— Saree Se ee Fm eat is o O a oe a Setnaees a eee ey er Sy tl ee ~ , ‘- z . $ tc eet e - ey tines ‘ s - , ara canien raion eed Pte gto Thi ep : - 3 - - ; + + . oe - SF Pie dctateacte ect Rikat January, 1918 CANADTAN FISHERMAN 543 THE CANADIAN FISHERMAN A MONTHLY JOURNAL DEVOTED TO THE COMMERCIAL FISHERIES OF CANADA AND NEWFOUNDLAND THE SCIENCE OF THE FISH CUL- TURE AND THE USE AND VALUE - OF FISH PRODUCTS - .- F. WILLIAM WALLACE EDITOR The Industrial & Educational Press, Limited 35-45 St. Alexander St. - CANADA Toronto Office - 263-265 Adelaide St., W _ Newfoundland Agency ; Garland’s Book Store, St. Johns, N.F Montreal SUBSCRIPTION: Canada, {Newfoundland and Great. Britain - ~ - - $1.00 United States and Elsewhere... $1.50 payable in advance. ADVERTISING RATES ON APPLICATION Published on the 24th dav of each month. Changes of advertisements should be in the publisher’s hands ten days before that date. Cuts should be sent by mail, not by express. Readers are cordially invited to send to the Editor items of Fishery news, also articles on subiects of practical interest If suitable tor vublication these will be paid for at our regular rate ‘ te Official Organ of the Canadian Fisheries Association fais?" Vol. V. MONTREAL, JANUARY, 1918 No. 1 0000000000000000000000 Wholesale Fish dealers can assist the Food Controller and increase the consumption of fish in Canada by inserting extracts from our vari- ous articles and editorials in their weekly price lists. The Gospel of ‘‘Eat More Fish’’ will thus reach retailers and others who seldom read Trade papers or keep in touch with new de- velopments in the Fishing Industry. 00000000000000000000 DAs ™ (8) ie) oO 0 : 0 fe) 8] 5. OF: 0) a) 0 Oe: 0 ‘i 0] Oo 0 rs, FROZEN FISH. rh is gratifying to. note that the Food Controller is strongly advocating: the use of more frozen fish in ~ Canada and a convincing circular on the subject is _ being distributed to the various women’s or ganiza- tions throughout the Dominion. In localities where resh fish is difficult to obtain through lack of ade- quate transportation facilities, frozen. fish is being _ recommended. The Food Controller is giving much publicity to the frozen fish propaganda and beneficial 4 results are already noted. >. There‘is no need of dilating here upon the manifold advantages to the trade and the public in handling fish in a frozen. state. been largely due to ignorance of the proper method of thawing the frozen fish. By placing the fish in COLD water and leaving it in the water just long enough to take the frost out, it will de-frost and become as palatable as strictly fresh caught fish. The prejudice against it has — It must not. be allowed to soak too long—otherwise the. water will soak into the loosened tissues and the fish will become flabby and _ tasteless. , In certain localities, frozen fish is receiving a ‘‘ black eye’’ owing to the custom of wholesale houses taking back from butchers and retailers the fish they were unable to sell on Tuesdays and Fridays. These *‘come- backs’’ are placed in the freezer again and sent out later. After two or three visits between store and cold storage, these fish are not fit for food, and this prac- tice must be discontinued if frozen fish, or any fish for that matter, is to be introduced favorably to the publie. ; There is sufficient demand nowadays for retailers to be able to figure out how mueh fish they can sell. There should be no come-backs, and if all the whole- sale distributors would aet together on this, the habit ean be stopped with beneficial results to all concerned. yr - 544 §76949 CANADIAN CASH AND CARRY SYSTEM. A material reduction in the price of fish to the con- sumer and a lightening of the overhead expenses of the retail fish dealer can be made by introducing the ‘‘eash and carry’? system of doing business. This means that the customer will call at the store, pay eash for goods received, and carry them away. Deliveries and credits have long been the curse of the retail fish business as well as other trades. The fish business suffers more, perhaps, than others, as the housewife simply hates carrying a parcel of fish home. Telephone orders, deliveries and ‘‘charge jt up!’’ is the burden saddled on the trade by modern lazi- ness and a desire on the part of the ladies to get out of the way ‘‘mother used to do.’’ We, mere men, ~ would be glad to see our women-folk revert to mother ’s ways in more things than the pies ‘‘she used to make’’ and one of them is the old-fashioned style of shopp*ng in the morning with a market basket. ' The modern house-wife is to blame for the high eost of living. She telephones her butcher or fish dealer to send up two pounds of halibut, salmon, had- - dock or cod, and/‘‘charge it!’’ The dealer is forced by this system to keep delivery wagons, two or more telephones with a clerk to answer them, and a book- keeper to keep track of charge accounts. To main- tain these, costs much money, and who pays for it? The consumer to be sure! To deliver a parcel of fish, whether one pound or ten pounds, costs on an average five cents a parcel— more in some towns, less in others. Charge accounts mean an additional cost of from 2 per cent to 5 per cent, according to the class of trade. Extra tele- phones mean from $25 to $40 per annum. All these ex- tras have to be added on to the price of the goods. Then again, orders by telephone are not always satis- factory, and the customer loses the privilege of select- ing the particular fish most desirable and is narrowed down to the varieties he or she is familiar with. Complaints on the high price of fish these days are common, but the consumer is the one to be blamed. By forcing the dealer to cater to laziness, they have penalized themselves and suffer in every way, and the dealer finds his worries magnified. By returning to the old-fashioned method of shop- ping in the morning with a market basket; paying eash, and carrying the goods away, the customer bene- fits. They have the choice of looking around the store and selecting the particular fish or piece of fish they desire. They can also become acquainted with new lines of fish foods and thus enlarge the range of the menu. We would strongly advocate at this time the intro- duction of the ‘‘cash and earry’’ system in our retail fish stores. Let the dealer make two prices—one for eredits and delivery, and the other for cash and car- C= FISHERMAN \/ rying away. The public can be educated, and in these war-time days, they are willing to be educated, and the — dealer can do it withott much trouble. Both the Canadian Food Control and the Food Ad- ministration of the United States endorse the ‘‘cash and ecarry’’ system. It is a sure antidote to the high cost of living. The readers of this magazine engaged in the wholesale or retail trade would do well to preach this idea to customers and begin by marking their fish at the two prices. The sooner it is started the bet- ter, as no one knows how long the war is going to mY % = January, 1918 ~ 2 i 1 last, and in the next call for man-power in food pro- — duction and the fighting line, the men to be called will come from the shop clerks and delivery wagon drivers of the stores. It is well to be prepared. GREAT INCREASE IN HOME CONSUMPTION. Statistics collected by the Food Controller’s Office show a wonderful increase in fish consumption in Can- ada during the latter part of 1917 over similar periods in the previous year. from July to November, 1917, over the same period in 1916. Another wholesaler in an Ontario town reports" the sale of 1,020,882 lbs. of fresh and frozen fish for October, November and December, 1917, in compari- son with 786,433 lbs. in the same period of 1916. In salt and smoked fish his sales pe aizees 35 ati Ibs. in the same period. A Montreal wholesale house reports an increase of 15,725 lbs. of fresh and frozen fish for the last three months of the year over the year prévious. Another Montreal wholesale house reports that ‘‘there has been a decidedly large increase in the general sale of fish.’’ A large wholesaler doing an extensive busi- A Toronto wholesale house re- ports an increase in sales of 80 per cent in the period ness in Quebec, Ontario and the West reports an in- — erease of 80 per cent in Quebec sales, almost 300 per cent in Ontario, and 66 per cent in the West in the last six months over the same period last year. A wholesaler in an Ontario town reports sales of had- dies and herring for October, November and December, _ 1917, as 38,182 lbs. compared with 25,338 lbs. for La, : same period in 1916. An Ontario retail house with several stores reports for the last three months of 1917 sales of 74,898 Ibs. of lake fish and 153,310 lbs. of sea fish as compared with 32,047 lbs. of lake fish and 107,139 lbs. of sea fish in the same period in 1916. Another Ontario retail house reports for corresponding periods sales of 21,- 040 Ibs. as against 17,720 lbs. These are an indication of reports from all over the country and represent increases of from 20 per cent to 300 per cent according to the effort made. A conservative increase would be 50 per cent gener- ally, | In practically every instance credit is given to the Food Controller for increasing the consemption, and January, 1918 CANADIAN from a patriotic point of view, the increased sales of fish represent a gratifying surplus of exportable meats. ONTARIO GOVERNMENT'S ‘‘CHEAP’’ FISH. The Ontario Government Fisheries Sales Branch are notifying their customers that ‘‘owing to the increas- ed cost of obtaining winter fish’’ the delivered price in Eastern Ontario will be 1214 cents for whitefish and trout, allowing a retail price of 16 cents to the consumer. One-fifth of the commercial catch caught by the fishermen of Ontario must be placed at the disposal of the Government. The following condition is attached to the granting of the fishermen’s license. “*Fishermen must supply any portion not exceeding twenty per cent of his catch, all fish to be in first ' quality, at a price not exceeding -eight cents per pound for whitefish, trout, or pickerel; or at a price not exceeding six cents per pound for herring, pike, _ or other coarse fish, and not exceeding nine cents for catfish, skinned and dressed.’’ The price will be fixed by the department. ** All fish to be delivered, boxed, and iced, and dress- ed if required, f.o.b. cars at the point of shipment.’’ The license will be subject to cancellation for non- performance of this condition. With regard to herring (frozen) these are being quoted by outside firms at $5.50 per 100 lbs., f.o.b. Toronto, and $6.00 f.o.b. Montreal, wholesale. We ean’t see where the Ontario Government is doing any better than the legitimate dealer. However, they are stimulating the interest in fish foods even if they do nothing else. HIGH PRICES FOR PACIFIC COAST FISH. The public all over Canada are complaining of the high price of halibut and salmon. In fact, these two fish have gone into the luxury class. ber, 1734 cents per pound was paid to the fishermen for halibut on the dock at Prince Rupert, and advices to hand from the Coast state that the Deep Sea Fisher- men’s Union have increased their prices on company _ boats to three cents per pound for halibut the year round, two cents for black cod, and a cent and a quarter for other varieties. On halibut, this is an increase of 33 1-3 per cent. When one considers that the majority of the halibut fishermen on the Pacific Coast are aliens of Scan- dinavian extraction who merely do the actual fishing and look after their gear, and who neither pay for the bait, ice, gear, fuel, or food used on the company vessels, nor even bear a hand in the handling of the _ship—which in most cases carries a sailing crew—we are of the opinion that the increase is absolutely unwar- ranted. Halibut fishermen on the Pacific have been earning from $200 to $400 per month—sometimes more than During Novem- between the United States and Canada. FISHERMAN 545 that, and seldom less than the minimum. Their Union is a strong one—so strong that the producers simply have to knuckle under to its demands or face the in- evitable strike. No strike-breakers can be imported to buck them and they have things very much their own way. ; The officers of the Union are often clear-headed, reasonable men, but they are merely puppets in the hands of the members. When these modern sea-rovers feel that things are palling a little, they institute a strike for either more money or more grub or more time in port, and the Union officials, must, willy-nilly, present the men’s claims in the most favorable light. They never stick out for anything on the lesser side. War-time sacrifices in anything is not to be thought of by these Vikings. These men sail to the fishing grounds as passen- gers. They are the aristocrats of the fishing frater- nity. Skippers must handle them with kid gloves, or ‘a strike will ensue. Truly, Labor exists in Utopia with the Deep Sea Fishermen’s Union, and if it goes on much longer, feather-beds in the fo’e’sle and a boy to wait on each fisherman will become the order of the day on a halibutter. With the anxious days now facing the Allies in the food problem; with the necessity for producing and conserving food-stuffs, and the Food Controller’s ef- forts to increase the consumption of more fish in Can- ada to release beef and bacon so greatly needed over- seas, the Deep Sea Fishermen’s schedule for 1918 is nothing more or less than an unpatriotic hold-up. Halibut is no longer a poor family’s meal, and with the D.S.F.U. boosting the price, it never will be. When one considers the hard life of the Atlantic schooner and boat fishermen—Canadians all—and com- pares it, and the money they make, with the gentle. men-trawlers of Seandinavian origin and American citizenship on the Pacific, one is constrained to call for drastic remedies. And these remedies will come before long as both the United States and Canada are beginning to tire of the ‘‘dollar before all’’ spirit evinced by the Deep.Sea Fishermen’s Union. ERASING THE BORDER LINE. In our last volume, we had an editorial under the above heading and the border line referred to is that Since then, the United States has thrown her weight into the fight against the despicable Hun, and the manner in which she is doing it, excites our admiration. There is no tribute of pen praise that we can pay to the New England states for the manner in which they organized Halifax relief. The contributions from them, and the prompt action taken, the wholehearted sym- pathy extended by gifts of money, food, clothing, building materials and service can only be summed up in one word—splendid ! * 546 In the negotiations proceedings at Washington be- tween the Fishery Commissions of Canada and the United States it is hoped that the Modus Vivendi licensing of fishing vessels will be abolished or modi- fied; that motor vessels will be allowed to bait and fit out in Canadian ports; that the duty against U. S. fish be abolished; and a permanent joint Board be appointed to look after questions Zlaeises to Inter- national waters. We are all in the same great game now. We have to feed England and the Allies and beat the Boche. If the United States needs more of our fish, let her have it, and let us speed up production in every way possible to maintain the requirements of our own market and those of our Allies. TO CONSERVE SALMON FISHERIES. The cannerymen of the State of Washington are seeking to co-operate with the canning interests on. the Fraser River for the enforcement of regulations which will rehabilitate the salmon fishery of the Fraser. A committee has been appointed by the Wash- ington Fisheries Association to take up the matter with the British Columbia authorities. Various suggestions have been made, notably, that of closed seasons on the Fraser River, but this idea is not likely to meet with much success as it would mean the closing down of several canneries and the unemployment of many fishermen who depend on the salmon fishery for a livelihood. The abolition of purse- seining is recommended and seems to be favorably received by both sides. Undoubtedly something must be done to preserve the Fraser River salmon. From the time thy enter the Straits, the luckless fish have to run the gauntlet of the American traps, the seines and countless fathoms of gill-nets which bar the entrance of the river from ‘‘blue water’’ to the upper reaches. Spawning dif- ficulties were greatly magnified by the slide at Hell Gate which barred the fish from reaching the head- waters and which affected the four year run of 1917. In all probability, the International Fisheries Com- mission now at Washington will give attention to this question and find a remedy. At the present time, however, the most vital point to be considered is the production of fish for food. The urgent necessities of to-day must be fulfilled even at the risk of future extinction. This is War Time, and War Time meas- ures and requirements are necessarily drastic to be successful. FISH AND THE LAYMAN. Few, indeed, can plumb the depths of the average citizen’s ignorance of fish and of all things pertain- ing to fish. Real knowledge of fish is confined almost wholly to shore dwellers, those who go down to the sea, and those who handle what the fisherman CANADIAN FISHERMAN January, 1918 harvests from the sea. The CANADIAN FISHERMAN — representative donned a fitting disguise and journey- ed out among the common people with a listening ear and a receptive mind to acquire something of the pis- eatorial knowledge of the Canadian proletariat. . ‘Fish! fish!’’ says the lay consumer in effect, if not in so many words. ‘‘Don’t talk to me about fish! It costs more than meat unless you happen to light » “Government’’ fish, (EDITOR’S NOTE:—It is | almost superflous to mention that there is no such thing as Government fish unless one designates the small dribble of whitefish, trout and suckers supplied” by the Ontario Government.) If I telephone for fish, _I get what the dealer likes to give me—which is really what no one else will take. If I buy frozen fish, I ean’t eat it. It has been frozen and thawed and re- frozen by cold storage profiteers, and it’s simply dis- gusting. How would I thaw it? How do you thaw anything? With heat, of course. Put it in warm water or place it near the stove. Yes, sir! The fish business is potions: than the packing business. It’s a ring—a combine—a trust! Why don’t they fix the price of fish? It doesn’t cost anything to catch. You don’t have to feed fish. Fish is a gift—that’s all it is! The fisherman simply dips his net in the water and hauls it out. It’s pure — velvet to everyone except the consumer. Why don’t they stop the export trade? All the — good fish is sent over the border. That’s not right. The people of Canada own the fish and the fisheries _ should be nationalized. What kind of fish do I eat? We-e-ll, halibut and salmon and oysters and finnan haddie—what other kinds can you get?’’ Such trifling incidentals as capital invested in boats, the hazzards of the fisheries, the unremuner- ative catches, cost of ice, bait, fuel, gear, boxes, ves- sel outfits, fishermen’s food, wages of shore labor, in- vestments in necessary shore plant, transportation, losses through shrinkage and deterioration, selling ex- penses, storms, fogs, dog-fish, and one day a week to _ sell on, are but trifling incidentals in the layman’s mind. Halibut, salmon, oysters and finnan haddie! Ye Gods! What about cod, haddock, hake, cusk, pol- lock, mackerel, whiting, soles, flounders, skate, stur- geon, herring, gaspereau, smelts, whitefish, trout, pickerel, pike, mullets, carp, bass, catfish, sword-fish, grey-fish, black cod, and so-on and so-on! The moral is sufficiently obvious. The public must — be taught all it can absorb about fish and fishing. STOCK BARREN LAKES WITH FISH. Following our 8.0.8, call to Ontario fishermen and Mr: Feilding’s article on the carp as a table fish in our November issue, we think the time has come when the utilization of many of our smaller lakes in the great so-called ‘‘barren area’’ of Algoma and Thunder Bay should be cate considered from a food Re January, 1918 CANADIAN duction aspect. Why should these waters be neglect- ed because they will not produce whitefish, herring or lake trout of marketable size, if they can be made to produce other fish such as carp, which obviously is in great demand, not only in war time, but also in - peace time. - Why could not a certain defined area be set aside for an experiment? Many tons of pike, suckers and fish of similar low grade are now being shipped to the United States while carp, a far more rapidly growing fish and a fish much more economically produced is almost entirely neglected, largely owing to prejudice. Has not the time arrived for the establishment of an inland fish experimental station on the lines of one or other of those useful institutions now doing such valuable practical work in the United States? We spend, annually, large sums of money on ex- perimental farms to establish methods of cheap food production on dry land, why should not the same - attention be given to the food production of our land under water. . Surely this is the time to stimulate to the utmost the food production of waters now producing nothing and entirely in our own control. PISCATORIAL PARAGRAPHS. ‘The Ontario Government intend to establish cold. storage facilities to take care of the Fall runs of lake fish in connection with their Fisheries Sales Depart- ment. Eight million pounds of fish at. ‘‘cost’’ price are to be available to the Ontario people this coming - season. 4 Mr. H. G. Walby, late of the Canadian Fish & Cold Storage Company, Ltd., Prince Rupert, is now in business in New York, at 21 Park Row, under the firm name of Walby and Company. Mr. P. Sandvick, late of Prince Rupert, has re- turned from a visit to Norway, and is now in New York. Major Hugh Greene, Director of Fish Supplies for. Overseas Canadians, and representing the British Board of Trade, is permanently located in Montreal, with an office at 211 St. Nicholas Street. The Canadian Fisheries Commission, consisting of Chief Justice J. D, Hazen, former Minister of Fish- eries; Mr. G. J. Desbarats, Deputy Minister of Naval : Service, and Mr. W. A. Found, Superintendent of Fish-. eries, arrived in Washington on January 15th, to con- BS fer with the United States Fisheries Commission on te matters affecting the fisheries in waters adjacent to the two countries. A tour of the Atlantic, Pacific and Great Lakes fishing ports will be made later to The question of the Modus servation of the fisheries. ascertain the views of persons interested in the con-- FISHERMAN 547 Vivendi license and the free entry of American and Canadian fishing vessels into the ports of each eoun- try will be discussed. No better opportunity exists than the present to amicably settle the outstanding fishery disputes between Canada and the U. S., and the Commission is entrusted with an important task. It is to be hoped that something definite will be accom- plished this time. The United States Government will license all fish- ermen fishing in the salt water of the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts. This is being done in order to increase production of fish as under license from the Federal Government, the restrictions imposed by States licenses on State fisheries will not hold. The license control will go into effect on February 15th, and will largely supersede local laws which now discourage fishermen in producing the maximum of catch. Due regard will be given to the conservation of a certain fish and re- stricted fishing areas, but the new regulations will mean a ‘‘wide open’ fishery until such time as the Food Administration considers the fish supply ample. Similar regulations will be made for the Pacific fish- eries later. The Alaska salmon pack for 1917 is the largest in its history. The pack will aggregate 5,300,000 cases, valued at $40,000,000—almost twice the value of the record catch of 1916. The salmon pack of Alaska alone is equal to the value of the whole Canadian fisheries, and to think that we bartered away our chances to secure this gold-mine! . The fine steam trawler ‘‘Baleine,’? now owned by the Leonard Fisheries, Ltd., will be in operation short- ly.. The ‘‘Baleine’’ was built in Dunkirk, France, and is regarded as one of the best types of long voyage trawlers. For a number of seasons she fished out of St. Pierre Miquelon and salting her catches. Can- ada’s fleet of steam trawlers is now increased to five —one on the Pacific and four on the Atlantic. According to the ‘“Vancouver Province,’’ the B. C. halibut fishermen are ‘‘eager to aid in the production of food, but cannot live on their present wages.’’ Ac- cording to an official in a cold storage company oper- ating boats, fishermen’s wages average $180 a month all the year round and some are able to earn $230 per month. If they are granted the price schedule set by their Union, the average wage per man will run from $300 to $350 per month. If this isn’t cold-blooded graft, we'd like to know what is. No wonder halibut is high. Professor Prince, Commissioner of Fisheries, states that the annual catch of Canadian fish is 1,140,000,000 pounds, The annual consumption prior to the estab- 548 lishment of the Food Control was something like 203,- 000,000 pounds. This has probably increased to 300,- 000,000 pounds now. Ten million cans of grey-fish have been sold by can- ners sinee the name was changed and the fish de- elared fit for food. On the Pacific Coast, whale-meat is meeting with great favor. The U. 8, Food Adminis- tration intend to see that more menhaden is used for food rather than for oil and fertilizer purposes. The Great Northern Canneries, Vancouver Island, will can herrings for shipment to France and for home consumption. The United States Government has set the following prices on Alaska canned salmon, f.0.b. Alaska. Red Salmon, $2.35. Medium Red Salmon, $2.25. Pink Sal- man, $1.65. Chum Salmon, $1.60. To these prices must be added freight charges, brokerage, and general handling expenses. THE ANNUAL FISHERIES REPORT. The fiftieth annual report of the Marine and Fisher- ies Department has been issued and the value of Can- ada’s fish production has jumped to $39,208,378 — an increase of $3,347,670 over the year previous and the greatest in the history of our fisheries. Year by year, the value of our fisheries has been increasing, but we are not yet satisfied with the development of the sea fisheries on both coasts, and not until steam trawling and cold storages are established will we ever reap an adequate harvest of the vast fishery wealth adjacent to our coasts. Only with steam trawling will the harvest of ground- fish be properly garnered and similarly, steam drift net fishing will largely increase the herring fishery. Cold storages are essential to take care of the catch, as the Canadian market will never absorb it all. The United States offers a ready market for various kinds of Canadian fish; Great Britain is importing Canadian fresh frozen fish in millions of pounds and will con- tinue to do so for an indefinite period, and our salt and dried fish trade is, and will be, limited, only by the eatch. On the Pacific coast. steam trawling is the only means of harvesting the prolific ground-fish other than halibut, and the cities and towns of the west will ab- sorb great quantities of these so-called ‘‘serap’’ fish as the halibut becomes scarcer and dearer. There is no indication that meats will ever come back to their former abundance. Fish will, more and more. replace meat as a food for the North American peoples, and the War has had the effect of bringing fish to the fore as a substitute for meat. The demand now created will continue and will be largely augment- ed before the unknown close of the conflict. The greatest field for develonment is in the salt water oceans on both coasts. The lake and river fish- eries are limited and must be reeulated to prevent ex- tinction. There are yet hundreds of lakes in Canada untouched. but remoteness from transportation fac- ilities preclude their utilization. Thev will remain as reservoirs of future food for the eoming population of the nerthern latitudes of Canada, CANADIAN FISHERMAN January, 1918 No better argument for the use of modern methods in sea fishing can be had than from a perusal of the annexed statement taken from the report. The hook and line fishery from schooners, dependent upon sup- plies of bait, favorable weather and freedom from fog and dog-fish will never ensure the maximum of prod- uction. The summary follows: _ In comparing the results of one season with another it must not be forgotten that the volume of production is affeeted by certain natural conditions which differ greatly from year to year. For instance, every fourth year there occurs on the Fraser river a ‘‘big run’’ of salmon. In the following years the ‘‘run’’ gradually diminishes till it reaches its poorest stage in the year preceding the next ‘‘big run.” The masses of herring and mackerel that visit our shores vary in volume annually — the latter especially being extremely erratic in their movements. Our hook- and-line fisheries for cod, haddock, hake, halibut, ete., — are dependent on a supply of herring for bait, and a searcity or abundance of this bait fish immensely af- fects the output of the line fishermen. Dogfish are more numerous in some seasons than in others, and des- troy edible fish and gear to such an extent as to stop operations at times. Lastly, the state of the weather, by limiting the number of fishing days or permitting operations on the greatest possible number of days in the course of a season, affects the production of all kinds of fish perhaps more than any other natural — agent. The season under review was adversely affected by several of these conditions. The poorest salmon year in the eyele of four on the Fraser river occurred ; there was an abnormal amount of .unfavourable foggy weather on the Atlantic coast; the spring herring fish- ery in the gulf of St. Lawrence was greatly curtailed as a result of ice remaining on the coast till a late date; and the summer and fall herring fishery all over the Atlantic coast was a very poor one. : Under these conditions the production of one or two of the chief kinds of fish during 1916 fell somewhat be- . low that of the year before. For example, the salmon ~ eatch was 171,101 hundredweights less. In the northern part of British Columbia, where there is no quadren- nial fluctuation as in the southern part, the 1916 catch was greater, however, than that for 1915. The catch of cod was 126.525 hundredweights less, while that of halibut fell short by 83,328 hundred- weights. The quantity of herrring landed was 143,460 hun- dredweights less, and of mackerel 24,915 hundred- weights less than in the preceding year. On the other hand, there was an increase of 35,621 hundredweights in the lobster catch, and an increase of 10.499 hundredweights in the catch of hake and pollock. Owing to the greatly increased demand for fish, in the home market, the United States, and overseas, higher prices prevailed, with the result that the total market value of the fisheries for the fiscal year 1916-17 ~ amounted to $39,208,378, which is the greatest annual value the industry has ever produced. It is $3,347,- 670 greater than the value for the year 1915-16 and $7.- 943,747 greater than that for the year 1914-15. To the total value the sea fisheries contributed $34,386,- 013 and the inland fisheries $4,822,365. ines Our boat fishermen and those who fish in inshore waters now find the motor-boat indispensable. It gets speedily to and from the fishing grounds, and permits - January, 1918 CANADIAN operations over a greater area than the old sail-boat. In the year under review there was an increase of 1,731 motor-boats, the total being 12,828. Improvements are constantly taking place in the handling and manufacturing of cured fish of all kinds. The proportion of the inshore catch of cod, hake, ete., that is dried is annually growing less, while that used fresh and cut for the boneless trade is in- ereasing and. bringing enhanced values. In the pickled fish trade, through the stimulus of the Fish Inspection Act, increased attention is being given to the production of better packages and to im- proving the grade and quality of the pack; an iron-- hooped hardwood barrel superior to anything of the kind used in any other country is now being used in our salt mackerel trade. .. Manufacturers of finnan haddie within the last four ae Sat or five years have been turning out a very much im- proved article, with the result that the demand for and consumption of this popular fish is increasing rapidly. The following table shows the value produced by each province, with the increase or decrease compared with the year 1915-16 :— Province— Value produced Increase Decrease British Columbia . $14.637.346 $ 99.026 WAC. Nova Seotia..... 10.092.902 926.051 New Brunswick... 5.656 859 919.714 Gaehew 2. oe 2.991.624 © 994,773) ee Creare 2.648.993 fo) et GGB2 189 °; Manitoba .. .. .. 1,390,002 CRE OTT ia Prince Edward Is- uae ee 1,344.179 410 497 Saskatchewan ... 231 946 66.056 mera... 144.317 BO A6O viata, Mee. CORIO Fo a a 3,520 ‘Totals .. $39,208,378 $4,033,379 $685 709 Net increase... . ice ee es SS BAF ETD The large decrease in the value of the Ontario fish- eries is due to smaller catches of trout, whitefish. pike, and pickerel. The last named is responsible for al- most half the decreased value. The total number of persons engaged in the various branches of the f'shine industry during the year under review was 95.304. This is a decrease of 6,878 when compared with the preceding year. Of the total number, 85.367 were enzaged in the sea, and 9,937 in the inland fisheries. There were 9.192 on vessels, tugs, and smacks: 59.697 in boats; 735 fish- ‘ing without boats; and 25.680 on shore, in canner‘es, freezers. and smoke-houses, ete., cleaning and prepar-_ ing the fish for market. - The amount of capital invested in vessels, boats, fish- ing gear, canneries, ete., was $28,728.962, an increase of $2 873.387. In the sea fisheries there was invested $25 971,664, and in the inland fisheries, $2.757,298. There were 1,965 vessels, tugs, and carrying smacks in use as against 1.984 in the preceding year. Of the 40,- 105 boats in use, 12,828 were fitted with gasolene en- gines; an increase of 1,731. Six years ago not more than 4,588 gasolene boats were used in fishing. ‘A. BR. Whittall Can. Co., Ltd., Montreal, have sent their customers a very attractive calendar. This com- pany has recently made very extensive additions to their plant to enable them to take care of new busi- ness, FISHERMAN 549 DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVAL SERVICE. Notes on the results of Sea Fishing operations in Can- ada during the month of December. Reports and returns from Fishery Officers on the Atlantic Coast show that the unusually cold and stormy weather of December adversely affected. the landings of some of the chief kinds of sea fish. The total quantity of cod, haddock, hake and pol- lock landed in eastern Canada was 71,805 ewts. against 86.924 ewts. during December last year. The landings of haddock, hake and pollock were over 23,- 000 ewts. less, but those of cod were over 8,000 ewts. greater. Only 290 ewts. of herring were landed on the At- lantic coast, while in British Columbia 69,021 ewts. were landed. The total for both coasts, however, is 54.493 ewts. less than that landed in December 1916. The total of halibut landed, which is practica'ly the Brit'sh Columbia eatch, is over 6,000 ewts. less than last year’s December total. The smelt fishery, which is carried on mainly in Prince Edward Island and the Nova Scotia and New Brunswick counties bordering the gulf of St. Law- rence, resulted in a catch of 21 347 ewts.. being an in- crease of 6,257 ewts. compared with December last year. The new season’s lobster fishery has been in pro- press since the 15th of November in the counties of Charlotte and St. John, New Brunswick, and since December 15th on that part of the erast of Nova Sco- tia from Varmonth county to Halifax harbor. The total pack of lobsters to the end of December was 1.663 cases. whi'e 2723 ewts. were shinped fresh in shell to market. During the corresponding period last year the pack was 1.192 cases, while 3.456 ewts. were shipped in shell. For the same per‘od in 1915 the pack was 4006 cases and the shinment in shell 16.174 ewts. . While fluctuations in the catch from year to year are due, in a great measure, to weather conditions, it should seem from the returns that lob- sters are not so abundant as formerly in these waters. With diminished Jandings and an ever increasing demand the price per ewt. paid to fishermen is much greater than that of December last year. For ex- ample the price of cod is higher by 17 per cent., had- dock by 30 per cent., hake and pollock by 60 per cent., herring by 120 per cent., halibut by 100 per cent. and smelts by 28 per cent, The total value of all sea fish at the point of landing in Canada during the month was $981,306 against $803.505 for the same month last year. Two fishermen were drowned in the, course of the month. One belonged to Lunenburg county and the other to Digby county, Nova Scotia. JOINS FISH COMMITTEE. Mr. H. B. Short, manager of the Mar'‘time Fish- Corporation, Digby, N.S., director of the Canadian Fisheries Association for Nova Scotia and formerly member of the Fisheries Advisory Board, has been in- vited by Hon. W. J. Hanna to act as a member of the Fish Committee of the Food Control. Mr. Short spent the week of January 7th in Ottawa with the Committee, and will in future give time and attention to all matters connected with the fisheries of the Mari- time Provinces. Information regarding licenses. ete.. ean be had from Mr. Short’s office at Digby, N.S. 550 Science and the Fisheries CANADIAN FISHERMAN January, 1918 By A. BROOKER KLUGH. Science is now coming into its own, and the import- ance of biology as well as chemistry and physics is becoming universally recognized. But a comparatively few years ago biology was regarded by the public at large as a hobby, harmless perhaps, but useless. The old type of the professor of biology, short- sighted, absent-minded, and always represented with an insect-net in his hands and engaged in the pursuit of rare butterflies with unpronouncable names is per- feetly familiar to all of us. He still persists in comic opera and novels; in real life he has disappeared. In fact, it is not entirely eorrect to say that he has dis- appeared, for he never existed in the exact form in which he is portrayed. The character which has been given to him was merely that side which was visible to the public, for these men of the old school accom- plished much in the way of sound scientific work, in laying the foundations upon which we build to-day. The more we read of the history of biological science the more we realize that these men succeeded in doing . a tremendous amount of valuable work with the very limited means of investigation at their command. Science is often divided into two broad groups— pure science and applied science. The value of ap- plied science is now generally recognized, but pure science, even to-day, is not seen in its true light by the general public. Pure science is concerned with the investigation of natural phenomena of all kinds, no matter whether it has any bearing on practical pro- blems or not. In the public eye such investigations are mere play, a waste of time and materials which might be better employed in some practical way. But there is this very important truth which needs to be driven home—pure science is the foundation upon which applied science rests. The pure science of to- day is the applied science of to-morrow. The tele- phone aniline dyes, the photographic plate, the arti- ficial hatching of fish-eggs, to mention only one or two examples, were once only little laboratory exiperi- ments — mere play. Was the time spent in this ‘‘play’’ wasted ? Now to consider the relation of pure science to the fisheries. Many people are inclined to question the value of such investigations as the ascertaining of the temperatures, both surface and deep, of areas of the sea, of differences in specific gravity or salinity of these areas, and of the making of a biological survey of the ocean. By a biological survey we mean the collecting by dredge, and tangle and tow-net of all the forms of life which oceur in the ocean, naming and classify- ing them, ascertaining their abundance, their distribu- tion, also their food and the anithals which in turn feed upon them. Such work is pure science, it has no immediate practical value. But the point which we must keep constantly in mind iS that such work may, and does, yield results which are often of direct ap- plication in the solving of some practical problem. We are not in a position to deal effectively with an animal, say a fish or a. lobster, until we know thor- oughly the conditions under which it thrives best, until we know its food (and even the organisms upon which its ‘‘food’’ lives) its enemies, and its time and manner of reproduction. These essential facts are all furnish- ed by pure science. REY 3: rest here. And just here it is necessary to say a word in regard what the public seems to expect when a_ practical problem is handed over to a scientist. They seem to expect that he will look wise for a moment or so, wave a magic wand, and say, ‘“There! Your problem is solved.’’? If the supply of lobsters is running out a biologist is called in and if within a few weeks, or months at the outmost, he does not say ‘‘There are your lobsters,’’ the public is disappointed. The fact that there is nearly always a tremendous amount of found-— ation work to be put in, that there aré many careful experiments to be made, and that these things take time as well as knowledge, is lost sight of. Only those who have been engaged in some phase of applied seience realize the tremendous difficulties which have to be surmounted. Now let us turn to a consideration of what. has been, and what is being, accomplished in Canada in bpd tical fishery problems. One of the most direct and far-reaching iaien of in-- vestigation is the work on fish-seales. As a rule, in the publie estimation, fish-seales are more of a nuisance than anything else—something to be got rid of. But — it has been found out that the scales of fishes yield to the biologist information of the utmost practical im- portanee. centrative rings, that those rings of growth, formed — during the summer, are wider apart than those form- _ ed during the winter, and thus when examined under the microscope the number of ‘‘winter checks,’’: (as great importance of thus being able to tell the age of a fish is at once apparent, but this work has a far wider application than is at first recognized. In this report on the life-history of the Sookegs : Dr. C. H. Gilbert says: ‘‘When they approach the shore at maturity and the spawning run is levied on — for economic uses, it is found to be made up of in- | the concentric areas of close lines are called), can be counted and the age of the fish thus ascertained. The dividuals not all of the same age, as was formerly be- lieved, but of three different age, constituting three distinet age-groups. Thus the Fraser River run of 1912 contained some individuals laid down as eggs in 1907, others in 1908 and still others in 1909. Similarly, in the run of 1913 were found those dating from the seasons of 1908, 1909 and 1910. Three successive years, therefore, though in widely differing degree, contribute their quota to each spawning run, and thus aid some- what in keeping the runs uniform. For if adverse conditions bring about a great diminished hateh in any given year, the few offspring of that year will | It has been found that the scale bears con- _ be joined at maturity by two other groups, from years _ which may have been normal or exceptionally good. ‘‘Nothing certain was known concerning these age- groups and the very important part they play in the economy of the runs, until we had.demonstrated by an investigation of.the scales that it was feasible to de- termine the age of any individual ‘by the records ie therein contained of the annual periods of growth.’’ But the matter in regard to the Sockeye does not Dr. Gilbert has been able to show that the percentages of the various age-groups differ in the different streams in which the eggs are hatched and — in this way has established the " Deere stream met ST . . = -. yer hee - January, 1918 CANADIAN theory.’’ This theory, which has now been proved, is _ that the mature fish return to spawn in the same _ Stream in which they were hatched. This is a most important fact, as it is now apparent that in order to stock a certain tributary is it necessary to hatch out the fry on that stream, and conversely that it is useless to hatch out immense numbers of fry at some point and expect them to restock some other stream. Investigations into the life history as revealed by the seale-structure are now under way in Canadian waters on the Atlantic Herring, Pacific Herring, Spring Sal- mon, Coho, Haddock, and Cod. That the Halibut of the Pacific Coast is being de- pleted is well known to all who take any interest in our fisheries. The conservation of this splendid food fish is a matter of the very greatest economic import- ance. Mr. W. F. Thompson was called upon to in- vestigate the Halibut problem and to advise methods of conservation. In beginning his investigation he found, as is so often the case, that facts in regard to the life-history of the Halibut were extremely meagre. During the past two years he has, however, been able to find out a good deal in regard to this fish, the rea- sons for its depletion, its slowness of growth, its late- ness in coming to maturity, and so forth, and the re- sults which he has obtained furnish at least some basis for recommendations in regard to its conservation. But as he himself says in his report much more informa- tion is necessary and he is still engaged in trying to acquire that information. No one needs to be told of the serious decrease in the supply of lobsters—a decrease so rapid and steady as to threaten the complete destruction of the industry. Beeause of the success which has attended the arti- ficial hatching of fish eggs, hatcheries were established for lobster eggs. It was found that the little lobsters could be readily hatched out, and they were then placed in the sea. But the activities of the hatcheries made not the slightest difference in the diminution of the supply of lobsters and biologists were called upon. It was at once seen that the mere hatching of the eggs was only a waste of time and energy, that the lobster fry were entirely different in their habits from the fry of fishes, and that owing to their habit of swimming about at the surface for many days after they were hatched they became the prey of fishes. Thus hatch- ing out the eggs and dumping the young lobsters into the sea was merely furnishing the fishes with choice - tid-bits, and considering the cost of operating the hatcheries it would have been cheaper to have fed the fishes on chopped beefsteak. From a careful study of the life-history of the lobster it was evident that the fry must be carried through ‘their first three stages, that is through three moults, and must have reached the stage at which they seek the bottom and are thus able, at least to some extent, to avoid their enemies. This having been determined it might be thought that the problem was solved. Not so. The young lobsters seemed to develop more ways of dying before they reached the fourth stage than anyone had ever imagined possible. If the water in ' syhich they were kept was too warm—they died, if it -_- wag not thoroughly aerated—they suffocated, if it was - too cold they did not moult soon enough and the growth of micro-organisms on their shells stopped their res- piration and—they died, if they were not kept con- _stantly in motion they settled in a heap in some corner and those underneath were smothered, if they were fed too much the food left over partially decomposed = * FISHERMAN 551 and—they died, if they were not fed enough they ate one another, So in one way or another they succeeded in dying at such a rate that out of several hundred thousand young first stage lobsters perhaps three, per- haps none, reached the third stage. The problem of increasing the supply of lobsters was handed over to Dr. A. P. Knight, of Queen’s Uni- versity. His early experiments were discouraging in the extreme, but he was not the man to give up, and he set off on an entirely different tack. After careful investigation he came to the conclusion that one very great factor in the decrease in the number of lobsters was the difficulty of mating — the difficult of meeting with a mate. ‘‘The mating of male and female lobs- ters is largely a matter of accident. . . . The fewer lobsters, therefore, and the wider the area over which they are distributed the less the chances are for mat- ing and the fewer the numbers of berried lobsters.’’ Dr. Knight’s experiments in keeping adult males and females together. in a pound resulted in seventy per cent of the females bearing eggs, as against one- fifth of one per cent of the females with eggs taken in the open sea. If subsequent experiments conducted on a large seale are as satisfactory the lobster problem is solved. Very valuable: work has been done oa the Canadian - Oyster by Dr. Stafford, of McGill University, and his researches, in addition to clearing up many points in regard to the life history of the oyster have established a fact of the very greatest importance in oyster cul- ture — that the free-swimming stage lasts for a month instead of from one to five days as had been previously supposed. The utilization of fish -waste—heads, entrails and non-marketable fish—is a problem of much economic significance. Mr. J. B. Feilding has been working on this problem, and has succeeded in turning the serap from whitefish, lake trout and lake herring into stock- foods rich in protein. He has produced a cattle-meal concentrate of 75 per cent pure fish-meal, a hog-food, and a poultry-food in balanced ration form. Those mentioned above are some of the results whicy have been attained by science in relation to the fish- eries in Canada. There are other problems under *» vestigation and of the results of these researches we shall hear more in the future. SAVING IN THE HOTELS. . Much More Fish Being Used as Substitute for Meat. Mr. F. W. Mossop, who has been visiting hotels and restaurants in Montreal in connection with the enforce- ment of the Food Controller’s regulations has for- warded a report on his work. Mr. Mossop says that among the better class hotels and restaurants he has found a very marked variation in saving of beef, ba- con and white flour. The manager of one of the larg- est hotels there says that he is using about ten per cent less beef and bacon and: ten to fifteen per cent more fish. He is serving special war bread, which means considerable saving in white flour. The manager of ‘another of the larger hotels states that his use of beef and bacon has been reduced by forty per cent, while thirty per cent more fish is being served. Special gra- ham rolls are served at all meals as substitutes for white bread. The other better class hotels and rest- aurants report an average saving of about twenty-five per cent in beef and bacon, with a corresponding in- erease in the use of fish. } * 502 LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS TO HALIFAX RELIEF. Montreal District: D. Hatton Co.. j Maritime Fish Corporation graye W. R. Spooner... rey yet Leonard Fisheries, ‘Ltd. Hy. Gatehouse & Son ... Stanford’s, Limited Jos. T. O’Connor .. H. A. Letourneau F543. PARR aus ces M. Terdiman ... F. W. Wallace .. Potland Fish Co. .. Jos. Turgeon .. A. Charbonneay. 2.0.0: Lalumiere & Beaudry ... .. Toronto District: F. T. Games Co. .. White & Co. .. a J. Bowman & Co. ... .. Winnipeg District: WwW. J. Guest Fish Co., Ltd. Northern Fish Co., Ltd. ... .. Armstrong Independent Fisheries Digby District: Maritime Fish bi ied ai oho én SZ. BROW ei ees cwes ries D. Sproule ... . ey ties Nova Scotia Fish Co. oe Fae Be AOR is 5cds ee ae ee H. Anderson .. ye Prince Rupert District: Canadian Fish & Cold ayia Cos, Royal Fish Co. ... Ottawa District: CANADIAN FISHERMAN - -$100. . 100. 00 00 —_——$795 00 ... $100. oes, es - $100. . 100. 00 00 ..+ 85.00 ————$235 .00. 00 00 -. 100.0 ——— $300.00 - $50. 5. 5. 00 20. LO. ——$100.00 10 -$200. 00 00 00 00 00 00 25.00 Y ——+-$235 .00 Tr WO Biting fs; ia eae seek cs okie 20S ——— $10.00 Maitime Fish Corporation and Employees: Maritime Fish fignaasiieaie Ltd. caece tN H. F. Robinson .. -- 25.00 R. Cowie ... oe ag ELON SI Bia 5.00 J. J. Bancroft . a seanl eas ceecians 2.00 Geo. T. Hendsbee ea gat BEE bie’ Sine 10.00 Capt. John McDonald ... ... ... ««- Cant... Geo; Waalane: oes iicgss wists oj Nelo Jas. McKay ... .. Abraham George ... Chas. DeCoste bisa Hezekiah Dort ... .. Freeman Smith John Jarvis ... Jas. Keating ... A. J. Goodger .. 2 here Beiwe -Cohoen ci «ewes @tiede. a's S. Shrader .. Geo. Jarvis Frank Munroe ... . Harry Snow ... Moses Richards John Jarvis, Jr. Charlie Horne 4 Fred Rhynold ... . Roy Peart : Wilfrid Manuel Wm. Pembroke By Hiram Horton .. .. Annie Rhynold Sadie Feltmate .. .. Goldie Feltmate ... Molly Snow Hilda Greencorn ... ... .. Maggie Greencorn ... -.. .. Bliza Carrigan Neyo Sarah Creamer... .... Katie Dortiiccd Kc ede aa Cora Gurney ..-; ts ef eete eee eee Rebecca Hearn .. Saget Bian ae - January, 1918 oe Joseph emgaed ake Be Na Sees ET | Edgar .Dort... .... Pais py Py sia bag thar 1.00 Edward Tobin sch. seston u0 os pes vie bt eaU see Capt ARTS ON Se oe ols awe lel oh eee G. Hallsen ... ... Ove spel Pene sv oene AOE OV ERO on oe a aes lino i Seas hehe ewe O; (CarieGn tee ed ont are aehs oh Oa JACOD Olesen... Sawa che re ees ose, OCO0 Anton:: Meteson- oo ees al es ee SJ cArderson se al Sowa oie ke ey OD Chris. Anderson ... .0...; Fi 5.00 DUET; OWI sos. ohn alent ak 2.00 TH Os oe nA Big 5.00 Edgar Soper .. TET EAI ET Sh Mayra one | 2.00 FE MGA aon 65 ino kbs tG ewan eee Stephen wPOwWe? - o.c sii ces 9 0:0.) 2 es peieie’s 2.00 Robert: MOrean: © i's> ess 6 eile we eee 2.00 PUWOTE -DAOLBO 6a) swine * wee temetre 1.00 Joseph Thompson ... ... «., «2. «+ 10.00 Blisha; Carter. 54.1 eae ous, So emda 2.00 Howard: Goodwin's. sec: emer 2.00 J. Skold . A 5.00 Se SPRING ise eae ees oF ed 5.00 ————$359.00 ———— $673.75 The Robinson Glue Co., Ltd., and metab dee The Robinson Glue Co., Ltd. He ee bOO0 F, Robinson ... .. " prone ek Ye 5.00 , Howard Myers ... ... * 1.00 SSA STOW oaks ovo yee ore etals 1.00 Gerald Fanning: 2... 00. see ee 1.00 Chester Greencorn ... ... : 1.00 John Carter ... 1.00 Pat TOMATO ous) ie cg ep Lceaerne et Pee cee Walter DOMerd: 6 ick Fame tele 1.00 Harry ‘Fanning 333.) io ind 1.00 Mike Boudreau ... ‘ 1.00 OD eee ————-$737 .75 A. W, Fader and Employees: A. W. Fader ... .. Re eee ST Everard Kelley . Wiebe aca ate kia: e's 5.00 William Keefe ... ... 5.00 Fresns Le Wiliam 5.00 John Kavanagh 4.00 Elias Armsworthy 3.00 Wiltria BOucniC. oo... ss. Oh Ae eae 3.00 Chas. Bouchie 36. i eee 2.00 Felix Gurney ... ... +S aoe date 2.00 John Fultz 2.00 John, Rhynold........ sie. atm pee wen eae Robert..SmMith: ... -. 63 pew eae 1.25 Angus Munroe 2... eae as 1.00 Stanley Pelrine .. cis vee cee vee ees 2,00 $137. 25 As a further protective measure, the ma-_ . Janvary, 1918 CANADIAN ___ ings, known as ‘‘recognition marks’’ may, with some -_-reservations. Among these, to quote Messrs. Jordan and Everman, are: ‘‘Ocelli, black or blue, ringed with _ white or yellow, on various parts of the body; ‘black spots on the dorsal fin; black spots below or behind the eye; black, red, blue, or yellow spots variously placed ; cross-bars of red or black or green, with or without pale edges; a blood-red fin or a fin of shining blue among pale ones ; a white edge to the tail ; a yellow, blue, or red streamer to the dorsal fin; a black tip to the pectoral or ventral ; a hidden spot of emerald in the mouth or in _ the axil; an almost endless variety of sharply defined markings, not directly protective, which serve as recog- : nition marks, if not to the fish itself, certainly to the ~ naturalist who studies it.’’ _ The reservations referred to with pepect to the fore- going are, that in many instances, some of the markings - ¢hange color or wholly. disappear when the fish reach- es a certain age, or may temporarily fade under varied food conditions; for examples,.the parr marks, or ver- tical bands on the young of the salmon family, almost wholly fade at maturity, and the red spots on the charr disappear when it feeds almost exclusively on some unnatural foods; the bars on the black drum vanish when it reaches maturity ; and sometimes, but rarely, fishes will lose not only their ground color, but all color markinys and become albinos. When considering the reproductive processes, fishes are divided into two classes—oviparous, or ege-produc- ing, and ovoviviparous or vivparous, or live bearing. The first embraces most of the fishes; the second a very small number of the families, so called or near fishes as sharks and rays. Eggs of oviparous fishes are fertilized by the male after they have been extruded by the female, and are _ hatched in the water. Eggs of ovoviviparous, or more commonly viviparous fishes are fertilized and hatched within the body of the female, and the young issue fully ~ formed. As a rule those of neither division possess external _ genital organs. Such organs as exist are within the body and very primitive. They consist chiefly of a pair of ovaries or roe, for the female, and a pair of testes or milt, for the male. In the ease of ege producing fishes, the milt is dis- charged through the vent into the water, and from there the germ cells seek and fertilize the eggs express- ‘ed a few seconds before by the female. Only one germ- ell can enter an egg, and this by way of the micrpyle— a minute opening at the upper pole. In view of the fact that fertilization with this class of fishes is external, it seems inexplicable that the life of the germ-cells in F; water is brief, not more than three minutes, generally less than a minute and a half. _ external organ in the form of either a small fleshy pro- _ jection of papilla, or a tube, sometimes temporary in » character and sometimes permanent. of viviparous fishes convey the milt into the ovary by means of cartilaginous attachments to the ventral fin. _ The eggs of viviparous fishes are hatched either in the --- ovary or in a dilated part of the oviduct, which in such an instance bears a resemblance to a real uterus. - . Eggs of fish vary in size according to species and the age of the parent. The ova of a trout five years old are appreciably larger than ones spawning for the first time. The period of hatching varies greatly according to fami- Heel: ‘The eggs of some fishes are hatéhed in about two including some of the. ae Rarely, the male of a species possesses a rudimentary. But the majority | FISHERMAN 565 days, those of others require as many as four months. Water temperature has a marked effect on the period of incubation. It is lengthened by colder water and shortened by-warmer. As an illustration of the strong influence that temperature has, at 34 degrees F., it takes about 120 days for brook trout eggs to hateh ; at 46 degrees it is 60 days, and at 52 degrees they hatch in 45 days. A fish’s egg is a perfect sphere in shape. In the upper pole there is a minute hole called a mycropyle, surround- ed by a glutinous rim. Water enters the myerople along with the germ-cell and swells it, until the mycrople is closed and sealed by. the glutinous rim. The shell of the egg is membraneous, and in most species is translucent. Hence the different stages of de- velopment of the embryo are open to study through the human eye. This glimpse, which Nature allows into one of her greatest and most wonderful mysteries, appar- ently demonstrates that the transition, in fish at least, from latent to active life is instantaneous and _ not gradual. With different mpanicn: the specific gravity of eggs varies greatly. Some are heavy and hold to the bottom as firmly as pebbles; others are semi-bouyant; while others—and this is general among pelagic fishes—float on the surface.. A small drop of oil beneath the upper pole is what gives most eggs their buoyancy. Methods of disposal and eare of eggs vary greatly among oviparous fishes. Some build nests, deposit the eggs loosely thereon, and care for them and the young for shorter or longer periods; others have their ova connected by gelatinous substances, and fasten them to submerged vegetation ; others have separate but adhesive eggs which are dropped and-become glued to vegetation and other under-water substances. Some attach the eggs to their bellies, after fertilization, or carry them in abdominal pouches; and others carry them in their mouths. Among nest building fishes it is the male, usually, that constructs the nest and cares for the young, al- though occasionally the female joins in the latter duty. Maturity varies as widely as the methods of repro- duction. Some reach the period in one year; others in two, more in three, and some are four years in reach- ing spawning age. There is reason to believe that in rare instances the period is even much longer. The majority of fishes survive repeated spawnings, but. all the fishes of some species die after their first deposit of eggs. Superficially there is tremendous waste in the repro- ductive processes of fishes. Annually the number of eggs and young from the females is so prodigious that if all the first were to hatch and the young mature, in ‘a few years neither the seas nor the fresh water could contain them. Very few egg-producing fishes furnish less than a thousand ova at a spawning; those that give fifty to one thousand are common; and some, like the eel, yield mil- lions. But as a rule, only a small percentage of the eggs hatches, and a still smaller percentage of the young reaches maturity. It has been estimated that in the ease of many species the surviving percentage is less than two per cent. Nature designed the surplus of fish eges and fish as food for fish, and that there should ‘be only enough survivors to maintain the species from extinction, with perhaps a slight increase. Movement in fishes is as diverse as many of their ‘ether characteristics, Some are pronouncedly nomadic, 566 moving from place to place, apparently without definite purpose except to follow foods or leave changing tem- peratures. Others seldom leave a chosen place through- out their lives, unless compelled by unfavorable sur- roundings. In both classes fishes are found that are gregarious and solitary in their habits. Another group is strongly migratory, journeying from one definite place to another and back again about the same time annually. Migration is usually connected with the reproductive instinct, and it may be from one locality in salt water to another; or from salt water into fresh, or from fresh water into salt. Those which migrate into fresh water are called anadromous fishes, and those entering salt water are termed catadromous. It is among these two that are found species of which either all or a large percentage die after spawning once. Herring, shad, salmon and several other of our most valuable food fishes are among the true migratory fishes. A few species of fishes are inedible or downright pois- onous, but the great majority is excellent and healthy food. In fact it is, in many respects the most important at the command of. man. The prosperity of some na- tions depends largely on their fisheries. International disputes, and even wars, have been founded over fisherv rights and control. Undisputed rights are jealously euarded by stringent laws. Occasionally in past years. where, for some temporary cause local demand for fish food fell off, laws were made which compelled a restoration of the consumption to at least a normal amount. An instance is said to have occurred in England, in the reign of Queen Eliza- beth, when the Privv Council ordained two fish days each week, during which it would be unlawful under a heavv money penalty, to sell or eat any flesh save that of fish. Fishing, as a means of livelihood, is contemporaneous with human trade, althoneh some ancient nations con- sidered it an unpardonable sin to eat fish. It was a long while before people in the far east dared, or were allowed. to eat fish. because of a belief that the blood was unhealthful and a breeder of many dreaded diseases, among them leprosy. At length. aecording to tradition, Mahomet by the verformance of a miracle caused fish to become healthful, and made it possible for them to be lawful food. He took a specially | prepared knife, blessed it and threw it into the sea. By so doing, the throats of all the fish in the world were miraculously ¢ut, and the unhealthy blood liberated without killing the fish. The wounds thus made by the knife never healed, and they are now known to skept'- eal moderns as the gill openings in the back of the head. Ancient Greeks possessed no fear of bad effects from eating fish, but they did believe it to be unlucky to see a fish die. They got over this disaster by hiring peovle for whom bad luck had no further terrors, to kill fish . in the markets, for customers. If superstition counts for anything, it is lucky to carry a fish seale in the pocket book. It is also lucky to carry the neck bone of a cavalle in the pocket. A very pretty superstition, and one which displays a knowledge of human nature, is held by gypsies. If a girl wishes to see the form of her future husband and also what luck she will have in her married life, she goes to a cross-road on St. George’s night, bearing with her a plate of fried fish and a glass of brandy. Seating herself on the ground, she places the articles named in front of her and waits. Presently the form of her intended husband’ confronts her. If he takes up the platter of fish, the married life of the CANADIAN FISHERMAN January, 1918 girl will be happy. If he picks up the glass of brandy first, the wedded life will be wretched. If he takes neither, one of them at least will die within a year. CHAPTER IL. Sharks, Skates and Rays. Under the popular name of fishes is found a group called Sharks and Rays, members of a primitive form and structure when compared with bony fishes. Sharks, skates and rays are perhaps the most interesting among all the groups both from a scientific and speculative standpoint. Unquestionably they are one of the foun- dations on which the structure of Telecosts or true fishes rests, and there is reason to think, on account of the superior character of the heart which they possess, that in some remote time, their blood was warmer than now, and that Nature at first designed to develop the shark landward, but afterward changed her mind. A Sharks have a pedigree which dates back at least to the upper Silurian age, which precedes the Devonian, the period when fishes were predominant animal life. With the advent of the Carboniferous period there were not less than ten families with a numerous variety of forms. In a latter age, the Jurassic, all the Sharks excepting one family became extinet, and from that one family has radiated all the modern sharks. One species of the most ancient families has survived everv _ age and remains practically unchanged in form: it is known as the Port Jackson Shark. an inhabitant of the waters around Australia. Several of its characteristics lead to the conviction that originally sharks were al- together bottom feeders, living principally on shell-fish. and that their present dependence on floating food was due to changed food conditions. There are many radical differences between Sharks and Rays, and Teleosts or bony fishes. The greatest is the interior frame work. Sharks are without bony skeleton, and in most instances there is no calcined mat- ter excepting in the vertebral segments. The vertebrae is notochordal, surrounded by segmented cartilage The skull is also cartilaginous and of the ‘simplest form. merely a box-like casing for the brain. Sharks are with- out scales; in their place are minute ossified projections enameled and closely set, giving a sand-papery feel when the hand is rubbed in one direction over the skin. For greater effectiveness in their original character as _ bottom feeders, Sharks were given a vertebrated tail with an upward curve, and this peculiarity is found in the modern species. Sharks vary in reproductive processes. Some deposit eggs and others are viviparous. In neither ease are they solicitous parents, for they abandon their eges or their young, as it may be, immediately after delivery. The viviparous sharks produce few young, but the per- centage of loss is thought to be very small. Spawn of egg bearing sharks is wonderfully protect- ed from attacks of food hunters. The ege has a dark colored horny case of varying form, according to genera. with filaments attached to hold them to the kelp or other sea weed, among which they are deposited. Some are pillow-shaped or quadrate, with filaments at the cor- ners, while others are spiral formed, with a pair of long twisted filaments at one end, like the fibre of a tree root. This last is not found along the Atlantie coast of North America, but is confined to the Pacifie water-. ee ae ee Sas I Eeent Es 8 ; ferdee) - shark for the sake of the rich oil which the liver con- January, 1918 after the manner of certain species of: whales. < and belongs specifically to the Port Jackson shark. According to the popular mind, all sharks are en- dowed with hideous ferocity and aggressive man-eating proclivities. Yet comparatively few deserve the dread- ful reputation they possess, or warrant the terror they inspire. The few species of man-eating sharks which exist belong to warmer waters than ours, and the one or two species which are occasionally seen along our coast. are only stragglers, with the exception of the neighbor- hood of Florida. Those of the dangerous species which _ are found in that locality and occasionally stray a lit- tle further north, are the Man-eating sharks, the Tiger Shark and the Cub Shark. All the others are either ' harmless or generally likely to let man severely alone. Many of the sharks are more or Tess truly pelagic in their character and therefore are visitors rather than residents. Some are very rare. Those found more or less frequently in the more northern waters are the basking shark, Mackerel shark, sand shark, thrasher shark, ham mer head shark, dog shark. dusky shark, black-finned shark and smooth dog shark. Some of these are little known and seldom encountered. The largest and per- haps the most striking of the sharks in northern waters is the Basking Shark. It is a native of the near arctics and seldom found below northern New England. Under normal conditions it is very lethargic and seldom moves far from one place. Few sharks attain as great a size as the Basking, which is thirty feet or more, and, like many other huge crea- tures, is harmless when not disturbed. Even when wounded the danger to man is not from deliberate at- tack, but from accidental blows of its powerful tail, while in excess of terror it is trying to escape. That it is not _ a man-eater shark is indicated by the teeth, which are small and weak. As a matter of fact the principal foods are believed to be jelly fishes, small fish, shrimps and other diminutive crustaceans. Moreover, the character THE BASKING SHARK, OK BONE SHARK, ¥ Crrotrinus maxiows, (L.) BI TC aihadtleg 11 0th treoe Mate © hisaion 88 of the gill rakers suggests that the shark strains its leer et, “while indications point to its not being a man eater, at least once in its family career, if Bishop Gunner of _ Norway is correct, a Basking shark made itself famous by swallowing Jonah of Biblical fame, notwithstanding the Sacred Book credits a whale with having performed the miraculous act. A Basking shark loves to rise sluggishly to the surface. _ and bask there for hours in the sunlight, with its dor- sal fin and nearly half its body out of water. Hence its name, Basking shark. It has other names. Off the coast of Ireland, where it is quite abundant, it is called sun fish, and in other places it is variously known as sail fish and homer, a corruption of Hoe-mother, another - name. : Where it is abundant, fishermen pursue the basking CANADIAN FISHERMAN 67 tains. It is said that a single basking shark will yield ten or twelve barrels of oil. A harpoon is the imple- ment used for the shark’s capture, and when one is struck, it is only after a long time, much excitement and occasionally some danger that it is killed. Mackerel Shark. Although by no means numerous, the mackerel shark also as frequently called porbeagle, is found in North American waters between Newfoundland and Florida. It is this shark that is usually the innocent cause of frantic terror to bathers on the New Jersey coast, by swimming so close to the surface as to exhibit its fin above. That fin instantly furnishes a mental photo- graph of a huge man-preying beast, with a great mouth filled with glistening white teeth, anxious for a meal of human flesh. While, in comparison with some other species of sharks, the mackerel does not grow very large—seldom exceeding eight or ten feet—there is some excuse for the terror which its presence inspires in the mind of the uninstructed, for it is a fierce and formidable looking creature, closely resembling in outward form the justly dreaded man-eater. Its snout THE MACKEREL SHARK. Lamna corubica, (Gmel) Fleming. (p. 870.) ‘ Desting by WU Nae tne Ba ILS Sera aden Oe Rota Cre a 600 git is prominent and sharply pointed, and its mouth is wide and armed with long, sharp lance-like teeth. But sharp and ugly though the teeth appear, they are evi- dently only for seizing and tearing, and not for eut- ting, as is typical with man-eaters. The mackerel shark is very voracious in pursuit of food and is specially fond of mackerel. It is this special weakness that has brought on the creature the name of mackerel shark. This shark is so fond of mackerel that it will, when it meets with a school, for- sake all else and cleave to it for days. Dashing into the midst of a mass of terror stricken fish it will seize one or more and often swallow them at once and whole so as to the sooner secure another mouthful. While not abundant along the Atlantic coast of the United States and the Dominion of Canada, it is plen- tiful around that of Great Britain. Years ago it was regularly hunted for the liver, which contains a large amount of oil. Of late years. before the outbreak of the great World War, the pursuit of this shark was greatly diminished because, it was claimed, that the livers did not contain as much oil as they did formerly. It is a little difficult to understand, however, that if in the past a liver yielded, as claimed, four or five barrels of oil, why it should not do so now. The hide of the mackerel shark as well as all other species of larger sharks are capable of being tanned into a high grade leather, and it is understood that a ready market can be’found at good prices for all that can be obtained. Very little is known of the breeding habits of the mackerel shark, excepting that. it is viviparous and that the number of young at a birth is small, 568 CANADIAN FISHERMAN Sand Shark. One shark of relatively large size found. in consid- erable numbers in northern waters is the Sand Shark. The phrase ‘‘relatively large’’ is used because speci- mens measuring nine or ten feet long, and having a weight of about two hundred pounds have been caught. The average size, however, !s only about six feet. It is a near relative of the fear inspiring mackerel shark, but is totally unlike it in its habits. Imstead of pur- suing a strenuous life chasing mackerel and other fish, swimming with speed close to the surface with fin out of water and scaring unsophisticated bathers half out of their senses, and like the ass in the lion’s skin, ape the actions of a man-eating shark, as does the mac- kerel, it generally leads a sluggish life. As a rule it hugs the bottom closely and seldom rises to the surface, unless the water in which it happens to be is shallow. As the usual haunts of the sand shark is on the bot- tom, and as it frequently approaches close to shore it is not uncommon for one or more of them to be unsus- pected among bathers. Partly because of this secretive habit, while the sand shark is hardly likely and never has been positively known to attack man, yet if the truth were known there is more to dread from the sharp and nearly triangular teeth than from those of the mackerel or any other species of shark that makes more or less of a practice of visiting northern waters. “There is indeed a strong suspicion that at least one sand shark attacked and. fatally injured five bathers along the coast of New Jersey in one week of the summer of 1916, =~ - ; A young man was bathing in the surf at Beach Hav- en when he was seized by one leg by a shark about six feet long. He was reached with great difficulty, the shark clinging to its prey for some minutes. Two days later a swimmer in the ocean at Spring Lake was at- tacked in the same manner. Three days afterwards three more bathers were.attacked within a few minutes of each other in Mattewan Creek, a stream flowing into the ocean near the northern limit of the State. Two of these three were injured in the same manner, that is to say by. having the flesh torn from a leg. The other had his abdomen torn out. All five died ~from their injuries. All these casualties not only oc- curred in a little more than a week, but were within a distance of 130 miles. Because of the peculiar nature of the wounds inflict- ed, that is to say, the flesh was in each case partly torn and not entirely. cut from the body, the general conclu- sion was reached that the horrors were not committed by any stray members of the man-eating sharks of the south, but by one or more of the northern sharks whose teeth are made for tearing rather than. cutting. As there were some evidences of cutting, such as might be done by the sand shark but not likely by the mackerel, suspicion finally rested on the former. As the area in which the attacks were made was only.one hundred miles in length and all-in less than. ten days, and as. no more were. made afterward, another conelusion was™ reached, namely that the work was all done by one- shark. There is nothing remarkable in the assumption or the theory that a member of a species of shark not in the habit of attacking man.should under certain con-— ditions change its mode. of life and feed. on human flesh. It.is a well settled fact that any .kind of shark having once fed on human flesh acquires a taste for could hear my twitters. .-pand, and gather force to beat the band, my intellect is sailing, my intellect that once was limp—and all January, 1918 it, and like a tiger under similar circumstances is ‘thereafter an inveterate man-eater. It may be assumed that while the young man at Beach Haven was bathing, he unwittingly bumped into a sand shark, and that in resentment it turned on him and seized the white flesh on the bare leg. Escaping after the rescue of the victim, the shark with a mem- ory of the taste started on its quest of horror and at- tacked every bare human be‘ng it met until it was at last caught and killed. : Sand shark fishing is a favorite sport off the coast of New England. At times the creatures are so numer- ous that one fisherman may capture half-a dozen or more in a single day. Since the dreadful attacks on bathers in 1916, shark fishing has become very popu- lar along the New Jersey coast. The hooking, playing and capture of a sand shark yields exciting but not necessar'ly dangerous sport. It requires from half an hour to more than an hour to play out and gaff and boat a medium-sized specimen. Rotel, Many fishermen use hand lines in fishing for sand — sharks, but rod fishermen are numerous. Occasionally a man is found who uses only an eight-nought or a _ ~nine-nought hook when after this fish, and that man has all the enjoyment it is possible to get out of ang- ling. More use regular shark hooks fastened to a short chain. Only a stiff heavy rod is used and only a line that can stand a heavy and prolonged strain. The use of an ordinary sea fishing rod would mean a limited safety strain on rod, an almost interminable fight, un- necessary fatigue and painful muscles. A shark ex- hibits no tricks nor cunning when hooked such as does a game fish. From the time of its being hooked until -it is gaffed there is no possibility of a shark escap- ing unless the line is severed by its sharp teeth, or by an extra exertion of its great strength it breaks the | tackle. That is why few fishermen care to prolong the fight of a large Sand Shark, and why heavy tackle _ is preferred to that ordinarily used in sea fishing. When a shark is hooked there ensues a struggle which is one of the strength of man, assisted by a good strong rod, reel and line against the strength of a shark: The chances of victory are strongly in favor of the one having the greatest endurance. Usually the reel helps the man to that. — as 3 EATING FISH. _— es The highbrow scientists explain that fish builds up the human brain, and that is what we’re needing; the brains are punk beneath our hats, and in our belfries many bats forevermore are speeding. Economists are saying now, that fish is better than a cow, it is the proper diet, if we would help the Allies’ cause, and make the gory Teuton pause, in Europe’s brutal riot. Come, let us fill ourselves with fish! It is the patriotic dish, and it will make us brainy; we’ll grow so wise from eating trout, we’ll know too much to venture out, when it is cold or rainy. Through all the brooks and ponds I search, for catfish, suckers, cod and perch, -and other finny critters, and I am getting so blamed smart, my cleverness would break your heart, if you I feel my good old brain ex- this comes from eating shrimp, and mackerel and grayling. And all the time, by eating fish, I’m doing ‘what the Allies wish, conserving swine and eattle; and as I chew a six-foot eel, within my glowing breast | feel I’help to win a battle-—By Walt Mason, * January, 1918 CANADIAN FISHERMAN N65 More Fish Less Meat Save the Meat for our SOLDIER BOYS IN THE TRENCHES Real Bargains Encourage the Government in the good work of solving the food question. This can only be done by installing a good FISH BOX for storage of same. Complies with the Government re- quirements. Easily moved, and an at- tractive fixture, finished in WHITE ENAMELLED or MISSION. Built on the same STANDARD as our REFRIGERA- TORS. We can build them CHEAPER, but we won’t. We would build them BETTER, but we ean ’t. Do not neglect to Write to-day for CATALOGUE showing FISH BOXES—Sent Free. Manufactured by: The W. A. Freeman Co., Ltd., Hamilton, Ont. Montreal: Toronto: Toronto: DANIEL, H.H. NEIL, P. D. DAVIDSON, G, SIMORELS, Canada Gas Power Engines complete with batteries, spark coil and spark plug. New and absolutely guaran- teed. These are specially suitable for small fishing boats, and are high grade engines in every way. Write Marine Sales Dept. to-day. The A. R. Williams Machinery Co., Limited 16 Richmond Sq. 72 Chester Ave. 344 Markham St. TORONTO - CANADA Tel. Up. 8547. College 8794. -: Index to Advertisers os A. os ee ee Mire eis | ree Ltd. . a reg vag Cold Storage Co. ‘i A Gas Engines, Ltd. ray and Prior gr ine COs. és oy ea og B. Guarantee Motor oe 2 e481 New England Fish “Company, Lta. 15 Bliss, E. W. Co. . 