe Winter of 1848-9, caused the ice to attain an unusual strength and thickness near the shores of Miscou ; and when it moved off last Spring, it carried off this large rock} to deposit it where, he hoped, it would be less troublesome. ^^^ t^^ ; 27 ■**. ^ wjo^i haft i^ (> ^ Great Shippagan Harbour. This ^paoious Hturbour is formed between Shippagan and Pook* Boudie Islands, and the main land. It comprises three large and cdtoiniodioas Harbonrs ; first — the great inlet of Amaoque, iu Shippagan Island, the depth of water into which is from fiVe to six fathoms ; second — the extensive and well sheltered sheet of water called " Saint Simon's Inlet," the channel leading into which* between Pbcksoudie Island and the main, is one mile in width, with seven fathoms water from side to side ; and third — the middle channel, between Shippagan Island and the main land, which runs through from the Bay of Chaleur to the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. The entrance into this channel, from the Gulf, is by Shippagan Gully, already mentioned, which will not with safety admit ves- sels drawing more than seven feet water, that being the depth on the bar at low water ; but the principal entrance from the Bay of Chaleur has not less than five fathoms on the bar, inside which, within the Harbour, there is six and seven fathoms up to the usual loading place, in front of Messieurs Moore and Harding's steam saw-mill, at the village ; from thence to the Gully there is about three fathoms only. Vessels within the Harbour of Shippagan have good anchorage, are quite safe with every wind, and can load ia the strongest gale ; the rise and fall of tide is about seven feet. t This fine Harbour offers peculiar facilities for prosecuting the Fisheries, as the Fishing boats have the advantage of two entrances by which they can enter or depart with any wind, and resort either to the Fishing grounds of the Gulf, or those of the Bay of Chaleur, as best suits their interest or convenience. There is every facility for Fishing boats to come up to to the shores to dis- charge tlieir fares, and Fish flakes may be set up every where, without inconvenience. The noble haven called " St. Simon's Inlet," the shores of which are almost wholly unsettled and in a wilderness state, runs several miles into the land, maintaining a good depth of water almost to its western extremity. From this extremity, where navigable, it is little more than a mile to the navigable waters of Pokemouche River. The two waters are separated by a deep peat-bog, nearly destitute of trees ; and it has been proposed to connect them by a canal through the bog, which it is supposed might be cut at no very great expense. There is much good land on the banks of tlie Pokemouche River, upon which there are as yet but few settlers. It is difficult and somewhat dangerous, even for small craft, to get into this River from the sea. The gully is very narrow and crooked, and there is but six feet water on the bar—vessels cannot load outoidOf there being only au open roadstead irholly exposed. '2» The logs and timber out on the Pokemoneh* River are made up into long rafts, and when there is a favourable opportunity with the wind off the shore, they are towed along the beach by several pairs of oxen to Shippagan Gully, from whence they go up to the Bteam-mill with the tide. If the wind or sea rises while the rafts are being towed, they ote occasionally broken up, when labour aivd expense are incurred in putting them together again. * If Pokemonche River emptied into Shippagan Harbour, or if it could now be connected with it by a suiBcient channel, great ad- ▼antiages would arise to the Timber Trade and Fisheries, while the agricultural improvement of a large tract of country would be spe* cially promoted. Shippagan Harbour wants a River — Pokemouche River wants a Harbour — it is highly desirable that the two should be brought into connection. Caraquette Bay. The Bay lies to the northward of Shippagan Harbour, the en- trance being between Pocksoudie Island and Mizzinette. In this entrance is Caraquette Island, which is about three miles in length, and one and a quarter in width at its widest part. There is a deep but intricate channel on the south eastern side of this Island, lead- ing to the Harbour, inside which there is good anchorage, well sheltered. Along the south side of Caraquette Bay the land is all settled, and under tolerably good cultivation ; from the sea, the settlement looks like a long straggling village. The inhabitants, with very few exceptions, are all Acadian French. Tiie first settlers were from France, who established themselves here in the year 1638, very shortly after the formation of the " Royal Company of Mis- oott." The soil in general is very fertile, and produces good crops of grain, especially wheat, the atmosphere being dry and pure— fogs are almost unknown in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and Bay of Chaleur. Very many of the inhabitants of Caraquette follow fishing as well as farming, but as they are more easy in their circumstances, they are not so much under the control of the great fishing houses as the poover class of fishermen. They generally cure their own Fish. ; " The following information was furnished at Caraquette by James iBIackhall, Esquire, J. P., and Mr. Mackintosh, a merchant there, (mgaged in the Fisheries. From « Saint Simon's Inlet " to " Point Mizzinette," which includes the whole settlement, or Caraquette proper, there are two hundred Fishing boats> with two men each, and some boys. The : 9 ' 29 ftvenge oitch of these boats is fifty qnintalfl of Fish during th0?s«a- I MO). They take besides, large quantities of Spring aod rFail Herring; tibe former are chiefly used as manure, the latter are exceedingly fine, perhaps as fine as can be found anywhere of i the Herring tribe. Gaspereaux are caught also ; late in the season they are an exceedingly fat fish, well flavoured ; the only objection to them is their oily richness. i t'The Fall Herrings are taken at night ; they are " gibbed " when brought on shore the following day, and salted in puncheons. At the end of three days the pickle is changed, fresh pickle being then put on. About a' week after this, or at convenience, they are packed o£f in barrels for market. They are packed just as they come to hand ; they are not sorted or selected in any way. Lai^e and small, broken and damaged fish are all put up together* The Herring nets in use at Caraquette are from 30 to 40 fathoms long and 80 meshes in depth ; the mesh is 21 or 21 inches. Each boat has generally two nets, seldom more. No more Fall Herrings are caught than are needed for home consumption. Mr. Mackintosh stated, that he has shipped Fall Herrings to Quebec, and the price at which they sold there was just equal to the freight from Caraquette. The reason was obvious; the fish were not properly cured, assorted, or packed. Very few Mackerel were taken in Caraquette Bay during the past season by the fishers there, ^a^jy in August the American schooners were fishing for Mackerel off Point Mizzinette, where they obtained full fares in a short time. The practice of cleaning fish on the fishing grounds, and throw- ing over the bones and offal, was strongly reprobated by Mr. Mac- kintosh as highly injurious to the Cod Fishery. The long established and wealthy Jersey firm of Charles Robin & Co., whose principal establishment is at Paspebiac, in Gaspe, have a station at Caraquette, of which Mr. Briard was in charge. The buildings, and every thing else connected with this station, were in that perfectly complete and excellent state which marks all the establishments of Robin & Co. They here take in fish from the inhabitants at the following rates : — Best Cod at 16s. per quintal ; Haddock, 6s. per quintal. They do not take Ling at any rate, nor do they deal in pickled fish. The prices mentioned are paid in goods, thus, — Flour (not superfine) 45s. per barrel ; pork, 8d. per lb. ; molasses, 2si lOd. per gallon; tobacco. Is, 4d. per lb. ; men's shoes, lis. per pair. They do not sell any tea, that being an article rarely used in Caraquette* so ' Very- fair Oysters are found in Caraquette Bay and Saint Siinoii*4 Inlet, bat those in Caraqnette Bay are said to be the beat. Of these several thousand budhels are sent annually to Quebec in schooners ; a small qnantity only was sent the past season, owing to the exist- ence of the cholera there, and the consequent want of a market < At day break on the 29th August, the writer crossed that part of Caraquette Bay between Caraquette Island and Point Mizzi- nette, which is the best ground /or Herring fishing. On this "Herring-bank," as it is termed, there were then 160 fishing boats, which had just taken up their nets after the night's fishing. They had not been very successful ; the night had been clear and calm, and a dark night, with a fresh breeze, is the best for Herring fishing. The largest quantity taken by any of these boats during the night was six barrels ; the fish were in the very best condition, and their excellence could scarely be equalled, certainly not sur- passed, by Herrings any where. The fishermen appeared to have no idea that the Herring swims at various depths below the surface, according to the wind, the tide, and the situation of their food. They all fished their nets fastened to a buoy-rope, supported by floats on the surface ; if the run of the Fish happened to be below the depth of the net, they were of course missed altogether ; and although there may be abundance of Fish, yet the fishers, from the want of knowledge or skill, must be frequently unsuccessful. The fresh Herrings are sold to purchasers from 2s. 6^. to 35. per barrel; three barrels of round Herrings will make two barrels when cleaned and salted. On the 12th September, there were 280 Fishing boats on this bank, collected from all parts of the neighbouring coasts. At the close of the Season, the Herring Fishing was said not to have been good, less than the usual quantity being taken. The Fish made their appearance on the 20th of August, previous to which not even a single one had been taken ; there did not appear to be any deficiency in the numbers, and the failure of the Fishery may to a certain extent be attributed to a want of knowledge of the habits of the Fish, and also of the manner of using nets in deep water, s^ successfully practised by the Herring Fishers of Loch Fyne. '," I'he writer had an opportunity at Caraquette, of seeing the manner in which Herrings were treated after being caught. The nights' fishing being over, the boats made their way to the shore, each to its own landing. The fishers had, in the first place, to get tlieir breakfasts; after which it was absolutely necessary they should smoke their pipes. Having been out all night, a little sleep was indispensable ; and, in too many cases, the fish lay in the boats or on the shore, nearly all the day, sweltering under a broiling sun. lu the afternoon perhaps, they were " gibbed" and saUed, but by « 31 tint iMiA0 the process' of dffeompoflitioif hod actnally commenoed, ami the fine flavour of the fish was utterly lost* ■■>■ ■ When it is recollected that the Dutch mode of curing, so sno- cessfnlly adopted in Scotland, requires that the Herrings, imme- diately on being caught, should be bled, gutted, cleaned, salted, and barrelled ; that by being bled, the Herrings retain a sweetness of flavor and delicacy of flesh which unbled Herrings cannot pos- sibly possess ; and that the rapidity of the process of curing likewise aids in preserving the native delicacy of the animal, it cannot be expected that Caraquette Herrings, excellent as they are when first taken from the water, should possess any flavour when salted, or have any commercial value. The manner in which these Herrings are treated, is almost an absolute waste of the bounties of Providence. Grande Ance, V On leaving Caraquette Bay, and rounding Point Mizzinette, t6 proceed up the Bay of Cbaleur, the shores are found to consist of grey sand-stone, rising abruptly from the water, with but few and narrow beaches. Thus the shores continue to Grande Ance, which is a long narrow beach in a slight indentation of the coast. There were thirty boats engaged in Fishing here last August, with two men each. The Fishing Ground is directly in front of Grande Ance, within three miles of the shore ; and the average catch of these boats is from 70 to 80 quintals each during the season. There were several persons here taking in Fish firom the resident fishermen. The principal of these was Mr. Alexandre, son of Captain Joshua Alexandre, of Shippagan and Jersey. The rates allowed the fishermen last season were as follows:*^ for green Cod, fresh from the knife, ten shillings for 300 lbs. ; for Ling and Haddock, five shillings for 300 lbs. These rates were paid in goods and supplies, at fishermen's prices. Six or seven American schooners had been cruising off Grande Ance in the earlier part of the season. Mackerel fishing ; they had all taken full fares and left the coast. They frequently came in close to the shore ; while they were using their peculiar mode of fishing the Cod fishers could not procure any Mackerel for bait, exiA their fishing suffered in consequence, there being no Clams here. The Americans having left, the fishers were fitting up Mackerel nets for use ; these were 20 fathoms long and 3 fathoms deep, with a mesh of 3 inches. It was said that nets 5 fathoms deep were better than those of 3 fathoms. < i ei^y' This Cove is greatly exposed to almost every wind from the northward, when a heavy sea comes in on the beach. At such &2 timet ih^iboata are bcaohadvandhamled upa%0T»lMgh wat^rldMk by men ftnd horses, the shore being 8 to bequeath to his family a great amount of wealth. 40 illiBat of LeBoatillier wotbers, of Jersey, wbiGhv't|iM^i|^^^i(> extensive as the other, is well and neatly arranged,, anglkept in %xoeJl6nt order. The three brothers Le Boutillier y^'it^ tr i ; ^ . > r ; u '^'^ Mr. La Perelle, the ohief agent of the establishmetit of ^Rb^fii knd Co., stated that their house would export from 40,000 to 45,- 000 quintals of Dried Cod, in the season of 1849, to the Brazils^ •nd Mediterranean Ports. The fish for the Brazils are padked in large flat tubs, called ** drums," into which they are prie«sed by a powerful screw. Each drum contains exactly 128ibs. ofidry fish, that being the Portnguese quintal ; and the drums are shaped to suit the convenience of the Brazilians, who transport them into the interior of South America, slung in pairs upon mules. For the Mediterranean markets, the fish are stowed in the holds Of the vessels, in bulk, and seldom receive damage, such is the excellent manner in which Uiey are cured and stowed. The best and whitest of the Cod are required for the Neapolitan market, for even the Lazzaroni of Naples are very particular as to the quality of their fish. -tstin-ja Mr. La Perelle said, that Capelin struck in abundantly at Pi^« Sebiao the past season, and were used largely for manure. Herrinjg; o not come in here, in sufficient numbers to be used for that purpose. At one time during the past summer, there were five American ■ohooners at anchor, about a mile from Messrs. Robins' establish- ment. They fished at the distance of three miles from the point Of the beach, for Mackerel, and obtained full fares ; some of the ves- sels had nine hundred barrels ; while they were fishing they destroyed the shore fishery for Cod, as the fishers could not catch a sufficiency of Mackerel for bait. i Among the standing orders of the house of Robin & Co. for th^ regulatiDn of their fishermen, is one, that they shall not split or olean their fish on the Fishing grounds, but always bring them to the shore before performing these operations. The people in their own employ are obliged to comply with this order strictly, and they endeavour to induce all others to be guided by it. They cpji- ceive it very injurious to the Fisheries to throw bones and oiffi^ Among the fish, and the opinion of the firm on this point, fi'pi^ their long experience and knowledge of the subject^ mui||; tii^ deemed quite conclusive. ; ; j j .*it. 41 •I vmm^mijii^ General Summary and Observations- '■ ' ' "■■■ ' '*' Ttlife htiniifer of boats and men engaged in the Sea ^i^isheries/atidt fhe qu^'ntities 6f dried Fish caaght i^nd cured in 1849, in tlii^ D|sr trlidt north of the Miramichi, may bfe thus summed up:-r- "' ^^ f*i« l':(iO'.'' ■'' '■ ' •' • .-■... N amber Mumb«r Number Estimated :'f Locality. , of of ,r Of catch ,'„^ Boats. Men.' Boys. in quintEJu. , Portage island, 33 80 20 M. Tabusintac Gully, 19 57 • •• m Tracady, 10 30 • •• 2d0 Shippagan, 60 120 60 6,000 Point Miscou, 40 80 V.-..\i\iri'.:: 3,000 Garaquette, 200 400 150^ '10,000 Grande A nee, 30 60 • •• 2i250 Petit Rocher, 40 80 23 1,200 ' "' ' ' Totals, 432 907 250 24,05d^ All the men engaged in this fishery are also part farmers ; they cultivate some portion of land wherever they reside on the coast. Of the quantity of dried Fish above stated, it is estimated that 15,000 quintals were Cod, and the rest Haddock and Ling. ;^vjThe Ling is a fish known in the Bay of Fundy by the name of *' Hake." In the Gulf this fish is taken of very large size, espe- cially by fishing during the night. In appearance it corresponds turecisely with the drawing in Mr. Yarrell's admirable work on British Fishes, (vol. 2, page ^39,) and its description is the same as there given of the forked Hake ; or phycis furcatus of Cuvier. Owing to the leugth, breadth, and thickness of the Ling when split, they are, at the best " rooms," dried on large flakes, raised about eight feet from the ground, which have a greater circulation of air underneath. The Cod of larger size are fdso dried on these flakes. Of the quantity of Fall Herring taken on this coast, it is quite impossible to give any estimate which may be relied upon as accu- rate. The principal fishing ground is at Caraquette, and the whole quantity taken there in 1849, would probably amount to two thou- sand barrels, or perhaps exceed that quantity. The catch at other localities along the coast, would perhaps, amount to one thousand barrels more. ■_.-, The quantity of Mackerel caught and cured, is so small as scarcely to be taken into account, in giving an estimate of these fisheries. It was said that Mackerel had at times been imported from Arichat for the use of the inhabitants on this coast, near which thousands of barrels, of the same fish, are annually caugtit by Fishing vessels from Maine and Massachusetts. 6 42 The Cod, Haddock, and Ling, are onred by the Jersey honses in the most perfect manner ; nothing can be finer than their best quality of dried Cod, when ready for shipment. By long practice, and close attention to their business, the Jersey curers have become exceedingly expert and skilful ; they are fully competent to give instruction to others, and wre admirable teachers. The suggestion of Mr. Doran, of Shippagan, (in his letter annexed,) that some of the young men of this Province should enter the Jersey establish- ments, to learn practically this important part of the nshery busi- ness, as also the mode of conducting it generally, is well worthy of consideration. Some of the gentlemen connected with the Jersey Fishing esta- blishments in the County of Gloucester, complainea bitterly of the heavy Provincial Duties on many articles imported for the use of the Fisheries. It was said that these Duties were very burthen- some to the Fishermen, who obtained no greater price for their fish than heretofore ; but were, in consequence of the increased Duties, obliged to pay much higher prices for their supplies than formerly. With a view to ascertain the amount of Duties collected at the Port of Shippagan, which includes Miscoc and Shippagan Islands, Tracady, Caraquette, Grande Ance, and all the Fishing " rooms " in that quarter, reference has been made to the Province Treasurer, and the following appears as the return of all articles imported into this District, which paid specific Duties in the year 1849 : — Brandy, None. Meats, (Salted,) 20,400 ibs. Wine, (( Soap, 1,814 lbs. Spirits, 112 gals. Laid, 40 lbs. Lemon Syrup, None. Butter, 2,366 lbs. Malt Liquor, (( Cheese, None, Cider, <( Candles, 362 ibs. Molasses, 2,605 gals. Leather, 380 lbs. Brown Sugar, 9} cwt. Skins, 2 doz. Loaf Sugar, None. Cattle, 1 Crushed Sugar, tt Horses, None. Tea, 422 lbs. Clocks, (( Coffee, 332 lbs. Coals, 45 tons. Tobacco, 4,803 lbs. Apples, Wheat Flour, 60 bush. Dried Fruits, None. 1,644 bar. Fish, i( The specific Duties on the foregoing articles, with the ad-valorem Duties on all other dutiable articles imported, amounted in the whole to £518 2 6, which was the whole amount of Provincial Duties collected for the Port and District of Shippagan, during the year 1849. r r 43 ' When it is tdcen into consideration) that articles for the ,nse of the Lumbering and Mill Establishments) and for consumption by the Agricultural portion of the population in that District, pay a considerable proportion of the Duties there collected, the residue would not seem to be of such an amount as to fall heavily on the Fishers, unless the articles for their use paid Duty in some other part of the Province. The Sub-Collector at Caraquette, gave it as his opinion, tha^ there was very little smuggling on this coast. The writer's opinioi^ is somewhat different. THE DISTRICT SOUTH OF THE MIRAMICHI. In entering upon a description of the Fisheries of this part of the Gulf Coast of New Brunswick, it is necessary to premise, that no Fishing " rooms " have yet been established south of the Mira- michi ; that the Sea Fisheries are carried o^ by the settlers upon the coast, who fish to such an extent, and in such manner, as suits their means, or their convenience ; that the quantities they take are frequently only sufficient for their own families ; and that but few of them cure fish for sale. The Coast from Bay Du Vin to Richibucto Head. On the whole line of this coast, Spring Herrings are abundant, but they are only taken by the settlers for their own use ; and there is reason to believe that many are used for manure. There is excellent Cod Fishing outside Fox Island, and off Point Escurai- nac, as has already been mentioned. From Point Escuminac to Point Sapin on the Gulf Shore, the land is a miserable sunken tract, almost uninhabited, and there is no good Harbour even Sot boats. From Point Sapin, across the Straits of Northumberland, to the West- Cape of Prince Edward Island, there is good fishing both for Cod and Mackerel, and this ground is a favorite resort for American Fishing vessels, many of whom obtain full fares here every season. From Fox Island in Miramichi Bay to Riohibucto, Salmon are caught all along the coast, there being nets at almost every lot. There were about 200 barrels of Salmon taken from* Kouchibouguao beaches to Richibucto Head, during the season of 1849 ; these were all caught out side, by sea fishing, as it may be termed. There is no regulation for this Fishery ; the season is from the 1st of June to the i5th of August, after which the SaH mon are supposed to enter the Rivers, as no more are taken on the' coast. These Salmon sell at Richibucto for £2 10s. per barrel, payable in cash. On thb line of coast, the Fall Herring are abundant, but only n few are taken at the Kouohibouguac beaches by the Salmon i 44 llsTiers V they eatigtit aboil(;'200i>arrels the past season. IHiras ^ateid ^ ii reason why so small a quantity was taken, that this Fishery oeours at the season wh6n the settlers are engaged in mdkirig their Marsh Hay, and that they have not time to attend Thomas Powell, Esquire, of Richibucto, stated, that he has b^^n fifty eight years settled at Richibucto, and that he was 13 years of age when he first came with his Father from Grimross, on the Saint John, to reside thcj^e. At that time there was not a white settler on the whole coast, from Shediao to Bay du Vin. Mr. Powell thinks there is no Cod Fishing, properly so called, in the Straits of Northumberland, South of Richibucto Head, but north of a line drawn from that Head to the West Cape of Prince Edward Island, he thinks the Fishing very good. The in-shore Fishing for Cod is from the 1st June to 1.5th August ; after that the Fish move off into deep water on the Banks. Mr. Powell says, that vessels of 35 tons, w?th crews of five men each, might prose- cute the Fisheries from Richibucto profitably, fishing either on the Bradelle Bank, or at the Labrador ; that if the vessels were larger than 35 tons, they should be double that size, but these would not be so profitable as the smaller class. Mr. Powell is clearly of opinion, that the employment of twenty of these small vessels in the Sea Fisheries, would confer more real benefit upon that part of the Province, than all the Steam Saw Mills there. , ; i(iin;i'..'