59 Guest, W. J., Fish "68: The cs. 88 Niagara Motors Corporation ...... 98 Booth Fisheries Co. of Canada, Ltd. 90 H Noble, Charles, Jr., Co., Inc. 93 Bowman, J., and Co. ‘ 96 ; Nova Scotia Government 86 Brandram Henderson Co., Ltd. 63 Hallam, John, Ltd. .. .. 4. «- 93 o British Columbia Government NES 12 Hore a B'S ip OO. 2s cas Woes ae a Oucavia EE NE eae) yg samgainatll ae . oe npg 14 Hatton, D., Co... ... 17 O’Connor’s Fish Market — a) ec 93 Brown Engineering " Corporation, Hillock, John and Co. 73 Pp ; Ltd. i San eae ee Hudon Fish Co. .. .. : 2 “ ‘c. Hyde Windlass Co. 73 i Sigg ant Motor Co. .. 79 itt, shmonger . 2 raspy extection Motor ¢ Co 72 5 a Polson «Iron: Works). ot Ase s 88 Ganadian-Fairbanks-Morse Co., Ltd. Imperial Oil, Ltd. . a rage & Sa hiseinaps 2 Cordage Co. .. .. .. 16 Canadian Fish and Cold Storage Independent Cordage Co., Ltd. .. 16 rocess Engineers, Ltd. .. .. 83 Co., et ee Independent Rubber Co., Ltd. .. 71 Q. Canadian Fisheries’ Association a3 J. ; Quebec Government .. 92 prego ag any 69 Jacobson Gas. Engine Co. 81 R. Canadian Milk Products, cae 82 James, F. T., Co., Ltd. 97 Robbins, Chas. C,, Inc. 87 Canadian Oil Co., 65 EK. Robbins, F. R, and Co. 87 Canadian Pearl Button “Co. " Ltd. Kermath Motor..Co: Roberts Motor 69 Connors’ Brothers, Ltd. Kildala Packing Co., Ltd. . 5 Robin, Jones and Whitman, Ltd. 93 Consumers Cordage Co., Ltd. Front Cover ala & Robinson, Thomas .. 85 Cullen Motor Co. ; eis i. is * ted eas re ieouseo TPisheries, Ltd. “Back Gover eroele! tg Co... .. oa , cott an (s) Np) a a Ane i Detbrisay, M., were oe ae Vinca Willey and Co tes ae nach iders Mh lg pee i we eT a Co., "Lita. 88 Linde Canadian Refrigeration Co., Starifonk. nnery , Machi nes Co., Ltd. me aig z. Tapoark. Cunningham and Co., “ta. ° hia Ae gsr and Satie aca . r : Pate ame ae Co Co.* - 2 Lipsett, Edward ‘ 3 Seeman: as Engine Co 1g vinrude otor Lockeport Cold Storage Co., ‘Lita, Sprague Canning “Mach. Co. 78 or hpoargl ner Co., Ltd. 4 ee ow. 8. Co Motor Co. i. ok weed gh Finklestein, Max. . London and Petrolia Barrel Co., Ltd. 84 orne, W. an 0. eae © 83 Tne: 87 tag rades ai ‘ani’ ca 85 x BB ds M. vt. Tuckett Tobacco ee td. an "? arcon on eee 74 Maritime Fish Corporation, Ltda)! 91 WatueriPincuee te . Forge, Peter 84 McAvity, T., and Sons, Ltd. .. .. 74 We rein Pa ere?) Lta. 9 Freeman and Cobb Co.. Ine. is Mueller, Charles, Co., Ltd. .. .. 84 ae aint ye a a, 1 7 - Freeman, W. rae Mustad, O., and Son... 7 Whitman, Arthur N. Lta. 88 ich BF‘ and.Co. 80 m. Whittall, A. R., Can. Co. Ltd. . 78 angen ia Ropework Scott Co. Ltd.. 7 National Service Board .. Williams, A. R., Machinery Co., Ltd. 57 FISH AND THE STATE. The Toronto News says editorially: The decision of GCANADIAN FISHERMAN the Ontario Government greatly to extend its war-time | fishery activities means that the people will have a constant and plentiful supply of excellent fish at cost price. other fresh-water fish at figures well within the power of their purses. This reform will enable the commun- ity to conserve beef, bacon and other foodstuffs for shipment to the Allied armies and peoples. conditions will never be revived. All fisheries will ultimately be nationalized. * Mr. Moreton Frewen, a member of the British House | They will have whitefish, trout, herring and _ The pub-. lie benefit here. at home will be so great that the old — Taek of Commons, writing with authority on economic ques- — tions, has contributed to The Nineteenth Century an . marine engines, and speed being an essential factor to article on the relation of States to fisheries. He insists upon the great abundance of fish life. the effect that the meat yield of an average acre of ocean off the Nore is greater than the meat yield of 100 acres of the best Northamptonshire pasture. Mr. Frewen questions the wisdom of applying all the scientific energy of the country to the cultivation of the land while neglecting, or practically neglecting, 4 He recalls a_ statement made forty years ago by Sir John Lawes to , the cultivation of the sea. He explains that the busi-— ness of fishing is conducted on a wasteful principle, particularly in Great Britain, where the expenditure on re-stocking is not over $250,000 a year, about one- fifth of the amount expended by Canada and one- twenty-fifth of that spent by the United States. The investment of some $25,000,000 by Canada an scien- tific fish propagation and preservation, Mr. Frewen adds, returns every year an amount equal to the whole investment and ten millions more. In this country we realize that we are only dabbling so far, but the profitable result of the dabbling should lead to more thoroughgoing methods of food produc- tion from our coast and inland waters. As Mr. Frewen intimates, the public taste for fish as a staple article of diet should be cultivated. By comparing food pro- duction on the broad lands of the world with the growth of population, he shows that consumption is rapidly . overhauling supply. The war is largely responsible, it is true, for the present situation. merely hastened the crisis. For generations the world has looked to meat as the chief article of diet. It is time to turn to fish. Since the ocean is common to all, Mr. Frewen de- elares that the business of fish ‘conservation rests of right with the State. He endorses the proposal of Lord Dunraven that fishing should become a Govern- ment industry, that wholesale prices should be fixed by the State, and that cold storage warehouses should be established in every town to equalize the pressure of distribution. He cites in this connection what has been done already as an emergency measure by the Provincial Government of Ontario, and by the Com- missioner of Fisheries for California, Col. Harris Wine- stock. Col. Winestock declares to the people of his State: ‘‘You can have fish as cheap as you please, if you will only eat more fish.’’ That is the requirement. A public demand for more and still more fish should bring into being in almost every country a combined system of State fishing, dis- tribution, and replenishment. Further, since fish is among the most wholesome of foods, and since it can Still the war has . January, 1918 be laid down, under Government supervision, for a low cost, the problem of under-nourishment which fosters tuberculosis among the poor, may be solved. Beef may: fail. Mutton, and even pork, may become scarce, but the sea is a great storehouse of food which — the world has neglected too long. THE MARINE ENGINE IN THE FISHIN INDUSTRY. One of the greatest help to increased production in the fishing industry is the marine engine, and our Canadian fishermen are quick to grasp this fact. The day of sculling or pulling against an adverse wind to the fishing grounds is gone, and today not only is fish- | ing prosecuted in a motor-driven boat, but the fisher- man is finding that there is a great difference in success in the catch, two and four-cylinder motors of the highest type are finding ready demand throughout the country in the industry. - 2 ie According to latest statistics, there are over 12,000 motor boats employed in the Canadian fishing in- dustry, besides a number of motor vessels of the larger type. This is an increase of approximately 4,000 in © two years, and, with the tremendous production pro- mised for 1918, it is safe to say that Canadian fisher- men will be in the market for hundreds of marine en- — gines of all types this coming spring. . : Newfoundland, too, presents a growing field for th marine engine. Ten years ago it was a novelty to see a fisherman of that colony owning a motor-driven boat. Today it is the exception to see an up-to-date fishing engine minus one. One marine engine manufacturer alone claims to have over 2,000 engines in operation in Newfoundland’s fishing industry. - Marine engine manufacturers should find in Can- ada’s and Newfoundland’s fishing industries one of the greatest outlet in 1819 for their product. . | The Roberts Motor Mfg. Company, Sandusky, Ohio, are placing on the market a two-cylinder four-eycle motor, rated 5 to 8 H.P. This motor is particularly adapted to small fishing boats, and one that will burn kerosene without any special equipment. It is 334” bore, 4’’ stroke, and weighs 178 Ibs. It is an ideal mo- tor from a standpoint that it is economical in opera-. tion, has flexible power, and will give dependable service, behind which it has the Roberts Motor Mfg. Company’s many years’ experience in the building of | marine aeronautic and stationary engines. ; The price of this motor. which is their Model H-2 is $100.00 F.0.B. Sandusky, Ohio. A four-cycle motor that. can be so'd at this price is one that the trade has been looking for, and they at present have on their books a number of orders for 90 days’ delivery, their eustom- ers having placed these orders. so that they may re- ceive their motors out of the allotment at present going through the factory. CUTTING AND WASHINGTON INC. MOVE SALES OFFICE. Sage a Cutting and Washington Ine. radio engineers and manufacturers have moved their sales office from the factory 26 Portland St., Cambridge, Mass, to 1147 - Little Building, Boston, Mass. This change was ne- cessary not only for the convenience of clients but on account of their rapidly expanding business. January, 1918. GANADIAN FISHERMAN 59 ri - capa, . RES : noi K w.pniss oo: ~~ ug ts & = BROOKLYN. NHS it 1 Modern Cannery Practice Allows little time to clapse between the catch and the final operations on the pack. Prompt and continuous streams of all the elements necessary to make cans are depended upon to avert loss. Clean cut, high quality output required of all “Bliss’ Automatic Can Making Machinery, ‘but steadily continued production at high speed is likewise a feature of importance. These things have been developed in The “Bliss” lines through nearly sixty years of experience and co-operation with canners and can makers in all parts of the world. “BLISS” AUTOMATIC ROUND-CAN DOUBLE-END FLANGER, NO, 15-K. This machine flanges both ends of can bodies simultaneously and is entirely automatic and continuous in operation. It producés flanges on 100 to 150 cans per : minute and can be readily adjusted from one size to another. Write for Catalogue Section No. 18-A E. W. BLISS COMPANY Main Office and Works; BROOKLYN, N.Y., U.S.A. ‘ CHICAGO OFFICE DETROIT OFFICE CLEVELAND OFFICE 1857 People’s Gas, Bldg. Dime Bank Bldg. Union Bank Bldg. 1917 LONDON, S.E., ENGLAND, Pocock Street, Blackfriars Road PARIS, FRANCE, 100 Boulevard Victor-Huge St. Quen -BILLINGSGATE. MARKET. . 6s ale London, December 8th, 1917. Supplies have shown a slight improvement this week, but are still much below requirements. The features of the week’s landings have been the arrival of fair catches of deep-sea fish caught in waters other than those adjacent to the British Isles — the comparative abundance of haddocks in landings at East Coast ports, the shortage in cod, and seasonal suplies of: sprats. For the greater part of the week the weather was b't- terly cold, which always checks demands in the con- suming centres; the result has been that while prices have shown some fall at the coast ports, only trifling it is true, values current at Billingsgate and other dis- tributing markets have rendered trading more or less unremunerative, Herrings have been very short, and prices have touched £10.0.0 per barrel; in pre-war days £4.0.0 would have been considered almost a fabulous figure, even at this time of year. Mackerel supplies have shown a marked falling off. With the shortage in ‘herrings there has been more or less of a famine in bloaters and kippers, and cold store stocks have been requisitioned to tide over the time of scarcity; even then rates have ruled at a level bringing these popular cured fish well within the category of ‘‘luxuries.’’ With markets in their present condition those firms which have been fortunate enough to secure freight for miporting frozen fish from the other side of the Atlantie should have transacted fair business, although of course as dead as the proverbial door nail, but during recent weeks inquiry has shown fair animation, prices - being quite buoyant. Here are a few typical import- er’s prices, ex-cold store, England: Salmon, by the ease, 1s 214d to Is 6d per lb.; halibut, 1s 4d; case lots, 1s 214d to 1s 3d-per lb; fresh haddocks, 9s to 9s 6d; cod, 9s to 9s 6d; hake, 9s 6d; codfish, 8s 6d; dabs, 10s 6d per stone. Home caught fish, refrigerated when supplies were more generous. herrings, pds per 100; mackerel, 8s 6d per score. -When it is borne in mind that the deep-sea fish are headed, gutted, and trimmed, thus reducting waste to a minimum, these figures are very reasonable compared with those ruling for fish from home waters. London, December 15th, 1917. General supplies received at the consuming centres this week can be considered fairly generous. Landings at different ports have varied from day to day, some ports being blank on one day, and. other ports on another occasion. Taking the fishing ports collectively, Wednesday was the most unfavorable day, a dense fog then holding up the arrivals of boats at several places. Haddocks have again been prominent in the catches from the North Sea grounds, while rather more cod has been available, and prices: for the latter, although. still high, have been less excessive.’ Among flat fish, rates for plaice have weakened, more at the distribut- ing markets than at the coast. Most other kinds of flat fish have continued expensive, halibut on some occasions commanding more money than turbots. Of the commoner kinds in request by friers, sup- plies have been scanty, dogfish on several days making as much as fresh haddocks, while good roker has been dear throughout. There has been a marked scarcity in herrings, and those arriving from the West of England, together with a few from Ireland, have gone out to a keen de- = CANADIAN FISHERMAN January, 1918. mand at very tall figures, £9.0.0 and upwards per _ barrel being touched. Mackerel, too, has been quite scarce. Bloaters and kippers have been quite out of reach of the majority of fishmongers, being fully 4d and 5d per pair for kippers and about the same rates each for bloaters, on the wholesale market, as com- pared with an average retail rate of 1d and 144d in each case in pre-war days. Smoked haddocks also have been at famine prices. Sprats have been pretty plentiful, but in sympathy with herrings and mackerel have realized big rates. ; Inquiry for frozen fish keeps fairly steady; this is quite contrary to the usual experience~at this sea- son of the year when trade is generally dormant. Prices are well maintained with a stiffening tendency. London, December 22, 1917. The markets this week have not presented any special feature of interest. In the week preceding Christmas demand is always an uncertain factor, and this year has brought no exception to the rule. Sup- plies have varied from day to day, but on the whole aggregate landings save been fairly sufficient. Fog, however, especiall yat mid-week disturbed the regu- lar course of business so far as supplies was concerned, the markets being almost empty on some days when business commenced the belated consignments in some instances not arriving until past noon. Among prime — fish, soles have been reasonably cheap, nor have either turbots or brills been at excessive figures as things go now-a-days. Plaice has hardened in value as the week has progressed ; cod has been appreciably cheaper ; had-- docks, despite pretty good landings, have been firm throughout. The shortage in bacon and other food- stuffs, together with a great scarcity in kippers and, bloaters, has given a big impetus to the consumption of smoked haddocks, and curers have been heavy buy- ers; prees, for smoked haddocks, however, have risen sharply with the greater demand, and this will no doubt check demand. All kinds of friers’ fish—dog- fish, catchfish, monkfish, ete——continue expensive, while ,hake has averaged well over 15s per stone. Herrings and mackerel have been very scarce all the week; fair deliveries of sprats, but prices high in sym- - pathy with the general tone of the market. eS Inquiry for frozen fish remains steady, with no marked fluctuations in rates. General supplies for the next three months may be expected to be erratic, and frozen fish, were it prominently offered at the principal markets in the big consuming centres woul meet a good reception. London, December 28h, 1917. This week’s training, of course, has been broken by the Christmas Holidays. No business whatever was transacted at any of the English ports or markets on Christmas Day, but contrary to the experience of re-. cent years, when the training on Bank Holidays has been quite of a ‘‘holiday’’ character, demand on Box- ing Day was fairly brisk for the fish available. The week’s markets may be summarized thus: inquiry more or less active throughout, with prices well maintained and exhibiting a hardening tendency towards the close. On Christmas Eve there was an insatiable demand for cured (smoked) haddocks, and the available sup- | ply was rapidly exhausted at famine figure; in fact, one salesman in Billingsgate made as much as 54s per dozen, 4s 6d each for a smoked haddock, first hand, i January, 1918. CANADIAN FISHERMAN i a ete 6] W. R. SPOONER W holesale and Commission Dealer Fish of all Kinds 119 Youville Square, : MONTREAL * I am in the market at all times to Buy or Sell on Commission, Fresh, Frozen, Smoked and Salt Sea and Lake Fish, in Carload Lots or Less. Correspondence Solicited " Representing National Fish Company, Limited Halifax and Port Hawkesbury - N.S. “Nati 1 B a” ationa ran Haddies, oe : : Gass | Producers Fillets, Fresh, Peppers, Frozen Bloaters and Salt Scotch Cured Herring. Sea Fish STEAM TRAWLER TRIUMPH. LAKE FISH SEA FISH J. Bowman & Co., Port Arthur, Ont. Wabakin Fish Co., Montreal, Que. A. W. Fader, Canso, N.S. . BONELESS COD FISH National Fish Co., Ltd., Halifax and Port R. E. Jamieson, Rustico, P.E.I. Hawkesbury, N.S. ae ———_ 574 CANADIAN FISHERMAN and although one is not warranted in giving this rate as a market quotation, it speaks volumes for the popu- larity of this excellent breakfast fish that a fishmonger should be found willing to pay such a price. The marked shortage in bloaters and kippers has given added zest to the demand for smoked haddocks. As this report leaves London the fish trade is greatly perturbed by the possibility of the virtual closing down of an important section of the trade, viz., the fish friers. For many months friers have been faced by a growing scarcity of oil and dripping, and now the order has gone forth from the Food Controller that the fish trade must wait for the allocation of supplies of cooking fats. Unless sufficient pressure can be placed on the authorities to give the fish trade a fair share of the fats and oils available it will be a Serious matter for the fishing industry. The friers purchase huge quantities of the commoner and rougher kinds of edible fish, for which there is no other outlet, and it is no ex- aggeration to state that were friers compelled to-sus- pend business tons of good food would be unmarket- able. Reviewing the year 1917 it must be said that despite tremendous difficulties the fishing industry has been successful in ‘‘carrying on’’ fairly well. The catch- ers have had the time of their lives, prices having steadily risen throughout the twelve months. Mer- chants and salesmen on the whole have just managed to come out on the right side of the ledger, but the fierce competition to secure supplies has resulted in business being cut very fine., Fortunately, the public has responded pretty well to the increased cost of fish, otherwise many traders would have been ‘‘in the cart.”’ No doubt the growing scarcity of other foodstuffs has assisted the fish trade, or perhaps it would be more correct to say that the supplies of fish have eased the food stringency. Quite a fillip has been given to the sale of frozen fish, the institution of frozen fish rations for the Canadian troops, which were afterwards ex- tended to the British and Allied Forces, having se- cured great publicity in the daily papers. This, of course, is mainly due to the enterprise of Major Hugh A. Green, who must certainly be considered a great asset to the fisheries of Canada. trade in Canada to consolidate the footing gained in the markets of the United Kingdom, and to this end the trade in the Dominion should unite in placing pres- sure on the powers that be for the provision of the necessary freight. It is perhaps useless under present circumstances for individual merchants to expect to obtain refrigerated space for small consignments, but a number of firms could combine and thus make a sub- It is now up to the . January, 1918. stantial shipment. There is little doubt that Billings- gate, London, is the centre to which supplies should be sent, and the good offices of the High Commissioner in London, and our own Board of Agriculture and Fisheries, should be enlisted to place before the publie the fine qualities of Canadian frozen fish. — London, January 5, 1918. Contrary to the usual experience, when demand for most kinds slackens appreciably after Christmas, trade this week has been sustained throughout. Landings ‘at the West Coast ports have been fairly liberal, but with the exception of Hull, where some good catches were landed from the deep-sea grounds on Monday, de- liveries at East Coast centres have been uniformally light. An average number of trawlers has reached Grimsby, but. their catches have been meagre in the extreme, pointing to stress of weather at the fishing grounds. : ‘ The comparative liberal quantity forward at Hull on Monday resulted in good supplies being received at Billingsgate on Tuesday. Unfortunately an unknown ~ factor—the weather—upset all calculations. Rain had fallen during the night followed by a sharp frost, and the effect. was to make the roads, which are either asphalted or composed of wood blocks, just like a sheet of glass, and it was impossible for the horses bringing the vans of fish from the railway termini to obtain a footing. Finally, it was nine o’clock and past ere the greater part of the fish reached salesmen at Billings- gate. By this time the majority of fish-mongers have left the market to proceed with the day’s business. Since the opening of the New Year, supplies have gradually fallen off, and prices of most kinds have risen to, and have been maintained at excessive fig- ures. The only kinds at all plentiful have been sprats and herrings, but with the great shortage in other fish, and in all kinds of foodstufs, these kinds have been readily snapped up at famine figures. The erisis in the meat trade, which culminated in a_ perfect scramble for supplies to-day with large numbers of the public unable to obtain any meat, brought on a keen inquiry for herrings, the only fish at all plentiful, and big prices were paid, fishmongers returning to the market for further supplies during the morning. Canadian kippers would sell freely if available on the London market. Home-cured kippers are quite out of reach of the ordinary public, the demands of the Forces leaving very few for civilian consumption, with the inevitable result that prices are prohibitive to all except those with a long purse. : YOU are STRONGLY RECOMMENDED to send your Red Spring, Steelhead and Atlantic Salmon, also Dressed Halibut | GEO. TABOR, LTD., Peat House, Monument St., London, E. c. Pac (Estab. over 100 years.) We will either sell for you on Commission or buy firm for cash. Do not fail to send us your offers. Telegram :—Passport London. is Biase, January, 1918. CANADIAN FISHERMAN 63 Tug Helena at St. John, N.B., belonging to the Department of Public Works, Canada Ee Hi MARINE PAINTS Tugs, Fishing Schooners and Yachts that see constant service and experience hard usage should be protected inside and out with B-H ANCHOR MARINE PAINTS. Our Marine paints include everything needed for the complete ae i of a boat and a uniform high-quality runs throughout the entire line. Among the varieties we manufacture are: Hull Paints | Anti-Corrosive Composition Deck Paints ' Anti-Fouling Composition Marine Zinc White | Lower Hold ee Cabin Enamels Engine Enamels Copper Paints - Aluminum Paints White Lead Red Lead - : : Write us for prices and full information. Vm | Ni yy yf Tw iy “Wy iff? “Yl mM) i_ 7 <1. mage my U rn “yy Ay Y 7 y: Us M; wl y-*% iv -F Ui —Yy Cc @ ) =| a re Va) Wilh UtMtip 1,» M777 : Ul += a Mn Mtnwll 11> Urrrnrberureed may a) duclff /, —, tm hndbennnalll is mm 4 Mbtrsee ° dh Wotnnr, cheb nt M pranyuy ZY YY YY YY YY YN wy Ml — - Y, OKA ARM ELMO 4/ y Yyf ye UL Cl UL REAL + AS dine ® lle conn TORONTO Y ro WiNNiDe s & ZL dios EDM ONTOS | Vp COUN = or ~] for) CANADIAN FISHERMAN January, 1918. — "The Neal for’ Peehoieal Education tn (iene ishing Industry In Canada few of us realize that there are about one in seventy-three of our population earning their living by fishing, in the United States the proportion is about one in every eighty. The industry is worth. to the country ‘some thirty-nine million dollars\ and yet we have to ery in vain. for knowledge so that we! thay be... able to compete with all other fish producing coun- tries in the marketing of our produce. Why should it be more necessary to give a eulti- vation of the land, or rather those interested in it,’ every opportunity of acquiring technical knowledge and leave those associated with the collection of food from the waters in ignorance? We are told by some that the fishermen do not want technical education. and further, that it is unnecessary for the large staff associated with our various Federal and Provincial Departments to gain the knowledge one would have thought so necessary to their calling. Can we expect the best results when fishing licenses ean be obtained from a Provincial Department only so long as the applicant is on the right side of polities or in some other way is a ‘‘big man’’ in his district, and recommended by his M.P., irrespective of his know- ledge of his trade. Again, can we expect technical efficiency and economy of management when the staff for administration of our fisheries and in particular our hatcheries, is drawn from the ranks of school- masters, ministers, painters, mechanics, untrained farmers’ sons, stable helners and such like. What com- mercial undertaking could exist ten minutes under simi- lar conditions. It is true. many of these gentlemen acquire certain ‘‘rule of thumb’’ knowledge and rou- tine. for as a rule most of them content themselves in getting out statistics and writing reports on proposed regnlations and worrying over the question of their politieal effect in the district to which they are to be apvlied. Let us not. however. criticise the conditions of the fisheries service as it is, for that is outside the ques- tion at the moment, we only want to point out the necessity for training the many persons directly in- terested in our fisheries, even if they say. like so many of our farmers did. that thev do not need it. Agriculture would not be as it is to-day, were it not for education in its technical branches, is there anv reason therefore whv owning, as we do, the great- est fishings in the world, we should not spend a ‘pro- portionate amount of money on fisheries education? Does not the value of the industry justify it? not the personnal of the industry justify it? Does not the citizens who are unselfish enough to consider the conservation of our fisheries for the benefit of pos- terity demand it? We must realize that every trade and profession, even those trades and professions connected with the production of fish in our waters, the extraction of fish fs from our waters, the extraction of algin, iodine, potash, etc., from our seaweeds, the production of the pearly vessels for the button trade, the extraction of oils. glycerine and other valuable commodities from our fish—all these require the assistance of some central educational institution connected with them. Other countries have acknowledgedthe necessity of fishery technical schools. England, Ireland France, Germany, Japan, all offer opportunities for- learning to > ~ must progress. — Does’ those anxious to acquire better knowledge of their trade or profession. Japan, especially, has made the greatest strides in — this direction, and it will be a long time before any. country: reaches: the same e point of perfeetion in mate » industry, E.sg It is admitted that our r fishing population, like our “’ ““baek lot farmers,’ is proverbially difficult to reach ; e “they know it all,’ but on the other hand, by continual ® re agitation these men must come to realize that Canada a Their prejudice must be overcome in” the same way it has undoubtedly been overcome in the case of the farmer by means of farmers’ institutes and — clubs. Further, we who are trustees of these great” fishing waters must see to it that they are not mis-. managed and neglected and should insist that the in- — dustry be put on the same basis as agriculture from the - lowest rung of the ladder to the top. Is there any — legitimate reason for not having a Minister of Fish- — eries or at least a Deputy Minister of Fisheries, giving his whole time to stimulating the industry. =. Now, no better investment by the State could be made than on the introduction of fisheries technical education, for one result at any rate would be thats | greater care would be taken before backing parlia- — mentary measures affecting fisheries. I venture to — think that conservation would in every instance come - before personal greed with technical knowledge be- hind it. Much of our legislation and fishery regula- tions would be almost unnecessary for fishermen and others interested would see for themselves the sta _ of such preventive measures. In selecting objects of such a Technical Institute or system of education, we should have before us some- thing after the following :— 4 1.—Conservation as tending to point out the objects of protection for the benefit of future generations — and even for ourselves. 2.—F ishing marine and inland waters. 3.—The creation of the profession of Fishery tech-_ nology so as to fill the various government offices, _ ete. 4.—The elevation of the fishing industry and fish eulture to the same level as agriculture. Now the next question is the scope of the instruction. © ‘Under the ‘various headings :— 1.—Would come elementary biology distribution of species, the influence of geology, currents, tem-— perature, etc., on fish, the effect of pollution, ob-- struction and abstraction of water.on fish life. 2.—The modes by which fishing might be made more ‘ remunerat’ve by the adoption of newer methods, the most modern methods of picking and presery- ing fish. The utilization of fish waste, ete. Navi- gation, study of the strain and internal combustion — > = Ve hgiie. 3.—Instruction in fish culture in all its branches, in- ~ eluding the propagation of the pearly vessels. Elementary zoology, anatomy, physiology chemis- . . try as applied to fisheries and their products. By 4+.—By the creation of a ministry responsible to Par- lament with a subordinate technical staff. The establishment of fishermen’s institutes or clubs on — the Hines of farmers’ institutes. The circulation of - - odastructiy ee bulletins.such asnare done inn atc January, 1918. CANADIAN FISHERMAN w= LINDE REFRIGERATING MACHINERY IS USED BY THE MAJORITY OF THE CANADIAN FISH DEALERS. Following are only a few of the many— B. C. PACKERS ASSOC. LEONARD FISHERIES LTD. ST. MUNGO CANNING CO. DOMINION FISH AND FRUIT CO. SKEENA RIVER FISHERIES PACIFIC COAST FISHERIES KINCOLITH PACKING CO. WALLACE FISHERIES FOur Machinery is ‘‘ Made in Canada”’ ' The Linde Canadian Refrigeration Co., Ltd. MONTREAL: 37 St. Peter Street TORONTO, WINNIPEG, CALGARY, EDMONTON, VANCOUVER. Twenty-five Years’ Service to Canadian Users When the Engine Fails. It may mean not only loss of cargo, but loss of life, therefore, the best motto is “Safety First” And when buving the engine fuel, always ask for the best not the cheapest. White Rose Motor taaoline EN-AR-CO National Motor Oil Insures Safety, Satisfaction, Speed. ~ Manufactured in Canada and sold at the following sea and l.ke ports, by Canadian Oil Companies, Limited Halifax, St. John, Quebec, Montreal, Toronto, Owen Sound, Sault Ste. Marie. 578 ture. For example, bulletins on, various fish cul- tural methods, pickling of fish, preserving of nets and tackle, the manufacture of foods, fertilizer, glue, oil, ete., from fish waste, from seaweeds, etc. Now it may be said that we are doing something in direction of technical education, look at our Fisheries Museum. It is true many of us have never heard of it, and those few who have discovered its location have failed to find anything of educational value to fisheries in it. A large whale skeleton has recently been bought at a cost of some $200 or $300, also sea lions and similar mammals, there is also a collection of birds and birds’ eggs and displayed in corners are a few plaster casts of fish not by any means all belonging to this country. It is possible the money could be better spent in edu- cation amongst fishermen. The collection, if the Vic- toria Museum authorities consider it worth while, might be induced to take it under their charge when Parliament moves into its new building. The appro- priation for this Fisheries Museum amounts to $8,000. Then there is another source of money which might well be diverted into educational channels, that of the fishing bounties, which apparently do nobody any good and cost the country some $160,000 annually. Doubtless, under a searching business eye other in- vestments of a like nature for which the country is not getting adequate returns may be discovered. We will all admit that there is no better nor sounder invest- ment than education, so no minister need fear expendi- ture in that direction. Finally we are at a period in our country’s develop- ment when the future must be considered more care- fully than in the past, so far as our natural resources are concerned, we must not let our raw materials drift into the hands of foreigners just because we are too indolent to acquire the necessary knowledge to development of them ourselves, we have already sev- — eral examples in our fishing industry of this already. What do we do with our fish waste of some 260,000 tons annually, when industries are calling for high grade oils for the drug, soap and other trades, for glycerine for explosives, feed for our eattle and pigs and fertilizers for our soils, all obtainable from this waste; have we got beyond just talking about it? Be- fore we have finished talking some foreigner will ‘‘jump’’ the whole trade by private contract for. the benefit of his own country... What do we do, again, with our vast sources of seaweed? Do we make any attempt to meet the crying need for algin, potash, iodine, etc.? I think not—most of us do not realize that such commodities are obtainable from fish waste and seaweed. How many of us, and even fishermen, realize that our shirt buttons are produced from the humble fresh water clam? These and many like ques- tions seem ridiculous in a country like Canada, but want of knowledge can only be discovered by_question, and ignorance is the fundamental basis of all this neglect. Let us hope that now we have a business man who has had the privilege of rising from the ranks in his trade in private life, at the head of our Fisheries Administration, we may get business methods and effi- - ciency inculated into his Department, and further, let. us hope we will inquire carefully into the expendir tures in his administration and see if he and the coun- try are getting their value. Mr. Ballantyne will, if he proves to be the business - CANADIAN FISHERMAN ak May January, 1918. to know how the appropriation of $400,000 is expend- ed on hatcheries and whether the latter ‘‘deliver the . goods,’’ the $60,00 on the Dogfish Reduction works— are they run at the profit they should? Then we have an appropriation entitled Fisheries Intelligence, which absorbs some $5,000. Again our fisheries patrol ser- vice appropriates some $90,000, and if the truth be told, some patrolmen operating these vessels complain that they are.very extravagantly run, and in one or _ more cases the vessels are far too large, in fact: are nothing else but small gun boats, and cannot do the work efficiently. 3g At any rate there is an appropriation of between a million and a half and two million dollars set aside to ° protect and, let us hope, promote fisheries—do we get value for it under our present system without special- . ized education. We finally ask the careful consideration of the new Minister, the urgent necessity of some central institute of fisheries technology, from which technical know- ledge should radiate to the fishing districts of Canada. We ask that experimental work be inaugurated; © we have agricultural farms, why not experimental fish ~ cultural stations and laboratories. ' Marine Biological Stations, why have we no station on ‘an our inland waters to study practical problems aris- ing in Central Canada? SOME CAUSES OF MARINE GASOLINE ENGINE TROUBLE AND HOW TO REMEDY THEM. By G. L. MYERS, - Of T. MeAvity & Sons, Ltd., St. John, N.B. Below is a list of some probable causes of Marine Gasoline Engine trouble of the Make and Break Type and how to remedy them, by Mr. G. L. Myers; “‘The Marine Engine Man,”’ of T. MeAvity & Sons, Ltd., St. . John, N.B., which may be of interest to some user and enable him to avoid mishap, trouble and delay. Mr. Myers has been in the Marine Engine business for years and understands them from A to Z. es Make and Break Type. % Engine Fires Regularly But is Weak. ss May be caused by :— Muffler stopped up. Spark shifter lever out of adjustment. Engine Backfires. May be caused by :— Carburetor not adjusted properly. Dirt in gasoline pipe. Dirt in needle valve on carburetor. Weak inlet valve spring. Water in gasoline. ; Engine Firing Irregularly. May be caused by :— x _ Broken battery wire. Loose battery connections. — Weak batteries. Carburetor out of adjustment. Oil on spark points. : Water in cylinder caused packing. | Badly worn spark points. ~ Jump Spark Type. Engine Firing Irregularly. be caused by :— Broken down insulation on wires. —_ Carburetor not properly adjusted, ‘causing poor mixture, ' ue Cracked spark plug... by broken head We have two — January, 1918. CANADIAN PISHERMAN PI SS. 67 Fish Producers and Distributors The Dominion Government, through the Food Controller’s Office, has inaugurated a campaign to increase the consump- tion of Fish. This is being supported by an aggressive campaign of advertising — all to the one end—the increased use of Fish as a food. To the Producer--- Get behind this campaign. Lend your aid and see that the distributor gets enough fish. Be sure your fish is packed right, and that it gets to the proper market in proper condition. To the Wholesaler--- Largely upon you rests the success of this campaign. See that -you have the supply necessary to support the demand. Co- operation on your part means much. The Government has provided improved boxes for the keeping and ‘displaying of fish. See that the dealers get them. Show them how to use them. Urge the dealers to be satisfied with a reasonable profit and give their customers a satisfactory service. It all means better and bigger business for you and them. To the Retailer--- In this campaign you will find the material on which to build an exceedingly profitable business. Be'sure you are in a posi- tion to supply fish every day—especially Tuesdays and Fridays. Keep your fish right — display it right. This and the increased demand will mean bigger profits for you. W. G. HANNA, Food Controller, - Ottawa. 580 A defective connection at some point of the circuit. Moisture on spark plugs, or Poor contact in times. Spark coil not properly adjusted. Terminals on coils may be loose or damaged. Much irregular firing may be prevented by periodically draining the carburetor. Gradual Slowing Up With; jMis- Siring} May be caused -by :— - Carburetor may be croked up with airt at ease Gasoline tank empty or air bound. Gasoline valve partly closed. Fouled spark plugs, due to over or poor iibrit cation. Explosions in Silencer. May be caused by: oe Cylinder missing fire and pumping explosive charges into silencer, which ignite from heat of next exhausted charge. Gas mixture too weak to fire in cylinder. Inefficient spark. Over-retarded spark. Jump Spark Type. Knocking in Engine. May be caused by :— Defective lubrication. Fly-wheel loose on shaft. Loose cylinder on erank ease, due to nuts slack- ing off. Loose or worn bearings. Pre-ignition, due to carbon deposit. Spark too far advanced. Too rich mixture. Engine Stops Suddenly. May be eaused by :— Broken spark plug. Disconnected electric circuit. Loose terminal. No gasoline, Trembler on spark coil stuck. Trouble at timer. Broken wire. Engine Refuses to Start. May be caused by :— _ Dry cylinders. Battery plug not in position. Fouled or cracked spark plug. Gasoline shut off. Improper gas mixture. Improper ignition. Open battery switch. ; : Poor compression. Water in cylinder caused by leak from water jacket. Water in gasoline. oie ie: mr, FOREMAN FOUR-CYCLE ENGINES. The Foreman Motor and Machine Co. Limited of Toronto are building a new four-cycle marine motor which will meet the demand for a really high grade pawer plane for commercial boats and cruisers, and which will be especially suited to the f shing industry. The motor, as shown here, is up-to-date in every de- tail, built for economical] operation and all day serv- ice. It is extremely simple and compact for a four- cycle motor, Overhead valves of large diameter give : CANADIAN FISHERMAN years, ut January, 1918. highest efficiency and greater power, and, for a motor of this type which may be run for hours each day, the operating expenses will be the lowest possible. ~The overhead valves, giving a combustion space free from pockets, give the most satisfactory results when ~ running on kerosene; a special double-throttle carbu- retor, with the necessary heating fittings, are sup- plied with the motors running on fuel heavier than — / gasoline. This valve arrangement is such that the ~ ‘valves ¢annot drop into the cylinder if retaining-pin — should be taken out. *Allob@arings throughout are of the highest grade * Babbitt; and very liberal in size. The erank shaft, — which is 214”’ diameter, has a long bearing at each end and a bearing between each cylinder. Connecting rods of the marine type of forged steel, with a Babbitt lined branze bearing for crank pin which is 214 x 3’’. Piston pin has large bronze bushing. All main bearings and connecting rod bearings can be adjusted through large hand hole plates in both sides of motor. The fly wheel is bolted to flange forged on crank shaft. The cam shaft, which is 114”’ diameter, is supported at the driving end by a heavy double ball-bearing; also the intermediate gear runs on a roller-bearing. With this high grade construction, wear will be eliminated . for the longest possible time; therefore, keeping the working parts in their original adjustment . Water circulation for the medium speed types is by plunger pump driven by eccentric from the cam shaft; for the high-speed outfits a gear pump is used. For the oiler a plunger pump in base pumps from the aft end to bearings and connecting rods with splash for other working parts in base. Troughs in base keep oil to proper level. Ignition is either Atwater Kent; or High Tension Magneto with impulse start off, allowing meter to be started when turned over at the lowest speeds. Both Atwater and Magneto can be supplied, using two spark plugs in heads. A ‘Joes gear, of the Duplex type is supported on base extension, with necessary thrust bearings of very liberal size. The two-cylinder motor; as shown, is rated at 15 H. P. at 500 r.p.m.; the four- cylinder is rated corners ingly. | - The Comnany also build two sizes of two-cycle mo- tors. 6 and 12 HP. in tw» cylinders, which have been widely known throughout Canada for the bas six a CANADIAN FISHERMAN | | - * | My, | \ | * A | - at WSPITZBERGEN . aoe. y} Alrct Be: Ocear>m wAirctiitc Ocean - : 1 ed ‘ ‘A ee * , GREENUA oe tal {/ ; ; 5 , sal = > ~~ ads PYRE : rea) ra2e (ee : a Sea WY AES", BRITISH A i : ; } ISLES AY 7a , : 5} pres ee ; , a North aR 7 St JUAPAN Pac¢wtltc Fron | O¢earr ; _.- TROPIC OF cANeER ____ Rees Ree Co Hoy ieee | Marea Ramen Se ogee ie ek oil DIA tessa sehen ; hee SANDWICH |. ‘as ; =e Srawatt ‘Sharm > ge PHiLiiPine ’ +24, ISLANDS d é e a ore iALAY As ° " GE, EQUATOR ceva t s : A Iridian ‘yi lids plat ar Olceart 1‘ TT le MADAGASGAR, Rey sed weaker a hase wo; eee saab See tee nyee TY IN SCN SP: vc teen eae CAPRICORN z yp ¢ . a ~ ¥ ara Pacific Chain. fs South | Atlantic ; Cape Tow Ocean. i Tasmnpnio® } q ) 2: | Antarctic Ocearm : Le ce eninin ha makee otesaae - iad, ale BS ne an oS ee mon a Oe Oe ea aw oe be See ested es Doe St RS ee SS de GR Sb oo nc nn a dons Seni Hf ee Re = Sms iam 1 ae eae Eat Fe eke SF Re VE, Wy, Sita THE MAP Co. |Tororrro "0 GT) 40 “Oo 180 160 140 10 100 a 6 * 40 FT ° 2 a 6 to The above map illustrates the article, ‘‘Sources of Capable Seamen’’ which appears elsewhere in this issue. The location of the principal Fishing Grounds of the world is indicated by the white areas. February, 1918. A MONTHLY JOURNAL DEVOTED TO THE COMMERCIAL FISHERIES OF CANADA AND NEWFOUNDLAND THE SCIENCE OF THE FISH CUL- TURE AND THE USE AND VALUE OF FISH PRODUCTS - - _F. WILLIAM WALLACE EDITOR The Industrial & Educational Press, Limited 35-45 St. Alexander St. - CANADA Toronto Office - C.P.R. Building Newfoundland Agency Garland’s Book Store, St. Johns, N.F. Montreal CANADIAN FISHERMAN THE CANADIAN 593 SUBSCRIPTION: Canada, Newfoundland and Great Britain - - - - $1.00 United States and Elsewhere. . $1.50 payable in advance. ADVERTISING RATES ON APPLICATION Published on the 24th day of each month. Changes of advertisements should be in the publisher’s hands ten days before that date. Cuts should be sent by mail, not by express. Readers are cordially invited to send to the Editor items of Fishery news, alse articles on subjects of practical interest. If suitable tor publication these will be paid for at our regular rate Official Organ of the Canadian Fisheries Association Vol. V. MONTREAL, FEBRUARY, 1918 No. 2 THE FISHERIES AND THE MERCHANT MARINE. The value of a fishing fleet to the development of a ~ nation’s mercantile marine is strikingly illustrated in the article by Mr. J. J. Harpell, published in this issue. The article shows plainly that Canada is wonderfully endowed with the fishery resources which are capable of supporting a large fishing fleet, and, with the de- velopment of the fisheries, men for the merchant marine are automatically trained. There is no need to go into the whys and wherefores of this fact. The 3 me great maritime nations are all great in their fisheries "and fishery resources. In the old days when Canada “possessed a merchant fleet, many of the men who of- ficered these ships commenced their seafaring careers in the fishing dory. The fishing fleets are the greatest schools of seaman- ‘ship. In our opinion, the man who has put in two years in a Grand Banker is a better sailor than the man who ' served a three or four years’ apprenticeship in a steam- er or square-rigger. In the small craft, a man becomes more intimate with the sea and its ways. He has “more to do on his own. His initiative and individuality _ is ealled into play more so than on the large ships where everything is done by the crowd or by mechanical means. Mr. Harpell’s article is a serious and thoughtful ex- position of a matter which is of vital importance to Canada and her future as a nation. Our future lies on the water just as much as Great Britain’s. Our enormous exportable resources should be carried in Canadian ships — built and manned by Canadians. The old days when Canada built and sailed wooden ships are being revived in the building of ships of steel. What of the men to sail them? CONTROLLED CANADIAN FISH IN ENGLAND. An item in a London, Eng., paper states that :— ‘Messrs. Peter Forge and Grant and May, of Billings- gate Market, are selling frozen Canadian hake, brought over under the auspices of the Ministry of Food. The controlled wholesale price is £6 ($380) per box of 200° Ibs. of fish; the retail price must not exceed 1014d. (21e) per lb. for whole fish, and 1s. 1d. (26c) for euts.’’ What would our Canadians here think of paying 26¢ a pound for frozen hake? It’s hard enough to sell it at 10 cents. The above paragraph shows that this much despised fish in Canada fetches a good market and a good price overseas, but what puzzles us is where the discrepancy in price comes in considering it was landed in Liverpool at 8 cents per pound. 594 THE INTERNATIONAL FISHERIES COMMISSION. The International Fisheries Commission of Canada and the United States concluded their sittings on the » Atlantie Coast for the present and will resume again at Seattle on April 24th to consider the Fraser River | salmon question and possibly the conservation of the halibut. The Commission held sessions in Washington, Bos- ton, Gloucester and St. John, N.B. The sessions in Boston and Gloucester dealt largely with the question of reciprocal privileges for fishing vessels between Canada and the United States. The abolition of the regulations of the Treaty of 1818, by Canada, and the rescindment of the law forbidding Canadian fisher- men to land their catches in U.S. ports direct from the fishing grounds, by the United States, were the two points principally under discussion. While there was _ some little opposition by the American fishermen and vessel owners to Canadians securing the privilege of landing fish in American ports, yet the general tenor of the sessions favored a ‘‘fifty-fifty’’ agreement. There is little reason to doubt but what the Modus Vivendi will be modified by us and American fisher- men will receive the benefits of our ports in securing bait, ice, supplies, men and similar conveniences, while in return, our fishermen will be able to run their eatches direct to the American market without tran- shipment. No discrimination will be made against vessels propelled by power. In St. John, N.B., uniform lobster regulations were advocated with a 101% inch size limit on the adjoining waters of New Brunswick and Maine, and a shorter fishing season. Protection of the shad was strongly urged and a three year close season suggested. The upper reaches of the Bay of Fundy was now absolutely depleted as a shad ground. Uniformity in fishing laws between both nations was advocated. A noticeable feature of the meetings was the cordial- ity and spirit of good will shown by the witnesses on both sides. The fact that both countries are allied together in the common cause overseas has had a won- derful effect and the old irritations on fishery ques- tions will undoubtedly be eliminated. CHEAP SEA FISH FOR WESTERN CONSUMERS. Two schemes to provide Pacifie flat-fish to consum- ers in the Prairie Provinces as far east as Winnipeg at reasonable prices and in good supply, were sub- mitted to the Food Controller recently. The first plan ealled for the operation of a steam trawler by the Gov- ernment and the conscription of a erew to man the vessel. The scheme, as published in the press, based all financial estimates on a monthly minimum catch of 400,000 pounds of flounders, soles, skate, ete. The trawler to be operated is the ‘‘ James Carruthers,’’ be- longing to the Canadian Fish and Cold Storage Com- pany, Ltd., of Prince Rupert, and the only’ vessel of the kind on the Coast at present. The fishermen were to be allowed 1c per pound on fish landed, dressed, on the dock at Prince Rupert; the trawler would be al- lowed 1c per pound to cover cost. of operation, and the Cold Storage Company would receive le per pound for - freezing and labor; boxing, *4¢ per pound; loading on ears, 44¢ per pound and 144c¢ per pound profit—in all de per pound, f.o.b. ears, Prince Rupert. The fathers of the scheme—who are level-headed : CANADIAN FISHERMAN February, 1918. men—figure out in some mysterious way that this fish ‘could be retailed in Western centres at two pounds for 15 cents. How they arrive at this conclusion beats our comprehension. In the first place a minimum catch of 400,000 Ibs. per month for a small hooker like the ‘‘ James Car- ruthers’’ is far too high an estimate to base costs on. A minimum of 250,000 lbs. with a probable maximum of 400,000 lbs. would be more like it. At five cents per pound, f.o.b. Prince Rupert, to be sold direct to retail- ers throughout the West, the fish would have to be shipped in express refrigerator ears at the less-car- load express rates which range around $3:20 to $3.80. The Government pays two-thirds of the transportation charges, therefore the carriage on the fish would run around 1144c—making the cost to the retailer 6c. The retailer’s profit was to be fixed at le per pound—a spread which no retailer would consider for a moment —and in this way, fish costing 614¢ would be retailed at 2 lbs. for 15e. . HG Se ae The scheme falls down on the estimated catch of the trawler and the retailer’s spread. The alternative plan submitted by Mr. John P. Babcock, Assistant Commis- — sioner of Fisheries for British Columbia, and amended by the Food Controller’s Fish Committee is more rea- sonable. In it, the fishermen are allowed 34¢ per pound — for trawler caught flat-fish which is a price on average catches of 250,000 lbs. per month that will place them — on a par with the money they would make halibut fish- ing if they ship as they did before—ten fishermen to a trawler. Five cents is allowed the Company for : operating the trawler, fitting her out, paying sailing crew and boarding all hands; freezing, boxing, icing and loading, f.o.b. ears, Prince Rupert. ‘Adding the — average express rates of 1%4c to the Prince Rupert price, the cost to the retailer would be 7 cents per pound, The retailer’s spread is placed at 3c per pound —which is a fair and reasonable profit. This brings the fish to the consumer at 10e per pound. All prices on these Pacifie flat-fish will be fixed by the Food Controller and an advertising campaign — started in the West to make the people acquainted js with the new sea-foods and to use them in place of meats. The prices agreed upon will allow the Van- couver producers to supply the market also and thus: augment the supply. A good demand will undoubtedly. spring up and hitherto unmarketable species of Pacific fish will become staples and remain to offset ane, van- 7 ishing and high priced halibut. The Government operation of the trawler was athe : mitted to the Fisheries Department before any action — was taken on the alternative scheme, but the Depart- ment rejected the proposal as unfeasible. We feel that they took the safest course in doing so as Govern-— ment competition with private established enterprises is to be deplored and forms harmful precedents. RETAIL DEALERS HINDER FISH CONSUMPTION, Circular letters are being sent by the Fish Com-— mittee of the Food Controller’s Office to the clerks of municipalities throughout Canada with a view to ascertaining what is hindering the efforts to secure increased consumption of fish. With this information available, it is expected that many of the difficulties can be overcome. It is known that the campaign for inereasing fish consumption is being seriously ham- Seasons. February, 1918. -pered in many places by the indifference or lack of enterprise on the part of dealers. Under the arrange- ments made by the Food Controller’s Office to assist in prompt distribution of Atlantic fish to markets in Eastern and Central Canada, the public should be able to secure an ample supply at reasonable prices, if the retail dealers were doing their part. Fish mer- ehants would have no diffieulty in obtaining moder- ately-priced Atlantic fish if they would take the trouble to order supplies from licensed wholesale dealers. Consumers are advised to demand from their deal- ers cod, haddock, herring, skate, pollock, flatfish, pickerel, tullibees, ‘pike and other moderately-priced fish and to insist upon the merchants ordering sup- plies. With the co-operation of the public and the trade, the per capita consumption of fish in Canada would easily be doubled thus increasing considerably the supply of Canadian meat available for shipment to the soldiers. Prior to the war it was estimated that the per capita consumption of fish in the Dominion was about 29 pounds per annum or slightly more than half a pound per person per week. It is known that this has been very considerably inereased since that time by the work of the Food Controller, but fish consumption is still far short of what it should be. The Fish Committee is distributing to the retail fish dealers a placard bear- ing the slogan: ‘‘A pound of fish per week per per- son.”’ COLD STORAGE—A FISH TRADE NECESSITY. - The Cost of Living Commissioner’s Reports on food- stuffs held in storage, while it has not castigated the fish trade, yet we suffer under the odium which is clothing cold storage in general. Without cold storage, the fish business of Canada couldn’t exist. There are only two methods of preserving fish—by salt and by freezing. Preservation in ice is only feas- ible for a limited period and stocks which cannot be consumed within a day or two after landing must be prevented from spoiling by salting or freezing. The fresh fish trade is an uncertain gamble. When fish is landed in quantities greater than the demand, ‘it must be placed in cold storage to keep, and when supplies are low, the stock in storage is drawn upon to feed the market. Fish run in seasons. Herring, mackerel, salmon, haddock, sword-fish, shad, smelts, i ‘most fresh water fish, and others must be placed in cold store to supply the demands which recognize no The seasonal fish in plenty in December is just as popular in June when it is not to be caught. The cold storage stabilizes the supply and the prices. _ Were it not for the stocks in storage, certain fish ‘in the off seasons, would be unprocurable or as ex- pensive as strawberries in January. The cold storage in the fish business prevents waste and keeps fish prices low. The dealer in the inland centres equipped with cold storage can order fish in ear-load quantities and sell cheaper. Without storage, he could only handle fish in small express shipments and in quantities sufficient only for day sales—an ex- pensive and hazardous business. ee The cold storage has revolutionised the distribu- tion of fish. Frozen or glazed in cold storage freezers, fish ean be transported distances impossible by icing - alone. Salmon and halibut from the Pacific are mar- CANADIAN FISHERMAN O95 keted in England—a feat which would be impossible except through freezing and storage. There could be no fresh fish business in Canada to-day which would amount to anything or cater to the public demand for fish were it not for the cold storage. There are a thousand arguments for, and only one against, the cold storage of fish. The negative argu- ment is the holding of fish for a rise in prices. In so far as the fish trade of Canada is concerned, cold stor- age has never been mis-used in this manner and no single instance ean be cited to the contrary. The pub- lic prejudice against cold storage goods has always erowded the price down and strictly fresh fish will always command a better price than frozen fish. The fishing industry of Canada could be developed a thousandfold if we had more cold storages near the fishing localities. In the development of the future, eold storages and modern fishing methods will place Canadian fish in the European markets just as the limited means at present have enabled at least 15,- 000,000 lbs. of our frozen fish to be shipped overseas during 1917. To the fish trade and the fish-eating publie, cold storage has been a blessing. TO FINANCE ONTARIO FISHERIES SCHEME. In order to provide working capital for Hon. Fin- lay Macdiarmid’s great fish enterprise, which is ex- pected to bring to Ontario consumers, at cost, all the fish they need, an appropriation of nearly $200,000 is being asked for in the supplementary estimates pre- sented to the Legislature recently. For acquiring cold storage accommodation, providing capital to carry fish and for transportation $125,000 is to be vot- ed. A large part of this money will probably be used in buying cold storage warehouse accommodation in Toronto, or, in the event of present negotiations falling through, in leasing it. Part will be used in leasing eold storage space in warehouses in London and St. Thomas as shipping centres for Western Ontario. An appropriation of $23,500 is being taken for the erection of docks, buildings, tramways, ,etc., at. Lakes Nipegon and Nipissing, where the Government is carrying on fishing operations itself. For salaries, expenses, in- suranee, ete., $31,000 will be voted, while for the purchase of horses, harness, ete., $15,500 will be need- ed, B. C. HERRING FISHERY GOOD. Vancouver, Feb. 8—Mr. A. L. Hager, manager of the New England Fish Co. and the Canadian Fishing Co., states that the herring run is now on and that the fish are piling into Barclay Sound and Nanaimo harbor in vast quantities. The steamer Imbricaria has arrived here with 100,000 pounds of herring from Bar- clay Sound where the company operates a seine. The smaller fish will be used as halibut bait and the larger herring will be kippered or turned into bloaters. The Imbricaria brought word that there were more herring running in Barclay Sound than the operators could handle. Mr. Hager has advices that the herring is also running in Nanaimo. ‘‘Big catches have been made during the last few days and seines have brought in from 100 to 150 tons of herring at a haul,’’ said Mr. Hager. The Nanaimo run is very late and news that the fish are appearing is welcome. Pender Harbor has al- ready proved a failure, and it was feared that Nanaimo would also go without fish. 596 WILL THE LOBSTER FISHERY BE SUSPENDED? In view of the fact that Great Britain is placing a further embargo against the importation of lobsters, or only allowing their importation if space offers— which is not an assurance to rely on—and of the uni- versal demand for restricted seasons to prevent total extinction, it is reported that the Canada Food Board will suspend the lobster fishery for the duration of the war. The total pack of lobsters in Canada averages 165,- 000 cases annually. Newfoundland contributes about 12,000 cases. England and France takes about two- thirds of the pack normally. The U. S. and Canada absorb about 35,000 cases and 15,000 cases respec- tively. The lobster is a luxury. There is no argument as to its being a cheap food irrespective of its nutritive va- Iue. The quantities of tin-plate used and the em- ployment of some 20,000 men who could be engaged in more productive fisheries or occupations are con- siderations which cannot be overlooked. With no market offering and the high cost of opera- tions, the lobster canners and fishermen will probably accept the suspension, if enforced, as a necessary war measure. NEW DEVELOPMENTS IN ATLANTIC FISHERIES. Great developments are taking place in the fish- ing industries of the Atlantic coasts of North Am- erica. Newfoundland, which was primarily a salt and dried cod-fish exporting country, is now coming into the field as a huge exporter of fresh and frozen fish. The Reid-Newfoundland Company, railroad and steamship owners, have built a huge cold storage at St. John’s, N.F., of 20,000,000 Ibs. capacity, and will build smaller storages as fish collecting stations at various fish producing centres on the Newfoundland coast. These smaller storages will have a capacity of 250,000 Ibs., and the coastal steamers of the Reid- Newfoundland Company will be fitted with refrigera- tion chambers to transport fish from the outport stor- ages to the main unit in St. John’s. From the St. John’s plant, Newfoundland, frozen fish will be shipped to the British and Continental mar- kets, and also to the United States, and the promoters are confident that the present export trade in Cana- dian frozen fish will remain after the war as a per- manent commercial enterprise. The waters of Newfoundland, and the great fishing banks adjacent thereto, afford almost inexhaustible supplies of cod, haddock, hake, herring, whiting, skate, soles, flounders, halibut, ete., and formerly, the only fish taken was cod, which was salted and dried for the Brazilian and Mediterranean market. With the cold storage facilities now afforded, Newfoundland’s fishing industry is entering upon a new era, and the day is not far distant when St. John’s will become a base for steam trawlers—the catches of which will be frozen and shipped to England. St. John’s is only 1,800 miles from England, and fish can be transported just as readily as Pacific hali- but is transported across the continent to Boston and New York. English capitalists are discussing a scheme of fast fish carriers to transport fish from Newfound- land to England in five or six days, and there is every probability of the plan being put into operation. CANADIAN FISHERMAN February, 1918. Canada has added another modern steam trawler to the Nova Scotia fleet, and if-more vessels of this type were procurable, a large fleet would have been in op- eration ere this. The United States have built a num- ber of steam trawlers during 1917, and have several more coming down from lake shipyards in the spring. Some sixteen trawlers are now being operated out of United States Atlantic ports. : There is a possibility, in the near future, of develop- ing the fisheries of the Bahama Islands. Snappers, groupers, king-fish, jew-fish, and numerous other semi-tropical varieties are caught in great numbers around the islands. Plans are being discussed by parties interested in the Bahamas of erecting a cold storage plant to freeze these fish for export to the United States and Great Britain. The success of the frozen fish trade between Canada and England since the war is paving the way for the development of fish- ery resources hitherto restricted or unutilized. ANNUAL CONVENTION, LAKE ERIE FISHER- MEN’S ASSOCIATION. _ The third Annual Convention of the Lake Erie Fish- © ermen’s Association was held in the City Hall, St. Thomas, Ont., on February 18th, 19th, 20th, and 21st, and was a most successful and enthusiastic gathering. The programme was excellent in every particular and covered the following subjects: ‘‘Canadian Markets,’’ Mr. Pert, Westcott, Kingsville, Ont.‘‘ Practical Methods of Fishing,’’ Mr. H. Crossley, Lake Warden, State of Ohio. ‘‘Co-operation,’’ Mr. S. L. Squires, Ontario Gov-— ernment Fisheries. ‘‘The South Shore Associa- tion,’’ Mr. H. Hinrichs, Erie, Pa. ‘‘The Educa- tional Value of the Canadian Fisheries Association,’’ Mr. J. J. Harpell, Montreal. ‘‘Some Live Questions for Fishermen, National and International,’’ Lantern Lee- ture by Dr. E. E. Prince, Dominion, Commissioner of Fisheries. ‘‘Fish Culture in Canada,’’ Mr. J. A. Rodd, Superintendent of Hatcheries, Ottawa. ‘‘Pennsyl- — vania Fisheries,’’ Mr. N. R. Buller, Pennsylvania Com- ~ missioner of Fisheries. ‘‘National Economical Value of the Canadian Fisheries Association,’’ Mr. Alfred H. Brittain, Vice-President, Canadian Fisheries Associa- tion, Montreal. ‘‘The History of a Fish,’’ Dr. A. G. Huntsman, Toronto. ‘‘Why Fishermen should be in- terested in Hatcheries,’’ Mr. A. 8. Brown, Kingsville, Ont. a A glance over the addresses and the speakers is sufficient evidence of the progressive spirit of the Lake Erie fishermen. Needless to add, the Canadian Fisheries Association is justly proud of its affiliation with the Lake Erie men. . The following message was sent to the Convention by — the Food Controller in the absence of a representative ~ from his office. A. E. Ponsford, Esq., President, Lake Erie Fishermen’s Association, Dear Sir,—On the occasion of the Annual Con- — vention of the Lake Erie Fishermen’s Association, I would be glad if you would urge upon your members the necessity for increasing, in every way, the production of fish, in order that it may take the place of beef and bacon so urgently needed by our soldiers and civilian Allies overseas. . There is no need for me to dilate upon the great February, 1918. CANADIAN necessity for conserving our exportable food- stuffs, and in addition to urging the fishermen ' to make greater efforts in the production of fish, I would also ask them to use as little beef, bacon and white flour as possible on tugs, in fishing camps and in their homes. With the opportunities which you have for procuring fresh fish you will be doing a great deal to save the necessary foods by using as much fish as possible in your daily menus. The people of Canada are consuming fish foods in greater quantities than ever before, and it is im- perative that the supply be maintained. I feel confident that any appeal made by me to your members for the production of fish and the con- servation of food will not fall upon deaf ears. Wishing you a successful and prosperous fish- ing season, I remain, etc., HENRY B. THOMSON, Food Controller for Canada. PISCATORIAL PARAGRAPHS. Five million pounds of frozen fish of various kinds have been shipped to the Canadian troops overseas from Canada. An order for tullibees, frozen, has been placed in the most recent contract. Mr. Edward Tinsley, for twenty-two years chief game and fishery inspector for the Ontario Govern- ment passed away at his home in Hamilton, on Jan- uary 28th. Mr. Tinsley was born in Carlton, Eng- land, and coming to Canada when a young man enter- _ ed the Grand Trunk Railway as a locomotive engineer. a, He died in his eighty-fifth year and was universally respected. The Canadian Fisheries Association has been asked to consult its members and arrange for the securing : of spawn for the Ontario Government hatcheries. Great difficulty has been experienced by hatchery officials in securing enough spawn to adequately replenish the lakes and keep the plants running. It is reported that the use of motor boats in the sal- mon fishery of Northern British Columbia will be pro- hibited for a term of five years. Bars Col. Cunningham, Chief Inspector of Fisheries for British Columbia, paid his annual visit to Ottawa dur- __ ing the early part of February. cae | All retailers of fish, in common with retail grocers, will be licensed by the Food -Controller in the near future. All wholesale fish dealers are under license now. The Digby fishing schooner, ‘‘ Albert J. Lutz’’—the _ fishing trips of which has several times been recorded - in this magazine—has been sold to A. Moulton and Co., _ of North Sydney, N.S., who will employ her in the _ Newfoundland trade. The ‘‘Lutz’’ was famous as a FISHERMAN 597 fast sailer and holds the Nova Scotia Fisherman’s Cup. She also landed the largest trip of halibut caught by a Canadian Atlantic banker—82,000 Ibs—in 1913. A recent Order-in-Council permits American vessels during the year 1918 to land fresh fish in British Columbia ports for shipment in bond to the United States. American vessels will be permitted to pur- chase bait, ice and supplies, in B. C., with the under- standing that any fish caught with a Canadian baiting shall be landed at a B. C. port and forwarded to the U. S. under Dominion Customs regulations. Fish is cheaper in Canada than in the United States. FISH SALES GREATLY INCREASED. A large fish company operating on the Pacifie coast reports that its sales during December, 1917, amounted to 870,305 pounds, as compared with only 417,123 pounds for December, 1916. | WINDOW DISPLAYS OF FISH. Fish lend themselves to attractive window display. It is possible to make a better display of fish than of meats. Suggestions as to how to make attractive displays of fish will be sent to any dealer upon appli- eation to the Food Controller’s Office. GREAT SHORTAGE OF AMMONIA. | The importance of storing a large supply of natural ice will readily be recognized when it is pointed out that there is now an absolute shortage of ammonia in the United States of 60,000,000 pounds per annum for war and commercial purposes. TO INSTALL CASH AND CARRY SYSTEM. The Pegnem Fish Company, Montreal, will install the ‘‘Cash and Carry’’ system of doing business as out- lined in our Editorial in the January issue. The Can- ada Food Board endorses the system and retailers of fish are being circularized by the Food Controller to do business under the plan—our Editorial on the mat- ter being attached to the circular. DOGFISH AT $3.00 PER PLATE. As a result of the campaign in which the United States Bureau of Fisheries has taken an active part for the wider use of grayfish one of the most luxurious New York hotels (the Biltmore), at which Christmas ‘was observed as a meatless day had grayfish under its proper name as the basis for its dinner menu. The price per plate was $3. THE ‘‘CASH AND CARRY’’ PLAN. : The ‘‘Cash and Carry’”’ system as applied to retail purchases of fish is being advocated by the Fish Com- mittee of the Canada Food Board, and the retail trade is being asked to put prices on this basis. A retail dealer in Montreal has decided to adopt the ‘‘Cash and Carry’’ system, while a Winnipeg concern wh¢ has adopted this principle has been able to reduce price in consequence, CANADIAN PACIFIC TRANSPORTATION SUBSIDY EXTENDED. In order to popularize the lesser known varieties of Pacifie fish and to provide cheap sea-food for the West, the Marine and Fisheries Department, upon the recommendation of the Canada Food Board’s Fish Committee, will extend the present two-thirds trans- portation subsidy to cover all points in British Co- lumbia. The four Western Provinces will all bene- fit by the assistance given. British Columbian towns will thus be enabled to procure the cheaper fish now being arranged for by the Canada Food Board. NO FISH IN LONDON ‘‘MEATLESS’’ TUESDAY. London, Feb. 13.—Because Scotch fishermen will not go fishine on Sundays, the choice of Tuesday as London’s official meatless day is declared by London fish dealers to be an official blunder. The fish eaught by Scotch fishermen on Mondays, get here too late for London’s consumption on Tuesdays. Cornish fishermen will not catch fish on Sundays, either. They carry their seruples against Sunday labor further than do the Scotch fishermen. POOR SEASON FOR THE PAS FISHERIES. Tt is authoritatively stated that the catch this season from The Pas fisheries will not be nearly as large as anticipated. The reasons for this are: The uncertainty of train service on the Hudson Bay railway at the time when it was necessary to get in outfits and supplies. Barly and heavy snowfalls resulted in thin ice on the lakes and a number of these have been flooded, making hauling very difficult. Prices set by the food controller. 714 cents for whitefish. pickerel and trout delivered at The Pas. do not allow sufficient margin for the fishermen owing to the heavy expenses. The average cost of delivery is placed at 214 cents ner pound at the least. Many fishermen have quit work. The estimated output in the north is as follows: From. Hudson Bay railway points to be delivered. 40 ears: from northwestern lakes, such as Athapapuskow, Sturgeon and Beaver. 20 cars. FISH—A POUND A WEEK PER PERSON. Tf every man, woman and child in Canada to-dav ate one pound of fish ner week the annual amount eonsumed would total 416.000.0000 Ihs. At the nresent time the consumption is around 300.000.000 lbs. and that is under the stimulus of fish substitution for meat. One or two fish meals ner week is no great hardship. Tt should not be regarded as a hardship at all. If cer- tain people think that eating fish, is a penance for their sins. we in the nie 2 etme would sooner they left it alone : altogethe We ask no person to suffer un- necessari but the person who can’t eat some variety of f craemee there are dozens available—then there is somethi ing. materially wrong with his or her taste or digestion. A placard is being printed bv the Food Controller and will be distributed to all the retail stores handline fish. The card reads: ‘SRAT FISH--A POTIND PER 1 of fish for the soldiers. ner week and »? This slovan WEEK. Eat at one pounc and hacon fish, consumption to a yery materjal least 3 e Save ¢+ha ha oF will help. the degree, FISHERMAN February, 1918. NEW REGULATIONS FOR B. C, SALMON FISHERIES. The following official statement with regard to the salmon fisheries of British Columbia was made public on February 16, by the minister of the naval service: ‘After a conference with his officials with regard to the regulations and policy to govern the salmon fisheries in District No. 2, British Columbia, during which the whole matter was thoroughly considered, Colonel Ballantyne, minister of the naval service, reached the following decisions: ‘1. That no licenses for salmon canneries in addi- tion to those already authorized will be granted this year. This decision was reached because it was found that the existing canneries can more than take care of all the salmon that may be allowed to be caught. It is recognized that if the privilege is thus restricted, those engaging in canning should be required to pay into the public treasury a fair proportion of their profits. As’ the system of accounting amongst the canners is so diversified, it is impossible now to determine what this should be, but during the present year a satisfac- — tory system of accounting to be used by all the canners — will be worked out, and each will be required to give full and uniform returns to the department of the naval service of his operations, so that after this sea- son an adequate license fee can be required. **2. That, as the runs of salmon and the conditions — on the spawning beds do not warrant a greater amount of fishing than is now permitted, no licenses for ad- ditional fishing privileges will be authorized this year. ‘‘These two decisions do not apply entirely to the Queen Charlotte Islands, where the conditions are dif- ferent from those now existing on the mainland. “*3. That, as the evidence of the cannery managers, the canners and the fishermen, submitted to the special commission which last year investigated the salmon fisheries of this district, was nearly unanimously op- posed to the use of motor boats in salmon fishing oper- ations, such boats will not be allowed this year. ‘‘4. That to enable proper arrangements to be made for the issuing of gill net licenses independently of all — canneries, licenses will be granted this year on a similar basis to last, but hereafter no attached licenses will be issued. “5. That Aga enforcement of the Fishery Regula- tions will be carried out, and the protective force will be sufficiently enlarged to enable this to be done. ‘*6. On his return to British Columbia in the next few days, the chief inspector will call together those applying for new licenses in different portions of the — province where such may be safely granted, and each applicant will be required in the presenve of the oth- | ers, to show why he considers his application should be favored. Immediately following such investigation, a decision on the different applications will be rencey by the chief inspector. ‘“‘The minister made it clear to his officials that no | political or other outside interference will be gives any consideration.’ It is reported that F. T. James, of Toronto, will es. tablish a fish freezing plant at Cowichan Bay, Vancou- ver Island, and ship salmon east to be distributed — through his Toronto house. The granting of the license: — was opposed by the angling fraternity. Sport, and the tourist traffic, should have but little say in these days of urgent necessity in food production, : | Rebruary, 1918. Gh Mle etal Ae ah ; Ni ag sit bs One of the questions which is much to the fore just now is how the United States is going to handle her immense new merchant marine fleet when it is built. While she is content to have her vessels operat- _ ed by foreign crews, there is little need for worry _ because the tonnage that has (been destroyed “has left a surplus of capable seamen, who, together with a regular supply of trained men that are constantly eoming forward from Great Britain, Norway, Japan, Canada, Newfoundland, Iceland, Denmark and the Netherlands, are quite sufficient to handle the pro- duct of even a much larger programme of shipbuild- _ ing than the allied countries have now under way. But there is a growing feeling on the part of the _ American public that United States vessels Should be manned by United States citizens. _ Writing i in the February issue of the Pacific Marine jew, Mr. H. E. Pennell, President of the Coast asks Company, observes : “Owing to the fact that matters marine have so long been considered of small moment in the United States, a general knowledge concerning them is uni- versally lacking. To be sure the large problems of financing, routing, ete., being akin to others. of like character throughout the world, will be readily grasped and solved by men of finance, experience, and able minds. it will be the commonplace, every- day problems of. detail. so essential to the successful es conduct of the enterprise as a whole which will need * most careful and wise consideration and adjustment, It is the human phase of the shipping industry which will - determine its success. Without men, ships cannot be _ operated. Hence the man status in connection with _ the operation of ships is of paramount importance. and must be carefully, unselfishly and wisely con- sidered. One matter of great importance will be the source from whence to recruit men and how best to \ gO about it.’’ With this premises Mr. Pennell develops an argu- “ment calculated to place the blame for the scarcity of ty States seamen at the doors of the seamen’s a Unions, and this view seems to be generally support- _ ed by the American press. But does not the cause lie deeper than this and ‘‘being akin to others of like ‘character throughout the world,’’ cannot some light eM aye countries? . oe The Source of Maritime Power. es This same problem of providing competent seamen presented itself on another memorable occasion, name- ly, when the Kaiser decided that the future of the _ German Empire lay upon the sea. On this occasion _— Mauch eareful thought and investigation was given to this same question. After a careful examination ee of all the factors necessary to maritime power, the _ German authorities decided that more depended upon the existence of an active deep-sea-fishing industry _ than upon any other consideration and proceeded at once to build up such an industry in the Fatherland. _ Up to that time the per capita consumption of deep- _ sea fish in Germany was exceedingly small, and, small as it was, less than 15 per cent of it was being sup- be thrown upon its solution by the experience of other / CANADIAN FISHERMAN . 599 the Source of Capable Seamen By J. J. HARPELL. plied by German fishermen. But it required but a comparatively few years of vigorous propaganda on the part of the German authorities and the blessing of the Kaiser to change this condition, so that by 1911 (the last year for which there are any authentic re- turns’) Germany stood fourth among the deep-sea fish producing countries of Europe and was rapidly gain- ing a better position. There-is a closer relation between the fishing in- dustry, shipbuilding and the operation of a merchant marine and a navy than is generally recognized. ‘Sea fish,’’ says Professor J. Russel Smith, in his volume, “Industrial & Commercial Geography,” is considered the cause that first led men to sail upon the ocean, and from this beginning all maritime na- tions have had their rise. Such was the origin of the fleets of the Phoenicians and the Greeks. The Norse- man, on the inhospitable shores of Scandinavia, de- veloped fleets where man must fish or starve. The Dutchman, who wrested the commercial supremacy of the world’s seas from the Portuguese had had years of maritime training on the banks of the North Sea. The fleets of England had their origin in these same fishing grounds, and later the New Englanders be- came the pioneers of America, because good fishing banks were near them.”’ The force of Professor Smith’s observations ean best be appreciated by an examination of the rela- tion which the fish producing countries of the world bear to the maritime powers and more particularly to the nations that are now producing the most ecap- able seamen. The Principal Fishing Grounds of the World. It is not generally known that the important fish-- ing grounds of the world are only four in number, and that all four lie in the northern hemisphere, mainly north of the 40th parallel of latitude. The principal ’ food fishes of the ocean frequent the shallow places of eool seas. The coasts of the Southern Continents are too precipitous to provide ‘off-shore shoals and do not extend far enough into the Antarctic to secure the low temperatures required by the marketable fishes. The world must, therefore, look to the north- ern hemisphere for its principal supplies of edible fish. In the order of their importance as regards pro- - duction, the world’s four deep sea fishing grounds are as follows: Number One: Those lying off the northwest coast of Europe, including the North Sea, the Irish Sea and the Baltic. Number Two: Those lying off the north-east coast of Asia, including the Sea of Japan. Number Three: Those lying off the north-east coast of North America, including the Bay of Fundy, the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Hudson Straits and Hudson and James Bays. Number Four: Those lying off the north-west coast of North America. Fishing Ground Number One. The war has necessarily interfered with the in- vestigations that were being carried on by the Euro- 600 CANADIAN pean countries participating in the work of interna- tional investigation and exploration of the fishing grounds off the north-west coast of Europe, sO that the latest authentic statistics concerning the fish pro- duction from this area is for the year 1911, as set forth in the eighth volume of the Bulletin Statistique. According to this report, the total quantity of fish landed in the various European countries in that year was 53,110,000 ewt. The production of the principal countries participating in this catch was respectively as follows: Catch. Percent. of Country. Cwt. Total eatch. Great. Britain ii epee S | 23,920,000 45.04% Woeway |). asec is Baa EAT 13,641,000 25.69 POPS rina ie rtaas < 3,574,000 6.73 APOPIOON Yo Fst. ss ae 3,131,000 5.90 Netherlands 3543 006.5...2. « 2,620,000 4.42 a 7 Vs Ue Tae Gace Sareea Ra Feber 1,607,000 -3.00 TORINO PRS Sia Aa ries! a0 ha %es 453,000 2.00 WOORNID.. Vo ae ie ke 453,000 0.85 PRON oo hs eae s Week 277,000 0.52 Faroe Islands...........-. 240,000 0.45 Peeleai 5 oa en ee 232,000 0.44 Of the total the principal areas which go to make up these grounds yielded as follows: PROT SE OORT E ed s LA RUES Vie ak 44.8% Norway and Polar Regions.............. 24.7 Off the Coasts of Iceland |: .-..0.40 20 4.2: 8.9 Off the North and West Coast of Scotland 4.4 whe SKkagerrak Straits... Fee cs 4.0 MAI RAN AOR ey Suk ede « owes ae ses aut Off the North and West Coast of Ireland. . 2.4 Off the West Coast of England and the Frege soe ote vies ee ak be eS 41.7 pelagic fish, that is, fish that roam in schools near the surface of the ocean, such as herring, mackerel, sprats, ete., and about one-half are demersal or _ bot- tom fish, such as cod, haddock, hake, halibut, turbot. ‘soles, flounder, ete. . The quantities of the principal kinds of fish landed at England in the year 1913 will give some idea of the relative quantities which each specie produces. These are as follows :— Crt. RACET OM yen. vies 6 ee 12,183,000 POE Sc Se eee ieee 5.907.000 Padgoele 5 ee aa Sa oe 2.294.000 RACE. Re ee ea 763,000 Mackerel. bere aS 580,000 An idea of the equipment necessary to produce the British catch of fish may be had from the size of Great Britain’s fishing fleet in 1913. This was as follows:— . mieim Trawiers 0 oss 1,701 Other Steam Vessels.............. 1,666 MhOtor Orage oC A ee 1,382 ther V éatplg 2) 40, Ce 153858 Total ee oe Piss Sue 20,607 The total number of men and boys regularly em- ployed in the British fishing fleet is over 75,000, and those occasionally employed numbered over 25,000. Fishing Grounds Number Two. Complete statistics concerning production from the deep sea fishing grounds off the West Coast of Asia FISHERMAN February, 1918. are not available, but the total value of fish. taken from this area in 1913 was approximately $109,000,- 000. Of this, the Japanese fisheries are credited with $75,000,000, and those of Russia and China with the balance. Fishing Grounds Number Three. The fishing grounds off the north-east coast of North America are fished over mainly by the fish- ing fleets of Newfoundland, Canada, and the United States. In 1913 the catches from these grounds were approximately as follows :— Cwts. Newfoundland ... ............ 5,600,000 COBRA aC Se ates Vay eee 5,400,000 United States) fico es 1,800,000 Fishing Grounds Number Four. ip The fishing grounds lying off the north-west coasts of North America are fished over mainly by the fish- ing fleets of Canada and the United States, and in the year 1913 produced approximately i follows :— wits. ee D The principal fish producing countries of fhe world — in the order of their importance are therefore as fol- lows :— Which produces approximately — tons per year. reat Britain See 1,200,000 — eR Re Oy ea as awit eye 900,000 POE WSY 2. Res ia tees 2 800,000 Mate: States oe Ae. eee 410,000 © ROR ha ee eV ces ce ae eee 400,000 Newrundiand 0. 63. fee 280,000 Russia (including Finland)...... 250,000 PANG 6 PO SN ae 172,000 © EPMO rt cia es sue ee ea 168,000 Denmark (including Iceland).... 160,000 PO WOUOIE aa opin pba SU ROR viet 120,000 PADTL 8 5 oe eS: Me sag 115,000 — Relation Between Fishing Fleets and | ahaa Great Britain with a population of forty-five million people in 1913 had a merchant marine fleet aggre- gating over nineteen million tons, practically all of — which was manned and navigated by British seamen. - Norway, with a population of 2,400,000 in 1913, had a merchant marine fleet aggregating 2,500,000 tons. — Her vessels are invariably manned by Norwegian sea-- men and her seamen are also to be found in large number in the fleets of many other countries. — Japan is rapidly becoming the dominant factor in the merchant marine of the Pacific. ‘Before the war the Japanese shipping in the Pacific represented 33 per cent of the total, but by the middle of 1917 it had inereased to 55 per cent of the total. Her vessels are ~ invariably manned by Japanese seamen who are also to be found in the fleets of many other countries. The United States is a large producer of fish, but the greater part of it is made up of salmon and shell- fish—branches of the industry that do not produce seamen, as these are largely fish which either inhabit the rivers and bays, or come up into them from the sea to spawn, when they are easily trapped, netted or dip- _ ped out with fish-wheels. The deep-sea and lake fisher- ies of the United States are comparatively small and account for less than 100,000 tons yearly. Moreover, many of her fishing vessels are manned by Canadians i" February, 1918. - Newfoundlanders and Scandinavians. The United States in 1913 had a merchant marine of five million tons, but _ .the seamen navigating these were mostly English, Can- ' adian, Japanese, Norwegian or Newfoundlanders, A _. recent statement of the registration of seamen sailing out of the United States ports discloses the fact _ that 74 per cent of them are foreigners; 9 per cent are naturalized citizens and only 17 per cent are na- _ tive born citizens of the United States. _ Newfoundland, in proportion to her population, is _ the largest producer of deep-sea fish, and propor- _ tionately the most important producer of capable seamen. But these seamen when they leave the fish- _ ing industry have to seek employment in the fleets _ of other countries, because Newfoundland is neither building or providing a merchant fleet sufficiently large to absorb them. Thus these excellent citizens and the beneficial influence of this citizenship are lost to their country. Germany, in 1913, had a merchant marine aggregat- _ ing a tonnage of about the same as that of United States; and, taking into consideration the special effort that she made during recent years to encourage German citizens to go into it and into the navy, also the fact that the native-born Germans in the German deep-sea fishing fleet is from two to three times the number of native-born United States citizens in the deep-sea fishing fleet of the United States, the per- centage of native-born German citizens sailing out of German ports is proportionately equal to native-born citizens of United States sailing out of American ports. In a similar manner the number of capable native born seamen that are being produced in France, Den- mark, Sweden, Holland and other countries are pro- _ portionate to the size and importance of the deep- sea fishing fleets of these countries. Canada, next to Newfoundland and Norway, pos- __sgesses the largest deep-sea fishing fleet, proportionate to her population. It, however, does not bear the same proportion to the British deep sea fishing fleet _ which her total annual catch of fish would indicate, because, like the United States, the four hundred _ thousand tons above quoted include her salmon and te shellfish catch. Her deep-sea fishing fleet is larger _ than that of the United States, and both on the At- lantie and Pacific is manned invariably by native _ born Canadians, who come mainly from New Bruns- wick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. But the Canadian deep-sea fishing fleet is still small as com- _ pared with her deep-sea fishing resources. In the past the fishing industry of Canada has not been suf- ficiently profitable to retain the services of the men _ who received their initial training therein, and the merchant marine of Canada has likewise not been re- ¢eeiving the attention it should, with the result that _ large numbers of Canadian seamen have had to look - to other countries for profitable employment. They - found it principally in the fishing fleets and mer- _ ¢hant marine of the United States. The Deep Sea Fish Resources of North America. ' The grounds third in importance as regards pro- _ duction and development, but first as regards extent - of area are those lying off the East Coast of Canada _ and Newfoundland. They comprise the Grand Banks, which alone cover an area as large as that of Great _ Britain. These banks are the largest deep-sea fishing _ shoals in the world. Lying just where the cold Labra- - dor eurrent rounds the south-east corner of Newfound- CANADIAN FISHERMAN 601 land, these cool waters, with their abundance of food organisms that have been brought down from the Northern Seas, form the greatest cod fishing banks known. These grounds include also the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and the Bay of Fundy, as well as the Shoals off the coast of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador. Furthermore, they are the grounds which produce the finest class of seamen. They are more exposed to the Atlantic than are the Dogger Banks of the North Sea. The weather is subject to more frequent and violent changes, and they possess the additional hazard of frequent and dense fogs. The quality of seamenship which these fishing grounds produce will be appreciated by the following account of their life and work, as set forth by Captain F. W. Wallace, Editor of the ‘Canadian Fisherman,’’ in a volume now on the press : The Bank Skipper. “‘Few occupations call for more tact, resourcefulness, nerve and seafaring knowledge than that of the pre- sent day master of a Bank fishing vessel. They are in a class by themselves and the work calls for smart, in- telligent and hardy men. Most. of the successful fishing skippers today are No- va Scotians and Newfoundlanders — the old time Cape Cod. Maine and other native born Americans having practically gone out of the American fishing fleets. Be- ginning as an ordinary fisherman. the skipper is gen- erally a man who is ambitions and with enough deter- mination in his make-un to tackle the worries incident- al to the position. He apnlies for command of a schooner and it is up to him to ‘‘make good.’? To do this. he has to get a ‘‘gang’’ together to go fishing with him and as a rule he will enlist the services of former shipmates, relations and friends as it is no easy matter for a ‘‘green’’ skipper to ship men when there are so many successful skippers always looking for hands. With a gang shipped, the green skipper has to prove himself a ‘‘fish killer’’ and bring in good ‘‘trips’’ of fish. If fish were to be got where ever the gear was set this would be an easy matter, but unfortunately thev are not and the skipper has to use his head and find them. If he is a smart man and well informed as to the migrations of the sealy spoil, he will ‘‘strike’’ them and land a fare. If he is unsuccessful in catching fish. his gang are liable to leave him on return to port as they work on shares and poor fares mean but little money. A few bad trips mean ‘‘finis’’ for the ambi- tious fishing skipper as he will never get men to ship with him nor an owner to trust him with command of a schooner. With so many independent men under his command, the skipper has to be a man of infinite tact. He can- not bully or brow-beat his ‘‘crowd’’ or use his author- ity in the same way as the officers in the merchant ser- vice. Fishing vessels have no articles and the men sign no papers of service. They ship to ‘‘fish and sail the vessel to and from the fishing grounds.’’ They are under the Laws of Canada Shipping Act inasmuch as they must obey the just commands of the master in the navigation of the vessel. The tactful skipper never at- tempts to discipline the men — if he tried it they would leave him at the first port — but he has to exert his authority in such a way that he can get the work done without any appearance. of ‘‘driving’’. This calls for the exercise of a great deal of self- * 602 restraint, patience and good humor. The successful skipper works the men hard — fishing days and nights without sleep — but he does it in such a way that they feel in no way ‘‘rushed.’’ All the work of navigating the schooner falls to him and the men look to the skipper for all orders in hand- ling the ship. He has no mate to relieve him or take responsibility—the crew merely carry out his instruc- tions in steering, look-out and sail handling. He has to be a man of nerve to drive the schooner to mark- et in heavy weather: to navigate around a dangerous eoast in fogs and winter snow storms, and to exercise all the tricks of seamanship in the various hazardous situations which are part of life at sea. In the fishing with dories, the men-will be out in them and scattered over five miles of water. The skipper, cook and prob- ably a spare hand are in charge of the schooner and the dories have to be carefully watched in case fog or sud- den squalls shut down and separate them from the vessel. All the lives of the dory-men depend upon his vigilanee and ability to pick them up should anything happen. No matter how good a fish killer a skipper is, there are times when he will hit a prolonged streak of bad luck and the men begin to growl, as seafarers will: The skipper, however disconsolate he may feel him- self, has to exercise his powers of good humor and keep up the spirits of the crew. Thus it will be seen that the position of master on a fishing vessel calls for --men of more than ordinary virtues and ability. In addition, he has to be something of a business man and keep track of the markets for fish and the seasons they are in demand. He has to be a hustler in procuring bait during the various periods in which it is to be procured cheaply and he has to plan out the fish- ing voyage as regards time and expenses in order that it shall be profitable to the owners and crew. Supplies and gear are generally purchased by him and he has to be fully cognisant of the various fishery laws and regulations which obtains along the ports, provinces and states of the Atlantic coast. : The Bank Fisherman. The Bank fisherman, or the deep-sea fisherman as he is sometimes called, is of the finest type of worker. The fisheries offshore on the Banks. call for hardy, courageous men able to stand the long hours of downright hard work which the fishery calls for and also the rigors of life at sea in all weathers. Most of them haye to be born to the fisheries and have engaged in them since boyhood—very few men brought up in other environments can go Bank fishing. The Maritime Provinces of Canada and Newfound- land breed the men who engage in the Bank fisheries of the present day out of home and United States ports. As mentioned before, the native born American does not go Bank fishing nowadays — the shore occupations have claimed the sons of the old time American deep- sea fishermen and United. States vessels are largely manned by Canadians and Newfoundlanders with a few Englishmen and Scandinavians. The Bank fisheries calls for strong men. There is no place for a weakling or a man troubled with nerv- ousness. The work is hazardous and demands ability to cope with physical strain and nerve enough not to get frightened easily. The Bank schooner has to remain at sea often in the wildest of winter weather. Gales which play havoe with great ocean liners are rode out CANADIAN FISHERMAN ‘Sa ee eats February, 1918. — by the little 90 ton fishing schooners and handling the vessel at such time call for hadihood and seamanship on — the part of the erews. The dory fishing in which one ~ or two men leave the schooner in small boats to set and. haul their fishing lines is often attended with great danger. The sea may be smooth when the dories leave’ the vessel and may be lashed by a gale before they can get aboard again. Sudden snow storms and dense’ — fogs are two hazards which the dory men have to tack. le and it requires a knowledge of unusual seamanship and weatlfer lore to escape destruction. re In spite of the hazards and the roughness of the life at sea in small craft, the work appeals to the Bank fish- _— ermen because of its independence and freedom. There — is no one to “‘boss’’ and order them around except the _ skipper and he, as already explained, exerts his author- ity in a mild way. Master and crew work together in a co-operative manner and this policy and the freedom from discipline is the principle which keeps men en- gaged in an oceupation which calls for more risksthan — ¥ the remuneration covers. A haat pec Besides being an expert in the work of-fishing, rigg- _ ing lines and gear, the Bank fisherman must be an able- _ bodied seaman as well. He must know the compass — and how to steer by the wind or a course. He should ~ be able to go aloft and handle a topsail: lay out ona bowsprit and furl a jib or on a boom end and haul out the reef-earring of a mainsail. A knowledge of the rule of the road is essential as he has to stand a wateh and, in addition to being able to handle a schooner and her canvas, he must know how to splice and knot. Until he is an expert in pulling a pair of oars and handling athe ‘those tricky yet wonderful boats called dories in all kinds of weather, he is not fit to go Bank fishing. Asa — small boat sailor, the Bank fisherman is the finest in the world. | ; Rig eo ey tes The Atlantic Deep-Sea Fishing Ports. The Bank fishery of the United States is carried on from the ports of Gloucester and Boston with a small fleet from Portland, New York and Provincetown. The Bank fishery of Canada is conducted principally out of =e Ng 4 Lunenburg, N.S., where a fleet of some 125 schooners ae engage in the salt fishing. Out of Digby there is a small fleet of eight or ten schooners which engage in — fresh fishing. Yarmouth, Lahave, Lockport, Halifax, — Canso, Hawkesbury and some ports in Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick and Quebec have a few schoon- _ ers employed in Bank fishing. Pe Deaer os siete Me The Bank Fleet’s Season. The great Lunenburg fleet engage exclusively in salt fishing — that is, all the fish caught are salted and after landing are dried and prepared mainly for export — to Europe, the West Indies and South America, The ~ Lunenburg craft fit out for the season’s fishing in March and continue throughout the summer antl Sep: nm tember or the beginning of October. After that, the — fleet is laid up for the winter, with the exception of a — few large schooners which run with fish and lumber — to the West Indies and return with salt from Turk’s — Islands. Ga a ee The Spring fleet usually procure their herring bait — from one or other of the freezers established in Nova — Scotia ports and sails for the Banks around the 15th of — March. They remain at sea until about the first of — June when they return and land their fares at Lunen- — burg and sail for the Magdalen Islands to procuré a_ ~ February, 1918. JANADIAN _ baiting of fresh herring which is plentiful then. With this baiting, ora baiting of caplin—a small fish which school in great number around the Newfoundland coast — the fleet fish upon the various Banks from Western to Grand from June to September. The Spring trip is generally a small one and the average catch for each vessel is about 1,000 quintals—a quintal being 112 lbs. The Summer voyage is the longest and the schoon- ers may return with a fare ranging from 1,000 quintals » 2,400 quintals according to the luck and the weather. ost of the fish caught is cod with some hake, pol- ock, cusk and haddock.’’ _ The Deep-Sea Fishing Fleet of the Pacific. The fishing grounds of fourth importance in point production, but third in extent of area are those ig off the west coast of Canada and Alaska. © xeept for halibut. the deep-sea fishing on these yunds have had little or no attention. The hali- ut fleets of the Pacific fish out of Prince Rupert, ancouver and Seattle. 1e Deep-Sea Fishing Resources of North America and How They Might be Developed. -Proportionate to their resources the people of North _ America have made little progress in the development of _ their deep-sea fishing industry. This continent lies in the _ elosest proximity to the two of the world’s four deep- sea fishing grounds and her inland fisheries, compris- ing lakes as large as seas, are greater than those of any other country. ; The road to the proper development of these re- sources lies along the following lines: (1) The larger consumption of fish on the part _ of the people of the United States and Canada. The dissemination of more information con- ng the fishing industry among the youth of the ) The establishment in the educational institu- tions of courses of study in pisci-culture, navigation and other subjects calculated to produce the expert cnowledge necessary to the proper development of sheries and to make the industry profitable. The proper surveying of the deep-sea fishing $ so as to make the business of harvesting these less haphazard and more scientific as well as oductive and not so liable to loss of gear and uipment. nternational commission. representing the d States. Canada and Newfoundland, shovld mointed to do the work for the fishing grounds the east and west eoast of America which the national Eurovean Commission has been doing the grounds off the north-west coast.of Europe. Deep-Sea Fisheries is Canable of Much Increased te : _ Production. _ Heretofore the interest which the people of the nited States and Canada have taken in fish as a d has been allowed to develop.in a most indifferent er, with the result that there is a demand only f e few varieties of fish that happen to be best nown or most easilv handled in the kitchen. Many her varieties. equally nutritive and palatable. have een left uncaught, or if caught have been thrown k into the sea, because there was little or no mar- for them. This condition has left the business of p-sea fishing generally unprofitable, and the few ties of fish in demand high in price to the con- ‘or the greater part of their catch, the deep- PISHERMAN 603 sea fishermen of North America have had to look for a market in other countries. Strange as it may seem, statistics have not been compiled by the United States authorities concerning the total catch and the quantities of each variety taken by the fishermen of that country. The same is also true of Newfoundland. So that the only complete available returns that are to be had are those con- cerning the Canadian catch. In the year ending with the 31st of March, 1917, the quantities of all kinds of fish—deep-sea, inshore and inland—taken by Canadian fishermen, together with the average price at port, of each kind were as follows :— | Value on er Ib. Kind. Quantity. Value. P Cts. Cod (deep sea) ... ........2,026,231 ewt. $ 5,449,964 2.68 Herring (inshore) .........1,749,397 «« 3,050,421 1.84 Salmon (inshore) ..........1,239,668 ‘é 10,882,431 8.77 Haddock (deep sea) ... .. 582,028 <¢ 1,711,271 ,2.94 Lobster (inshore) ......... 480,898 «é 5,508,054 11.45 Hake and Cusk (deep sea).. 385,953 ¢¢ 757,456 1.99 Sardines (inshore) . .. ..... 315,831, bbl. 1,481,261 4.69 Whitefish (inland)... ..... 164,992 cwt. | 1,135,486 6.88 Mackerel (deep sea) ...... 156,075 << ' 924,746 5.93 Pollock (deep sea) ... .... 143,306 ¢é 268,756 1.87 Halibut (deep sea) ....... 142,823 ¢é 2,263,573 15.85 Pickerel (inland) ......... 105,428 ‘<< 871,719 8.27 SPORE CIDIANG) 266 oc is ae es 88,071 << 741,610 8.42 Pike (inland) ............ 78,9938 «6 404,453 5.46 Alewives (inshore) ........ 73,416 <¢ 117,083 1.59 Smelts (inshore) .......... 68,629 <¢« 847,357 12,35 Tollibee (inland)........... 58,537 ‘4 301,060 5.14 Clams and Quohogs (inshore) 54,942 bbl. 195.805 3.56 Caplin (inshore) ... ...... 22,784 «¢ 22.784 1.00 Perch (inland) ... ...,..... 22,773 ewt. 114,656 5.04 Oate Ainland) oi oe oe. 22,303 . *¢ 56,543 2.53 ‘Oysters (inshore) ......... 18,361 bbl. 147,751 8.05 Dulse, crabs, cockles, ete. ) RPRMOLO Nel ois tes ee 17,035 ewt. 53,917 3.15 Tom cod (inshore) ......... 14,314 <¢ 42,531 2.98 Albacore (deep sea)... 13,906 ‘* 48,684 3.50- Wels ‘(inshorey .. 04.00.0055. 14,068.64 87,050 6.18. Oulachons (inshore) ... 12,990 ‘¢ 68,449 5.39 Mullets (inland) ..,.. 10,802 < 21,604 2.00 Scallop (inshore) ...:..... 9,460 bbl 38 460 4.06 Catfish (inland), . 2s 20.34... 9,392 ewt 74,068 7.88 Swordfish (deep sea) ..... 9,284 ¢ 69,716 7.50 Shad (inshore)............. 85365... §6 63.645 7.60 Flounder (deep sea)... .... 7,924 *¢ 36,560 4.61 Squid (deep sea) ...: ..,. 7,802 bbl 36,977 4.75 Goldeye (inland)............ 6,605 ewt 32,554 4.93 Soles (deep sea)... ....:... 6,226 ‘¢ 60,383 9.70 Sturgeon (inshore)... ..... 5,940 ‘6 - 66,420 11.18 Dog fish (deep sea)......... 5,460. < 1,911 .20 Skate (deep sea)... ...... 2,982 * 8,643 2.90 Hae Crea ey a eo Ph ee 2,481 ‘§ 29,329 10.94 Octopus (inshore) .......... A le 2,012 12,49 Muskinonge (inland)... ... 93 ‘* 982 10.53 Whiting (deep sea)... ... St 4¢ 1,087 12.50 From this table it will be seen that the most ex- pensive fish to produce is the halibut. Yet this is the fish for which there is the greatest demand. It is the most difficult fish to eatch and this difficulty is ever increasing, by reason of the fact that the specie is be- coming searcer. In fact. the halibut is disappearing so rapidly from the fishing grounds, that the United States and Canada are considering some international agreement with a view to protect them. The produe- tion of halibut has long since dwindled to small proportions on the fishing grounds off the northwest coast of Europe and the northeast coast of Asia. The production from the grounds off the northwest coast of North America is also small. so that the demand in the world’s markets for this fish must be largely satis- fied by the supplies from the deep-sea fishing grounds off the northwest coast of North. America. The quan- 604 CANADIAN tity taken by Canadian fishermen off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts during the last five years was as follows: 1912-3 .. 282,658 ewt. LOE oo Se Bn as 256,096 ‘ TORR ag ea te ee ees 3 og 239,920 ‘' 2p LEM RR hel Ss a pana 226,151. “‘ NONE hace ORS Ss 142,823 ‘ Out of the total annual production in Canada of all kinds of fish from both the Atlantic and the Pacific and her inland fisheries of 8,170,000 ewt. the halibut accounts for only 142,823 ewt. Yet everybody seems to want halibut. : Salmon is the next most expensive fish, particularly when purchased fresh out of season, which means the greater part of the year, because salmon are plentiful only while they are going up into the rivers to spawn. This spawning season is never longer than a few weeks at any one point. At this time the salmon are taken in large quantities and canned. The low prices paid for them at this time of the year tends to bring down the average for the season to the figures given in the above table. There are several species of salmon on the Atlantic and Pacific Coasts and inland lakes, and fortunately the species do not all spawn at the same time of the year. At certain times of the year out of the spawning season the few stray salmon caught with a hook and line, or in a net, will sell as high as $1.00 a pound. The smelt is the next ost expensive fish for the. reasons that. the demand is large, they are an ex- pensive fish to produce, they can be caught only at certain times of the year, and-the total production is not large. The same is also true of whitefish, trout, bass, pickerel, dore, catfish, swordfish, soles, muske- longe, whiting and sturgeon. The octopus, or devil- fish, also sells high, because the demand, particularly among the Oriental people, is much greater than the. supply. They are caught mainly on the Pacific Coast: where they are generally consumed by the Chinese and Japanese. The cheap fish are cod, haddock, hake, eusk, pol- lock and skate. These are cheap, not because they are less nutritive or less palatable. but for the reason that they are most abundant, easily caught and may be had at any time of the year. weather permitting. The herring is also a cheap fish because so abundant. It is the most prolific food fish in the ocean and especially plentiful off the northeast and northwest coasts of America. But unlike the cod it cannot be had at all times of the year. There are certain seasons when the herring appear in great numbers off the shores and at these times the quantities taken are limited only by the equipment for catching them, the cold storage and curing facilities for taking care of them and the de- mand in the market. All the above mentioned cheap varieties are deep- sea fish and the deep-sea fisherman could produce many times their present catch if the consumption among the people of the United States and Canada was only increased accordingly. If the people of the United States and Canada wish to become a maritime power, they should. pay more attention to the development of the deep-sea fishing resources, with which nature has so lavishly endowed the shores of this continent. -in ice, and deliver them f.o.b. ears. FISHERMAN February, 1918. FISHERMEN PROTEST ONTARIO GOVERN- MENT’S FIXED PRICES. The Editor, The Government proposal to commandeer 20 per cent of the fish caught in the Province, at prices fixed by the Government, is a step in the right direction, but, in its desire to supply the commodity at the lowest possible price the Government is about to deal un- fairly with at least a section of the fishermen. I do not presume to speak for all the small fishermen, but as secretary of the local Fishermen’s: Association I am authorized to present the case for the men in this: com- munity. In these parts the principal Boneh is trout. The Gow. ernment has decreed that eight cents per pound, f.o.b. cars, boxed and iced, is a fair price for this class of fish, but how they arrived at this estimate is difficult to understand. According to the Globe, the cost of living has in- ereased since 1914 over 50 per cent. The cost of pro-. duction has gone up during the same period: Gasoline, 112% per cent; nets, 70 per cent; corks, leads, ete., 160 per cent; labor over 50 per cent, In 1914 the fish. ermen could command six cents per pound for trout; in 1917 the prices ranged from 744 cents on the dock, without boxes or ice, to 10 cents, boxed and iced. Tak. ing the highest price paid during 1917—without con-. sidering either the cost of boxes or packing—the in- crease to the fishermen since 1914 amounts to only 33 1-3 per cent, and in most cases is nearer 25 per cent. The cost of production has increased to, roughly over 100 per cent, and the cost of living over 50 per cent, and to meet this the producer is only getting a bare increase of 25 per cent. The cost of production will be greater during 1918, yet the Government propose cut- ting the price, instead of purchasing it. ' To meet the Government requirements, the fisher- men will be required to provide boxes, pack the fish As this community is 60 miles from a railway station, the men will presum- ably have to pay freight of 50 cents per ewt. to the nearest railway centre. And the Minister of Public Works and Fisheries announces that they will be better off than last year! Of course, the fisherman still has 80 per cent of his catch to dispose of as he pleases, but. if the Government cut the prices, the tendeney will, be for the outside markets to follow suit. | Fishing is a hazardous game. It is also an expensive business, as a gang of nets seldom lasts more than two years, and i is often destroyed by bad weather the first year. Then there is the yearly bill for repairs to nets, which is by no means inconsiderable. To reduce the cost of living is a laudable ambition, but to do so at the expense of the fishermen, who are already suffer- ing from the increased cost of production, is ambition run mad. JOBN MACARTNEY, Secretary. Tobermoray Wishormedi: s Association, Tobermoray, January 28. The Independent Boat Owners’ Association of Prince Rupert want a herring trap established at Pearl Harbor near Port Simpson, B.C. This, they claim, would relieve the bait situation for the halibut fisher- men, and the pressure on the Rupert Cold Storage dur- ing the winter. February, 1918. CANADIAN FISHERMAN 605 Practical Fish-ways Meziaden Falls and Fish-way, Naas River water- shed, British Columbia, The above illustration shows the falls in the Meziaden River, a tributary of the Naas River, in British Colum- bia, and the fish-way constructed for the Dominion Government by the Fishery Department of British Columbia at cost of fifteen thousand dollars. The Meziaden River is the largest tributary of the Naas River. At the falls the river is over four hun- dred feet wide. largest lakes in the Naas watershed frequented by sockeye salmon. The falls shown above have a drop of over ten feet. During high stages or ordinary stages of water salmon had little difficulty in passing over. During seasons of low water the fish had great dif- fieulty in making the ascent and many failed to do so. In ascending the Meziaden River the salmon approach The Fish-way at Meziaden Falls, Naas River water- shed, B.C. The. cross timbers shown brace the retaining wall to prevent ground from. filling the basins. ed the falls along the left bank of the stream (the right bank shown in the illustration.) The entrance to the fish-way is shown on the right of the illustration. The bank on that side consists of bed rock with a strata of gravel on top. The fish-way has a length of 126 feet, a width of from 25 to 30 feet, and is divided into five basins or pools by cross walls of re-inforced cement, beginning at the head there is a drop of 2 ft. between each basin. The entrance is located at the foot of the falls, where previous to its construction the fish congregated before attempting the ascent. It has a width of not less than 25 feet and a depth of 6 It is the outlet of one of. the two’ feet at low water. The up-stream or exit end of the fish-way has a width of 20 feet and a depth of 3 feet at low water. On entering the fish-way the salmon pass from one basin to another heaping over a 2 ft. fall. To prevent drift from entering the fish-way a wing- dam of logs and rocks was built at an angle of 45 degrees to the bank and some fifty feet above the exit. Openings through the wing-dam permit the fish to pass through. The channel of the fish-day, its entrance and exit having been cut through solid rock and its eross walls made of re-enforced cement, the work is permanent and affords for years to come an easy and safe passage for the ascent of the vast numbers of sockeye salmon that annually seek the spawning beds above the falls. The fish-way was designed and built by John P. Babcock, the Assistant to the Commissioner of Fisheries for British Columbia. The fish-way at the dam at the outlet of Quesnel Lake, in British Columbia, is one of the most import- ant in that province. Quesnel Lake is the source of Quesnel River, one : Se The Fish-way of Quesne! Dam, showing construction. of the largest and most important salmon frequented tributaries of the Fraser River. The lake itself is the second largest lake in the Fraser watershed. Its gravel beds and tributary streams afford extensive spawning: areas for sockeye salmon. The dam at the outlet of Quesnel Lake was built in 1898 for the pur- pose of draining the river for mining. The dam is constructed on the segment of a circle having a radius of 460 feet, is 18 feet high, and from abutment. to abutment is 763 feet long. At the north end of the dam is constructed a race 124 feet wide by 382 feet long, with a gradient of only six inches. At the head of this race are nine 12 foot discharge gates through which the ordinary overflow of the lake is carried off. The water in the race varies in depth according to the season, but at the time of the sockeye salmon run (August and September) it averages four to five feet in depth, and has a velocity of twelve to fourteen feet per second. A fish-way was built in the race by constructing a wall of hewn timbers running parallel with and twen- 606 CANADIAN ty-six feet from its eastern wall. On the floor of the ’ race between these walls, at each twenty-five feet of the entire length of the race were placed hewn timbers three (3) feet high extending from each wall upward, and at an angle of 45 degrees and meet in the centre, constituting a cross-wall or riffle which retards the flow of water and causes a series of counter currents so as to permit the fish to easily pass through it. The entrance to the fish find their progress arrested by the dam. The fish-way was built by the British Columbia Government in 1903 at a cost of four thousand dollars, upon the design of John P. Babcock, the Deputy Fish- eries Commissioner of that Province. All the salmon which enter Quesnel Lake pass through this fish-way. They cannot enter the lake otherwise. As the waters which flow from the lake Looking up. the race at Quesnel Dam, showing the _ construction of the. fish-way on the floor of the The gates being closed. race, are clear, and at the head of the fish-way perfectly placid, the salmon entering can be distinctly seen by one stationed there. Every season since the fish-way was constructed the Provincial Government has sta- - tioned a watchman at the dam during the salmon run to prevent anyone catching them in or below the fish- way, and to note the size and duration of the run. The daily records kept of the run of salmon at this point illustrate the importance of the fish-way and also the vast numbers of salmon that have reached Quesnel Lake in ‘‘the years of the big run.’’ By a system of -ecounting it was shown that between August 5th and 31st, 1909, over four million of adult sockeye salmon passed through this fishway. A CARLOAD OF FISH DIRECT TO FARMERS. A earload of fresh frozen haddock and codfish from Nova Scotia, packed in 200-pound boxes, will arrive in Petrolea early this week, and be sold in unbroken boxes at 9c per pound, at any point in the county of Lamb- ton. This enterprise is to help out the meat conserva- tion idea. It is made possible by the Ontario Gov- ernment co-operating with the food controller’s office at Ottawa, and through the agricultural representative for Lambton, W. P. Macdonald, arranging with the Farmer’s Co-operative Clubs to distribute the carload. This is the first car of fish ever imported into Ortario and handled in this way. FISHERMAN fish-way is at the point where the February, 1918. | e REGARDING NEWFOUNDLAND AND THE SERI- OUS CONSIDERATION OF GREATER PRODUCTION. By M. McLAREN. Recently the newspapers stated that the food gts. tion in Newfoundland was becoming serious. The press further reported that cattle and other stock were suffering from lack of grain, ete, ‘Therefore the situation in the ancient colony is grave enough to merits her people’s earnest consideration, and it is to her fisheries that Newfoundland will now as never before owe her existence, if thought of the help to be got in that direction is directed into the right chan- nels. Some years since a test was made of the soil of the Island. An eminent authority stated that Newfound- — land was capable of developing a food supply large enough for self-sustenance. Garden stuffs, and root — -erops will grow luxuriantly in the short summer, The supply of animal fertilizer in Newfoundland, because of the scarcity of cattle is not great. The de- mand of the present, that every person must culti-— Na vate all the land they can, makes it plain that in Newfoundland, as well as in Canada, the question of waste in the fisheries could be considered with profit to the colony. Speaking of the fisheries three cen- turies ago, Lord Bacon described them as being ‘‘rich- er than all the gold mines of Peru,’’ and to-day they are the greatest fisheries in all the world, therefore | in no place in all the world can there be a greater amount of fish waste than in Newfoundland. To s ply her own foodstuffs, the ancient colony must have fertilizer, and this demand can be supplied as in Can- ada, by consideration and conservation of the wasted ” by- products of the fishing industry. - There is more in the fish waste than ss skin and bone. Stock and poultry will flourish upon the discards + and the island will blossom even as the rose upon the 8 * which every farmer _ application of ‘‘ Marine Fertilizer,’ knows contains the necessary chemical properties. ue the production of all varieties of crops. Britons | ev where are putting forth every effort to win the war, and some arid parts of the Empire would doubtless be glad‘to. buy from Newfoundland the conserved fish — waste in order to enrich the stony soil, and, a pete it under cultivation, reap its quota of foodstuffs cit grain to swell the empire’s resources. NEW FOOD CONTROLLER A FISH MAN, Mr. Henry B. Thomson, Canada’s Food Controller, was associated with Mr. F. T. James and Mr. trict No. 2 last summer. Mr. Thomson is well acquaint. — ed with fishery matters on the Pacifie Coast, and is 4 a man of strong personality and organizing ability. — Into the Food Control, he is bringing tv the fore much of the virile and forceful way of doing things which — characterized him on the Pacific Coast. Mr. Thomson — and was a aha for Victoria in the B. C. leouine 4 for ten years. of Canada appears in this i issue. San- _ ford Evans on the personnel of the B. C. Salmon Fish- Z eries Commission which investigated conditions in Dis- ee A message from him to the Eehernys ny CANADIAN FISHERMAN 607 To The Fishermen of Canada There is no necessity for me to emphasize the seriousness of the food situation at the present time. The published reports from the Allied Countries deseribing the seareity of food stores; the institution of bread and meat ecards - and compulsory rationing, have been given due prominence in the Canadian Press and every Canadian is aware of the se ee tata conditions which exist across the Atlantic. Food will win the War and every Canadian must do his or her bit to f \ attain the common object. Neglect, carelessness and failure to observe the simple regulations imposed and requested by the Canadian Food Control only postpones the day of final victory and lengthens the arduous service of our fighting men. To bring them home from the trenches and the fenhng ships . as quickly as possible is our first duty. — To the fishermen of the Atlantic, Pacific and Great Lakes, I would urge that every effort be made to increase the catch of edible fish. Waste no time 4 in idleness. Every pound of fish landed will be consumed on this continent | and a pound of beef or bacon released for shipment overseas. The fisherman who keeps hard at work fishing is helping to win the war. The fisherman who wastes time is helping the Germans. In the fish camps, on vessels, and in your homes, the fisherman can also help by saving food. Eat more fish and less meat—especially beef and bacon. Eat ‘less white-bread and pastry made from white flour. Use more corn-meal, oat-meal and war flour. Owners, in fitting out vessels, can assist by encouraging the use of substitutes for beef, bacon and flour on the fishing eraft. Produce and save is the keynote of my message to Canada’s fishermen. ; This double duty imposes no great hardship. In your work, let your efforts be vigorously strengthened by the undeniable fact the FOOD WILL WIN THE WAR. awe February 20th, 1918. ' Food Controller for Canada. 608 CANADIAN FISHERMAN February, 1998, “ Steam Trawling for Canada Major Hugh A. Greene, Director of Fish Supplies for the Overseas Canadians and the British Board of Trade, and the man who inaugurated the huge export shipments of Atlantie frozen fish to Great Britain, states that Canada’s Atlantic fisheries are but feebly developed. ‘*We’re only scratching at our fishery resources in this country,’’ he stated recently. ‘‘The Grand Banks off the Newfoundland and Nova Scotia coast are the greatest fishing areas in the world to-day. They are ten times the size of the North Sea fishing grounds, and more prolific in cod, haddock and other fish, yet the Dogger Bank has been fished by steam trawlers from Great Britain, Germany, Belgium, Denmark, Hol- land, Norway, Sweden and France for thirty years, and has produced incalculable quantities of fish foods in that time. Before the war, there were a thousand steam trawlers and drifters fishing in the North Sea and landing big catches. How many steam trawlers are there fishing out of Canadian ports on the Grand Banks to-day? I blush to say it, but there are two fairly modern craft and one small vessel. However, another vessel is being added to our fleet, and that will make four all told. Just think of it! Four trawlers in a country which has been fishing for three hundred years; which was colonized by fishermen, and whose inducements for colonization were primarily fish and fur. If we’d have got wise ten years ago, we should have at least one hundred trawlers fishing by now on our Atlantic coast. We could now be supplying England and the United States with millions of pounds of frozen sea fish weekly, and the salt fishermen could catch as much fish with one trawler as they can catch with ten fishing schooners in a season. Gentlemen: We have more fish around the Canadian - eoast than they ever had in European waters, but we’ve been asleep for years. What other country is there with any fisheries in the world to-day that carries on with sailing vessels and hooks and lines? Trawlers are used everywhere in greater numbers than in Canada. Great Britain, France, Holland, Germany and Scandinavia has them by the hundreds. Spain and Portugal have their trawler fleets. Japan had them years ago. Our sister colonies of South Africa and Australia had them long before Canada ever thought of steam trawling. The United States has about twenty that come up and fish on these banks lying right off our own coasts, and all this has been going on while our hook and line fishermen were send- ing petitions in to Ottawa to prohibit steam trawling, as it destroyed fish spawn and raked up the fishing grounds. The North Sea has been gone over like a Western wheat field for over thirty years, and there is as much fish in it to-day as there ever were. The Royal Com- mission on Steam Trawling, which investigated the effects of steam trawling over there entirely exonerat- ed trawling from ill-effects, and proved that there was no depletion in the fisheries whatever, in spite of the fact that the fleets were increasing yearly. Canada’s big steam trawling field is on the Atlantic banks. The Pacific fishing areas are not so large nor so favorable for the operation of this kind of fishing. They are also too far away from the British markets for the present overseas trade. The cost of operation is also too high—the fishermen demanding too much remuneration for their work. This is entirely due to the high prices set by the halibut fishery, and this scale will have to be adjusted. if Pacific ground fish are ever going to be marketed. The steam trawler will operate very successfully in the ground fishery on the Pacific, but the market will be confined to this continent only, and it will have to be cheap fish if it is going to compete with the At-— lantic fish. When the halibut fishery is depleted, or restricted to prevent depletion, the Pacific fishermen will have to use the steam trawler to catch the other varieties of fish. The hook and line fishery is too ex-— pensive, and is no good for catching soles, flounders, and other bottom flat-fish. On both oceans, steam trawling is the only logical manner in which the fisheries can be developed. It is up to us to get busy and get in on the game.’’ EXTENSIONS IN THE TRADE. A. H, Shearman, president of the Defiance Packing Company with canneries on English Bay and at Port Renfrew, is going into the packing of herring on a large scale as a supplementary adjunct to his canning of salmon. He believes that the canning of fish ean be kept up almost the whole year round if the different varieties of fish to be found in B.C. waters are utilized. A continuous canning industry in B.C. would not only give permanent employment to workmen, but would add materially to the economic wealth of the pro-- vince. He is putting up the herring in tall cans es- pecially enamelled, making a very attractive package. He employs only white labor, both in the cannery and on the fishing grounds, and aims to collect about his plants a white population that will be loyal to the industry. Last year he made several improvements to his canneries and has added a large fish-carrier to. his equipment. This year he plans to have four new seine boats more, so that he will be self-contained so far as supplies are concerned. He says that the Hen- derson patented process for preserving fresh fish has | been demonstrated a success, and he looks to see it play an important part in the policy of increased | pro- duction of fish for Canada. Mr, Shearman is a Brit- isher to the coré, and has offered his patent rights — to the Canadian Government free, to be used as it sees fit in the interest of the Allied cause. ‘ GULF OF ST. LAWRENCE FISHERMEN CUT OFF. — Owing to the sale of the steamers ‘‘Percesian’’ and — ‘‘Gaspesian,’’ the fishermen of the North and South shores of the Gulf of St. Lawrence are cut off from marketing their fish in a fresh condition in Quebee. | Steamers to take the place of those sold are practically — unprocurable at present. An auxiliary schooner may — be procured for the service, but if no transportation | facilities materialize, a valuable supply of salmon, — halibut, cod and other fish will be lost and the a : men will suffer. . Pa a Se = ae 5938 CANADIAN FISHERMAN February, 1918. E. LAPOINTE, Ottawa Director of Canadian Fisheries Association February, 1918. CANADIAN FISHERMAN 599 C. F. MORRISSEY, Tignish, P.E.I. Director of Canadian Fisheries Association ie eget IO ieee: left for their boats, nets, etc. competitors coming and going. pic): February, 1918. Correspondence Fort William, Ontario, January 26th, 1918. Editor, Canadian Fisherman: Dear Sir,—As a member of The Canadian Fisheries Association I protest against the policy of the Fish- eries Department of Ontario. Without making any inquiry as to the cost of pro- . duction, at least in our district, they say before grant- _ img you a license you will have to sign an agreement to sell us at a price, to be set later, 20 p nt. of your eateh iced and boxed and shipped on éars at point of shipment, whenever demanded, at a maximum of 8 cents per lb. for trout and whitefish. It is well known that trout is the principal fish caught in Lake Superior in the summer season, and owing to the scarcity of that fish in some localities and the great advance in the price of fishing material and wages, tugs operating last season in those districts lost money at nine cents per lb. on production alone. Add to this, cost of box, ice and shipping, 114¢ per lb. brings last year’s cost to 1014 cents per Ib. on board ears, without any profit to the operator. At the present time we do not know what wages or fuel will cost, but we know wages will be higher and coal may not be had at any price. Material such as linen nets, cotton lines, and twines, and rope are in some instances fifty per cent. above prices of last year and a fair estimate of prices this year for trout at the head of Lake Superior is a mini- mum of eleven cents on board ears. If you have any doubts of the above figures get the Head of the Lakes branch of the Canadian Fish- eries Association to investigate this matter. If the Fisheries Department of Ontario intend to curtail production and ruin this industry—the summer fishing on Lake Superior—I must congratulate them; they are certainly taking the most effective steps. The net result of this measure will be the fishermen of our district have to look to other sources of em- ployment which are a great deal more remunerative to-day than fishing, consequence no fish. The next result, men who have invested their life earnings in the business find themselves ruined as no market is Thinking men will ask the question, why is the Fisheries Department of On- tario tinkering and making such a mess of such ani important department and the answer is well known - to those in touch with the situation. They entered into the fishing business as whole- sale distributors in competition with the well known and tried machinery used in distributing fish between the producer and consumer. They entered this game holding the joker in the shape of Lakes Nipigon and Nipising, where they screwed down the producers to the lowest limit, did some big and free advertising of the benefits to be had in dealing with the Fisheries Department for fish, but everything did not turn out as expected; they could not compete with private man- aged concerns and make it a paying proposition. They reconsidered the matter and it looked easy. The province owns the lakes and fish we will compel the fishermen to harvest at a price cheaper than he ean or will sell to our competitors; we then have our Good reasoning, but here was the results. Last fall all the inland lakes of Ontario were taken from under CANADIAN FISHERMAN 609 license and fishing permits were only granted under contract that the Fisheries Department of Ontario were to have the fish, trout and whitefish, to be boxed, leed, etc., free on board the ears, for 814 cents per lb.. Very few contracts were taken up, the price be- ing too low. The ruling was recinded and licenses granted, but too late, the ice was heavy and fishermen would not start so late in the season; consequence, not half our usual quantity of winter caught fish in Northern Ontario. Now to bolster up their next activities they are trying their prentice hand on the Great Lakes fisher- ies, with what eventually will be the same result. There are no words in our English language strong enough to condemn this vicious Prussian system where a hard working class, who ask no favors but justice, should be ground down by an unpractical Department of a Government, who to bolster up a new venture, sees no wrong in running an industry. This Department, while taking up a line of business under conditions where a private concern would make a fortune are too shrewd to invest inthe production end but leave private interests to take up that end and confiscate 20 per cent. of his harvest at $60 per ton less than cost, and ruins the market for the other 80 per cent. by computing against him with the proceeds of this confiscation. It should, indeed, be a paying proposition and it re- quires no brains to make it so. The food control have been appealing to the fisher- men of the Dominion to use their best efforts in the interest of production and the fishermen have signified their willingness to do their share, but in all justice © they expect an adequate return for their work and in- vestment and will expect the food controller if he wishes the usual quantity of fish from the Great Lakes to take steps at once to quash a greater crime than the action of any trust. I remain yours, Sincerely, FISHERMAN. JOINT ACTION ON THE FRASER RIVER. Representatives of the salmon canners of Puget Sound and of British Columbia, will meet shortly to discuss the need of taking drastic measures to con- serve the sockeye salmon of the Fraser River. The imitation for an international conference be- | tween the canners of the United States and those of British Columbia has been given by the salmon can- ners of Puget Sound in a letter addressed to Col. F. H. Cunningham, Chief Inspector of Fisheries of Can- ada, with offices at New Westminster. That letter is as follows: : Seattle, Washington, January 10, 1918. Hon. F. H. Cunningham, Chief Inspector of Fisheries, New Westminster, B.C. Sir,—A meeting of the Washington Fisheries As- sociation was held in its office, No. 2604 L. C. Smith Building, Seattle, Washington, on December 18th, 1917. Practically the entire fishing industry of Puget Sound was represented at said meeting. There were also present a representative of the United States Bureau of Fisheries, Mr. L. H. Darwin, State Fish Commissioner of the State of Washington, and Hon. W. A. Lowman, of the State Council of Defence. A very full and earnest discussion of the salmon * 610 CANADIAN industry on Puget Sound took place. It seemed to be the opinion of all persons present at said meeting that some action must be taken without delay look- ing towards the protection and perpetuation of the Sockeye Salmon Industry. As the fishing industry of Puget Sound is so closely taken and that, as a preliminary to such joint action, Columbia, naturally a consideration of the Sockeye Salmon industry on the Fraser River took place, and it was thought advisable that some plan looking to- wards the adoption of joint, or at least identical, regu- lations should be formulated. The members of the Association felt that some joint action, should be taken and that, as a preliminary to such point action, a committee should be appointed representing the fish- ing industry of Puget Sound and that a similar commit- tee be appointed representing the fishing industry of British Columbia, and that these two committees should meet and consider the best procedure to be followed in order to protect and perpetuate the sockeye salmon, for the benefit of both the State of Washington and the Province of British Columbia, and their respective inhabitants. The following resolution was introduced and un- animously adopted: BE IT RESOLVED: That a committee of nine be appointed to meet with and confer with a committee _ of the Rraser River Fisheries to consider, and, if pos- - sible, arrive at a joint understanding as to measures to be recommended to the proper legislative bodies for the control and regulation of the fisheries of salmon for the Fraser River District Fisheries on both sides of the International boundary and the off-shore fish- ing at the entrance of the Straits of Fuca, and that this: Committee be instructed to use all efforts to arrive at - anaturally satisfactory and equitable understanding to the end that the salmon industry in the above district be preserved for all time, and not destroyed or put out of commission. Under the provisions of the foregoing resolution a Committee was appointed consisting of the follow- ing named persons: Hon. Will A. Lowman, Member State Council of De- fence; Hon. L. H. Darwin, State Fish Commissioner ; Hon. Miller Freeman, Commander N. M. W.; Daniel Campbell; Frank A. Twitchell; J. C. Morris; E. 8. McCord; E. A. Simma and R. A. Welsh. The Committee immediately organized and a sub- committee was appointed, consisting of the following named persons. Hon. Will A. Lowman; Hon. E. C. McCord; Hon. Miller Freeman, Commander, N.M.W. This sub-committee was directed to communicate with the representatives of the fishing industry of British Columbia and suggest the appointment of a similar committee to represent the fishing industry of British Columbia, and further to arrange for a con- ference between such committees when the British Columbia committee shall have been appointed. We were somewhat at a loss to know whom we should communicate with in regard to the initiation of the ‘proposed conference, but in as much as you are the representative of the Fisheries of the Dominion of Canada for the Province of British Columbia, we felt that it was proper to address this communication to you, and we trust you will call a meeting of the rep- resentatives of the fishing industry of British Colum- bia and see to the appointment of a committee similar to the one appointed by the Washington Fisheries As- sy ia February, 1918. FISHERMAN sociation; and that at some convenient time and place, to be selected by you, a conference be had between such committees and the entire subject fully and thor- oughly discussed. We feel that some action should speedily be taken or the sockeye salmon industry will become greatly de- pleted. All members of the Association were: ex- tremely earnest in their opinion that some immediate action should be taken and some plan worked out that will accomplish the purpose desired, viz. : tion and perpetuation of the industry. We, the sub-committee, therefore, most respectfully : request you to communicate with us at 2604 L. C. Smith | Building, Seattle, Washington, and give us the bene- fit of any suggestions that may oceur to you. | We desire to work in entire harmony with the repre-_ : sentatives of the fishing industry of British Columbia, and feel assured in advance that you and your people Pigs will also desire to co-operate with us in the laudible efforts to preserve the great sockeye salmon industry. _ a Most respectfully, Committee, Signed by WILL. LOWMAN. MILLER FREEMAN. EBol Cunningham passed on this letter to W. D. — Burdis, secretary of the B. C. Salmon, Canners As- ~ The protec- | . sociation, Vancouver, and a conference on its subject — matter was held here on J anuary 15, when the follow- ing canners were represented in person or by proxy: Messrs. W. H. Barker, R. G. Woods, B. C. Ness, R. J. Johnston, R. C. Gosse, Dr. Bell-Irving, James Ander- son, A. H. Sherman, G. A. Buttimer, .D. MePherwan,/ F. E. Burke and F. T. Cliffe. It was stated that as fishing ragwineens are sah ee state and not federal control, any arrangements made in Washington, D.C., would have :to be Dotan EBs the legislature of Washington State. It was also pointed out that a federal commission from Ottawa is now in Washington, D.C., considering the conservation of the be Pui 9) supply of lace Columbia. res It was agreed by the mosey that .a con tase be- | tween the Puget Sound Canners and the British Colum- bia Canners be held and that the Hon. Will. ‘Lowman be communicated with. It was decided to appoint a committee of the. ‘phils Fraser River Canners and a sub-committee of six to deal with the matter when the conference in Van- couver could be arranged. The sub-committee con- sists of Messrs. W. H. Barker, R. C. Gosse, D. Me- Pherson, C. F. Todd, Dr. Bell- Irving and James meg: erson. REPORT OF SUB-COMMITTEE ON FISH. Vancouver, B.C., January 2nd, 1918. Hon. W. J. Hanna, K.C., Food Controller of ‘Canada, Ottawa, Ont. Sir,—Greater production of fish. for food from Pa- cifie waters. First in order to substitute fish for beef and bacon, and secondly to create a market for the less known, but plentiful ground fish. This, I take, is the aim of. this sub-committee. Because bacon and beef are sorely eer. by the Allied Armies, it is hoped that a more general substi- tution of fish for these foods can be brought about. With this more general substitution will come a great- er demand for fish, which may be partially filled by - February, 1918. the utilization of Pacific ground fish. In this way a - new source of food supply will be rendered. é Substitution of fish for beef and bacon in the first instance depends on the price the consumer has to pay. If fish approximates to the price of beef and bacon, only patriotic sentiment, a slender thread so _ far as food is concerned, will operate. If, however, fish _. is offered to the people of the Prairie Provinces as far East as Winnipeg at fair and attractive prices, the sub- stitution of fish for beef and bacon will occur because it will pay the consumer; and in the last analysis self- interest is the ruling human passion. After having conferred with Premier Brewster, Dr. Tolmie, Str. Planta, and Mr. Babcock, at Victoria, Mr. Babeock’s report of your Fish Committee proposal did not meet with approval—particularly its recom- mendation that present conditions should continue and the fisherman be given 114c per lb. for ground fish, however caught, and that a wholesale spread of price only be allowed on these fish before they reach the re- _ tailer, who will be expected to sell them from Ile to _ 12¢ per Ib. | The objection to the proposal was, and is, that cheap fish will not be offered consumers. The easy part of the ground fish problem is the catching of the fish. The hard part is getting the people to use them. Price is the essential in this endeavor. The supply of ground fish is inexhaustible. It is only a question of putting on trawlers and operating them for cheap fish.. The Trawler, James Carruthers, of the Canadian Fish and Cold Storage Co., is available either to be operated by the Company or commandeered by the Department of Food Control along the lines herein sug- _. gested. An estimated cost of operation is appended to this letter, for your information, guidance and fu- ture action. As to what method should be used in regard to the trawlers, it is necessary to bear in mind that the fish - must be sold cheap to the consumer in order to create a market that will absorb the capacity catches. _ From the appended estimate of cost of operation you will see that I have put aside $6,000 a month for the use of boat and the Company’s profit. I have also estimated that if the fisheremn are given Yc a Ib. they will average $200 a month wages, with board. _ This, I think, is fair. Tf, however, it is impossible to get the Union to fur- nish fishermen on these terms, then the Department of - Food Control should ask for volunteers or conscript estimated that if the fishermen are given We a Ib. the justified ground of a fair wage and the National interest. This whole matter will not interfere with the long- line fishing or the dory-fishing in any way, and should be treated as a separate and distinct project by itself. As to what is a fair price to the fishermen for catch- _ ing ground fish from a trawler, it was agreed that te per pound and their board would be ample remunera- tion, as it would make an average wage of $200 a month and board for each fisherman. If the fishermen were paid 1%4c per lb. as the néw Union seale runs, on a minimum catch of 400,000 lbs. per month or a maximum from $500 to $800 a month with board. The fishermen should receive fair wages, but not fortunes. How would $500 or $800 a month compare __ with the remuneration of Canadians at the front who draw $1.10 and allowances a day, and who gave up CANADIAN FISHERMAN of 640,000 Ibs. a month, they would make in wages 611 their lucrative employment to fight the battle of civil- ization while their dependents are left at home and are made to pay extravagant prices for their fish for food, to meet the demands of the fisherman, which peg would prohibit a large consumption of these ish. It was recommended that ground fish caught by a trawl be put on the market at a price that will be at- tractive, namely, 2 lbs. for 15 cents, or 8 cents per lb. with the purchaser acting as his own delivery, which fact should be given prominence in the publicity cam- paign which we recommend be inaugurated. If the maximum ecatch of a trawler, namely, 160,000 Ibs. a week or 640,000 lbs. a month is to be marketed, it will be necessary to carry on a rigorous publicity campaign of education, in order to create a consuming public to whom halibut, salmon and white lake fish, because of their high prices, do not appeal. By operating another trawl another 640,000 lbs. a month ean be obtained, so that the supply of this new source of fish food can always exceed the demand, which is not true of any other food supply in British Columbia. The attractive price of 2 lbs. for 15c. and 8e. per lb. for ground fish will be an inducement for the householder to substitute these fish for beef and hacon, and if this substitution can be largely affected greater supplies of beef and bacon will be available for export to the Allies. Fishing with an Otter trawl in British Columbia is no new thing. It has been tried out and has been successful in obtaining large catches of great varie- ties of edible fish. Because there was no market © up to the present for trawled fish, Otter trawling was not persisted in, and was considered a failure; although the fish were caught in vast quan- tities by it. It is necessary to create a new market for these trawled fish, therefore they cannot be looked upon as commodities on the same basis as halibut, sal- mon, and lake whitefish for which a market has al- ready been established. Price is the chief ingredient in the creation of a new market for fish. The catch of scrap or ground fish by a trawler consists of a great proportion of flounders caught in deep water, where a large trawler has to operate and these fish are alwavs of good quality and superior to those caught in mud-flats. We recommend that all the trawl caught fish be frozen, as in that state thev will stand transportation and handling better than when shipped fresh on ice. We also recommend that the method of catching ground fish bv a trawl be begun at once, and that efforts be made to educate thé people to use frozen fish. Yours truly, (Signed) JOHN WALLACE. Spencers Limited Denartment Stores. Vancouver, told me that if IT econld Jay ground fish down in Van- - eouver at 534e a lb. they would put them on the market at 8e a lb.. or 2 Ibs. for 15e. They said that they would do this on the condition that the purchaser earried home his own parcel. Vancouver, January 19, 1918. The conservation of the Sockeye Salmon in the Fraser River is engaging the attention of the pack- ers of British Columbia as well as the packers of Puget Sound. Also, the Commission of National Scien- 612 tific Research, at whose head is Dr. A. B. Macallum of Ottawa, has appointed a committee of scientists and canners to investigate the problem. Furthermore, the Hon. J. D. Hazen, Chief Justice of New Brunswick, is now in Washington, D.C., representing the Canadian Government in conferences with the representatives of the United States Government, and this very problem, the sockeye salmon in the Fraser River is one of the questions up for international review. In the midst of so many investigations and commissions, because in the multitude of counsellors there is surely some safety, it looks as if the sockeye walmon will at last get justice, though the whole matter is in the nature of seeking the horse after it is stolen. There is no unanimity in B. C. canning circles re- garding the best method of conserving the sockeye salmon supply. A considerable body of opinion whose chief spokesman is Mr. Henry Bell-Irving, of the A. B. C. Packing Company, believes that the Fraser River, both in B. C. and Washington waters, should be closed to all fishing for a period of four years, in the ex- pectation that the sockeye salmon will in the natural course replenish the river. This opinion arises from the belief that over-fishing has produced the reduc- tion in the Sockeye salmon in the Fraser. So far as the B. C. Canners are concerned they believe the greatest over-fishing of the Fraser River sockeye is and has been over in Puget Sound by traps and seines. Par- ticularly are seines blamed for the intensive fishing of the sockeye. Of course, on the Fraser in Canadian wat- ers no seines are allowed, and fishing is all by means of gill nets that give the sockeye a fair chance to fight their way up the river to the spawning beds. It is true. there are some traps on Vancouver Island, but they are considered negligible when compared with those on Puget Sound. Hence one school of thought among the canners say a total closing of the Fraser River to fishing on both sides of the line for four years is necessary. Another school of thought in B. C. says that if the seine fishing _ on Puget Sound were eliminated, the sockeye run would revive itself, and that it would not be neces- sary to close the river to all fishing. This school of thought goes even further and maintains that there is no need of closing the Fraser river to fishing, that the river, even at its low ebb of sockeye supply, pays the canneries to fish, and that if a longer weekly closed period were instituted, and no fishing allowed from August 25 to October 31, and fishing above New West- minster Bridge prohibited, these aids in time would en- able the sockeye salmon to come back in greater numbers. The agitation for a closed season on the Fraser is by many considered to arise from the desire of the Puget Sound Canners to shut down in 1918, which is expected to be a particularly lean year. These can- ners, according to the B. C. view, are now paying for the intensive fishing methods they have employed for years, and desire to get the B. C. eanners to join with them in an effort to stop all fishing, so that the former may have a reasonable argument to offer their Puget Sound fishermen for shutting down and at the same time institute a policy that would prevent the B. ©. canners from operating and possibly making some money. In this view the question of self interest on the part of the Puget Sound canners is emphasized, and it is reinforced by citations from history wherein it is shown that when ten years or more ago a sincere effort was made by Canada to conserve the sockeye CANADIAN. FISHERMAN February, 1918. salmon, Puget Sound canners did not play the game. Very likely the times have changed, but the B. C. ean- ners desire some tangible proof of that change. ‘“‘Tf the Fraser River is closed to fishing for four years, what benefit does the B. C. canners derive?’’ is asked by some of the Fraser River Canners. Here also self-interest is predominant as it is in all business, sentimentalists to the contrary notwithstanding. Tying up the Fraser River canneries for four years means de- terioration of plants, disorganization of staffs and gen- eral demoralization of business and property interests. The need of such closure will have to be proven to the hilt before it will be supported by public opinion. Again, if the Fraser is closed, what will happen to the 2,500 fishermen who own their gasoline boats and gear? Under the findings of the Royal Commission on Fisheries northern waters are closed to motor boats. If the Fraser is closed to fishing, it is closed also to motor boats. What are these 2,500 fishermen to do? At once this precipitates a political and economic _problem of an acute nature for the 2,500 fishermen on the Fraser have votes and in a democracy human rights | are the equal of property rights. What has really happened to the sockeye salmon supply of the Fraser River? Is it unique and unpre- eedented? Is the sockeye in the Fraser doomed to ex- tinction? Is the need very drastic regulations or the application of sound common sense? The year 1917 was a bad year on the Fraser for the sockeye salmon. Everyone expected it would be a bad year. The obstruction to the free progress of the sockeye to the spawning beds four years ago pre- dicated a bad year in 1917. Had these obstructions not occurred, the year 1917 presumably would have been a fine year for sockeye in the Fraser, in spite of the intensive fishing by seines and traps on Puget Sound. : ' Bad years for sockeye in the Fraser are not unusual. Those who have the figures dating from 1876, and the records of the Hudson Bay factors, declare that bad years have come and gone on the Fraser sinee first the sockeye salmon ran. And these bad years were not always due to obstructions in the river, and in some bad years the fish got up to the spawning beds in great numbers, escaping the nets and the traps by swimming low or in other ways known only to the fish. Ts it fair to assume that if sufficient sockeye got up to the spawning beds to adequately reproduce the natural supply, that the supplv of sockeye salmon ~ would be maintained? Then, the problem:is to get a sufficient number of sockeye up to the spawning beds, to see that they are not molested while spawning and to guard them till they go out to sea. This may be aided by hatcheries, whose utility has yet to be proven to many minds. It is quite possible to have too many sockeye get up to the spawning beds; too many is as bad as too few. A happy medium must be struck. Closing the Fraser for four years to all fishing might result in too many sockeye getting up to the spawning beds, and economic waste would result. Perhaps a forty-eight hour weekly closed season on both sides of the border. with no fishing from August 25 to October 31. might be the common sense method of getting suf- ficient sockeye up to the spawning beds. If freshets do not wash away the eggs and they are left as the sockeye leaves them, unmolested, the supply should be fortheoming. Isn’t that a common sense view. Ts it not a fact that at one time the Columbia River ary, 1918. “was said to have been fished out? How does the Columbia River stand to-day as a salmon river? Did ‘it require a four year closure to rehabitate itself? _ What salmon river has been so intensively fished with all manner of gear as the Columbia? Is there not a les- son to be learned from the Columbia River, in view of the Fraser River problem? __ Furthermore and finally for this writing, greater h production is incumbent upon the canners of the facific to meet the needs of the Allied Armies. Shut- ting down the canneries of the Fraser River for four years, would not aid in the immediate increase of fish duction, while its future assistance so far as can erceived, must be considered as problematical. e general view of the B. C. canners, as one finds it in a casual survey, is that a longer weekly closure, fishing from August 25 to October 31, and the nation of the Puget Sound seines will give the ye salmon of the Fraser River a fighting chance come back. ease ' WM. HAMAN GREENWOOD. | WHAT REMAINS OF THE FRASER RIVER \OKEYE SALMON MIGHT BE CONSERVED fea AND MULTIPLIED. t e Editor of The Canadian Fisherman : x Sir.—As you and your readers are doubtless », the supply of salmon, Sockeye salmon especial- and it appears that if some steps are not taken e near future to stop this depletion, the Sockeye will soon become almost extinct as far as the Tiver is concerned. us remedies have been recommended by dif- terests and individuals, the most drastic of e either to dismantle the hatcheries, do away close seasons and fish the river out complete- close the river entirely for a number of years ow nature to re-adjust itself in this respect. s to the first proposition, fishing out the river The principal reason advanced for this is that our American cousins across the line in und, have the first call on the salmon that are way to the Fraser river, and by employing abers of purse-seines and traps, methods that owed to be used in Canadian waters, un- y secure large quantities of salmon that would find their way to the Fraser river, and inci- ntally into the nets of the fishermen. The only rem- ‘for this state of affairs appears to lie along the s of a mutual understanding between the Americans ourselves as to the proper methods whereby each ntry may secure their share of these fish, and still yw enough salmon to reach the spawning grounds © insure an ample supply for the future. This can only be done through friendly negotiations, and although the fishing interests on the other side ve not as yet shown that spirit of fairness which have a right to expect from them, they must soon that it is as much to their interest as it is to ours, at something should be done to preserve the Sock- e salmon on the Fraser from total extinction, and if we should do as some suggest, and fish the Fraser out completely, it would appear to me that to’use a homely \ile we should only be ‘‘cutting off our nose to spite ~ CANADIAN FISHERMAN is being rapidly depleted in a most alarming man- ’ 618 In regard to the suggestion to close the river entire- ly for a number of years, and trust to nature to re- store the salmon supply. This plan appeals to many people, especially to those who have not given the subject thought, and it would appear to the ordinary observer that the mere fact of closing the river and allowing all the salmon to proceed unmolested to the spawning grounds, must of necessity result in a very large merease in the salmon supply in a few years’ time, but there are-others who are not very optimistic ‘about this, and point to the fact that for a good many years now the hatcheries have been returning to the river many more millions of salmon annually than are taken out by the nets or traps of the fishermen-and canners; for instance, last year, 1916, less than three- quarters of a million adult salmon were secured both by the traps and purse-seines on Puget Sound, and the nets of the fishermen on the Fraser, yet the same year over seventy-seven million, five hundred thousand young salmon fry were liberated in the Fraser river water-shed by the hatcheries alone, and when we take into consideration the fact that the hatcheries secure but a small pereentage of the salmon spawn that is an- nually deposited on the spawning grounds, it would seem that many more millions of salmon are produced every year than are ever destroyed by human agency, the fact appears to be that nature in the case of the salmon, as in many other forms of fish life, only pro- vides for reproduction of the species, and although these fish are very prolific (the Sockeye salmon de- positing from three to four thousand eggs), nature has already provided enough natural enemies to ensure that these fish will not exceed their proper place in the different forms of fish life. The question then arises, can anything be done, or - has anything been done, to discover what are the natural enemies of the salmon, and what steps can or should be taken to destroy-them. As regards the life history of the Sockeye salmon, little or nothing is known after the young fry has left the Fraser river for its home or feeding-grounds in the | Pacifie Ocean, until its return as an adult salmon four years later for the purpose of spawning, which ap- pears to be the closing chapter of its life. What ene- mies or natural forces it has to contend with during its stay in salt water are unknown to us, with the single exception of the Hair Seal; this we know from per- sonal observation to be a very deadly enemy, not only to the Sockeye, but to all other kinds of salmon; in fact at the present time of writing, although the Fraser river is open for fishing, and a few Steelhead salmon are known to be running, the seals are so plentiful that very few fishermen care to risk their nets, and what few salmon are caught are taken away by the seals. For the last few years these animals have been rapidly growing more ‘destructive, or rather, as the salmon supply grows seareer their depredation has been more noticeable, and it is no exaggeration to say that last year more Spring salmon were taken by the seals than by the fishermen, and when we consider that’ these salmon were worth no less‘than twelve cents per lb. to the fishermen during the early run, it will easily enough be seen what an enormous amount of money it must cost the Province of British Columbia to feed a herd of from ten to twenty thousand Hair Seals, and although it is perfectly true that these ani- mals do not feed on salmon exclusively, at the same time salmon are their favorite food, and when this 614 is not obtainable they live on other edible fish. On the Fraser river during the early spring the river is, full of them, and as soon as a fisherman throws out his net it is immediately followed up by Hair Seals, and directly a fish strikes the net it is a race be- tween the seal and the fisherman as to who gets there first, with the seal generally the winner, and it is not only the amount of fish that the seals eat, but they are also very destructive, as when they have eaten enough salmon to partly satisfy their appetite, they will go along the nets and take a bit out of every fish that they can reach, always taking the salmon by the throat and tearing out the entrails, as this appears to be their favorite ‘‘tit-bit,’’ this very often results in the fish being torn out of the nets altogether, and of course the rest of the salmon sinks to the bottom of the river. The attention of the Department has often been drawn to this state of affairs, and spasmodic efforts have been made to destroy the seals, a bounty of three dollars one year, and one dollar other years, has re- sulted in a few of them being destroyed, but as only a small amount of money was appropriated each year (some three or four thousand dollars) very little has been accomplished. Last year the fishery authorities made some attempt to destroy them, by blowing them up on the sand-heads at the mouth of the river, where they congregate in large numbers to bask in the sun in the daytime and sleep at night. Two different mines were sprung during the summer, but owing to the looseness of the sand and the limited amount of ex- plosives used, very little result was obtained, although in one ease the bodies of three dead seals were found, and the fishery officers claim that many more were killed. This, of course, is very problematical, as it would appear to be almost impossible to blow these seals (many of whom weigh over three hundred pounds), into such small pieces that they could not be found. The only practical solution of the seal problem ap- pears to be that the Government should offer suffi- cient inducements in the way of a bounty for their de- struction, when no doubt an organized effort would be made to destroy them. The Hair Seal, however, is not the worst enemy that the salmon have to contend with; other and more destructive agencies are at work, wherever the salmon goes to deposit their spawn, there you will find the place literally swarming with other fish, whose sole mission in life is to destroy sal- mon, Chub, Squaw fish, Char, Trout, Cusk and many other varieties of fish live almost entirely on the spawn and young fry of the salmon, As the female salmon is spawning she is surrounded by these fish, who seize every opportunity to dash in and eat up the eggs as fast as they are deposited; the male salmon in the meantime is driving them away, and undoubtedly succeeds in preserving a large number of the spawn from destruction at this time, but as soon as the young fish are hatched out and are able to move around in the streams to seek their food, they have the same peril to contend with, even after they attain sufficient size to leave their parent stream and reach the lakes, they are still the prey of these fish, and it is a common sight to see the sloughs and streams that connect the lakes with the Fraser river literally barred at their narrowest point by these fish, more especially where there is a bridge across the stream, there you will find them by the thousands, and as the young salmon are endeavoring to reach the Fraser on their way to CANADIAN 2 ae adoption ss the sea the greater part of them are devoured er these voracious fish. While these facets are well known to fishermen and others interested in the fishing industry, rbeoiicenaa nothing has been done. February, 1918. Fishery officials, after in- — specting the spawning grounds of the salmon have — frequently called the attention of the Department to these things. Mr. Babcock, in one of his reports speaking of the trout at certain spawning grounds, | says, that they are so thick that it ‘‘seems wonderful — that a single salmon should survive’’ the same thing 3 is mentioned by Mr. Hickman in this year’s report, after inspecting the spawning grounds or the northern | rivers, while the inspector who used to be in charge of — the Granite Creek hatchery (now closed for want of © fish) says that the eusk were so plentiful in his viein- ity, that he has speared over a hundred of them in one hour, he also mentions that one of them contained a half-pint of young salmon fry. While this wholesale destruction of fish is going on, naturally it is impossible for us to secure any large quantity of salmon without depleting the sup- ply. Would it not appear a matter of common sense that when we wish to step in and interfere with nature — by catching the salmon that are only meant to sup- — ply other fish with food, that we should at the same time catch the fish that are feeding on the salmon. This, of course, could only be done by Government assistance, as Chub and Suckers are not a commercial fish, although Char and Trout and perhaps some other — species could easily be sold; in fact, if the use of small meshed nets were allowed there is no doubt that large quantities of these fish would be caught by the In- — dians and others for food purposes. a matter for further consideration, the principal thing in the meantime is to get the Government to take © some action towards preserving the salmon, and it is the opinion of a great many people here that this This, however, is - could best be done by destroying their natural enemies ‘ than in any other way. Yours truly, EY M. MONK. December 17th, 1917. rate DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVAL SERVICE, - CANADA. Ottawa, January 9, 1918. Sir,—The Special Commission which was last sum- mer appointed to investigate the conditions and re- quirements of the salmon fishery in distriet No. 2, | British Columbia, as well as the question of the pro- hibition and exportation of fall salmon in a fresh state, have submitted a preliminary draft of their final report. This draft is not complete, but it contains the recommendations of the Commission. A summary of these recommendations is as follows: 1. That no licenses for any new canneries be grant- ed for this district for at least five years, because,— (a) The quantity of salmon now being taken, is, in — the light of the evidence, the maximum that may be — safely caught until the supply is substantially in- — creased, and it will take five years to determine — whether the present supply is sufficient to assure the — future runs being kept up and to demonstrate the — effectiveness of any new methods of propagation and development that may be taken. (b) The existing canneries now ee bo. only 17 i per i ti f their theoretic efficiency on a 12 hour per day during the limited season of about two months’ they are in operation. © compensate for the special privilege thus in- ved, the Commissioners recommend that the ecan- rs be required to pay instead of a license fee of 0.00 per annum, such amount based on their profits ‘the number of fish handled as can properly be ded upon when the nature and extent of war tion generally is worked out, and that in the mean- a minimum fee of $1,000 per annum be charged. y further recommend that companies owning r more canneries in any area may be allowed to idate their operations in one cannery if they so , without giving reason for granting any licenses w canneries. ni The Commissioners’ recommend that no motor allowed in salmon fishing operations, in this et, for at least five years, because,— id they are opposed to them as involving a large jal cost and cost of maintenance, and if one can- them the others would be forced to do so. e Commissioners recommend that no change e in the number of boats that may be fished in erent areas. e Commissioners recommend the discontinuance are known as attached fishery licenses or 0 individuals to fish in connection with cer- fied canneries, and that but one kind of gill- g license be issued. rther recommend that the competency of a | be established as a qualification for a license, local boards consisting of three members, one pointed by the Department, one by the fisher- | one by the canners, be constituted to examine fications of the fishermen and grant certif- competency. there be more certified fishermen than there mses for in any area, the Commissioners recom- that the licenses be distributed amongst the “white fishermen, naturalized Japanese fish- d Indian fishermen, in proportion to the popu- ese residents in the coast districts, accord- ast census and that this method be followed ip any shortage there may be, should there ficient certified fishermen for all the dis- izing that it will take some time to get this angement into effective operation, the Commission- commend that the licenses for the season of 1918 med on the same basis as they were during the ason, and that the new arrangement come into in 1919. ome time ago the Commissioners recommended the export of fall salmon in a fresh state be not ited but that the close season for such fish be ened by five days. This recommendation was ved and the regulations have already been so ded. Commissioners, however, recommend that all almon buyers be required to take our licenses. a I am, Sir, i Your obedient servant, nen G. J. DESBARATS, Deputy Minister of the Naval Service. 4 ee CANADIAN FISHERMAN 615 DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVAL SERVICE. Notes on the Results of sea fishing operations in Can- ada during the month of January. To the abnormally cold weather on the Atlantic Coast is mainly due a comparatively poor production of fish in January of the present year. All the districts show decreased landing of cod and haddock except Guysboro county, N. §8., which gives a-slight increase, and the Liverpool district of Queen’s county, N.S., which shows considerable de- velopment in this fishery. The total quantity of the staple kind, cod and had- dock, landed in the whole of Canada during the month was 10,714 ewts. less than that for January 1917. The value however, was greater by $11,387. It is worthy of note that the catch of these fish during January this year was almost 30,000 ewts. less than that for the same month in 1915. The smelt Fishery resulted in a catch almost equiva- lent to that for January last year but the value in- ereased by $58,120. The herring catch, almost entirely confined to Brit- ish Columbia at this season, was 17,022 cwts. less in quantity but $85,364. greater in value. The current lobster season which opened on Nov- ember 15th in Charlotte and St. John counties N.B. is now in progress on both sides of the Bay of Fundy, and on the Nova Scotia coast eastward to Halifax har- bour. Up to the end of January the total pack was 2,740 eases, while 5,418 ewts. were shipped fresh in shell to market. , During the corresponding period in the preceding year the pack was 4,060 cases and the shipment in shell 10,904 ewts. The same period in 1914 gave a pack of 9,259 cases and a shipment in shell 18,349 ewts. while for the 1916 period the figures were 8,737 cases and 25,622 cwts. The total value of all the sea fish landed in Canada during January amounted to $830,367 which notwith- standing diminished catghes, gives an increase of $2,- 757.00 over the value for the same month last year. B. Cc. SALMON PACK — A RECORD ONE. The British Columbia salmon pack for 1917 totaled 1,557,485 cases — an increase over the record pack of 1913 of 203,584 cases. Large as it is, however, the B. (. pack is approximately one-tenth of the world’s sal- mon pack—Alaska accounting for over five-tenths. The B. C. pack is made up as follows: Sockeyes, 339,- - 848 cases. Red Springs, 48,630 cases. White Springs, 27,646 cases. Chums, 475,273 cases. Pinks, 496,759 eases. Cohoes, 157,589 cases. Bluebacks and Steel heads, 11,740 cases. The Fraser River District led with 377,988 cases, followed closely by Vancouver Island District with 377,884 cases. The Sockeye run on the Fraser failed to materialize. A feature of the fishery was the high prices paid for the lower grade fish — as high as 70 cents being bid for dog salmon by the competition of American buyers who purchased the raw fish in order to complete contracted packs and fill their cans. Fish- ing gear and the increased cost of. operations advanced from 50 per cent to 75 per cent over the year previous. ’ Canners faced unusual difficulties at the beginning of the season, but the outcome was eminently satis- factory. 616 CANADIAN Billingsgate Market London, January 26th, 1918. The past week has seen the publication of an Order in Council made under the Defence of the Realm Re- gulations by the Food Controller fixing maximum pric- es above which no fish must be sold in this country after January 23rd. Fish has thus been brought into line with most other staple foodstuffs. It is impossible at the moment to guage the effect of this Order on the fishing industry of the United Kingdom, but from Tuesday onwards this week the markets have present- ed an unsettled appearance; much hesitancy has been shown by wholesale firms, both at the coast and at the inland markets, in buying, as it will take a day or two in order to ascertain the outside level at which opera- tions can be conducted to show a working profit bear- ing in mind that the retailer also must allow for his pro- fit when he purchases from the wholesale salesman or merchant. On the whole the prices cannot be said to have been fixed unduly low, and for this reason it is to be hoped that the effect of maximum prices will not be the same as has been the case with so many other kinds of food, viz., to check supplies. After the next month or two landings will show their seasonal expan- sion, and this should have some effect in keeping rates at the coast well below the maximum, thus leaving a reasonable margin for distributors. Until that time all concerned must pull together to make as much suc- cess of the Order as possible. Owing to the meat shortage in this country, which threatens to become more acute before an improve- ment sets in, there is every prospect of any frozen fish marketed in prime condition meeting a ready market. I would urge exporters to consider the possibilities of sending kippers to the London market. To sum up, trade is brisk for all kinds of fish, but until matters adjust themselves with regard to the controlled price operations will be hampered. London, February 2nd, 1918. The outstanding feature of this week’s market has been the insistent demand for all classes of fish. No doubt the shortage in meat and other essential food- stuffs has contributed largely to this state of affairs, but it is also pretty obvious that the issue of the Order fixing maximum prices for fish has given a fillip to the demand for this commodity; maximum prices are now the rule rather than the exception in Great Bri- tain, and they tend to install confidence in the public by removing in the mind of the man in the street any apprehension of ‘‘profiteering’’ on the part of any sec- tion of food distributors. Taken on the whole, the landings of fish this week have been comparatively generous; the catches at various ports, and of particu- lar kinds have varied from day to day but the aggre- gate arrivals at Billingsgate and other large distribut- ing centres have been pretty generous. Despite the favourable supplies, however, prices have been easily maintained, and curious as it may seem the maximum rates allowed under the Fish (Prices) Order, 1918 have in many instances been readily paid by the mer- chant at the coast, which of course leaves no margin of profit either to him, the salesman in the provincial markets, or the retailer, to say nothing of unavoid- able expenses, such as railway carriage; etc. How- ever, no doubt, matters will adjust themselves in this direction in the course of a day or two; already, to- FISHERMAN February, 1918. wards the end of this week, coast buyers appear to be anxious to “‘get in’’ at a level which will be workable in view of the fixed maximum values. Of course, the great factor in this direction will be inereased sup- plies, which can confidently be looked forward to after. next month should no untoward events happen to im- pede the prosecution of deep-sea fishing. As it is, there is no difficulty in placing every scale, every ounce of fish procurable, in the hands of the consumer, hence the anxiety of tradesmen to secure supplies. The Canarien frozen cod and fresh haddocks market- ed by the Ministry of Food have met a steady demand, Mr. Peter Forge, the Government Agent at Billingsgate, finding a sale for increasing quantities daily. As men- tioned in straighten lines a previous report, the size of the cases in which the fish is packed militates against fishmongers giving it a trial. To encourage fishmong- ers to offer this fish to the public without incurring risk of a heavy loss in the event of customers not tak- ing to frozen fish at once, Mr. Forge is supplying sam- ple orders in five stone lots. In conversation with Mr. 8. J. Williams, the Government Auctioneer at Bil- lingsgate, who is attached to the firm of Peter Forge as head salesman and buyer and is handling the Gov- ernment frozen fish entrusted to his firm for distribu- tion, it was gathered that although this cod and fresh haddocks have been on offer for more than a fort- night, and numerous cases have been disposed of each morning, in no instance had a complaint been made. The fresh haddocks, where ‘‘pan-frozen’’ appeared to give the most satisfaction. Frozen salmon is practically unobtainable; there is a big call for it from all parts of the country, and in the isolated cases where firms hold a few fish the full maximum rate of 2/2 per lb. for whole fish is easily realized. Firms on your side should make every en- deavour to secure freight for frozen salmon and hali- but and consign it to Billingsgate Market, London. Pro- - vided the quality is satisfactory a ready sale is assured at full value. Frozen kippers also would meet a brisk market. ST. JOHN, N. B. (Special to the Canadian Fisherman.) It was decided at a representative meeting of fish-— ermen in this district, held in St. John, N. B. on Feb- ruary 8th that a minimum price of $35 for sardines per hogshead was a fair price for the coming season. | Dr. W. V. Kierstead, the provincial representative of | the food controller was present ab the conference and the matter was thoroughly talked over with him. | It was contended by local fishermen and statements — were submitted to the effect, that last year eighty per cent of the weirs did not pay expenses, fifty per cent did fairly well, and five per cent only did an ex- ceptionally good business. After giving the matter full and careful consideration the above price which met with the approval of all was decided upon. | W. W. Leonard of St. John presided over the meet- ing and among those present were: . “aM J. F. Calder, Dominion fishery inspector for this” district, B. B. Brittain, local inspector; D. Cassidy, — Maces Bay; James Corseadden, Dipper Harbor; Oscar Hanson, Little Lepreaux; A. A. Stuart, Deer Island; C. GC. Ingalls, Grand Manan; J. B. Catherine, L’Etete; William Holt, St. Andrews; H. Belyea, H. P. Robert-_ son, St. John; R. E. Armstrong, secretary of the Board of Trade, acted as secretary for the meeting. me CANADIAN FISHERMAN. 59 Display them? locks N. of Union Stn.) one Adelaide 3786 f Have you a good case to hold and ‘he above illustration is of the Gov- rmment Standard case finished in w white enamel and ash stained. Write for Catalogue and Prices. A Stock Carried, Prompt Delivery Made. . W. A. Freeman Co., Limited, Hamilton, Canada. TORONTO MONTREAL 114 York St. 16 Notre Dame St., E. DAA NEILL, 16 Richmond Sq. Phone Uptown 8547 A Rice PO Rin FD Bi newness complete with batteries, spark coil and spark plug. New and absolutely guaran- teed. These are specially suitable for small fishing boats, and are high grade engines in every way. Write Marine Sales Dept. to-day. The A. R. Williams Machinery Co., Limited TORONTO ‘ CANADA Canada Gas Power Engines A, Engines, Ltd. B. V. Co. } eries Co. of Canada, Ltd. and Co. oie Elenderson Co., Ltd. lumbia Government penis 4 lumbia Sgorespiad Asso- gineering” " Corporation, ‘C. ection Motor Co. .. . fetal Co., Ltd. ; -Fairbanks-Morse | Co., ‘Ltd. — and Cold Storage J Fisheries’ Association. . Co., lan Pearl Button ‘Co, Ke ee ’ Brothers, Ltd. sumers Cordage Co., en) Motor Co. Jenks e and Washington wy co) aa artment of Naval spersice oie Swogel M., and Ltd. ppearing Pr apeler™ Boat Co., "Ltd. minion opps Mcslgaa 4 eka Refrigerator Co. de Motor Co. Cie Tid 9) e:9¢;) © 8: ee na Cobh Co.. Tne. 3: B Ae a Co., Ltd. ev k Export Co., Ltd.. Gosse-Millerd Packing Co., poe Gray and Prior Machine Co. .. Guarantee Motor Co. Guest, W. J., Fish Co. Ltd. H. Hallam, John; Lit@..¢s siege ash cae nes Hamilton, KR. 8.5)! Cor cesta. sates Hart, E. oo Ons oe i Hatton, D Co. PS nN tel Hillock, John and Co. aE Pa ab Pe Hudon Fish Co. UE ART DES ane tla Hyde Windlass Co. Imperial Oil, Ltd. Independent Cordage Co., “Ltd. Independent Rubber Co., Ltd. J. Jacobson Gas mig sie: ne atari ge James, F. T., Co., x. Kermath Motor Co. . Kildala Packing Co., Ltd. L. Leckie, John, Ltd. Leonard Fisheries, Ltd. Letson and Burpee, Ltd. py ees e Lincoln, Willey and Co., ‘In é. a ain ine Linde on Refrigeration Co., Ltd Lipsett, ’ Gunningham ‘and. Co., ‘Ltd. Lipsett, Edward Lockeport Cold Storage Co. Ltd. Loeckwood-Ash Motor Co... . Nios Loggie, W —1e. Co, London and Petrolia Barrel Co., “Ltd. mM. Marconi Wireless .. Maritime Fish Corporation, ‘Ltd. MeAvity, T. and Sons, ; Mueller, Charles, Co., Ltd. De ee oa Mustad, O., and Son Rm. National Service Board , Index to Advertisers. 74 97 sake at voile Le erate Cover 76 ihc Ye Samet Cold Storage Co. 83 New England Fish ‘Company, ‘Ltd. 15 Niagara Motors parr nD pee): Noble, Charles, Jr., Co., Inc.... .. 98 Nova Scotia Government .. .. .. 86 Oo. Ontario Government . 5 rod O’Connor’s Fish Market .. La eer ae P. Perfection Motor Co. .. 3.0.5 3s. ws Pitt: Wishmong@er s,s eee ee Polson Iron WEOLES ges tna ew BS Plymouth Cordage Co. .. .. .. .. 16 Process Engineers, Ltd. St dee 1 Oe 3 Q. Quebec Government . 92 R. Robbins, Chas. C,, Inc. 87 Robbins, F. R, and Co. . 87 Roberts Motors 76 Robin, Jones and Whitman, ‘Ltd. 93 Robinson, Thomas .. 85 s. Seaboard Trading Co, ..3005 044... 87 Scott and Co., Ernest .. .. .. .. Silver, H. R., d. bret eons Smith Cannery Machines Co., “Lta. 2 Stamford Foundry Co.. 5 83 Standard Gas Engine Co. Front Cover Spooner, 69 Sprague Canning Mach. Co. 78 Tg. Tabor, Geo., Ltd. . 88 Thorne, W. . and Co., ‘Ltd. Tuckett Tobacco Co. ., Ltd. Ww. Walker, Thos. and Son, hase 93 Wallace Fisheries, Ltd, .. 10 Western Packers, oe 9 White and Co., Ltd 95 Whitman, Arthur N., ‘Ltd. Whittall, A. , Can. Co., Ltd. 78 Williams, A. * Machinery Coi; Ltd. 59 618 CANADIAN Should We Have Compulsory Fish Inspection? ce An Interview With an Inspector. The Fish Inspector for the Maritime Provinces, Mr. Robert Gray, when seen the other day by a repre- sentative of the ‘‘Fisherman,’’ said in reply to an enquiry respecting the pickled fish industry: ‘‘T am sorry to have.to admit that inferior barrels still figure far too prominently in some Maritime dis- _tricts, and I am afraid this will continue until such time as Fish Inspectors are: empowered to have in- ferior packages forfeited and destroyed. As things are at present the inspecting officer has no power to stop the use of any kind of an inferior package, and of course many packers take advantage of this simply because the initial cost of the package is cheap. I know that coopers are having difficulty. in getting _ delivery of hoops, but that is no reason why the staves and ends should not be eut to the standard thickness, width and length, and properly trussed together. The most serious objection is lack of trussing, and when this is pointed out to coopers they explain that they have to compete with the man who produces the cheap article and must, therefore, throw as many together as possible. The latest idea is to coat the inside of the joints with a mixture of resin and wax or other solu- tion for the purpose of tightening the leaks, but unless the trussing has been faithfully performed this leak preventive is of no avail, for when the filled barrel is moved around in the usual rough way the joints are disturbed, so that the pickle will escape just as if noth- ing had been there to prevent it doing so. All the coating that is required inside a properly trussed bar- rel is over the black or eracked knots, but the staves should be of the quality specified in the Fish Inspection Act.”’ ‘‘Does pickled fish packed in these inferior barrels sell readily ?”’ ‘*Yes, and that is just the great trouble. Last Fall, when prices for pickled fish were forming, I knew of parties who tried to sell their fish over and over again as the price went up. In many instances this could have been managed had not the original purchasers been put wise. The ease with which they ean dis- pose of their product has the bad effect of making packers eareless, for they know that if their goods do not suit one man they will suit another.’’ ‘*Are those faulty containers allowed to reach the consumers ?’’ ‘“Yes, in too many eases they are, but a proportion are re-coopered.. Iron hoops. are usually put on the ends, but that does not help the bilge. The fact that leaky barrels continually reach consumers certainly does not encourage the purchase of pickled fish as part of the winter’s supply of food stuffs. Only a few days ago I was asked by a farmer why good pickled fish are so hard to get. He claimed that after paying exorbitant prices for what should. be the gen- uine article he invariably found more or less bad fish in every barrel, and that as a consequence he has stopped taking chanees either on poorly made barrels or on their contents. His chief complaint was of rusty fish, and this is undoubtedly caused by the fish being ~ exposed to the air through lack of pickle. In view of the present urgent need for food conservation this ap- pears to me to be a very serious matter, and all the FISHERMAN to $22 per barrel. February, 1918 : more so when we know how to put it right. same position.”’ ‘‘Are Fish Inspectors given the same powers as ‘the Fruit Inspectors?’’ ‘‘No, the Inspection and Sale Aet undér which the Fruit Inspectors work is compulsory, whereas the Fish Inspection Act is not. This being so you can see how a Fish Inspector is handicapped. A barrel of apples If one | man was all who had quit purchasing pickled fish — for food because of their quality he would not count, — but I feel very sure that there are thousands in the % ag : ngs tea Mino Me ok hte nn ee. ee a Eat ee tre Pe i eee te ee ready for market must be stencilled with the packer’s y name, variety of apple, and the grade. Fruit Inspector comes along everything is not just as get pt he immediately marks the barrel ‘‘Falsely r ‘‘Falsely Marked,’’ and besides he can put the pane to a whole lot of trouble, both fin- On the other hand a pickled fish packer can pack up any old thing in any old Packed,’’ ancially and otherwise. kind of a package, stencil it anyway at all, and get off with it nine times out of ten, simply because there If when the is no law to stop him. I can tell more than one good fish story regarding what has been found in a barrel s which was only supposed to contain ‘No One Fat Jul y me fis Herring.’ Honestly, I don’t think the pickled business is getting half a show, but I do hope to live | ‘ to see the Fish Inspection Act made compulsory.”’ ‘“‘Do your remarks apply to herring cured by the Scotch method ?’’ ‘‘No, not to the same extent. the Seoteh method in this country are now Curers of herring — a that they must produce the goods or accept. a price similar to that paid for the split herring. They must be very particular both regarding the quality of the — barrel used, and the care they take in the handling of . their fish.’’ ‘‘Are many curers adopting the Scotch ‘yaethod Pod ‘‘No, not so very many. Curers saw good prices — in sight for split herring, and as anything in the shape ~ of herring goes in that line they did not pay the atten- tion they should do to a method which if properly — earried out means at least 100 per cent. increase in — Another thing which pre-— the value of their goods. vented a larger quantity of herring being cured by the Scotch method was the reported searcity of salt which eaused fishermen to take their nets ashore at a time when the best quality of herring for this purpose was — on the coast.’’ ‘How did the prices of split and Seotch cured her- : ring compare this season?’’ ‘‘When split herring were making around $7 per bar- rel, properly Seotch cured herring netted from $20 there is just one way to do this, the right way. realized depend entirely on the quality and cure. ‘% ‘‘What about drowned herring now?’’ “There will be drowned herring just as-long as herring are fished in anchored nets, unless said nets Moreover, as it is almost impossible to cull out all these objection- are cleaned twice in twenty-four hours. Of course, everyone who tries to — put up herring by this method is not so fortunate, for Every- thing has to be just so to bring big prices, and as this <4 eure of fish are usually sold on their merits the prices — +t, Ue - February, 1918 CANADIAN FISHERMAN 61 / () 1825 J CORDAGE A Strength and Long Service characterize PION BRAND CORDAGE MANILA, SISAL, ITALIAN, HEMP, JUTE CORDAGE and TWINES of every description Reliability Durability 13 Distributing Points Made in ZZ Canada The fisherman who buys LION BRAND "supports home industry and uses a reliable article which always insures satisfaction and long service. CONSUMERS CORDAGE COMPANY, LIMITED Tees & Persse, Limited, Winnipeg, Regina, Saskatoon, Calgary, Moose Jaw, Edmonton and Fort William, Ont. James Bisset & Co., Quebec, P.Q.; Macgowan & Co., Vancouver, B.C. Sars 620 able fish some of them, perhaps only one fish, will find its way into a barrel of good herring, and often that one bad fish is sufficient to affect the price of a whole consignment.”’ ° “Do you consider’ that drowned herring are all right for the split cure?’’ ‘*T do not think they are. Certainly not for a first class article. It is well known to practical men and many others that a drowned herring is no good for bait. If a fisherman can purchase bait caught in a trap he will have nothing to do with netted herring. They cannot be cured by the Scotch method, and even when the deteriorated matter is scraped from the back bone, which is very seldom done, they are still inferior as a split. I am of opinion, too, that curers allow their fish to soak too long in water. This causes the flesh to become short. A little salt added to the water used for soaking purposes gives good results.’ “Is the packing of split herring done carefully ?’’ ‘‘Not as a rule. Some people only pack the two tiers at top and bottom, the balance being thrown in, and in most cases two herring are packed at a time. To do the job properly every herring should be pack- ed individually, and previous to being packed should be thoroughly roused in salt so as to have salt adhering to the outside of the fish, which will prevent them sticking together.’’ “Do eoopers and curers take much interest in your demonstrations ?’’ ‘*They all seem to be very much interested, although — all do not try to copy. However, it is no trouble for me to point to both coopers and curers who have bene- fited very considerably by taking practical advice and practicing it. ‘“What length of time do you spend in each place for demonstration purposes?’’ “‘T have to use my own judgment regarding that. If on my arrival at a fishing village, the fresh herring are there I can demonstrate how the fish should be cleaned, graded, roused, packed and salted in an hour or so, but I would require to return to that place again in two or three days to demonstrate the second process which is known to the trade as putting the fish in seastick order. After another week or so I should be there again to demonstrate the bung packing process which has to be performed very carefully. Now, as I am at present situated it is impossible for me to give any one place the attention I would lke to. for my work takes me all over the Maritime Provinces. ‘“‘Tf I were called only where people really mean business things would be different. I once travelled nearly 300 miles at the best of the herring season for the purpose of demonstrating, only to be told by my prospective pupil that what he did not understand was what the milt or roe of a fish was. Honestly, I thought this veteran fisherman was trying to pull my leg. However, I gave the explanation and after he had brought ashore about fifteen herring, ten of which were drowned (this comprised his catch for three days), and I had shown him how to detect the drowned fish from newly netted ones, how to clean, select, rouse, pack and salt his herring by the Scotch method, he told me that he had been reading quite a lot regarding this method of cure and that he thought if Seotch cured herring could bring such remunerative prices surely a half barrel cured in this way would be all right for his winter’s use. To put it mildly this al- CANADIAN FISHERMAN Roneiaey 1918 most took the wind out of me, and this is only one 7 instance.’ “Ts it likely that the Act under which you work will ever be made compulsory ?’’ ‘“‘I have only heard. one dissenting voice and this | particular man has absolutely no argument. He says that he can’‘sell herring in a fifty cent barrel, but he does not admit what he pays or receives for them. | claim that a pickled fish barrel cannot be made for 3 fifty cents, and further, before herring can be kept i in The speaker answered that he thought it was ly due to lack of co-operation on the part of men. as one tughad produced 72 qts. of herring while another had run about eight quarts. Mr. Cornell further stated that he would r duced from Lake Huron, as it meant a differen about three cents per pound on the New York ket. a Bert Westcott of Kingsville, stated that 1917 a bad season all round for fish hatching, and ad conditions had reigned in almost every kind of sp He went further to illustrate that while his compai in 1915 turned over 1,040 quarts of white fish eg to the Dominion Government ‘and the Put-in-Bay hateé eries, in 1916 they had turned over 1,012 qu and in 1917 only 176 quarts, ak ee before the Lake Erie Fishermen’s Assoatee on, City Hall, St. Thomas, Ont., February 11th, 1918.) Aeaily something that I said at that time that t had the pleasure of meeting your Hon, Officer eries, Mr. Schleihauf, gave him the impression knew something about the propagation of the f the Great Lakes, for he wrote to me asking ome over and address this meeting; and upon ming him that I was not a public speaker id not comply with his request, he said, ‘‘Then *t make a speech, come over and tell us a nd assuming, I suppose, that the subject of be the one that I would be the least likely n on, he said, ‘‘Tell us a fish story,’ and as have been in vogue ever since the incidents rring from which the Bible was written, I well refuse. You know that in holy writ, ‘one, Jonah, having been swallowed by a after three days’ residence in the whale’s spewed up on dry land. There is no record hy the whale disgorged Jonah, but it is just that he had been smoking cut plug or natural owever, be that as it may, it seems that the telling of this whale of a story, any- i everybody consider themselves licensed to ies. a inclined to think that the story that Mr. really expected me to tell at this time, is tement along the lines of artificial propa- he better species of the fishes of the Great gether with my opinion of the good resulting work ; also for my reasons for thinking that is necessary. is Artificial Propagation Necessary? x to answer this question we will confine cs to the discussion of that best of all fresh es, the whitefish, and the same reasoning to‘all the other species of fishes, of the Great -are being propagated for the’ purpose of ¢ the fishing industry, and the conserva- » of the best and cheapest natural food sup- God has given us; and, as the time for pre- r of quoting verbatim an article that was y myself, and read before the Fourth ‘‘In- onal Fisheries Congress’’ held at Washington, n 1908, entitled, ‘‘Plans for Promoting the Production in the Great Lakes.’’ ussing this subject it will first be necessary understand something of the habits and the of reproduction of these fishes, and the prob- rease and losses in numbers under natural S; and since the same conditions exist, and reasoning will apply to all the lines of the e will confine our remarks to the conditions Erie. ¢ Habits and Natural Reproduction of the Si ‘Whitefish, . ee rerenes are migratory, re the » nicotine was too strong for the whale’s CANADIAN FISHERMAN 671 and the. rocky and sandy bottoms of the shoaler por- tions of the lake. Most of these reefs and. shoals are of that particular formation called ‘‘honeyeombed rock’’—that. is, instead of being gravelly or smooth, these rocks are dotted with holes and small cavities, into which the eggs, as they are voided by the fish, may drop and be comparatively safe from being eaten by the suckers and other spawn-eating fishes, water _ lizards, or other enemies, and also from being covered | by mud, silt, and other filth, and smothered, as they would be if deposited tipon mud bottom. Were the whitefish nest builders, and did they pate as some of the other fishes do so as to perform the funetion of fertilizing their eggs with any degree of certainty, the chances for a large production of young under such favorable conditions, would be very good indeed. But they are not nest builders; neither do they mate; on the contrary, they approach the'spawn- ing grounds singly and in schools, and are what are known as her eggs wherever she may happen to be, regardless of whether there is a male fish within close proximity or not. In consequence, but very few of the fish come together so as to perform the functions of fertilization. And when it is known, as was demonstrated by Mr. J. J. Stranahan, by a very careful experiment in the fall of 1897, that the life of an unfertilized whitefish egg, if left under water, is less than four minutes, while more than 50 per cent of them perish in 144 minutes, and the life germ contained in the milt of the male — : fish may be fairly supposed to live no longer under the same conditions, it will readily be seen that the . percentage of eggs fertilized under natural conditions must of a necessity be very small mated by those fish culturists who have had most to do with the progagation of whitefish that not more than one per cent of the eggs are fertilized when de- posited under natural conditions. Now at this rate let us see how many fertile eggs each pair of adult whitefish will produce each season. that the average number of eggs produced annually by each female whitefish is 35,000. The greatest number of eggs the writer has ever known to be se- cured from one fish was 150,000 from a fish weighing 11 pounds, giving 13,636 eggs to the pound of fish. — This would be equivalent to a little more than 37,000 eggs to the fish weighing 254 pounds, and as the av-— erage weight of the spawning whitefish is from 214 to 3 pounds, it will be seen that 35,000 eggs to the fish Then if each pair of white- fish produce 35,000 eggs, and but one per cent of them = should be nearly correct. are fertilized, 350 fertile eggs to the pair is all that ean be expected to commence with. As the period of incubation for whitefish eggs is from 128 to 150 days, and as these fertile eggs must lie on the lake bottom all this time, in danger of destruction by being smoth- ered in mud or filth as previously shown, and exposed to the still greater danger of being eaten by all kinds of aquatic life that feed at the lake bottom, it is quite evident that but few of these 350 fertile eggs will survive to reach the fry stage. It is evident, moreover, that nature never intended there should be such a large increase in numbers as would result from any- thing like a perfect fertilization and hateh, for in that — case the lake in a short time would be so densely in- habited that the waters could not produce sufficient food for all; neither would there be room in the lake for them if they came to maturity. It is therefore safe to suppose that ee oy the number increases but ‘*sehool spawners,’’ the female extruding — In fact it is esti-. It is estimated 672 little if it over-balances the loss, and reasoning from the known to the unknown, we are sure that this Is true. The number of young produced each year by those fishes, of which there is a large number, which carry their young through the period of incubation and pro- duce them alive so far as the writer has been able to learn, ranges from one to 22, giving an average of 11 young to each pair of fish; and as these fishes are very ‘ humerous where found, it appears that this rate of increase in the fry state is sufficient to more than overcome the losses under natural conditions. Thus by analogy we have the proof that an increase of 11 young from each pair of fish of any kind including whitefish is more than enough to overcome the natural losses. Work of the Hatcheries. But the whitefish on account of being such an ex- cellent food fish, is more sought after than many others and is taken by every device that man has been able to invent and in the greatest numbers possible on all occasions, so that the natural losses are many times multiplied by this take of fish which may justly be termed ‘‘artificial’’ losses. Now if this artificial loss is continued, then in order that the loss shall not great- ly overbalance the natural production, there must of a necessity be introduced an artificial increase. Hap- pily, ‘this can be accomplished, in fact is being ac- complished in several places by the aid of the hatch- eries. The method employed is to have men go out ' with the commercial fishermen when they raise their nets, and collect the eggs from the ripe fish. This is done by expelling the eggs from the female fish into a common milk pan in as dry a state as possible, after which they are fertilized by using the milt of the ripe male fish immediately. They are then carefully washed, brought to the hatchery and placed in the jars, where they remain until hatched. In addition to this method of saving the eggs, many fish are pen- ned each year. This is done by hanging a net on the back of that part of the pound net called the crib and when the fish first commence coming onto the grounds, before they are ripe enough. to spawn, the fishermen as they raise their nets take out the unripe fish and place them in the nets on the back of the crib. Then the station tug, which is provided with large tanks on deck through which a stream of water is constantly pumped, visits these nets and takes out the fish, trans- ferring them to the tanks and conveying them to the station where they are transferred to the pens. Here - they are held until they ripen when the eggs are se- eured, and the fish after a few days when they have regained their normal condition are returned to the fishermen from whom they were obtained and are sent to market. It is perhaps well to say in this connec- tion that spawning the whitefish in this manner in no way injures them for food; in fact these fish that are spawned and then held a few days before putting them on the market are in much better condition for consumption than if they had been marketed while still carrying the eggs. Moreover, the whitefish, unlike many others, is in the best condition for food at spawn- ing time for the reason that it is very fat and the flesh is juicy and sweet, and the water temperature being low at this time the flesh is firm and flaky; while earlier in the season, when the water is yet warm the flesh is much softer and the flavor not as fine. But not to digress further, we will continue by saying that from the fish collected and held in pens as described CANADIAN FISHERMAN March, 191§ above, we have collected in a single season at 0 point along 122,160,000 eggs of fair quality. In other instances, where the fishermen operate on a small scale and small boats are used for the purpose, arrange-— ments are made whereby the fishermen collect the eggs themselves, and are paid for them at so mu per quart for fertile eggs, whereas if we put men boats to spawn the fish we pay nothing for the eg as the fishermen are directly benefited by the wo of propagation. These small operators usually fi gill nets on the reefs, and as the whitefish do n frequent the reefs until ready to spawn, from 50 to per cent of their catch are ripe fish. : 2 Measures Necessary to Insure Increased Productic From a practical experience in whitefish work over thirty years, and by consultation with other fi culturists, we find that the average hatch of the eg collected and taken to the hatcheries is from 75 to per cent. Assuming the lower figure to be the e rect one, if each pair of whitefish, as was previou shown, produce 35,000 eggs, by the assistance of hatcheries we get three-fourths of 35,000 or 26,3 fry as against the 11 fry that these same fish wo have produced if the eggs had been left to themsel or 2,393 times as many as it was intended by natu for them to produce. Even allowing that the whole the 1 per cent naturally fertilized hatch, giving . fry as the number produced by each pair of fish, the hatchery would still beat nature by 25,981 fry, or little over 74 times as many and the fry produced the hatcheries are just as strong and vigorous, and th chanees for reaching maturity are just as great as | those hatched naturally. Then if by the lower caleu tion we produce 74 times as many fry by collecting t eggs. and hatching them at the hatcheries as the f would produce if left to themselves, it is obvious th the best plan to promote the whitefish production the great lakes is: - . To so arrange matters that artificial propagati shall be generally applied to the reproduction by h ing hatcheries established at every available po where a sufficient number of eggs can be secured warrant their maintenance. It is not necessary the the hatcheries be operated upon as large a scale a those at Detroit, Sandwich and Put-in-Bay, but wher- ever enough eggs can be secured to give a hatch from 25 to 50 millions, if these peints are remote fr the larger stations, put up a hatchery and operate on as economical a scale as possible to stock these — hatcheries, not only collecting the eggs from the ripe fish as caught by the fishermen, but penning and holc ing the green, but nearly ripe fish, until they do ripei pursuing the method described above so that pre tically all the fish caught will have contributed ward this production before being placed upon — market. a To make this plan the more effective, so as to get greatest increase possible from the fish caught, a should be enacted compelling the fishermen to co. lect, or allow the hatcheries to collect, all the egs from the ripe fish, and to place the green fish the auxiliary nets for penning; the fishermen to paid a fair price for the eggs so taken by them, a a fair remuneration for their labor in penning | fish, and to receive pay for all fish lost in penning As a further part of the plan we would have a | enacted prohibiting the taking or the offering sale any undersized whitefish, making the size li large enough so that every fish before being pl r old have had a chance to reproduce ce. and thereby penerooting toward increas: production. plan should not only be universal with the bordering upon the Great Lakes, but should be ernational, making the same conditions on the Can- jan side as in the States and preventing any loop- le through which the regulations could be evaded. plan would be strengthened by making a closed son during the heat of summer when it is so nearly possible to get to market in an edible condition on of the hot weather and the high temperature ater from which they must of a necessity be All the fish taken at this time of year are a s to reproduction, as they go to market with sir unripe eggs in their ovaries, and for every 0 fry if it had been left to spawn naturally, roximately 26,000 fry if the eggs were al- ripen, collected and hatched at a hatchery. u may form some idea of the amount of work hed by the hatcheries, I have prepared a ving the number of eggs collected from each fish propagated at the Put-i in- Peay station aah 16 years. CANADIAN. 0 taken there is a loss to reproduction of from. \ yee eee ae 4 . a ae ees wy Msi ie Shay oot EERE A \ | Tod SES ae a Tea ee FISHERMAN Number of Eggs Collected During the Years From 000; the last five years, 1,750,971,000 and pike-perch 2. 274, 120,000. The second five years showing an inerease in round — numbers of 500,000,000 whitefish eggs, and 1,200,000,- _ 000 pike-perch eggs, and the last five years shows an increase of 200,000,000 whitefish eggs, and a falling _ off of pike- perch eggs of nearly 500,000,000 from the — second series, but still retaining an increase of nearly a billion of eggs over the first five years, and the last — year of the table, 1915 shows a take of 351,080,000 whitefish and 511,715,000 pike-perch eggs, as against — : 174,234,000 whitefish ‘and 138,900,000 pike-perch eggs ‘ in 1900 the first year, an inerease of nearly double for _ the whitefish, and more than three times as many of the pike- perch eggs. And this gain in the collection — of eggs has not been accomplished by extending the ~ field of operations. We are covering practically the — same area as before, but with less advantages for se-— curing the eggs, for in addition to the change in the manner of fishing in the vicinity of the station from the pound net to the trap net, thereby eliminating alls ehance ef penning fish for their eggs, the Ohio State — hatchery erected about eight years since but a few rods from us receive some of the eggs from this field, yet notwithstanding the fact that the ae has been 1900 to 1915. : Lake Whitefish. | Pike-Perch. Herring. Lake Trout. Perch. Boia ie a 194,234,000 138,900,000 61,760,000 | pene ia a Menge 2: 335,860,000 341,025,000 areca 256,000,000 305,000,000 47,680,000 Be Sie 54,564,000. 325,000,000 4 ,. °237,774,000 431,375,000 air 1,500,000 zagay 226,931,000 380,250,000 228,640,000 1,900,000 Bie es 186,409,000 422,100,000 84,470,000 2,000,000 ‘eae 336,250,000’ 784,750,000 18,325,000 2,000,000 Laban 373,046,000 | 616,775,000 an | eee 219,508,000 663,600,000 104,000,000 eae 310,440,000 594,050,000 ~ 73,400,000 eee ~ + 82,280,000 797,905,000 ee 350,080,000 239,000,000 | Of ee 488,240,000 133,500,000 . 3 8,064,000 Le sae 479,290,000 592,000,000 7,700,000 — 2,000,000 10,856,000 Se tea 351,081,000 511,715,000 Totals....... 4,481,987,000 7,276,945,000 625,975,000 —- 9,400,000 ~—_ 18,920,000 cing a grand total of 12,413,227,000 eggs receiv- the station during this time. It would be well ‘ight here, that not all the eggs taken at this e kept and hatched here, but nearly one- hem were shipped to other points to be hatch- Aa the eggs retained at the station there 2 ta. Bee ’ Showing anvaverage hatch of 142,- hitefish, 115,373,750 pike-perch, 20,614,500 ing for the eight years that herring were , and 959,100 lake trout for the five years were propagated and 3,000,000 perch for the that they were handled. first five years produced: Whitefish 000 and pike-pereh 1,541,300,000; the 4 144, 000 and pike- perch 2,767, 495, - prosecuted to the fullest extent all these years pee the greatest number of fish removed from the lake, the — take of eggs has steadily increased and as the number — of eggs to the fish has not increased, there must haves, been an increase in the take of fish, and why should i it not be the case; this last spring we liberated in Lake _ Erie 209 millions ‘of whitefish fry, and while we place — no insurance on them, nor guarantee any certain per- — cent of them reaching maturity, yet we do know that — there are just 209 millions more chances for mature 4 fish than there would have been had we not been in ~ operation; for every one of the eggs from which these fish were produced would have gone to market with. the fish and been a total loss to reproduction. MB at ie I hear some closed season advocate say, ‘‘if those fish — had been left.in the lake to reproduce, would eve not have produced these fry themselves!’’ ‘To this I will reply, ‘‘They certainly would, but it would take — them from 74 to 2,392 years to do it,’’? as was shown — heretofore, and I do not think that even the advo- x \ 3, iS 674 cate of a closed spawning season, would ¢are to wait that long for a mess of fish. sao But the proper thing for all those livimg on the borders of the Great Lakes, and especially those im- terested directly or indirectly in either» the fishing industry, or the propagation of fish and':the conser- vation of this great natural food supply; is to work on some plan whereby the adult fish may. be.removed from the waters, placed on the market for:food for the people, at the same time providing employment for thousands of men at good wages, and at the same time not only maintain the number of fish-now in the lakes but provide a steady increase, and gentlemen, I believe that this not only can be done, but that: it.is being done to-day by the aid of the hatcheries. Is the Propagation of Fish an Economical Measure? That is Aside From the Conservation’ of Food Supply! sy. Let us see: During the fiscal year 1915, there were supplied from the Put-in-Bay, Ohio, Station, to be hatehed at other points, 235,700,000 whitefish ‘and 305,450,000 pike-perch eggs, and from the -eggs re- tained at the station there were hatched and distribut- ed 209 millions whitefish and 56 millions pike-perch fry, making 265 millions all told. This work was all done at a total cost of $14,591. Now if 10 per cent of these fish live and reach a weight of 24% pounds each, . we will: have 66,250,000 Ibs. of fish, worth to the con- CANADIAN FISHERMAN Oy a sumer to-day 15¢ a pound, amounting to $9,937,500; but, some will say, “‘We don’t think that 10-per cent of the fry. planted will reach maturity: well we think there will, but not to be hoggish in the matter, let us say 1 per cent reach the 21% Ibs. This will give us 6,625,000 lbs., which at the same price will give a valu- ation of .$993,750, which is a little more than 6,810 times the cost of production, or 6,810 per cent on the investment: a better rate of, interest, even than John D. Rockefeller makes in the oil business, : The reason for my thinking that 10 per cent on! | more of the fry planted reach ‘maturity, is from the results of experiments along this line. Somewhere about twenty-two years ago there were liberated in the Clacamas River on the Pacific Coast, 5,000 marked sal- mon fingerlings; about four years later the State Fish Commissioner of the State of Oregon, had notices put in the papers telling the fishermen of these mark- ed fish, and asking that all the fish caught so mark- ed be sent to him and he would pay the market price for them, and as a result, thése were either seven fish less, or seven more, than 10 per cent of the number ~ liberated sent:to the Commissioner. And of course not all the marked fish that entered the Columbia River were caught, nor were all those that were caught © sent to the Commissioner, but there were enough to show conclusively that a much larger percentage of the young fish liberated reach maturity than was at first supposed there would be. Canadian Markets : ’ An address delivered at the Lake Erie Fishermen’s Association, : St, Thomas, Ont., 1918. I have been wondering why our President, Mr. Pons- - ford, selected me to address the members ‘of this asso- ciation on the subject of Canadian Markets when there are so many fishermen present who have had years.of exper-ence in this industry and during that time have been catering to our home trade, while I am practical- — ly a new comer. However I will endeavor to give you a short history of my entry into this field and the cir: ° cumstances which led me to seek an outlet for our pro-— duction through the channels of the retail trade in Canada. ot 5 Al My early experience in trying to market; our fish in Canada was very discouraging. At the time: I am speaking of we were doing some business w th a pro- minent ntario wholesale house. Invariably: on talking to these people we would be asked the question,:‘‘ what have you got to-day?’’ If we were fortunate enough to be able to answer, we have several tons of herring, and we were able to agree on price with our Ontaro dealer, the answer would likely be, ‘‘let me have ten ortwen- ty boxes, on the other hand the same question put to an American consignor, if price were satisfactory, brought forth the answer, ‘‘let them .come.’’ “?These were the conditions that existed when I camé into; the bus‘ness some eight years ago, and these are thecon- — ditions, as far as I know, that exist today.°°*If*your production is large it is absolutely impossible to mar- ~~ ket it in aCnada. Catering to the Canadian trade -has been a fad with me for several years and I am-fain: to confess that with the possible exception of thrée’ years’ we would have been better,off if we had let this mar- =~ Perhaps an ¢xplanation of how *we™ | ket entirely alone. sco Wise Winetoott,” -Kingevilé: Ont: Mareh, 1918 4 q ‘ j “4 : f. Ra ee a ee ee ee ae bf x -— — - « Sk a ee ee ee a a er CANADTAN were selling a prominent wholesale consider- atities of Lake Erie Whitefish. At this par- time we received an inquiry from a Toronto mental Store asking us to quote them on Lake Whitefish, which I can assure you we immediately e were agreeably surprised to receive by re- ail an order for one thousand pounds of White- . I do not think the first sh pment of these ad been delivered to the consignor by the Ex- lo. before we received a long distance telephone our friend the wholesaler telling us if we selling the retail trade we certainly could m. Well I am frank in saying to you, for a e we felt the fat was in the fire, we tried to the matter by asking our friend the whole- e at least a part of our surplus at a rea- price and we in turn would leave the retail one, this they absolutely refused to do.» After ag my associates we decided to go after the de and go after it hard, today we are canvas- ally every town of any importance from Windsor, I may say to you our expecta- 1ore than realized, as the demand has al- ded the supply. Now do not let me mis- 0 thinking th‘s demand includes all varie- ish produced in Lake Erie, but for Whitefish ‘onsiderable notoriety has been given the fish- astry by articles appearing in the Canadian yocating an investigation into the high cost of lake fish to Canadian consumers, others go- :to suggest an embargo on the exportation to the United States. Let me say to you, hat I have good reasons to believe that in ar two of our gill net tugs will produce in ¢ season all the fish such as herring, blue ch, that is consumed in the Province of entire year.’. Prohibiting the exporta- mean cheap fish for Canadians but ean that the Canadian fishermen would of business as it would be absolutely -dispose of ther product at any price in Now in conclusion I wish to say the Can- is a discriminating one. You should attention to the care of your fish as for market, be particular in your packing, man one hundred pounds of fish be sure ‘one hundred pounds. A nice clean box etter than one that looks as though it use since Adam’s time. Ice is cheap, use and TI venture to say you will have no is market_ ° ‘I thank you for your attention and I Il be spared to attend our next annual will be held early in 1919. m. THE RESULTS OF SEA FISHING ONS IN CANADA DURING THE ONTH OF FEBRUARY. y is usually the poorest fishing month of cially on the Atlantic coast. The winter 1 boats is over, and the fishermen of this-slack and often stormy period ad gear in order for the more ex- nd summer fishery. luring February of the present year FISHERMAN 675 Was more severe than usual in the east. Notwith- standing this, the total quantity of cod, haddock, hake and pollock landed was about equal to that landed in — February last year. The figures are 22,045 ewts., against 22,246 ewts. Cod and hake landings were somewhat greater, but haddock and pollock landings were less. The bulk of the deliveries of these fish for oOue month on the Atlantic coast has to be credited to steam trawlers. The outstanding feature of the month’s fisheries is the great quantity of herring landed in British Co- lumbia, which practically constitutes the total landing of herring in the whole of Canada. The catch amounted to 244,300 ewts. from which there were canned 57,- 148 cases of 48 pounds; while almost 13,000 barrels were cured in what is known as the Scotch style. The catch for February last year was 46,650 ewts. from which were packed 7,118 cases of canned and 350 bar- rels of Scotch cured. The quantity of halibut landed in Canada, chiefly in British Columbia, was 690 ewts., less than that land- ed during the same month last: year, but the value was almost $60,000 greater. The smelt fishery, which is carried on mainly along the southern shores of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, pro- duced 15,364 cwts. from the Ist to the 15th of the month, when the season for net fishing closed. This is rather less than the catch for February last year. The open season was extended to February 25th last. — year, however, ~ The current lobster season opened on the 15th of November last in Charlotte and St. John counties, New Brunswick, and is now in progress on both sides of the Bay of Fundy, and on the Nova Scotia. coast as far east as Halifax harbor. Up to the end of Feb- ruary, the total pack was 3,061 cases, while 6,570 cwts, were shipped fresh in shell to market. During the corresponding period in the preceding year the pack was 4,922 cases and the shipment in shell 13,- 845 ewts. - The total value in first hands of all sea fish landed in Canada during February was $936,533 against $580,864 for the same month last year . The increase is due al- most altogether to the greater herring catch in British Columbia. one NEW FISHERY REGULATIONS. Honorable Mr, Ballantyne, Minister of the Naval Service, of which Department the Fisheries Branch _forms a part, is giving close attention to the fishing industry, and he is having the regulations so modified as to enable the. greatest possible production of fish, compatible with proper protection of the fisheries so as-to prevent depletion. By Order-in-Council of February 28th ultimo, sev- eral changes in the Fishery Regulations were made :— 1.-—fhe use of purse-seines for catching pollock ou the Atlantic coast has been authorized. Pollock is an excellent fish that vies with cod and haddock for use fresh.. Indeed, those living on the coast purchase it for their tables as readily as either cod or haddock, and as its excellence is becoming known in the interior the demand for it there is rapidly growing. While the pollock belongs to a group of fishes like the cod and haddock that feed at the bottom, unlike them, it feeds at times near the surface. When it is so feed- ing it will not take the hook. Each summer vast quanti- ties can-be seen in the Bay of Fundy and around the 676 CANADIAN coast of Western Nova Scotia, but as they could not be captured excepting with purse-seines they were not caught in the bays. This prohibition has been re- moved, and as a result, hundreds of thousands of pounds of one of our choicest food fishes will be caught next summer over and above what would have other- wise been the case. 2.—For many years herring: fishing has been pro- hibited around a certain portion of Grand Manan Island, N.B., on the assuniption that it was a favorite spawning area for the herring. Investigation has proved this not to be the case, and this area has been thrown open for fishing, and will result in largely increased herring production in that vicinity. 3.—An important change in the lobster fishery regu- lations for the portion of the Maritime Province coast west of Halifax Harbor by the establishment of a size limit of 9 inches for lobsters has been made. As this portion of the coast is available to the live lobster ‘markets, and as it pays much better to sell lobsters in such markets than at the canner- ies, the general practice has been to ship lobsters 9 inches long and over to the United States live. lobster markets, and send the smaller ones to the canneries. Last fiscal year 6,300,000 pounds of lobsters along this portion of the coast found their way to the local can- neries, while about an equal quantity was shipped - away to the live lobster markets, The intensive fishery involved is telling on the supply of lobsters which has been declining from year to year, as is shown by the fact that five years ago over 8,000,000 pounds of lobsters were shipped to live lobster markets, and over 7,000,000 pounds were sent to the canneries. Lobsters do not lay eggs until they are about 9 inches long, and the number of eggs pro- duced increases rapidly with the size of the lobster. A nine-inch limit will mean that no lobsters may be taken until they have reached maturity, and this will, it is hoped, check the decline in the lobster fishery that. has been going on. While the regulation will likely have the effect of closing the canneries, it will in vhe » course of a few years put more money in the pockets of the fishermen, as well as conserve and build up the. industry. This regulation will not become effective until after the end of the present fishing season. 4.—Years ayo, shac was so abundant in the Bay of Fundy waters and tributary streams, that it was one of the most important fisheries there. The fresh fish markets were fully supplied, and over 10,000 barrels - were yearly salted. By over-fishing, this choice fish has become so searce that only a few hundred weights are now caught each season. Shad, like salmon, come back to the streams in which they are hatched, so that protection to any area will benefit that par- ticular area. The restoration of the fishery by arti- ficial hatching has been tried without success, as shad will die if Landled, and only from 5 to 10 per cent. of the shad caught will yield eggs at the time. Ex- perts are all agreed that the only effective way to re-establish a depleted fishery is to stop all fishing for a few years. By the regulation now adopted, no shad fishing will be permitted in the Bay of Fundy or tributary waters and streams for four years from March 17th, 1918. to prevent future depletion, 5.—In the salmon gill-net fisheries in Northern Brit- ish Columbia motor boats have not been used-in the FISHERMAN this fishery there has been prohibited. ae Hereafter regulations are provided March, 191 past.. A movement was on foot to introduce boats, but it’ was strongly opposed by both the ¢ ners and fishermen. Hence, the use of motor boats in FISHERY QUESTIONS WITH THE UNITED ~ STATES SETTLED. ae Honourable Mr. Ballantyne announced that an rangement has been made, to last at least during war, which settles long standing fishery questions be tweeri Canada and the United States. This is another evidence of how the two countries are striving to brea down all barriers that stand in the way of greater duction of food and the most ready transporta thereof. This arrangement is the first fruit of work of the International Joint Commission, cons ing of Honorable Chief Justice J. D. Hazen, G, J. - barats, Deputy Minister of the Naval Service, and A. Found, Superintendent of Fisheries, as the Can dian members, and Honorable W. C. Redfield, Seer tary of Commeree, E. F. Sweet, Assistant Secretary Commerce, and Doctor H. M. Smith, Commissione: Fisheries, as the United States members, to cons the settlement of all outstanding fishery questions tween the two countries. 5 Abas While for some years past fish have been admi into the United States free: of duty, our fishermen have been unable to take full advantage of this, as Canadian fishing vessels were not permitted to go directly from the fishing grounds to United States ports, nor to clear from such ports back to the high seas, but had to go back to a port in Canada. all fish going into the United States had to be ship in through the ordinary commercial channels. involved delay and additional expense. The ob of these laws was ,to prevent undue competition Canadian fishing vessels with United States vessel their own ports. Eee, aR)” On the other hand, United States fishing vessels der treaty. are not allowed to come to Canadian p except for wood, water, shelter’ and repairs. Ww what were known as modus vivendi licenses h Sy crews and the transhipment of catches, such lice were restricted to vessels driven by sails. only. nearly all the United States fleet has now m power, few of them could procure these licenses. 1 having these privileges involved serious loss of and consequently smaller catches, owing to ves having to go back to their home ports when s of supplies, etc., though they were fishing off Canadian coast. On the Pacific coast the privileges covered by modus vivendi licenses have for years past authorized by Order-in-Council to all United St fishing vessels, no matter how driven. This has proved advantageous to both countries, as while the fishing vessels do most of their business through British Columbia ports, they can make quicker trips, and con. sequently produce more fish, as such ports are ne the fishing grounds. Following the return of the United States sectio: of .the Commission from public sitting held by the Commission on the Atlantic coast, the Secretary of Commerce, with the authority of the President. under their war legislation, issued instructions to all their Customs’ Officers to allow Canadian fishing ves- ~ r i feet CANADIAN SHERMAN 59 Have you a good case to hold and display them? above illustration is of the Gov- vent Standard case finished in > enamel and’ash stained. : Write for Catalogue and Prices. _ Stock Carried, Prompt Delivery Made, E iamilton, Caiads: ~ MONTREAL 16 Notre Dame St., E D. H. H. NEILL, 16 Richmond Sq. Phone Uptown 8547 Maunfacturers of Tents, Flags, Sails, Life Preservers, Fishing Tackle Awnings, Guns, Ammunition, Sporting Goods and General Camping Outfits The D. Pike Co., Limited 123 King Street E. - Toronto “EVERYTHING IN CANVAS ”’ Gourock Ropework Export Co., ae) 7 New England Fish Company, Ltd. 15 99 Gosse-Millerd Packing Co., Ltd 8 Niagara Motors Corporation .. ..... 98 Gray and Prior Machine Co. 71 Noble, Charles, Jr., Co., Inc. 80 67 Guarantee Motor Co. 93 Northern Fish Co. 70 ; 90 Guest, W. J., Fish ‘Co. Ltd. 89 Nova Scotia Government 86 63 : Ontario Government .. .. .. Government .. .. 12 Hallam, ‘John, Ltd... .: ; . se! Packers’ Asso- Hamilton, R. 8. Cig) ge O’Connor’s Fish Market ........ 93 r SS NG eects abhi wt P. ing " Corporation, Hatton, D., Co 17 Perfection Motor Co - Hoover & Son, A 81 5 . athe Lic nates ake aaa 81 Hud Fish C Pitt, Wishmon eer 250 eee se a ede. Wi ral 0. 3, * 73 Polson Iron -Works .. .. .. .. «- 88 79 yde Windlass Co. cy eoaee ees 2. * P rocess Engineers as . . "> “* * . * 68 nod P ke D 0. sy a. Th 4 ‘banks-Morse Co., Ltd. Imperial Oil, Ltd. 60 ee Fee) Cais tte) Seay ne and Cold Storage Independent Conds Co., Ltd. .. .. 16 Q. a H Independent Rubber Co., Ltd. 82 Quebec Government .. 92 fi J. ’ BR. 15 Jacobson Gas Engine ae 93 Ranney Fish Co. .. .. 76 68 James, F. T., Co., Ltd. 97 Robbins, Chas. C., Ine. 70 88 & Robbins, feat sg & Co. .. 2 0., Sir eG ES ? oberts Motoracs ahs a eee as : ee ae Kermath Motor Co. Robin, Jones and Whitman, she, -- 93 : tea i : ee Pipa §) Kildala Packing Co., Ltd. 5 Robinson, Thomas .. ‘ pea 3 ‘dage Co., Ltd. i ON “ yh feet? ta) Mates s Leckie, John, Ltd. fe Peay aswel: Seaboard Trading &6. 3 87 mer D. wee : Leonard Fisheries, Ltd. Back Cover Scott and Co., Ernest ° 66 Letson and Burpee, Ltd. .. : Scythes & Co., 65 ‘3 Lincoln, Willey and Co, Ineo’. 2; eee Silver, cag: brs Tagg 4 Linde Canadian Refrigeration Co., i Smith Cannery, Machines Co., Ltd. Be Lt td. ° no 5 88 Lipsett, Gunningham and Co., “Ltd. ragged ane percent Leeront Cover Gauss UF Lipsett, Edward mas Packing Co ‘ 72 Lodkeport Cold Storage | ‘Co., “Ltd. 83 Spooner, W. PU iene iat 73 Lockwood-Ash Jiotor Co : ; 75 Sprague Canning Mach. Co. .. .. .. 78 Loggie, W. e fonden and Setrolia Barrel Co., Ltd. 84 T. ns, Chas. Co., Inc. 87 Tabor, Geo., Ltd. . 4&8 Lyons, * 87 Thorne, . H and Cos ‘Ltd, Seretics a M. Tuckett Tobacco Co., Ltd. aiken B 85 Marconi ‘Wireless . 76 w. Maritime Fish Corporation, Ltd. 91 Walker, Thos. and Son, ‘Ltd, 93 81 McAvity, T. & Sons, Ltd. .. 94 Wallace Fisheries, Ltd 10 TS Ee Y 3 Mueller, Charles, Co., sh td. 84 Wannenwetsch & Co. .. 14 ' Co., Ine. oe x7 Mustad, O., and Son. .. 7 Western Packers, Ltd. . 9 Co.. ae 55 HN. a aeniee and ects ny eg nova eee eds OO New Brunswick Cold Storage Co. man, ur N. EU Say eee BD Meee chy ey a Whittall, A. R., Can. Co. Ltd... . 78 Index to Advertisers 678 sels to come ditectly from the fishing’ grounds to United States ports, sell their catches there, procure all supplies and outfits and clear back to the fishing erounds, thus doing away entirely with the obstacles they previously experienced. Following this action, the Canadian Government authorized by Order-in- Council under the War Measures Act, that United States fishing vessels shall be permitted to come to our ports for similar privileges without the require- ment of a license. As there is a duty in Canada, such duty will have to be paid on fish sold in our ports. This complete reciprocity of port privileges will ‘not only enable an important increase in the amount of fish produced to be made by the two countries, but will do away with irritating delays to vessels of either country in the ports of the other. For years past United States lobster boats have been coming over to our coast and fishing outside our territorial waters during our close time inside, such waters, thus minimizing the good effects of our pro- tective measures and causing annoyance to the local fishermen. On the recommendation of the Joint Co~ mission, legislation has already been introduced into the United States Congress prohibiting the importa- tion into that country of lobsters taken off our coasts during our close time, thus doing away with another souree of trouble. SPAWNING TAKERS’ BOOKS RETURNED FROM POINT EDWARD, JAN. 18, 1918, SHOW FOLLOWING RECORD. Merlin. “Hebrine UMOwe SOS Oe ar ious be ee. ee ve yaa eke WV aL ee Me 30) os Smith & Hodgson.. .. SOC an Tie emo ©: PR Camiphell = Bane oe in ce ORB ae E. MeLean & Son .. .. .... 234°“ Olmstead & Getty .. 2G h558 J. W. Bailey .. Sc 8834, 6c Erie Eau. PC PRIORO Serres so yan ee 13: 7 Norman McAuley ea a ae ps 37 ee Grand Total . 15434 ‘* The fishermen east of Crewe: Bene.’ “Merlin, were so crippled by storms that they stopped fishing as the © fish commenced to spawn. Merlin. Baldwin Bros. supplied no. eggs, did not even move spawning equ'pment. - Wheatley. Derbyshire & Campbell .. none Stewart Anderson . hee none Lamarsh & Hopper .. .. . none KINGSVILLE HATCHERY, 1917. Extract from statement of Samuel Adamson, dated Dee. 24. File 704-24-8. Number of quarts of spawn taken at different parts of Kingsvillé Hatchery. Whitefish. | Kingsville. . cea BS ee i Colchester ,, fe gid ce) totes es ee a CANADIAN EIS — Goodchilds, SHERMAN. Ape eC a Leamington .. Kingsville Harbour... Bois Blanc .. He : “Port Stanley .. Wheatley .: Total collection... (a) (b) Whitefish. Ottawa, January 24, 1918. Company. ‘Dewey, & Carter & Cook ..— Manore Fish Co. .. .- Dav'd Livingstone .. --- Leamington Fish Co... . Campbell & Long White: Bros .. . 2/50 +.° Crewe Bros. . John Bruner .. .. -: - Lake Erie Fish Co. .. .. Oe, Key Po ‘Northern Fish Co......- Urias Loop .. .. -- OCAR, 220s oats Eggs obtained from im- pounded fish . Spawn collector Asis 835 qts. Accts passed for 534 qts. (ce) Accts. passed for 8834 qts. - KINGSVILLE HATCHERY 1917. ‘No. of quarts. ——_ 40514 Bois Blane z —— 1546 peat oo, Reman a March, Sosa > 53. ‘ 75 . Y 789 (a ‘ (1,556 1,151 40,00 2,240,0¢ 76 (¢) s 659> 659 659 2,215 qui ADORNS ie Seas Amher chs ee see Arner Te ee Arner 967 nie Leamin T2are eee Wheatl IT so. See Harrow yO Merlin 74 cee ae Harrow VS eee Amhersth OF aoa Kingsvi 74 li Soe Kngsv! . 