! !' .1 i iw, .-. '^kUiltu-lUWyi ^\i^,\tKAt-'' < As to Mackerel, 'Mr. Powell said, they were, and always had been abundant on this coast, but there were no preparations ibr taking them; he never knew a Mackerel net to be used, but Mackerel' were occasionally caught in the Gaspereaux nets. juiMr. Richard Long, Pilot at Richibucto, stated that there are three Harbours between Richibucto Head and Point Sapin, for vessels drawing 8 or 9 feet water, an*^ several good boat Harbours also* He described a small Bank, distant about ten miles, east by north, from Richibucto Head, and in range of Point Sapin, where Cod were abundant, especially in the latter part of the season. There is seven fathoms water on this Bank, and a vessel of 15 or 20 tons might be filled in a week, using Lobsters and Clams as bait. Cod only are taken on this Bank, and tliey average from. 40 to 50 to the quintal. Cod Fishing begins on the 20th of May, and lasts as late as the weather will permit in the autumn. Until the end of June, large Cod may be caught near the shore, but small Cod may be taken close in during the whole season. Mr. Long said, that during the Summer of 1849, Mackerel were unusually abundant ',^ the waters were alive with them. t M Mr. Sylvester C. Wathen, a Merchant of Richitnoto, inforpied tlie writer, that Cod averaging seventy to the quintal wejre ^Itun- dant throughout the season, at the distance of four miles only from the Town of Richibuoto ; that there was also good Cod fishing, ^t the Red-buoy, half a mile beyond Richibuctp Bar. Early in the season the French settlers frequently went out in ^ats, or small punts, and caught what Cod they wanted, close to the beach. Halddock and Ling were abundant in the latter part of the season — halibut were scarce — no pollack had ever been seen on this coast. Mackerel were said to exist in great plenty ; some of the *' schulls " entered Richibucto Harbour in August last, and went up the River as far as the Bridge, but none were taken. Mr. Wathen said, that out-side Richibucto Harbour, the waters were perfectly alive with Mackerel every season, from 15th July to 15th September, yet there was no Mackerel Fishing. No vessels were fitted out on this coast for any of the Sea Fisheries. David Wark, Esquire, of Richibucto, stated, that good fishing ** rooms" or stations for the shore Fishery, might be established at the entrance to the Kouchibouguac and Kouchibouguacis Rivers, the beaches being favourable, and in his opinion, the Fisheries could be carried on there more profitably than at Newfoundland, because the fishermen could obtain other employment during the winter. A Fisherman from Prince Edward Island, named Wolffs was met at Richibucto ; he had been out fishing for five weeks in a small schooner, having on board two men and a boy. They had fished in 8 to 30 fathoms water, and had caught tMrty quintals of Cod ; the fish averaged one hundred to the quintal. Mr. Creelman of Richibucto, who had been out fishing with Wolff, said that on one .OQcasion they had taken two hundred fish i^ two hours, a^ut 20 miles from Richibucto. During the first week in September last, they boarded three American vessels off the West Cape of Prince Edward Island. One vessel had then 450 barrels of Mac- kerel, chiefly No. 2, and was on her second trip ; the other two vessels had 300 barrels each ; one schooner was from Newburyport, having on board four men and four boys ; in one day they took 65 barrels of Mackerel. The Skipper of this vessel said, he had fished for Mackerel on the same ground in 1848, and his share of the profits that year, was five hundred dollars. ' >fc' It is to be regretted that tlie depth of water at the entrance to the fine Harbour of Richibucto, has recently shoaled to 131 feet, owing to a new channel having broken out to the northward of the old one, and divided the water. This is a matter which requires some inquiry and attention, as the evil may yet be remedied. n . til ' «t '. From Richibucto Head to Shdiac. .-n 'i'rt'j.'ri ^ Between Richibucto and Bnotouche Harbours, the coast is loW with sandy beaches. Chockpish is nearly mid-way between thes^ two Harbours ; it is small, but is a good Harbour for boats, and the lesser description of Fishing craft. Buotouohe, like all the other Harbours on this coast, is a Bar Harbour. Owing to some cause not explained, the water has gradually deepened on the bar, during the last five years, to the extent of 18 inches. Formerly there was only 12 feet water ; but during the past season, vessels drawing 13| feet have gone over the bar, not at the highest tides. The bar is only 60 yards in breadth ; outside it, there is instantly three fathoms water, gradually deepening to Sea-ward. Inside the bar, there are five, six, and nine fathoms, up to the loading place at the Bridge. Mr. Peter M'Phelim, of Buctouche, stated, that in April, or so soon as the ice breaks up, the Spring Herrings are abundant, but that the settlers on the coast only take so many as are necessary for the use of the settlement. Formerly, some of the settlers used them as manure, but a majority of the mhabitants opposed it, and succeeded in putting a stop to the practice. After the Spring Herrings, the Gaspereaux come in, and these are followed by Cod, which remain in-snore for about six weeks. During this period, Mr* M'Phelim has seen the Frenchmen go out in their flats or cwioes, only fifty or sixty fathoms from shore, and fill them with Cod, fishing sometimes in two fathoms water only. Small Cod, he says, may always be taken along the coast from Buctouche to Cocagne ; but there is throughout every season good Cod fishing from Buctouche across to Prince Edward Island. Mr. M*Phelim says, he has seen every part of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, and much of the coast of Newfoundland, and he is quite certain, that Buctouche Harbour would be found as good a station for Cod fishing as an^*- where in Newfoundland. There are plenty of Clams at the bar ; and vessels frequently come there from the E(ay of Chaleur, to obtain them for bait. There is an extraor- dinary abundance of Lobsters along the whole of this coast. Mackerel are very abundant off this Harbour. Mr. M'Phelim said, that in the Strait between Buctouche and Prince Edward Island, the waters at times were perfectly " boiling" with them — tfet none were taken ! On the first day of October last, great quantities of Mackerel ' entered the Harbour of Buctouche, and went up Big Buctouche River ; shoals of them were seen playing about in the Basin, above the Bridge — ^but they all went to sea again — not one was caught! 47 Cooagne is also a bar Harbour ; in ordinary tides there is nine feet water on the bar at low water, and 14 feet at high water — at spring tides there is two feet more. Within, there is a fine Harbour, well sheltered, with good anchorage in five fathoms water. There are no boats or vessels fitted out at Cooagne for taking Cod, and that Fishery- on the Gnlf Coast of New Brunswick, may be said to terminate here as its southern limit. It was ascertained that between Point Sapin and Cooagne, the inhabitants on the coast employ about forty five Fishing boats, of 18 to 25 feet keel, with two sails, and generally three or four men in each boat. The whole catch of these boats will not probably exceed one thousand quintals during the season. The following information as to the Fisheries at Cooagne, has been kindly furnished by William Y. Theal, M. D., who resides there : — « The Fisheries, if they can be so termed, are conducted here in the worst possible manner. The Herrings appear in and about the Harbour immediately on the breaking up of the ice, and could be taken in any quantity with suitable preparation. The inhabitants generally go out for them in parties of four to eight persons, with a canoe and small net, say from fifty to one hundred feet long, and four to six feet deep, supported generally by bark lines, with buoys to bear it up, and bags of sand, or stones slung, to sink the lower edge. Yet even with this rude outfit, they generally catch suffi- cient for their own consumption, and a large quantity to sell fresh. *< Many waggons from Saokville, Dorchester, Petitcodiac, and other places, are loaded here during the Fishing season with Her- rings at two to six pence per hundred, payable in Tobacco at 2s. fer pound, Tea at 48. per pound, and smul wares in proportion, n most cases, the Herrings are of a poor quality, yet I have seen them fiilly equal to those caught on the Labrador Coast. The Gaspereaux enter the Harbour and River a few weeks after, but the mesh of the nets being made for Herrings only, few of these are taken ; they are generally fat. Mackerel are often seen in large shoals, but I cannot learn that there is a Mackerel net on this part of the coast. They are sometimes caught in Herring nets, and are brought for sale fresh. " Cod were caught a few years since in tolerably large quantities by a few families, who then had a boat ; but they disagreed amongst themselves, and left the boat on the beach to perish. For the last three years no boat has been fitted out here. Occasionally a canoe will put out Cod fishing, and do very well. The lines are very- large, of domestic make, with huge pieces of iron to sink them ; the hooks are enormously large, and also of domestic manufacture. " Oysters are here in variety, and more abundant than in any other Harbour on the coast. Those taken up the River are of inferior quality ; but those from the Harbour, excel in flavour even those taken from the mouth of James' River in the Chesapeake, nrhich are so highly esteemed in the United States. Lobsters are BO plentiful in the season, that they can be purchased at the door from two pence to eight pence per dozen." The Fisheries at Cooagne appeac to be in a very primitive state, but little better than when the Micmacs were the sole residents on this coast. Shediac Harbour to Bate Verte. Of Shediac Harbour it is unnecessary to speak, the reeent Rail- way Surveys having rendered it well known. ' Messrs. James and William Milne, the very intelligent and able pilots who reside there, stated that there was no Cod fishing south of Cooagne ; that they had never found any Cod south of a line from Buctouche to the West Cape of Prince Edward Island, and from thence to the eastward of Cape Tormentine. Within these limits the bottom is a soft blue mud, which is not favorable to Cod. The Spring Herrings are abundant on this coast, as elsewhere ; they do not enter the Harbours, and have not done so within the last twenty years, '^o Fall Herrings are taken, but the Messrs. Milne are quite sure they are outside Shediac Harbour. They have seen the herring gulls fishing for them ; and last autumn they picked up one of the Fall Herrings, dropped by a gull which they frightened. In July and August last Mackerel were seen in the Harbour, as far up as Scadoue Bridge, but nobody was prepared to take them, and some few only were caught in Herring nets. Aboushagan and Teidish are boat Harbours, to the eastward of Shediac, between the entrance to that Harbour and Cape Bald. At Aboushagan there is from 4 to 5 feet water on the bar, with good sand beaches near the entrance. Tedish bar is dry at low water ; but there is a fine sand beach, on which boats are easily drawn up. The Harbours of Big and Little Shemogue are between Cape Bald and Cape Tormentine. Big Shemogue is a good Harbour for boats, and vessels of all sizes, up to 130 tons. There is ten feet water on the bar at ordinary tides, with a channel about fifky fathoms wide. The Harbour inside is capable of containing on0 hundred vessels, with anchorage in 2^ fathoms, well sheltered^ This would be a very convenient Harbour for building small Vessels; 49 there are good situations for ship-yards, where the channel runs close to the shore. There is capital timber for ship building in this vicinity, the woods never having yet been culled ; and it is singular, that the advantages of this snug little Harbour have been hitherto overlooked. Little Shemogue is about three miles to the eastward of its larger namesake, with nine feet of water on the bar» .and ten to twelve inside.^ Off the Harbours, from Shediao to Cape Tormentine, Mackerel are always in abundance every season ; the inhabitants manage to take as many as answer their immediate purposes, but they make no effort to prosecute this valuable fishery. In Bale Verte, south of Cape Tormentine, the Cod fishing again begins ; and Ling and Haddock are also taken, but not in any quantity. Spring Herrings, and Gaspereaux, are very abundant ; tne latter have been taken in large quantities during the month of June, in the Gaspereaux River, at the head of this Bay, not far from the Nova Scotia Boundary. With reference to the Fishery for Spring Herring, Dr. Guimarin, who has resided on this coast, states, that he has frequently been present during the fishing season, and noticed the great want of boats, of sufficient size, to take the fish from the nets, even when there was only a moderate breeze. In these cases the fishermen could not venture to launch their small skiff or canoes, and the abundance of fish had often to remain, until they were quite spoiled, and unfit for use. In moderate weather, they would bring on shore such abundance of fish, that not having sufficient salt, or vats, or casks to put them in, they would pile them in stacks on the beach, and those not sold fresh, would be used to manure the land. Dr. Guimarin says, the quantity of Herrings thus lost and destroyed every season, between Richibucto and Cape Bald, would amount to a small fortune, if they were properly cured and packed in bar- rels. He adds, that if the fishermen on this line of coast were provided with suitable nets and boats— with barrels, which might be profitably made during the Winter, when they are quite idle, — and with sufficient supply of salt, the Herring Fishery might be conducted here upon a large scale, and with much profit. SEA FISH, FISHING, AND FISHING TACKLE. Besides the Fishes mentioned. Flounders are abundant every where along the northern shores of New Brunswick, from the smallest " dab" up to the large "platessa plana" sometimes two * For a description of the Harbours from Shediao to Cape Tormentine, the writer is indebted to Philip Chapman, Esqaire, ofSShemogue, and Messrs* Milne, of Shediac. 50 feet in length. A speoimen of the Plaice was seen at Miflcou ; and they are snppoBed to exist more or less abundantly in the Bay of Chalenr. Very little is known of the Flat Fish of the Gnlf, the trawl*net not being in use. This net is greatly used in the Fisheries of the British Channel, where it is called a ground-net, drag-net, trawl, or trammel, for it is known by all these names. It is a triangular net, with a month from twenty to thirty fee^ wide, and one foot high ; this is so suspended from, and drawn after the fishing smack, as to scrape along the ground, and capture whatever swims within a few mches of the bottom, for the mesh is so small that few Fish escape. All Fish that are marketable are taken out of the net ; the small fry are thrown again into the sea. By the convention between England and France, relative to the Channel Fisheries, it is stipulated that no trawl-net shall be used of which the meshes are less than an inch and three quarters from knot to knot. When Lord Aylmer . visited the Bay of Choleur in 1832, in the " Kingfisher," that vessel was provided with a trawl-net ; among tiie Fish taken by it in the Bay, the Plaice is mentioned. It is said that neither Turbot, Brill, 6t Sole, exist in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence ; but there can be no certainty of this, until the trawl-net has been more extensively used. One species of Eel only was noticed on the Gulf Coast ; these are exceedingly abundant, and frequently of large size. An Eel split, salted, and smoked, was exhibited at Pokemouche ; without the head, it was thirty inches in length, and fifteen inches in breadth, as split, nearly the size of an ordinary smoked Salmon, and quite as thick. It was taken in Pokemouche Gully with a Basse spear. The Pollock, (merlangua carbonaritts of Cnvier,^ which is common in the Bay of Fundy, has not been seen on the Gulf Shore of the Province; none of the fishermen there had ever caught one. The Skate, which is abundant in the Bay of Fundy, (raia batia of Linneeus,) is not so common in the Gulf ; a single specimen only, of small size, was seen at Miscou. The only specimen of the Shark family found in the Gulf is the oommon Dog- Fish, (apinax acanthias of Cuvier,) which at times is troublesome to the fisherman. This is a viviparous Fish, one which produces its young alive. A female Dog Fish opened at Point Miscou on the 25th of August, contained a number of young very nearly full formed ; it is therefore probable, that the young fish are produced at the end of August, or early in September. Three varieties of Herring were observed on this coast — the Spring Herring, which appear immediately on the departure of the ice in the Spring— the Fall Herring, which appear about the 20th August— and the small fat Herring mentioned by Mr. Wilson of Miscou, which are also found along the shores of Gaspe. The I 51 former belief that a great army of Herrings issued annually from the North, and made the circuit of the seas during the season, is now completely at an end. It is stated in Cuvier's great work on Fishes, (Hiatoire Naturel dea Poiasons, vol. 20, page 47,) that the Markets of Paris are supplied with Herrings from Calais and Dieppe, and that there is not the least difficulty in distinguishing the locality from which the Herrings are brought, when once known. Mr. Yarrell, in his work on British Fishes, (2d Edition, vol. 2, page 185,) says ** there can be no doubt that the Herring inhabits the deep water all around the coast, and only approaches the shores for the purpose of depositing its spawn withm the immediate influ- ence of the principal agents in virification — increased temperature and oxygen ; and as soon as that essential operation is eflected, the shoals that haunt our coast disappear ; but individuals are to be found, and many are caught throughout the year." Neither Shad or Gaspereaux, (now ascertained to belong to the same family) are common in the Bay of Chaleur. It is supposed that the water is too clear and cold for them, and the bottom generally, too rocky ; these fish are known to delight in a soft muddy bottom, and turbid water. Among the Shell Fish not previously noticed. Scallops may be mentioned ; these were found of large size along the coast, between Tracady and Shippagan. Many Sponges beautifully branched like coral, were also found in the same locality. Among the products of the Fisheries, oil from Cods livers must not be omitted. This important item in the Cod Fishey is valua- ble ; the quantity produced from each quintal of Cod, is supposed to pay for the labour of splitting, and the salt used in curing. Of late, it has been refined and rendered beautifully clear, and in this state is used for medicinal purposes ; it is prescribed for consump' tive patients, upon many of whom its effects are said to have been highly beneficial. At each Fishing Station visited, specimens of the fishing tackle in use were procured, and it was observed, that the hooks varied very much in size, shape, and quality. Some of the hooks for Coa, were of the rudest make, so short and ill-shaped, that, but for the voracity of the fish, they would be of little iise. The best hooks were obtained at Messrs. Alexandre's station at Shippagan ; those for Ling have a very long shank, and are exceedingly well tempered and finished. The knives at this establishment are also excellent ; they are manufactured by John Algor, Sheffield, and are superior to any others seen on the coast. The Mackerel hooks generally, were much inferior to those made and used by the Ame- xicans} the "jigs" wMch were attempted to be used by the 52 . resident fishermen, were rade and clumsy affairs, as compared with the neat brilliant "jigs" made in Boston. The bine Mackerel line did not appear to be in general use ; white lines were most oommon, and those, it is thought by the Americans, frighten the fish. The snoods to which the Mackerel hooks are attached, fhonld be black, a fathom at least in length, and of less size than the line. The snood is attached to the end of the blue line, where the lead is also placed ; and a small round piece of wood, about nine inches in length, is there reauired, to prevent the snood from becoming entangled with the leaa. The fishery with the long-line, or " bultow," is not practised any where on the coast visited, except between Bathurst and Dalhousie, by the settlers from Arran. The rudeness of the fishing-tackle used by the fishermen of Cocagne, is described in Dr. Thed's letter from that place. The hooks, nets, and tackle in use throughout the district south of the Miramichi, were found generally to be clumsy and inefficient ; but for the abundance of fish, and the ease with which they are taken, there would be but few caught by such unfit and primitive contrivances. On the coast of Norway, Cod are caught in nets, and it is sta- ted by Mr. Laing, in his Journal of a residence in that country, that these nets are becoming more in use every season. For this fishery, every boat is provided with six or eight nets, each twenty fathoms in length, and thirty meshes deep. The mesh of the Cod net is six inches from knot to knot, and is made of three-ply hemp thread. The back ropes and ground ropes, of each net, are fas- tened to the net, and the whole are set like Scotch Herring nets, only with longer buoy-ropes. The Cod nets are set at night in 60 to 80 fathoms water, and are taken up in the morning. The introduction of nets in the Cod Fishery, is said to have improved, very considerably, the condition of the inhabitants of the coast of Norway, as by means of nets, the quantity of fish caught has been nearly- doubled. It is not at all unlikely, that Cod nets might be used with advan- tage oa the Gulf Coast of the Province, especially in the early part of each season, when the Cod come close to the shores in pursuit of Herring, Capelui, and Gaspereanx. * » 53 THE RIVER FISHERIES. As the Fisheries in the Miramiohi River are of much importance, and involve nearly all the questions connected with tne River Fisheries in this part of New Brnnswick, they will be first de- scribed. The Rivers to the northward will then be taken up in their order to the Restigouche ; after which the Rivere to the south- ward of the Miramichi, the Fisheries of which are of much less importance, will be described. The River Miramichi. The principal Fisheries in this River are those for Gaspereaux, Basse, and Salmon, all which have diminished greatly of late years, owing to the improper manner in which they have been conducted. There are, besides, great quantities of Eels, which are chiefly taken through the ice in Winter by spearing ; Trout, which are most abundant, and may be taken at all seasons ; Smelt, which ascend this River and its tributaries, in almost miraculous quan- tities, very early every year. The Gaspereaux enter the Miramichi during the first week in May, and ascend to their spawning places, which are about the head of the tide, both on the North West and South West branches of this River. They spawn very soon after they get up to their ground, and they go out to sea again in July. In the North West Miramichi these Fish ascend no higher than the deep pool at Red Bank, at which place it has been customary to take them with a seine. This pool at times has been swept so thoroughly that not a fish has been left, and the Gaspereaux Fishing, as such, may be said to have ended on the North West. A very small meshed seine was used for the Gaspereaux, which destroyed great quantities of small Fish, especially the young Salmon, Trout, and Basse. The Gaspereaux Fishery on the Miramichi was almost a total failure the past season. miitjj|t The Gaspereaux taken in the River are generally thin anc( dff j", while those caught outside are very fat, as already mentioned. John T. Williston, Esq., of Miramichi, who has much experience in the Fisheries, stated his opinion that they are not the same Fish ; he says the outside Fish, which are called Summer Gaspereaux, never enter the Rivers. Besides their being fatter, tney are smaller and more yellow in color than the Spring Fish. It is quite possible that Mr. Williston is correct, and that the Spring and Summer Gaspereaux dijQTer, as do the Shad which enter the River Saint John in the Spring from those which are caught late in the season in the Bay of Fundy. It may be remarked that Cuyier 54 In his great work on the Natural History of Fishes, (Histoire Naturelle des Poissona, vol. 20, p. 416,) classes the Gaspereaux or Aiewife of North America as of the genus aiose or Shad, and designate it Talose tyran, after Dr. DeKay of New York. Con- sidered as a smaller species of Shad, the habits of the Gaspereaux may be timch more readily understood, and the relative value of the River and Sea varieties better appreciated, by comparison with fhose of the Spring and Fall Shad. Formerly great quantities of Basse, some of very large size, were taken in the Miraniichi, but this fishery has also nearly ceased. These fish in the Winter gather in large shoals, and lie in a dull and half torpid state under the ice ; they are then taken in the following manner : — A bag net is put upon a bow, or hoop of wood, six feet ii^ diameter, and this hoop is attached to a pole, twenty feet in length. A large hole is cut through the ice, at some place, which the Basse are known to frequent, and the net is put down. The person who uses it, places the end of the pole across his chest, and walks about six times around the hole, sweeping the net about It is then drawn up, and the fish removed ; the operation is repeated until all the Basse are taken at that spot. This is done at night —the darker the night the better. The fish are very stupid, and easily taken, as they will not stir. The mesh of these Basse nets was formerly four inches, but the size has been diminished as the fish decreased in numbers, and now the very smallest are taken. Last Winter, great quantities of small Basse were thus caught in the Miramichi, by very fine nets ; and it is supposed that they are now nearly exterminated. The Salmon Fishery of the Miramichi has long been known for its extent and value. The first British settler was Mr. William Davidson from Scotland, who established himself on the banks of tiie Miramichi in 1764, and for many years after, he caught and cured from 1400 to 1800 tierces of Salmon annually. The fishery is now so cut up and divided, that it is impossible to say what quantity of Salmon are caught, so many being consumed fresh, or put up by the persons who take them, for family use ; but at a rough estimate, the whole quantity does not probably excwed one thousand barrels. The Act 39 Geo. 3, cap. 5, for regulating the Fisheries in the County of Northumberland, prescribes the length of net to be used in the Miramichi, from the Bay to the head of the tide on each Branch of the River, and provides that no Salmon shall be taken in any manner, between the 30th day of August and the 1st day of April following. The Justice)9 in Sessions, are by the Act em- powered to appoint Overseers of the Fisheries to carry out its ptoyisiooB. W H { 1 « «f 55 There is a wide differe*' ce of opinion as to the best mbde of regu- lating and protecting the sialmon Fishery of the Miramiohi and its Mbntaries, between those who oatoh Sumon in the tide-way, and those who take them in the fresh water above. The views and opinions of the several parties will be given as nearly as they oonld be ascertained, it being understocd, that all agree as to the decrease of the Fishery, and the urgent necessity for the adoption of means to preserve and protect it. Donald M*Kay, Esquire, J. P., of the North West Miramichi, stated, that the white settlers fish the Rivers in all parts unlawfully, by netting, seining, dragging, spearing, and every other way pos- sible, up to the very heads of the Streams ; and that this unlawful fishing is continued until the close of the season, when the ice makes. The Overseers do not perform their duty, because they are not paid for it, and cannot afford to do it gratuitously, neither do they prosecute for breaches of the laws, as they are bound to do, because they have often to pay the costs out of their own pockets when they do. From Beaubair's* Point to the head of the tide on the North West, a distance of 14 miles, nets of forty fathoms in length vuc allowed. Mr. M'Kay said, these nets overlapped each other ir « : :>laces, and in others completely closed the channel. He is opj^ ;: ■ .' o spearing in the upper parts of the Rivers ; but he thinks it might be permitted during the netting season, up to the head of the tide ; but above that, all persons should be strictly pro- hibited from spearing. Mr. M'Kay stated as his opinion, that the outside fishing — that is, the fishing in the Bay and lower part of the Miramichi — is pro- secuted toQ largely, and destroys the run of the fish. In 1848 a great storm damaged and destroyed the nets outside ; the week following there was an excellent run of Fish in the North West. Instead of one Salmon they took ten in a tide ; but so soon as the nets outside were repaired, the fishing ceased. M{. M^Kay is de- cidedly of opinion, that the size of the mesh of all Salmon nets should be regulated by law, as the mesh has been greatly diminished of late years, in order to take Grilse, which is very destructive ; that nothing would protect the Fisheries so effectually as the ap- pointment of proper persons as Overseers — say one in each Paruih, who should be paid. John T. Williston, Esquire, J. P., of Chatham, stated, that the great destruction of Salmon takes place from the head of the tide upward. The Fish are followed to the very heads of the streams, and there destroyed, among them. Grilse of small size, which are *Id the Act thiB ia designatdd Beaoheberk't Po'.ot, whioh is probably the oor- rect orthography. 56 taken in great numbers. On the let of October, Mr* Williston stated tb the writer, that during the preceding fortnight, several oanoe loads of '* black " Salmon salted, had been brought down the River to a dealer in Chatham ; and that daring the preceding week, a constable reported to him, that one hundred canoes were then employed in taking Salmon in the upper waters of the Mira- michi. Mr. Williston stated his decided opinion, that some respectable person should be appointed to oversee the Fisheries of the Miramichi, whose duty it should be to enforce the law, and who should be paid. With reference to the taking of black Salmon, or Salmon wholly «ut of season, the writer can state, that on the 27th of September last, he ascertained that Salmon Fishing was carried on, in defiance of the law, at Bartibog River, a tributary which enters the Mira- michi, a few miles above Miramichi Bay. They were taken both by nets and spears ; and the parties who used these different modes Suarrelled nightly, and endeavoured to drive each other off the 'ishing Ground. The fish were very thin and black, many of them so spent as scarcely to be fit for human food. Large Salmon in this state were sold at 15d. each. In coming up the Miramichi River in his canoe, during the night of the 29th of Sep- tember, the writer, just before midnight, passed over two long Salmon nets which were regularly set, although the weather was then very cold, and the night frosty. These nets were set from a high bank or cliff, about a mile below the Saw Mills of Messieurs Gilmour, Rankin and Co., in places where they were not likely to be seen from the shore. Mr. George Parker, of Chatham, stated that during the last three years large quantities of Salmon, out of season, have been brought down the River to Chatham for sale ; that the Salmon Fishing during this period has fallen off very greatly, and will fail altogettier if not protected. The Indians and settlers, he said, take them out of season up to the very heads of the streams, and in every stream ; and encouragement is given to this wholesale slaughter of the Fish by small traders, who purchase them because they get them at a low price. They are packed with prime Fish, and sent abroad, and the character of the Fish is thus destroyed in distant markets. The ill^al Salmon Fishery at Portage Island, mentioned in the former part of this Report, appears to have existed for some time. The Honorable Mr. Cunard stated that the catch of Salmon at this Island, during the season of 1849, was less than usual. He also said that quantities of very small Grilse had been Ulken in 57 the upper part of the Miramichi daring the iMt seaaon, some of which he had seen. Mr. Sheriff Black stated that one person at the head of the tide on the South West, took twenty barrels of small Grilse daring the past Sammer. Alexander Davidson, Esquire, J. C. P., (son of the first settler on the Miramichi,) is well and thoroughly- acquainted with the Salmon Fishery. He stated his firm opinion, that the outside Fishing is fair Fishing ; that the mischief is dene up the Rivers ; that no Salmon should be taken after the 20th August on any pretence ; that the taking of Salmon out' of season should be punished criminally ; and that the Overseers of the Fisheries should be paid officers. He mentioned, that one person on the Miramichi had sold Grilse to the amount of £80 dunng the past season, and that this taking of Grilse would soon destroy the Salmon fishery. He thinks the size of the mesh should be regulated by law, an4 that the mesh for Basse should not be less than five inches. A letter was received from James Lechmere Price, Esquire, J. P., who resides in the Parish of Ludlow, on the South West Miramichi, which is so valuable, and so accurate in its details, that it is here given entire : — «* Ludlow t 6th October f 1849. « Sir, — My attention having been directed to your Memorandum of the 10th August last, respecting the Fisheries in this part of the Province, I beg to famish you with the subjoined observations, which relate to the Salmon Fishery on the River Miramichi. ** The Salmon enter the Bay of Miramichi early in the month of June, and are generally found in all the considerable tributary streams before the last of that month. In the Bay and other tide waters, they move rapidly in shoals, but after reaching tiie fresh water they separate into small groups, some of which pass leisurely into each of the tributary streams, as they present themselves at short intervals, while other groups occupy, for indefinite periods, favourable situations in the principal Rivers. During the latter part of July, in the month of August, and in the early part of the month of September, while the water is warmest near the surface, they are to be found, from the confluence of the tide to the n]^er> most waters of the River and its tributaries, occupying in quiet groups the deepest waters that the several streams afford, and at all times showing a preference to those places where the purest and coolest water is discharged by springs into the principal streams. This propensity appears to arise from the necessity ^hich exists in cold bloodea animals, for a low temperature, not only in the evolution of the ovum after it is east, but also in the previous stages of gestfttion> For in the latter part of aatttmn, 8 58 when tbe water gradually becomes coldest near the tnrfiuse, they h^n to separate in pairs, male and female, and in the month of November, when the spawning takes place, they occupy separately, in pairs, small cavities evidently formed by themselves, in the beds of the streams, near the shores and sand banks, where the water is shallow, and at the heads of the rapids with which the Rivers abound. At all seasons heavy rain, by suadenly increasing the quantitv and changing the conditjon and circumstances of the water in the .Ki vers ^-thereby affecting the usual haunts of tbe Salmon — has invariably the effect of setting them in motion ; and in truth, it appears not improbable that the flood, occasioned by the melting of the snow, and by the large quantity of rain which usually falls in the spring, by forcing into the Bay a greater proportion of fresh water, at a time when it is congenial to the fish, attracts them at the first to enter the River ; and that a recurrence of nearly similar floods, at intervals during the summer And in the fall, produces the same effect upon those that arrive on the coast at a later period. A pro- gressive deterioration takes place in the Salmon from the period of its first entrance into the fresh water, until it disappears in winter. The quality of the fish is not, however, much impaired until the middle of August, and it affords wholesome ana palatable food until the middle of September, — in which latter month, and in the previous month of August, it is generally preferred for undergoing the preservative process of smoking. . At this season also, Salmon are commonly found in greater abundance than at any other time. When taken late in the month of October, the spawn of the female, as well as the sperm of the male, will escape from them by rough handling; but the female is never found free from spawn at an earlier period. The ova are then of the size of the largest pea, the skin of the fish is thick and tough, and the flesh gelatinous and white ; rendering it altogether so unsightly and so unpalatable, that no necessity, which has heretofore visited the people of this country, has compelled them to use it, to any considerable extent, as an Article of food. ** In the Bay, and below the confluence of the tide, Salmon are taken partly by set-nets, which are not permitted by the laws to axtend beyond a ceitain portion of tbe River and Estuary ; and partly by seines, and drift or sweep-nets, as they are technically termed, which, while suffered for the purposes of the Herring and Gaspereaux Fisheries, cannot be restrained from taking Salmon land Grilse at the same time. As regards the set-nets, it is not unusual for the owuer to procure distinct portions of net, which (after being formed at one end into a particular trap or pound, and being fastened to the part which, suspended on buoys or pickets, occupies the legal breadth of the river,) are separately estended down the litreain ; fuiaishing for Qrdiuary occfmlons, oonvenle^it 5d additional isnaires ; wliile another portion, retained in its position by buoys alone, is at all Havourable hours extended, slightly under water, quite to the opposite shore. In fact, the indifference with which these malpractices have been regarded by the legally oon^ stituted authorities, has emboldened many, during the recent scarcity of food, to extend their nets openly from shore to shorei^'Q " A competent law to compel the Overseers of Fisheries to be sworn i'.ito office, might obviate in some little degree these unfair modes of Fishing ; but it would seem that no great reliance can be placed in the eflicaoy of a class of men, who, while pursuing theix ordinary and urgent avocations, are not likely to have much spare time to devote to the purpose of watching, day and night, the nets of their crafty and vigilant neighbours. . -i. ** The truth is, that the fish, becoming more wily from experience, approach with greater caution, as they advance up the River, every obstruction that appears to threaten their safety — and as in this they are aided by the increasing clearness and decreasing depths of the Streams, the fisherman is induced to adopt, step by step, different methods to ensnare them ; and finally, in the upper portion of the Rivers, to resort for the most part to the use of the torch and spear, which, from the dexterity with which practice enables them to be employed, are effective every where in the clear, rapid water. This latter mode is not however, exempt from the conse- quences of floods. When they prevail, the turbid state of the water renders it impracticable. ** For twenty miles above the confluence of the tide, the South West Branch, which is the principal branch of the River, partakes largely of the character of the estuary, in point of depth and opacity of the water, and the fishery, though to a much more limited extent, is conducted chiefly by similar methods, without being susceptible however, of quite as many glaring abuses ; the necessity for frequent intercourse by water communication, added to the limited width of the stream, and the increased rapidity of the cur- rent, rendering some of the ordinary expedients abortive. The spear is however, used with great success in the Rapids on this part of the River. " From this district to the upper waters of the River, comprising a distance of eighty miles of fishing ground, the shallowness and clearness of the water, the great velocity of the current, the inequalities in the bed of the stream, and the change that takes place in the habits of the Fish, all render the use of set-nets inex- Sedient, and owing to the same causes, nets for sweeping and rifting are of little service, not repaying the expense incurred in preparing them. To illustrate these positions, it is truly affirmed that a set-net, belonging to this part of the River, has been left in the stream, suspended on pickets in the usual way, daring a 60 fortnight of the best periods of fishinig, witliout yielding even one fish. This incident may perhaps be in part accounted for, by the fiwt, that during some seasons, in conseqaence of the scanty supply of water in the River, which gives greater facilities to illegal modes of fishing, .very few Salmon, except Grilse, make their way to this portion of the stream, until after the autumnal rains. It is to be remarked that the Grilse are for the most part Milters. The spawners of that age, as it would seem, do not often enter the fresh water, while on the contrary, the young Milters appear to accom- pany the spawners of advanced age, in great numbers. ** In the year 1845, an Act of the Legislature was passed, nro* hibiting altogether the spearing of Salmon, except by the Inaian tribes. This act was so manifestly unjust towards the inhabitants of the nppw part of the'Miramichi River, where fishing with nets is almost impracticable, that no attempt has been made to enforce its provisions in that respect. Spearing might, however, with great propriety, be strictly prohibitea in the month of October ; for in the early part of that month Salmon are sometimes speared in considerable numbers, particularly in that part of the Miramichi River which flows through the County of York, — notwithstanding their quality is deeply impaired, and although the near approach of the season of spawning and of impregnation forbids their destruction. ** Above Boiestown, fly fishing is practised to a considerable extent, by occasional visitors ; but this method, from its uncertainty, and from the large portion of time always consumed by it, cannot ^ profitSbly pursued by the inhabitants generally. <* There are two points on the South West Branch of the River, notorious for the fttcilities which they afford for illegal fishing, and for the recklessness with which the immediate inhabitants avaU themselves of the advMitages of their pontion : one at Astle's, near tlie confluence of the tide, and the other at Arbo's, a short distance above tiie mouth of Cain's RiVer. At both these places it is the common practice to extend nets across the entire River, at every favourable opportunity ; and in the latter place, to adopt besides, every other known method of unfair fishing, some of which are indeed peculiar to the parties. To these unfair practices, so prevalent in the tide waters, and in their vicinity, aided by the superior natural advantages which tiie River there words, is doubt- less to be attributed the fact that the annual catch of Salmon is less by more than nine-tenths, in the upper eighty miles of fishing ground, than it is in l^e corresponding distance below. ** The erection of dams across the smaller streams, by diminish* ing the accustomed scope of the fish, would doubtless have the effect of gradually lessening their numbers ; but the fidieries on Mm Mimniohi cannot be supposed to have sustained much injury by that mesas, as the dsmsheMtefore erected, are inconsiderable. 