1140% : COLLECTION OF HERRING SPAWN. — : Lake arty Tug. ‘*Ciseo’’ ‘ dependability was well backed up by equipment in each department being the best that money and brains - could produce. MEMORANDUM. Department of Customs, Canada, Ottawa, 12th March, ‘1918. To Collectors of Customs, War Measures—Privileges to United. States Fishing Vessels. An Order in Council in regard to United States Fish- ing Vessels was passed on the 8th March, 1918, con. a taining provisions as set forth below. Customs Officers will be governed accordingly. G. I. DESBARATS, Deputy Minister of the Naval Service. JOHN: MeDOUGALD, . Commissioner of Cnstoain Certified copy of a report of the Committee of the _ Privy Council, approved by His Excellency inl Gove 25 ernor General on the 8th March, 1918. IPC, 360-—Extract. ‘The. Minister of the Naval. Service. vecommilensae un- Fe der the authority of the War Measures Act, Chapter 25 of the Statutes of 1914, ‘that during the war, United — March, 1918. ‘ ia _ States fis ing vessels, in addition to their treaty rights and privileges, shall be. permitted to enter: any port in Canada, payment. c sels, for any of the following purposes : (a) The purchase of bait, ice, nets, lines, coal, oil, provisions and all other supplies and outfits used by ~ fishing vessels, whether the samé are of a like char- acter to those named in this section or not: (b) Repairing fishing implements; (c) Dressing and salting their catches on board — (d) The shipping of crews; (e) The transhipment of ete catches; (f) The sale thereof locally on payment of the duty. The Minister further recommends that the fees paid | on licenses already taken out for the present calendar year be remitted. The Committee concur in the foregoing recommen- — dations, and submit the same for approval. Sed. RODOLPHE BOUDREAU, Clerk of the Privy Council. Memorandum: Department, of the Naval Service, — ; . Ottawa, March 13th, 1918, without the requirement of a license, or the — — fees not charged to Canadian fishing ves- . 1918 CANADIAN FISHBRMAN == LINDE = REFRIGERATING MACHINERY Is known and recognized the world over as i he Standard Refrigerating Machine We have carefully studied iefrigecation under all conditions in Canada for the past 25 years and know what is best in this line. Special attention given to Fish Freezing and Storing Plants. Our Machinery is ‘‘ Made in Canada”’ The Linde Canadian Refrigeration Co., Ltd. MONTREAL: 37 St. Peter Street TORONTO, WINNIPEG, CALGARY, EDMONTON, VANCOUVER. Twenty-five Years’ Service to Canadian Users “SCYTHES SLICKERS” Wet Weather Garments When buying oilskins, make your selection from the following grades: — “Tion” Brand a “Swan Brand “Sailor” Brand Oiled Clothing ink FOR THE FISHING TRADE Write us for price list BP Scythes 1G Company Limited ees ONTREAL ee TORONTO geet WINNIPEG 668 (66) CANADIAN The following is a copy of a notice that was recently sent by the United States Secretary of Commerce to all the Customs Collectors of that country :— ‘“To promote the vigorous prosecution of the war and to make the utmost use jointly of all the resources of the nations now co-operating you will permit, during the war, Canadian fishing vessels and those of other . £ nations now acting with the United States to enter from and clear for the high seas and the fisheries, disposing of their catch and taking on supplies, stores, ete., un- der supervision as in the case of merchant vessels en- tering and clearing for foreign ports, except as to ton- nage tax and other charges specifically imposed on en- try from and clearance for foreign ports.’’ G: J. DESBARATS, Deputy Minister of the Naval Service. WHITEFISH HATCHERIES FLOURISHING. The whitefish hatcheries in Manitoba and Saskatehe- wan are in a prosperous and flourising condition, Af- ter all the interfile eggs have been removed the hatch- eries in these Provinces contain over 314,500,000 healthy eggs in splendid condition, practically all of which will * hatch under normal conditions, unless some unforeseen accident occurs. - These eggs are distributed as follows: Lake Winnipeg, Manitoba :— Gull Harbour Hatchery .. 73,000,000 Dauphin River Hatchery . 133,500,000 Lake Winnipegosis, Manitoba :— Snake Island Hatehery .. .. .. .... 46,000,000 Fishing Lake, Saskatchewan :— Fort Qu’Appelle Hatchery .. 62,000,000 314,500,000 BILLINGSGATE MARKET. London, February 23rd, 1918. This week, with few exceptions, supplies have been on the light side, and the keen demand throughout has tended to accentuate the shortage, with the result that prices more or less generally have been perilously near the maximum rates: permissible, while some kinds have actually commanded the full schedule figures on the wholesale markets. The arrivals of boats have been well up to the average so far as numbers are concern- ‘ed, but the individual catches have been rather small, pointing to stress of weather at sea. Deliveries of herrings have been very erratic, great FISHERMAN refivebed in the conabicn ‘of many consignment 83 has depreciated values. Best quality herrings been expensive, going as high as £7.10.0 per ba Smoked: fish—haddoeks, bloaters and kippers- commanded full value, smoked haddocks durin past few days selling on the wholesale markets: maximum of 2s. per lb. for selected fish. With meat rationing coming into force in Lond the Home Counties next week inquiry for all of fish is expected to be heavy. Any sie prime condition which exporters in Canada cal 1 away to this country are assured of ‘a ready a sa good prices. The Canadian frozen cod, fresh haddoeks a fish marketed by the Ministry ‘of Food are still sel steadily, the principal London caterers and man the great local institutions, such as infirmarie houses, Hosea, ete., using increasing quantiti London, February 16th On the whole this week’s trading has be factory; most kinds have been fairly promin demand has been more or less active througho docks have provided an exception, so far as qi are concerned, and with keen competition h ularly made prices in the neighborhood of th mum on the wholesale markets. Best plai is, well-fed specimens—have been difficult to ol most of these fish being thin following spaw Herring supplies have been insufficient for 2g ments especially as owing to transport dif many consignments have not reached the co centres until the condition has greatly dete1 This, of course, has depreciated values. Kip bloaters still command very high rates. Sprats : er expensive! The Scotch line fishing season Moray Firth ports having opened, some fair ments have reached Billingsgate, and have met. | buyers round 14s per stone. To-day another ment of loose trawled fish was received by - Forge, hailing from the Naval Authorities at nent East Coast centre; this fish, consisting whitings, roker and plaice, which were in- condition, was very welcome. ; a ib Frozen salmon is almost unobtainable, aaa? may be said of frozen halibut. The Canadian fish marketed by the Ministry of Food is meeti an increasing demand. The flatfish ag es to be much appreciated, Accept Our Most The Danto & Detroit - _ We invite you to our New Plant. for Most Successful Season In Abe Danto---Prop. Give Us a Trial Shipment U. S. Food Administration Licence No. 05458 Sincere Greetings Your ‘Caree Company - Michigan - One Million Pound Freezing C April, 1918. \ MONTHLY JOURNAL DEVOTED ‘0 THE COMMERCIAL FISHERIES F CANADA AND NEWFOUNDLAND \ ee OF THE FISH CUL- —E AND THE USE AND VALUE - OF FISH PRODUCTS - - oP" Pg Mee i pee: | 3 WILLIAM WALLACE iy EDITOR Industrial & Educational Press, Limited 5-45 St. Alexander St. - ‘i CANADA We Ofice - CPR. Building _ Newfoundland Agency " d’s Book Store, St. Johns, N.F. Montreal CANADIAN FISHERMAN 669 THE CANADIAN FISHERMAN SUBSCRIPTION: Canada, Newfoundland and Great Britain - - - - $1.00 United States and Elsewhere.. $1.50 payable in advance. ADVERTISING RATES ON APPLICATION Published on the 24th day of each month. Changes of advertisements should be in the publisher’s hands ten days before that date. Cuts should be sent by mail, not by express. Readers are cordially invited to send to the Editor items of Fishery news, also articles on subiects of practical interest If suitable tor publication these will be paid for at our regular rate Official Organ of the Canadian Fisheries Association MONTREAL, APRIL, 1918 No. 4 - IMPORTANT EXPRESS DECISION. ie value of the Canadian Fisheries Association to Fishing Industry is amply typified in a recent de- n which has been made by the Board of Railway missioners “regarding the delivery of fish by ex- $ companies at delivery points. Almost two years ago, the Express Companies ne a mine under the fish trade by a notification r . load lots of fish. The Canadian Fisheries As- ciation’s Transportation Committee immediately ap- d to the Railway Commission for a hearing, and Association, through Vice-President Brittain, W. uglas of Winnipeg, and other officials placed the Wwpoint of the Fish Trade before the Board and the xpress Company’s move was suspended until a ruling “aie to express rates on fish. The Periinion Ex- ss. Company in the past has made deliveries of fish by cartage to consignees. By supplements to the tariff the company sought to cancel all cartage de- livery applying to fish moving in earload lots from the Atlantic to the Pacific. ‘‘The board suspended the supplements with the re- sult that the company was forced to continue delivery of fish as in the past . ‘‘In cancelling delivery the company sought to sus- tain its action by the claim that the rates from the Pacific to Eastern cities were extremely low, and foreed by competition. Further, that it was never in- tended by the express companies to make eartage de- liveries of fish handled in ecarload lots. In giving judgment against the company, Sir Henry Drayton says: “‘It must be admitted that the rates are low rates, but they are not competitive rates in the sense that the term is ordinarily used. The competition is a trade competition in selling Western fish on the one hand as against Eastern fish on the other; and in order to get Western fish into Eastern territory, where it can be sold at a reasonable rate, low fish rates from the West are necessary. ‘“Whilst specifie references are made to the Do- minion Express Company, other express companies are bound by this judgment.’’ 670 IMPROVED FISH TRANSPORTATION, The Transportation Committee of the C. F. A. some two months ago waited upon the Canada Food Board and the Canadian Government Railways to obtain im- proved express refrigerator car facilities for fish from Atlantic points. Ten refrigerator cars of an improved type and suitable for fast trains were asked for. We are able to announce that the Canadian Govern- ment Railways.are having ten cars constructed and some will be ready for service on the I. C. R. in June. Others will be ready during the summer. A number of refrigerator cars for the express fish trade out of Prince Rupert over the Grand Trunk Pacific have also been ordered. The Transportation Committee of the Canadian Fish- eries Association deserve credit for the manner in which they have secured improved transportation facilities for fish and their work in this direction should be appreciated by the trade. REPORT OF CANADIAN FOOD BOARD’S FISH COMMITTEE. Elsewhere in this issue, we publish the report of the Canada Food Board’s Fish Committee up to the time Hon. W. J. Hanna resigned as. Food Controller. The report covers the Fish Committee’s activities between July and December, 1917. Under the supervision of Mr. H. B. Thomson, present chairman of the Food Board, activities in the development of our fisheries have been still more pronounced. MARKETING PACIFIC FLAT FISH. A great future is promised for Pacific soles, brills, witches, skate and plaice in the markets of the Western Provinces. The Canada Food Board’s efforts to popu- larize these fish are meeting with success and the de- mand is steadily growing. The fish are being retailed throughout the West at ten cents per pound, frozen and dressed, or iced and dressed, and as they are really first class, palatable fish, they are commen gne a market. The Rupert trawler ‘‘Jas. Carruthers, gaged in the fishery, and the B. C. Packers’ Assoeia- tion have equipped their steamer ‘‘B.C.P.’’ with otter trawl gear and will supply the markets. Undoubtedly the Canadian Fishing Company and other firms will follow suit. The importance of finding a market for these Pacific fish cannot be over-estimated. The end of the halibut fishing is in sight and the utilization of other edible Pacific fish is imperative if vessels and plants are to be maintained in the future. 9? CANADIAN FISHERMAN is now en- April, 191 HALIBUT HANDLERS MEET FOOD BOARDS. Leading American and Canadian producers and dis-_ tributors of halibut met at Chicago on March 21st, to confer with Kenneth Fowler of the U. 8. Food Ad- ministration and F. W. Wallace of the Canada Food Board, on regulating the prices for baleus thro oh all channels. Canadians present were A. L. Hager, Vancouve T. H, Johnson, Prince Rupert; C. P. Rhodes, Calgary; W. Douglas, Winnipeg; D. J. Byrne, Montreal ;. < d J. J. Harpell, representing Canedian: Fisheries sociation. Up to the time of going to press, no decision has y been made by the Food Boards as to any regulations Re The temporary regulations drafted at Seattle on Mar 4th remain in effect until a final decision is announe ee BRANCH | CANADIAN FISHERIES ASSOCIATION. ate The latest addition to the Canadian Fisheries. sociation is the Manitoba Branch which was organ in Winnipeg on April 8, 1918. The members def distributors and fishermen of Lakes Winnipeg, Ma toba and Winnipegosis. A report of the first meeti is published elsewhere in this issue. The new bran is heartily welcomed by the parent organization and undoubtedly the branch will become of great benefit ‘ to those engaged in the Manitoba fishing industry: THE C. F. A. CONVENTION. The importance of the Canadian Fisheries Assoc tions’ Annual Convention to be held in Halifax August 6th, 7th and 8th, cannot be too highly preciated by the fishing industry. a The Executive are preparing to make the Convenil tion one of the most interesting gatherings ever held by those engaged in the Canadian fisheries, and he questions to be discussed will form the basis for future, 2 policies. . Make your preparations now to attend and bring! your lady folks with you. The Convention will be both 4 a vacation and a duty to the business you are en- gaged in. ae THE DEEP-SEA FISHERMAN’S UNION. __ Under the caption of ‘‘High Prices for Pacifie Fish ie there appeared i in the January issue of the ‘‘Canadian Fisherman’’, an editorial which read in part as fol- lows: 5 “During Navanaber, 17% cents per pound was paid to the 2 fishermen for halibut on the dock at Prince Rupert, and advices to hand from the Coast state that the Deep Sea — Fishermen’s Union have increased their prices on com- pany boats to three cents per pound for halibut the year | round, two cents for black cod, and a cent and a quarter for other varieties. On halibut, this is an increase of 33 1-3 per cent. “When one considers that the majority of the halib fishermen on the Pacific Coast are aliens of Scandinav extraction who merely do the actual fishing and look r, and who neither pay for the bait, ice, gear, ood used on the company vessels, nor even give the handling of the ship—which in most cases les a sailing crew—we are of the opinion that the in- se is absolutely unwarranted. ibut fishermen on the Pacific have been earning from o $400 per month — sometimes more than that, and om less than the minimum. Their Union is a strong one — so strong that the producers simply have to knuckle nder to its demands or face the inevitable strike. No rike-breakers can be imported to buck them and they ive things very much their own way.” bruary 25th we received from Mr. R. Kearley, of the Vancouver Branch of the Deep Sea Fish- s Union of the Pacific, a bitterly worded pro- 1g an abundance of abuse and accusation but that our statement was inaccurate. s letter he replied as follows: 2 r letter to the Editor of the Canadian Fisherman : accompanying clippings have been referred to the ptain Wallace, the Editor of the Canadian Fisher- has been absent from the office a great deal. Early r he was taken by the British Navy to do some ‘work and latterly he has been giving a great deal on to the work of the Food Controller. In. the >, his assistants have had more to do with the -out of the Canadian Fisherman than they would he was on the job all the time himself. Fisherman does not exist for the purpose of serv- © is to promote the best interest of the whole and while we have charge of it, everything will maintain this policy without any qualifications If our editors, through inadventence or other- ‘made a statement not in accordance with the must correct same and explain why the mistake : just as soon. as they know all the facts re- t. ; you, therefore, be good enough to submit to me lily all the facts regarding the prices and wages ae fishermen on the Pacific Coast? In addition ees for fish and wages paid to the deep-sea who sail on boats owned by others, I would to give me also the price which the fishermen ve for their catch on wharf at Prince Rupert, and Seattle, providing they went out in their eaught the fish themselves and sold them at bove-mentioned ports.” go to press the following reply from Mr. come to hand: .—Your letter of February 25th to hand, and o my absence from the city for a short time, I have able to answer it before. You stated that my let- lippings had been referred to the writer, and I that’s about all that will become of it. I understand was also a letter sent from our headquarters 7 will also be referred to the writer. “‘Of course, derstand that the ‘Fisherman’ as you state does ist for the purpose of serving any group or section industry, as is shown in your issue of January, s and conditions prevailing in the fish business on coast, as it may upset the views of the writer of the -the fishermen on this coast,-I think it would be or me to give you any facts in this connection, as it zh cause the writer to have another nightmare. ga - Yours very truly, es ~ “RUSSELL KEARLEY, ie Agent. thi Sasrié we published a letter received fill, of Seattle, Secretary of Deep Sea Jnion of the Pacific. Mr. Gill’s letter 1s a i ary a 4 CANADIAN FISHERMAN 671 and approaches the matter in a manner calculated to put in its proper light by printing out the facts. Mr. Kearley’s attitude is impossible. In our January issue we depreciated the constantly increasing demands of the Fisherman’s Union, which, in our judgment, was mainly responsible for the higher prices of halibut and salmon. The prices paid to the producers of halibut have been as high as 1734 cents. The net inerease in the demands of the fishermen have been as high as 33 1-3 cents within the space of one year. In small centres, where the demand is not great and the quantity sold is small, or where: the service is ex- ceptional the price paid by the consumer has been as high as 30 and in some few cases 35 cents a pound. But in the larger markets the consumer has been able to get halibut at from, 23 to 28 cents a pound. These prices cannot he considered high considering the prices . at the coast. \ A PROTEST FROM THE DEEP-SEA FISHERMAN’S UNION OF THE PACIFIC Seattle, Washington, February 25, 1918. Canadian Fisherman, Montreal, Canada. In your January issue, there appears an article ‘‘High Prices for Pacific Fish.’? The author shows gross ignorance of the subject matter, particularly as to halibut. The fact is that the average price paid to the independent fishermen, for halibut, during the year 1917 was less than eleven cents. The high prices quot- ed were for first class fish only. Second class fish which at times means half the cargo, is sold for half the price paid for the first class fish. The men fishing for the companies received in 1917 the sum of 2 cents per pound for halibut during nine months of the year. In _ the other three months they received 214 cents per pound. They asked for and received for the year 1918 the sum of three cents per pound. This was known to the Canadian Government, and no objection was raised by them. For other kinds of fish, such as Red Cod, Ling Cod, Gray Cod and Flounders, the men fish- ing for companies receive 1144 cents per pound and when Otter Trawling, 1 cent per pound. The inde- pendent fishermen, men that share with the vessels, agreed with the two Governments to deliver the last named varieties of fish mentioned for 4 cents per pound in the United States and for three cents per pound in Canada. This was done to assist the Governments to place a cheap fish food on the market, and if it has not. been successful, the people to blame, must be the re- tailers. These prices were agreed upon by all parties concerned and the best of feeling existed in the confer- ences,and it is with great surprise that drastic remedies are to be applied to us by the two Governments and it is with great sorrow that we find that we are classed as Money Hogs, and put in the same class as a number of manufacturers and food purveyors, who are now be- ing put on the gridle by the Governments, particularly so, when we were complimented by the Canadian rep- resentative of the Food Controller’s Office, having the fish question in hand, for being of the greatest assist- ance to him in getting the Government in a position, where they can put a food product on the market that will be within the reach of all. I respectfully request, / 672 that you will give this letter a space in your publica- tion, so that it may offset the wrong impression that must have been brought out by the article in the Jan- uary issue. I remain, very respectfully yours, P. B. GILL, Secretary. . RE EMPTY COLD STORAGE SPACE. Office of the Food Controller, Ottawa, March: 26th, 1918. To the Secretary of Canadian Fisheries’ Association: Dear Sir,—We have been advised by Mr. Angus R. MeDougall, that there is a vacant cold storage build- ing with 2,400 square feet space located at Port Hood, N.S., which was built about 1910 by J. A. McDonnell. It is the desire of the Canada Food Board to assist the fishing trade wherever possible, and we believe that some member of your organization should take advantage of this cold storage building. Mr. McDougall says there is no other cold storage in operation for many miles distance, although one is much needed for the conservation of food in that neighborhood in connection with the fishing opera- tions. Yours very truly, Canada Food Board, E. O. SAWYER, Jr., Fish Section. SUMMARY OF FISHING RESULTS.FOR THE YEAR 1917. From the detailed returns now in the Department it is evident that the marketed value ‘of our fisher- ies for the year 1917 will be well over $50,000,000, ex- ceeding the record established in the preceding year by more than $12,000,000. ‘ The chief contributors to this large increase were British Columbia, with almost $8,00,000 more, and Nova Scotia, with over $4,000,000 more, The price of all kinds of fish has been higher, but the greatly increased value is not due altogether to that circumstance, for there has been a greater quan- tity produced in most.of the provinces. Much is being said and written in these days with a view to increasing the production of food stuffs, but in so speaking and writing it should not be forgotten that the fishing industry is somewhat different from that of other food producing industries in that opera- tion are affected not only by weather conditions, but by the erratic movement of the schools of fish. It is not always the case that the employment of a greater number of men and boats results in a greater produc- tion of fish, especially with our present means of cap- ture. For example the Lunenburg bank fishing fleet of 1917 was the smallest in the past ten years, with the exception of one year, yet, the catch was the largest on record. On the other hand the output of the sardine and large herring fishery in the Bay of Fundy fell far short of that of the preceding year, notwithstanding the operation of fully as much fishing gear and great- er preparation for dealing with the eatch. In Nova Scotia there was a considerable increase in the landings of cod, haddock, hake and mackerel. A very marked increase is noted in the quantity of had- CANADIAN FISHERMAN the canning and curing of herring in British Columbia. April, 1918, dock taken by means of traps, at Ingonish. In the western part of the Province there was an increase in the catch of cod and mackerel, but a decrease in that of haddock and herring. ss In New Brunswick the chief feature to be noted is a considerable drop in the sardine and large herring catch in the Bay of Fundy; but with higher prices, the _ value of the fisheries in that section increased about $300,000. . In the northern section of the province there was a decreasé in the catch of cod and herring; the value, — however, is greater by about $150,000. ieee In Prince Edward Island there is an increased catch of cod and higher prices. ae : In Quebee the cod catch was greater, but the sal-_ mon, mackerel and herring was rather less. The to-— tal value is, of course, greater owing mainly to higher — prices. é In Ontario there is an increased value of over $200, 000. The catch of lake herring was about 80,000 ewts greater than last year, but that of whitefish and trou was somewhat less, while the blue pickerel catch was much less. pS et In the prairie provinces the output and value have increased. | eB lag In British Columbia the usual big run of sockeye salmon in the Fraser river district, which was due in 1917, did not materialize, and the pack of that par ticular grade of salmon on the Fraser was not more than 25 per cent. of an ordinary big year. This seri ous decrease was evidently due to the obstruction o the river during the run four years ago, caused by blasting operations on the C, N. R. near Hellsgate. Notwithstanding this failure, however, the total pack of salmon in the province was the largest on re cord, Other grades were packed in greater quanti ties to take the place of sockeye, especially in th northern and outlying parts of the province. — The fresh fish trade of this province has increased greatly in volume in recent years, with the addition al transportation facilities now available. -Keen com- petition for the fishermen’s catches has thus been en-— gendered between that trade and the canning indus. try, wtih the result that high prices were paid for all species of salmon. Oe eae ae More attention is being given from year to year to | Many thousands of cases of these fish were canned, and it is estimated that during the winter season just — closed about twenty-five thousand barrels were cured in what is known as the Scotch method. “a In view of the great demand for all kinds of Cana- _ dian fish in Great Britain, the United States and at — home, and the preparations that are being made fora vigorous prosecution of the fisheries on river, lake and _ ocean during the year 1918, we may confidently look for another great increase in the value of our fisheries. * — PERSONALS. - Major Hugh A. Greene has returned to Montreal — after a visit to his home in Prince Albert, Sask. a Mr. T. H. Johnson, of the Canadian Fish and Cold a Storage Company, has returned to Prince Rupert after >g a visit to Chicago, Toronto, Montreal and eastern — cities. = he fh : a 7 F fh ‘a u f Se er ay eS = :, 20 9as o.08 Russia .. 445 0.80 331 1.18 Faroes .. 295 0.53 136 0.48 Belgium .. ..... 258 0.46 239 0.85 Finland 208 0.37 170 0.60 55,629 "28,104 CANADIAN FISHERMAN a The Sea Fisheries of Europe I.-- The British Fisheries - (Specially compiled for The Canadian Fisherman. All Rights Reserved.) oo 2 a ‘ eH —_ wh ac Sa i Ey g aa. ae aa se. as: e 28 < 5) 3 oad thar ey England & Wales 16,152,374 65 10,009,326 10,886,689 ~ Scotland . 7,828,350 32 3,925,360 3,997,717 Treland’ 3.°'4:, 676,392 3 294,625 358,547 — 24,657,116 14,229,311 14,692,953 — April, 1918, The figures for France are exclusive of the Medit-_ erranean fisheries, It will be seen that of a total yiel of 55,629,000 ewts. (or 2,781,450 tons), the British share was 43.28 per cent., and the British share of total value of £28,104,000 was 47.09 per cent. T quantity and value of the fish landed on the coasts the United Kingdom in 1913 were still greater, as. following figures show, the percentage for each of th three countries being also indicated to the neare: whole number :— It is to be noted that the figures refer to the fish as landed, and the value is tlie first value as realiz by the fishermen or owners; and many things are e cluded in the statistics of several other countries, ¢ salmon and trout (even when taken in the sea), fish livers and roes, fish-oils, sounds; the products of See or whale fisheries; prepared or cured products, d fertilizers and fish-meals, pickled and dried fish an tinned fish. There are no complete figures availab but a moderate estimate of the ultimate value of the fishery products would be double the initial va or about £30,000,000. In the official statistics the fish are divided into two great classes, the pelagic and the demersal. Th pelagic include the so-called migratory fishes, whi swim in shoals near the surface of the sea, and ar represented chiefly by the herring and the mackere The demersal include almost all other species, — skates and rays, flat fishes and such fish as the cod, haddock, ling, and whiting, fish which live at or neg the bottom. This division corresponds generally the two great fisheries, trawling and drifting. 1 following table shows the quantities and ‘values the pelagic and demersal fish landed in 1913:— Pelagic Demersal ; Cwts. £ Cywts. England & Wales 7,785,239 2,531,979 8,360,769 Scotland .. .. .. .. 4,532,093 2,100,649 3,296,257 Treland .. 582,543 212,405 93,849 Total .. . 12,899,875 4,845,083 11,750,875 eee eee 52 34 48 66 More than half of the aggregate quantity landed and about one-third of the total value, were represent- ed by the pelagic fish; in Scotland and Treland th predominance of the pelagic was marked. Tt is the herring which dominates this group, the yield of th greatest herring fisheries in the world. Very nearl: half of all the fish landed in 1913, viz., 49.5 per cent consisted of herring, the quantity being 12,183.36 ewts., valued at £4,572,295, or 32 per cent. of the ag gregate value. The chief demersal fishes were ~ m jaddock and plaice. Of cod 3,900,496 ewts., dat £2,300,117, were landed; of haddock, 2,- 65 ewts., of a value of £1,891,005, and of plaice, The vely, as they are expressed in different terms. The otal value was £463,642, viz., £327,363 for England and ales; £63,922 for Ireland, and £72,357 for Scotland. England the oyster is the most valuable; 27,973,000 e landed in 1913, valued at £91,340: next come Cancer pagurus), lobsters (Homarus vulgaris), , (Crangon vulgaris), mussels, coekles, ete. In d and Ireland the chief shellfish are lobsters bs, mussels, oysters and periwinkles. _ The Fishing Fleets. not easy to give a precise statement as to the of fishing boats and vessels which were en-. 1 the sea fisheries of the United Kingdom, be- he returns are not all made on the same basis. owing figures are, however, approximately gaged is also shown :— ' No. of _ Totals Steam Motor Fisher- : No. Tonnage. Vessels. Vessels: men. and Wales. 9,212 198,419 2,096 347 46,012 eee past | 8) GL2 54. -°%20;671 1,182 523 34,504 hegrs .% DiOOOR te itect . 13 147 19,014 PO 3,291 1,017 99,580 most prominent feature is the large fleet of ishing vessels, of which 1670 were engaged in 1,359 (of 101,571 tons) belonging to England Ss, 298 (of 17,210 tons) to Scotland and 13 to England had 66 steam-liners and 671 steam ifters, while Scotland possessed 834 steam essels of these classes, the great majority be- rring-drifters. The substitution of power-vessels ling craft, as will be more fully explained in the ticle, has been a feature in European fisheries the last few decades. In Great Britain and other countries the sailing craft have been re- r boats. The existence of a great fleet of ishing vessels was of great importance at the k of war. There are good reasons for thinking the end of the war, notwithstanding numerous “om enemy action, the fleet will be rather larger aller, whilst the number of motor fishing ves- ilready much above what it was in 1914. impossible to state the values of the fishing ves- fishing gear for the United Kingdom, for the h and Irish returns are defective in this en r. The aggregate value of the fishing vessek in md in 1913 amounted to £3,919,453, and with gear 811,269, viz., sailing and rowing craft, £888,962 ; boats, £206,535; steam trawlers, £1,320,430; ifters and liners, £2,395,342. On the same e value of the English steam trawlers would 000,000 and the whole English steam fishing ‘be about £8,250,000; the English sail fleet 800 trawlers, and the average value of els would be probably considerably high- ottish. The aggregate value of the fish- CANADIAN FISHERMAN e for the year 1913, and the number of fisher- | 4 ; . of British and Irish taking chiefly by steamers; in Scandinavian countries | 679 ing vessels and fishing gear of the British fleet may be estimated at about £15,000,000, or something more. The Disposal of the Fish—Exports. Information as to the disposal and fate of the fish after landing is meagre and imperfect. The English reports are destitute of figures or statements as to the quantities cured, used fresh, consumed in the country or exported, and so are the Irish reports. For Scotland the information is more complete. Of the total landed, 1,962,000 ewts., or 25 per cent, were consumed fresh in Seotland or dispatched fresh (mostly to England) ; deducting herrings, 52 per cent. of the other fish were used fresh, the remainder being chiefly smoked or dried, and a smaller proportion pickled or tinned. Of 4,449,323 ewts. of herrings landed, 203,165 ewts. were consumed fresh, 25,614 barrels (about 66,000 ewts.) were ex orted, sprinkled or iced, to Germany, and 1,- " 616426 barrels were cured, viz., 154,042 pered, 495952 * barrels kip- barrels tinned, 9,389 barrels made into bloaters or r ct8,.01 the remainder were pickled. The piekled herrings-eXported from Scotland in 1913 amounted to 1,385,328 barrels, of which 619,680- went to Russia direct and 672,701 to Germany. _ The total exports from the United Kingdom or 5 ea ; , according to the Board of ~ Trade statistics, amounted in 1913 to 10,998,771 ewts., valued at £7,503,468; the value to foreign countries, * ‘chiefly Germany and Russia, was £7,051,188 and to British possessions £452,280. The next »rticle will deal with the factors which have led to the development and pre-eminence of the British fisheries. : REPORT ON CANNED FISH. Of 275 Samples Big Majority in Sound Condition. A. MeGill, chief Dominion analyst, has reported on 275 samples of canned fish collected in all parts of Can- ada. Of these samples, 166 were salmon, the most gen- erally used canned fish. Of the salmon samples, 110 were found to be sound and good; seven showed soft- ened flesh, but nothing to indicate decomposition. These samples, the report says, were probably several years old. Three samples were spoiled by decay. In eighteen samples the tin was slightJy corroded and the contents stained with iron. These, too, were pre- sumably several years old. It is much to be desired, says the report, in this con- nection, that the date of packing should be marked on the tin. : Of thirty-nine samples of sardines reported on, in only one were the contents spoiled by decay. Of 20 samples of herring, fourteen were found to be in good condition. In six samples the tin containers were more or less blackened, but the contents were sound. Of nine samples of lobsters examined, all were found to be in good condition. COVODDDDDDDDVDDVDNDDVDO0000000 O a: Mae 1) O Make your plans now to attend the Annual O O Convention of the Canadian Fisheries Associa- O O tion at Halifax, August-6th, 7th, 8th. O O O V0DDDDDDDDDDDDDD0000000000 680 CANADIAN LAKE HURON & GEORGIAN BAY FISHERMAN’S ASSOCIATION. The Lake Huron and Georgian Bay Fisherman's Association, which was organized in February, 1s making remarkable progress, and the fishermen of those districts are responding splendidly to the call W. J. SIMPSON, Tobermory, Ont. President, The Lake Huron and Georgian Bay Fisher- men’s Association. of the Association for members. By the time the fishing starts the Secretary, Mr. Brock McAulay, in- formed us that they expect to have over a hundred on the list, and these will range from Blind River in the north, to Kineardine on Lake Huron. Already the success of the Association is assured. PORT STANLEY, ONT., AS A FISHING PORT. The first fishing at Port Stanley was in the early ’40’s, by the late Henry Hough, who had one draw seine about 700 feet long. Pickerel, ciscoes, white- fish, perch, white bass and sturgeon were in abund- ance, but there were no markets to ship to, and he peddled his fish in the village, getting whatever he: could for them. In the fall farmers would come in to get a winter’s supply, paying from 50c. to $1 for a lift, which might mean one or two good wagon loads. Sturgeon were very plentiful, but were considered a nuisance and were generally buried on the beach. A few years later on, Bell, from Sandusky, Ohio, start- ed fishing with gill nets, and a small sail boat, and was followed shortly after by Shaw with one pound net. In 1877 Bickford & Howe started with pound nets and the following year Mr. M, Payne, the present Postmaster and American Express Agent at Port Stanley, bought an interest, and he built up quite a FISHERMAN April, 1918, shipping trade to:Western Ontario towns. Mr. Payne was the first to ship to American markets or rather an American market, for Buffalo was the only market he could find, and has sold thousands of tons of blue pike there for $1 per bbl. of 250 Ibs. A few years later — Capt. Wm. Berry, Capt. A. C. Brown and Harley Tay- ~ lor, who are still in the business, started fishing gill — nets with sail boats, and Mr. Taylor was the first to — use a steam tug out of this port for gill nets. This was in 1905, and since that time the industry has — erown each year until now Port Stanley is the largest — fishing port on the lake, and has a fine fleet of nine- — teen wooden and steel tugs and two pound net fish- eries, with ‘up-to-date shore plants, representing an investment of over $250,000, an offal plant and the only floating dry dock on the north shore of the lake. ~ Port Stanley is also the largest summer resort on the — north shore, and has hundreds of beautiful summer — cottages and residences, Coney Island amusements and board walks, etc. A passenger steamer, The State — of Ohio, runs between the Port and Cleveland during the summer months, and the Marquette & Bessemer Railwav & Doek Co. operate a large coal ferry be- ~ tween here and Conneaut. Stanley. running out of here to St. Thomas and Lon- — don. making direct connections at these points with the fast trains on the Canadian Pacific. Grand Trunk, Michigan Central. Wabash and Pere Marquette Rail- wavs. By means of these shipping facilities Port Stan- lev fishermen are able to ship out their catches every night and land their fish in Canadian and American a markets in absolutely fresh condition. In 1917 the eatch amounted to over 6,000,000 pounds. Vancouver, B.C., March 16, 1918. Editor of Canadian Fisherman: Dear Sir,—The story going the rounds that the fish- erman do not want up-to-date motor boats to fish for salmon in the waters of British Columbia is false — and misleading; most every fisherman (real fisher- — man). has an up-to-date boat; the old row and sail — ‘ boat belongs to the canners, and no man unless hard up would think of going out in these open boats day and night, where there is scarcely ever a 24 hours without rain, and in early season snow squalls. At some of the canneries. there is not one white man, — most every one of the fishermen are Orientals. The — Commission was purely a cannery man’s Commission, and they should pay the costs. canners should be ashamed-to say the fishermen can- — not buy their own boats and engines after so many — years of fishing, these rich salmon canners must have 4 got all the money. Evidently Mr. James, one of the ~ Commission, made something out of his trip, as your paper states he has got a license out here for seining — salmon. Yours. truly, T. C, NELSON. P.S.—Even most of the Indians on the coast own up-to-date motor boats. There are two electric — roads. the London & Lake Erie and the London & Port — Li The fishermen have — petitioned the government to be allowed to use their — up-to-date boats, but the government refuses, these ~ 1918. ~ GWLY FORMED MANITOBA BRANCH OF THE _ CANADIAN FISHERIES ASSOCIATION. _ Minutes of an informal meeting of the following rties connected with the Fishing Industry, held in e office of the Canada Food Board, Scott Block, Win- peg, at 10.30 a.m. on the above date.—- _ Present, J. W. Simpson, Northern Fish Co., Ltd., Selkirk; Capt. W. Robinson, North-West Navigation J. Sigurdsson, Sigurdsson Thorvaldsson Co.; W. J. st, The W. J. Guest Fish Co., Ltd., A. MelIntyre, -West Navigation Co., Ltd.; T. J. Jones, Arm- ng Trading Co.; W. H. Climie, The Winnipeg Fish Ltd. ; E. S. Sigurdsson, Sigurdsson Fisheries Co. HH. rson, Fairford Trading Co.; Capt. B. Anderson, i; J. T. Jonasson, Riverton Fish Co.; J. Nichol- ple W. Douglas, The W. J. Guest Fish d. is moved by Mr. J. W. Simpson seconded by J. Si- son that Capt. Wm. Robinson take the chair and . Douglas act as Secretary pro tem.—Carried. . H. A. Philp of the Winnipeg Office of the Food addressed the meeting, suggesting that it was advisable that the interests connected with the ry, embracing the Fishermen, the producing anies and also the distributors should get to- er and work out a scheme whereby an adequate ly of the catch of fresh fish caught in the summer , Should be available for the Canadian trade at able prices, having in mind the idea that the a Food Board was instituting a wide policy for ity, and that it was éxpected that a very large se in the demand would be the result of the cam- _ The representatives of the Food Board ex- d their appreciation that the meeting represent- or to get together with a scheme, to be commu- d to the Board, Capt. Wallace and Mr. Philp ed by Mr. J. W. Simpson, seconded by Mr. J. sson that the meeting form a branch of the ian Fisheries Association, under the name of the toba Branch. . ie matter of working out details of organization, ming copies of the bye-laws from headquarters, ‘ete., was left in the hands of a Committee consist- of Messrs. J. W. Simpson, Joe. Sigurdsson, A. Me- 2, and Mr. W. Douglas, the latter to act as Se- ry pro-tem. A meeting to be subsequently held hich the details of the organization would be dealt and officers elected for the term.—Agreed. ie question of Whitefish catch on Lake Winnipeg he coming season was dealt with at considerable h. The discussion being taken part in by Capt. binson, J. Sigurdsson, J. W. Simpson, E. S. Sigurds- n, Capt. Anderson, T. J. Jones, W. J. Guest, A. Me- tyre, Mr. Nicholson and Mr. Douglas. aa Pickerel Fishing on Lake Winnipeg. _A petition signed by a number of fishermen on Lake innipeg, praying the Minister of Marine and Fisher- to open the season for fresh Pickerel on 15th May, ad of 1st. June was passed round, and discussed. Was moved by Capt. B. Anderson seconded by E. S. rdsson that we endorse this petition and that a of our resolution be forwarded to the Deputy er of Naval affairs and also the Fishery In- of this District. CANADIAN FISHERMAN tain F. W. Wallace of the Canada Food Board, different channels necessary to the marketing of © nd after making request that the representatives » 681 The question ‘of changing the dates of the Fishing season for Fall Fish was also discussed, and on motion of J. Sigurdsson and A. MelIntyre, it was resolved that this branch make request to the Department at Ottawa, to change the season from Ist September to 15th Oc- tober, to read 12th September to 30th Oetober.—Car- ried. Copy of this resolution also to be forwarded to the Fishery Inspector of this District. The matter of the establishing a: Fish Hatchery on Lake Manitoba was discussed fully, and on motion of rm Hinarson seconded by J. Sigurdsson, it was resolved that :— : This branch endorse the petition now being circulated in this connection. That in view of the increasing demand for - local varieties of our Manitoba Fish, and the na- tural adaptability of Lake Manitoba for Hatch- ery purposes, and the necessity of making pro- vision to cope with the requirements of the Can- adian people in the near future, that we urge upon the Department the scheme, and ask the prompt and favottrable tecOmmendation of the Inspector of the District, and entreat the Min- ister to grant the prayer of the petitioners: It was moved by Mr. J. W. Simpson seconded by T. J. Jones and carried that,— We suggest to the Canada Food Board that no one should receive or hold a licence for summer fishing, or allowing him or them to deal in Fresh Fish in an unfrozen state, during the summer months unless he or they are prepared to take care of the catch by having a supply of ice stor- ed for the'purpose, or by having proper freezing facilities and capacity to protect any surplus they might have. That in the interest of con- servation and with the view of eliminating pos- ' sible waste of valuable’ food stuff this resolu- tion should be immediately communicated to Mr. A. E. Philp, of the Canada Food Board at Winnipeg, for such action as he deems advis- able. Mr. J. W. Simpson addressed the meeting and ex- pressed the opinion that we, as representing the prin- cipal handlers of fish in this section of the Province, desire to extend to Mr. A. E. Philp, our acknowledge- ment of the courteous treatment he had shown all dur- ing the winter season, and emphasized the faet that Mr. Philp had had a difficult task to perform and that he was satisfied that not a single dealer had a fault to find with any action of Mr, Philp. Capt. W. Robin son in seconding the resolution of appreciation endors- ed all that Mr. Simpson had stated, and added that Mr. Philp had proved the right man in the right place. The meeting adjourned, next meeting to be called at a later date by the committee named above. BULLETIN, EDUCATIONAL DEPT., NEW ENG. LAND FISH EXCHANGE. ‘*T like fish when I get it in a restaurant, but some- how I can’t seem to enjoy it at home,’’ explained a business man recently. And his explanation of why this should be so, is also the explanation of why many other people do not enjoy fish at home as much as they might. He continued: ‘‘There is much more to the gentle art of cooking than merely knowing how lang to cook a certain thing. There is psychology to it, which most’ housewives don’t grasp at all. It isn’t merely the taste of a thing, it’s the looks of it. Indeed, I’m not 682 CANADIAN at all sure that the appearance doesn’t really count for more than the taste with many people. ‘When you go into a restaurant, and ask for fried fish, for example, the waiter brings you a platter with a slab of fish hidden beneath a thick covering of well browned crumbs. 0d» eth de 2.00 PA TS 1 a a Bakehciwrseoe pg 5.00 gs TSS 18 US) aaa ii gear Desay: MPa a Aiea 2.00 PMR MIAME GFT keer esa a ee 1.00 CANADIAN FISHERMAN Stephen Power ,. Robert Morgan 2; 3% PaSey DER eRe oar Way dead cee ule 1.00 Joseph. Thompson , 2:3... 55. e100. 10.00 Pilisha Cavers) 8. Lee, OR 2.00 Howard Goodwin * .:i...... basen 2.00 a TOR re Ode Cecil de dias oe 5.00 dE: PRBORIAU IO els,” ake ot 0 tee woah Gini! a TN a 5.00 The -Robinson Glue Co., Ltd., and Employees: The Robinson Glue Co., Ltd.....-.. $50.00 Be TROON Saale ale ye KBE’ ae Ok 5.00 Floward.$ REVers: ). ce eee oc hee PRR 1.00 SAUD OHO WE cs coe be Wie Se tiw eae ate 1.00 Geralds Manning or. 5 i050 %, 0 vies be ae 1.00 Chester: Greencorn ho en Sie 1.00 IORI CATBOB sy 2s Onstes eioie.c 9 85g Rpetekean 1.00 PER EPORT EO oo a Weta ace oi donsera deiner ee 1.00 Walter Dollard -oc0 os..'..s dec acmeetes 1.00 PEARLY VEIN oe ee, + aoe eee 1.00 Mike Bonudreatss (20 oe es eee 1.00 A. W. Fader and Employees: Mowe BAMOR 8. oe ea eee fees $100.00 UOrars SCOUOU 6o. |) hie. ieee eae 5.00 TSA: IOCOLE SL. cniere ol eiauele sh 5.00 eresns Be WAam: | scan cliasaieedeee 5.00 rire IS AVENE a Sei os de ola tee 4.00 miias: Armsworthy 1 So aaa ee 3.00 Wirrid.- Bouchie 6 eee sdk cee wrne 3.00 POHSSs BOUCHE. Se occa hv cece EMae ie 2.00 Pewee. GHC Ve. 8 Sache ees Spores ok 2.00 i OPER MG a ea eintcieac Rees it Pore h 2.00 JONM-FNYV HONG |). <5 ba witice died Bee eens 2.00 EQVGTE SSC Sol. oa soe aceaieeae Paes 1.25 ANGUS MUNTUC.. Ooi 8 ie nitlnee as oe 1.00 taney POPE. cb ireleice daehurelows 2.00 Fishermen: Capt. Chas. Mosher and crew...... $15.00 Capt. Frank Hawes and crew...... 10.00 Capt. Samuel Mason and crew ..... 15.00 Capt. John Boudreau and crew..... 10.00 Capt. Geo. Harnish and crew. .,... 10.00 Capt. David Walsh and crew ...... 5.00 Capt. Geo. Smith and crew ........ 5.00 Port Felix: : ; Capt. Thos, Boudreau and crew..... 15.00 Capt. Wm. Pelrine and crew........ 5.00 Capt. Hubert Doroin and crew..... 7.00 Capt. Wm. Uloth and crew......... 5.00 Fred David and employees.......... 20.00 Portland Packing Co. and Employees: Portland Packing Co, . ..........+++ $100.00 taped bet OSs | 2 RR ECA iat a oe eae Se mp 5.00 Dak gba OUS OT Ya sc tie a dg ok ac 9 RE ara 3.00 JOIty BORAT CAT oe he es iy eee, Ce 2.00 Chas. Dorte s 1 Ore Te de REET OSS 2.00 TUNG AERA iS ial aig laf hk eral -l emsaea a oe 2.00 MSIGNIOS, PONY ISON ooo cic g wae Ae adie 1.00 TIOLOIG. ELOreOn o's, 25 by wo ecw acs 1.00 PuLOOrt | TOOMG A ora ue cits ede a ae ae 1.00 Puffield: Boudreau 2°: stake cvisk. 1.00 Matthew Armsworthy .. .......... 1.00 WEE SHOE isin da abe bse Fa ew a ee .50 Vite. eOW Ce = eae os Oars, ca ee, ei 8 a .50 OORAY OVO aie) ei ab ae hacen oe oke .50 Geo; OF Benes i255 ois. Me eis AS Sn RNS Ea 1.00 Tiouig SniOws es 8 boc ost olan si Seah ews .50 SLOW EEO. OOM se et ko ima palate ae . 50 Boats: J, R, Lumsden and crew ....6...3.% 15.00 S, LuUPRt iad Grew i 6 is hs a eee. ake 5.00 Angus Munro and crew . .......¢.. 5.00 SW ISAERS OMG CLOW oe. adie Sac ince ee > 3300 $359.00 $64.00 $137.25 75.00 32.00 20.00 $122.50 703 $673.75 $737.75 $264.25 704 Whitehead, N.S. J. S. Wells, Ltd. . Victoria Wells . Wm, Wells . Samuel Duncan ,., .. Malcolm Duncan .. .% Mrs. Thos, Feltmate . Levi McDuff .. John Dort,... John Whalen... Thurlow Munroe. . Samuel Porter... .. Sydney Grover... .. Joseph Uloth -. ...... Sydney Grover,. Jr. .. Mrs. Chas, Duncan .. Mrs, Jas. Duncan... .. Wm. Feltmate... David Duncan , . A ¥ riend oo ie ess Mrs. John Grover. .. A Sufferer .. Joe Grover .. J, W. Roberts .. Ruffus McKenzie .... Thos. Feltmate .. Thos. Grover’. . Ernest Grover . . W.. S. Harris . Samuel Casey ... Clifford Haynes .. .. John Fitzgerald . . A. E. Dillon , . Howard McMillan . seer sees Edward Conway .... Jas. Conway Jas, Grover... Valentine McDonald . Duncan McDonald... E. H. Munroe ,. eeeeeee eee ee Matthew McDonald ,. Wesley Munroe .. Louden Munroe .... Martha Feltmate ... Bertha Feltmate.. .. Harvey Munroe. ,.... Summary: Maritime Fish Corporation, Ltd. The Robinson Glue Co., Ltd, . .A,. W. Fader . Portland Paekinge Coes Ais eae asses wie sea ty ee ee White Head . , R. Hendsbee. , Summary: Canso, N.S., District ee aeeee ee es ee ee) ey ee ee eo oe re ee ee oe Ce re | ee ey | Pe ee oe ee ee ee ee) ee ee ee | eee me Pe ee ey ee ey Ce ee ee Se ee ee | ed ee ee eee ewe eee wee ee Pe ee ee CANADIAN FISHERMAN a a es eS, ee ee ee Ce Toronto, ‘Ont, > Distriet:s:. > Swiss apateg te ae ee Winnipeg, Man., District . . Digby, N.S., District . . Prince Rupert, B.C., District Ottawa, Ont., District. .-. "POtAl: ee ee | ee Y ee ee ee Oe ee ee ed sr Pallateta berate sete, kqgia ae tie prea ots er sue $3,000.00 TREASURE UNKNOWN. age oy be ee eee aa +.» $1,212.50 Montreal, Que., District . $50.00 $673.75 -00 264.25 150.50 -00 00 $1,212.50 917.50 235.00 300.00 100.00 225.00 10.00 If any person were to publish broadcast the state- ment that knowledge had come to hand of a treasure, yearly increasing, a portion of which might be had for the taking, would there be interest enough aroused to start an expedition for the garnering of that treas- ure? There is such a treasure, daily being lost to Canada in the great waters where the fishermen pursue their calling, and almost, all of it could be conserved for National benefit. Since the pioneer days, when in their tiny vessels the fishermen, wholly unaided and unnoticed, fared forth each day to their arduous task, this waste has been going on. It escaped notice for many years, until the fishing industry having reached its present proportions in the commercial life of our country the ings,’’ will make better fertilizer than any now on t. April, 1918. thought comes that if the waste were eliminated, the receipts of the fisheries would increase, therefore all — of the other industries depending on the fisheries for — their existence would increase accordingly, and the ~ benefit to the nation as a whole would be collossal. The fishing industry in Canada approximates nearly _ thirty-six millions of dollars yearly. The waste ap- — proximates three times as great a sum, because in packing lobsters, salmon, ete., only one-fourth of the fish is fit for human consumption, the other three- quarters are Waste, and in the case of other fish tl amount of waste is even greater. Both on land, in t canneries and at sea, in the deep water and lake fis! eries, Canada is yearly losing a largé amount money. There is no more need for this waste thi there would be to take millions out of the reve and cast them into the sea. Following the intricé of the food question, let us see what connection the fisheries waste has in its solution. It is a practical idea that greater production means a lessening anxiety in the apportioning of Canada’s food sup There is a scarcity of fats, as well as of both b and bacon. With grains, ete., at their present pric poultry cannot profitably be kept, neither can consumer afford the prices for what quantity is ave able. This condition is due to the fact that it h not been realized that Canada needs those wasted m nee ‘under water,’’ as never were they needed k ore. aimee , t From fish waste valuable oils can be extracted which can be used in many industrial manufactt é such as the soap, lubricating oils, glue, leather, p. and other trades. All of these trades have been im porting such necessities from foreign countries, whi means that besides the enormity of the waste in - fisheries of Canada, yearly increasing, money f all of those trades has been pouring out of Can which could and ought to have been kept at hom After the extraction of oils has taken place, t residue of.fish waste contains protein and other es tials necessary to the farmer for the feeding of live market, because of the many chemical properties t it will be found to possess. The farmer dwelling x the coast, may get all the kelp and seaweed he ne as fertilizer. But the farmer of the interior, his st depleted, as the records show, depends on manuf, tured fertilizer, and because of the growing seareit of bones, etc., used in this industry, there is going be a shortage in this line. This shortage will m fewer root crops, such as potatoes, ete., and o' vegetables, staple foods of the nation. ee The machinery for the conservation of fish waste not expensive. Without intending to be humorou the need of more hogs is greatly felt at the presei time, as well as of all sorts of live stock. If the foo stuffs now cast away were available, Canada’s sources would soon be on the increase. The other dustries now sending money out of Canada would 4 better by keeping it at home, and the fisheries wealt already more than half of the commercial life Canada, would assume giant importance. There i need for serious consideration of applicable means te bring those wasted monies into the National coffer because we need all of our resources to back up o gallant brothers, who stand between us and Hu brutality. gts Lad } ¢ 7 BILLINGSGATE MARKET. si London, March 2nd, 1918. 2 improvement in weather conditions at sea, ther the reverse, there has been if anything an wreater scarcity this week. Arrivals at the West orts, particularly Fleetwood, have brought r catches than those reaching Grimsby, Hull, Shields, Aberdeen and other ports on the East- ard. Demand for all varieties has probably keener, the coming into force of the meat cheme in London and the Home Counties, millions of people, has resulted in a huge r fish from the areas affected by the Minis- od rationing scheme. This has had the effect y every ounce of fish landed at the fishing eagerly snapped up, the restaurants and rers being big buyers. As the maximum in force do not extend to fish sold ready ers for the catering trades have in many rly paid more than the legitimate dealer in ed to sell his goods at, and merchants sup- nd fish salesmen and retail fishmongers t their wits end to obtain supplies and at time keep within schedule rates, let alone ender margin of profit. If one has sold than another it is cod; probably this is butable to the Lenten demand, as old ecus- d. In former years there has been a cer- tity of ‘‘pickled’”’ cod on offer at this season, sence of such fish this year is no doubt for the great inquiry for fresh cod. So en the demand, that leading salesmen in h as Billingsgate have been compelled to | their supplies among their customers to the ir ability. s have been marketed in fair quantities from s centres off the Scottish coast where the ing is now being prosecuted, and have dly at high figures, and kippers and bloat- n correspondingly expensive. ity of fish from home waters, coupled with and, have had an encouraging result to which have long advocated the merit of from Canada. In addition to cod, fresh for the Ministry of Food, has had on skate wings. As fish of this kind meets sale among fish friers, few of whom are to buy a case containing at least 200 lbs., instances as much as 250 lbs., at a single -. Forge has been selling this fish in stone ixed price being quite reasonable. Frriers n great appreciation, the quantity disposed: daily. In fact, it is not too much to say e days this week, the fish has been the ration, practically no other fish suitable for eing obtainable. With every probability question in this country becoming more at, there is little doubt that Canadian frozen a great future before it, especially if export- ar side heed the hints which have been given from time to time regarding the size of on and grading of the fish, and similar eat point always to remember is that mer is the best advertisement for any ‘is especially true of foodstuffs. of fish friers held at Billingsgate Mr. H. G. Maurice, C.B., the Sec- fee iJ a pe Bre ii CANADIAN FISHERMAN d flatfish, Mr. Peter Forge, the agent at_ 705 retary of the Fisheries Division of the Board of Agri- culture and Fisheries — the Government Department charged with the administration of the Fisheries in England, the premier fishing country in the world — emphasized the vast importance to this country of its fisheries as a source of food supply, an importance which would grow in the very near future, when the country would have to live, so far as meat or meat substitutes were concerned, very largely if’ not mainly on fish. Although these remarks were addressed to those engaged, in the fisheries in the Homeland, they bear a message to those in the Dominion who are in a position to inerease our supplies of fish food. epi: London, Mareh 9th, 1918. This week’s business has been very similar to that of previous weeks; general supplies fair, comparatively ‘speaking, a tremendous demand for all kinds, and prices for most kinds at or near the maximum allow- ed. Compared with other kinds, cod has been rather prominent and has met.a great demand, while plaice, too, has been fairly plentiful. As the week progress- ed supplies of herrings improved, but with trade very. . active prices had no chance of receding; some Nor- wegian herrings were landed at one or two East Coast ports, but they were mostly inferior; despite this they commanded a lot of money, prices being far above the intrinsic value of the fish. All kinds of smoked fish at maximum level. 23, The Ministry of Food Canadian frozen fish is meet- ing with more appreciation weekly; in fact, it is scarcely too much to say that this. week, so far as Billingsgate is concerned, frozen skate wings have been almost the salvation of fish friers. Un- fortunately, the size of the packages in which this fish is marketed militates against its sale; no frier re- quires more than 14 stones of frozen fish at one pur- chase. To meet the difficulty, the Government agent at Billingsgate, Mr. Peter Forge, has been disposing | of the fish in stone lots. This necessitates much un- necessary labor. It is to be regretted that the qual- ity of this fish varies greatly; the best is excellent, but the least said about the other qualities the better; then again, the stencilling on the cases is unreliable; sometimes the contents are entirely at variance with the name marked on the case. Further, the cases are not standard size. in addition to being too bulky — some contain 225 lbs., some 200 Ibs. and others 175 Ibs. All this tends to mystify the trade. The great point for,Canadians to bear in mind if they are desirous of fostering this fish export trade is to instil confi- dence; the great American frozen meat compan- ies have recognized the necessity of this, tothe advan- tage of all concerned. It will be absolutely fatal to the trade if inferior or stale fish are frozen; refrigeration does not make bad fish good; at the most it merely arrests deterioration. Mees London, March 16th, 1918. Our fish markets this week have been characterized by several unusual features. In the first place, aggre- gate supplies have been generous, the quantities re- ceived at some of the principal consuming centres be- - ing quite equal to, and in one or two instances in ex- cess of, those available in pre-war days. Secondly, the abundance has chiefly consisted of one or two varieties, such as herrings, deep-sea cod, coalfish and similar kinds. ' 706 Then, unfortunately, the bulk of the sorts most in evidence have been in anything but the best of con- dition, unavoidable delays in transport combined with a burst of exceptionally warm and sultry weather for the time of year, being responsible. This had the inevitable effect of bringing prices down with a run, not. only for the particular kinds which were most prominent, but more or less gener- ally. No trade is so sensitive in this direction as the fish trade; depression in one section reacting on the other kinds and depreciating values all round. While general landings have been liberal to a de- gree, seyeral ports have reported light landings. Truly the fish business is an enigma, and it occasions no surprise that the authorities are apparently finding it no easy task to formulate a comprehensive seale of controlled prices. Billingsgate, the leading fish distributing centre in the world, and a market used to dealing with gluts, has found its energies taxed to the utmost by an almost super-abundance of herrings, and as the result of the depression in prices, heavy losses have been incurred by many firms; how heavy it is impossible to estimate. Grimsby has had the unusual experience of ‘re- ceiving substantial consignments from other ports; here there has been a marked scarcity of haddocks. Hull has reported heavy landings of rough quality: fish from the deep-sea and distant grounds, but only fair deliveries of best quality fish from the nearer fishing banks. Milford Haven has recorded unusually generous catches of whitings. Fleetwood’s supplies have been pretty liberal from both the home and distant waters. Excepting on one day, the catches landed at Aberdeen have not been unduly heavy, but this has to some ex- tent been compensated for by arrivals overland from~ the smaller fishing centres on the Scottish coasts. As an indication of the remarkable fluctuations in values, it may be instanced that Herrings have sold as low as 20s. and as high as 110s. per barrel on the same day, difference in quality being responsible for the wide range. | “Frozen cod, fresh haddocks, flatfish and roker wings, marketed by the Ministry of Food, are inereas- ing in favor, but to place this trade on a sound basis greater care must be exercised in selecting, grading, stencilling, and weighing, all of which are quite unreliable, while it is absolutely essential that a smaill- er, and therefore less bulky, package be employed. London, March 23rd, 1918. Trade on the whole has remained quite brisk this week, with prices for most kinds firmly maintained at their recent level. The most plentiful kinds have been plaice and cod, and these varieties have been obtain- able from time to time at comparatively easy rates. Coalfish, too, has been in generous supply, especially at Fleetwood and Hull, while at Milford Haven whit- ings have been most prominent. Fewer herrings have been available, especially really best quality fish, but following the glut in previous weeks, kippers have been abundant, second rate being passing cheap as — things go now-a-days. In ordinary years the week preceding that. known as Good Friday week is usually an awkward one in the fish trade in this country. Next week, under normal circumstances, would be the week of the whole year, and the fishing vessels would as far as possible ar- CANADIAN FISHERMAN ee mie April, 1918. range their trips so as to arrive in port one day dur- ing that week. As it is, however, demand is so insist- — ent that there is little room for expansion, while with — a new system of controlling prices coming into force — on Monday rates cannot rise much, while several sorts must be lower so far as the wholesale figures are con-— cerned. ‘ Inquiry for the frozen fish marketed by the Minis- — try of Food fluctuates from*day to day aecording to — the quantity of fish from home waters available, but — it is steadily gaining a place on the markets, some fish-_ mongers and fish friers regularly placing orders with Inquiries are being received | from all parts-of the country for frozen salmon and — the Government Agent. frozen halibut, which it is impossible to satisfy. Under present circumstances the nation can consider itself fortunate in that regular supplies of fish are forthcoming. : London, March 30th, 1918, To-day has witnessed the close of the most extra- ordinary week’s trading that has.ever been experi- — enced by the present generation. In the ordinary course, the landings during Good Friday week are usually on a generous basis, every endeavour being made to time the arrival of as many vessels as pos- sible, and on the Wednesday preceding Good Friday, what has come to be known as ‘‘Show Day,’’ takes place at the principal fishing ports, such as Grimsby, — Hull, Fleetwood, Aberdeen, North Shields, Milford — Haven, Swansea, ete. This year landings all the week — have been woefully inadequate to requirements, the — already keen demand being, if possible, accentuated by the nearness of Easter. Then, on the other hand, this week has seen the coming into foree of a new Fish (Prices) Order, by which the prices are con- trolled from the point of landing to the consumer. Thus, the unparalleled position has arisen of crowds of buyers bidding the one price—the maximum—for | a supply quite insufficient for more than a tithe of © Various expedients have been resorted — to ensure all having a share, such as drawing lots, — but the general result of the — schedule rates coinciding with the Easter demand and | their orders. tossing coins, ete., scanty supplies has been a general muddle. Thus it is quite impossible to compile a market report in the or- dinary sense of that term. Many contend that the best antidote to exorbitant prices is not controlled | prices, but increased supplies, and this opinion has — i " : oe received ample confirmation by this week’s experi- — ence when chat haddocks have been the only kind -at — all abundant, and these have been obtainable at auc- — Strong pressure is | being placed on the authorities to release as many ves- | sels as possible, consistent with national necessities, — tion well under the maximum. and to inerease the areas available for fishing. With the great searcity in fish from home waters — demand has expanded for the Ministry of Food Can- — Unfor- | tunately, the quality of much of this fish is quite un- | reliable, which it is to be regretted, as it is next to — impossible to induce a fishmonger, or his customers, — to give the fish a second trial once the quality has adian frozen fish, especially from fish friers. been found to be inferior. The following prices must not be exceeded for sales E of frozezn fish by wholesalers:—Halibut, headed and — 26s. 6d.;_ trimmed, 21s.; salmon, including _ grilse, ditto, headed, 28s. per stone. April, 1918. GANADIAN FISHERMAN 61 display them? TORONTO : 114 York St. (2 Blocks N. of Union Stn.) Phone Adelaide 3786 The above illustration is of the Gov- ernment Standard case finished in white enamel and ash stained. Write for Catalogue and Prices. A Stock Carried; Prompt Delivery Made. | The W. A. Freeman Co., Limited, Hamilton, Canada. 16 Notre Dame St., E oe : hi f lab FISH, FISH, FISH, | | wsuecBsoutre Have you a good case to hold and en Knapp Labelling and Boxing Machine? MONTREAL Knapp Labelling Machine D. H. H. NEILL, The Brown Boggs Co., Limited 16 Richmond Sq. Phone Uptown 8547 Hamilton, Ontario E. A. EARL & CO., Vancouver, B.c.., Agents . ee ee aa A. _ Acadia Gas Engines, Ltd. B. Ww. as Pisheries Co. ‘of Canada, Ltd. if Bowman, and Co. per a dram. Henderson Co., ‘Ltd. ey - British Columbia Government . _ British Columbia hata joc _ Asso- an ciation .. it _ Brown Boggs Co., Ltd. Brown Engineering ‘Corporation, st Ltd. i _ Burnoil Engine Co. Cc. Caille Perfection Motor Co. Canada Metal Co., Ltd. - Canadian-Fairbanks-Morse Co., Ltd. 4 ee Go. TL. ro ee and ns ‘Storage ian Piphation oh taht jan Fisheries’ Association. . adian Fishing Co,, asthe ie! Semonnors’ Brothers, Ltd... ..-.. .- Consumers Cordage CO;, Ltd. Z - @ullen Motor Co. .. ORS if fae a Bearting and Washington — r aeeen 4 q D. af Danto & Co. . Bee A Beaepartment aot Naval ‘Service A omy ing . and Co. . "Dominion Fisheries, Ltd. z. Papiwards, W. C. & Co.; Ltd., | is Bureka Refrigerator Co. .. - Evinrude Motor Co. é re Farquhar and Co., TA... Pintlestain Max. ‘ Finlay Fish Co., Inc. ot Na Fish as Gazette ais sgl ee ns n Motor and “Machine Co., Forge, Peter .. .. oo man and Cobb Co. ne. a "Freeman, Ww. A., Co. Ltd. pearing Propeller Boat Co., “Lita. Index to Advertisers :: G. New England Fish Goorich R. F. & Co., Ltd. QT Nobie: Chartes, mn chompany, L tt Gourock Ropework Export Co., Lid... q Northern Fish Co. : Gosse-Millerd Packing Co., Ltd. 8 Nova Scotia Government. Gray and Prior Machine Co. .. ..... 78 Guarantee Motor Co. oN age OS oO. uest, J:, Fish Co. Lid. i. eae Ontario Government ; on O’Connor’s Fish Market _ eau tS ae Hallam, John, Ltd. “* “-* of * o-. P. ithe, Bhd co.” 17 Perfection Motor Co. .. .. .. 7 ante Gaon ko Pitt, Fishmonger .. .. .. ..... Hyde Windlass Go. Or DR at 2 eee Polson Iron Works .. .. .. «. Plymouth Cordage Co. Process Engineers, Ltd. Imperial Oil, Ltd. .. Peep k 2 Independent Cordage Co., Ltd. 4 ae ee Q. Independent Rubber Co., Ltd. ». .. 82 Quebec Government .. J. R. Jacobson. Gas Engine Co. .. .. .. 98 Ranney Fish Co. .. James, F. T., Co, Ltd... .. .. .. 97 Robbins, Chas. C., oi Robbins, F. R. & Co... K. Rob Kermath Motor Co. Sts, DEMOS oe ee pete eb Robi aera Kildala Packing Co., Ltd. ........ 5 el oa Whitman, Lea. Be ae 8. Beckie, Jonn, tutd. |... oven ves) be 7 ee Seaboard Trading Co. . Leonard Fisheries, Ltd. Back Cover Scott and Co., Ernest . Letson and Burpee, Ltd. .. wate 6 Scythes & Co., ae 7 ; Lincoln, Willey and Co. Inc. .. .. 83 Silver, H. R., : Linde Canadian Refrigeration Co., Sraith “annery Machines: Co., “Ltd. Ltd 5 Stamiord Foundry Co.. Sete. Lipsett, " Gunningham ‘and Co., “Lta. 3 Standard Gas Engine Co. Ea era Lipsett, Edward 3 St. Thomas ee 6,; Ltd. Lockeport Cold Storage Co., “Ltd.” ee Se Spooner, W. R. Lockwood-Ash Motor Co. .. rant at Loggie, W. S. Co. 73 Ty, London and Petrolia Barrel Co., "Ltd. 84 Lyons, Chas. Co., Ine. .. Tabor, Geo., Ltd. . Rae Thorne, W. H. and Co., Paar eee: M. Tuckett Tobacco ay te Bates ais. | ‘ Marconi Wireless .. . iia. he Ko Maritime Fish Corporation, ne McAvity, T. & Sons, Ltd. Bien Oe be el Thos. and Son, ioe Ltd. ‘hohe Se allace Fisheries, Ltd, .. .. Mueller, Charles, Co., . Wannenwetsch & Co. Mustad, O., and ‘Son. .. Sais eine 7 wetsc Western ye Lta. hy MN. White and Co., L ‘ ‘New Brunswick Cold Storage Co. Whitman, Arthur 'N. We HR dente PM OS ka oo aca ee Whittall, A. R., Can. Co., Ltd. 15 94 86 93 708 A FISHERMAN’S ENGINE. By B. J. STANTON, Burnoil Engine Co. All recognize the fact that steam engines have low thermal efficiency, in other words, are extremely cost- ly to install and operate and take up more space in a boat than is required. Users of marine engines are looking for a power plant that will give continuous service under severe condi- tions with a minimum of repair and delay, turning to the internal combustion oil engine to improve the situation. The high price of fuel and the large con- sumption of the gasoline engine is another cause for the user to seek further relief. The solution of the problem is the oil engine, which consumes less volume of fuel than the gasoline engine or the so-called gasoline-kerosene engine and many authorities claim that no gasoline engine working with the carburetor and ignition system can burn kerosene successfully, and it always requires a supply of gaso- line on hand that is more or less an element of danger and bother. The Diesel Engine came with a great promise. Its ‘principle of operation was a great step in advance, but its complicated methods of applying this principle in a great measure defeats the victory gained and a step nearer the ideal must be taken before the internal com- bustion engine can come into its rightful position as a new and higher standard of power, for classes of trade such as the fishing industry. There now comes to the front a type of oil engine that is strong in the methods that are difficient in the steam, gasoline, Semi-diesel and Diesel. We speak now of the Burnoil Engine, built by the Burnoil En- gine Company of South Bend, Indiana, and sold in Canada and Newfoundland by the Pyke Motor and Yacht Co., Montreal, whose announcement appears in the advertising pages. This engine has been manu- factured in European countries for about seven years and has been used very extensively by the fishing trade, owng to its simplicity and ability to operate on the cheaper grades of fuel oil. These Burnoil Engines may run indefinitely at slow speed as they have no hot parts to crack or cool and cause ‘misfiring and may be speeded up instantly to full load. They also eliminate the carburetor, magneto, electrical equipment of any deséription, blow torch, pre-heating and gasoline, They start and run on one and the same fuel increasing its value as a type of engine that meets the heavy duty, severe service of CANADIAN FISHERMAN will ignite and cause a little explosion, the force of — through the small holes () with terrific foree into “2 engine and consists of one movable compound gear be- - propeller shaft. The gears are what are called internal from three to four teeth bearing at, all times and per- April, 1918. marine conditions. Fishermen want enginees free from delicate parts or a type that will run with little skill- ed attention but the internal combustion engine, using — carburetor and electrical ignition system, we all know is not free of complications. In marked contrast the Burnoil type, aside from the — standard moving parts, exclusive of the carburetor — and magneto, has only one additional moving part, namely a poppet valve to open and let the oil flow in by gravity, the operation of which is shown ny the accompanying cut. i The essential patented features of this engine relate to the method of introducing the oil and are very sim-— ple as will be seen from the illustration. Fuel from a — supply tank is fed by gravity through a pipe to inlet (D) past valve (B) to seat of fuel valve (A), which — is opened under the intake stroke admitting the re quired amount of fuel to the bottom of the fuel cups. (C)} extending down into the cylinder. During the compression stroke the heat created by the compression of the pure air in the cylinder will be transmitted through the walls of the cup, vaporizing : part of the fuel inside the cup, at the same time a little © hot air enters the fuel cup through small: holes (F), so — that the vapor at the end of the compression stroke ~ which will spray the still fluid main part of the fuel the cylinder where the main combustion then gradually takes place. : The amount of fuel allowed to the cup is controlled — by a governor operating the level (G) up and down, — thereby measuring the quantity being required for the — immediate load. It should be noted that pure air only is taken in the cylinder and compressed to such a high ~ heat that the degree of temperature of the atmosphere — outside the engine has no effect on firing. : The reverse gear, an extremely important factor for the commercial engine is well taken care of in this 4 tween the driving and driven elements. This is a large — external and internal toothed gear that works ee 3 tween the stationary drum and a driving pinion on ~ gears and fit within each other perfectly, which gives — mits of extra large teeth in the gears, giving more ef- ficiency and life to them. The propeller shaft telescopes clear through the . shell of gear and gives perfect alignment. The eX- pansion ring is reinforced in such places as to give — perfect friction bearing surface at all times, no matter” how old and worn they become. a The fuel consumption of this engine is another im- q portant factor, for instance a 12% BH.P. Marine En- gine of this make has been running for over a year — without any repairs and costing less than 1 cent peng q mile fuel and lubricating expense. a Mr. F. E. Payson, formerly: with the Western Pack- ers, Ltd., Vancouver, has resigned from that compa and is starting in business for. himself. | Last year was a very : gpd one for mackerelea everything points to a long and successful nian season this year. CANADIAN FISHERMAN Tug Helena at St. John, N.B., belonging to the Department of Public Works, Canada | MARINE PAINTS Tugs, Fishing Schooners and Yachts that see constant service and experience hard usage should be protected inside and out with B-H ANCHOR MARINE PAINTS. Our Marine paints include everything needed for the complete painting of a boat and a uniform high-quality runs throughout the entire line. Among the varieties we manufacture are: Hull Paints Deck Paints Marine Zinc White Cabin Enamels es Copper Paints Page White Lead y} als Md YUL ELLE SS ey // Yl UY LM L// UML, UW p Y « 2 £ 7 i iC 7” Uli 4 ¥ neu errs YY Wrwern ay nuts L®)=7, << YYyyooyyyyyyyYy Ys yyy Uy NY A: k's a) BA / Anti-Corrosive Composition Anti-Fouling Composition Lower Hold{Composition Engine Enamels Aluminum Paints Red Lead ae us for prices and full Seomten AI M - YL aa “HE | ot sono nes W Wires ae Mbrrryy Sas uy —_— LSA Snes WU = =, iin VLE. OMS ir > SO SN Y”"'Y ,™ = 1 @) ven ‘ CANADIAN foundland Development Company, Limited. The freezing and. transportation of fish may be cheaply brought about by the use of Liquid Air as the refrigerating medium; Liquid Air, that wonderful product of modern science, has hitherto been greatly misunderstood and through its premature boosting as a miracle worker some few years ago, it received a setback which has been hard.to overcome, so that from an almost total relapse to a laboratory curiosity and plaything for scientists, it has gradually reasserted it- self as the principal source of oxygen, now so greatly used in all classes of engineering work; and the oxy- gen apparatus is to-day a part of every well equipped machine shop, or construction work of any kind when welding or cutting of steel or other metals has to be done. This oxygen is furnished by one-fifth of the volume of liquid air; the other four-fifths being nitro- gen, which is usually allowed to go to waste in oxygen producing plants. Whereas where liquid air is used to produce nitrogen for making fertilizers or explo- sives in nitrogen fixation plants, this element is saved, while the otherwise valuable oxygen is generally wast- ed or allowed to go back to the atmosphere. In both of these uses of liquid air, the air is lique- fied in the liquefaction machines, and it is immediately used by turning it back into its gaseous form and separating it into: two elements, oxygen and nitrogen. This is clearly a most elementary and erude use of this remarkable and mysterious liquid. and surely af- ter the elaborate thought, experiment and expense which has been lavished in the work of reducing our ordinary atmosphere down to this intensely cold liquid, which sports a temperature of some 31° below zero F., and which is a slightly bluish, mobile, spark- ling, clear liquid consisting of the very purest of air, it would be certainly too bad if there were not some other and greater uses for it. and certainly we have such a much greater use in applying liquid air as a preserver of fish and bait in storage and transporta- tion. The government of United States and Canada have been recently advising refrigerator people to store extra quantities of natural ice wherever possible so as to conserve the supply of our precious ammonia, which ~ is simply a earrier of nitrogen for fertilizers or ex- plosives. bulky, sloppy and costs as much to pay for its trans- portation as do the fish it.is conserving, besides de- livering them in a soft, sloppy, _ bruised “condition, often with the scales rubbed off; while chemical re- frigeration by ammonia requires very expensive plants and experts to run them. Not so with liquid air as a refrigerant, which is here now in our time of need to transform all this rapidly and easily into cheaper, better and Asie oa soompi ts methods of storage and transpertation.