61 when oompared with the vest number of streams which remdn unobstrnoted in that way. It is evident, however, that a provi- sion by law to compel the construction of fish-ways wherever dams are erected hereafter, is not undesirable. At the same time it must be confessed, that mills for the manufacture of lumber, have in one respect, promoted an equal distribution of the benefits resulting from tlie fisheries, as the transportation of lumber by water to the Harbour, has contributed not a little towards prevent- ing the use of nets extending across the channel. *< When the great increase of occasional fishers upon fdl the Rivers, is taken into account, it does not appear that the annual catch of fish has diminished much during the last twenty years ; certainly it is not decreased to the extent which many persons sup- pose. In fact, the quantity taken on the River Miramichi and itt tributaries, was greater in 1848, than the quantity taken in any . one of the preceding twenty years, while .the present year has afforded an unusual supply to the fishermen in the Bay, and in all the tide waters. . ** It has been suggested that a law, confining the Salmon Fisherv to three days of the week, during the fishing season, would, if rigidly enforced, conduce to a more equal distribution of the benefits to be derived from it, besides contributing greatly towards preventing the too rapid destruction of the species. Such a mea- sure would doubtless be acceptable to many of the inhabitants c^ the Rivers, but to the professional fisherman it would be inconve- nient, if not highly injurious. ** I am. Sir, your obedient servant, James L. Price. ■M. H. Perley, Esq., OoTeroment Eniigratiun Offioe, St. John, N.B." The following letter from Alexander Davidson, Esquire, of Oak Point, (ten mues below C)iatham) also contains very valuable information and suggestions ; it is likewise given in fcdl. " Oak Point, Miramichi, 10/A October, 1849. *' Sir, — In accordance with the request contained in your Cir- cular, I give yt>u below, such information as I am possessed of, relative to the Bay and River Salmon Fishery at this place. " The Bay Fishery has been gradually falling off for a number of years, and latterly, has become ruinous to many of those engaged in it. The River Fishing has fallen off in nearly the same degree, but the expense of River Fishing being less than in the Bay, the consequences of the failure have not been so severely felt. StUI, it is felt, in common with the other, both individuwy, and as a source of trade. " The great cause of the failure of the Fishery throughout this River, I attribute to the taking of Fish at an improper period of the 62 yisar; aiid from the best informatioii that- 1 etm oolleot, this is Snotised in til the Rivers that the Salmo.i frequent, bnt more par* ioularlr on the South West Branch of this River, and to pre- vent which, appears to be the greatest diffioulty to overcome in restoring the Fisliery. " The law at present prescribes the time at which Salmon should be taken, and imposes a line for any fish caught after that time,— and a fine on persons purchasing such fish ;— still, they are openly sold and purchased, salted and exported, as Spring-caught Salmon, though very inferior to such. Those caught late in the season are hardly fit for human food. " The next thing that I would draw your attention to, is the fishery along the outside of Portage and Fox Islands, at the entrance of this Harbour. Your personal observation would shew you the position of these Islands ; and at the Fishing season (although con- trary to law) the whole of the outside of them is studded with nets to the entrance of the Harbour, leaving little more than the Ship channel clear. If this abuse is allowed to continue, (even should other matters connected with the up-river abuses be corrected, and the Fish partially return to the River), the Bay Fishing will not be worth foUowingr as immediately on the nets being set at these Islands,' the Bay and River Fishery ceased to remunerate those engaged in it, and fell off, in proportion to the increase of the Fishery outside ; for the obvious reason, that the Fish were pre- vented from entering the Harbour. These unlawful Fisheries out- side, have amply remunerated the few monopolists engaged in them, at the expense of every person who invested property for the lawful prosecution of t^e Fishery inside. " To answer the great question — how to remedy these things, is more difficult than to point them out. There are local Over- seers of Fisheries appointed by the Sessions in each Parish : these are useful to confine the nets to the length prescribed by law, and to regulate other matters among the legal Fishermen ; but among the illegal, they are inactive ; and up the branches of the River, are said to participate in the catch of fish out of season. The out- side Fishermen threaten vengeance if they are meddled with, and continue their illegal course, even on Sundays. oi ** The laws regulating the Fisheries in this County appear to have been framed with much care, and are well adapted to the Bay and River ; therefore, it is only in consequence of the breaoh of those laws that the Salmon Fishery has been destroyed. " I have given the subject a good deal of consideration, and the only way I can think of, to remedy the evil, would be, to have two active persons appointed by the Government, in addition to the Overseers appointed by the Sessions, one for the upper part of the Riveii and the other for the lower part, including the Bay, and 63 outside, M far m th«» Jaw regulating the Flaheries extends, whoee - duty it should be to inform themselves of all infringements of th« law, and to prosecute the o£fendrrs. They might be paid either by the Province, or by a tax on the Salmon exported. " I would suppose that £50 each would be ample remuneration. I may add, that an active man might attend both Districts, as the trespassers in the upper District do not commence their operationt till the Bay and outside fishing are over. " 1 am, Sir, respectfully. Your very obedient servant, Alexander Davidson. M. H. Perley, ^aq., &e. &o., Saint John." From the foregoing information as to the Fisheries of the Mint- michi, the following conclusions may be drawn : — 1st. That although an Act of Assembly was passed in 1835 to regulate the Shad Fishery of Northumberland, yet there is now no such Fishery in the Miramichi, nothing being heard of Shad. 2d. That the Gaspereaux Fishery, formerly very productive, has almost ceased, ana is now without value or importance. Sd. That the Basse Fishery is nearly, if not quite, destroyed. 4th. That the Salmon Fishery has greatly decreased, and is in a fair way of being destroyed also. To preserve what yet remains of these Fisheries, and to restore them if possible, the appointment of paid Overseers or Inspectors would seem to be absolutely necessary. The regulation by law, of the size of the mesh of the various nets in use, appears also indis- pensable, to prevent the destruction of small fish and fry. The qaestions with reference to the regulation of the Salmon Fishery are of much importance, and similar questions have been the subject of much discussion in Ireland. They appear, however, to have been settled by the fourth Report of the Commissioners of the Fisheries in Ireland, which was presented to Parliament in 1845, an extract from which, in relation to the Salmon Fisheries, is here given :— " With the sanction of Governndent, we extended our inquiry to the whole of Ireland, free of all expense to the parties interested, instead of limiting it to those cases m which we received applica- tions, (as the terms of the original Act might be construed to require,) because we early found, that such a course was essential for arriving at the whole truth, in order that we might be enabled to frame such regulations, as should appear most conducive to the pnblio interest. 64 «« We are parraaded that the adjustment of the question, in order to be tiaeful and perfect, must be founded on uniform prinoi- ples, be applicable to the whole country, and be supported by Legislative enactment, rather than by Bye Laws. «* From a consideration of the weiglit of evidence given before Parliamentary Committees for many years : from the Report of Commissioners of Inquiry into the Irish Salmon Fisheries in 1836: and, finally, from the evidence collected and the Report furnished by Messrs. Mulvany and Barry, we are led to indulge a hope, that the time is not far distant, when one uniform Close Season for Salmon, will be applicable by law, both to Great Britain and Ireland, there being no reason to doubt, but that the habits of the fish are substantially the same in both countries. " To the proposition of a uniform Close Season for sea and tide ways, we apprehend no well founded objection can be advanced. " But a slight departure from uniformity in the upper or fresh- water portions of Rivers, however apparently calculated to give rise to jealousies, will, we conceive, be found, upon investigation, judicious, and, in fact, to be the most expedient compromise (for such only it must be considered) that can be adopted. " We are strongly impressed with the importance, not only to the public, but also to the parties locally interested, or possessed of extensive rights, of having the Rivers fully stocked with a supply of early breeding fish, and of the consequent necessity of ceasing from tul kinds of fishing for Salmon, at an early period in the Autni^n, ** Further, we believe, that to open any part of the month of January would, on the whole, be attended with more evil than good : and that the few persons who have heretofore derived advantage therefrom, either under the provisons of the old laws, or by acting contrary to law, will participate largely in the benefits certain to arise from an improved system, effectually carried out, and will be amply rewarded for any temporary loss they may sustain, in being prevented from fishing in that month. We therefore propose — ** Ist. That in the upper or fresh-water portion of Rivers through^ out Ireland, there shall be a uniform Close Season, as regards every mode of fishing for Salmon, from the 15th of September to the last day of Febrnary inclusive. . " 2nd. That in the sea and tide-ways there shall be a Close Season from the 1st September to the 3ist of January inclusive. ** Sd. That all net fishing for Salmon and Trout shall cease in the upper portions of Rivers on the 31st August, and that angling only for fish shall be permitted until the 15th September. " Some doubt has been expressed whether angling might not be permitted to a later period thaa the 15th September, but, after due 63 n almost any other mode of fishing, to the destrivctlun of Salmon, as it U most frequently practised while the fish ^ai|e actually upon, or very near the spawning beds, in the Upper or shallow parts of the streams, where they ought, on no account, to be disturbed. The Act of 1845 mentioned by Mr. Price, (8 Vk. cap. .71) ehould be extended to prevent spearing, by all persons whoru- aocver, at any time, or na any place ; and the p^-ovkitons of thft same Act,, with reference to the taking of Gri}»>, Tf'.qtiiit^ to Uc^ sendered more precise^ in prder to prevent the utter d'^^tructior. ci the Salmon Fishery of the Miramichi. a' Of the necessity of legal enactments for ** f> preser^ration of the River Fisheries, tuere can be little doubt. Those fish which make the sea their only element, can scarce iy be reduced in number^, cir extinguished, by any huma-ii efi'ori.. But it is widely diflferent iHth the^ fish which live in fresh water, or which visit the Rivettf oe(»i- aicnilly; ttieee are confined within narrow limltd, a'Thi8 is a large River, up "iviiieh the tide flows about fifteen miles. Formerly many Basse and Gaspereaux were taken in it, bat owing to the same destructive modes ^fishing as in the Miramichi, those Fiilheries are nearly at an end, very few of either Fbh beiilg liow caught. M^m^^k^i ,^f,,3aIfnon also frequented this River fper part of it seems particularly well adapted fiw this Fish ; but it was stated by Roderick M'Leod, E^quir^, i|i^h<(^ ICffides near the mouth of the River, that the Salmon Fishery of the Tabusintao is not now of much account. On the banks of this fine River, there is much land of the best quality, especially from the Sea, to the Bridge on the Great Road to Bathurst ; yet the Settlements only extend about six miles up, along the tide-way. Owmg to the upper portion of the River bdng in an unsettled and mlderness state, peculiar faoilities have existed for the wholesale destractif fly-fishing, and within a few years, it has becdme the resort of fly-fishers from all parts, anxious to enjo^ the noble sport of taking Salmon with rod and line. The favourite stations are, at the Pubineau Falls, seven miles from Bathurst,— and, beloir the Grand Falls, fifteen miles farther up ; between these two points, however, there are several places where the sport may be, followed with success. It was found, in ascending the Nepisiquit, on the 3rd and 4th September last, that the River had been fished illegally, from the head of the Tide to the Grand Falls, in every possible way, and< that netting and spearing were then going on, although the fish' were beoombg " black " and thin, ' • ^ ¥ i^-^n l^'great pool, there wei>et on tho.fintt>f September, severe! iMiua^^ Sabnpn^ and many mawning beds wereolMerired*in readi-^ i^esa foe receivipg spawn. Tm fifb. in the pool coald not ascend the FaUst'and, owipg to the low state of the water, they could not descend. Uie River ; they were like sheep in a fold. Many of them, bftd ti^n wounded by the speu, and were swimming about in a crippled condition ; some with part of their tails cut off, andoAhera with portions of their entrails protruding from wounds in the side. f^^^t was 'seid that a party, consisting of persons settled on the f^pgr part of the North West Miraraichi, which is but a few ihHes distant, had been ei^eged in taking Salmon at this pooL ' Two persons were fraud there, one named Walsh; the name of tlie othe^ was not ascertained, but he was said to be employed by WcdishI A net was found drying on the shore ; and twenty Salmon^ newly catiglU, were discovered in a place of concesdment, at a little distance. The rules and orders of the Sesmons of Gloucester, for regulating the Salmon Fishery in that Counfy, (a copy of which is annexed) have been framed with mueh care, and knowledge of the sui^t, a,nd they would probably be suificient, if properly enforced ; but, as, af Miramichi and elsewhere, there is the same want of paid; opcers to enforce the law. As the destruction of the Salmon, at the Grand Falls of the Ne- Vieiduit, fell within the writer'a own observation, heMt it hiadnty io address a note to William End, Esquire, the Clerk of the Peaeei ■tatittg what had been seen, and calling his attention to the cirii- ject What took place thereupon*. is stated in the following letter Uom Mr. End :-r- «t « Clerk^s OJicCt Bathurst, Sept. 20, 1849. Sf^, — On receipt of your note, from the Falls, I thought it my duty to lay the very important information it contained, before a Special Session of the Magistratoi. " lite authorities here, have always been alive to the necessity of preserving the Salmon Fisheries in the Nepisiquit ; but from want of fdnds, and perhaps from defects in the law, their rules and regu- lations are either openly violated, or secretly evaded. *• Tl\e lawless character of the poachers, and the unprincipled conduct of the inferior store keepers, who readily fnrnisn the sun- plies and become purchasers of the Fish, are obstacles not easily surmdunted, in a country without a police. "The Sessions entered, atonce, into the ^irit of your suggestions, and an Overseer of the Fisheries, aided by a ama\l poese, was im- mediately despatched. They proceeded to the places mentioned in your note, and although it waa evident, that vast quantities had 69 bMQroAnriedoff^ tlidy luooeedtd in oaptiiriqg (l iindentewd) H4 Salmon in Walsh's camp, besides small lots in other plaoef,, .Soi mnch for the resnlt of yonr one visit to tlie Falls ; but I hope diat those suggestions, whicn your personal observ&tion will enable yoa to make to the Govirtiment, will be the me'inB of iifitrodncing a {QTstem, by which this wholesale destruction '»f i>pawning fish, ^(at ft season when they are of little or no yalne,) may iniiittife be severely punished or prevented, and this item in, the very Hmit^ inventory of x»nr domestic sources of wealth and industry, may be saved from that destruction bv which it now appears to be thre^atened. , I have the honor to be. Sir, a Your obedient servant, "*> William End, * ' . Clerk of the Peace of tKt Couiityxtf Gloucester, ; M. H. Perl«7, Esquire, &e. &c. Saint John." '^ Tins vigorous proceeding of the Sessions of GloueesiBr, diows dearly what may be done, when efficient measoies 9x9 adii^tedlof preventing illegal fishing. ,^ The Trout Fishing on the Nepisiguit is exceedingly good, ihe Trout being of large a\zr, and most abundant ; but this fishing is generally overlooked, in the anxiety for the, more noble sppr^t joli taking Salmon with rod and line. ' .• -.^W ;,-s:> -i^\ There is no land granted on the Nepisiguit River, fturtheir up thati tlie Pabineau Stream, six miles from ^athurst, and the Salmon Fishery is, therefore, Crown property. It has been suggested, that this Fishery might be leased to some responsible person, who should be allowed to fish the River, during the proper season only, and bound to protect it at other times, which would then, in all proba- bility, be done eflfectively. In this way, the fishing could be pre* served from the destruction which now threatens it, and rendered valuable and useful to the public. At present, Salmon of all siaes are destroyed, whenever it is possible to do so, by the Indians, tiie French, and the English settlers ; all appear combined to extermi- nate them if they can, merely from a destructive propensity — for the fish are either lost for want of salt, or else, so imperfectly qured as to sell for a mere trifle. Mr. Herbert, (better known as Frank Forrester,) in his recent work on " Fish and Fishing in the tJnited States and the British Provinces of North America," at page 140, says,—" the wanton and stupid destruction of all kinds of game* whether feathered, finned, or furred, really appears to be a distinct characteristic of all the white inhabitants of America, wheresoever they are to be found ; and it cannot be doubted, that ere long, they will most bitterly regret the consequences of their rapaoily 9q€ wasteful folly." ■.■>■ H."t/7' 16 /tibe leasing of ihe Fisheries, in alfthe Rivera iti the nort^n part of ihe Pro^nce, where they yet appertain to the Crown, is a smbjeot worthy of consideration, in eveiy point of view. " r/^ !> The Rivera between Batkurat and Dalhowie. ^Between the Nepisiqnitancl the Restigonohe, a number of smafi streams empty into ,fhe Bay of Chaleur, several of which are resorted to by Salmon, and nearly all,.by large Trout from the sea. The principal of these is the Jacquet River, said to take its rise in a small lake, and to be forty five miles in length. The upper part flows impetuously through a mountainous district ; the lower portion glides swiftly over a gravelly bed— its waters are d^r and brilliant. This River formerly abounded with Salmon ; there are but few caught in it at present, and as there are no dams on the stream, or any obstruction to the free passage of the fish, they have probably been destroyed, as in the other Rivers mentioned. Lsii^e white Sea Trout, fresh run, were taken in the mixed water, at Ihe entrance into the Jacquet River, on the lOth of September last. As the lands upon its banks are all ungranted, the Fisheries of this River still belong to the Crown. At the entrance of the Benjamin River, a dam is built across, to raise a supply of water fc a Saw-mill ; and there is attached to the dam, a sluice-way built of planks, sixty feet in length, which has ma inclination of forty five degrees. A number of small Sal- mon had colleoted, last summer, in the pool at the foot of thb duioe- wwjT, at a time when, owing to the drought, no water ran over it. With the first rise of the stream from rain, the water passed over the sluice-way, but less than a foot in depth. The Honorable' Mr. Montgomery stated, that he saw many of these small Salmon pass from the pool, up the sluice-way, making three leapsonly, when they reached the pond above the dam ; he counted a hundred Salmon in one day, which made their way up in this manner, the largest was not supposed to weigh more than eight pounds. The Reettgoucke. This is one of the noblest Rivers in this part of America. At its entrance into the Bay of Chaleur, it is tnree miles wide, and from thence to Atiiol l£>use, above Campbellton, a distance of twenty miles, it maintains a great breadth, and may be considered for the whole distance, one magnificent haven, fitted for ships of tiie largest class. -The Restigouche is about 220 miles in length, and it has four large tributaries, each more than 60 miles long ; with its numerous affluents, it is supposed to drain more than 6000 square miles of territory* J^t present, this River iotbe 4ivi4i9g line>|tv,een New BrungwicK and Canada, and the Fiaheries in its wiitera are, therefore, under the control of each Colony, to the centre <^.. the ohannel. .-s/tM. it'/tyi When the French possesised this country, there was a town balled Petit Rochelle, which contained more than two hundred tmnsea, on the north hank of the Restigouche, at the head of the tide. This town was destroyed by a British fleet, under Captain Byron, in Julv 1760, a large fleet of French men of war and store ships being, at the same time, burnt and sunk in front of the town. Some years aliased before British settlers established themselves on the banks of this River ; and it is probable, that for a long period after, no River in North America, (except perhaps the Columbia) yielded 80 large a supply of Salmon as the Restigouche. But its oharactes, in this respect, is fast passing away ; the numbers have fearfiilly diminished of late years ; and, if the present state of things con- tinues, very likely a brief period only will elapse, ere the Salmon Fishery of the Restigouche wUl be numberea amcmg the tluags that hvre been. Robert Ferguson, Esquire, of Athol House, who has dwelt on the banks of the Restigouche more than fifty years, stated to the writer, that in the early part of thb century, he himself, for many years, caught and exported 1400 barrels of Salmon annually. H^ thought, that the whole catch on this River, the past year, woidd not exceed 500 barrels ; but the season was an unfavourable one'; the unusual drought, and the White Porpoises in. the Bay, were both adverse to a good fishery. Mr. Ferguson attributes the great decrease of Salmon to the destruction of fish on the spawning beds, in the upper parts of the River, far beyond the Settlements, whe^e they are speared, and netted, and poached, in every mode that can bedevisea. Mr. John Duncan, a very intelligent and respectable farmer near Campbellton, stated, that he has followed Salmon Fishing on the Restigouche, for forty years ; the fishing has greatly fallen off within the last ten years. Twenty years since, accoraing to Mr. Duncan, 3000 barrels of Salmon were shipped annually- from the Restigouche ; in his opinion, not more than 300 barrels' were taken the past season. The largest Salmon taken, withiti Mr. Duncan's own knowledge, weighed sixty pounds; in former years, he has known eleven Sidmon, on the average, to make a barrel of 2001b ; more recently, they averaged fifteen to the barrel ; in 1648, the fish averaged seventeen to the barrel; but the past season, they were quite small, and very different from those of forin^ n Id^Miblt, oii« of its il{»n«lf trib«tiu<»8i ®idiiitfnr*0Mtia the Mati»- pemax) River, very nearly to the Lake, aboat 60 luiles ; tli« fliAiiA Ai$ tributary, are known by being larger and mueli blacker Qir.the iS^. ' *fk^ S&lmoa Oil ty tte^Btigonbhe ar6 iieit'iti si^^ t^ tbose .,r,Mr-,Puiic^ stftiecl, ihat driftipgfor Salmoa was prae^e4 X)|a !j|ja^lU^yigpuc^e, all along tlie River, for eighty niiles',, above .ti\e i^fywa-ji 9f n^fc, ftjcetciipa between two canoes,.i9 ^ragjjSje^. 4o;nr,^ .t^&amf ac^ tUis is called " drifting."^ Nets are set, at lugh^^ quite |i<^roiS t^ kivW, where the channel is narrow ; at the , same piii^, Mf^M^iuV^^ne^gcd with torch and ^pear, in taking Satq^po^^jr living, i^ent into the nets. It was mentioned by ,|i/b% ,]t^an^ qWt Unit two meu went eighty miles up the Restigouohe, on the ii^.of^ptember last^and in a. £ew days* hroaght down seventy SabpHin,: ;taken in this way ; two IndiaiiSi who went iip at the same time, also brouglit down twenty Salmon, taken with the spear. At the close of the season, just before the ice makes in the Res- iigoache, large quantities of supplies, for tiie lumberers, are sent very far. up the River, in large row-boats or icows, each drawn by k fiuinb^r dif horses. The upper p^rt of the River is much impeded W brba^i sandy shallows, and sand bars ; where the water is h&t Wl^ci^ntly deep for heavily laden scowd, they are dragged across these shallows ahd bars, by the strength of thr.ee, and sometime Htliie h^ses, aid^d by men. It unfortunately hmpens, that thes^ pTaees are the favonte spawning grounds of the'Sal^oiiyahd ^i^ mi^ntities of the spkwri, already deposited and bbvered, arenitfi9 Sampfed up, destroyed, or washed away. Mr. Fergusdfi, aiid'Mlr. tluncan, were both of opinion, that some damage had bd^n doi;ie tb the Salmon Fishery, by the •* Scowing," late in the fall, #heii thb Riv^r happened to be in alow stage ; on such occasions the spawn- ing beds ar« sure :to sufier. Mr. Duncan however, thipks that the greatest injury to the Salmon ti'ishery, arises from the Salmon being spearea on these spawning beds, up to tlie very IfitiuM; ipomeilt in tl^ season before the River closes, when the fish are qaitev worthless ; and that the great means of improving the ^meij, ynmi^ibii to prt s? rve the upper part of the River. ,, t t^lVfr. Robert H. Montgomery, of Oampbelltont who is well ac- duarnfira wl^
ems almost a dead letter, as regards the Restigonohe River. As stated with respect to the Miramichi, paid Overseers seem absolutely necessary td enforce the law ; and an arrangement could very readily be made with the Municipal Council, on the Canadian side of the River, for the like officers on that side. Such Officers, by a faithful perf The dam at the head of the tide, had not then been long built ; it eflfectually prevented the progress of all fish upwards, and below it, there were great quantities of large Trout, and some Salmon, con- gregated, endeavouring in vain to get up. When Salmon cannot attain their proper spawning places, they drop their ova anywhere in the Rivers, without the usual preparation, and appear perfectly indifferent as to what becomes of it. Such has no doubt been the ease on the Richibucto ; and it is not therefore surprising, that Salmon have nearly disappeared in that River. Mr. Wathen of Richibucto, stated that the Gaspereaux Fishing begins near the end of May, and lasts but a short time. The set- tlers on the Richibucto, and on the Aldoine, its largest tributary, take them for their own use only, none being now exported. He estimates the whole catch at present, at one thousand barrels annually; but under proper regulations, he thinks many more might be taken without injury to the Fishery. The Basse Fishing, Mr. Wathen said, was now nearly done. In 1849, while using a seine on the beach, at the entrance of Richibucto Harbour, he took two or three barrels of small Basse, at each sweep of the seine, which were salted. When the writer was at Richibucto in October last, the Indians were engaged every night in spearing Basse, and between the seine and the 9pear, even the small Basse will shortly be exterminated. It will soon become matter of his- tory, that large Basse were once taken in great quantities in the Richibucto ; and that Salmon were also abundant in that River in former times. * The Act of Geo. 4, cap. 25, empowered the Justices in Kent to make regulations respecting the Fisheries of the different Harbours, Rivers, and Creeks, of the County; but in this as in other Coun- ties, the regulations were not enforced, and hence the decay and almost total destruction of the River Fisheries in this County. The Buctouche Rivers. The Big and Little Buctouche Rivers both fall into the Harbour of that name. The tide flows up the Big Buctouche about thirteen miles, and up the Little Buctouche about ten miles. Both Rivers are in character very similar to the Richibucto, and the same statements with reference to the Gaspereaux, Basse, and Salmon Fisheries of that River, will very nearly apply to those Fisheries in »'i 77 the Bnotouche Rivera. The settlen oatoh a snffioienoy of Gtd- pereaux for their own use. The large Basse have been destroyed, but the small Basse are yet taken through the ice, and with the spear ; it was apparent, that here also every e£fort was being made to exterminate these (Msh. A few Salmon yet enter these Rivers very late in the season, when just ready for spawning, and being unable to ascend, are destroyed in every possible way, at a time when they are lank, slimy, and quite unfit for use. A few Shad are taken in these Rivers, but they are said to be thin and poor. There is great abundance of Smelts every Spring. Parties of French settlers go up the brooks in log canoes, ana each party frequently gets fifty to sixty barrels of Smelts which are used to manure the laud. There is an abundance of large Eels of fine quality ; in the season of 1848 about three hundred barrels of Eels taken with the spear in these Rivers, were salted for Winter The Cocagne River. The tide flows about seven miles up this River ; at the head of the tide there is, as usual, a mill-dam, which prevents all Fish from ascending the River. Some Gaspereaux are yet taken here, but nothing was heard of Basse. While the River was unobstructed, many Salmon were talcen in it ; they are now scarcely seen. The dam was placed across this River about 1 830 ; and for several years after, the Salmon came up and endeavoured to get over it, but without sue- cess. While thus endeavouring to make their way up, they were slaughtered in great quantities, and to such an extent, that it is believed none were left to preserve the breed. It was stated at Cocagne, that while the Fish were thus collected one season, a Frenchman, in one night, speared a sufficient number of Salmon to fill eight barrels; two other Frenchmen, during the same night, each filled two canoes ; while several Indians, on the same famous occasion, lent their best abilities to complete the work of destruction ! And it was completed. The Shediac and Scadouc Rivera. Both these Rivers empty into the Harbour of Shediac. The tide flows seven miles up the Shediac River, where a mill-dam prevents its further flow, and the ascent of all Fish whatsoever to the fresh water above. Up the Scadouc River, the tide flows three miles, a very short distance above which, a mill-dam also prevents the passage of Fish. As a matter of course, the Fisheries of these Rivers are nearly extinguished. Very few Gaspereaux are now taken ; the attempt 78 If made only by thofe who hvn Mled In taking a snffloient lapply of Spring Hernnga. Some aana]! Baaso are itiU oaaght in neta ; bnt Salmon are nearly, if not quite, extinot. While the writer waa at Shediao, in November, 1846, a run of Salmon, apparently the last of their race, entered the Shediao and Soadouo Rivers, and ascended nearly to the dam on each* It was reported, that on a Sabbath Day, many persons were engaged in destroying these Fish, (which were black, lean, and slimy,) with spears, scythes, pitchforks, and snoh other offensive weapons as oama to hand ; apparentiy, the destraction was complete, as little has since been heard of Salmon in these RiverS' Lobsters, Eels, aad Smelts, are abundant in Shediao Harbour, and its Oysters have long been celebrated for their excellence and fine flavor ; it must be remembered, however, that those taken near the mouths of the Rivers, are greatly inferior to those taken in the deep salt water. For the information of sporting fishermen, it tnay be mentioned, that there is good fishing for '* White Trout," on the Cocagne, the Shediao, and the Scadouo Rivers; and that Smelts and small Basse rise readily at the fly, and are frequently taken while fishing for Trout. TAe Rivera from Shediac to the Nova Scotia Boundary, Tlie Rivers which empty into the Gulf, on this long line of coast, are all flat, sluggish streams, of small size, and no very great length. Th^ fiimish Gaspereaux and Tide Trout, but are not large enough for Salmon. Bale Verte is a broad, shalbw Bay, which, at low water, is dry nearly two miles from the shore, except in the channel, which is then four feet deep, and rather crooked. There is only four feet water on the bar, at low water ; the rise and teHl of the tide is seven and a half feet. There is a good Gaspereaux Fishery in the Gas- pereau River, at the head of the Bay, on the New Brunswick side of which, there is no other Fresh Water Fishery of importance. FRESH WATER FISHES. In addition to the Fresh Water Fishes already mentioned inci- dentally, there is the common Yellow Perch, (perca fluviatilis «f Cnvier and Valenciennes,) which is found iu many of the Rivers flowing into the Gulf. The '* small American Basse,*' {perca labrax mucronatue of Cuvier,) better known as the ** White Perch" on 'the Samt J«ho, in many of the tributaries of which it abounds, has not been found in any of these Northern Rivers. A great variety of small Fii^ exist in each of the Rivers of the Nortb, which it Is not necessary to enumnate, as they merdy serve i •''■r m Ml II 19 At food for larger Pith. Fortunately, no Pike or Piokerel have yet been found in any of the Riven of New Brnnawiok, and the ffreat alyindance of Treat, and other River Fish, may in aome degree be attributed to the absence of these *' fcesh water Sharlks»" who are most desimotive to all other Fbhes. COMMERCIAL VALUB OP THE GULF FISHERIES IN 1840. The following Tables, compiled by the writer from the Custom House Returns, exhibit the trifling value of the produce of the Sea and River Fisheries, exported from the Gulf Ports of New Brunswick, in 1849. The Quantity of each article, at each Port, is here exhibited ; and it will be observed, that the whole quantity of Pickled Fish exported, was 3,380 barrels or\j, , and that 2,1 10 barrels were imported, tt will be seen that Mackerel were imported, at Miramiohi, from another Colony ; and that at Riohi- bucto, near which Fish are so abundant, 575 barrels of Pickled Fish were imported from abroad, and 110 barrels only, were exported. The whole value of Fish exported dtnring the past year is £15,117 sterling, against which there is the vtdue of the Fish imported, amounting to £2,269, leaving a balance of £12,848 sterling only, in favor of the exports of the Gulf Fisheries of New Brunswick. It must not be forgotten, that the season of 1849, was one of nnexampled abundance in the Sea Fisheries ; and the following Tables therefore furnish a severe, but it may be hoped, a most useful commentary upon the state of the Provinciid Fisheries withm the GKilf of Saint Lawrence :— • Exports of the produce of the Fisheries, from the several Ports of New Brunswick, within the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, during the year 1849 :— Smoked and Dried Fish. Pickled Preserved Fish on. Oysters. Ports. Fish. Fish. Qaifitals. Barrels. Boxes. Oallons. Boflbelf. Miramiohi, ... • •• 2,306 581 455 ••• Dalhoosie, ... 130 344 ■ •• Bathurst, 720 42 • •• ••• Caraquette, ... 16,056 578 7,572 2,304 Richibucto, ... • •• no • •«r 240 Shediac, • •• • •• • •• • •• Totals,... 16,906 3.380 531 8,027 2,544 80 Imports of the produce of the Fisheries, at the several Ports of Nevr Brunswick, within the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, during the year 1849:— ^ Dried Fish. Pickled Fish. Smoked & Preserved Fish. Fish Oil. Oysters. quintals. barrels. boxes. gallons. bushels. Miramichi, . > . . Dalhousie, Bathurst Caraquet, Richibocto, . . . . Sbediac, 382 1,153 • • 138 • • Herrings ^ 1,130 f Mackerel r" 35 3 370 • • 575 • • • • 21 • • • • • • • • • • 772 • • 260 • • • • Total 1,673 2,110 21 1,032 • • I III Comparative Statement of the total quantities of articles, the pro- duce of the Fisheries, exported and imported at the several Ports of New Brunswick, within the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, during the year 1849 :— 1849. Dried Fish, quintals. 16,906 l,v373 Pickled Fish. Smoked & Preserved Fish. Fish Oil. Oysters. , barrels. boxes. gallons. bushels. Exports, Imports, 3,380 2,110 531 21 8,027 1,032 2,544 • •• • I- i dl ■'ujf'i Vtttxmi of the estimated value, in ponnd» sterliag^ of att articles, tttdi nroduce of the Fisheries, exjbbrted from the several Ports of New Brunswick, within the Galf of Saint Lawrence, during the year 1849, distinguishing the oonntries to which thesamewereexported: Great BriHah Colonies. United Poreigrn Portfc North We.t filse. Total Britain. America, Indies, where. States. States. • •• eterUncw Miramiohi, 132 2,820 • •• 1,822 £4,774 Dalhonsie, 27 611 • •• ■ ■• • •• 638 Bathurst, • •• 440 • •• • •• • •• 440 Citraquette, 1,H8 3,291 1,190 • •• 3,362 8,991 Riohibncto, • •• 274 • •• • •• • •• 274 Shediac, • •• • •■ • •• • •• • •• • •• Total Exports, 1,307 7,436 • •• 1,190 1,822 3,362 £i5,iir Total value of , Fish imported at i the same Ports in 1849. • •• 2.269 • •• • •• ••• • •• £2,269 Return of the quantities of the various products exported from the District of Gaspe, during 5th January, 1850: — of the Fisheries, the year ending Weight From the From the Total from Total DsscaiPTioN. or Poit of New Port of the District in Meuure. Carlisle. OMpe. in 1849. 1848. Dry Cod, quintals, 28,230 52,109 80,339 89,931 Pickled Cod, barrels. ••• 4,920 4,920 3,977 Do. quintals, 24 817 841 1,074 Tongues and Sounds, barrels, 15 6 21 62 Salmon, do. f •« 290 290 275 Mackerel, do. • •• 126 126 160 Herrings, do. • •• 219 219 277 Halibut, do. • •• 50 50 • •• Cod Oil, gallons. 573 50,220 50,793 31,038 Whale Oil, do. •«• 21,720 21,720 6,960 Seal Oil, do. •.. 120 120 600 The value of all imports at the Port of Gaspe in 1849, was £32,286 cxmency ; the value of exports the same year, was £5 1 ,880 currency. At New Carlisle, the value of imports from abroad, in 1849, was £12,511 sterling ; the value of exports was £37,550. The imports and exports to and from Quebec ate not stated in the Return from New Carlisle. The exports include Birch and Pine U 82 timber ; Haokmaiaok knM8» ship timber, treenaiLi, ftiid pegs $ Hemlock lathwood ; Spmoe and Pine deals, boards, and shmgles. In order that sbtne oomparison may be institdted between the Fisheries of New Brnnswiek, in the Galf of Saint Lawrence, and those of the State of Massachusetts, which are so largely prosecuted in the same GKilf, the following official return of the quantities of all descriptions of Pickled Fish, inspected in that State, during the year 1849, is given : — Fish Inspection Office^ Bostm^ January 7, 1850; 'V' The following is a return of the quantities of all descriptions of Pickled Fish inspected in this State, during the year 1§49 : — Mackerel, • •• «•• 231,856 barrels. Salmon, ... • •• • •• 1,821 Shad, ... • •• • •• 416 Herrings, • •• • •• 872 Alewives, • •• • •• 2,189 Cod, ••• !•• • •• 97 - (( Menhaden, • •• • •• 78 Sword Fish, • •• • •• 474 Tongues and Sounds, • •• • •• 413 BluerFish, • •• • •• <«•• 142 HfOibut Fins, • •• • •• • •• 62 Salmon Trout, • •• • •• • •• Total, 76 238,496 barrels. John P. Obkr, Insp'r Qen* ofFiah, The Salmon and Salmon Trout mentioned in the above Return, were doubtless taken in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, as there are no such Fisheries in the United Stetes. The American fishing vessels obtain Salmon on the west coast of Newfoundland, and in the Rivers of Labrador, which abound with them. It is known, that they take the large White Trout of the Gulf, at the Magdalen Islands, where many of those Fish are caught every season in nets. The Inspector General of Fish at Boston, has kindly furnished the following Return of Mackerel inspected in the State of Mas- saohusetto, during the last six years : — In 1844, ... ... ... lO'ld, ... ... ••• Iw^Oy ... ... ••. 1 C$4 I, ... ... ... 1 04c7, •*• ■.. ... 1D4«7, ••• .1. (It 86,180 barrels. 202.302 « 174,064 232,587 300,130 231,856 « «c M 83 H^^^.^m-.'^^ - GENERAL SUMMARY/: ' ^^"''^^'^ 1. The foregoing Report ia l^aaed upon personal inspedtiion, and the statements of many persons, of nnaoubted credit, dwelling near the Coasts, Riyeirs, and Harbours, visited. It shows clearly, the great neglect of the Sea fHsheries, and the rapid decay of thoj^ in the Riyers, which are threatened with total extinction. '^ll- 2. The Cod, and other deep Sea Fisheries, of the Gulf coast, are almost wholly in the hands of the Jersey merchants, who conduct their business very admirably, but solely with a vie w to their own prbAt, without regard to the interests of New Brunswick. They expend their earnings in Jersey, or elsewhere; they iCiake no investments in this F^ovince— and they do not aid in its advance- tieht. 3. The peo^e of New Brunswick must be incited, and encour- aged, to enter into the deep sea and coast Fisheries ; with moderate capitiet], and some knowledge of the business, they could, undoubt- edly, prosecute those Fisheries, with profit to themselves, and much benefit to the country. r\ : iv-»Vfft>. t ■iilJ '•■ M , . . 4. An the Fishing Stations on the coasts, beaches, and islands, appertaining to New Brunswick, within the Gulf of Saint Law- rence, which are yet ungranted, should be surveyed, and laid out, for ** fishing rooms ;" and these should be leased, at a fair rental, to persons engaged in the Fisheries ; the lease to terminate so soon as each '* room " ceased to be used for fishery purposes. No fish- ing " room " should be allowed to engross the whole of any favorite location, where there ww. suMcient space for more than one ; and great care should hereafter be taken, to avoid such improvident grants as that at Point Misoou, which has efiectnally shut up a good Fishing Station there. 5. The Mackerel Fishery is most excellent in the Gulf, near the shbres of this Province ; but the inhabitants do not avail themselves of its abundance, while citizens of the United States pursue it largely, near these same shores, with much profit. The annexed Returns, obtained from Washington through an official channel, show the extent and value of the Sea Fisheries of the United States ; and it must be borne in mind, that these Fisheries are more exten- sively prosecuted in British waters than elsewhere. I 6. By the Convention of 20th October, 1818, between His Britan- nic Majesty and the United States of America, it was stipulated. 64 tb^fc the eitixens of the United States thould not, tliereafter, fi«h within three marine hides of any of the coasts, bays, creeks, or liarboan, of His Majesty in America. The Crown Ofiicers in Ifingland, upon a case submitted to thorn by the Legislatare of j^ovadcotia, have given it as their deliberate opinion, that tlie vtesoribed distance of three miles, is to be measured from the head- lands, Or extreme poiints of land^ and not from the interior of bays, or indents in the coast A copy of the first article of the Conven- tion of 1818, and also a copy of the opinion of the Queen's Advocate und Attorney Genend of England, are appended to this Report. Th6 principle laid down in that opinion nas not been denied, pr disputed, by th6 United States; yet the fishing vessels of. ,|hat country are accustoined to frequent — and during the past sea^pn, idtd frequent— the Straits of Northumberland, the Bay of Mira^- dii, and the Bay of Chalenr; in neither of which have they any right to prosecute the Fisheries. The citizens of the United States, by their peculiar mode of fishing for Mackerel, in places _ where they have no right, greatly injure the Cod fishers, by depri,ving th«n of bait ^ and thdy also damage the Cod Fishery, by thro^ng oiverboard the bones and ofiial of the Cod which ttiey take. At present, the Convention is openly violated ; and American ibitizens practically enjoy every privilege they desire, ;ave that of lahdttig on our shores, to dry and cure their fish. While the Convention existit its provisions should be strictly enforced ; or else, we lose the advaahkges of otir poution, wilAont any equivalMit. ' 'Hi5i|(»i 1 .If; ;9tt01 . 