- octet ens The greatest Pindradive hseasohare in the” use at liquid air as a refrigerant has been a means of its transportation or storage; the largest successful re- ceptacle to date being a five quart glass thermos bot- tle, very fragile and delicate; being a double walled vacuum bottle, sitvered: onthe inside so-as tozkeep the ~ FISHERMAN: Refrigeration of Fish ~ By IVAN A, BAYLEY, President of Canada-New- -now be made in any quantity desired anywhere wher ~ gallons in 24 hours, while a 500 H.P. plant would pr _its waste or evaporation to a minimum; the liquid When we have sawed this ice it is heavy, » leaving the room. No piping or machinery of a _kind will be necessary, ing them hard and quickly. » aes eos April, 1918. liquid air insulated away from the light and heat the surrounding atmosphere, which are its arch, ene 1es. : The* production of liquid air itself is now. a com- | paratively cheap and simple operation, as being due — largely to the brilliant work of M. Claude, the French — engineer, who has devised the Claude method of mak- 4 ing liquid air; so that this splendid substance can — power can be obtained; so that by harnessing a suitable streams within a reasonable distance of the fisheries, or establishing our liquid air plant near a source of coal supply, or with crude oil engines, cheap and abundant supply of liquid may be had all times. A 100 horse power plant would podeaaal about 500 duce nearly seven times this quantity; the longer t unit the greater the production per H.P. This liq air could be made at an almost infinitesimal cost — per gallon, where a water power is utilized, or if coal — were used say, at $7.00 per ton, the cost of the liqui ; air would be about 5 to 7 cents per gallon, — Now, through Claude’s admirable device ‘tor t production of liquid air in large quantities, the grea est obstacle to its use has been forever removed; an to this I have added a container in which this remar able liquid: with its 31°F. degrees below zero may stored in any quantity desired, and transported safe with very little loss, and as easily as oil or gasoli over long distances. These containers may be built large storage reservoirs for storing the liquid air wh made at the plant; as tanks fitted into smacks or v sels, tank cars, tank wagons or autos or small bar- rel size. The essential feature of my invention be the most complete and unique method of insulati possible, which shuts off the body of liquid air from | all surrounding. atmospheric. influences and reduces — air may be filled into these Bayley containers at the plant wherever made, and distributed along the coa a by smack or regular freight _ boats wherever neede: All that will be necessary on the fisherman’s part. to provide himself with a simple dead-room or doub walled building of whatever size may suit his requir ments; the walls of this building being securely packe with sawdust or eelgrass or any other suitable insul ing material, and -being. provided with a door high v to prevent the outflow of the cold air on entering ( and anybody who can opt and close a door and handle a barrel of liquid y be competent to run. such a refrigerator; the fish mé be distributed on trays or shelves or hung up or ¢ posed of in.any other way..which may suit his fan and hy the simple introduction of one or more ba size, Bayvley’s Liquid Air Containers, according to size of his dead-room; the atmosphere of the dead-re is speedily brought down to any degree of cold de able, whether for merely. i the cia or r for fr April, 1918. =. CANADIAN. FISHERMAN . e= LINDE = REFRIGERATING MACHINERY Is known and recognized the world over as The Standard Refrigerating Machine We have carefully studied Refrigeration under all conditions in Canada for the past 25 years and know what is best in this line. Special attention given to Fish Freezing and Storing Plants. Our Machinery is ‘‘Made in Canada’”’ The Linde Canadian Refrigeration Co., Ltd. MONTREAL: 37 St. Peter Street TORONTO, WINNIPEG, CALGARY, EDMONTON, VANCOUVER. Twenty-five Years’ Service to Canadian Users Brown Engineering Corporation, Limited ‘2. Cycle Marine Engines Guaranteed 5 years against mechanical defects MADE IN CANADA 2 cylinder 8 Hu Pi). vi ce es Fee oy tise $150.00 Z 2 ua bE with reverse gear... 227.50 aoe 6S ss 22m “* ree §§ bs ate 325.00 7 64 #6 30 "6 #¢ age Rare 430.00 Low Repair Costs Each Engine Thoroughly Tested Under Its Own Power, PORT SIDE ; 15 H. P. TWO-CYLINDER } e Bore 4% inches; Stroke, e inches; Speed Minimum, 150 R. P. M.; IMMEDIATE SHIPMENTS. Speed Normal, 750 R. P. M.; Speed Maximum, 1000 R. P. M.; Weight, with Reversing Gear, 480 pounds. eee rete ntor and Chain Bape, Pores Feed bebe so Write fer. ircalor BROWN ENGINEERING CO RPORATION, LIMITED | ~ 415-419 King Street West : Totshto, Ont. 712 lt is obvious that the air in the dead-room, which iatter, being well paeked and insulated, is furnishing the only source of -heat. Now as one cubic foot of liquid air with its temperature of some 310 below zero F., alongside of which the coldest night, in Klondike or-at the North Pole would be like a hot day in July, in comparison on evaporating, is equal to 800 cubic feet of free air at normal temperature and pressure, it is clearly seen that it will not require the evaporation cf much liquid air to displace the warm air in the dead-room with an equal volume of very cold, very pure and very dry air from the Bayley Liquid "Air Container. This pure cold dry air circulating around the fish soon robs them of their. heat and chills or freezes them to glass hardness as is desired in the best possible manner. It may be borne in mind that the intense cold of liquid air is able to freeze large fish like halibut, tuna, swordfish, ete., so quickly that the flakes of ‘the fish are not separated by the slow crystallization of ice, which oceurs in natural freezing or in ordinary cold. storage plants, which large erystals so often have the tendency to open the grain of the fish and make it soft and spongy. - In order that the fisherman may regulate the amount of refrigeration required in the dead-room, it is only necessary to stand a small rod of iron or copper into the Bayley Container, which forms a con- ductor, conducting the small amount of heat from the atmosphere of the dead-room down into the in- tensely cold liquid and causing the latter to boil, giv- ing off its clouds of intensely cold vapor; the rapidity of the boiling or evaporation being regulated by the size of the rod introduced into the liquid air. When refrigeration has been carried far enough the simple lifting of the rod out of the liquid stops the rapid evaporation, and the slow normal evaporation con- ‘tinues, maintaining the dead-room at the desired: tem- perature. Bayley Liquid Air Containers may be ‘tstalled into tank smacks or tank ears as the case mdy demand, which could eall at stated periods at the liquid air sta- tion filling their large tanks from the large local sta- tion reservoir container, and then distribute this around the coast to the various fishermen’s dead- rooms, wherever established, within a radius of many miles. Vessels‘on the banks, instead of cumbering them- selves with bulky, expensive ice, could readily carry containers of liquid air aboard and have the hold at any temperature desired, so that fish could be trans- ferred directly from the water to a temperature from zero to 100 degrees below zero, if desired. It is easy to see that such Klondike weather in the vessels’ hold would prevent any loss or deterioration in the eatch, and the entire refrigeration being carried on by the purest. of cold air would render sanitary conditions not previously attainable: The transportation of such perfect fish from the refrigerator fishing vessels into the local dead-rooms ashore, and thence by equally cold transports fo the central sh*pping point, or direct .to its market destination, will simply revolutionize the fish trade-by giving people in all parts of the country or in Europe, fish which are absolutely fresh right from the hook to the kitchen. In Newfoundland, for instance, if a liquid air plant were established, say, at Grand Bruit or Burgeo, on the splendid water powers there, it would supply all CANADIAN ‘refrigeration. ‘and ice, to the express or freight companies. FISHERMAN ~ April 9 the refrigeration necessary from Channe to Fortu Bay, while another at Piper’s Hole, in Placentia B: would supply the rest of the coast around to St. John’s” and a liquid air plant established at the Falls at Bonne Bay would refrigerate the Belle Isle oobi taod aa to the Empire as an immediately available food a1 bait supply the vast schools of herring striking i nt Bay of Islands, Bonne Bay, and other places alon this coast, in such prodigious numbers, which can n now be handled for lack of salt or refrigeration. 3s A Similar plant established at Sydney Mines, the cheap coal supply, would supply refrigerat cheaply to a very large fishing territory in that neighbourhood, as well as supplying cars with liqu air for the forwarding of Newfoundland fish at the railway terminal at North Sydney. A liquid air plant at Pictou, where coal cou had free of -transportation, would supply the Nort berland Strait and Prince Edward Island coast eries with abundant refrigeration, and it would — diffieult to find sources of power at other points around the coast or on the great lakes whole Dominion. vay The advent of liquid air is in its infaney ; the needs food and more food, fish and more fis help to supply this; many fish have been cat thrown away because they did not stand the ex of handling and transportation. Now, howev the use of liquid air refrigeration distributed a the fishing districts, such excellent fish as pol sea-cat, ecaplin, squid, skate, hake, cush, floun grey, red and ling, cod, ete., may now be che conserved and transported into distant markets - where. We have the means now at hand, chee simpler, better, more sanitary than ever befor great bulk such as ice; no wet or slop or ReaNy ing cases. In the case where fish may be shipped. in 1 small tities, they may be made so cold, say, 200 deg 300 degrees below zero, that by merely wrap] them well away from the air, they themselves will fi nish far more cold for a long time than would be po sible to obtain from ice; they would furnish their | oO What a chance to eet our splendid halibut, and swordfish into distant markets, in perfect | tion; simply freeze them down to this tremendot cold, and wrap them well in paper, and they hg perfectly safe for many da he and would save a large expense usually paid on heavy packing This is a national asset now being presented time of the greatest national need ; the cost of. ing these plants is not great; the cost of the B Liquid Air Containers is merely nominal; its 1 the saving of food fish and bait is incalculable, should be vigorously acted upon at once. — Parties further interested may address this m zine or the author. | = MARINE ENGINE. BARGAINS One eighteen to twenty_four h.p. Waterman, four ¢c linder, two ° cycle; complete with dual ignition; Bos magneto; good as new. One thirty to fifty h.p. Ster four evlinder, four cycle; complete with Bosch magne and full equipment; used only for demonstration. THOMAS HENRY, 4 2 58 Front Street West, Adelaide 3 67 CANADIAN FISHERMAN ‘Modern Cannery Practice Allows little time to clapse between the catch and the final operations on the pack. Prompt and continuous streams of all the elements necessary to make cans are depended upon to avert loss. ‘Clean .cut, high quality output required of all ‘Bliss’ Automatic Can Making Machinery, but : steadily continued production at high speed is likewise a feature of importance. These things have been developed in The “Bliss” lines through nearly sixty years of experience and co-operation with canners and can makers in all parts of the world. AUTOMATIC ROUND-CAN DOUBLE-END FLANGER, NO. 15-K. “BLISS” is entirely This machine flanges both ends of can bodies simultaneously and automatic and continuous in operation. It produces flanges on 100 to 150 cans per minute and can be readily adjusted from one size to another. ‘ Write for Catalogue Section No. 18-A E. W. BLISS COMPANY Main Office and Works; BROOKLYN, N.Y., U.S.A. CHICAGO OFFICE DETROIT OFFICE CLEVELAND OFFICE 1857 —_-_ People’s Gas Bldg. Dime Bank Bldg. Union Bank Bldg. 1917 AES LONDON, S.E., ENGLAND, Pocock Street, Blackfriars Road PARIS, FRANCE, 100 Boulevard Victor-Hugo St. Quen CoN Se eA DoE aN Lake Ene The north shore of Lake Erie is dotted with fishing plants so elosely situated that almost every suitable landing place is occupied, and the industry employs and supports a large number of men. Not the least important of these fishing points is Port Maitland, which has been for many years the centre and land- ing of an extensive and important catch. The fame of Port Maitland as a summer resort is much more than local; the lake shore for a long dis- tance west of the port is lined with cottages, and it draws its summer residents not from Dunnville and other Canadian places only, but also from Buffalo and even from far down the Eastern States. Its possibili- ties as a harbour are now attracting attention, and with the advent of the T. H. & B. Railway, the place promises to become a hive of industry, both commer- cial and manufacturing, Probably the pioneer in fishing on a eomrmarenne scale was Henry Ross, grandfather of the present Ross Brothers, so well and widely known among fishermen and navigators, and as enterprising citizens in many other spheres of business activity, as well as genial, companionable good fellows in all their associations. In 1847 Henry Ross left the Old Country, and for a time engaged in the fishing industry at Buffalo, N.Y. About 60 years ago he moved to Dunnville, and from there to Pt, Maitland. He undertook suecessfully the shipping of fish, and laid the foundation of the great industry which has since grown up. With the keen shrewdness of a born fisherman, and with the under- standing of the ways of fish that brings home a heavy eatch, he saw that others were leaving unecaught a large part of the fish actually in the waters; with their nets corked so that they floated high, they went over the fish, while he set his nets deeper and got the heavy haul from the same waters. When he began operations the field was free to everyone, no interfering government demanded a toll by way of license, or dictated the size of the fish that might be taken; no Workmen’s Compensation Board forced him to keep books or file pay-roll statements; no Food Controller made them report their cateh, and turn over a percentage to the department; the fisher- man was a law unto himself, and .made and sold his catch at his own sweet will. Mr. Ross’s field was the lower river and the lake front, in common with others.’ Later a license fee was imposed, the fee at first being sbout $15 for any kind of net he might wish to use. He obtained an exclusive license and sublet to others the field covering the lake front and 3 miles up the river. About 45 years ago pound nets were intro- duced here, the license for them being held by a Mr. Werrett, of Simcoe, who seems to have been something of a philanthropist, and is still remembered for having sent the Northern Messenger to the children of the village, and generously distributed presents of books among the older ones. Charles Ross, son of Henry, was interested in the pound net fishing, thus widen- ing the work of his father, and, of course, requiring more pretensions boats. Gill nets were introduced about 30 years ago. To navigators and dwellers at Port the names of the following boats now or formerly operating there, will be familiar. The Ross boats have been the Elea- nor, Willie Wilson, Ladysmith, Norfolk and Verda Fils WER MAN line, thinking that there was a sure and a quick wa Ly Be dame Fisherman Belle; MeKee: and MeKeown, the You & I; Crumb & Crawford, C. C, Lloyd; Ed. Moss, Lena; Little & Sia- dall, Sadie. and Caldera; Dougher and Jenkinsd Dorothea D.; Mossip & Gorrell, Ellen V., and th are in addition some gasoline boats; in all. not by ; means a discreditable showing for a place of the siz But let no man think that beeause of the num of men engaged in the work, or. the stories he hears occasional heavy catchers, that this field is an bon anza, or the fishing industry a sinecure. . Lake Hrie, : is. well known, is shallow and subject to terrif storms, and the fisherman is entirely at the merey ¢ the wind and waves. If the wind. blows, in a storm, from the land his nets may never be heard of again; if towards the shore, he finds the shreds of the nets strewn along the shore, entangled with boards, t bers, branches of trees, logs, and every form of dr wood, frequently hopelessly. beyond repair. In Decer ber, when the whitefish harvest is on, if he waits day too late with bringing in the nets, they are lost The loss of a boat through capsizing in a squall is no’ unknown here. And the Port Maitland fisherman is exposed to another danger. His fish houses are buil in the Grand River, and the actions of the Grand, w it goes on a rampage, are beyond any forecasting. .b the time of writing this article, it is again at its de- structive work. The extreme cold of the past win has coated the Grand with ice, in places 30 inches thick; this has come down from above with such force as to tear out the long bridge at Dunnville, the ice Lake Erie is still firm, and the ‘‘lower river’’—from Dunnville to Port—is held back, and the low lying lands near the river are under several feet of water. The tugs, the fish houses and their contents, and . docks and landings of the fishermen are at the mereys of this one flood; one gas boat and one tug have gone out with the ice, and the fate of the rest is yet in t balance. Like the muskrat, the fisherman, when th flood comes, can only abandon his property, move back, and w ‘hen the waters subside, go back to Fig Ww hit may be left. And not in winter only are there uncertainties the business. Seasons have their ups and downs, and one memorable summer some years ago left the fisher Pe for’ their nets, to oe nothing of their outlay fo. wages of men, or of. anything for the owners for th time or investinent. It is not all gold that glitter Some farmers, good and successful men in their ow to fortune in fishing, got an outfit and started. is reported that they made one memorable VOuSEY sold out next day. The pet caught here consist eas of herri The men behind this industry are men with the aus ergy and enthusiasm of youth, they have the darin and determination that befits men who are acecustor ed.to battle with Erie’s summer storms and December — gales, and the visitor who has been among them either as a summer cottager or for a period of even a few — days, must carry away an impression of their busines solidity, as well as of their free and open-handed h pirality. April, 1918. CANADIAN FISHERMAN . 69 W. R. SPOONER Wholesale and Commission Dealer Fish of all Kinds 119 Youville Square, - MONTREAL I am in the market at all times to Buy or Sell on Commission, Fresh, Frozen, Smoked and Salt Sea and Lake Fish, in Carload Lots or Less. Correspondence Solicited —— Representing National Fish Company, Limited Halifax and Port Hawkesbury — - N. Si “National Brand” .. : Producers Fillets, Fresh, Kippers, Frozen |. Bloaters, | and Salt Scotch Cured : Herring. Sea Fish STEAM TRAWLER TRIUMPH. LAKE FISH a SEA FISH . Bowman & Co., Port Arthur, Ont. abakin Fish Co., Montreal, Que. A. W. Fader, Canso, N.S. BONELESS COD FISH National Fish Co., Ltd., Halifax and Port _R. E. Jamieson, Rustico, P.E.I. Hawkesbury, N.S. CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. The lobster season for almost all of Prince Edward Island, the exception being from Cape Traverse to West Cape, legally opens on the 26th inst., but as the past winter has been of unusual severity, with un- usually heavy ice, it will be some days after this date, before fishing actually begins, unless unusually mild weather, and strong southerly and westerly winds set in, ‘Last year 180 factories, employing 3,000 fishermen, were in operation. ‘This year the number of factories will be about the same, but the high price of rope, tin plate and other equipment and material, the uncer- tainty as to transportation, and as to the number of fishermen who may be drafted under the Military Ser- vice Act, will tend to a reduction in the number of traps fished. The packers are proceeding _ situation clears. Over half of the packers took advantage of the month’s extension last autumn, from August 11 to September 10, and the combined spring and fall pack was about equal to that of a normal spring’s fishing. At a large meeting of packers held this past winter in the question of changing the season was discussed. The suggestion to have it from August 11 to Octo- ber 11, with no spring fishing, was opposed by a. large majority. The concensus of opinion was that there should be two months’ fishing i in the spring, and none in the fall. : For the northern section, where the ice ioe longest. May 10 was proposed as the opening date, but the packers in the last favoured earlier in May. Fin- ally a resolution recommending M&ay Ist to July Ist earried. The arguments, in brief, against fall fishing were: (1) The marketing of canned lobsters takes place in the spring and early summer, when the goods are con- tracted for. Following the canned fish season, the demand for fruit and vegetables:comes on, and later that for meats. All of these products have their regu- cautiously until the CANADIAN FISHERMAN: lar market. seasons, and if advantage is not taken o the market when it is open, lower prices are Pele obtained later. (2) There would be heavy tole of gear in he storm months of August and September. The success last year should not be taken as a criterion, as the months were exceptionally fine. In nine years out ten fall ganda would result in the loss of almost the gear. (3) Lobsters are not fit to pack until the las: August at least. One large packer stated those caught betwee llth and 25th of that month in 1917 were inf Those taken in September, however, while lacking solidity and flavour of the spring lobster, were sat factory, with respect to colour and Sener app ance. fi ~ The usual preparations are being made for. eed bec ing this season, as soon as the ice moves out. Gorlon-Pew Company of Gloucester, that ‘handel large quantities of cod and hake here last year be in the business again, and it is understood — other large American firms are also to establish brs r concerns in this province. Perea, ea hay In the Provincial Levisiatare poe Wane Ye q tion of the decline in our oyster industry came up. reply to, an inquiry as to what the Government doing towards investigating the disease which playing such havoe among the beds (nDRP ay, Richmond Bay), and which was said to have brought here by the imported American oysters | for re-stocking, Premier Arsenault made a stateme He said that he had taken the matter up witha Federal Department of Fisheries. They in turn referred it to the Biological Board. Prof. Robe of Queen’s University, Kingston, was engaged - an investigation. Specimens of oysters from ent parts of the province were sent him. | that the disease was not limited to Richmon but to other waters where no imported oyster planted. NEW ALASKA CANNERY TENDER “CHACON.” The number of fishing vesse!s built for use in connection with the industry in Alaska is constantly on the increase, and this year some very fine cannery tugs have been built, not only by the new concerns just going into business, but also by many of the older concerns: who are increasing their equipment. - Among the finest boats built this year , is the new cannery tender ‘‘Chacon’’, shown in the actompanving illustra- tion. She is owned by Sawyer & Me- Kay, of Ketchikan, Alaska, who are the owners of a number of salmon traps in that district. The boat is intended as a combined fish carrier and tug, and has been heavily powered, her engine being an 85 h.p. Frisco Standard motor. She is 65 ft. long, and on her trial trip made a speed of 10 miles an hour. She was built by Johnson and Waughbo, 0 coma, and is now operating out of Ketchikan, | \ / April, 1918. CANADIAN FISHERMAN 7 |*SCYTHES SLICKERS” ] Wet Weather Garments When buying oilskins, make your selection from the following grades: “Ton” Brand “Swan Brand ‘Sailor’ Brand Oiled Clothing BEST FOR THE FISHING TRADE Write us for price unt ee & Company Limited | MONTREAL TORONTO WINNIPEG : 4 _ Let’s analyze it and see if there are | TEN GOOD REASONS why you should own a xX & ee eH W BOAT TOTOR It is light—sturdy—dependable—fewer parts. Low cost—economical to operate—30 milés to the gallon of gasoline. It takes the sting out of a long pull on the oars. It.unfailingly takes you to the hunting and fishing grounds and brings you back. 5. IT STARTS WHEN YOU ARE READY. 6. It is not too technical, but scientifically correct. 7. It embodies the latest up-to-date design—2-3 port system—igni- tion self-contained—100 per cent efficient—absolutely water-proof. 8. It runs either forward or backward—can be reversed instantly. 9. Its construction throughout spells quality. 10. It costs less—weighs less—does more. He co bo - Study these Ten Reasons and ask bee should I pay more money than $80.00? CULLEN MOTOR COMPANY Dept. B---112 W. Lake Street . - Chicago, Illinois AR. y WARMAN, 17 Battery Place, New York City Export Distributor 718 GANADIAN AN IMPORTANT STEP IN THE DIRECTION OF SOLVING TRANSPORTATION OF FRESH FISH. Canadian Government Railways, Moncton, N.B., 28th Mareh 1918. At Ottawa. W. R. Spooner, Esq., Chairman, Canadian Fisheries Association, Montreal, Que. Dear Sir :— Yours Mareh 22nd. Within the last ten days the Minister has authorized the purchase of ten second hand: passenger cars suit- able for conversion to express refrigerator cars. The cars have been purchased and are to be sent to our shops at Winnipeg (where the work can be done more expeditiously than anywhere else at present) and there converted into express refrigerator cars of sim- ilar type to the five we converted last year. They will only be of 45,000 lbs. capacity however but this is the best we ean do under the existing conditions, I trust the action we have taken will meet with the ap- proval of your Association. : Yours truly, (Sgd.) C. A. HAYES, General Manager. Montreal, April 22nd, 1918. To the Editor, ; Canadian Fisherman, Dear Sir :— I attach herewith a copy of letter received from Mr. C. A. Hayes, General Manager of the Canadian Govern- ment Railways, advising that the Minister of Railways has authorized the purchase of ten second hand pas- senger cars suitable for conversion into Express refrig- erator cars, and I think it would be well to have the fact published in this month’s issue of the Canadian Fisherman. This very much to be desired result has been brought about by the efforts of the Transport- ation Committee of our Association. We have been working on this proposition since the Association was formed. The producers on the Atlantic coast, for many years have been endeavoring to secure refrigerator express service for the handling of fresh fish from the Atlantic coast to Ontario and Quebec points, and from time to time attempts were made by the Railway to furnish limited refrigerator service. At one time they equip- ped one end of the car with an ice bunker, and this compartment would hold about 6,000 Ibs. gross, and the ear was to run on certain days, we at once found that this would not meet the requirements at all. About a year ago after Mr. C. A. Hayes had been ap- pointed General Manager of the Canadian Government ’ Railways, Mr. Brittain and myself had an interview | with him and he agreed to put on three small express. refrigerator cars with a capacity of about 25,000 pounds gross, and these cars were,put into service dur- ing August of 1917. We very soon found that they were not sufficient to handle the business offering, and Mr. Hayes arranged to have two more refrigerator ears equipped for express service, making five in all. We then found that these were not sufficient to take care of the business offering. : Our transportation Committee then considered the whole matter and. requested a conference _ with Mr. - manner, _ Association is doing in the interests of the Fishin FISHERMAN * April, 1918. Hayes, this conference was arranged by Mr. G. Frank Beer of the Fish Committee, and took place at Ottawa _ on January 30th. There were present at this confer- ence Mr. C. A. Hayes, Mr. G. Frank Beer, Mr. F. W. _ Wallace, Mr. A. H. Brittain and myself, and the whole 4 matter of transportation of fish from the Atlantic coast to Ontario and Quebee points was thoroughly discussed | with Mr. Hayes who received our request in a very fair _ Among the various recommendations we made, w one that the Railway should furnish ten express r frigerator cars in addition to the five already in use, — and Mr. Hayes assured us he would do what he could to secure this for us, and his letter of Mareh 28th is the practical result of the conference, As above stated we are of the opinion that these fae should be published through the official organ of the — Association, so that the members will know what th Industry, for working as an Association we have been able to bring about results that as individuals workin separately for many years we were unable to acco plish. . In making this report through your paper we shoul express our appreciation of the very splendid manne in which Mr. C. A. Hayes has met the recommendatio of our Association in every interview or conference w. -have had with him. We also should make mention the very great assistance given us by Mr. G. Frank Beer, Chairman of the Fish Section of the Canada Food Board, cee a I met Mr. Hayes one day this week in Montreal, and he informed me that-every effort would be made to get Ahese cars ready at the earliest possible moment. p ay Yours truly, “oe apaea W. R. SPOONER, Chairman Transportation Committee. — A writer in the ‘‘Gloucester Times’’-advocates mat for fishing vessels, and states that owing to the lack o one on the ordinary Bank schooner few shore fisher: men will ship on them. According to the writer, the skipper turns in and leaves the ship in eharge of deck watch of fishermen. who do not feel they have any responsibility. While a mate would assist the skipper a lot, yet the average fisherinan is pretty cap able and is quite able to handle the vessel in most cir. cumstances. If he sees a squall making up; fog shu ting down or a steamer handy, he’ll soon eall the skip- per. Apart from fishing, a fisherman’s duty when at sea consists mostly in steering and keeping a look-o and they are just as capable of avoiding danger as the skipper would be. But a mate would make thin easier for the skipper. 0O0D0DD0DDDDDDDDDNDNDDDNDDNNND e) 0 All who are really interested in the develop- O ment of the Fishing Industry of Canada will — O be present at the C. F. A. Convention, Halifax, O August 6th, 7th, 8th. Are you interested? 6) : x May, 1918. | ! ” A MONTHLY JOURNAL DEVOTED _ TO THE COMMERCIAL FISHERIES _ OF CANADA AND NEWFOUNDLAND _ THE SCIENCE OF THE FISH CUL- _ TURE AND THE USE AND VALUE _ + OF FISH PRODUCTS - - F. WILLIAM WALLACE , EDITOR the Industrial & Educational Press, Limited 35-45 St. Alexander St. - Montreal % a CANADA “Toronto Office - C.P.R. Building Newfoundland Agency CANADIAN FISHERMAN 719 ‘THE CANADIAN FISHERMAN SUBSCRIPTION: Canada, Newfoundland and Great Britain - - - - $1.00 United States and Elsewhere... $1.50 payable in advance. ADVERTISING RATES ON APPLICATION Published on the 24th day of each month. Changes of advertisements should be in the publisher’s hands ten days before that date. Cuts should be sent by mail, not by express. Readers are cordially invited to send to the Editor items of Fishery news, alse articles on subiects of practical interest. If suitable tor publication these will be paid for at our regular rate Official Organ of the Canadian Fisheries Association MONTREAL, MAY, 1918 No. 5 ‘ oe Vol. Nw _A NEW ERA FOR PACIFIC FISHERIES. The new market which is being developed in Western Sanada for Pacific flatfish and cods, and which can _ only be economically caught by the steam trawler, leads us to predict that within a very few years, steam trawl- ing for these fish will become the principal deep-sea fishery of the Pacific. The day of the halibut is nearing an end. Im a year yr so, it won’t pay to fit out large vessels for the North- ern halibut fishery, and the cost of production at pres- ent, puts the halibut in the cariare class. ' The flatfish—brills, soles, skate, witches, plaice; ind red cod, grey cod, and ling cod—can be caught se inshore all along the British Columbia Coast. e trawlers will be able to operate anywhere be- 0 need to go steaming up to the Gulf of Alaska for rips of fish. ~The work of the Canada Food Board and the Fish- eries Department in popularizing these Pacific fish is ne of the best moves ever taken by the Government and should be appreciated by all those interested in _ the Pacific deep-sea fisheries. It is conclusively proved that steam trawling can _ be carried on successfully in Pacific waters, and we a ean plainly see the advent of the steam trawler as the ‘big factor in the future development of the Pacific fisheries. -The day of the halibut is waning. The flat- fish and cods—once despised—are going to become the big fishery of the Pacific Coast. pween Prince Rupert and Vancouver and there will be SMOKED HERRING—A WAR-TIME BREAKFAST. Smokers of kippers and bloaters on both coasts, and also the producers of similar lake fish should strongly — advocate the use of their product as a breakfast dish to take the place of bacon and ham. The Canada Food Board favor the tasty bloater and kipper and are advertising the use of them, but the producérs must do their share to popularize these products. These are the rays for introducing fish of all varie- ties to the people of Canada and prices should be shaded to a minimum of profit. Once firmly establish- ed, the future stable market will amply repay all the lack of profit during the introductory months. Fish is in active competition with eggs and meats, and fish is only going to retain popularity if it is cheaper than either the foods mentioned. FIRST CHANCE TO THE RETURNED SOLDIER. There is only one way in which Canada can ade- quately repay the men who have fought for our liberty overseas, and that is by allowing them to develop our natural resources. The returned soldier constitutes a problem which we have to face. After going through the hell of war, the soldier is not the same man as he was prior to joining the colors. He has lived a strenu- ous life; has taken chances and flirted with death, and through Army discipline, has been brought to a high state of physical fitness for work which requires en- duranee and strength. 720 These men will not take kindly to desk work and sedentary labor on their return to civilian life. Clerical work is now pretty well within women’s sphere and women will retain the positions they were called upon to fill as war-time substitutes. Men will have to re- turn to men’s work. The Government holds many privileges which ought to be turned over to the man who has returned after doing his bit. There are farming lands, timber areas, mining and fishing rights to which the returned soldier should have first chanee, and through them they should be developed. As a fishing journal, we are directly concerned with the development of the fisheries, and in our opinion, the soldier can play a large part in their exploitation. Salmon fishing licenses; herring seining and weir licenses and licenses for the taking of smelts, and other protected sea fish on both oceans should be granted to returned soldiers. On the inland waters, the returned men should be granted all available fish- ing areas. In conjunction with the fishing licenses, the men should be granted sections of Government land for farming purposes in such localities where both are available. The income from the fishery will give the men capi- cal to develop and improve their homesteads. There is also another feature. The man who is breaking up a farm grant must put in much labor and capital be- fore he is remunerated. In fishing, the returns will be much quicker and the fisherman is making money just as soon as he starts out. In farming, it takes a year before the farmer receives a return for his labor. The idea could be elaborated greatly. The com- munity plan could be worked to advantage and can- neries for salmon, herring and sardines could be oper- ‘ated by, soldier colonies, also. plants for the drying and curing of the fish caught. Something should be done along the lines suggested and we believe that the men will take kindly to the manliness and the element of chance in the fisher- men’s life. Let us get our own men into the exploita- tion of our natural resources and keep out the alien hordes who are waxing rich in our fishing industries, while our own boys are fighting and dying in order that ‘‘Liberty shall not vanish forever from the zarth.”’ INTERNATIONAL FISHERIES COMMISSION PACIFIC COAST. The International Fisheries Commission of Canada and the United States resumed their sessions at Seattle on April 25th, and have since held meetings in Victoria, Vancouver, Prince Rupert and Ketchikan. The regu- lation of the halibut fishery of the Pacific and the ON salmon of the Fraser River are the two most important. questions being dealt with by the Commission. With regard to the former, the accusations made by the Seattle firms that Prince Rupert discriminated against them and that Canada was out to wrest the halibut fishery from the U. 8., was signally disproved by the evidence adduced in both Prince Rupert and Ketchikan from American buyers and American fishermen. Secretary of Commerce Redfield, who represents the U. S. on the Commission, is a singularly capable and broad-minded man, and his attitude in all of the ses- sions is indicative of the new spirit of cordiality and good will now existing between Canada and the United States. Probably no former Fisheries Commission has CANADIAN FISHERMAN “agreement with White & Company, Limited, of To- in this line. May, 1918. me with such mutually good intentions towards each J other. oy What will be done with respect to the halibut fish- ery is hard to forecast. Several suggestions have been _ made, but most of them will work a severe hardship on the capital invested. We might suggest a close season of three months during December, January — and February for the first year with the vessels using only the lighter hooks and gangings of codfish gear during that time. The second, third, fourth and fifth years, the close season should be extended until the fifth year is closed for the twelve months and for five years following, the close time might be gradually lifted until the tenth year when the fishery could be opened for the full twelve months. Thus: 1919 Close season 3 months. 1920 ae ‘5 ae 1921 (a4 oe iL ce ee: £3 eh ve SF 1923 cé oé 12 “é 1924 é “é 9 “é 1925 oe ce 7 ce 1926 6é ce 5 ce 1927 a3 6c 3 ) 6c 1928 — ‘‘ ‘« Open * This would give the halibut a chance to become re- a habilitated, and only small hooks and gear should be _ allowed. It would also give the companies a chance to develop the steam trawling and line fishing for flat- fish and cods. a Of course, a certain amount of halibut would be caught. on the small hooks, but vessels will be able to fish for ‘cods on the Southern grounds, and the Northern banks — the last halibut of the halibut — will be given a rest. ‘THE ONTARIO FISHERIES. The Ontario Government has’ entered into ~ ronto, wholesale fish and produce merchants, for the — warehousing, re-icing, re-packing and delivery of Gov- ernment fish. This arrangement is understood to give the contracting firm the right to distribute all the fish used in Toronto, while the Government may forward direct from the point of shipment to all other places in Ontario, when this can be conveniently done. White and Company will ship to outside points as directed — by the Sales Branch of the Ontario Fisheries Depart- _ ment. The Government fish will be sold at a fixed price. This, however, has not been decided upon, but it is thought that trout and white fish, which last year retailed at 12144 cents a pound will Pe retailed this year for about 15 cents. H. 8S. Berner & Company, 82-92 Beaver street, New York, are buying regularly monthly shipments of large quantities of fish skins such as_ sharks, porpoise, whales and other large fish skins without scales. | Heretofore there has been no market for ‘such skins and it is possible that a profitable business might be worked up by some readers of the Canadian Fisherman The Perfection Motor Company, Canadian agents f the well-known Caille Perfection Motors have moved from 308 Craig street to much larger and more central quarters at 380 St. James street, Montreal. CANADIAN Correspondence _ FISHERY BOARD FOR SCOTLAND. Edinburgh, 8th April, 1918. or, The Canadian Fisherman, Montreal, Canada: Sir—I observe from the issue of the ‘‘Canadian fisherman’’ for December last a statement to the effect that the Food Controller, with the consent of my Board, has suspended all fishing laws in so far as affect Scotland, and as this statement is incorrect may mislead those interested in fishery adminis- n I should feel obliged if you would correct it. der made by the Food Controller simply con- ‘powers upon my Board to suspend fishery laws when, and in such areas as they thought fit. y of the Order is enclosed herewith for your in- ion. : I am, Sir, Your obedient servant, DAVID T. JONES, Staff Paymaster, R. N. R., Secretary. VICTORIA FISHERIES PROTECTIVE ASSOCIATION. Baddeck, C. B., Nova Scotia, . April 25, 1918. of the ‘‘Canadian Fisherman,’’ Montreal: r Sir,—I am sending the enclosed letter to all - members, in Montreal, Halifax, Sydney, Glace Moncton, Boston and twelve or fifteen other . As the reform just made by the Department local Fishery Service is a radical one—taking it olitics and transferring it to the Civil Service ion—peérhaps you may be able to find room for raph about it. I had some correspondence with eee or four years ago when we were trying to this reform about. . Very truly yours, GEORGE KENNAN, : Secretary. VICTORIA FISHERIES PROTECTIVE ASSOCIATION. acAskill, Pres. George Kennan, See. See Baddeck, C.B., Nova Scotia, i April 25, 1918. r Sir,—In November, 1914, the Secretary of this jiation, by direction of its Executive Committee, to the Honorable G. J. Desbarats, Deputy Minis- the Naval Service in Ottawa, a long and eare- considered report upon the state of the inland ies of Cape Breton Island, and the urgent neces- f giving better protection to the trout and sal- n the Cape Breton rivers. In that report, and in * one made the following spring, this Association ectfully urged the adoption of certain important sures of reform, as follows: kuz That, if practicable, the Fishery Service be taken olly out of politics, and that Fishery officers be n and appointed for merit only and without re- to political considerations. That the force of more than 200 guardians then ally engaged in protecting rivers and brooks be n to about 50, by dismissing men who were not , or who rendered political services only. That the money saved by the dismissal of 150 un- FISHERMAN 721 necessary guardians be used to increase largely the salaries of men who should be chosen for merit only, who should do no political work, and who should de- vote all of their time to an effective patrol of the streams. After some correspondence, the Department decided, in the spring of 1918, that the reforms asked for, al- though desirable in themselves, were not practicable at that time. This Association then asked that, as a temporary and experimental measure, the Department appoint at least twelve ‘‘special’’ or head guardians, two each for the rivers Margaree, Middle, Baddeck, Mira, North and Clyburn; that it pay them increased salaries, and that it require them to devote all of their time to an effective patrol of the streams and to real protection of the fish through the prevention of dynamiting, spearing, netting and other illegal prac-. tices. This request was granted in part. In April, 1915, the Deputy Minister of the Naval Service noti- fied Inspector McLeod and this Association that it would appoint six ‘‘special’’ guardians, one for each of the.rivers above named, and would pay them a salary of $36.36 per month. These six ‘‘special’’ or head guardians were appointed in the spring of 1915, and their services. were so satisfactory that the number was gradually increased, from year to year, until in 1917 there were eleven. With this improvement in the Fishery Service the Association had to be content, because 1nore radical re- forms did not seem to be practicable in the existing state of affairs and in the midst of war. Our Execu- tive Committee and our members, however, as well as Inspector McLeod, have steadily sought to bring - about the complete separation of the Fishery Service from politics, and the organization of a smaller but better paid and more efficient force of guardians. The Department itself favored this reform, but there were many difficulties in the way, and it was not until last winter that they were finally surmounted. In January, 1918,.the Deputy Minister of the Naval Ser- vice informed the Secretary of this Association that ‘‘it has been decided to take the Fishery Service out of politics and place it under the control of the Civil Service Commission.’’ In transmitting this informa- tion the Deputy Minister was good enough to say: ‘““The Department appreciates very much not only the full expression of your views on all matters relating to the better protection of the fisheries, but also the co-operation of your Association with this Depart- ment’s officers in Cape Breton.”’ The details of the impending reorganization—num- ber of guardians, amounts of salaries, ete.—have not yet been fully worked out; but we are assured by the De- partment that appointments of guardians will here- after be made under the supervision and direction of the Civil Service Commission, for merit only, and without any reference whatever to political consider- ations. There is reason also to believe that the force will be greatly reduced; that salaries will be material- ly increased; that all incompetent men will be weeded out and kept out, and that the Island will shortly have, under the supervision of the Civil Service Com- mission and the direction of Inspector McLeod, a bet- ter and more effective Fishery Service than it has ever before known. ¢ In order, however, that these and other betterments ° may be secured and preserved, it is essential that this Association be not only maintained, but strengthened: for future work. Its relations with the whole Fishery 722 Administration are now sympathetic and cordial; its influence is steadily increasing, and it- can render valuable assistance, both to the Department and to the Inspector, by watching the work of the guardians ; by co-operating with the Civil Service Commission in the selection of suitable men, and by impressing upon the publie mind the importance and necessity of fish con- servation, which, in the strain of a long-continued war and in the impending years of world-wide, food short- age, will become more important than ever before. Details of the work done by the Association in the last two years will be submitted to~the members at the next annual meeting, which will be held in July. Very truly yours, GEORGE KENNAN,. Secretary. Beaver Valley, Port Essington, B.C., April 18, 1918. Editor, Canadian Fisherman: Dear Sir,—In your issue of May, 1917, you appeal to fishermen to do their best, ‘‘to fish hard, to- fish for fish and fish for your country.”’ For several years I have asked men in official positions to look into the sea-gull matter. Am I not right in. stating that one gull eats more young salmon in its life than any one fisherman can catch? Yet they are protected. In four years from now if sea- gulls were destroyed there would be a large increase in the salmon run and no talk of closing the river. Saw-bills should have a bounty on them and seals should have a larger bounty to induce men to hunt them, and we hear that the present bounty is removed. The general fisherman takes what he can catch, but settlers have the future to think of and this year of all years we wish to make our catch a large one. Every ‘fish helps, and every young salmon a gull eats, a seal destroys means a serious shortage. Patrol boats should be unnecessary, but they are not and they do good work, but the gulls do far more harm in a season than they do good. Can anything be done tmong the medium of your paper? If there were people of independent means, saw- bill, gulls and seals would be sport, but fishermen are not usually too well blessed with money. Yours faithfully, R. E. LAMBLY. If this letter does one scrap towards getting rid of these pests I shall have done a little towards ‘‘my bit.’’ May 20th, 1918. W. R. Spooner, Esq., Chairman Transportation Committee, Canadian Fisheries Assoc., Montreal, P.Q. Dear Sir,—Referring to our letter to you of May 16th, calling your attention to tariffs issued by the Canadian Government Railways, covering fish from points in Eastern Canada to Montreal, and points West, showing increase over and above the 15% increase granted by the Board of Railway Commissioners ‘re- cently. We took this matter up with the Canadian Government Railways through the Board of Trade and are to-day in receipt of a wire from Moncton, stating that the Canadian Government Railways would pro- tect the rate from Mulgrave to Montreal as published under Tariff No. C. A. 62, effective March 15th, pend- ing an opportunity of further discussing the matter. CANADIAN FISHERMAN crease in rates granted by the Board of Railway Co -a protest against this second inerease, and endea _under the regulations of the Canada Food Board. ‘mie’’ Johnston is back east on a trip, and B. & M. from his annual trip through the Prairie cities. ‘ous. : May, 1918. No mention is made of rates to Quebee City, and — points in Ontario, to which we also objected, but pre-— sume these will be discussed as soon as a meeting can be arranged between the various parties interested. 4 As the matter now stands. we have a rate from Mul- — grave to Montreal on fresh fish in carload lots 341pe and less than carloads 46c, which is what we thought — we should have. Yours truly, x “MARITIME FISH CORPORATION, Limited. _ Per. H. Welham. May 16th, 1918. W. R. Spooner, Esq., Chairman Transportation Committee, Canadian Fisheries Assoc., Montreal P.Q. Dear Sir,—Re tariffs issued by the Canadian Gove ment Railway as follows: C. A. 53 superceded by A. 61, effective March 15th, 1918, covering 15% missioners. We have since received another ta from the Canadian Government Railways. C. A. 63 effective May 15th, which cancels C. A. 61 and shows a further inerease of approximately 11%. ; . Also C. A. tariff 54 cancelled and replaced by C. 62, effective March 15th, showing 15% increase. have since received another tariff, C. A. 64, effecti May 15th, which cancels C. A. 62, showing a second crease of ‘approximately 15% to some points. We ject to this further increase yery strenuously, a would ask you to call a meeting of the Transportati Committee of our Association, with a view to lodg to have tariffs cancelled. Yours truly, MARITIME FISH CORPORATION, Limited Per. H. Welham. Mr. A. L. Hager returned to Vancouver on May § after a prolonged visit in the Eastern cities. There is a decided shortage of herring bait in Pri Rupert — the usual herring run having failed. remedy is suggested by using shack bait, which co be procured from the inedible fish caught by Rupert steam trawler. : The steam trawler ‘‘James Carruthers,’’ of Pri Rupert, landed 120,000 lbs. of flatfish and cods April 22nd — the whole caught within eight da These fish are being distributed throughout the be Over 100,000 Ibs. of flatfish and cods were shippe from Prince Rupert to Western points during ee two weeks in April. A brisk demand is being e lished for these excellent fish. Sandy Bogie, who for many years was in charge 0 ) the Vancouver business for Butterfield and Mack and later foreman for the Vancouver Ice and Cold Storage Co., is back with the old firm again, as ‘‘Jim- sisted that ‘‘Sandy’’ come back and take no Harry ae of the Crown Fish Market has returr reports the fish business good, and everyone prey bp Labor i is short, however, RE CHICAGO HALIBUT CONFERENCE. Following the International halibut conference at cago, on March 21st, which was called by the United tates Food Administrators on recommendation of the tate Food Administrators of Washington and Oregon, 9 regulate the price of Pacific Coast halibut at 16¢ sablefish at 8¢ f.o.b. Seattle. The Canada Food ard decided not to concur in the attempt to arbi- arily fix these prices. This conference was attended by several American cers and distributors, the United States Food nistration being represented by Mr. Kenneth er, and the Canadian Food Board by Capt. F. W. AC Other Canadian representatives were s. A. L. Hager, Vancouver; T. H. Johnston, Prince t; C. P. Rhodes, Calgary ; W. Douglas, Win- D. J. Byrne, Montreal and J. J. Harpell, of the dian Fisheries Association, Montreal. complete hearing of the question of halibut and cod production and distribution was had and adjournment a stenographic copy of all evidence was forwarded to the Canada Food Board for ration and on April 12th, the following state- was issued by the Chairman of the Canada Food oard and sent to Mr. Kenneth Fowier, Division of ish Industries, United States Food Administration, hington : “Tt has been brought to our attention from time o time that the price of halibut and sablefish should be fixed by Order and I note that on eal »f the United States Food Administration, Division of Fisheries an international conference of Amer- ean producers and distributors of halibut, was held at Chicago on March 21st. This conference was attended by Capt. F. W. Wallace, of the Fish ection of the Canada Food Board, and certain producers and dealers in halibut from the Do- nion. “A full transcript of the proceedings at this eting is at hand and also a copy of the report f Capt. Wallace. - “The Canada Food Board considered the hali- but problem in detail last fall and undertook to solve it by popularizing other fish, such as cods, t fish and herring. As a result halibut has to a considerable extent been side-tracked and at present there are wholesale distributors in the Dominion with stocks of halibut on hand that will have to be sold at a loss. Canadian consumers are taking up the use of other fish with enthusiasm _ going easy on halibut. called at the instance of the State Food Adminis- __trators of Washington and Oregon who state that halibut and sablefish are the only fish other than salmon procurable in the set a of Washington and Oregon. _ “Halibut is admittedly in the luxury class. It is becoming increasingly scarce and within a few years, the Pacific halibut fisheries will be a thing of the past. ge “Regulating the price of halibut will not benefit _ the situation. The difference between the present competitive prices and regulated prices would not nount to much and would probably reflect back le fishermen whom if prices did not appeal CANADIAN “Tt is evident that the Chicago meeting was. FISHERMAN 723 production’ not only of halibut but of other fish. It has been the consistent policy of the Canada Food Board to avoid price fixing by Order except where temporarily necessary ‘it being, as you know, a most dangerous expedient. The Canada Food Board, therefore, does not concur in the proposal to fix a wholesale price of halibut or sablefish.’’ APRIL SEA FISHING RESULTS. The weather on the Atlantic during April of the present year was not favourable for fishing operations, especially in the smaller craft inshore. And yet. the outstanding feature of the month’s work was an in- crease of over 28,000 hundredweights, of cod and had- dock, landed in Nova Scotia, compared with the catch in April last year. This is all the more gratifying be- -cause of the fact that the catch of these fish in April last year showed an equally great increase over that in April 1916, The increase in both years was due, mainly, to a larger spring catch by the Lunenburg banking fleet. The catch of lobsters during the month 22,706 hundredweights, against 35,295 in April last year. The falling off was due, largely, to abnormal ice con- ditions and unsuitable weather. ‘With better weather during the latter part of the month, lobsters were abundant and fishing results good westward of Hali- fax. The current lobster season opened on the 15th of November last, and up to the end of April the total pack was 9,341 cases, while 18,543 hundredweights were shipped in shell to market. ~ During the corresponding period in the preceding year the pack was 16,279 cases and the shipment in shell 31,819 ewts. The catch of alewives in St. John Harbour was al- most 9,000 hundredweights less than a year ago. A much larger proportion of the catch was used fresh or smoked, than in previous years. The sardine cateh in Charlotte County, N.B., was only half that of April last year, and about one-third of that of April, 1916. Many of the weirs were dam- aged by iee and rough weather in the course of the winter, and are not yet in fishing order. One lobster fisherman was drowned off Cumberland County, N.S. In the Northern and Vancouver Island districts, over 8,000 hundredweights of herring were landed against 200 hundredweights during April last year. This was offset by a shortage of almost 8,000 hundredweights in the southern district. The halibut catch for the whole of British Columbia in April this year, was 3,564 hundredweights less than in April last year, but 6,000 hundredweights greater than in April 1916, and 4,000 hundredweights greater than in April, 1915. The salmon catch in the western province for April was 3,860 hundredweights against 2,300 for the same period last year. Comparing the whole sea fisheries of Canada for April this year with last year, we find that salmon, cod, haddock, hake, pollock, and flat fish were landed in greater quantities while lobsters, herring, alewives, sardines, halibut, and clams were landed in diminish- ed quantities. The total value in first hands amounted to $1,153,- 040.00 against $1,008,955.00, 724 FISH-FREEZING. (Bulletin 86, Educational Dept., New England Fish Exchange.) Plants engaged in freezing fish are doing conserva- tion work of the most important kind, according to Ernest D. Clark, investigator in fish for the United States Bureau of Agriculture. In a recent interview he said: ‘‘But for the fact that fish can be frozen and held in storage for months without important change in food value or flavor, vast quantities of fish would go to waste, and this valu- able nitrogenous food and substitute for meat would be scarce or even unobtainable, except in the smoked, salted, or canned form, during a large part of the year. The additional fact that fish properly frozen and in- closed in a protective glaze of clear ice may be ship- ped long distances without deterioration permits many inland communities to obtain in the winter fav- orite varieties taken from distant waters. ‘“Without such conservation bluefish would be on the market for only a few weeks, and then mostly in the vicinity of certain waters; salmon, unless canned or smoked, would be unknown in many sections; there would be no country-wide interchange of halibut, pike, mackerel, smelts and other popular fish; and during the winter, when storms prevent fishing and schools of fish migrate to deep water or southward, fish of many varieties would be a costly delicacy instead of oceupying their matter-of-fact place on the table, ‘‘Bach fishing season large quantities were saved, as they still are, by canning, smoking, salting and pickling. Freezing and storage, however, has the .ad- vantage over these other methods, in that it does not alter the flavor or appearance of fish, and therefore makes available months later, in almost the natural condition, the spring or summer catches of seine or hook. ‘‘The fish-freezing plants located at many points on our coasts and the Great Lakes. and constituting an important industry, are becoming increasingly use- ful as sources of nitrogenous food to make up the de- . ficiencies in the meat supply. Their work is true food conservation. _Harvests of fish, unlike land crops, add to rather than take from the fertility of our soils. Meat represents the conversion by animals of grain or other foodstuffs into another form of food. Fish, however. represents the conservation of valueless aqua- tie vegetation or animal material into human food, and. had merely for the labor of harvesting, they are a net gain in the food supply. \ ‘“‘The average period of storage for fish, as shown bv investigation and statistics. is anroximately only eight months. Much frozen fish, however. is sold within a few months after it is stored, and only rarely are hatches of fish held as long as twelve months. Careful analysis of fish pronerly stored for such neriods fails to indicate any important change in the food value of the fish. or to reveal any noticeable alter- ation in the flavor. To studv in a practical way the effect of freezing storage on flavor; a test was arrang- ed with a large groun of people who were unaware they were being used for subiects. These people were served half portion of fresh fish (mackerel) and a half portion of the same species of fish properly frozen and stored for nine months. The average individual was unable to distinguish between the fresh fish and CANADIAN FISHERMAN ~ May, 1918. © 4 the frozen fish and a number expressed a preference — for the frozen lot. See ° ‘‘Fresh fish, properly frozen, glazed and held at ~ low temperatures for nine months or a year show no 7 important changes in composition to the food chem- | ist or bacteriologist. No lessening of palatability — noticeable to the average housewife occurs. This is to © be expected, as freezing, unlike most other preserva-— tive measures, takes nothing from the fish and adds ¥ nothing to it, except a thin outer covering of ice, — which soon melts upon thawing the fish for consump- © tion. The low temperatures at which the flesh is held in storage are well designed to prevent chemical or — other changes over a number of months. The freezer — ean deliver fish practically as good as, but not better — than, that which it receives. a ‘“To determine the behavior of fish under storage, — the Bureau of Chemistry held fish for the excessively — long period of twenty-seven months in cold storage — under its control. At different times sample lots of — fish were withdrawn and analyzed. These studies — showed no significant difference in composition be- | tween the frozen fish and fresh fish of the same species. — Of special interest is the fact that no loss of those — nitrogenous constituents which give to fish its chief — food value was noted, ae ‘“When frozen fish have thawed, they are as per- — ishable as fresh fish, and should be consumed as quick- — ly as possible. Even partial thawing lessens greatly — the perfect protection of glazing and hard freezing. — Retailers, therefore, should make every effort to have — their frozen fish reach them with glaze unimpaired. — ‘After the fish reach them, the retailers should make — every effort to keep them hard frozen and glazed un- — til they are actually sold. This best can be accomplish- — ed by ordering frequently and not in excess of imme- — diate sale. Customers should be encouraged to buy fish in the hard-frozen state, either to be thawed ou to order by the retailer or, even better, delivered t the house-wife hard frozen. She then should plae them in a covered utensil in the refrigerator, or oth cold place, and allow them to thaw gradually. Fis never should be thawed by exposure to heat or by soa ing in either cold or warm water. Such rapid thaw ing lessens their food value, and tends to dissolve o flavors essential to their palatability.’’ THE LOBSTER QUESTION FROM THE VIEW POINT OF NATIONAL UTILITY. _Now that the fisherman is taking the season’s to of the delicious crustacean known as the lobster, fro the sea that holds so much for our good, the questio: of how to conserve food, makes wide the Government chance to enhance the value of the lobster, both the fisherman and to the consumer. A few years ag the apple situation demanded drastic measures, and a cook book was prepared, showing how apples might be used to advantage. To-day, we are being told th it is necessary to save beef, wheat, and bacon, for the — sorely tried people overseas. Now, a great many peo-— ple, are using lamb, veal, and mutton, in the desire to- be patriotic, and leave all of the beef and bacon free” for export. But recent publications are carrying 2 ticles advocating that shoddy be used in lieu of go woolen cloth, because the greater demand for mutto has of course, depleted the supply of wool. The lo ster, being in season, is cheaper than mutton, and just. as nourishing. When the season is over, the supp y% of canned varieties will be available, and if the same a - May, 1918. > _ interest were taken in the lobster trade that once sav- _- ed the apple business, ,would it not be good nation- ally? The answer is emphatically: ‘‘Yes.’’ - The poacher too, might be looked after. As a seed lobster, from fourteen to thirty-six oun- ees, produces 21,699 increase, it may readily be seen _ what damage is.done by breaking the laws made for the conservation of the Canadian lobster supply. The average fisherman, as well as many other peo- _ ple, have no time at their disposal for enquiry along _ this line, and a statement to the effect of fish increase as quoted above, provokes much remark. In our _ schools, a question as to what was the earning capa- _ city of the fisheries of Canada for the past year, can- not usually be answered. This should not be, when the fisheries are nearly half of our National life. _ We have frequent lectures about diverse subjects, _ good in their way, but sometimes unnecessary. The lecturer who might be sent out to educate the public re the use and conservation of the lobster, would be giving information of national importance. As we _ must be clothed, and our armies as well, why not do _ something in the way of an advertisement, to show _ that it is better to consume lobsters than mutton, and _ that by doing so, beef and bacon can be as well saved. | MARGARET McLAREN. ae ONTARIO IN FISH BUSINESS The entry of Ontario into the fish business has caus- ed a great deal of discussion and created an interesting situation both from the standpoint of the public and those engaged in the business. It is a natural se- ‘quence that those who have investments in equipment for the buying and distribution of fish should oppose an undertaking that may become sufficiently extensive to absorb the major portion of this important industry. It is quite as natural that the people who own the _ waters and the fish, and who have for years, for certain ees, extended by license the privilege to fishermen to help themselves should, under pressure of high meat ‘prices, seek some curtailment of these privileges, and ‘in part, at least, appropriate them to their own in- terests. It may as well be recognized first as last that, judging from the record of the Hon. Finlay Macdi- armid, Minister of Public Works and Highways, and administrator of the Game and Fisheries Department, _ that Ontario is in the fish business to stay. Those who profess to know the situation after careful study ad- vance the argument that what has happened in con- __neetion with the Hydro-E'ectric proposition, and other _ utilities the basis of which is the right to use the prop- erty of the people for private uses, is happening in con- “nection with the fishery industry. No argument can alter the concrete facts of any situation, and the con- _ erete facts as announced by Hon. Mr. Macdiarmid, are that more fishermen are eager to sign the Govern- ment agreement to allocate one-fifth of the total catch _ to provincial purposes, should they be reauired, than ever before. and that after six months of initial ex- perience and organization there is a balance of profit in the hands of the Department of $3.940. ___ During the recent Session of the Ontario Legislature _ Hon. Mr. Macdiarmid gave some data in the course of his explanation to the House that may serve as a fair indication of the Ontario Government’s intention and _ position. For the first six months the Province hand- led 451,760 pounds of fish, The amount paid to the CANADIAN FISHERMAR 725 fishermen aggregated $26,532.71. Fish from Lake Nipigon figured extensively and the expectation is that they will be a large factor in the approaching season. For the first.six months shipments from Lake Nipigon aggregated 161,739 pounds of fish divided as follows: Whitefish, 37,714 pounds, trout, 39,715 pounds, pick- erel 5,949 pounds, mullets 26,735 pounds. The winter operations produced 29,921 pounds of whitefish, 15,280 pounds of trout, 325 pounds of pickerel, 4,300 pounds of mullets and 1,800 pounds of ling. The fishermen in Lake Nipigon are not under license, but operate under contract. They receive 434 cents per pound for white- fish, trout and pickerel, and one cent a pound for mul- let. In the winter time the prices ranged from 2 cents a pound for mullets to 814 cents for the finer fish. Charges incidental to the boxing and icing of fish must be added to this, but in the cold months ice is not re- quired. One feature has impressed those who have given some attention to the subject and that is the overhead charges. What has now been spent on capi- tal account will provide for a very great yield of fish and as the yield increases the cost must be lessen- ed. Some 150,000 pounds of herring and whitefish were purchased from fishermen at other points and. _ sold during the winter, and success has attended so far every move the Province has made. Out of total re- ceipts of $36,610 the profit announced by the Minister of $3,940 must be gratifying to him as it will be to many, and it is idle to suppose that in the light of experience these men are are not fully informed on the subject that is receiving their attention. No juggling of figures can change the facts, and the intimation has vone forth that the prospects for the provincial fish business are exceptionally bright. Eat more fish. The fish eating public has steadily increased as the figures submitted to the Legislature by the Hon. Mr. MacDiarmid will show. The amount of fish distribut- ed through the Government may be expected to in- erease. The Province sold to Toronto vendors 139,- 284 pounds. 45.500 pounds in Ottawa, 16.500 pounds in Windsor, 21,200 pounds in Hamilton, 10.000 pounds in Woodstock. 12.300 pounds in London. 14,500 pounds in Guelph, 10.500 pounds in Galt, 18,200 pounds in Port Arthur, and amounts varying from 100 pounds to 6,000 pounds in many other places. Inquiry at the Food Controller’s office elicits the in- formation that the consumption of fish has increased from 25 to 100 per cent. since the prices of meat start- ed to soar, and with reports from all parts of the Dominion announcing the shortage of live stock. there is a certainty that the whole fishing industry will loom materially larger than ever before.—(Com.) Mackerel have struck in on the Nova Scotia coast. and the stop, although not a large one. as mackerel stops go, is almost a record for the first. To-day the trap at Cranberrv-Head took 47 barrels, and that at Byrnes Point took 75 barrels. The fish are of excel- lent quality and size, running almost two and a half pounds each, they are retailing at 35 cents each. Ship- ping facilities are in a deplorable condition and there is going to be considerable difficulty in marketing the fish if any quantity is caught. The operators are great- ly worked, *CANADIAN 726 ARE FRESH FISH DEALERS ROBBING THE PUBLIC ? M. DURAND A leading Gloucester daily quoted halibut wholesale at 22 cents per pound, while a large retail store on an- other page of the paper that same day advertised a ‘ bargain sale’ of halibut at 40 cents per pound. The difference between wholesale and retail prices on other - fish offered was in about the same proportion. Cod and haddock, for instance, were then bringing $3.50 to $5.- 50 per ewt. and retailed at 10 cents per pound. Now, as nearly everyone knows, Gloucester is the greatest fishing port in America and those unfamiliar with the fresh fish business would be inclined to say at once that dealers there are ‘‘robbing the public,’’ just as the unthinking charge in Canadian cities. With ‘food administrators’, ‘Market commissioners’ and the host of newspaper writers constantly on the watch for anything that may hold possibilities of an investigation, it must be evident that there is justification for. the large advance in retail over wholesale fish prices in Gloucester—as well as other cities—or ,the dealers would soon pay the penalty for extortion. And this justification is readily discovered by those who take the trouble to dispassionately investigate market conditions in almost any centre. It consists in the fact that fresh fish is nearly the most expensive food product that can be handled. First, it is extreme- ly perishable. The least change in temperature or carelessness in handling will send fresh fish stale in twenty-four hours, or even a shorter period. Because of its perishable nature, fresh fish must be disposed of quickly. When a vessel arrives at her wharf in Halifax, for example, the firm that purchases her cargo of fresh cod cannot confine its attention to de- livering ‘three pounds of nice fish by eleven o’clock sure’ for the Smith’s Friday dinner. There are probably 250,000 pounds to be disposed of in the briefest possible time. That involves telegraphing fish dealers all the way from the Atlantic to the Pacific Coast. Then come orders that must be checked, packed, re- checked, expressed or freighted to various points seattered over the country. The item of containers. alone is a costly one, especially now. A freight car may not be immediately available. Someone must put in hours telephoning and interview- ing railway people before the car is secured and placed for loading.. Teams must be found and all the details of loading and shipping attended to carefully and promptly. The car must be iced. If a single one of the many details connected with shipping is neglected, a loss of thousands of dollars may, and often is, met with in a few days. For, no earthly organization is perfect. Mistakes will always be made. The people who make the mistakes, or their employers, pay the price. When unloading and shipping are completed, there remains the important matter of collecting the money. In most eases, this is done through banks. The book- keeping department of a wholesale fresh fish business is one that requires a large staff and the utmost care, for prices and customers are constantly changing. A volume of correspondence must be handled. Thus we find that the handling of cargoes of fresh fish, from the wholesaler’s standpoint alone, requires (1) weighers and checkers (2) salesmen (3) shippers - and packers (4) book-keeping and- banking depart- FISHERMAN May, 1918. — ments (5) correspondent and stenographers (6) gen- — eral manager and (7) the employment of a large © amount of ready capital and nearly unlimited re- — sourcefulness. ‘To fill these positions efficiently is — not an easy matter, and no one worth having can be ~ hired cheaply these’ days. Without going into details, — it may be stated that the overhead expense of a lead-_ ing wholesale firm in the Nova Scotia fresh fish busi- — ness today is upwards of $250,000 per annum. So — much for the wholesaler’s side of the fresh fish trade. The retailer must pay for all the above before he can — begin to do business. Then come rent, office and sell a ing staffs, delivery, book-keeping, collecting taxes, in-— surance and interest on investment. By the time Mrs. Smith has her Friday dinner on the table, it has oceu-— pied the time and attention of perhaps several hun- | dred persons. Does Smith ever think of that when he- 4 grumbles at the high cost of delicious food? a If people_ever expect to. get fish “ cheap’ again, they will have to go back to the primitive method of eatch 4 ing the fish and bringing dinner home themselves. How — many, in this age, have time or inclination to thus sols re the food problem? Most people will agree. that | ‘liv and let live’ is a saner policy. ‘ WANTED—CANADIAN CANNED MACKEREL, A. BROOKER KLUGH, Among all the fine food fish which we have in Ci ada there is none better than the mackerel. Exeell and distinctive in flavour, firm of flesh, and ire fromm small bones, the mackerel is of the very h . esculent quality, ig The mackerel is an inhabitant of the North aed lantic. On the coast of this continent it is found from — Cape Hatteras to the Straits of Belle Isle, while in European waters it occurs from Norway to the Me is terranean. ie This species comes in on the coast of North America — _from a south-easterly direction, first appearing in the | spring off Cape Hatteras, in the Bay of Fundy about the middle of May, and in the Gulf of St. Lawre1 in June. In the fall they leave Canadian bnssises ea in November. The spawning grounds of this species are in rat deep water from Long Island to the Gulf of St. La rence, and the spawning season extends from May July, June being the main spawning month. ae The mackerel feeds upon the: small crustaceans and other small forms of animal life which occur in the sea, its favourite crustacean being the minute cone known as the ‘‘red feed.” Mackerel frequently occur in immense schools, such school being recorded which was half-a m wide and twenty miles long. : The mackerel fishery in Canada has not increa during recent years, but has rather on the other he fallen off. Some twenty years ago the cateh of C adian mackerel was valued at about $2,000,000, w in.recent years it has fluctuated. between $800, 000 and $1,600,000. This falling off is not due to any. dey tion in the supply of mackerel.as this species, like herring, is ocean-wide in its distribution; and is” like the halibut, lobster and oyster, confined to ee paratively narrow limits. The falling off is due the fact that this fishery is now prosecuted i ina rat half-hearted manner. Of the catch of mackerel in Canadian waters abi one-quarter is sold in the fresh condition, the an: ts se ailed. x . condition in which this superb fish reaches the inland markets is most satisfactory. It arrives in _the inland towns with no flavour left except that of salt. It is in fact so strongly brined that even hours of. soaking fail to reduce its saltiness to a point which renders it in the least degree palatable. I do not for .brined in order. that they will keep in~a satisfactory condition until they reach the consumer, and it would distinct gain to the trade in sea- fish in inland lo- ies, which we are doing our best to further, if a experiments were undertaken to find out the min- amount of salt which will keep the fish satis- there is a far better way of treating mackerel nland consumption than by salting, and that is anning the fresh fish. Before the war we Were to obtain most excellent. canned fresh mackerel Norway—a high-grade product which reached onsumer in a condition very nearly equal to fresh- ught mackerel eaten within a few hours of leaving water. Now this Norwegian product is entirely e market and now is the chance for enterpris- nadian canners to put up a really good canned rel, an article of such quality that when the is over and Norwegian fish once again comes into yetition with our Canadian product, it will be to hold the market. e@ have the mackerel, we have the factories, and I ve we have the men in the fish-canning business ean, if they devote their attention to the matter, h out a product equal to that of any other country. m much gratified by the fact that our sardine fac- es are now putting out a most excellent product, uct which fulfills the requirements I pointed an article-on the sardine industry last year. If an be done with the. sardine it can be done with OBSERVATIONS ON THE EARLIER HIS. TORY OF THE GRAND BANKS By COLIN McKAY. d and the leSser banks which lie off the Can- d? wery schoolboy knows the story that in 1001 A.D. eelander named Bjorn, sailing to Greenland, in the Red, he organized an expedition, and sailed a nd New England. But nothing came of these 1 in Europe generally. The next discoverers of Basque coast; at any rate there is some evidence accustomed-to make regular yoyages ‘to. the of Cape Breton and Newfoundland. “OF course; _ to take -fish for the markets at home. ed that the Basque fishermen were chasing he Grand Banks a century and a half be- CANADIAN Now there is no fish which suffers from i improper treatment than the mackerel and a moment believe that these fish need be so heavily years before Columbus. | tua how were the Grand Banks of. “New:). ast discovered? And by whom were they first of his father, was swept by a tempest to the’ - | of Labrador, and that later along with Leif, son. n the American coast, touching at points in. Nova. veries, and little or nothing was known’ about- ca appear to have been Frénch fishermen. ‘from. support of this claim. These fishermen. were hunt- whales ; naturally . they went farther and far-. afield in pursuit of ‘their prey; ‘and-it is claimed: generations before the discoveries of Columbus exploitation of new lands. red that the waters fréquented , by whales — ming with cod: and - other’ fish, and. inci-’. FISHERMAN 727 fore the first voyage of Columbus. In his Traite d’Hydrographie, published in Paris in 1667, R. P. Fournier relates a story giving the credit of being the first discoverer of the Antilles to a Basque navigator. It is recorded that a pilot, a native of Saint-Jean de Luz, trading in a small ship to Madero, “was blown to the westward by a succession of heavy storms. After 29 days the wind subsided, and present- ly an island was sighted—believed to be St. Dominique. After taking wood and water, the ship laboriously made her way back to Europe, and out of the original crew of 17 men, five landed at Ferciere. There they were lodged at the house of Christopher Columbus, then employed making charts; and shortly after, as a result of their hardships and privations, they died. It is concluded that the story told by these returned sea- men fired the imagination of the chart maker from Genoa, and induced him to plan that expedition be- yond the rim of the known world which opened vir-: gin continents to the feet of the white races. Whatever may be the truth about these claims con- cerning the discoyeries of the French, there is no doubt that the Basques were pioneers in the prosecu- tion of the Grand Bank fisheries. In a letter addressed to Henry VII. of England in the year 1497, Sebastien Chabot, refers to the Isles of Bacaleos, as if it was an appelation well known; and it cannot be doubted that this name was of Basque origin, since the Basques were the only people in Europe who ealled cod fish bacaleos, or bacallos. In the ‘‘History and Com- merce of the English Colonies in the American Hemi- sphere,’’ the author says: ‘‘The French have practiced the fisheries on the Banks of Newfoundland for many years—a long time before the English established themselves on the Island of Newfoundland. Accord- ing to the aecounts of some writers, the Basques fre- quented the new world.’’ R. J. Valin in his ‘‘Commentaires sur 1’Ordonnance de la Marine de 1681,’ says that the honor of creating the Grand Bank. fisheries is due. to the French, prin- cipally to the Basques of Cap- Breton near Bayonne, who discovered the American continent one hundred In the development’ of these fisheries the Basques were soon joined by the Bretons and Normans; and they baptized various banks and places in. Newfoundland and Cape Breton with French names retained to this: day. It may be asked why. the noise of these discoveries of the Basque fishermen was not. bruited abroad, or why the French kings did not early interest themselves in exploiting the possibilities of these new lands? The answer is not difficult. In what they saw of these new -lands: the ancient fishermen found little to wax en- -thusiastic about. They saw rock-bound inhospitable coasts, often shrouded in fog and mist, and surrounded by ice floes.. The King of France lived far from his Basque subjects, who only owed him a nominal allegi- ance, and possibly the news of these discoveries never reached his court. In any ease, the King would not be interested in maritime matters, as the France in which he. exercised any real power did not yet touch the sea. As for the great nobles, they were too busy quar- relling among themselves and with the King in the in- tervals of the crusades to interest themselves in the So it was not surprising that France made no effort to extend her dominions in the new world until the adventurers who followed Columbus returned with their marvellous tales of lands, clothed in luxuriant vegetation, and filled with fabulous wealth. =~] bo (@ 9) CANADIAN FISHERMAN May, 1918. Conscripting Pacific Fish for Western Consumers The Log of a Steam Trawler on the Pacific Ocean. By CAPT. F. WILLIAM WALLACE. Canada Food Board. Steam trawling on the Pacific Coast is not exactly a new venture. I do not know if it has been attempted by American Companies on the Pacific, but some years ago, a Grimsby concern, headed by Sir George Doughty of that. British fishing port, operated sev- eral steam trawlers out of Vancouver and other ports. The venture was a failure for several reasons, and the steamers which were brought out for the enterprise were sold and converted into hory halibuters and long-liners—the Canadian Fishing Company, of Van- eouver, now owning and operating some of the craft. In 1912, the Canadian Fish and Cold Storage Com- pany, Ltd., of Prince Rupert, B.C., brought three new steam trawlers out from England. These vessels— the ‘‘ Jas. Carruthers,’’ ‘‘G. E. Foster’’ and ‘‘ Andrew Kelly’’—were equipped as trawlers, but on arrival at Prince Rupert, the trawling gear was discarded and they were fitted out for dory halibuting, and latterly, as steam long-liners. The ‘‘Jas. Carruthers’’ was the first successful long-liner on the coast, and brought in many large halibut fares by this method of fishing. When the price of halibut started to sky-rocket, the ‘‘Jas. Carruthers’’ was again equipped with her trawling gear in 1917, and made several successful trips, but the market for the flatfish and cods caught was poor and the cost of operation made the venture unremunerative. Halibut prices still soaring, and the consumers of the Western Provinces complaining bitterly of the high cost of the substitute for meat, the Canada Food Board decided to introduce the various Paeifie flat- fish and cods (except sablefish) as an antidote, and made arrangements to have soles, plaice, brill, witches, skate, red, ling, and grey cod marketed in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba at a retail price of from 9 to 12 cents a pound. While a certain quantity of these fish are caught by the halibut fishermen on their hooks, and also by HEAVING UP A BIG BAG—10,000 LBS. OF FLAT- FISH AND CODS. May, 1918. REPAIRING a Sei ae small gasoline trawlers, yet it is to steam trawling we must look for the bulk of the supply. To supply the market being created by the Canada Food Board, the Rupert concern put the steam trawler “Jas. Carruthers’’ into operation in March, 1918. The writer made two trips on the trawler in April 1918, and had moving pictures made of the operations by an expert camera man. This film, when completed, will be part of the advertising propaganda of the Canada Fic THE CANADIAN FISHERMAN TRAWL. Food Board in popularizing Pacifie flat-fish and cods throughout the western provinces, The readers of the ‘‘Canadian Fisherman’’ who have read previous logs of the writer on various types of fishing craft—Atlantie and Pacific—may be interested in a brief account of Pacific Coast steam trawling. The ‘‘Jas. Carruthers,’’ built in 1912, is a steel, screw steamer of the regulation English trawler type. She is 95 tons register and equipped with triple ex- DRESSING FLATFISH. 730 pansion engines of 75 N.H.P., capable of steaming at an average speed of 10 knots per hour. Captain Charles Hills—a fishing skipper of 30 years experience in British smacks, trawlers and long-liners —is in command of the ‘‘Carruthers’’ and has been very suceessful in his trips up to date. The crew comprises 23 men—master, mate, two engineers, two firemen, two coal passers, two deckhands, cook, and twelve fishermen. In Great Britain, a trawler of the ‘‘Car- ruthers’’ size would be operated by half that num- ber of men. CANADIAN FISHERMAN May, 1918. with 150 fathoms of warp out, we towed for some 15 minutes, and hauled up. The slack_of the net was hauled up by hand after the boards came to the gallows, but the heaviest part of the haul was relieved by using the ‘‘lazy-deckie’’— stout ropes made fast to the net above the cod-end, and which were earried to the winch. When hove up enough, the strop was passed and the cod end: hove aboard by the ‘‘Jilson’’ tackle from the foremast. The cod end draw rope was pulled and a thousand pounds of fishy was spilled into the checkers. The cob-end TEN THOUSAND POUNDS OF CODS. FLATFISH AND On Saturday, April 13th, at 9a.m., we left Prince Rupert for the grounds. It was blowing and raining from the S.E. and after clearing the harbor and get- ting out into Hecate Straits, we found it too rough to fish, so we ran into Qlawdzeet Bay, on Stephen’s Is- land, and let go the anchor. It blew a gale of wind all Saturday and Sunday, but early Monday morning, it moderated and we up anchor, and steamed for the fishing grounds at 4 a.m. At 6 a.m., the skipper pick- ed up his bearings from the mountains on the horizon, and dropped the ‘‘Dan’’ or mark buoy over in 45 fathoms sand. After dropping the buoy, the gear was lowered away—worked on the starboard side—and HEAVING UP THE SLACK OF THE TRAWL NET, was made up and with a ‘‘Let her ramble!’’ from the skipper, the gear went. over the side again for more conscription of fish. The edible fish caught were varied. Plaice, soles, red cod, grey cod, long cod, skate, witches, and quite a number of halibut were captured. The usual garb- age in the way of dog-fish, long jaws, star fish, ground sharks and rat-fish came into the bag, but the ‘‘long- jaws’’ and ‘‘ratfish’’ were the principal unedible var- ieties caught, At this time of the year upon the Two Peaks ground, the plaice, skate and sole are the commonest variety Po ms “May, 1918. j 2 4 3 * } of flatfish caught. Brill and witches come along, later. Red cod, grey cod and long cod are caught in lesser proportion—the run is usually 75 per cent flat- fish and 25 per cent cods. _ The great ground sharks—‘‘Okettles,’’ the Grimsby men call them—(a name derived from the Icelandic _ “Hakell’’) are the greatest pests. Their rough hides ' rolling around in the trawl bag over the bottom chafes the net badly, and the great weight of them often bursts the cod end. We caught several of these brutes during the trip—some being 15 feet in length and weighing 2% tons. The name ‘‘shark’’ is a misnomer. There is very little shark-like about them except their appetite. hey are lazy, logy brutes without a kick in them. While alive, they lay sluggishly on the deck and suf- r themselves to be hoisted up with a tackle and ely handled in the process and there is not a flap A GROUND SHARK, CANADIAN FISHERMAN 731 of tail or snap of jaws in protest. They are usually hoisted up by the tail, and the tail is severed below the tackle strop and the carease drops into the sea—a feast, no doubt, for their brothers below. After sorting out the fish in the checkers, the scrap is hove out through the supper ports, and the market- able fish gutted and cleaned. Cods are headed at sea. Flatfish are headed and trimmed ashore. When the fish are stowed below in the held, the decks are washed down with a hose. Hauled the gear about every 75 minutes during the day and throughout the night, and the average catch was. 1000 lbs. a haul. The fishing went on without cessation until the morning of April 17th, when it commenced to blow again from the S.E. With a trip of 60,000 lbs. below, we steamed for Prince. Rupert and tied up at the dock five hours after leaving the fishing grounds. The second trip was somewhat similar. After dis- charging the catch, the trawler left porf on the 18th, and steamed to sea. A southeaster sent us _ into Qlawdzeet Bay (Squadaru) again, and we lay there until the next day. Mervin Larue, an expert camera man from the Pathescope Company, Toronto, accom- panied us to film the operation of ‘‘conscripting’’ flat- fish and cod. The first day on the grounds was dull and rainy, but the average hauls of 1000 lbs. per hour was made—day and night. Next day, which was fine and sunny, was ideal for picture taking, and several reels were run off. During the afterrioon, we struck good fishing, and while hauling up a record bag of some 10,000 Ibs. of fish, the whole cod-end parted while the trawl was coming over the rail, and the fish es- caped into the sea. The camera man filmed the acci- dent as it happened. Fishing was delayed for three hours until a new cod-end was spliced on to the net. Fishing continously until April 21st, we swung off for Rupert again with another 60,000 lbs. below— thus making two trips within eight days and landing 120,000 lbs. of fish. Barring accidents, and with fine weather, the trawler will average a trip of 100,000 lbs. per week throughout the summer. The importance of this new departure to the Pacific Fisheries cannot be over-estimated. A market is be- ing created for Pacific fish hitherto but little utilized, and which will be the salvation of the industry when the halibut fishing is played out. It also successfully introduces a method of fishing—the steam trawler— which “we predict will become the most popular me- thod in the Pacifie fisheries within a few years, The lobster industry is in a bad way—there is no room for doubt about that. We are now faced with he question as to whether we shall let this industry utterly decay or whether we shall attempt to build t up and to restore it to such a condition that it shall ontinue to yield a good revenue for all time. _ If the lobster industry in Canada is to be saved it “must be by the co-operation of the Government, the fishermen and the canners. Everyone concerned in e industry must be willing’ to look the facts square- - Saving the Lobster Industry By A. BROOKER KLUGH. for the sake of the perpetuation of the industry. The only other alternative is the annihilation of the in- dustry. There are undoubtedly some to whom a dime to-day looks larger than a ‘dollar a few years hence, and who would be quite willing to get all they can out of it now and then ‘‘stand from under’’ when the wreck comes. I do not for a moment believe that this is the attitude of the majority of the lobster fish- ermen and ecanners, and it is very necessary that all who have the interest of this industry at heart shall in the face and to forego a little immediate profit stand squarely behind the Government in any action 732 which may be taken and that they shall see that the few who will not take part in efforts for the conserva- tion of the industry are brought into line. In order that we may appreciate the serious decline of the lobster industry, let us look for a moment at the figures for the past twenty years. In 1897 there were 1,156,352 traps, in which were caught enough lobsters. to pr -ovide 25,183,100 pounds of live lobsters and 11,- 130,554 pounds of canned lobster, or an average per trap of 31.6 pounds. In 1906 there were 1,268,866 traps which provided 9,- 749,000 pounds of live lobsters and 10,104,764 pounds of canned lobsters, or an average per trap of 14.8 pounds. In 1915 there were 1,596,538 traps which provided 8,682,400 pounds of live lobsters and 7 5723,296 pounds of canned lobster or an average per trap of 9. 8 pounds, Thus, considering only the total catch, we see that the lobster fishery has declined three hundred per cent in twenty’ years. This in itself is serious enough but it is not the only serious aspect of the situation. The great decrease in the number of ‘‘berried’’ lob- sters and the decrease in size of the lobsters caught are equally ominous. In regard to the number of ‘‘berried’’ lobsters, that is females carrying eggs, we have the following data. The late J. H. Duvar, Fishery Inspector for Prince Edward Island, in his annual report for 1880, says: ‘‘The total proportion of lobsters in spawn does not, in most cases, as reported to me, exceed 10 per cent of the whole Island catch of both sexes. This shows that 1-5 of the females (20 per cent) carry ova.’’ In 1890 Lieutenant R. A. Gordon, of the Fisher- ies Protective service estimated that 66 per cent of the females caught carried eggs. During the summer of 1916 and again in 1917, Mr. Andrew Halkett was, at the request of the Biologi- eal Board, detailed by the Fisheries Department to go out with the fishermen and ascertain the relative numbers of males and females and the percentage of berried females. His averages for 1916 were 3.2 per cent of females with eggs and in 1917 5.3 per cent. Here we have then a decrease from 20 per cent (taking the lowest of the older figures to 5 per cent (taking the highest of the recent figures), that is, a decrease of 400 per cent in the numbers of berried females, Now with regard to decrease in size. In 1873 it was found that the average weight of the lobsters caught was 2.9 pounds. In 1909 the average weight was 1 ‘pound 3 ounces. Since 1909 there has been a further decline as is shown by the following measurements by Mr. Halkett :— Out of 2,929 lobsters measured in 1901, 12 were be- tween 7 and 8 inches; 253 between 8 and 9; 1,153 be- tween 8 and 10; 1,180 between 10 and 11; 288 between 11 and 12; 38 between 12 and 13; and 2 between 13 and 14 inches in length. Out of 505 measured in 1917, one was between 5 and 6 inches; 29 were between 6 and 7 inches; 91 between 7 and S$; 197 between 8 and 9; 132 between 9 and 10; 88 between 10 and 11; 11 between 11 and 12; 8 be- tween 12 and 13; and 1 between 13 and 14 inches. These figures show that whereas in 1909 the bulk of the lobsters caught were between 9 and 11 inches in length, in 1917 the bulk were between 7 and 10 inches. This shows a very serious decrease in size in the past eight years, and the seriousness of this aspect of the situation becomes all the more apparent when we -come CANADIAN FISHERMAN the hatcheries for the past 25 years. ste i9i8, to study the egg-fertility of females of different sizes, as shown in the following table: Number of Size. Age. eggs Aeris 8-10 ms -.).. SoS aS 4 yrs. 5,000 10) ds os PERS Hae) 5 10,000 12: ine. eA aaa 6-7 20,000 12 Une s. Basecae. ai BG 10 40,000 16 “tis ts ae ae RS 15 — 60,000-80,000 (Bins: Se ae TA SOS 18 100,000 This means that as breeders 20 9-inch lobsters are ; only equal to one 18-inch lobster. 4 Now that we have examined the figures which show so conclusively the great decline in the lobster indus- try we should enquire imto the eauses of this Geely These we inay enumerate as follows: . Over-fishing. ‘‘Brushing’’ the eggs -off the berried fonisten a selling these mother lobsters. 3. Fishing being carried on between June Ist and Ost. ist when the mother lobsters are hatching their 1 egus or laying their eggs. 4. The canning of very large numbers of small lopsters~-6—10 inches in length. | fi 5. The destruction of immense numbers of eges in ; What steps may be taken to save this industry? The first step has already been taken. Acting upon — 4 the advice of Dr. A. P. Knight of the Biological ater . of Canada the Department of Naval Service has clo ed the lobster hatcheries. For many years Dr. Knight and other biologists who have made a careful study of the lobster have pointed out that the hatcheri were not only failing to accomplish their purpose b entailed a waste of lobster eggs and of money. T hatcheries were established on the assumption th they would be as successful as fish hatcheries. B the fact that the habits of lobsters and of fish in re- gard to egg-laying are totally different was overlook- ed. The eggs of fishes are, in the great majori cases and in the case of all commercial fishes, e ed from the body of the female and then left. ' spawn is then at the mercy of every animal whieh : cares to feed upon it—and their name is legion. Therefore if the eggs are collected, hatched with ¢: and the young fry raised until they are able to s 7 degree at least to look after themselves, an Beton. conservation of eggs results. But the eggs of the © lobster are not left by the mother to their fate, they are carried about on the body of the female, they carefully aerated and protected, with the result that a very high percentage, in fact we might say all fertilized eggs, hatch out. It is true that once t young lobsters are hatched they are left to shift f themselves and are at the merey of their foes. os the hatcheries did no more than hatch the eggs a Pe then dump the young lobsters into the sea in an equally defenceless condition, or in fact under rather — more adverse conditions than when -hatched by t mother, as instead of being liberated a comparatively few at a given place and time, they were put into th sea in large quantities at one place, thus attracting — hosts of enemies. Further, the hatcheries did not sue- — ceed in hatching anything like the same percentage of — eggs as the mother lobster. Careful investigation in- — to the number of eggs hatched at one hatchery show- | ed that out of 71,000,000: eggs received, only 15,000,- 000 hatched. At the same hatchery the next seaso. May, 1918. yhen the liatchery staff made every effort to improve he output, doing everything in their power to make methods as efficient as possible, 30,000,000 eggs ut of 78,000,000 hatched—that is 40 per cent. At nother hatchery only 100,000 out of 61,000,000 eggs ere hatched, and at a third hatchery only 750,000 -of 195,000,000 eggs received were hatched. These tibly low percentages show that the hatcheries have been an absolute failure, not, be it understood, because of negligence on the part of the staffs of the hatcher- ies, but because the method was wrong. For one thing, he eggs were often received in no condition to hatch. B early as 1891 this was pointed out by Fish Com- issioner Wilmott, who says in his report: ‘‘It will be € eetly useless ever to anticipate any successful at the hatchery by allowing the fishermen or y hands to gather the eggs from the female lob- Millions and millions of the ova taken in this r at the outlying factories and sent to the hatch- proved to be useless. Only some seven millions were put out from 70 to 80 millions of eggs.’ CANADIAN When the futility of the lobster hatcheries was re- _ the first most obvious step was to try and find od which would hatch out a high percentage of obsters and then raise these lobsterlings to the stage, that is to the stage at which they first the habits of the adults. In the first three the young lobsters swim aimlessly about, at the surface of the water—a prey to every car- s creature of the sea. The extent to which e destroyed by their enemies is shown by some which I did at Leonardville, N.B. in 1913. An- a little distance off shore was a large lobster which were a number of female lobsters earry- ure eggs. Every evening between seven and *elock a vast number of young would hatch they would be swarming in the cage and in ter immediately about it. Yet early the next » when I drew a tow-net, a net of mesh so fine would have caught any young lobsters in its nee it gathered up myriads of crustacea ten small as first-stage lobsters, round and round e, both close to it and at some distance from it, ngle young-lobster was I able to find. When ung lobsters rea¢h the fourth stage, that is, eir third moult, they seek the bottom and are hide in crevices from their enemies. The prob- nm was to raise the young to this stage—and a 1 indeed it proved. The young lobsters evinced ays of dying than anyone had ever dreamed of. ied if the water was not sufficiently aerated, sank in masses to the bottom and smothered one , they died of starvation if not presented with rh ‘food and if given too much, the unused food ed and poisoned them, those which had not yet ed ate those which had just moulted, and were ft-shelled,’’ if the water was too warm they died, : if it was too cold they did not grow and moult rly. These various difficulties were overcome rious ways, but new difficulties arose, the chief s being diseases and superabundant growth of oms—microscopic water plants—on the young sters which choked up their gills and suffocated 1. No method of combatting these last difficul- as been found, and after many years of arduous the raising of lobsters to the fourth stage has on bandoned as impracticable. oo: soon as it became obvious that’ it was futile to FISHERMAN 733 try and raise lobsters to the fourth stage, Dr. Knight began another series of experiments. His main idea was that the numbef of ‘‘berried’’ lobsters (from 3.2 per cent to 5.3 per cent, as we have already seen) was far too low, and that one e effective method of conserva- tion would be to raise this percentage very materially. He arrived at the conclusion that this’ low percentage was very largely due to the fact that through over- fishing the numbers of sexually mature lobsters had been so reduced that they were scattered singly about the bottom, that, in other words it was pretty much of an accident if a pair should meet and mate. He accordingly confined a good number of adults—males and’ females—in compartments, some 10 by 10 feet, others 10 by 20 feet. The results have been gratifying in the extreme as for three years it has been found that from 40 per cent to 64 per cent of the females produced eggs. Here then, is one really practical manner in which the lobster supply may be corfserved—a way so easy and so cheap that any lobster fisherman may practice it. All that is necessary is a compartment, which would cost about twelve dollars to build. This should be stocked with males and females thirteen inches or over, and the only other labour entailed would be feeding. Another way in which the supply of lobsters may be maintained is by establishing sanctuaries in which a good number of the large lobsters, thirteen to eighteen inches in length, may be placed and kept as breeders. Such sanctuaries would be bays, the mouths of which were closed off with netting and they would of course have to be carefully protected against poachers, These sanctuaries would be maintained by the Government, and when the area thus enclosed became over-stocked licenses to fish in these areas on payment of a special license fee, which would contribute towards cost of maintenance, could be granted. That the methods outlined above may bring about an increase in the lobster supply it is absolutely essen- tial that there be no over-fishing and no ‘‘brushing’’ of berried females. If these practices are persisted in the doom of the lobster industry is sealed, no matter what other efforts are made to save it. In order that there may be no over-fishing there must be one uni- versal close season—from June Ist to Sept. 30th, and no lobsters under 1014 inches in length must be taken. It may be necessary to raise the size limit to 11 or even 12 inches, if evidences of over-fishing still persist with a 101% inch limit. In regard to ‘‘brushing’’ eggs, it must be brought home to every fisherman that this is a eriminal operation, an offence against not only the law, but against the others engaged in this occu- pation and also against his own ultimate welfare. I have now pointed out the critical condition of the lobster industry, the reasons for this condition and the steps which must be taken if the industry is to be sav- ed, and I would now emphasize the fact that it is the duty of all who have any interest in this industry to do their best to bring home to those who through either ignorance or selfishness refuse to help in the saving of the industry, In conelusion, I wish to acknowledge the kindness of Dr. Knight in placing at my disposal most valuable data on this important subject. 734 The story of the rise and development of the Bri- tish sea fisheries to the great position they occupied before the outbreak of war is one of singular interest. For a long period before 1914 the results in any one year, both in regard to quantity of fish and value realised were almost invariably better than in the pre- ceding year—the movement was always upwards. In 1890 the quantity of ‘‘wet’’ or ‘‘green’’ fish landed’ in the United Kingdom amounted to 12,774,000 ewts. and the value to £6,361,000. In 1918 the quantity was 24,657,000 hundredweights, and the value £14,- 229,000, so that in the twenty-four years the quan- tity had almost, and the value more than, doubled. But in 1890 the fisheries were firmly established on the same lines as in 1913. One must go a little earlier to discover the causes which led to their great development, and it may be at once said that with one notable exception which concerns the herring fishing and industry and is alluded to later, their immense progress has been due not to active assistance from the State, but to the energy and enter- prise of individuals who knew how to take advantage of the opportunities that offered. ‘The industry has gradually been built up by private effort. To go back no further than about one hundred years ago it will be found that at that time a lareg part of the fish supply’ was obtained from foreigners, and especially from the Dutch. They supplied London with a con- siderable part of the turbot and live cod which were consumed, getting supplies of lamprey bait mostly from the Thames. These supplies were supplemented by English smacks fishing principally from the Thames and ports adjacent, notably Harwich, There were the herring fisheries and the mackerel fisheries and a good deal of inshore line-fishing as well as inshore trawling from small boats with small trawls, much as it was practised centuries before. There was practically no deep-sea fishing and no deep-sea trawling, which was later, as it is now, the outstanding feature of the English fisheries. Railways: Ice: Steam. These are the three chief factors which materially aided in the development of the fisheries last century. In the earlier part and middle of the century the ex- tension of railways all over the country gradually opened up markets which were formerly inaccessible, and this great advance in the facilities of distribu- tion, especially to inland manufacturing centres, im- mensely increased the demand for fish and stimulated the fishing industry. Previously the fish landed were consumed in far greater proportion than they are now on the coast, in the vicinity of where they were land- ed. Billingsgate, which was then as now the great market, received most of its: supplies by water-car- riage, and this was the case for a considerable time af- ter railways were in existence. Such fresh fish as were sent inland were carried by carts or in the stage coaches, and the supplies were necessarily small. The advantage of railway carriage in developing the fish- ing industry may be illustrated from the case of Grimsby, the premier fishing port of the world. In 1856, before railway connection, the quantity of fish landed at that port was 1,514 tons; in 1859, when rail- CANADIAN FISHERMAN The British F isheries 2. Their Rise and Development. se tt . a in the session of 1376-1377, stated that a net, 1 May, 1918. way communicated was established, the quantity was 4,742 tons; ten years later it had risen to 24,140 tons; in 1913 it amounted to no less than 179,250 tons. Rail- ways now tap almost all parts of the coast, and fish are distributed to the most distant places. In 1884 the British railways carried 326,802 tons of fish; 1913 the quantity had risen to 731,040 tons. _ i Of scarcely less importance than the introduction of railways was the use of ice for the preservation of the fish in a fresh condition. The use of ice indeed revolu-. tionised the industry and liberated the fishing ve: from the bonds that tied them to the coastal wa It is eurious that although ice was used to pres fresh salmon sent from Scotland to Bilingsgate cutters towards the end of the eighteenth centw was not employed in the sea fisheries until a fifty years ago. It was first used by fishmon and then to preserve the fish immediately they landed by the smacks; but very soon the trawlers to sea with them a supply in their ‘‘ice-box,’’ and practice rapidly extended. The credit of first em; ing ice to preserve the fish on board is due to a Samuel Hewett, who owned a fleet of sailing tra ers which fished from Yarmouth. Nearly all the ice was imported from Norway, though considerable quantities were procured from Norfolk and Lincoln. shire. Now it is nearly all made locally. By em ing ice the smacks were enabled to remain at sea anc extend their fishing grounds, and they received furth- er supplies, if necessary, from the carriers which col lected their fish. In 1872 about 22,000 tons of ice wer imported at Grimsby and nearly 20,000 tons at The value of the ice in preserving the fish during ¢ tribution was hardly less than its value on board and no improvement or invention has done more the development of the fishing industry in all branches of the fresh-fish trade. It has been rem ed that it enable the fishing vessels to stay lon sea and visit distant grounds. It also made pos the use of steamers in, fishing instead of the sa vessels, though this improvement was rather lon coming. Steam was employed first on the car bringing the fish from the fleet to Billingsgate, then steam tugs were used to tow into port both ing trawlers and herring boats and sometimes to t sailing carriers up the Thames. It was an easy tran tion to place a trawl-net on a tug boat and’ to 4 it for fishing, and this was what was done, but not till early in the ’eighties that the owners su ed in making it pay. Steam trawling had been as early as 1872, but it was abandoned as un able. The story of the further development of fishing belongs to trawling, and something ma said about the history of this great method of fi The Development of Trawling. A good deal has been written about trawling, the writers are usually somewhat astray as to origin. It is generally supposed that it began over a century ago, during the time of the Napole wars, either at Barking on the Thames, or at ham, in Devonshire. Its use was really much e A petition to Parliament in the reign of Edwar : ; — ioe, een d ~ Le are $4 | a FR ere &: : « - . E ? ven : = 3 * ip ‘ % = ? 4 ‘ 5 + — A = 8 : ‘ +" - ~ ‘ " + 5 * y’ ; : bt . s * ‘ 5, 7 x % m4 - : a i ‘ ; : * ad s € . o e ia iv; ‘i - Ae he ewae 5 a, . ‘ 2 — ¢ , z * ue, rs . 2 * y 4 . a he M z ‘ : : 2 A 4 i F 3 ; rs ’ , A 4 ‘ : Zn “ = r ‘ ~ ‘ 5 ¥ 5 -. ry % a ; e; 5 > * _ ’ , as 7 : ” Ne bas Pigg SA FS : i ‘ Leary Pras * ; ne is 5A sales : . : : eon ‘. “ ede : : = say * - we a ie . % Sar ake # ; Pee aes ? * = Jf - ‘~ 4¢ - 78 + x ~ - = 2 ‘ r *~ . ao < rn * . . = : F aes % é 1 - ‘ : ‘ m . >% : 2 Was ears = “4 a : 4 . s 7 ss =. he ae 5 : ‘ . : : a “ ; ci - 4 ls . c . baste aS E ¢ Aaa . Se i , — we: an ‘ rag - + F- be : . ; E ~ . . Cag: y i ‘ : ae 2 = * # cS “IE te - pee aes By Py 736 CANADIAN FISHERMAN CAPTAIN FRED. WALLACE, Ottawa, Ont. Member of Executive, The Canadian Fisheries Association. CANADIAN FISHERMAN -~l a | JOS. T. O’CONNOR, Montreal, Que. Director, The Canadian Fisheries Association. fashion of an oyster-dredge, and called a choum,”’ captured all small fish that entered destroyed the brood and spawn of fish. In the Elizabeth and the early Stuarts there is full of the use of these small trawls along all the at the mouth of the Thames, from the North nd to Harwich. On the ground that they were ng the fisheries they were from time to time y the Admiralty and burned in heaps. It was Je of small trawl that was in existence at the e of last century, when the close of the ars gave an impetus to the fisheries. The e then 80 small that they could be carried on a man’s shoulder, the beams being about ‘length. Fishing was confined to estuaries in comparatively shallow water. Gradually nets got larger and the trawling was ear- er afield. About 1818 Brixham trawlers ited to Dover, trawling in Rye Bay and vicinity; ustry was established at Ramsgate and Harwich 1830 the southern part of the Dutch coast d; the Dogger Bank was first trawled over ), and then only the southern part; by 1860 an Bight was visited, by 1870 there was a nsion, trawling being prosecuted on the rest yger Bank and off the whole west coast of and in 1875 the Great Fisher Bank was id within the next few years it may be said of. the trawlable grounds in the North sea ed up. An immense impetus was given to ry in 1837 by the accidental discovery of the le grounds, the Great Silver Pit, by a Hull The exploitation of the North Sea in this almost entirely done by men from the south, ixham and vicinity, who at first confining their ns to summer voyages finally settled down ond then at Grimsby in 1858. It is exactly since the first trawlers started fishing from _All this time of course the boats were get- r and larger and multiplying in numbers, ets were increasing in size in like ratio, and t of sailing trawlers was gradually built 30 there were about 200 trawling smacks; at 955; in 1883 about 3,000; since then they nished in numbers owing to their displace- ‘steamers, as will be explained in the next hich will deal with the trawl fishery. — velopment of the Herring Fisheries. rigin of the British herring fishery is lost in of antiquity, but many centuries ago there t+ fisheries at Great Yarmouth and Lowes- lesser fisheries elsewhere and in the firths of Scotland. While the trawl fishery has as its main object the supply of fresh fish, aim of the herring fishery is to provide rings for exportation. About 80 per cent. herrings landed are now exported, mostly in to the Continent, Russia and’ Germany being normal markets. For a very long period the +a practical monopoly in supplying the | market, and hence a prolonged struggle on the part of the British curers to get a is profitable business. They have succeed. i Hot only a share, but by far the bigger 31,000, the value to Germany being £2,- 0 Russia £1,988,000. It would take too e story of how this was accomplished, CANADIAN FPISHERMAN 739 but the main points may be summarized. In connec- tion with the development of the herring fishery the State book took a prominent part, and at first a part which was distinetly prejudicial, at least from the fishery side. In the latter half of the eighteenth century we were involved in almost constant naval wars and there was urgent need of seamen for the navy. It was thought by the Government that they could hit two birds with one stone by creating a deep- sea herring fishery after the system practised by the Dutch, which would supply both excellent herrings, and excellent men for the ships-of-war. The bounty system was therefore introduced with the object of creating a fleet of herring fishing ‘‘busses,’’ the her- rings to be cured on board as the Dutch did. Curing on board was, however, a necessity for the Dutch, who, since herrings do not frequent the coasts of Hol- land, had to come to the British coasts for them, where they fished all the summer and autumn, from the Shetland Isles to the Thames, returning with their cargoes of pickled fish. Many hundreds of thousands of pounds were spent on this project without advan- tage and it delayed the application of the true method ot development. The herring fishing was developed by the gradual evolution of the shore fishery which existed, the herrings being landed and cured on shore. ‘the boats were everywhere open; they became half- decked and then wholly decked, and larger and larger as the herrings were sought farther and farther off- shore, and finally came the steam-drifter and the motor-drifter, as will be described in a later article. But if the State made a mistake in the ‘‘buss’’ project, they accomplished an immense amount of good by the institution of a special Board with a trained staff. to guide and instruct the industry, and of a ‘‘‘brand’’ on each barrel of herrings, cured satisfactorily ac- cording to regulations. The Commissioners of the British White Herring Fishery were appointed in 1808, and had charge of the fisheries around the whole British coasts. The coast, was divided into districts and fishery officers appointed to supervise the curing and packing of herrings. Later the English stations were abolished, and in 1882 the Board became the Fishery .Board for Seotland. The tonnage bounties were continued by the Commissioners and did not al- together cease until 1824. Bounties of two shillings, later raised to four shillings, on each barrel cured and branded were paid from 1809 to 1829, after which all the bounties ceased. In the twenty-one years follow- ing the establishment of the British White Herring Board the State subsidized the herring fisheries to the extent of £775,101, or an average of £37,000 a year. In some years the tonnage bounty amounted to over £20,000, and the total for the sixteen years was £114,- 514. The barrel bounties in some years exceeded £70,000, and aggregated £660,587. Even more import- ant than the export bounties, except perhaps in the very early years, was the constant care taken to guide and drill the fishermen and curers in the true prin- ciples of their industry if success was to be achieved. No pains were spared in this. Every detail was closely attended to. The construction of the barrels—an im- portant item — the treatment of the herrings from the moment they were landed, their assortment, curing and packing all received attention from skilled men. Her- rings may abound on a coast and great fisheries be possible, Unless means be taken for their proper eure for the markets they may be of little value. CANADIAN FISHERMAN May, 191 Fisheries Research it the Gulf of Se Lawrence in 19 ie By A. G. HUNTSMAN, Biologist to the Biological Board of Canada. In the spring of 1917 an expedition was planned to investigate the region at the northern end of Cape Breton island, where the waters of the gulf of St. Lawrence flow out into the Atlantic on the south side of Cabot strait. In the middle of May the motor-boat - ‘“*Prince,’? named after Professor E. E. Prince, Com- missioner of Fisheries for the Dominion and Chairman of the Biological Board of Ganate was taken from the Atlantic Biological Station at St. Andrews, New Brunswick, in the Bay of Fundy, around Nova Scotia to Cape Breton island. Mr. Arthur Calder and Captain Elmer Rigby were in charge of the boat and carried out the various fishing operations and experiments most efficiently. Eastern Harbor, on the western side of Cape Breton island, served as our headquarters for the summer, and proved to be most suitable as a base from which to study the neighboring waters. We were much indebted to Mr. Clifford Le Couteur, the capable local manager for the firm of Robin, Jones & Whit- man for many courtesies extended: to us during the course of the summer ... A commodious house that happened to be vacant, was placed at our disp and proved to be an excellent laboratory for the ing on of the microscopic and other detailed exam tions of the material that was collected. Each m from May to September the condition of the between our base and the Magdalen islands was mined by making observations at a series of sele stations, additional trips being made up and down coast of Cape Breton to examine other localities. particular an examination was made of Aspy ba east of Cape North and of the water at different | out into Cabot strait, where we were success operating both our net trawl and fish fry traw depth of 200 fathoms in spite of the small size of boat (60 feet.) Many rare and curious forms obtained in that deep channel which deserves - more thoroughly investigated.” On the chart (fi 1) have been marked the various stations that > occupied during the summer in the course of our 4 of which those in the vicinity of Eastern Harbor at the Magdalen islands were visited repeatedly. — Pee . at 4 — Magdalen Islands : Coes ‘ Breton P, Boi: A oe Chart showing the region investigated i and the stations occupied in 1917, CANADIAN ; Nature of the Work: eat variety of methods and gear must be used over what kinds of animals there are in the , Where they remain, and how they live. We e shown in the illustration (figure 2) how some s gear is employed, although, of course, only one o kinds are used at a time. First and foremost the usual fishing implements:— The drag seine, .is a net that is run out into the water in the of a semi-circle with the open side towards the d is then hauled up on the beach by means of ut each end, gave us the shore fishes such as ‘oung salmon, alewives, small herring, ecape- aners, white perch, sculpins, tomeod, young nders, dabs, window-panes, smelt, mummi- iklebacks, pipe fish, sand launce and butterfish. id buoy at each end and left a variable length before hauling. It catches a variety of fishes y upon the place where it is set, but we may FISHERMAN 741 as a kite, for just as a kite tends to rise when hauled through the air, so do these boards tend to go one to one side and the other to the other, when hauled through the water. The net trawl is operated in mid- water or on bottom and takes whatever fish-there are at that level, supposing that it is of the right size and mesh and is towed rapidly enough through the water. We obtained with it cod, plaice, sole, hake, flounder, smelt, cunner, butterfish, dab, skate, sculpin, grenadier, lobster and spider crab, as well as many of the.small bottom animals. Our trawl was small, being designed for catching shrimp, of which we obtained various kinds, but it was quite successful in taking the large fishes as well, for we have brought up in it after one hour’s hauling as much as five hundred pounds of fish, including one that weighed fifty pounds. The fish- fry trawl is a similar trawl, but small and made of sacking and without any funnel. It takes the smaller animals in the water, including the young fishes, and occasionally even quite large ones. For the fish eggs and the very small animals and plants that swarm in Vater Bottles. . Line or Hook Tra wil. \ Sy a a a EA Vi fish. The gill-net, of which we used various is a net set vertically at any depth in the to which the fishes run during the night and enmeshed. Herring, mackerel, smelt and are caught in this way, and also many oth- as cunner, hake, sculpins, and cod, when the the right locality. The net trawl, which is the water, is a long net bag with a and a funnel about half way along on ich the wire cables for hauling are otter”? boards act in the same way Plankton Net. Veter A bac tL “Ss ESS ERTS ~ > SS = 4 Fish Fry Trawl. Otter Trawi. Up 7 Types of Gear Worked With. . : the water, what are called ‘‘plankton’’ nets are used. Plankton is a name given to the floating organisms of the water, which are legion. The nets are made of the silk bolting cloth, used by millers for sifting flour, the coarsest of which will stop anything as large as one- sixteenth of an inch in diameter, while the finest will permit only those less than one two-hundredths of an inch in diameter to pass out. These nets are of various sizes and are towed through the water at various depths, and by their means we were able to trace the spawning and development of the fishes with floating eggs, as well as to determine the distribution of the numerous animals and minute plants that serve as food for the fry of the fishes and even for some of the adults, such as the herring and mackerel. The ‘ which is merely a rectangular iron frame, to which a 742 bag of net or sacking is attached, was used for drag- ging on bottom to get samples of the varied animals and seaweeds that populate the ocean floor so densely and from the food of the many bottom-lwing fishes. It also gave us some of the bottom material: stones, sand, mud, ete., in which or on the surface of which the animals live. Small traps or pots made of laths are ordinarily used for catching crawling animals like the lobster, but for this purpose we used simple hoop traps, which were under the direction of Captain Rigby. Each of these consisted of an old waggon tire to which was attached a short bag of fine-meshed net. The trap was baited with dead fish and lowered to the bottom, a buoy being left attached to the line. Although there was nothing to prevent the animals that gathered around the bait from leaving the trap at any time, we found that this apparatus was as effec- tive in capturing lobsters and erabs, as the ordinary lobster pot and had the advantage of taking animals of any size from the largest of them to the smallest that failed to go through the net. Fish also were taken, cunners being captured in it regularly when it was placed near shore where they lived. By means of. these traps we discovered that a barren zone existed off the Cape Breton shore, comprising the part of the sloping bottom between the depths of 10 and 20 fathoms. In this zone the temperature at the bottom underwent violent fluctuations often in the course of a day or so, at one time being as high as 65° F., and at another as low as 39° F. This was caused by the winds, for when the wind was blowing on shore it drove the surface water against the coast and heaped it up, foreing the deeper colder water down, then when it changed and blew off-shore the warm surface water was driven away from the coast and the cold water welled up from below to take its place and so flooded the zone. The effect of this on the slow moving bot- tom animals may be imagined. Few of them would be able to stand such changes, but the active fishes are able to move up and down the slope and avoid these changes, and in fact we caught the cold-loving cod and haddock in large numbers in this zone, when the temperature was low. The importance, to any one who is fishing, of knowing what the temperature at the bottom is in such cases, is obvious, for when the cold water up-wells and comes nearer shore, the fishes will follow it and may- be caught without the fisherman having to go as far from land as at other times. Hand-lines for catching fish with baited hooks and jigs of lead with many hooks, we used only oceasion- ally. Another important part of the work was the deter: mining of the physical conditions in the water. Most important of these is the temperature, wnich was taken regularly during the whole summer at definite depths from the surface to the bottom at the stations between Cape Breton and the Magdalen islands. For this pur- pose special thermometers were used, which were low- ered to the desired depths, left a few nights and then turned over by letting slide down the line a weight, which released the upper end of the thermometer ease. The thermometer on being turned over registered the temperature at the moment in just the same way that a clinical thermometer registers one’s temperature on being removed from the mouth. Samples of the water were obtained from the same depths by using a brass water bottle, which automatically closed on turning over and so imprisoned water from the desired depth. . The many samples of water, that were collected, are CANADIAN FISHERMAN May, 1918. being examined chemically by Professor Vachon of — Laval University, in order to determine how much salt — they contain. In this way we learn how the physical — conditions in those waters changed during the cours of the summer, and that gives us the explanation 0 the movements of the fishes. a Investigations : aif The primary object of the expedition * was to obtain — as much information as possible concerning the developed fishery resources of the region. Particula attention was paid to the lump-fish by Professor Cox to the cunner by Mr. Johnson, and to the plaice by myself. The many facts learned concerning the abundanee, edibility, life histories, ete., will be dea with in special accounts and need not be detailed hers In the utilization of each fish special problems a1 presented, which require careful consideration befor any very definite statement can be made as to th prospects of their proving of importance. Another object we had in view in going to that pa rt of the Gulf was to determine the fate of the vast quai tities of herring eggs spawned at the Magdalen islan We were able to study this question only incidentally, on the trips made monthly to the Magdalen islands. The spring spawning takes place during May and practically confined to the shores of Pleasant bay. The hatching of the eggs was virtually completed by the middle of Jurie and the very small fry were found on the 19th and 20th of that month to form a vast un- broken swarm, extending from Pleasant bay to th south and east for 25 miles on the route to Eastern — Harbor. They were undoubtedly being dispersed — through the water by the tidal and wind currents, an also being carried to the eastward by the general s of the currents toward Cape North. The enormoi numbers of these fry may be imagined from the fa that a 20 minute tow with our fine meshed plankton net. gave over one hundred of them even at a distance — of 17 miles from the Magdalen islands. In July, month later, they had largely disappeared as far our researches showed, for we obtained them only | Pleasant bay at slight depths, and they were twice large as in June. Probably by that time they had co lected into schools, and would be missed unless 0 happened to strike a school. In the fall the fry of t fall spawning herring were found both on the Caj Breton shore and at the Magdalen islands. They we not very abundant except locally, and were no long near shore, but only at some considerable depth, abo 15 fathoms, the reason being that the surface wat was at that time too warm for them. Mr. Cowie hi already reported that fall spawning herring occur the Gulf, basing his view on the herring, which he 0 tained in summer in his net experiments, and some which were nearly ripe for spawning. We are gle to be able to confirm this so definitely. The time : spawning was about the end of August on the Cay Breton shore and about the middle of the same mont at the Magdalen islands. These fall spawners cou! undoubtedly be caught at this time by setting nets at the right depth, which depends upon the temperatur about 48° F. , apparently being that preferred by the: fish. ; The regular collection of material by the variot kinds of gear employed gave us large quantities of all sorts of animals from different depths and levels, and enabled us to determine just where they were to be found. Since we took temperatures and collected sam- ples of the water at various depths and at various from bie Breton to the Magdalen islands we able to ascertain just how the distribution of an depends upon the physical conditions. The water that collects at the surface during the ner is entirely unsuitable for the cod and plaice, at agrees perfectly with the lobster and mackerel. ve haddock and the herring, on the other hand, dis- both the very warm water near the surface and very cold water in the depths and are to be found ipally in between these, where they find con- is that suit them. Me have shown in the figure are to be found some of the more important and their young during the summer. od were spawning during May and June, large s of their eggs ‘being found floating at the % Their fry occurred during June and July. ee were spawning with the cod, and their eggs c ft nd floating at the same time. Their fry were abundant and as summer wore on went deeper eper into the water until they reached the cold- ers near the bottom. The sole spawned during uly and August and its floating eggs were very nt at the surface or a little ‘below, while the termediate temperature. The mackerel spawned poraneously with the sole. Their eggs and fry all stages remained near the surface in the very n water. Eggs and fry that appear to belong hake were also abundant during the summer, one has yet determined exactly how the eggs - of the hake may be distinguished, therefore not be certain of this identification. With the he spring were small quantities of the eggs and he haddock. w how complex is the life history of these we may instance the mackerel, sole and plaice. have floating eggs, which are to a considerable found together near- the surface of the water, spawning on the whole earlier than the oth- s the surface water gets warmer during the the eggs of the sole and-plaice sink to the water below, but those of the mackerel remain » surface. The fry of the plaice, as has been y described, go deeper and deeper into the water 1ey grow older, and finally are living in the ice- ater that covers the bottom where the old plaice The fry of the sole, on the contrary, although ‘the warm surface water, do not enter the ice- water until after they have changed into the it condition and gone to the bottom, but remain in ater of intermediate temperature at slight depths. ickerel passes through all its stages from egg Iti in the warm surface water. were interested in knowing the extent to which are to be found in these waters. Apparently are very rare, but do occur at times all along the although never in large enough quantities to be importance. We found them only at Eastern or, seining a spawning female on June 4, and in getting the fry both in the harbor and outside, ‘ver in very large numbers. and none at the len islands. Why should they be so abundant ‘Gaspe coast and so rare elsewhere in the south- : oF the gulf? This question remains to be is a perennial source of complaint by 1 wipe are traditionally dependent for \ : CANADIAN FISHERMAN fry kept to slight depths where the water was — 743 bait upon herring and squid, which occur at times in such large numbers and are so easily handled. When these fail, the fishery stops for lack either of, knowl- edge or of enterprise in seeking new sources of bait supply. At Eastern Harbor salted clams brought from outside points are used to some extent and a very few fresh clams are dug locally, but the supply is extreme- ly limited. There is, however, a moderate abundance of the dark edible mussel (Mytilus edulis), the bait that is in such favor in Europe, and that is used to some extent on the outer coast of Nova Scotia. These have the advantage of being more easily gathered than clams, for one only needs to pick them up at low tide or rake them off the bottom. They occur in the harbor and other estuaries from low tide mark to a depth of a fathom or so at least. When the dogfish or grayfish arrive, the mussels are of particular value when fishing for cod and haddock, since the gray- fish do not take this bait. A trawl set off Hastern Harbor on September 4, and baited with mussels, gave a big run of cod and not a single grayfish, although, as Mr. Calder reports, the grayfish were all around in the water as the trawl was being lifted. Trawls set near the Magdalen islands, baited with salt herring, took grayfish to the exclusion of almost all other fish. ~ Another possibility for bait is the rough mussel, which is to be found in tolerable quantities half buried | in the mud in the brackish water at the mouths of rivers, like the Plateau river at Cheticamp. At the Magdalen islands clams are dug for bait, but are not very abundant. There are, however, large quantities of the round whelk (Lunatia heros) or ““eockle,’’_as it is called in the Bay of Fundy, where it is much sought after and sold at a high price to the bank fishermen. We obtained large numbers at the Magdalen islands on the sandy bottom that prevails there in depths of from 5 to 15 fathoms. It would be a simple matter to collect them with a suitable drag or rake and keep them in crates till needed. They are to be found at Eastern Harbor also, but for lack of extensive areas of the right kind of bottom at suitable depths, they are not numerous enough to be of any importance. Fisheries of Eastern Harbor. The fisheries of Eastern Harbor are carried on al most exclusively by farmer-fishermen, which consider- ably limits their extent. Up-to- date equipment for fishing i is largely lacking, but the curing of the fish is very efficiently done. In the case of certain fisher- ies further expansion is probably not advisable, as, for example, those of the salmon and lobster which are carried on along shore. The former are shipped in the fresh state and the latter are canned. The pres- ent high prices have lead to the fishing for these being very thorough. It is regrettable that the lobster can- neries operate for such a very short period, since the canning of other fish, as, for example, grayfish or mackerel, might enable the factories to operate most of the season and would both lower the cost of opera- . tion and improve the type of factory. Grayfish have already been canned at Eastern Harbor experimentally. The herring and mackerel are only partly exploited, but owing to their somewhat uncertain movements the: fishermen must be constantly on the qui vive to make the most of them. It is different with the cod fishery, for an immense area well stocked with cod is within easy reach, and only a small part of it is exploited and that for only a portion of the time. Haddock and hake are 744 taken, but only to a limited extent, because of the very limited area where suitable water and bottom oceur. A few pollock are taken, but this part of the coast marks the extreme northerly limit of their range as a fishery. Very rarely are pollock seen any farther in the gulf, although they have been known to go as far as Gaspe. The sword fishery ends at Cape North and does not reach Eastern Harbor. Halibut are only oceasionally taken. We were particularly concerned with the possibility of developing new fishery resources, and found many fishes entirely neglected. Smelt occur in fair quan- tities but have not been caught. Flounders are abund- ant along shore but only small ones can be got in shal- low water during the summer, as the larger ones re- treat to the deep water and cannot be easily caught until they come near shore during the cool weather. Perch or cunners, locally called tanche, are very num- erous everywhere in shallow protected water. Though small, they are of very good flavor and have long been eaten in the New England States. There are also in the shore waters large numbers of the shore crab, the sand shrimp and the periwinkle, as well as mussels. Oysters and quahaugs, which are to be found in the harbor, are few, because the bottom suitable for them is of very limited extent, but if properly handled the oysters would well repay the attention of one man. Alewives are rare along this part of the coast and of no value. Tomeod also are rarely seen. In the outer waters at slight depths there are few fishes of any value, but rather large numbers of lumpsuckers are taken in the salmon traps in the spring and should be CANADIAN FISHERMAN made use of. On the trawls a fair number of mutton fish or rock eels are taken and also an occasional cat- — fish. Both of these should be used as food instead of being thrown away as is done now. Skates are few and — of small size at Eastern Harbor, but many large ones are to be found at the Magdalen islands, and the recent - development of a demand for skate-wings makes it certain that a fishery for them would be profitable, : they could be conveyed quckts to market from th point. $ In the deep cold water that covers most of the t tom off Eastern Harbor there are only a few: ki of valuable fishes. The only one at present in us the cod, of which we have already spoken. The pla is very abundant and of large size, and is taken on cod lines but not brought in. Large quantities of s also occur in this cold water, but they have never b reported as occurring in the gulf of St. Lawrence, having such small mouths, they do not take the h and are not known to the fishermen. They can be e@ tured only by the net trawls. The large spider crab is also an inhabitant of deep cold water and should become a highly. pri delicaey, as it weighs as much as two pounds and long legs contain a large quantity of delicate w meat that ean be very easily removed. All who ate pronounced it superior in flavor to lobster. It may t taken very readily in baited traps, and if net traw were used a fair number of these crabs would be inks as a by-product. There are also in the cold water s eral varieties of large shrimps that might say be fis ed by using sighs 3 trawls. é ean. it oe ‘ Surface of water Cheti aS i > Wieticamp, —=™= a =f Seaka Mackerel and Greyfesh. Eggs and young Fry of Cod,Sole,Plasce, Smeitairy Islands. : W ys bal Deacathate fs | ee pea Temperature above Eggs and Fry of Mackerel and Cunner, Hake and Dab, Pe rch 6 Ro ugh Mussel. ==/ Smooth Flow ader , Oyster oe eee SS a ete Oe a 60° F. "Flo Ce unner Butter fish, Lobster, Shore Crab, Sand Shr and Mussel. eneerit Intermediate Water. Haddock, Hake, Muttonfish, fplunptssh, Wolffish and Sculpin. : =) Temperature below 92°F. Find the animals in summer. e A Potlack Din sos 1 ee eee See oe ee = Herring ve Ome its Older Fry of Cod, Soie,Haoke and Dab, Oider Fry of Plaice. ie > = Set Ju ipaerders sh, : oy igander, Sead Plommaats ate Be ees Shore Crab, Sand Shrimp, ond gi ante Round’ Whethee peor 8 = anaes Skates, Dab, Sculpin rin | Nag and Lumpf{ish, Cod, Sote,Plaice, Thorny Skate, Spider Crab, Prawns and Bank Clams. BILLINGSGATE. London, April 6th, 1918. The week following Good Friday usually witnesses a visible slackening in the demand for fish in the United Kingdom, but this week has not shown any perceptible falling off in trade—in fact, there has not been nearly: sufficient fish to satisfy ‘all require- ments, that is, at the prices now in force at the be- hest of the Food Controller. Under ordinary cireum- stances, the merchant of course regulates his purchases according to his pocket; in othér words, the dearer the fish becomes, the number of individual firms di siring to secure a share decreases. Now all this changed; with a fixed price above which fish must n¢ be bought from the producer—usually a steam traw ing or drifting company—and a scheduled rate abov which it may not be offered to the fishmonger, wh in his turn finds the value he may place on the fisl when offering it to the public also controlled, — ever} \ one in the trade is anxious to secure a share. Th being so, and with the landings much below the pr war level it is easy to see that someone must go shor The result has been a perfect scramble to obtain st a CANADIAN ns to the supply available. Thus, in view of the state sea detailed above, it is impossible to furnish et report in the ordinary sense of that term. ere has been some relief this week by the arrival msby, Hull and Fleetwood, of pretty good sup- f fish from Icelandic waters, and where there has omparative abundance’ of any particular kind, chat haddocks, for instance, prices have ruled e maximum. From this it is obvious that the solution of the present jumble, for jumble or it is for distributors of fish desiring to do their the interests. of all concerned, would be for orities to release for fishing purposes as many ts as is compatible with national interests. s to say, the difficulty in obtaining ade- plies of fresh fish has given an added zest mquiry of Canadian frozen fish, the list of which extended this week by the marketing at Bill- ate of frozen herrings. Mr. S. J. Williams, of the of Peter Forge, the principal distributing agent anadian frozen fish on behalf of the Ministry of is of opinion that next to salmon and halibut; ozen herrings are quite the best frozen fish ndled, and with an almost entire absence of from British ports, these foreifn herrings me in doubly welcome, and have filled a gap ully well. They are a much larger fish than es usually caught off our own coasts—larger ar Norwegian herrings—averaging nearly a each in weight. There should be a ready out- these fish when native herrings are unobtain- when Scotch, Irish and English herrings are in abundance, as they often are, it will ssible to place frozen herrings at the maxi- “permissible for this kind of fish, viz., 7s 6d Still, it should only be necessary to market iciously, when freshly landed herrings are d they should then prove most acceptable, d they are marketed here in best condition. tally, they make *fine kippers, and altogether ‘oved eminently satisfactory. . is still a marked scarcity of frozen salmon ibut, both of which are much wanted. London, April 13th, 1918. ding - conditions have shown very little ehange ek, supplies being much short of requirements, e result that the full maximum prices permis- der the Fish (Prices) Order have ruled more generally. An arrival of deep-sea fish at Ice- Monday was particularly welcome, but with t demand for fish of any kind it was not suf- to make any appreciable decrease in rates. On a a matter of difficulty to maintain the full rates “plaice, fishmongers appearing disinclined to pur- se ir quantity. great weakness of the new Government order is allows for no differentiation between the differ- ons and sizes of any particular variety—in iffieult to see how any hard and fast rule as 1 be laid down in this direction—and the that all kinds of any particular kind of fish. ir- iv of their condition, so long as they are not two days, salesmen in the inland markets have — FISHERMAN 745 unsaleable command.the maximum figures. As it has been necessary to devise various methods apportion- ing the catches of fishing vessels among the different buyers, this practical fixation of rates acts very. harsh- ly in some instances; a merchant for example may find that by drawing lots he is allotted the ‘‘tail-ends’’ of a shot—fish very inferior to his neighbour who may be lucky enough to obtain the most recently caught part of the shot. Still, no doubt these matters will level themselves upon balance. It is certainly to the credit of the fishing industry of the United Kingdom that on the whole, all sections are endeavouring to carry out loyal- ly the recent enactments which the Food Controller has deemed it necessary to promulgate in this time of na- tional stress. The Canadian frozen herrings mentioned in my last report have been in great request throughout this week, when there has been an almost entire absence of other herrings—in fact, except on Wednesday, when some Norwegian herrings arrived from an East of Scotland port, Billingsgate has been dependent on the frozen variety. So insistent has been the inquiry, that stocks in London were exhausted to-day, and the Gov- ernment Agent was unable to fulfill several orders, IT am sorry to say that the stencilled weights of these cases of frozen herrings are quite unreliable; this leads to much unnecessary friction and correspondence. I cannot too strongly insist on the necessity of reliable weights and careful: grading if this trade in frozen fish is to be placed on a firm basis. It is pleasing to report that so far as is known these herrings have been of excellent quality all through. The other varie- ties marketed by the Ministry of Food—cod, fresh had- docks, flatfish, schnapper, and skate wings—are selling steadily, but in some instances the quality leaves much to be desired. London, April 20th, 1918. This week’s markets have been very meagerly sup- plied with all kinds of trawled fish, and there has been almost an entire absence of herrings and mac- kerel. , As an indication of the limited landings of whitefish, it may be mentioned that no vessels reached Hull on either Tuesday or Wednesday, to cite a lead- ing trawling port, while at Searborough, one of the smaller fishing ports, the week has been blank owing to unfavourable weather. Under these circumstances control prices have been the rule generally, and the main efforts of merchants and salesmen have been directed to apportioning the available supplies evenly among their various customers. Needless to say, none of the retailers have secured as much as they could have. handled. Canadian frozen fish has sold more or less freely throughout the week, but unfortunately the quality in many instances has left much to be desired, while the weights, especially of the herrings, are quite unre- liable. Inasmuch as the quality of fish in the same package varies considerably it is pretty evident that sufficient care has not been given to the condition of the fish before freezing. If this business is to be con- solidated on a sound basis the condition of the fish must be like Caesar’s wife, i.e., above suspicion, and the weights must be reliable. London, April 27th, 1918. Supplies, although still much less than could easily be sold, have shown a welcome expansion this week. There have been two main causes for this; first and 746 foremost, has been the arrival of a convoy from deep- sea grounds, the vessels landing at Grimsby, Hull and Fleetwood, and secondly, more settled weather has brought landings to some of the smaller stations where last week supplies were practically blank. The deep- sea catches consisted mostly of cod, haddocks and plaice—three kinds very popular in the country— which were landed mostly in excellent condition. Still, demand is so insistent that prices have had little opportunity of falling below the maximum rates al- lowed under the Fish (Prices) Order, and although varying methods have been adopted at different ports to ensure, as far as is possible, an equitable distribu- tion among the various sections of the trade no one has received as much as could be distributed. Another factor which has tended to keep prices at a firm level is the weather; this has been exceptionally cold for the time of year, and has thus been excellent for preserv- ing such a perishable commodity as fresh fish (as dis- tinet from frozen) in first rate condition. Of course, with sultry weather, it needs only a little hesitation on the part of the public in purchasing to at once weaken prices—merchants and fishmongers are compelled to ‘‘give way’’ so far as prices are concerned, rather than have fish left on their hands; in fact, as the fish trade is transacted in this country, the law of supply and demand operates to the full; so much so that the opin- ion is largely held that if the authorities can safely make arrangements to inerease the supply, there will be little need to fix minimum rates. It is to be regretted that the Canadian frozen fish marketed by the Ministry of Food is in many instances turning out unreliable, so far as condition is concern- ed. It is rather difficult at the moment to say where the fault exactly lies, but should it be that sufficient care has not been exercised in selecting only the fresh- . est possible fish for freezing—and there are many in- dications that this is the case—our Canadian friends cannot be too strongly warned that they are jeopardizing the whole future of a trade which has immense possi- bilities. The best of the fish is really excellent, but mixed qualities are found in the same case. Not only is the quality unreliable, but sufficient attention is not paid to correct stencilling, while the weights, too, are often on the light side. Canadian exporters should take a leaf out of the book of the Russian, American and Chinese poultry exporters; who by careful selec- tion and grading, guaranteed weights, and uniform packages of a handy size, have built up a big business and a good reputation. ‘‘Verb sap.’’ London, May 4th, 1918. Although the aggregate quantities available on one or two days.this week have shown an appreciable ex- pansion, this has been due more to a preponderance of one or two kinds—and these not the most saleable —rather than to any increase in the supplies of all kinds. For instance, plaice and haddocks have been most prominent in the catehes from home waters, and although both of these kinds sell freely, their eompara- tive abundance has not compensated for the scarcity of prime fish —soles, turbots and brills — halibut, witches, lemon soles, and other kinds always in great request. the other leading distributing markets have ineluded a large proportion of deep-sea cod and haddocks. The feature of the landings at West Coast ports, has been a welcome quantity of hake; this fish, which is exceed- ingly popular in the United Kingdom, is different to CANADIAN FISHERMAN _traetive level. being strictly limited according to Admiralty Then again, the arrivals at Billingsgate and. May the so-called Canadian ‘‘hake’’ recently placed o markets which turned out such an unfortunate ture. Best qualities of most kinds have easily el at the maximum rates now permissible, but on s days, small fish, and secondary qualities have hung fire. A feature of consignments has been inaclae Irish waters. Usually an important mackerel takes place in waters off the Cornish coast each Spr but this year, for reasons which ean be readily an stood, the Admiralty has been unable to give i tion to this area being worked by the macker ers. Consequently, the Irish mackerel has prov welcome. At present, scarcely any herrings are landed from home waters, and apart from a sional cargo of herrings from. Norway—and are now somewhat ‘‘mazy’’—the market has . pendent on Canadian frozen herrings. These la however, have not gone out so freely during the week. It is much to be regretted that some of adian frozen fish—chiefly the skate wing ed out to be very inferior, and statpmete p it have appeared in the daily newspapers, thu the prejudice exhibited by many people ‘to re! food. The vital - importance of ensuring that. in absolttely prime condition are pkg to this country cannot be too strongly insi It appears practically impossible to seeu ated space on vessels crossing from Cap country for frozen salmon and halibut, bu stood that arrangements have been sma of the passenger liners plying to and from the Kingdom to accommodate any food for which gs can be found in the refrigerators usually devote: the carriage of ship’s stores. As the number engers on most boats is now the minimum, i rh possible to obtain transport now and then for 1 cases in this way; at any rate, itis worth trying. 17 is a great call here for both ‘salmon and hali Canada, and the maximum prices permissib the Fish (Prices) Order have been fixed at Tandem May ith, During the past week, the total quantity available for distribution has been a fairly numbers of different varieties, the bulk of t plies consisting of haddocks, plaice, cod, whitin the commoner kinds, such as coalfish, ‘catfish, fish, roker, dogfish, etc., there being a marked of the choicer selections, such as soles, turbots halibut, ete. This, no doubt; may be attribu the limited areas available for trawling, the tions. Much of this week’s landings has ¢ fish from the Icelandic grounds, trawlers f area arriving at Grimsby, Hull and Fleetwo 1. fortunately, much of this fish has not been in th of condition, but, with the huge demand n ing for fish of all kinds, prices have usually the maximum figures allowed by the Fish (Prices) der. It is seldom that the catches of the fishing t are put up to auction now-a-days, the main task salesmen being to evenly allocate the fish among elamouring buyers, there always being m chants will to give schedule rates than the to satisfy all requirements. There has been a distinet slackening i in the for Canadian frozen fish, the confidence of ret. having been shaken by the unreliable quality of CANADIAN packages, while the fact that the weight of fish in the cases is often below that given as the nett quan- ity does not assist the trade; especially is this the case with frozen herrings, and although searcely any ther herrings have been obtainable this week, very ew fishmongers have evinced any interest in the frozen variety. At a meeting of the Cold Storage & Ice Association London this week, some interesting remarks con- ning refrigeration and the fish trade were made in » course of a paper read by Mr. Joseph Raymond, Seeretary of the Association. After dealing with us foodstuffs to which refrigeration had been ied more or less successfully, Mr. Raymond said another food industry which owing to the war fallen suddenly into the lap of refrigeration is it of frozen fish import. ‘‘The stern necessities of time,’’ said Mr. Raymond, ‘‘have forced large nbers of our population both military and civilian, skip over those lingering prejudices to which they ie early days of refrigeration so long adhered with d to frozen meat. I do not by any means wish understood as of the opinion that the problems ish refrigeration have yet been solved, or that on resent basis the frozen fish industry is assured of cessful future in this country. Battle of science, method and marketing have yet to be fought and won before the English consumer under ordinary con- it may be ready to give honour to refrigerated ‘ Simiting his usually full and varied dietary, but “necessities are at any rate proving to him that geration is opening new and distant resources of rial food supply and a rich sea harvest which in the years that follow spell health and wealth hose who reap and consume it. Canada Newfoundland have made a promising start in hi supplies of frozen halibut, haddocks, salmon, and ier fish with which our Dominions and home troops : this country have been so acceptably rationed, to the extent. I believe, of two million pounds weight a k at certain periods. Last year the total imports ozen fish into. the United Kingdom amounted to 00 tons. The Government has made big purchases r civilian consumption which are disposed of daily our big markets, principally Billingsgate, where a ernment fish auctioneer makes sales of cod, had- ks, skate, schnapper, cusk, flatfish and herrings, such figures as five guineas per case of about 200 for herrings, £6 10s for a similar package of cod other kinds except flatfish, which are marketed ‘10s per case.’’ In conclusion, Mr. Raymond add- that at the back of all this commercial progress have practical scientists in the industry working improvement in the methods applied. Brine freez- of fish has yet to be given its fullest trial, and itever is the outcome we may assume, he thought, he experience of former success in other directions t the successful adaptation of mechanical refriger- n to the fish trade will be. achieved. With that yal in sight he submitted that here lies another pro- ect before the cold storage industry, supplying a reat asset for the future, and a new source of cus- i the fringe of which we are even now touching. \ecording to statements in the daily papers,. sur- se has been expressed in the Canadian Press at the at which Canadian ‘‘hake’’ has been marketed country. As a matter of fact. this fish, w hich st ¢ rtainly not the hake as known in the United “in fact, practical men of the trade -in this FISHERMAN 747 country have been unable to identify it—is quite un- saleable as an article of diet for human beings, and the opinion has been expressed that whoever was re- sponsible for sending it over here for human consump- tion could certainly not have had any practical know- | ledge of fish as food. It would be interesting to know whether the British Government Department respon- sible for purchasing this fish or the company packing and exporting it is to bear the loss. Whatever kind of fish Canadians wish to market in Great Britain, do not let them send any more of the—‘what is it!’’ THE MANITOBA BRANCH OF THE CANADIAN FISHERIES ASSOCIATION. The first meeting of the Manitaba Branch of the Canadian Fisheries Association was held in the Royal Alexandra Hotel, Winnipeg, on May 17th. Mr, J. W. Simpson, of Selkirk, presided and Mr. W. Douglas, of Winnipeg, acted as Secretary. The following members were present:—A. M. Freeman, Steep Rock; John J. Wilson, Steep Rock; R, Smith; Oak Point; J. J. Barker, Winnipeg; W. J. Guest, Win- nipeg; P. Lavalle, Jr., St. Laurent; G. F. Combat, St. Laurent; B. B. Johnsson, Gimli; G. F. Johnsson, Sel- kirk; Angus MeIntyre, Selkirk; J. Sigurdsson, Gimli; G. G. Shears, Winnipegosis; K. McAulay, Winnipeg- osis; J. C. Adam, Winnipegosis; Isaac Bradbury, .Win- nipegosis; J. F, O’Callaghan, Portage la Prairie; G. K. Solmundson, Gimli; B, Markovitch, Delta; J. A. Helgason, Selkirk; H. Hanson, Selkirk; G. B. Magnus-. son, Selkirk; T. J. Jones, Winnipeg; J. Halldorson, Lundar; M. Stephenson, Selkirk; W. H, Climie, Win- nipeg; W. Douglas, Winnipeg; S. Kristjannson, Gimli; Colin J, Murray, Selkirk. The Acting Secretary read the minutes of the meet- ing held April 8th. These were confirmed. For the benefit of those who had not been present at the April meeting, the Secretary outlined the ob- jects of the Canadian Fisheries Association. He ex- plained that the organization represented every ele- ment in the industry whether they were producer, curer or distributor. He urged the fishermen and dealers present to go back home and make every en- deavor to interest a large body of the fishermen in the Association and to secure the membership of every available man connected with the industry. The Sec- retary further outlined what the Association had al- .ready accomplished for the industry. The following officers for the current year were elected: Chairman, J. W, Simpson, Selkirk; Vice-Chair- man, J. Sigurdsson, Gimli; Seecretary-Treasurer, W. Douglas, Winnipeg. Other members of the Executive were appointed as follows :— Representing Lake Winnipeg Distpier :—A. McIntyre, Selkirk; M. Stephenson, Selkirk; S. Kristjannson, Gimli. Representing Lake Manitoba.