7* The resident fishermen have been deterred from engaging In the Mackerel Fishery, by those interested in the Cod Fishery ; they ^ve been refused supplies of salt, and told they could not compete with the Americans, who were said to possess some secret in rela- ^on to it. This adverse influence must be counteracted, and tide <(rronQpus impression removed. Very many young men, on the coast, appeared anxious to learn the American mode of catching Mackerel ; and it was proposed, in the Bay of Chaleur, to fit out on^ or more schooners, ana engage Americans as sailing masters, to teach the crew the ** art and mystery " of Mackerel Fishing. There is no doubt, that judicious measures could readily be devised, ||br establishing this valuable Fishery, on a large scale, and induce its being prosecuted by the resident fishermen, to whom it is offered at their own doors. 8. The Herring Fishery is most valuable and abundant ; it can hardly be surpasMd elsewhere. From unskilfulness in Fishing, and ignorance of tiie best mode of curing, this Fisliery is scarcely ^ri^table, and the salted Ilerruigs have no oommeroial value. L 85 Thd nmedy would oonaiik)— in the employaeniof cMnpetent pctf" sons, to teach the muonei of so arranging the net»» as to takt tlie greatest quantity of fish, at all times, — and of ex]Mrienced cuxeri, to give instractions in the Dutch mode of caring ; the adoption of which has so greatiy increased the demand for Scottith Herrings, and rendered that Fishei^ so valuable. The meaos suceessfaQr adopted by the Commissionen of British Fisheries, with respect to the Herring Fisheries of Scotland, may safely be followed in N^w Bninitwick : and perhaps the establishment of a Fishery Boaird, with apmewliat similar powers and duties, might also be advanta- geous, as well to the Giilf Fisheries, as to those of the Bay of Fqn^. Mr. John Mitohell, of Leith, who is engaged: in tb» Hcninig Fishery of Scotland, in a letter to the Irish Fishery Board, as to the best mode of improving the Fisheries of Ireland, says :— **'TIi(^ people on^t to be taught to fish, and pariilctuailr to cure ; jjtiajitf biQght to be ikiade paramount to quantity. The ttitita of Scbtiand were mttch benefited by somer Dntoh fishemien, brought oVer, who cured Herrings, andecjrmy ovi^iiu^^rintendence, Mtne ybars since." ' - • ^ /: With reference to the advantages of a Fishery Board, Mr. Mitdielj. in a Memorial to the Board of Trad^e, j^ate^' th^t the J^^icAi Fishery Board is one of the best managed i^stalbfishments in Europe, which, by itejndiciousandwdl applied regulations, Ims raised the character of British Herrings to a most extraordinary degree, within a few years ; and he conceives, that tlie prosperii^ of the Fisheries of Scotland, depends upon the existence Of th0 Fishery Board, and its Officers.* '^'1^. As a most fitting Stotion for an Inspector and Teacher of tli9 fierritig Fishery, and for the services of experienced Curers, Cara- quette Island is respectfully recommended. It is in the immediate vicinity of the best Herring Fishing, and fortunately, it is still t^ property of the Crown. ']'^'^^^ Other stations may be selected hereafter, as the Herring Fishery is extended. It is quite probable, that there are various localities in the Gulf, to which the Fall Herrings resort, but whiclvfire not yet knoWn. It is only forty years since it wai^ acctdentuly 'The export of Lerriugs from Scotland, in 1837, was 57,388 barrels ; by tibe Board's ezertioas, this (loantity was iaereased in 1843, to 181,853 barrds. It appears by a Report on the Fisneriet of Scotland, by Captain Wadiingtoii, R. N; (brinted in Parliamentary papere of 1849,] that in 1848, there wers eiire4 ia Scotland, 999,345 barrels of Herrings, besides 364,951 cwt. of Cod and Ling* Captain Washington estimates the value of boats, nets, lines, ^'c. belons^iur to ths Scottish FidiemfeD, at 41,250,078 Btertinff. .\^ ili>i(9(Mrerad» tlttt H«mngt rawfted pedodioally to the Firtb of Fortby by a mwi di^ing.a buokcftinto tha wateni; ..-.t,:'. ^ i . ^« * ' ' 10* ili^ la^ws for uie regulation of tbe inland Fisheriea, appea^j i^ g^tid, to have., been Well devised; but, there has been a tbiid Mjiire ih enforcing; their prpyisiqns, every where, i^i^noe^ Me dtlsdliT of these once valnablQ and proliiio nslieines* how hute^^|§ ■&mafy to their termination, i^itii so^ne araendments and iinpro^e- menfiei, the preseiit laws mi^t answer the puroose of preseryiiig 1^ inoreianng th^se Fisherieo ; but a^geneirar ^ennatii^eiiit, .wit^ ade^Uat^ means for Jenfbrbing its prov£sions» wouldf probably ^e fDUDd mot««fEbctiTe. •,..:; ,! .('•*fb}n>-' mifM. .(TT . .11. A "close timi^'f should be established, duini^ wl\ioili,sf]fi|on should not be taken in tmy way. The talcing of "Grilse,*' or smidl Salmon, under a certain weight, shqidd bjB resiaripted, and liieir sate pf pliibited. Spearing ^onkl be disallowed^ and the Tpjpfr; lai^ohs generally, for this iBshing, should be as unifbiin as pa isililp* ' 12. A mpderate assessment upon all Salmon nets in ufl|9> slu ipld;!)^ If yiej9, aiiicl ftj^Iied to the payment of the Overseer* of tiieFiMbeinf 9 ibr< thpir service*. At present, the proprietors of the .Salmon Fiaiheries, on thie several Rivera, enjoy them without expense, and geqt the. public to par for their proteo^on «nd preservation. je ,JBSseasment princn^Ie has latdy been establishea in, Ireia|id>, he Act'll and l2 Victoria, cap. 92, provides for an aasessffjont on certain engines used in the capture of Fish, for the purpose of raising fnnds for the conservancy and police of the Fisheries* ^ne dbjeotiohs being made to this Act, a Select Committee of Efoiise of Commons heard evidence respecting it, at the last Ses- sibjii of Parliament. The, Report of this Committee, published la Sep^mber last, recommends a continuance of the Act, but such a modification of the scale of Duties imposed, as would canse -the burthen of the assessment to fall, as nauch as possible, upon those who derived the chief benefit arising from its expenfliture. .^ j|,S|. The Salmon Fishery of the Restigouohe, once so abundant and so valuable, requires special attention. The Canadian Govern- ment might be moved to take part in the preservation of this l^ishery ; or the Municipal Council, of the Second Diviuon of the County of Bonaventure, could be urged to join in the necessary measures. Some of the gentlemen of tiiis Council, who were met in! Gaspe, were most intelligent persons, fully alive to the existing evils, and most anxious that they shpuld be prevented by vigorous action. 14. A l«ir to prevent the me offish is minnret ie gre&tly ileed«d# The praotioe it aeetrnctive to the Fisheries, in erery possible way ( and it is injnrions to the land, which, although stimulated for a season, is for several years after, rendered almost unfit for agrioul- tuial puiposes. The effluvia from the decomposition of- the fish has been found unhealthy. In Dr. Storer's Report on the Fishes of Massachusetts, (page 1 18) it is stated, that in the town of Barn- stable, large quantities of fish were used as mapure, the steqch from which was >nost o^ensive, so as greatly to inconvenience travellers on tl^e roi^; and autumnal, fovers and dysentery, wef^ more prevalent in that district, than elsewhere in the viojuiity. The practice has been most extensivelv followed in 1k» Bay of Chalenr, where the Fisheries have suflTered greatly in consequence. The action of the Canadian authorities is also required, to give full efficacy to a prohibitory law within that Bay- ^'15. No pickled fish whatsoever, should be allowed to be exported, unless the casks bore the brand of an official inspector ; and flie Mle of such fish within the Province, not inspected and branded, should be punished by forfeiture of the fish, or a sufficient fine. The rigid enforcement, in all cases, of an efficient inspection law, can alone prevent frauds and mal-practioes, and establish the cha- racter of New Brunswidc Fish in distant marketo. f 16. The Fisheries belonmng to the Crown, in the Rivers whose banks are ungranted, should be leased, on condition that each lessee should fish oiUy at the proper season, and protect the River at all other times. By this arrangement, the Fisheries of the Rivers flowing through ungranted wilderness lands, which are now being destroyed in the most wasteful and reckless manner, might be pre- served, and rendered profitoble. Tn Ireland, where Rivers, whose Salmon Fishery was nearly exhausted, have been preserved for a time, the Salmon have increased most wonderfully; and the Salmon Fishery, in some cases, has become of exceeding value, in places where, previously, it had almost ceased to exist. 1 7. The rents arising from " Fishing Rooms," a: H. Perley having been appointed by His ExoeBency the Lieutenant Governor, in Council, to prosecute certain inquiries respecting the Fisheries on the Gulf Shore of this Province, is desirous of obtaining information on the following points, to which among others, his attention has been epecially directed : — I. As to the present modes of conducting the Fisheries for Her- ring, Cod, and Mackerel — with a description of the nets, lines, and other tackle now em]^oyed, in order to know if any, and wjiat^ improvements may be introduced. 8» Ab to the modes now in use of curing and packing ike several descriptions of Fish, with tlie view of ascertaining if any, and what, defects exist in these important particulars. 3. As to the proper season for each Fishery ; and whether Fidi are now caught at times when they are of no real value. 4. As the extent to which the Fisheries in the Bay of Chalenr are injured, as is alleged, by the taking of Herring and Capelin fmr manure. '' * 91 r > ) 1 \ 1 * 9 [ 1 1 1 i f 1 If 5. Au to the extent to whioh tlie Fieheriet on the Gnlf Shore of the Provinee are prosecuted by Foreigners, and whetb >* they make any, and what, encroachments. • 6. As to the destrnotion of Fish in Rivers, by illegal modes of Fishing— OS to the various sorts of Fish (especially Salmon) being prevented ascending to their usual spawning grounds by Mill Dams, or other obstructions — and as to their being caught out of season and when spawning — with the best information that can be pro- cured, as to the decrease of the Fisheries in each of the Rivers flowing into the Gulf, or Bay of Chaleur,-from these or other causes. Mr. Perlby respectfully requests all persons, who feel an interest in the Fisheries of the Gulf, to furnish him with whatever infor- mation they possess, with reference to the foregoing inquiries, or which may be interesting, or important, as regards the Fiaheries generally. Any observations as to existing nuisances, or obstruc- tions, to the Sea or River Fisheries, and the means of remedying or removing them, will be gladly received. As it is extremely desirable that the most full and accurate information should be obtained, in order that measures of real utility may be adopted to advance the Fisheries, it is hoped that aU residents on the Gulf Shore, and within the Bay of Chalenr, will cheerfully aid in a work calculated to advance the general prosperity. It is Mr. Perley's intention to visit personally every part of the Coast mentioned,* and collect information on the spot; but all communications to him on the subject, until 20th September, may be addressed to the care of Edward Williston, Esquire, Newcastle, Miramiohi ; and after that date, to the Government Emigration Office, Saint John. I uJ<> fii'.Osikh No. 3. The Petition of the Settlers at Miscou. To Sir Edmund Head, Baronet, Lieutenant Governor and Com^ mander in Chitfofthe Province of New Brunswick, ^c. ^c. ^c. The Petition of George Sevret and others, oo behalf of the Settlers at Miscou. Humbly Slieweth — That your Petitioners are British subjects resident on Miscou ; that they have all large families and support themselves by fish- ing and farming ; that they have made small houses in which they reside, and they pray that they may have Grants or Licences of IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I IA£12.8 12.5 Ui ^ 122 us u us 14.0 1 2.0 — 11^ lii^ Photographic Sciences Corporation 33 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716)872-4503 92 occupation for the land they occupy, and privilege of Uie Beaches in front of their lots. These fev years back, the vacant Marshes and Beaches were sold at auction for a few shillings, and ikfi buyer charged a poor Fisherman 10s. per ton for marsh hay, and 5s. per ton for beach grass, standing ; the beach grass is hardly worth mowing on account of the sand in or about it. And as in duty bound will ever pray. George Sevret, hi* Peter M Sevret, mark hit WilUamXWard, jnark Richard X Plaw, mark Joseph Ward, hia .John M Bums, marjc hi* James M Ward, mark No. 4. hit Michael X Ward, ^^cii? mark , ; mdi ^ni a guqf;» John Vibert, Pierre Bezeau, George Brown, Francis Bezeau. Chrysostom Cheseau,' James Ward, Jr. ^ n fi ihiaacf^, a/! J Copy of Letter from John Doran, Esquire, J. P., of Shippagan, respecting the Sea Fisheries. Shippagan^ 22d Aiigusty 1849. Sir,— •! have had great satisfaction in perusing your Circular Letter, asking information as to the Fisheries in this District, and within the Bay of Chaleur ; and I beg to communicate to you the following observations : — In reply to your first inquiry, I can state, that Herring, Mackerel, and Cod, are generally abundant, both on the Gulf Shore igid within the Bay. For some years past, the Herring Fishery, in the Spring, has not been so good as formerly, which was attributed to the want of some regulations when the Herring came in ; the Fish are not allowed their proper time for spawning. When Fish, of any kind, are disturbed while spawning, they generally leave the ground, and seek some other spot where they can find rest. The present year, the Herring came in great abundance, and remuned on the different spawning grounds nearly three weeks, which was unprecedented ; had there been a market for them, they could have been turned to good account. 98 1 CO 1^ f>'3(:The Cod Fishing could be made a source of wealth, as in my opinion, it is inexhaustible ; there is no danger of taking too many Fish. Formerly, the Cod were principally taken in the early part of the Summer, when the Capelin struck in ; but of late years, the Capelin have not appeared on these shores, which is attributed to their being seined and used for manure. If capitalists would turn their attention to the Cod Fishing on this coast, they would find it a safe and profitable investment. This year, the catch has been abundant, owing to the large quantities of Mackerel in the Gulf, so that the fishermen had an abundance of bait. The House of Charles Robin & Co. have brought the Cod Fish- ing to the height of perfection ; by their care, industry, and judi- cious management, the partners have made princely fortunes. The principals of all the Fishing Establishments in the Bay of Chaleur, have been trained at their school ; they have all done well, and are making money. Some of our youths, of respectabi- lity and education, should be sent to these establishments, to be trained, so as to be fitted to take charge of similar establishments. At the Jersey establishments, the young men are trained both to the shore, and to the sea ; they remain on shore at the " rooms " during the Summer, and in the Winter they go in the vessels, with the Fish, to the Mediterranean, and become acquainted with the Spanish and Italian markets. When out of their time, they can take their choice, either to remain on shore, or go as master of one of the vessels. This sort of training is the first step toward establishing a Fisli- ing Station. In the next place, the station must be provided with a sufficient number of good boats, and a complete outfit of every- thing required for the Fishery ; nothing should be out of order, or wanting, or else there will be disappointment, and loss will ensue. A good take of fish is the next thing, as regards the profits ; but the heading, splitting, salting, and curing, are all essential matters, to which great attention must be paid, as also to the state of the weather. When there are several hundred quintals on hand, a large number of persons must be employed, and this must be done with great regard to economy. Care must be taken that the work goes on in a regular and uniform manner, at the smallest outlay for wages ; and that the fish are not wasted, or so carelessly ma- naged, or handled, as to become only second quality, instead of merchantable. The profits of the business consist in making the fish all of the first quality, which are worth 16s. per quintal, when the second quality are only worth from 8s. to 10s. per quintal. At this time, the second quality of Cod can scarcely find a market anywhere, while the first quality are worth 15s. sterling per quin- tal in the Spanish markets. I believe no improvement could be made on Messrs. Robin's mode of conducting the Cod Fishery. 94 Our fishing boats are all whale built, from 23 to 26 feet keel ; they have two masts, and now, generally carry a jib. At each Fishing establishment it is necessary to have a safiicient supply of large and small cordage, blocks, anchors, grapnels, hooks, nets, lines of all lengths, kinds, and sizes, always on hand ; and also pro- visions, such as best mess pork, flour, bread, corn meal, oatmeal, peas, rice, sugar, and molasses, — together with manufactured goods of all kinds, ready made clothing; and last, not least, a stock of salt sufficiently large for every emergency. If a partnership, or company, should be formed for prosecuting the Cod Fishery, they ought to own several first class vessels, from 100 to 120 tons burthen. It must be understood, that in this Fishery, a small business will not answer. The sea around us is a mine of wealth, but from want of enterprise and capital, we are just wasting our lifetime in useless drudgery. If the Cod Fishery- could be established here, upon a large scale, it would open out all the Agricultural resources of this part of the Province, for the farmers and fishermen agree well, and assist each other. When a farmer on the coast can fit out a boat himself, and find a ready market for his Fish, he can carry on the fishing between seed-time and harvest, and soon become independent. He can compost to any extent, as you will have observed, by decomposing the Cods' heads and other o£fal with lime, or plaister of Paris ; and this manyre is as good as the best guano, and will produce equally good crops. Of the Mackerel Fishery we know nothing at all. All the Mackerel taken are used for bait, and such is the carelessness of our Fishermen, that they scarcely salt a barrel to each boat, for their own use. All the information I have, is from hearsay ; but so far as I can learn, the Americans must find it a profitable busi- ness. We want our youth instructed in the modes of catching and curing, and then this business might be brought into right operati •V«H •*'!.W^nn- No. 12.,^Y(jnQ ilin (.,-., \, •K V.ir.-i.-l ";T<»'/. -cv ,..r. REPORT ON THE FISHERIES OF THE GULF OF SAINT LAWRENCE, )$¥ Mr. H. PERLEY, Esquire, HER majesty's BHIORATION OFFICER AT SAINT JOHN, N. 8. LaUbtfor»theHou»eofjtuemilybye There has been great complaint of late years, in the upper part Gf the Bay of Chaleur, of the falling o£f in the Cod Fishery, which M said to be every year decreasing. At Carleton, Maria, New Richmond, and other places on the Gaspe shore, the fishing 116 egtablisliments are deserted, and going to rain. At these places there was formerly an abundant supply of fish ; but the inhabitants now barely catch enough for their own winter store. This decrease is also felt on the New Brunswick shore. I'he settlement of Petit Rocher sends out about 50 boats only, which average a catch of 50 quintals each, during the season. The Pookshaw coast sends out a few boats, but they only fish occa> sionally. The Caraquet and Shippagan boats, further down the Bay, take more than 100 quintals each during the season, which are of better qiialitv than those taken ofif Petit Rocher. The decline of the Cod F ishery in the upper part of the Bay is attribu- ted to the wanton destruction of the proper and natural food of the Cod — Herring and Capelin — which are taken in immense quan- tities ; not for immediate eating, or for curing, or for bait — but for manuring the land ! In a representation made to the Canadian Legisl^tiire by a fish- erman of Gaspe, it is stated, that this fisherman has seen five hundred barrels of Capelin taken in one tide, expressly for manure ; and that he has also seen one thousand barrels of Herring caught at one time, and not taken away, but left to rot upon the beach ! It has been remarked in the Bay of Chaleur, that owing to this waste of the smaller fish, the Cod Fishery recedes, as agriculture advances. The lazy farmer, who thinks he can increase the fer- tility of his land by a single sweep of his seine, does so at the expense of the Fisheries, although a bountiful Providence has furnished the shores with inexhaustible quantities of kelp, and sea- weed, and other valuable manures, which really enrich the soil, while it is admitted that the use of fish greatly deteriorates it. The Legislature of Canada has been strongly urged to make it a misdemeanor, punishable by fine and imprisonment, for any per- son to use either Herring or Capelin as manure; and siioh a measure would seem to be highly desirable in New Brunswick. To be efifective, there should be similar regulations on both sides of the Bay of Chaleur. The deep-sea fishery for Cod is not prosecuted to any great extent in the Gulf by the people of New Brunswick. A few schooners proceed from the Fsliing Stations in the County of Glou- cester, already mentioned, to the Bradelle Bank, about fifty miles from Miscou. In the summer of 1839, H. M. S. Champion, in sailing from the East Cape of Prince Edward Island to the Bay of Chaleur, (crossing the Bradelle Bank) passed through a fleet of 600 to 700 sail of American 'fishing schooners, all engaged in Cod fishing. 117 The vesseld of Gaspe frequently resort to Antujostl, off the ewtem end pf which Island, Cod are often taken in great abun- dance and of good quality. The excellent fishery on tlic Labrador Coast is prosecuted almost wholly by the /Americans, Mnd by vessels from Newfoundland, Canada, u/^d Nova Htiotia. The vessels usually employed are schooners of 7<0 or 80 tuns burthen, and they arrive on the coast about the end of May. Every part of the coast is frequented by fishing vessels during the season, from Mount Joli, at the southern boundary of Labrador, to the northern extremity of the Straits of Belleisle. On reaching the coast, the vessel enters some snug harbour, where she is moored, and there remains quietly at anchor, until a full fare, or the departure of the fish, requires the Master to seek another inlet, or return home. The fishery is carried on entirely in boats, and the number found most useful is one for every thirty tons of the vessel ; there are two men to each boat. If fish are in plenty, and not too dis- tant from the vessel, they are expected in good weather to get two loads each day. The return of the boats with fish is the signal for the dressing crew, who remain on board, to commence their operations. If it is intended that the vessel shall remain on the coast until the fish are ready for market, they are taken on shore as caught, and there dressed, salted, and dried, before being put on board the vessel. But it is the more common practice, especially with vessels from the United States, to salt the fish on board, and take their cargoes home in a green state, drying them after arrival^ The vessels from Nova Scotia and Canada, in general, carry their cargoes home in a greei;i state* About three hundred schooners from Newfoundland resort to the Labrador Coast every season, during which they usually make two voyages. When they first return from the coast, they take home a cargo of dry fish ; but on the second return voyage, a considerable proportion of the fish is in a '* green " or pickled atatCi and is dried at Newfoundland. The Labrador Coast is indented every where witli excellent Harbours, which have been frequented for a very long period* From the security of these Harbours, and the general certainty of an ample supply of fish, this coast is preferred by many fishermen to any other Fishing Station within the Gulf. The average produce of this fishery may be estimated at ten quintals of dry fish to every ton of the vessels employed ; but the Masters of the American schooners are dissatisfied when they fail to catch 12 or 13 quintals per ton. The baits are principally the 118 Oftpdin Md tht Herring, both of which ftbotitid oa that coast. The Herrings taken at Labrador, in the latter part of the season, are considered very fine ; yet they are not caught as a chief object of pursuit, but merely as an adjunct to the Cod Fishery. (^ The quantity of dried Cod exported from New Brunswick Ports, in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, during the last eight years, is thus stated in quintals : — Ports. Dalhoasie, .. Bathont, . . Csreoraette, » • Minmiohi, ., Riohibncto, .» 1841 7770 1842 60 9638 486 1843 £00 300 1844 8670<8841 150 40 1846 7456 70 Totali, 7770 10,17494709031 7526 11,970 10,340 16,167 82,348 1846 11,673 272 26 1847 8672 1398 270 1848 1091 14,678 298 Total*. 500 1141 77.398 2974 335 From this Return it appears, that the export of dried Cod from the Northern Porte of New Brunswick, is chiefly from Caraquette. *fhis export is made almost wholly by the Jetae^ Houses of Robin and Co., and Le Boutillier, Brothers, of Pospebiac in Gaspe, and Alexandre and Co., of Shippagan, to Brazil, Spain, Portugal, Sicily, and the Italian States. The export of Cod from the Gulf of Saint Liftwrence to Foreign Markets, is a branch of business which the !!^erchants of New Brunswick have yet to learn. ;< The quantity of dried Cod exported to Foreign Countries from the District of Ga^, during the past year (1848,) is thus stated from official Returns :— 41,269 Quintals. Gaspe Basin, New Carlisle, 46,523 do. Total, 27,722 Quintals. The whole quantity of dried Cod exported from New Brunswick during the last eight years, is exceeded by the quantity exported ftom Gaspe during the year 1848 only, by 5,414 quintals. There is reason to believe, that a considerable proportion of the Cod exported from New Carlisle, is caught on the south side of the Bay of Chaleur, and about Miscou, the fishing grounds being better near the New Brunswick Shores, than on the Gaspe side of the Bay. The quantity of dried Cod exported from Newfoundland in 1845 was 1,000,333 quintals, of which one-sixth was tlie produce of the Flsheiy on the Labrador Coast.* ^ •ThftFifench employ 360 vessels, from 100 to 300 tons each, with crew* amoimtiDg to 17,000 men, in the Newfoundland FisherieR. Ybeir anBo«l eat«h 119 The Whole line of the New Brunswick coast from Shediadto Esomninao, around the Bay of Miramichi, and thence along the dhoree from Tabnsintao to Shippagan and Misoou, offers the greatest facility for prosecuting either the in-shore, deep-sea, or Labrador Co^ Fishery. There are numerous harbours, creeks, coves, lagoons, and inlets, on this line of coast, well sheltered, with sufficient watee for boats and vessels of every size and description ; the beaches are admirable for drying Fish, and there is abundance of wood at hand for the construction of stages and ** fish-flakes." The soil too, is generally excellent, and owing to the flatness of the ooaMi, the shore is every where easy of approach. For the establishment of Fishing- Stations by Merchants of capital and skill, or the organization of Fishing Colonies on an extensive scale, this coast offers rare advantages. The Bay of Chaleur likewise possesses many advantages for the prosecution of the Fisheries. The whole Bay may be considered one great Harbour, as throughout its entire breadth and extent, there is not a single rock, reef, or shoal. During the summer, it 7«terally swarms with fish of every description known on the shores X British North America ; and its ancient Indian name of ** Eck- . jtaun Nemaaohi " — the Sea of Fish — well denotes its character. The facilities for ship building are very great on the New Bruns- wick side of this Bay. The timber is of excellent quality, and noted for its durability, more especially the larch, which is accounted equal to any in the world. Mr. MacGregor, M.P. for Glasgow, late Secretary to the Board of Trade, in one of his offi- cial Reports to that Board, says-r" The larch-built vessels of the Bay of Clialeur are remarkably durable. A vessel belonging to Robin and Co., which I saw at Paspebiac in 1824, I went on board of again in 1839, in the port of Messina, where she was then discharging a cargo of dry Codfish, to feed the Sicilians. This vessel, then more than thirty years old, was perfectly sound." The *' bultow " mode of fishing for Cod, introduced by the French at Newfoundland, and now being adopted bv i;^e English residents there, might very probably be followed with advantage by the fishermen dwelling on the I^ew Brunswick coast. The " bultow " is described as a long line, with hooks fastened along its whole length, at regular distances, by shorter and smaller of Cod averages 1,200,000 quintals. The Goverament bounty is eleven Iraoes per quintal, which k folly the value of the article itself. A Frnich vessel for the Bank Fishery, of 300 fons, has a crew of at least 40 meat and from 7 to 9 heavy anchors, with 800 fitthoms of bemp cable, and 4 or 5 large boats, capaUs of staudiog heavy iveatben 120 cords called snootls, which are six feet long, and are placed on the long line twelve feet apart, to prevent the hooks becoming entan- gled. Near the hooks, tliese shorter lines or snoods, are formed of separate threads, loosely fastened together, to guard against the teeth of the fish. Baoys, buoy ropes, and anchors or grapnels, 'are fixed to each end of the line ; and the lines are always laid, or as it is termed " shot " across the tide ; for if the tide runs upon the end of the line, the hooks will become entangled, and the fishing will be wholly lost. These *' set-lines " have been some time in use on the coast of Cornwall, in England, and the mode is there called "bulter" fishing.* A gentleman connected with the Bri- tish Fishery Board, has suggested an improvement, in fixing a small piece of cork within about twelve inches of the hook, which will suspend and float the bait, when it will be more readily seen by the fish. If a bait rests upon the ground, it is sometimes covered with sea weed, and often devoured by Star fish. Crabs, and Echini. In a petition from the inhabitants of Bryant's Cove, in New- foundland, to the Legislature of that Colony, in 1 846, it is stated, that the "bultow " mode of fishing had been introduced in that vicinity in the previous year, at first by a single line, or ** fleet," as it is termed, of one hundred hooks ; and this proved so success- ful, that before the end of "the season, seventy five fleets were used, some of them three hundred fathoms long. The petitioners repre- sent, that the set-line, or " bultow," is the best inode of fishing «ver introduced in those waters, as being less expensive in outfit, and in keeping boats in repair. They state, that a set-line will last three years, and with care even longer ; that the total expense of fitting one out, with a gross of hooks, is only fifty shillings ; and that it is not moved during the season, nor taken up, except for overhauling and baiting, until the fish move out in the deep water in the autumn. The petitioners add, that the fish taken by the *' bultow " are larger than those taken by the hand line, as also superior in quality ; and that it was a common thing, during the preceding season, for one and a half quintals of fish to be taken off a gross of hooks, in overhauling the line of a morning. It appears that the lines are overhauled, and fresh baits placed on the hooks every morfiing and evening ; and it is set forth as an advantage of the *' bultow," that if the fisherman leaves it properly baited in the morning, it is fishing for him while he is at work in his garden ; whereas, by the other mode, if he was not on the ground, he could not expect fish. The petition then proceeds thus : " Your peti- tioners therefore pray your honorable House to cause the following * Mr. Wallop Brabanon, in his work on the Deep Sea Fisheries of Ireland, says this mode of fishing is much practised on the West Coast of Ireland, where it is called *' spilliard," or <' spillet " fishing. 121 nilea, or something like them, to pass into law, as like all new inventions, the set-line, or ** bultow," has to struggle against many- hindrances, from ignorance, and bigotry to the old method, yet, as your Petitioners have endeavoured to show, the *' bnltow " has proved itself, what may be fully termed, '* The Poor Man's Friend." The rules which the Petitioners pray may become law, are simply that the fishing grounds may be divided into two parts, one for the *• bultow," and one for hand-line Fishermen ; that the " bultows," shall always be set parallel with each other, that they may not get foul, and may take up as little room as possible ; and lastly, that a person conversant with this mode of fishing, may be appointed to enforce these rules, and to instruct those who are not acquainted with the method, in the proper manner of fitting out and setting the ** bultow." The Petitioners conclude by stating their belief, that if their suggestions are carried out, the boats now used in the Shore Fishery will, in three years, give place to the " bultpw " throughout Newfoundland, as they have already done in Bryant's Cove. For the deep-sea Fishery, the " bultow " is of great length. The French fishing vessels chiefly anchor on the Grand Bank of New- foundland, in about 45 fathoms water, veer out one hundred fathoms of cable, and prepare to catch Cod, with 2 lines, each 3000 fathoms in length. The snoods are arranged as previously described, and ,the hooks being baited, the lines are neatly coiled in half bushel baskets, clear for running out. The baskets are placed in two strong built lug>sail boats, and at three o'clock in the afternoon, both make sail together, at right angles from the vessel, on opposite sides ; when the lines are run out straight, they are sunk to within five feet of the bottom. At day break next morning, the boats proceed to trip the sinkers at the extremities of the lines, and while the crew of each boat are hauling in line and unhooking Fish, the men on board heave in the other end of the lines, with a winch. In this way, four hundred of the large Bank Cod are commonly taken of a night. The Fish are cleaned and salted on board, and stowed in the hold in bulk ; the livers are boiled to oil, which is put in large casks secured on deck. The French vessels engaged m this Fishery, are from 150 to 300 tons burthen ; they arrive on the Grand Bank early in June, and on the average, complete their cargoes in three months. In fine weather, the largest class of vessels frequently run out three or four *' bultows " in different directions from the ship, and thus fish 10,000 fathonis of line, or more, at one tin;e, with a proportionate number of hooks. Should this mode of fishing be approved, measures might be devised for promoting its adoption near the shores of New Bruns- wick. 16 122 If oifcumstances should arise to induce the prosecution of the Cod Fisheries of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, on a more extensive scale, some regulations will he necessary for an efficient inspection of dried fish intended for exportation to Foreign markets, in drdeir to give a character to the commodity, and prevent carelessn^s it. curing. On this point, the Commissioners of the British Fisheries, in their Report for 1844, say — ** It is very gratifying to observe, that there is a gradual increase in the annual export of dried Cod to Spain, where a most extensive market for the consumption of this description of fish, may be fairly looked for, in the course of some years. This can only be obtained by unremitting care on the part of the Board's officers, in their inspection and punching of the fish, the Spaniards being very particular in regard to the excellence of the article they purchase. The Commissioners have judged it right to order an improvement in the form of the official Punch used for stamping the dried Cod and Ling, and instead of that lately used, which cut a square figure out of the tail of the fish, for which some private marks used by curers were liable to be mistaken, they have adopted a Crown, which is less liable to be imitated." Besides Cod, there are several species of fish of the same genus^ caught in the Gulf, in the prosecution of the Cod Fishery. These are — the Haddock (gadus teglejinus) — the Hake (gadus merlu- cius) — and the Torsk, or Tusk, (gadus broame.) These fish are cured in the same manner as Cod, to which, however, they are inferior. They are known commercially, as " Scale Fish ;" i^nd on the average, they sell at about half the price of Cod. The Cod fishers in the Gulf ofiben take the large fiat-fish, known as the Halibut, (hippoglossus vulgaris of Cuvier) which sometimes attains the weight of 3001fo. The flesh, though white and firm, is dry, and the muscular fibre coarse. These fish are cut in slices, and pickled in barrels, in which state they sell at half the price of the best Herrings. THE MACKEREL. The common Mackerel (scomber scombrus) abounds in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, and is one of the chief objects of pursuit with the numerous fleets of American fishing vessels, which are to be found yearly in every part of the Gulf. The Americans begin fishing for Mackerel, in the Gulf, on the first of July, and finish at the end of September ; but the resident fisherman might begin this fishing earlier, and continue it until the very cloi^ of the season. 123 Mr. MacGregor describes the Mackerel of the Gulf as being of much finer flavour than those caught on the shores of Europe. It has been generally supposed that the Mackerel was a fish of passage, performing certain periodical migrations — making long voyages from south to north at one season of the year, and the reverse at another ; but the error of this opinion is now generally admitted. It is known with certainty, that Mackerel remain near the coast of England at all times, as they have been taken there in every month of the year. Mr. Yarrell, whose work on British Fishes is of the highest authority, is of opinion that the Mackerel is not a migratory fish ; he says — *' The law of nature which obliges Mackerel and others to visit the shallow waters of the shores at a particular season, appears to be one of those wise and bountiful provisions of the Creator, by which not only is the species perpe- tuated with the greatest certainty, but a large portion of the parent animals are thus brought within the reach of man ; who, but for the action of this law, would be deprived of many of those species most valuable to him as food. For, the Mackerel, dispersed over the immense surface of the deep, no effective fishery could be car- ried on ; but approaching the shore as they do, from all directions, and roving along the coast in immense shoals, millions are caught, which yet form but a very small portion compared with the myriads that escape." Although Mackerel are found in vast shoals along the whole eas- tern coast of ^ew Brunswick, and within the Bay of Chaleur, yet the quantity taken by resident fishermen is so very limited, as not to furnish a sufficient supply for home consumption, and few indeed for export. The Ports of the Province within the Gulf, exported the under- mentioned quantities of Mackerel, in barrels, during the last eight years: — Ports. 1841 1842 1843 1844 1845 1846 • •• 1847 1848 Total. Dalhousie, ... • •• • •• ... Bathurst, 33 • •• 4 37 Caraquette, ... 256 99 25 380 Miramicbi, ... 145 47 • •• 192 Richibuoto, ... • •• • •■ • •• • •• Totals, • •• • •• • •• • •• • •• 434 146 29 609 This is a most ** beggarly account " of a fishery, which ought to be, in this Province, one of the most extensive and most lucra- tivet The export of 29 barrels only in the year 1848 is perfectly 124 surprising, when it is considered that the season was one in which the Mackerel fishery was more than usually successful. In Au' gust last, the waters of the Straits of Northumberland, from Shediao to Prince Edward Island, were perfectly alive with Mackerel. 0£f Point Escuminac, the American fishermen caught them with such rapidity, and in such quantities, that they were unable to clean and salt the fish as fast as they were caught ; and it was reported on the coast, that they had sent on shore, and engaged some of the settlers at high wages, to go off to the vessels, and assist in these necessary operations. Monsieur Leon Robicheaux, an intelligent native fisherman, resident on Shippagan Island, from whom the writer obtained valuable information as to the Fisheries, stated, that although Mackerel were always plentiful during the season near Shippagan and Miscou, yet the resident fishermen were too idle to take them. He added, that they only caught a few as bait for Cod, or as mat- ter of sport, when sailing to or from their stations for Cod fishing. The American vessels which prosecute Mackerel fishing iftar the shores of New Brunswick, are fitted out in Maine and Mas- sachusetts ; they have two long voyages to make in going to, and returning from, their fishing ground, yet they find it profitable. If it be profitable to them, how much more so could it be made by resident fishermen, who are spared the expense of costly vessels and outfits, high wages, and long voyages. The mode of fishing pursued by the American Mackerel Fishers who frequent the Gulf, is that with the line, called " trailing." "When a *• schull " is met with, the vessel, generally of 60 or 80 tons burthen, is put under easy sail, a smart breeze (thence called a Mackerel breeze) being considered most favourable. It is stated by Mr. Sabine, of Easport, who is good authority, that he has known a crew of ten men, when fishing in the Ray of Chaleur, catch in one day, ninety packed or " dressed " barrels of Mackerel, which could not contain less than than 12,000 fish. If no fish are in sight, the American Mackerel Fisher on reach- ing some old resort, furls all the sails of his vessel, except the main sail, brings his " craft " to the wind, and commences throwing over bait, to attract the fish to the surface of the water. The bait is usually small Mackerel, or salted Herrings, cut in pieces by a rimchine, called a " bait-mill." This consists of an oblong wooden box, standing on one end, containing a roller armed with knives, which is turned by a crank on the outside ; it cuts up bait very expeditiously. If the fisherman succeeds, the Mackerel then seem willing to show how fast they can be caught ; and the £d!'ing goes on till the approach of night, or the sudden di8appe»;arice of the remnant of the " schull " puts an end to it. The fish are then 125 ' dressed, and thrown into casks of water to rid them of blood. To ensure sound and sweet Mackerel, it is indispensable that the blood and impurities should be thoroughly removed before^salting; that the salt should be of the best quality, free from lime, or other inju- rious substances ; and that the barrels should, in all oases, be tight enough to retain the pickle. In those Harbours of Nova Scotia which are within the Strait of Canso, Mackerel, of late years, have been taken in seines, capa- ble of enclosing and securing 800 barrels ; and in these seines, 400 and even 600 barrels have been taken at a single sweep. The " drifl;-net " is also used ; but as it is believed that this mode of fishing is not so well understood on the coast of Nova Scotia, as on that of England, the manner of fishing near the latter, with the " drift-net," as described by Mr. Yarrel, is given in preference :— " The most common mode of fishing for Mackerel, and the way in which the greatest numbers are taken, is bv drift-nets. The drifb-net is 20 feet deep, by 120 feet long; well corked at the top, but without lead at the bottom. They are made of small fine twine, whiuh is tanned of a reddish -brown colour, to preserve it from the action of the salt water, and it is thereby rendered much more durable. The size of the mesh is about 2| inches, or rather larger. Twelve, fifteen, and sometimes eighteen of these nets are attached lengthways, by tying along a thick rope, called the drift- rope, and the ends of each net,, to each other. When arranged for depositing in the sea, a large buoy attached (^ the end of the drift- rope is thrown overboard, the vessel is put before the wind, and as she sails along, the rope with the nets thus attached, is passed over the stern into the water, till the whole of the nets are thus thrown out. The nets thus deposited, hang suspended in the water per- pendicularly, 20. feet deep from the drift-rope, and extending from three quarters of a mile to a mile, or even a mile and a half, de- pending on the number of nets belonging to the party, or company engaged in fishing together. When the whole of the nets are thus handed out, the drift-rope is shifted from the stern to the bow of the vessel, and she rides by it as at anchor. The benefit gained by the boats hanging at the end of the drift rope is, that the net is kept strained in a straight line, which, without this pull upon it, would not be the case. The nets are " shot " in the evening, and sometimes hauled once during the night, at others allowed to re- main in the water all night. The fish roving in the dark through the water, hang in the meshes of the net, which are large enough to admit tKem beyond the gill-covers and pectoral fins, but not large enough to allow the thickest part of the body to pass through. In the morning early, preparations are made for hauling the nets. A capstan on the deck is manned, about whioh two turns of the 126 firift-rope Mfe tftken ; one man stands forward to untie the upper edge of eaoh net froni the drift«rope, whioh is called casting oA the ladings ; others haul the net in with the fish caught, to which one side of the vessel is devoted ; the other side is occupied with the dfift-rope, whioh is wound in hy the men at the capstan." The following is a statement of the number of barrels of Mac- kerel inspected in Massachusetts in eaoh year, from 1831 to 1848, inclusive:— 1831, 383,559 1840, 50,992 1832, 212,452 1841, 55,537 1833, 212,946 1842, 75,543 1831, 252,884 1843, 64,451 1835, 194,450 1844, 86,180 1836, 176,931 1845, 202,303 1837, 138,157 1846, 174,064 1838, 108,538 1847, 232,581 1839, 73,018 1848, 300,130 It does not appear what proportions of these large quantities of Mackerel were caught in British waters ; but it must have heen a very considerable share, if an opinion may be formed from the numerous fishing vessels of Massachusetts seen on the coast of Nova Scotiaf and within the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. From all that has been stated, it must be considered settled, that the Mackerel Fishery, as a branch of business, cannot be said to exist in New Brunswick, although the eastern shores of the Pro- vince, and the whole Bay of Chaleur, offer the greatest facilities, and the most abundant supply of fish. ^ It is highly desirable that something should be done to encourage and promote this Fishery, which evidently offers such ample re- ward to the energy, enterprise, and industry of tlie people. THE SALMON. Of those Rivers of New Brunswick which flow into the Gulf of 3aint Lawrence, the two largest, the Miramichi and the Resti- fouche, furnish the greatest supply of this well known and delicious sh ; but all the smaller Rivers also furnish Salmon in greater or less numbers. There are also various Bays, Beaches, Islands, and goints of land along the coast, where Salmon are intercepted by ets, while seeking the Rivers in which they were spawned, and t9 which Salmon always return. Tlie. Salmon of tjie Gulf are noted for their fine flavour ; they Ke pcefsusely flimitar to the mbm mlar of Europe. ^ 12^ The quttntitieg of Salmon in the River Restigonche and Mirt- miohi, at the first settlement of the country, -were perfectly prodi^ gions ; althongh many are yet taken aonnally, the supply dimniisheii from year to year. And this is not surprising when it is considered that many of the Streams formerly frequented by Salmon, are now completely shut against them, by Mill Dams without " Fishwaya," or those openings which the British Fishery Reports designate at " Migration Passes ;" that in the branches of the large Rivers, as also in the smaller Rivers, nets are too often placed completely across the Stream, from bank to bank, which take every fish that attempts to pass— that " close time " in many of the Rivers is scarcely, if at all, regarded— and that, besides the improper use bf nets at all seasons, fish of all sizes are destroyed by hundreds, in the very act of spawning, by torch light and spears, at a time when they are quite unfit for human food. The quantities of pickled Salmon in barrels, exported from the northern Ports of New Brunswick, during the last eight years, ar^ as follows : — /«'f/ -liat Ports. 1841 138 32 U 1614 20 1815 1842 273 161 20 2295 • •• 2749 1843 552 250 13 1093 107 2015 1844 1845 1846 1847 1848 Totals. Dalhousie, Bathurst, Caraquet, Miramichi, Richibucto, 591 126 5 1616 137 565 134 ... , 1836 77 766 216 • •• 146 78 1206 643 190 • •• 1531 61 2425 381 156 5 1571 • •• 3909 1265 52 11,70^ 480 Totals, 24752612 2111 17,408 Since the establishment of regular Steamers from the Port of Saint John to Boston, large quantities of fresh Salmon, packed in ice, have been exported, and the commodity has greatly increased in value. If facilities of communication were created by Railway, the fresh Salmon of the GKilf could also be sent abroad in ice, and their value when first caught, would be three or four times as great as at present. ' '' , ,^ The exceeding value oS the Salmon Fisheries of Ireland and Scotland, cause great attention to be paid by the British Fishery Boards, to the enforcement of most stringent regulations fo^ tkeit preservation and increase. With reference to the preservation oC Salmon, the Inspectors of the Irish Fisheries reported to (ke Board, in 1846, as follows :—** In illustration of the benefits of a steady perseverance in a proper system, we may allude to the Foyle, where the produce has been raised from an average of 43 tons previous to 1823, to a steady produce of neftrly 200 tons. 128 including the Stake Wein, in the Estuary, and veiy nearly to 800 tons, as we believe, in the vear 1842." The Inspeotors also men- tion the case of the small Kiver of Newport, County Mayo, which was formerly exempt from ** close season." In three years, after the Parliamentary Regulations were introduce4 and enforced, the produce of this River was raised from half a ton, or at the utmost, a ton every season, to eight tons of Salmon, and three tons of white Trout, for the season ending the third year. The preservation and maintenance of the Salmon Fisheries of New Brunswick generally, is a subject well worthy of earnest attention. To prevent the destruction of the fish during the spawning season, and by improper modes of fishing, as also to pro- Vide for the passage of the fish up those Streams which they have formerly frequented, but from which they are now excluded by Mill Dams, some further enactments are absolutely necessary, and nore efficient means are required for enforcing the provisions of the law. The most valuable River Fishery of the Province is in a fair way of being rendered valneless, or wholly destroyed ; and as the Rivers are the natural nurseries of the Salmon, the fishery on the coast will, of course, be destroyed also. Large quantities of Salmon are caught every season on the La- brador coast, in stake-nets placed at the mouths of Rivers, which empty into Bays and Harbours ; these are split and salted in large tubs, and afterwards repacked in tierces of two hundred pounds each. A number of vessels, from Newfoundland and Canada, are engaged annually in this Fishery ; but the American fishing ves- sels pursue it with great vigour and assHuity, and it is reported that of late years they have found it very jjrofitable. ' The quantity of pickled Salmon exported from Newfoundland in 1847, was 4,917 tierces, one half of which was the produce of the Salmon Fishery on the coast of Labrador. THE WHALE. The extent to which the Whale Fishery is carried on, ^ithin the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, by vessels from Newfoundland, is very little known, nor is its value appreciated. The Jersey houses who have fishing establishments in Gaspe, also fit out vessels for this Fishery, which cruise about Anticosti, and the northern shore of the Saint Lawrence. Mr. MacGregor, in an official Report to the Board of Trade, thus describes this Fishery :— " The Whales caught within the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, are those called "hump- backs," which yield on an average about three tons of oil ; some have been taken seventy feet long, which produced eight tons. The mode pf taking them is isomewhat different from that followed 129 ' by the Greenland FiHhers ; and the Qafpe /Uliermen irat aoqi'*''^ an acquaintance with it from the people of Nantucket. An at " Itoan, acoiwtomed to boats and schoonera, mav become folW io> quainted with every thing connected with this Fishery ii me season. The vessels adapted for this pnrpose, are schooner* of seventy to eighty tons burthen, manned with a crew of eight ineni including the master. Each schooner requires two boats, about twenty feet long, built narrow and sharp, and with pink st|?ms ; i^od 220 fathoms of line are necessary to each boat, with spare harpoons and lances. The men row towards the Whale, and when they are very near, use paddles, which make less noise than oars. Whales are sometimes taken in fifteen minutes after they are struck with the harpoon. The Gaspe fishermen never go out in quesi of them, until some of the smaller ones, which enter the Bay about the beginning of June, appear ; these swim too fast to be easily har- pooned, and are not, besides, worth the trouble. The large Whales are taken off the entrance of Gaspe Bay, on each side of the Island of Anticosti, and up the River Saint Lawrence as far as Bio." Mr. Bouchette in his work on Lower Canada, represents the Whale Fishery of the Gulf as meriting the attention of the Legis- lature, and needing encouragement ; by which, he says, the number of vessels employed would be considerably increased, and this important branch of business would be so effectually carried on by the Iiardy inhabitants of Gaspe, as to compete, in some de-> gree, if not rival, that of the Americans, who were, at the time Mr. Bouchette wrote, almost in exclusive enjoyment of it, and carried on their enterprising fisheries in the very mouths of tlie Bays and Harbours of Lower Canada. Sir Richard Bonnycastle, in his work, entitled " Newfoundland in 1842," says, " the Coast and Gulf Whale Fishery is now being of much value to Newfoundland." Sir Richard states, that the vessels emplbyed are large schooners, with crews of ten men each ; that the fishery is pursued during the whole of the summer months along the Coast of Labrador, and in, and through, the Straits of Belleisle ; and that Whales of all sizes are taken, from the smallest ** finner," up to the largest mysticetust or great common Oil Wha^e of the Northern Ocean, which occasionally visits these regions. It is believed that hitherto, no attempt has been made by the people of New Brunswick, to enter into this Whale Fishery ; and it would be a very proper subject for inquiry, whether it might not be profitably conducted by New Brunswick vessels, and the aotive and enterprising Fishermen of the Bay of Chaleur, who are equally well placed for carrying it on> as their hardy comrades on the Gaspe side of the Bay. 17 130 iJwcinpfUfito'yij'fvui •<«.'» THE SEAL. Ai the euptare of th^ Seal is alvravt detignatecl the "Seal Fishery," and as it is blended with the other pursuits of the Fisher-, man, it may be proper to mention it here. Five kinds of Seals are said to be found in the Northern Ocean ; they bring forth their young on the ice early in the Spring, and they float down upon it from the Polar Seas to Labrador, the Coast of Newfoundland, and the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. The two largest kinds are known as the Harp Seal, (phoca groenlandicat) and the Hooded Seal, (phoca leonina). The other three varieties are known as the " Square Flipper," the •• Blue Seal," and the " Jar Seal." "' Large herds of these Seals are found together upon the fields of floating ice, which, when so occupied, are called " Seal Meadows." The Seal Hunters endeavour to surprise them while sleeping on the ice, and when this occurs, they dispatch the young with bludgeons ; the old ones, which will frequently turn and make resistance, they are obliged to shoot. Sealing is carried on very extensively from Newfoundland, in schooners of about eighty tons burthen, with crews of thirty men. It is attended with fearful dangers ; yet the hardy Seal Hunter of Newfoundland, eagerly courts the perilous adventure. The following Return of the number of Seal Skins exported from Newfoundland from 1838 to 1848 inclusive, will furnish some idea of the value of the Seal Fishery to that Colony :<— 1838 375,361 1844 685,530 1839 437,501 1845 352,202 1840 631,385 1846 1841 417,115 1847 436,831 1842 344,683 1848 521,004 1843 651,370 The outfit for the " Seal Fishery" from the various Harbours of Newfoundland in the year 1847, was as follows: — Vessels. Tons. Men. 321 29,800 9,751 Sealing among the ice, is also prosecuted, in early spring, at the Magdalen Tslands ; and also on the Labrador Coast, by the people who remain there during the winter in charge of the Fishing Stations, and the conduct of the Fur Trade. Seals are also caught at Labrador on the plan first adopted, by strong nets set across such narrow channels as they are in the habit of passing through, 131 ' Within a few years, the " Seal Fisherv " has been oommenced at Cape Breton, enoouraged by a small Provincial bounty ; it has been conducted in vessels not over 40 tons burthen, with crews of eight men. In 1843, twenty two vessels went to the ice from Chetioamp and Margaree, and returned with near 10,000 Seals, which are stated to have amply requited those engaged in the adventure, as their outfit was on a very limited scale. In 1842, an enterprising Merchant of Sydney fitted out a Sealing vessel, on the Newfoundland scale, which in the short space of ^ree weeks cleared the round sum of £14,000 ; and this extraordinary success encouraged others to enter into the business. As yet. Sealing is altogether unknown to the inhabitants of New Brunswick ; although it is believed that the adventure might be made successfully, b;^ vessels departing from the north eastern extremity of the Province. The Harbour Seal (phoca vilulina) is frequently seen along the coasts of New Brunswick during the summer season, and is believed not to be migratory. They are closely watched by the Miomao Indians, who often succeed in shooting them. The fur of these Seals is sometimes very handsome ; and the animal is always a rich prize to the poor Micmac. SHELL FISH. Under this head may be enumerated Lobsters, Oysters, Clams, Mussels, Whelks, Razor-fish, Crabs, and Shrimps, all of which are found in the Gulf, in the greatest abundance, and of excellent quality. Mr. MacGregor states, that they are all equally delicious with those taken on English, Irish, Scotch, or Norwegian Shores. Lobsters are found everywhere on the coast, and in the Bay of Chaleur, in such extraordinary numbers, that they are used by thousands to manure the land. At Shippagan and Caraquette, carts are sometimes driven down to the beaches at low water, and readily filled with Lobsters left in the shallow pools by the recession of the tide. Every potato field near the places mentioned, is strewn with Lobster shells, each potato hill being furnished with two, and perhaps three, Lobsters. Within a few years, one establishment has been set up on Portage Island, at the mouth of the Miramichi River, and another at the mouth of the Kouchibouguac River, for putting up Lobsters, in tin cases, hermetically sealed, for exportation. In 1845, no less than 13,000 cases of Lobsters and Salmon were thus put np at Portage Island. Jn 1847, nearly 10,000 cases, of Lobsters only, each case containing the choicest parts of two or three Lobstep, and one and 132 a hfklf tons of fresh Salmon, in 2tt> and 41b cases, were pnt np at Kouohibouguao. The preservation of Lobsters, in this manner, need only be restricted by the demand, for the supply is almost unlimited. The price paid for Lobsters at the establishment on Portage I^and, when the writer visited it, was two shillings and six pence currency (two shillings sterling) per hundred. They were all taken in small hoop-nets, chiefly by the Acadian French of the Neguac Villages^ who, at the price stated, could, with reasonable diligence, earn one pound each in the twenty four hours ; but as they are somewhat idle, and easily contented, they would rarely exert themselves to earn more than ten shillings per day, which they could generally obtain by eight or ten hours attention to their hoop-nets. Oysters are found all along the New Brunswick Coast, from Bale Verte to Caraquette, but not within the Bay of Chaleur. Those best known in this Province for their fine quality, are the Oysters of Shediac ; but the extensive beds which formerly existed there, have been almost wholly destroyed by improper modes of fishing, an utter disregard of the spawning season, and the wanton destruction of the fish by throwing down shells upon the beds. It is a singular fact, that ice will not form over an Oyster bed, unless the cold is very intense indeed ; and when the Bays are frozen over in the winter, the Oyster beds are easily discovered by the water above them remaining unfrozen, or as the French residents say, degil6. The Oysters are then lifted upon the strong ice with rakes ; the process of freezing expands the fish, and forces open the shells ; the Oyster is removed, and the shells are allowed to fall back into the water, where they tend to destroy the fishery. Some Oysters of very large size and good quality are found at Tabusintao, but those of .the finest description are found on extensive beds in Shippagan Harbour, Saint Simon's Inlet, and Caraquette Bay, from which localities they are exported every season to Que- bec. The number of bushels exported from the port of Caraquette, during the last eight jrears, is as follows : — 1841, 5,000 1845, 2,010 1842, 7,000 1846, 1,915 1843, 5,290 1847, 425 1844, 6,000 1848, 5,432 Oysters are abundant at Cocagne, Buctouche, Richibucto, Burnt Church, and other places on the coast ; but in general, they are too far within the mouths of the fresh water streams, and their onality is greatly inferior to those affected by sea water only. From the manner in which the Oyster Fishery of the Gulf Shore Is now being conducted^ all the Oysters of good quality will, in a 133 few years, be quite destroyed. The presecvation of this fishery is of considerable importance, and it might be effected as welt ^ by judicious regulations and restrictions, as by encoura^ng the fonba- tion of artificial beds, or " Layings," in favourable situations. Several persons on the coast intimated to the writer, their desire to form new and extensive beds in the sea water, by removing oysters from the mixed water of the estuaries, where they are now almost worthless, if they could obtain an exclusive right to such beds when formed, and the necessary enactments to prevent their being plundered. ,) , There are two varieties of the Clam, distinguished as the "hard- shell," and the " soft, though the most usual weight is from 2tt> to 5fi>. They are very abundant in June, in the Bays and Harbours of Prince Edward Island. At the Magdalen Islands they are taken in nets, and being pickled in small casks, are exported to the West Indies ; if carefully cleaned, cured, and packed, they there bring a higher price than Salmon. In the tide-way of the Rivers flowing into the Gulf, these fine fish might be taken in sufficient quantities to form an article of traffic. They afford great sport to the fly-fisher, especially when >'i 135 e e i f 1 t ■ a. e s r > e ». 1 >f n • it g ) e * >f n they first enter the mixed water of the tide-way in the smaller Rivers. fThe common Trout C^almo fontinalis) are also eagerly sought after by the disciples of Izaak Walton ; and although destroyed in the most wanton and reckless manner by unthinking persons, they are still abundant. The destruction of these beautiful fish takes place by wholesale, upon many Rivers in the northern part of the Province, and one of the modes practised is called ** rolling for trout." When the streams are at their lowest stage in the sum- mer season, a dam of logs, stones, and brush, is roughly built at the lower end of some pool, in which the fish have congregated. This " rolling-dam " being constructed, the stream for some dis- tance above the pool, is beaten with poles, and the fish are driven down to the deepest water, out of which they are swept with a net. The writer was informed, that in this way 3,600 Trout had been taken out of one pool, at a single sweep of the net. In August 1848, 1,300 large Trout were thus taken t)ut of one pool on the Scadouc River, while the writer was at Shediac. This practice is greatly to be deprecated, as by destroying fish of all sizes, it completely breaks up the Trout fishery on those Rivers where it takes place. The Smelt fosmerus eperlanus of Cuvier, and osmerus virt. descens of Agassiz,) is found in excessive abundance in all the Rivers and Streams flowing into the Gulf. In the latter part of winter, when in the best condition, they are taken through holes in the ice, and at that season are a very great delicacy ; they are then frequently called «* frost-fish." Immediately after the ice dis- appears, they rush in almost solid columns up the brooks and rivulets to ''pawn, and are then taken by cart-loads. This Fishery, under proper management, might be made one of considerable profit, as the Smelt is really delicious, and always highly esteemed. It is believed that there are two distinct species of this fish, and that the smaller of the two, is more highly scented, as well as more highly flavoured, than the other. Eels of large size and of fine quality, are taken every where within the Gulf; besides those consumed fresh, they are pickled iii> considerable quantities, as well for home consumption, as for ex- portation. Mr. Yarrell, in describing the Eel, says :—" They are in reality a valuable description of Fish ; they are very numerous, very prolific, and are found in almost every part of the world., They are in great esteem for the table, and the consumption in our large Cities is very considerable." In the calm and dark nights during August and September, tlic largest Eels are taken iq great numbers, by the Miomacs and 136 ^oadian Frencli» in the estaarieg and lagoons, by torqh light, with the Indian Spear. This mode of taking Eels requires great qniok- ness and dexterity, and a sharp eye. It is pursued with much spirit, as besides the value of the E)el, the mode of fishing is v^ry exciting. In winter, Eels bury themselves in the muddy parts bf Rivers, and their haunts, which are generally well known, ai^e called " Eel Grounds." The mud is thoroughly probed with 'a five pronged iron spear, affixed to a long handle, and used through a hole in the ice. When the Eels are all taken out of that part within reach of the spear, a fresh hole is cut, and the fishing goes| on again, upon new ground. « If a market should be found for this description of Fish, thii^ could be furnished to an unlimited extent. ^^'The common Flounder (P^tessa plana of Mitchel,) is found in such abundance in the Gulf, that it is used largely for manuring land. The writer has seen Potatoes being plantect in hills, when the only dressing consisted of fresh Flounders, which were nsed with a lavish hand. They are seldom taken by the inhabitants of the Gulf Shore, who can readily obtain so many other descriptions of Fish of superior quality. The Flounder is long lived out of the water, and bears land carriage better than most Fish ; there is no reason therefore, why Flounders should not become a valuable