—J. J. Wilson, Steep Rock; A. M. Freeman, Steep Rock; B, J. Mathews, Sig- lunes. Representing Lake Winnipegosis.—F. G. Shears, Winnipegosis; C, Denby, Winnipegosis; J. C. Adam, Winnipegosis. Representing The Pas District——As no representa- tives of the dealers or the fishermen were present, it was decided to leave the appointment of committee for this district to the local men at that point. On e / 748 each committee, the Association have elected one deal- er and two fishermen to take up local matters at the ‘espective points. & * Atta ae eommittees were struck, Mr, A. E, Philip of the Western office of the Canada Food Board ad- dressed the meeting, outlining the suggested regula- tions for fresh fish during the summer and the fall sea- sons. He expressed his appreciation at the formation of the Branch and believed it would be helpful to the work of the Board—as they could communicate with a central organization representing the industry. Capt. F. W. Wallace, of Ottawa, congratulated the Branch at the interest displayed by having such a fine meeting. The Food Board held the first consideration -to be an adequate supply of fish, for the Canadian trade, and secondly that the retail price to the con- sumer must not exceed 16¢ per pound in the three estern Provinces, ,. otk was unanimously resolved on motion of Mr. Mur- seconded by G. E. Solmundson that this Branch sa Mr. Philip and endorse the regulations outlined by spoken to by Mr. Wallace. geherat Sethe relative to winter fish, the mis- marking of boxes, wrong packing and short weights were discussed generally. The details of suggested regulations were left over until a meeting which will be called later in the season and before the men leave for their winter fishing stations. | General satisfaction was expressed at certain conditions which prevailed during the winter season just passed and it was the expression of the various speakers that these complaints could be remedied before another season came round. FISH FOR FOOD HAS COME TO STAY IN CANADA. Canada is now on a Fish Diet, Canada will always continue to be on a Fish Diet. Never again, as in pre-war days, will meat hold SOvV- ereign place on Canadian tables. Herds of live stock around the world have been depleted by the neces- sities of war. In Europe alone the available supply for 1918 is 115,000,000 head less of cattle, sheep and hogs, than it was in 1914. High prices and imperative demand from the fighting forces have cut into the feed animal stocks of the world to such an extent that they will never recover their pristine place. To-day the demand is greater than the supply, and that con- dition is likely to persist after the war with consequent high prices. It is inevitable that fish for food as a substitute for beef, pork and lamb, has arrived In Canada, and has come to make us a long visit. Are the providers of food for Canadian huoseholders seized with this important economic fact? Do the meat-dealers, the fish-dealers, the grocers, the depart- mental stores, realize that fish for food is here to stay? They are faced with both a condition and a fact; are they duly impressed with the situation and are they organizing themselves and readjusting their busi- ness and their methods to cope with the change in the food-habits of the people of Canada, forced upon them by the exigencies of war and the increasingly high prices for the flesh of food animals? If they are un- derstandingly aware of this tendency, are taking meas- ures to meet the growing demand of fish for food, they are wise in their day and generation. But if they are not responding to the tremendous economic revolution going on in the households of Canada, they CANADIAN FISHERMAN prevent people from eating fish for food and to in May, 1918. are foolish virgins, and have not trimmed their lamps _ and got ready. . a Preparedness on the part of the fish-dealer for the constant demand of fish for food from Canadian — households is his salvation if he desires to keep in — business and render service to the public. If he is — neglectful of his opportunity, now knocking so loud | at his office door, he will encourage rivals with keen- — er business perception to spring up, who capitalizing — the new demand, will outstrip him in his own chosen line of, business. The public must be served. Cana- — dians must eat fish for food. The dealer who caters — to that new need in the most efficient manner deserves — the patronage of the public. 7 a Hitherto, fish has been considered as a side-line i business for the most part in Canada, outside of the — larger cities, and even in those, service to the publi has been perfunctory and half-hearted, as if it were not worth while. A convenient, neat, unleakabl package is an elemental necessity in a fish store, i the householder is to be given service. There is no reason in the world why a pound of fish should be readily purchased and pocketed as a lb. of bacon. Bu it isn’t, and it never has been in Canada. Your bus ness man on leaving home in the morning is told fetch back a pound of bacon; and he does, if he doesn forget. In these days, he would like to fetch back a pound of fish in his pocket, just as he would a poun of bacon, but where is the man so courageous as t pocket a pound of fish as put up by the ordinary dealer, without careful wrapping? A pound of fish in his pocket, in the package usually supplied by the fish- — dealer, will ruin a perfectly good forty dollar suit of — clothes. Is it worth it? It would appear that the ~ men who provide food for the householders of Canada have in times past been in a benevolent conspiracy to sist that they eat beef, pork and mutton. If care packing is any criterion, the case is proved to an abso- — lute demonstration, ; a Similarly, the hotels and the restaurants in Canada have thwarted the natural predilection of the people — of fish for food, through their indifferent cooking. — The essential qualification of the ordinary cook is that he be able to cook eggs and meat. Cooking fish is an © entirely different affair, yet the majority of cooks — manhandle it as they do a beef steak. Cooking is — everything with fish. It is not hard to learn how to © cook fish, but, by hickory, you have got to learn if — you are going to know how. In the days of plenty, when money came and went easily and life was young ~ and voracious, intolerable cooking was overlooked amid — the array of fine linen and silverware, and dainty ser- — vice. The cooking amid its enticing camouflage was — even praised, but believe me, it was intolerable, so — far as the fish was concerned. Has it improved? Are the public-eating house managers alive to the need of — improving the culinary practices of their chefs? The — first question that should be asked of a cook is: © Can you cook fish? If he ean, the eating-house that engages him will not want for patrons. . What has been said, in part may be applied to the average Canadian household, whose managing head in the great majority of cases either can’t cook fish or does not care to bother. Now, at the risk of be- — coming a target for pots and pans, I suggest to the ~ wemen of Canada that they learn how to cook fish. — They should know anyway, but with all Canada ona — fish for food diet, it becomes more than ever a duty. — nate a substitution of fish for beef and pork and thus re- use more of these vitally essential war foods for ipment to the allies. Besides that in consuming fish dians are partaking of a National product in se trade development all Canada stands to gain. patriotic household cooks fish properly and eats requently, is the fish dealers who are the organizers of the 1 for food habit of the people of Canada. They rform an important function and service between urce of supply and the consumer. Fish dealers ponsible for keeping Canadians on a diet of fish is their duty to see that it is well done. If not do their duty in getting fish in fit state to nsumers they are blamable. If they provide es with sufficient quanfities and varieties of ibit them on proper tables, topped with r tile, disperse chunks of clean ice among their and put their sales up in sanitary, unleakable dv packages, they are worthy of all praise, doing notable national service in these war he fish dealer needs to go further if he is to d inerease his sales. Not only must he make store spick and span and run it on the most methods, but also he must keep informed as to fish facts. The retail selling of fish is only aney in Canada. It will stand a great deal eved development. Within twenty-five years e of pork and dairy products have been revolu- by the big packing houses in Canada. Who that the big wholesale fish houses will not do thing with fish before many years are gone? t has been done in retailing fish in the United _ How did Great Britain build up her enormous le? Did you ever hear how baskets of fish, ught, are shipped out of Grimsby, England, orning to individual householders hundreds away? Fish and chip shops are numerous in cities of the North American continent. are many splendid fish restaurants in the cities United Kingdom, but in the United States and where store-keeping and public eating house has reached a high mark, and where the finest the world are to be had, there is no first-rate ely fish restaurant, managed by a man like and presided over by a chef like Oscar, both York. Yet such an eating house supplying vould pay in Toronto or Montreal. fish dealer must keep in touch with events. He be a subscriber to and a reader of the Canadian rman, that is doing meritorious work on behalf hnieal education in fish culture, as well as pro- an excellent compendium of news and views of hing industry from the Atlantic to the Pacific. hould know the fish he sells from its habitat in wr lake or stream to its last look as it leaves his ‘He should think in terms of fish, and he should ud of his association with a business that is feed- e people of Canada with a food that judged by standard is wholesome, nutritious and healthful. $ reason to be proud, for he is a co-partner cousumers of Canada in_utilizing a hitherto ploited source of food supply—practically a in souree of food supply—within the confines of Dominion, and tlius adding to the food stocks of tries fighting against the savagery of Ger- will win this war. Eating more fish in CANADIAN. FISHERMAN 749 r cooking of fish will encourage a more general «Canada will vitally assist in that econsumation. My word to the fish dealers of Canada is to magnify their calling. If you do not now take pride in it either get out of it, or make the business such a one as you can take pride in. You have a splendid oppor- tunity to do suecessful service to the consumers of Canada ‘nd make a profit. For, believe me, fish for food is here to stay. AN APPRECIATION. COLONEL THE HON. C. C. BALLANTYNE, MP. Minister of Marine and Fisheries, and of the Naval. Service. By WILLIAM HAMMAR GREENWOOD. The best Minister of Marine and Fisheries Canada ever had, is the way a prominent Canadian salmon canner describes Colonel the Honorable C. C. Ballan- tyne, M.P., the present incumbent of the office. He laid stress upon the fact that the new Minister is a proven business executive, familiar with dealing with large questions in a generous way, and conversant with the fundamental principles of modern. business suecess. Colonel Ballantyne’s rise from office boy to Presi- dent, and but recently Managing Director of the Sher- win-Williams Paint Company, through sheer force of merit and capacity, is a sufficient testimony to his fit- ness to administer the important department not only ~ of Fisheries but also of the Naval Service, both marine and protective. As a member of the Montreal Board of Harbor Com-- missioners for years, he acquired first hand knowledge of ships and shipbuilding needs, which he is’ now using on behalf of the people of Canada in launching a national steel ship-building programme. Hitherto, for generations, the head of the Depart- ment for Fisheries in Canada has been a lawyer, with the exception of Hon. Mr. Prefontaine, who was first and last a clever politician and a contractor. To-day, a business man, trained in the most exact- ing school in Canada, and acceptable to the captains of industry in large Canadian cities is the chief fisher- man of the Dominion. His responsible charge will be to encourage and protect the fisheries of Canada. By applying the wisdom he has gained in building up one of the largest industrial concerns in the country, to the Fisheries, he may reasonably be expected to sur- pass the records of his lawyer predecessors, who could see legal points, but quite overlooked the fish. - He is happy in having in his Department, both in the inside and outside services, some of the most cap- able officials in the employ of the Government, well. informed on all points, and embued with the spirit of fairness, constantly safe-guarding the public interest against the encroachments of over-zealous private en- terprises. G. J. Desbarats. C.M.G., Deputy Minister; W. A. Found, Chief Superintendent of Fisheries; Pro- fessor Prince, Chairman of the Biological Board; J. A. Rodd, Superintendent of Hatcheries, and Colonel F. H. Cunningham, Chief Inspector of Fisheries in British Columbia, are the equal of any fishmen in energy and ability in America, and are attached to their work by singularly sincere regard for the equitable develop- ment of Canada’s vast fisheries resources. It is their life work that the people should benefit by their legiti- } 750 mate exploitation, and that they should make two fish appear where only one appeared before. The new Minister, who might be expected to possess a new broom, has not made a sweep with it, but has taken over , the Department and givén the word to ‘*Carry on.’ In that very first action on his part, he has won the respect and esteem of his officials, and there is a noticeable speeding up and stiffening of parts that be- speak thorough efficiency and a desire to excel. Your excellent business executive is a pragmatist. He judges by results. The new Minister is in the conning tower, and is looking on. He is going West in the summer to see salmon canned on the rivers of British Columbia. He will also visit the Atlantic. Be- fore Christmas he will know the business end of his Department as he knows a pint of paint. The man does not live who can fool him on paint. He will be a hard fishman to fool on fish. Colonel Ballantyne has been described by the in- imitable Gadsby as a sort of De Wolf Hopper. He does suggest the elongated comedian but only in height. Hopper is ungainly and tall, and: his knees bow to each other. Not so the Colonel. He is Colonel in more than name. He is a real Colonel by instruction and by merit, for he raised a Montreal regiment and accompanied it overseas. He always took the salute at review and that requires more than a uniform as any soldier can tell you. His first public utterances in the House of Com- — mons, the most exelusive club in Canada, caught the — ears of the members and the comment was general and instant, that he would do. He has made several unusual statements in Parlia- ment. He has expressed his gratitude that he is an amateur in politics and proposes to remain so. He has also declared that politics and patronage will play no part in the administration of his Department. There are old timers in the House who profess to scoff at these so-called idealistic expressions but Colonel Bal- lantyne is sincere in what he says, and those who know him best says that public office has no charm for him, except that he may faithfully serve his fellow-country- men. If he thought he could not run his department on thoroughly business lines, without interference from partizans and wire pullers, he would resign, without delay and he would tell the public why he quit. He believes a public office is a public trust, and so long as he is a trust for the people of Canada he will give them the best service of which he is capable. It is evident that the new Minister of Marine and Fisheries. is typical of a new force in public life, and one that will receive the cordial endorsation of the tax- payers who are always willing to pay the price if they are satisfied that they are getting value for their money. With perhaps one or two exceptions, no member of Sir Robert Borden’s cabinet is better equipped, physically, mentally, by temperament and by experi- -ence in business to give a definite urge to more busi- ness like governmental ead ean (cig than Colonel Ballantyne. Judging by his public utterances, Canada will watch with interest how well he succeeds in revitalizing his own department, if it should perchance need it, and on that record he may hope to build the foundations of any edifice his ambition for public advancement may conceive. Whatever oa have been issued since ays took CANADIAN FISHERMAN - A smaller man might have claimed that the ~ ‘reverts in memory to the happiest days of his May, : 1s over the Department have been in keeping with sane and sound common-sense, with no sign of par ing to the spirit of innovation ‘because it make be and spectacular. The necessary thing alone has been done. Th ing down of the lobster hatcheries on the A coast was not a politic move from the standpo the partizan, but it was necessary, and, follov investigation by Professor Knight who declared ter hatcheries were worse than useless—they we ing-off the lobsters. 7 As a business man the Colonel closed down hatcheries. Had he been merely a politician he have had his ear to the ground and would have he the clamor of the political pack over the dying of decimating lobsters. Apparently the new Minister intends to conse sea-food fisheries of the Atlantic, even if there prise expressed down by the sea. | His persistent co-operation with the Canada Board in its campaign for the creation of a mar Pacific flat-fish in the four western provinces outstanding indication of his capability of play game on the broadest lines. He made it possi the Canada Food Board to guarantee consu price of about ten cents per pound. for these h little used fish, caught by a trawl, by getting th ernment to assume tyo- thirds of the transpertat charges from the coast to the inland cities and tov ment of Fisheries should carry on this campaig the Colonel lends cordial support to the Depart that long ago organized itself to induce Cana substitute fish for beef, and pork in order to hh the war. Whatever and whoever encourages a legitim tension of the fishing industry 1 in Canada finds a- Ti in the new minister, who is satisfied if Canada’s eries resources are being utilized for the benefit people. In other days such action as was taken ie t ada Food Board might have jarred the Constitu to its rafters, so jealous of its preserves was the F eries Department. But the business man always le to the results. The Canada Food Board is : results. That satisfies the Colonel. ; Colonel Ballantyne is on the sunny side of fifty. a by reason of his splendid physique looks neare than forty-five. He was born on an Ontario f Scotch Presbyterian stock. With the reward: exceptionally successful career thick upon he was a farmer’s boy. He has two hundred acres of land near the. of Winchester, in Eastern Ontario, to which he almost a father’s care, and where he delights te his week-ends and entertain his friends with spiring contemplation of real production of food He believes it is the duty of well-to-do city men to part of their time and some of their money veloping farms, so that the country may be m quainted with the city and the city man bro by coming in contact with the salutary idee sessed by the countryman. Altogether the new Minister of Marine and F is a unique personality, with notable phases o acter, that will make him a power in oe serv) his native land. 4 ; INTERNATIONAL FISHERIES COMMISSION i VISITS VANCOUVER. article is not to give a record of the doings Commission, but to give a little side light on d feeling that has been created by the sittings of mmission, both on the Atlantic and Pacific The writer attended several of the sittings puver, and noted with interest the pains that ember took to get at every angle of the ques- fore them, and they insisted that all those ap- ' give their own ideas of the question under ion. They would not accept any questionable s, and by so doing they had been able to make § that will be according to the evidence pro- Another thing that was carried out while the ssion was in Vancouver was a public meeting at h Secretary Redfield, and Judge Hazen were the akers. This meeting was held under the auspices e Women’s and Men’s Canadian Clubs of Van- - and the audience was very representative of linking men and women of the City. Mrs. Scott, epresented the Woman’s Canadian Club and pre- in introducing the speakers, mentioned the fact from all that she could find out about the Fraser ‘sockeye she concluded that they did not know nternational Boundary line when they saw it. eretary Redfield did not dwell upon the doings of * Commission, but gave a decidedly strong address why the United States did not enter the war before did, and also some interesting details of what les they had to overcome after they did start. Secretary’s address was exceptional in many ways, those who had the pleasure of being present were y repaid, as he is a very forceful speaker, and earers realize that he is master of the subject he cussing. The United States could not have a bet- man in every way on this Internation Commission i Secretary Redfield. Judge Hazen, in his ad- wi it ante details regarding the doings and ob- CANADIAN FISHERMAN SISASSASS SSO SSSA 751 jects of the commission, which gave the public a splen- did idea of just what the commission was hoping to accomplish, and the different questions they had been taking up. He gave in a decidedly lucid and inter- esting manner the troubles way back in 1818 when the first fishery treaty was made, and then the one in i888, and how the fisheries interests un the Atlantic Coast could not seem to get together, and then how this year they held their sittings in Boston and Glou- cester, and invited the men in the fish business in St. John, Halifax and other centres to the north of the line to be present in the United States sittings, and they came down, and questions were discussed that never had been discussed before under such conditions. In fact it was the first time that the fishery interests of both sides of the line had ever come together on the other fellow’s territory and discussed matters pertain- ing to their mutual interests in the history of the business. When the sittings were held at St. John, the Commission had the men representing the Boston and Gloucester *interests come up, and discuss the ques- tions with their northern neighbors. The result was that misunderstandings, and misrepresentations that had been going on for generations were swept away. The result is to-day that both the Canadian and Amer- ican fishing craft enter and clear the ports of each country freely, and good feeling exists all round. When they got out to the Pacific Coast they found more or less of a’ sectional feeling existed, especially in Ketchikan where the business men opposed the idea of allowing American fishing vessels entering and clear- ing, and delivering their catches at Prince Rupert, but the fishermen were anxious that this be done. The Commission did not believe in allowing any sectional or local feeling to stand in the way of their accom- plishing anything that is for the benefit of the general public on both sides of the line. The amount of good the Commission has accomplished is apparent on both the Atlantic and Pacifie coasts even now, and it is not yet ended. 752 THE SITTINGS OF THE INTERNATIONAL FISH- ERIES COMMISSION ON THE PACIFIC - COAST. The Pacific Coast meetings of the American-Can- adian Fishermen’s Conference began on April 24th and closed in Seattle on May 10th. They exceeded in impotence and interest any former fishery meet- ings on the coast. Meetings were held in Seattle, Prince Rupert, Ketchikan, Vancouver, New West- minster, and again in Seattle. The salmon fishery of the Fraser River, Pacific Halibut fisheries and Port Privileges were the three subjects dealt with. The Fraser River fishery occupied most of the sessions in Seattle, Vancouver and New Westminster. At the opening of the Seattle meeting the chairman, Hon. Wm, C. Redfield, outlined the scope of the conference and stated that the questions at issue must be con- sidered from a national and not from a State or Pro- vincial aspect. That they were questions on which all the people of North America were concerned and they would so be dealt with. Selfish and: monetary considerations must give place to national interests. That conservation of an important food supply was the prime object together with the removal, for all time he hoped, of every fishery question at issue be- tween two great governments. He dwelt at length, as did Justice Hazen later, with the results already attained on the Atlantic coast, and expressed the hope that their work on the Pacific might be equally suc- cessful. The meetings were entirely informal, the chairman having stated that while they desired facts they were also ready to hear the opinions of men who had made a study of the questions, and that interest- ed parties were at liberty to question witnesses so long as they confined attention to the matter at issue. At the first Seattle meeting the Washington State Fisheries Association, representing the salmon can- ning industry of that State, presented a transcript of the evidence collected from canners, trap-owners, purse-net fishermen, and scientific students. While admitting that great depletion had taken place in the runs of salmon to Puget Sound and the Fraser River and that additional measures must be taken to in- sure a greater number of sockeye salmon reaching the spawning grounds of the Fraser, the Association did not believe there was need of absolutely closing the sockeye fishery for a period of years. A closed sea- son from July 20th to August 1st, inclusive for sock- eye in Puget Sound waters, and from July 25th to August 5th, inclusive, in British Columbia waters was recommended, on the ground that such a period would insure fifty per cent of the present run reaching the spawning area. The Association also advocated a more restricted use of purse-nets in Puget Sound sock- eye fishing. The Purse Seine Fishermen’s Associa- tion, while favoring a ten days closed period in July, opposed any further restrictions as to the use of purse-seines. They maintained that the runs of sock- eye had been depleted because the traps had persist- ently been operated during the weekly closed time, notwithstanding the regulation. They charges re- peated violations. State Fish Commissioner Darwin, and many trap operators, denied the charge, The agent of the Purse Seiners Association expressed the view that the majority of its members would favour an absolute closing of sockeye fishing during one of the lean years, and four years later, in order that the effect of such closing might be determined. The Fraser Salmon Fishery was the one subject CANADIAN ’ one thing to do. _spector of Dominion Fisheries, Lieut.-Col. FISHERMAN May, dealt with at the sessions in Vancouver. A statem of the Hon. Wm. Sloan, Fisheries Commissioner fo Province of British Columbia, was read at the ing. His statement was strong and practical. He voeated an absolute closing of all sockeye fishing a period of years, saying: ‘‘The runs of sockeye t the Fraser are perilously near to extermination. — will be exterminated if conditions remain as th In view of the evidence there is, in my judgme Adopt measures that will ins the watershed all the sockeye that still surviv that end I would suggest the total prohibition of eye fishing in waters frequently by those pr in the Fraser until such time ag they “have ree from their depleted condition.’’ . . . ‘This the greatest fishery question in which Canada and United States are now concerned,’’ he said. only adequate, the only permanent solution question is the acquisition by Canada and the States of all the rights in the fishery of whic may not now be in possession, though it invo question of compensation to resident fisherm canners who are in a position to establish ground such recognition. That being established, the should be closed to sockeye fishing for such a p of time as is necessary to restore the runs to abundance of former big years. When that has accomplished, let fishing be resumed under s sion and for the benefits of the two nations, until time as they have been recouped for their ext tures, and thereafter in such manner, and to_ that the supply may not again become deplete The British Columbia Salmon Canners present able memorial expressing their views. Notwit ing the depleted condition of the fishery, they did approve of absolute closing. By lengthening the ly closed season and a curtailment of the use 0 and purse-nets in Puget Sound and greater at artificial propagation and the elimination 0 from the Fraser, they maintained that the runs be restored as they had been in the Columbia. — advocated closing the fishing in the Fraser Westminster Bridge. Henry Bell-Irving of the Packing Co., endorsed Commissioner Sloan’s ment as ‘‘being the most businesslike recomme yet advanced.’’ The six plants owned by the Packing Company on the Fraser would not ag. pperated, he said, until the run had been enlars cause it would not pay to operate. Assistant missioner of Fisheries Babcock, advocated an abs closing, and gave evidence of depletion. Chie ham, advocated a 72-hour weekly closed seaso: greater restriction on Puget Sound and on the He would, he said, endorse Commissioner Sloan’s posal but for the present food shortage, — At the meetings in New Westminster, the B Trade and many fishermen opposed. an absolu ing of sockeye fishing, but advocated a longer ly closed time and greater restriction on Puget | They also urged the extermination of trout an predacious fishes in the Fraser watershed, and grey seal in the Gulf of Georgia. It is the opinion of canners and others that tl ference was presented with all the pro and con on the salmon fishery question. Some of tho have followed the evidence closely express th ion that the Commissioner will favor the adop some radical’ measures as to longer: weekly ¢ s, and possibly an entire closed season in 1920 1924, in order to demonstrate the effect upon the yning grounds. In view of the evidence of deple- and the scientific evidence submitted by Dr. Gil- and Mr. Babcock, it is thought they can do little The Halibut Question. e halibut and port privileges questions were the eets dealt with at Prince Rupert and Ketchikan. weight of oral evidence given favoured a Decem- anuary and February closed period for halibut z, and to be enforced in non-territorial waters Ohibition of landings in Canadian and United Ports. It was generally admitted that halibut rapidly being depleted. The evidence on this submitted at New Westminster and in Seattle line with the evidence secured in the North. to the surprise of the Seattle representation ompanied the Commission to the North on the States Lightship ‘‘Cedar,’’ the fishermen at an unanimously advocated that United States en should be permitted to enter and _ clear ‘ince Rupert. While several American inter- tably those at Seattle, opposed American ves- ng given the right to enter and clear Canadian yr the fishing grounds and for trans-shipment ‘0 the ‘“‘independent vessel owners’’ in the 1 strongly advocated such measures. e ‘personnel, the Commission, and the open and ik method in which all the publie meetings on the t were conducted, created a most favorable im- . Both in Seattle and in British Columbia, the ave extended reviews of the evidence submit- he editorial comments on both sides of the line confidence in the conference and that gvood - good—will result from its deliberation. conference adjourned in Seattle on the 10th he Commissioners and their staff of assistants d east over the Canadian Pacific Railway, and final conference in Ottawa beginning on he conclusion of which it is anticipated they e formal aie ueecments: SH COLUMBIA SALT HERRING. Scotch Cure. sritish Columbia Scotch cure salt herring lia ok the past season amounted to nearly 25,000 bar- id in value to approximately $450,000, that is if tom had not fallen out of the British Columbia ‘eure market. As a matter of fact there are ee metely about one-half of the pack which barrels are held by consignees who have made vances. The balance is still unsold. Please in mind that these are not official figures, as the ‘returns are not to be had at the present time, e very close. re we attempt to analyse the situation let us ut the fact that British Columbia’s herring sup- s not yet been fished to anywhere near its ca- : To be sure. the different localities show a dif- the product by the Scotch method. These are Point Grey (these grounds have not been e past two or three years, as the fish seem- have aime Pender Harbor, Nanaimo CANADIAN FISHERMAN _ of salt herring for many years past. been actually disposed of although a few thou- 753 and Port Alberni or Barelay Sound. The Point Grey herring are without doubt the best that have been caught, but for reasons noted this locality will have to be eliminated. The Pender Harbor herring come next both as to fatness, shape and size, but the pack at that point this season was a failure, as there were not over 1,500 barrels packed there all together. Next to. Pender Harbor come the Alberni herring, and some contend that the Alberni herring are the equal to Pender Harbor herring. In any event the Alberni pack this season was looked upon as a very good pack, and must have been satisfactory, when they are given the proper care, and put up under the right conditions, as prices have been realized that is a good proof of this fact. One of the best, packs brought as high as $22— per Scotch barrel for part of the pack, and but for the different factors that have entered into the fixing of the conditions that now hold over the B. C. herring market, there is no doubt but what this pack would » have averaged at least $20 per barrel right through. As it is now close to one-third of this pack is held in storage waiting to move at a price the owner hopes to secure for them. On the other hand there have been lots that have sold as low'as $10 per barrel. This gives an idea of the range which prices have taken since the season started, The reasons for it are several, and we will give as near as possible the causes that have led up to these conditions. In the first place an attempt was made to control the entire B.C, pack, and when the Pen- der Harbor pack was known to be a failure every at- tempt was made to secure herring to pack under the Scotch eure method. Many packers were advised to se- eure Nanaimo herring for their packs, and it was no time before stations were built or arranged for by those who had been unsuccessful at Pender Harbor. The result was that thousands of barrels of Nanaimo her- ring were packed. This to the writer’s mind was the worst move that was made, as it immediately resulted in the securing of many tons of an inferior herring for the Seotch pack, as the Nanaimo herring has not been used for anything but bait and an Oriental pack They have the length, but not the shape and fatness or meat. Then again the different methods used were not conducive to the securing of the right results. Much of the her- ring was roused in tanks, which held altogether too much herring, and as a result they were too hard salted before going into the pickle. This resulted in many barrels of inferior stock being packed. An- other reason was that there were some curers that pre- tended to know about the Scotch method of curing herring, when as a matter of fact they were nothing more than amateurs. As stated before an attempt was made to control the entire B. C. herring pack, and those that were packing had been told that they could dispose of every herring they put into a barrel at prices ranging from $16 to $20 per Scotch barrel, f.o.b. Vancouver for cash. Many barrels of Seotch pack were packed without regard to grading for sizes, and as they had been roused altogether too long before being put into pickle, they simply hardened and shriveled up when more salt was added. The result was that a lot of these herring were shipped out with- out the proper kind of inspeetion, and when they reached the New York market, they were refused. Now any one that knowse¢the fish business should be perfectly aware that no one firm can eontrol the pro- duets of the sea, and that no one firm in one city 754 can e->eet to seeure the exclusive output of any one section. When the receiving firm received the ship- ments of herring that had not been properly inspected before being shipped, they promptly entered a severe , complaint, and gave instruction that no more herring be shipped them except those of certain packers, whom they were sure would put up the right stock. Now take into consideration the fact that this firm had paid the top price for the herring in question, and that the trade had found out that there were questionable her- ring being packed, it may well be imagined that the next thing to be expected would be a desire to see first hand all the herring offered before any more buys would be made. This resulted in representatives of all the large Eastern buyers coming to British Columbia to inspect the herring pack first hand. The outcome was that the buyers who had hoped to se- eure the entire B. C. pack found himself with a good stock of high priced herring on hand, and with the knowledge that about two-thirds of a pack of 25,000 barrels was still to come onto the market. All the buyers purchased a few hundred barrels while they were on the coast, but the great bulk of the pack was still left, and with no offers, From a hoped for price of $18 to $20 per barrel the packers found themselves with their packs on hand, and prices vf from $17.50 down being offered them. One buyer bought some at $10 per barrel before he left, and since then offers have been received at $8 and when the packer decided to sell this offer had been withdrawn. The reason for this was that the shortage of cold storage space had now entered into the calculations, and with no space to be had in New York, Boston or Philadelphia the buyers have been absolutely unable to pay, and know that they could take care of their purchases upon ar- rival in New York. As far as the writer can see this condition as to cold storage space will continue for some time to come for the simple reason that the more troops the United States sends to the front the more supplies they will require, and until the proper amount of transportation space is acquired there must neces- sarily be a large accumulation of supplies at every loading port. This means that the salt herring unsold must be carried until the supply in the Eastern mar- kets is low enough to warrant cars being shipped for — arrival at such times as they may be promptly dis- posed of to the consuming public, and not be held in storage, in the Kast. British Columbia fishing inter- ests have regretted that these conditions obtained this past season, as it- gave the British Columbia Scotch cure pack a bad start. In the first place it has been felt that the prices talked of at the beginning, namely $20 per barrel and up, were altogether too high, es- pecially for the grade of herring being packed, and then when this price dropped to a price $5 to $10 be- low the $20 price, the loss in paper profits looked pretty big. One thing is sure and that is that there is a great necessity for Government inspection, and with’ this end in view there is a resolution being placed be- © fore the Department of Marine and Fisheries to have a compulsory inspection of the Seoteh cure pack of herring, and a tax on every barrel of Scotch cured herring put up. By having a practical Scotch curer with a thorough knowledge of the coopering depart- ment of the trade as inspector, British-Columbia should not have a repetition of what happened the past season. British Columbia has the therring, and herring that -equal the genuine Scotch herring, both in size, shape CANADIAN FISHERMAN _raised as to their quality. westerly wind blowing, and all the buildings dry May, 1 and quality, and with the proper methods used, and proper inspection in force there is no reason at m why We cannot compete with any of the other marke and the same firms that have gone through the looked for experiences of the past season are going pack this coming season, but with the one idea of ting up herring that there can be no possible question They have learned t a r lesson, and will profit by it. In fact, new firms are going to pack this season that did not pack last seas and this speaks well for those connected with the fish- ing industry, as it means one thing, and that is British Columbia will come to the front with their and eanned herring just as she has with her ean salmon, and the writer predicts that during the next five or ten years the British Columbia mages (canned and salted) will out-rival the salmon ea industry. PISCATO Vaneouver, B.C., May 17, 1918. ; NEW CANNERY ON QUEEN CHARLOTTE. — Two gentlemen who are well known to the fishing interests of British Columbia, have formed the Lock port Canning Co., Ltd., and will build a cannery i season for this year’s pack, These men are Capt. I H. Simpson, and Bill Shrubsall of Prince Rupert. Capt, Simpson is better known in Vancouver, as | h has been connected with fishery interests here fe many years, and everyone in and around Prince - pert knows ‘‘Bill’’ Shrubsall. The new cannery wi be operated at Lockeport, Queen Charlotte Isla and the company will also handle smoked, salt fresh fish, making their shipments through both Van- couver and Prince Rupert. More will be heard fre this firm, as they have been very successful durin past season, and no doubt will continue this s the coming season. Here’s all good luck for th firm. Ae = SERIOUS FIRE AT STEVESTON, B.C., DESTROYS SALMON CANNERIES, AND CANNED SALMON. Starting in a Chinese mess house, a fire dest about half a million dollars’ worth of proper Steveston, B.C., the morning of May 13th. Ine in this loss are three-salmon canneries, Japanese ing boats and gear, and canned salmon. With as cinder it was only a question.of how far the fire spread with nothing to stop it, before many othe: neries would be consumed. The large eold st plant of the British Columbia Packers Association ¥ a great help in stopping the conflagration. ent time it looked as though the Cold Storage Plant y go, but with the assistance of their system of p for fire fighting, and the good work their staff of put in under the direction of Mr. Geo. Cassidy, 1 ger of the plant, they not only saved that plan also the Imperial Cannery to the east, and this largest salmon cannery in British Columbia, The greatest loss occurred at the Lighthouse Cannery which is owned by Cliff & Lowman, and which the state will amount to $250,000.00, but is fully cover by insurance. Included in this loss were 20,000 of salmon, mostly chums. This was a two-line can and capable of canning 2,000 cases per day. The; endeavor to rebuild in time for this season’s— CANADIAN ompany “ a plant at Jervis Inlet, and a con- amount of the salmon secured at that point | at their Steveston plant. They look for eatest difficulty in securing the machinery, lieve they may be able to overcome this, Steveston Cannery, owned by Dr. Hepworth, ers, was a total loss, but all the machinery sen sold and removed. The Steveston Canning about 300 cases of salmon stored in the can- d this was lost. There was about $7,000.00 Ss on the buildings, and $4,500.00 on the canned is, all covered by insurance. nk Millerd, of the Gosse-Millerd Packing Co., n rs of the Star Cannery, which was a total s that their loss will amount to $75,000.00, red by insurance. This was a two-line can- n a capacity of 2,000 cases per day. Last s the first season the Star Cannery had been in four years. It was formerly owned by ian Canning Co. There were 5,000 cases of mon stored in the cannery, which was lost, was fully covered by insurance, and is in- the total loss of $75,000.00. Mr. Millerd t they do not think they will re-build this ~Gosse-Millerd Packing Co., Ltd., also own couver Cannery, located on Sea Island, which | short distance from Steveston, the East Bella Cannery at East Bella Bella, B. C., and the Sun- Cannery at the mouth of the Skeena River. e necessity of conserving all kinds of food, was destroyed in the fire. Much of this Imon was practically sold, but could not be t that approximately 200 salmon nets were Ze- , and this is not only a serious loss to the Jap- ing season will be impaired just this much, tically impossible to secure new twine, and from the increased cost of the material. _also about 15 or 20 fishing boats, worth ely $1,000.00 per boat, burnt, and this loss y on the fishermen. The total of this loss ‘men wil approximate $60,000.00 to $75,- there is no inSurance to cover it. The Jap- rmen saved practically all their household as the women worked hard, and did this part work most effectively, as they worked in 1 working together on one house at a time, x one of their number in the field where ds were taken to see that the effects were not nd going from house to house. As this was quads it is easy to see that their method was etive, and the unit system was apparently plied in this instance. In all, about 600 Jap- d Chinese are without homes, and about twen- S were destroyed in the fire, veston had a serious fire last year, but fortunate- e of the canneries were destroyed. vaterfront in Vancouver is undergoing many nges at. present, and the wholesale fish dealers are ig some moving round. The Union Fish Co. have upying the Western Packers old shed on the ive. wharf, but both they and Urquhard & are to make a move, as the city is making alter- tion with the municipal controlled fish re will be more in this connection later FISHERMAN 755 FISH CURERS HAVE HEAVY FIRE LOSS IN VANCOUVER. ; A fire that did about $2,000,000.00 damage to a large shipbuilding yard in Vancouver, B.C., also burn- ed the fish curing plant of Watson Bros. Their loss amounts to about $20,000.00, and this is covered by in- surance. There were about 400 barrels of Scotch her- ring, and 200 barrels of belly-cuts, besides many box- es of smoked herring of different kinds. This loss consisted of a fully equipped curing plant, as there was a complete smoked fish plant as well as every facility for salting, and re-pickling the salt herring. The plant will be rebuilt. MAJOR-GENERAL A. D, McRAE. The fishing industry of Canada has been singled out for special distinction through the recent appointment to one of the most responsible posts in the British Ministry of National Information, of Major-General A. D. MeRae, C.B., who organized the Wallace Fish- eries, Limited, of Vancouver, B.C.,.and who still exer- cises parental executive direction, though at a dis- tance. General McRae relinquishes his duty as Quartermas- ter-General of the overseas military forces of Canada to become Director of the new administration under Lord Beaverbrook, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Laneaster and Director of Propaganda, with a seat in the Cabinet, but not in the War Cabinet. In a word, the General is organizer of the Administration of Pub- lic Information in the United Kingdom, At this time, it may be in the public interest to -record the fact that it was Col. A. D. McRae, then Director of Supply and Transport of the overseas mili- tary forces of Canada to whom the major eredit is due for the introduction of frozen fish into the rations of the Canadian forces, which led to the British War Office upsetting the traditions of centuries and letting Tommy Atkins have fresh fish to eat. Major Hughie Greene was the Ambassador of Sir Sam Hughes to Colonel McRae, but the latter, familiar with frozen fish as an article of diet and commerce through his having invested his money in the Wallace Fisheries, was the man in authority who had to be persuaded and Hughie Greene was not long in doing that, for he is nothing if not persuasive and gratiating. It is said of Hughie that if he cannot persuade a man, he sings to him; then a general surrender ensures. There is enough eredit to go round, and it may be divided among Sir Sam, General McRae and Major Hughie Greene, though Hughie is bound to live in history as the man with the frozen fish, for no one ean match him as a story-teller, - General McRae brought the Quartermaster Depart- ment of the O.M.F.C. to a high state of efficiency. The scientifie rations diet worked out by himself and staff was considered far superior to anything pre- viously supplied the troops and, indeed, was so meri- torious that it has been adopted for use by other armies. On accepting his new appointment he has at his own request given up his Canadian pay and al- lowance, and tendered his services to the Imperial Government without pay. His selection by Lord Beaverbrook to organize the Department of Public Information recognizes the principle that the best minds everywhere should be more fully employed in the service of the Empire. General McRae is only forty-three years of age. He was born on a farm near the little village of Glencoe, Middlesex County, Ontario. He spent several years { - 756 CANADIAN in the middle Western States and when the exodus of farmers from the United States to the Canadian West was on the eve of beginning he organized it on behalf of the Canadian Government, with a success that laid the foundation for the present prosperity of the wheat provinces of Canada. For some years prior to 1914 he resided in Vancouver and aided materially in fostering industry and encouraging capital to de- velop the natural resources of British Columbia. He not only re-organized and operated the Wallace Fish- eries Limited, but also interested himself in whaling, believing that the fisheries of the Pacific were destin- ed to become a source of great wealth to Canada, as they have proven. They are now an important factor in food conservation, enabling Canadians to substitute fish for beef and pork, so that the Allies may be fed. When the war began he resigned from all his busi- ness interests in British Columbia, and offered his ser- vices in any capacity to the Canadian Government. General Hughes made him Lieutenant-Colonel’ in charge of all re-mounts west of the Great Lakes. A FISHERM A N May, 1918. | noted horseman, he converted his knowledge to stigll good advantage that his work was highly commended by the Royal Commission that was appointed to in- vestigate all war purchases. The protective measures he originated in connection with the purchases of re. . mounts saved Canada large sums of money and fo n- ed the basis of present safe-guards. He went over- seas early in 1915 as Director of Supply and Transport, being named Quartermaster-General with the rank ¢ Brigadier in December 1916, and Major-General anc 1 C.B. in December 1917. Ny General McRae is a born Canadian and keeps in eon- stant touch with all national tendencies. When thi war is over his friends expect that he will return his native country and play no small part in the adjustment of industrial conditions. His knowle of men and affairs, his varied business experience u his virility presage continued success in ih soe Yang 0 his country. WILLIAM sare GREENWOOD. ¥ The Sockeye Run on the Fraser River Its Present Condition and Its Future Prospects. By CHARLES H. GILBERT British Columbia Fisheries Department. The history of the Fraser River Socqeye runs shows unmistakably that the three. small years of each four- year cycle were overfished early in the history of the industry, and immediately showed the effects of seri- ous depletion. These effects have continued in in- creasing measure to the present day, when we have but small remains of the generous runs with which the in- dustry began. During the early years, when fishing was confined to the region about the mouth of the river and drift gill nets alone were employed, no evidence exists of overfishing. The last cycle in which these conditions obtainéd was 1894-96. During each of the small years of that eyele (1894, 1895 and 1896), there were pack- ed approximately 350,000 cases on the Fraser River and about 60,000 cases on Puget Sound. During each of those years, therefore, about 5,000,000 sockeye were taken from the spawning run and used for com- mercial purposes. It should have been considered at that time an open question whether enough salmon to keep the runs going had been permitted to escape to the spawning grounds. Strict inquiry should have been made to ascertain whether in addition to a sur- plus of individuals which could be spared, we had en- croached on the spawning reserve, with the certain re- sult that the runs would show a ‘falling off. ‘Apparently, however, a third of a million cases a year could be safely spared, for the following cycle shows no decrease. If from the beginning, the pack had been limited, to a third of a million cases for each small year, apparently the runs would still continue in their primitive abundance. During the three small years of this cycle approximately 1,200,000 cases were packed. But in the following period of four years (1898,) 1899 and 1900), the traps on Puget Sound became an important factor. While the British Columbia pack showed little or no reduction, it was now met by a pack on Puget Sound wich nearly "equalled it. The total ¢ cap tures during the three off-years of this eyele ne: rly doubled. those of the preceding years and exacted ¢ average toll of about 10,000,000 fish from the spawnin; run of these years. These total pack of the three years of this cycle was over 2,000,000 cases. ay The result was quickly apparent. If 5,000,000 fis could be safely spared, this figure nevertheless mus have been near the upper limit of safety, for when 1 000,000 fish were abstracted, the small years of the f lowing cycle showed such a marked decline as to i cate that we had far overstepped the line of safety am was then during the cycle of 1897-1900 that the fi serious damage was done to the Sockeye runs of © Fraser river. By doubling the pack of three small y year’ not only was the surplus fully taken, but the necessai spawning reserve was seriously encroached on, with tl result that in the small years of the following eye (1902, 1903 and 1904), in spite of the increased am of gear employed, the pack was cut in half, while spawning beds at the same time were but sparsely oS : Is it any wonder that the voice of my friend and 20 league, Mr. J. P. Babcock, of the Fisheries Departme: of British Columbia was raised insistently in wa: and protest! The inevitable and disastrous events should have been evident to the dullest. — | the parties in interest refused to hold their handed a proceeded with the slaughter of the spawning rem i while politically-controlled Commissions “se Fis couraged the good work to go on. - | . The result, as I have remarked, was aii appa May, 1918. CANADIAN FISHERMAN 61 nd liad, ea ie A food question. storage of same. Montreal: ANIEL H.H. NEIL, _ 16 Richmond Sq. Tel. Up. 8547. More Fish Less Meat f Save the Meat for our SOLDIER BOYS IN THE TRENCHES 71 Encourage the Government in the good work of solving the : This can only be done by installing a good FISH BOX for not neglect to Write to-day for CATALOGUE showing FISH BOXES—Sent Free. Manufactured by : 2 W. A. Freeman Co., Ltd., Hamilton, Ont. Toronto: P, D. DAVIDSON, 72 Chester Ave. With the high cost of labor can you afford to be without a Knapp Labelling and Boxing Machine? Complies with the Government re- quirements. Easily moved, and an at- tractive fixture, finished in WHITE ENAMELLED OR MISSION. Built on the same STANDARD as our REFRIGERA- TORS. We ¢an build them CHEAPER, but we won’t. We would build them BETTER, but we can’t. & Knapp Labelling ‘Méchins Toronto: G. SIMORELS, 344 Markham St. College 8794. The Brown ras Co., Limited Hamilton, Ontario E. A. EARL & CO., Vancouver, B.c.., Agents A, cadia Gas Engines, Ltd. .. .. .. ae Pe eensent Fisheries, by. td 6-5 Fe ie ee ae" liss, E. Co. 00 hi Wisheries Co. of Canada, Ltd. man, J., and € ‘és dram cdaccon ‘Co., a Ltd. h Columbia Government .. . tish Columbia nape cok _ Asso- s sation es . ji : Boggs Co., Ltd... a Engineering ‘Corporation, 3u1 AT Engine Co. ern; P. & Co. G ‘. Perfection Motor tobe. Guciecart wie da Metal Co., Ltd... .... cin and i ‘Storage +e Fisheries . ee, : 1p Fisheries’ Association. Fishing Co,, Ltd. ane Ice Machine Co. Milk Products, Ltd. Oil Co., Ltd. adian dian Pearl Button Co. Ltd... ors’ Brothers, Ltd. . a wees en Motor Co. .. ines ing and Washington oa - Department of Naval Service ti risay, M., Mteainion Aatirion, Ltd. =z. ‘Edwards, w Cc. & Co,, Ltd. . Eureka Sti Suenos Co. Evinrude Motor a ‘Farquhar and Co., rtd. Bie ad eri tad _Finklestein ot Re Finlay Fish Co., Inc. Fish Trades Saka are Motor ate “Machine ’ Co., umers Cordage Co., 2? Seas oe Index to Advertisers 7 Forge, Peter .. Bis 3 ea ae Ltd. pote Freeman and Cobb Co.. Inc. MY dee Si New England Fish. Company. Ltd. Wreemany Wet CO. oe ia si0 wey ce epee Ge Noble, Charles, Jr., TNGe ios eas eo Fromm, F. H. & Co. seal Wet Sak RMN eet eA Northern Fish Co. a. Nova Scotia tL ee Ei, Gh. & Co, Ltd. Goorich, oak ake be o Gourock Ropework Export Co., Ltd. 82 “4 Gosse-Millerd Packing Co, Ltd. .. 8 Ontario Government .. .. .. .. .. Gray and Prior Machine Co. .. .. .. 78 O’Connor’s Fish Market... .. .. e- Guarantee Motor Co SS Ae Guest, W. J., Fish ‘Co. 14k 3 25 89 P. H. Perfection Motor: Cov 2) ....0 e006 Hallam, John, Ltd. .. Pitt, Fishmonger P " Hart, E. F., BED 8 slog. Main eat oa bee tate 17 Polson Iron Works fi ee Geary Talaaee és eo “ee ale e4, b Owe 63 Plymouth Cordage Co. FIOOVOD SUGGS AG oo ac os ian ered ge rere DNS RS eat Hyde “Windies Co.°.. 2 9c F tipi Q. I. Quebec Government .. Imperial Oil,_Ltd. . a ee R. Independent Cordage ‘Co., Ltd. die hres Sane Independent Rubber Co., Ltd. .. .. 98 Ranney Fish Co. 4 Robbins, Chas 6. bare Jacobson Gas Engine Co... .. .. 98 obbins, BF. a James, F. T., Co., Ltd. Phe at OY Roberts Motors. Robin, Jones and _Whitman, | ‘Leta. Rs E. Robinson, Th Kermath Motor Co. .. ope ome Kildala Packing Co., Ltd. artea} tees 5 8. L. Seaboard Trading Co. . Scott and Co., yo ange § Scythes & Co., Ltd. Silver, Hx. R., Leckie, John, Ltd. Leonard Fisheries, Letson and Burpee, Ltd. Sis deel ¢ heen ae Ltd. Baer arth Lincoln, Willey and Co., Inc. se. 8S Smith “Tannery Machines Co., “Ltd. Linde Canadian Refrigeration Co., Stamford Foundry Co.. a ry Ltd. 65 Standard Gas Engine Co | a Lipsett, Cunningham and Co., “Ltd. 3 St. Thomas neeene.€ ei Ltd. ee Lipsett, Edward .. Pde, Spooner, W. R. . Lockeport Cold Storage Co., "Lael ge ae Loggie, W. 8S. Co 81 T. London and Petrolia Barrel Co., Ltd. 84 Tabor, Geo., Ltd. Lyons, Chas. Co., Inc. .. Thorne, W. H. and Co., Ltd. 2. °: M. Tuckett Tobacco role hey Fr, MESAb ic Bes Marconi Teac é ac “iat ay an Ww. Maritime 8 orpora on, Walker, Thos. and Son, sage F McAvity, T. & Sons, See -- 94 Wallace Fisheries, Ltd, i Mueller, Charles, Co., Ltd, oie Gel ee Wannenwetsch & Co, . Mustad, O., and Son... .. .. -. +. 7 Western yoga ite: Bw. New Brunswick Cold Storage Co. White and Co., Seagate Whitman, hg N. CS. ee 758 CANADIAN ent. In 1902, 1903 and 1904 the total sockeye pack of the Fraser was cut to 1,200,000 cases, and in succeeding years it has suffered still further reduction, the pack of the three off-years of a cycle never again equalling 1,- 000,000 cases. In 1906-8, it was 750,000 cases; in 1910- 12, 880,000 cases; in 1914-16, 796,000 cases. And with each year, the amount of gear employed has increased by leaps and bounds. The small years of the present eycle may be expected to register a smaller total than any which have gone before. As regards the big years of their respective eh, it could not be shown prior to 1913 that any permanent impairment of the runs had occurred. But the accident- al blockade of the canyon during that year prevented in large measure the seeding of the up-river spawning beds. The fish that should have reached them died without spawning _below the canyon. The results were only too conspicuous in 1917, and show beyond question that the blocking of the canyon was a disaster of the first magnitude. It has destroyed the big run for all time, unless extraordinary measures are taken to restore it. The ‘‘big year’’ must now range itself in size and importance with the ‘‘off years.’’ There is no reason -to hape that any measures would be effective in now pass it. So closely were the Sockeye gleaned this past season that the proportion of escape was reduced to aminimum. The reports of Mr. Babcock concerning the condition of the spawning beds indicate that far less spawn was deposited than in 19138. There is no reason to hope that any measures would be effective in now restoring the ‘‘big year’’ of the cycle, which would not be equally effective with the ‘‘off years.’ These are the facts with which we are confronted: The three off years very seriously impaired, with an almost certain prospect of worse to come during the present cycle; and the big year on which we have prin- cipally relied heretofore, a thing of the past. Nothing short of heroic remedies can restore the Fraser to even a fair measure of productivity. Yet the spawning grounds are uninjured and unsurrounded by any large _ populations of either natives or white; and the river channels are unpolluted. The fields are ready as ever for the harvest. We need but to spare the seed. | In planning to replenish a Sockeye stream, the ques- tion is at once raised: ‘‘To what extent can we depend on hatcheries???’ Unfortunately no certain. answer can be returned to this question. Certain sources of waste and loss in natural spawning are undoubtedly eliminat- ed in the hatcheries. The dangers which threaten the eggs—and these are many and serious—may be largely avoided. From a given quantity of eggs the hatcheries without doubt can produce a much larger number of - fry than is possible in natural propagation. Such doubts as we may entertain concerning the effectiveness of Sockeye hatcheries must deal, it would seem, with less favourable conditions under which the fry are liberated and possibly the less active avoidance of their enemies on the part of hatchery-raised fish. Some of these dan- gers may be minimized by the adoption of better me- thods. Certain it is, much of the hatchery work has been done with little intelligence and less conscientious- ness. Much better records may be made in the future. But to the present time, there is little to indicate a high efficiency of Sockeye hatcheries. Sockeye streams in Alaska or elsewhere, which are provided with. hatcher- ies, seem to conserve their runs little if any better than the streams without hatcheries. And specially success- ful years at the hatcheries have not been followed by » inerease of the runs. way can the Governments escape the resp FISHERMAN May, 191 It is clear then that in planning the rehabilitati the Fraser river, it will be unwise to place too mu¢ pendence on the work of hatcheries. Measures be adopted which will promise results in any enue an¢ then the help of the hatcheries availed of to the ful extent that they can furnish aid. In any event, 1 th hatcheries can work no miracles, and can produce 1 salmon fry without salmon eggs. "And it must be bor in mind that on the upper river, where are located | t greatest spawning beds of the river basin, no hatek can now operate, because spawning fish no longer ea this section in sufficient numbers to furnish the egg The hatcheries located on the upper river have been pelled to close their doors, so greatly~since they built have the runs become depleted. a The one all-important remedy for the existing tion is to permit more fish—many more fish—to capture and become spawners. Until adequate are taken to that end, it is useless to discuss an remedies. If we hope for results, we must ac picayunish fashion—we must deal in large q The mortality among salmon is great. At every stag of their lives, their enemies in infinite numbers and variety lie in wait. . A Sockeye egg, under natural con ditions, has not more than one chance in a thousa develop and survive to maturity. If a female lays 000 eggs—and this is not far from the usual numbe not more than two of these on the average will proe to sea, escape their enemies and return to spawn term. Nature has set the scene for a vast slaughter. utmost we can ever accomplish by way of protect covers only the life of the egg and the younger ste of the fry. Beyond that, Nature will have its and will take its vast toll. To keep a stream stock W salmon, this wastage must be allowed for. An exte1 sive spawning run must be maintained, all the mo tensive, if, as in the present case, the stock of se already’ seriously depleted and we wish to restore The Fraser river presents unexampled opport for productiveness and wealth. The people n enormous supplies of highly valuable food wh river is able to produce annually. It should n not Those now engaged in the industry of preparing t food-product for market should aa er the runs. If they are unable to agree on eit: f ernments should step in and control the matter. people need the food. They will come to need it f years even more sorely than they do at the pres private interests should be permitted to stand in of restoring this producer of food to the publi If the Fraser river were a private monopol henceforth wisely handled, there can be a would now be promptly closed to commercial fi a term of years, and the entire run—now so dwindled—dedicated to purposes of propaketan should be done without further delay for at :east_ eyele of four years, and the results carefully noted continued study of the spawning beds. ortune there now exist adequate data for comparison. No- Sockeye stream has received such close and ‘lis erin ing study. Through the wise efforts of Mr. J. | cock, annual inspection has been made. of the beds of the entire watershed, and predictions runs four years thence have been fearlessly ma a matter of record: how consistently: these Pp CANADIAN FISHERMAN PRACTICALLY EVERY FISHERMAN WEARS "HI-PRESS" BOOTS [i is marvelous the way this new footwear has been taken up by fishermen. ‘‘Hi-Press” is showing SO MUCH MORE WEAR and COMFORT than ordinary boots that, from Newfoundland to the salmon fisheries of the old Pacific, they are today the choice of the men who think before they buy. ‘* Hi-Press’’ are not made like the boots you used to wear. We MOLD them, under enormous pressure and great heat, INTO ONE SOLID PIECE— not in loosely cured layers. They CAN’T LEAK and they will OUT- WEAR ALL OTHERS TWO AND THREE TO ONE. Why waste money and risk health when you can wear ‘‘Hi-PressP’? Try them. _ 40,0000 dealers THE B.F.GOODRICH RUBBER COMPANY Makers of the Celebrated Goodrich Automobile ires—‘ ‘Best in the Long Run’’ _AKRON, OHIO—The City of Goodrich with the Red te Pound the Top Tee GOODRICH BOOT 7xat _OUTWEARS 'EM ALL 63 760 have been fulfilled. We are now, therefore, in posses- sion of information to enable us to judge with some de- gree of accuracy the effects of any remedial measures we may adopt. If the river were closed to fishing for one cycle of four years, we could know fairly well in advance what the result was to be, and could then either open the river and sound to restricted fishing, if the con- dition should warrant, or if necessary close it for a fur- ther period of four years. This is the only method to restore the Sockeye run with any promptness and with any certainty of success. So great has been the reduction of the runs, we can not predict with any optimism, what would be the re- sult of less drastic measures. If the amount of fishing gear in use be limited and the weekly closed season be extended, undoubtedly a somewhat larger proportion of fish would reach the spawning beds. But it must be borne in mind that it is not the proportion of a given run which spells success, but the actual number of spawners. ‘The whole of a sadly depleted run may be all. too few to produce the desired results. It is great- ly to be feared that any restrictions in the present case which would be so moderate as still to leave it profit- able for canneries to operate in the face of such reduced runs, can accomplish little or nothing towards the re- stocking of the river. The only wise course—the only adequate remedy—is to close the river for a term of years, by concurrent action of the two Governments. We might of course do nothing, and thus permit the run to decline to a point where commercial fishing would become largely if not wholly unprofitable—in the hope that when parties in interest no longer existed, it might be possible to adopt such measures as would then build the run up again. But in that case, a still longer period would be necessary, with far less probability of success. From the evidence taken at the sittings of the Inter- national Commission representing Canada and_ the United States held here a few days ago there seems to be no method in sight for the preservation of the halibut fishing on the Pacific. The commission was composed of the Hon. J. D. Hazen, Chief Justice of New Brunswick; George J. Desbarats. Deputy Minister of Naval Service, and W. A. Found, Superintendent of Fisheries, representing Canada; and the Hon. W. C. Rodfield, Secretary of Commerce; E. F. Sweet, Assist- ant Secretary of Commeree, and Dr, Hugh Smith, Com- missioner of Fisheries representing the United States. It would appear that the fishermen engaged in the business have no solution of the vexed question. Of those who appeared before the commission and gave evidence there seemed to be a disposition to think that the creation of a close season by international arrange- ment for about three months in the winter, might be of assistance, inasmuch as that was the time when the most of the fish spawned. It was not pretended, how- ever, that this would be an assured way of placing the industry on a firm footing again by restocking the banks. It was hoped, however, that it might affect some saving. Another proposition that was put forward was that offered by some of the scientists that had investigated the situation. This was that the sea area within which the fishing was carried on should be divided into zones and a close season established for each of these in order for a term of years so as to allow the stock- CANADIAN FISHERMAN May, 1918. ing of the banks within these areas. This did not m with general favor. It was felt that it would not have the desired effects and that it would’ in any event in-- terrupt other forms of fishing that might be carried, on within the zones as created. Mr. T. H. Johnson, manager of the Cagadinn * and Cold Storage . Company of Prince Rupert, asked for his opinion and was forced to admit he could see no satisfactory solution for the ‘moti le. He said that he would gladly weleome some me of préserving these halibut as it meant so much i industry, but he could not’ find a way to safegu: the fish. The halibut was a slow developing fish and for that reason the banks were easily fished close ta depletion. The winter close season did not offer t his mind anything like a satisfactory solution. Nei did the zone system give promise of being a factory way of working out the proposition. The tion of affairs as it presented itself to him see to be that the halibut industry on the Pacifie w have to follow the course it had elsewhere, that would have to give place to some other line of th dustry like the flat-fish, and the cod, and similar The evidence went to show that there was no fp sibility of limiting the size of halibut that it wor be possible to take for commercial use. One could regulate the size of fish that would bite at the and be caught on the hooks. Once a fish was hooke it was necessary to use it for it was doubtful if it w be of use afterwards. The evidence went farther a showed that the fishing was now being ene | farther and farther away from the old fishing be Ne The result of the investigations here on this p indicate that without doubt the halibut industry doomed as far as the Pacific is concerned. The ing of other varieties that are to be caught by 41 of the trawl seems to offer the solution. Already th: system of fishing has come into vogue here th the demand for substitutes for beef and pork are needed for overseas. It is fortunate that rich supplies are to be obtained on the banks off Rupert. — A PACIFIC FLATFISH. If fishes can indulge in imprecations then i than possible that the various classes of flat find their habitat on the banks of Heeate § this port, will be joining in a song of hate German people and the war. From the beg things these fish have had the banks to theme] least in so far as man’s interruption is— The soles, brills, plaice, witches and skate th found abound there have been allowed to their existence without human interference. Now it would appear that this order of thin be altered altogether and from now on these © rich in their harvest of the very best of fish f table, are to yield their toll in the support of the h family. Millions of tons, it is safe to say, have yearly going to waste there, while the prices of fish produced on the Pacific coast and of various and other food stuffs have been reaching points er and higher each year. It remained for the war to bring about the ch necessary to create a demand for this fish. The ence of these great feeding places for the fish | May, 1918. CANADIAN FISHERMAN 65 = LINDE = REFRIGERATING MACHINERY Is known and recognized the world over as The Standard Refrigerating Machine We have carefully studied Refrigeration under all conditions in Canada for the past 25 years and ® know what is best in this line. Special attention given to Fish Freezing and Storing Plants. Our Machinery is ‘‘Made in Canada’’ The Linde Canadian Refrigeration Co., Ltd. MONTREAL: 37 St. Peter Street TORONTO, WINNIPEG, CALGARY, EDMONTON, VANCOUVER. Twenty-five Years’ Service to Canadian Users | Brown Engineering Corporation, Limited | 2 Cycle Marine Engines Guaranteed 5 years against mechanical defects MADE IN CANADA & GYHMUGSL. Ree Beas ss ale ed eet theca rete $150.00 goal A 2 “3 te with reverse gear... 227.50 4 3 “ss 22) “e ii} “sé “ > ie 25.00 y 4 6 30 “430.00 Low Repair Costs . Each Engine Thoroughly Tested Under Its Own Power, PORTO CYLINDER 15 H. P. TWO- aK : Bore 4% inches; Stroke, 5 inches; Speed Minimum, te PeM-;3 IMMEDIATE SHIPMENTS. > Speed Normal, 750 R. P. M.; Speed Maximum, 1000 R. P. M.; Weight, with Reversing Gear, 480 pounds. $ Price of Engine, with Reversing Gear, Force Feed Lubri- ‘ : cator, Carburetor and Chain Starter. .....--+-++++- $227.50 Write for irculor BROWN ENGINEERING CORPORATION, LIMITED 415-419 King Street West Toronto, Ont. 762 ~ tioned was known to the fishermen, but the demand had been created and the fishing of these places was allowed to be neglected. / With the war came the demand for the economy In beef ‘and pork that that the needs df the troops and the people of the Allied nations might be fed. West- ern Canada was called upon to cut down its usual quota of these food stuffs and to substitute: for them fish. The Pacific coast had up to this time been famed for the most part for its supplies of halibut and sal- mon, and in consequence of this with an ever-increasing price for these varieties, halibut and salmon had pass- ed practically into the rank of luxuries with such: a wide demand existing for them that they were not to be considered as forming any part of substitute food for the commodities needed overseas. The Food Board had to look elsewhere for some fish that would take the place of these meats and after con. tinued consultations and conferences of those interested it was decided that the putting of trawl caught fish . on the markets of the western provinces was the only solution. The quality of the fish was all that could be desired. It remained only to get it introduced to the people that had not used that form of food to become acquainted with the merits of these and the market would be established for all time. The chairman of the Board at the time was H. B. Thomson who knew the West from long residence and his active interest in the move was not difficult to secure. He, in fact, was strongly in favor of the at- tempt to introduce this valuable fish that had up to that time been allowed to go to waste and he took an active part in the negotiations looking to the adoption of the course that was taken. The late H. C. Brewster, then Premier of the Prov- ince of British Columbia, who was himself a fish man, lent his advice and co-operation in connection with the movement, while Mr. J. P. Babeock, the deputy head of the fisheries department for the province was very active in the move from the start. To him was assigned the task of seeking the consent of the fisher- men engaged in the actual taking of the catches to the lowering of the price demanded for the fish caught. He met the union here and as a result there was reach- ed an amicable agreement whereby a reduction in price was agreed upon. In this undertaking the co-operation of Mr. T. H. Johnson, the manager of the local packing house, the Canadian Fish and Cold Storage Company, proved the most important factor in reaching the decision that was reached whereby these fish were to be placed on the markets of the West at very low prices. His ser- vices and advice was always available. It was most valuable, also from the fact that his company had the steam trawlers available to start in this work. He had as one brought up in the fish business in England exact information along the line of the trawling busi- ness also. Then in addition to this Mr. Johnson had tested the trawling on this coast some months before that and knew exactly what it was capable of pro- ducing. He was able to undertake to see that the de- mands of the western part of Canada were met in this respect and to do it at once. Accordingly as soon as the arrangements were entered into and the price set the steam trawler James Carruthers was put into com- mission and ever since has been landing every ‘two days or so its complement of these fish and so sup- plying all the demands put upon the Pacific coast. CANADIAN FISHERMAN tempted to press the views of their employe May, 1 Capt. Wallace, of the Food Board, who has a very careful inspection of the trawling opera on the Pacifie has expressed himself as eminently s fied with the product of this coast. He says that th people of the prairies should feel themselves fortunat to be able to obtain fish like the flat-fish taken here a the prices at which grey are being produced. E alludes to the fact that the people of the old land wow at any time previous to the war, have cunsidered thet selves in luek to have been able to buy such fi these“at the prices at which they are offered. These trawl caught fish are proving very econ as well as being of first quality. The ftaitfish thi taken are dressed ready for the pan before le the plant of the Cold Storage here. The head the entrails have been removed as in the case cod fish that are taken also in the trawl, but tion to this the company trims the tails and_ off the flatfish before they are sent on to the» on the prairies. Reaching as they do the mark frozen condition it is simply a matter of defros fore they are made use of by the cook. AMERICANS TREATED FAIRLY. If the International Fisheries Commission enquiring into matters affecting the industry tween Canada and the United States does noth on the Paeifie coast other than clear up some misconceptions that have been created with resp the port of Prince Rupert in its relation to the fis industry, the sittings will not have been in vain American Secretary of Commerce, Hon. W. C.— field, at the sittings in Prince Rupert, won for the admiration and respect of the people of the coast fishing centre in a very peculiar way by his fr manner of dealing with the charges of diseriminat that had been made against-the Canadians. —_— In the city of Seattle, at the sittings held centre there were charges preferred against of Prince Rupert, the purport of which appear been that there was a concerted action on the all the interests in the chief halibut port of the to make it uncomfortable for the Americans. quite easy to see why such attempts should be when it is taken into account that Prince in the short time that it has been a shipping p secured about one-half of the entire halibut tr the Pacific and being the nearest centre to the f: banks from which rail shipments can be become the practical home port of nearly all ing vessels engaged in the halibut busines tive of what flag these may fly. aR The Commission came to Prince Rupert f with the ideas planted in their minds tha minion Government, the G. T. P. railwaz Cold Storage of the Canadian Fish and Col company were all working in conjunction to m bad for the American fishermen that came to Rupert. 3 oes These erroneous ideas were soon driven from minds of the commission if they ever got a seat th In nearly every case also the contradiction to ports that had been made to the Commission — south came from Amerieans themselves. Re tives of the American interests concerned wh present at the sittings in Prince Rupert and the commission were finally dealt with by ¥ 4 i ay, 1918. M CANADIAN FISHERMAN When the “speed-up” is at its height and minutes count in the mind of the anxious manager—then is the time. when he appreciates “Bliss” Automatic Dou- ble Seamers. The can supply and the operations of packing must flow smoothly and without interruption abreast of each other until the last case has been added to the pack. “Bliss” Equipment—complete—has been taken to the |SEALING FILLED CANS far parts of the earth where repairs or replacements would le difficult if not impossible to obtain—and has made good, “BLISS”? AUTOMATIC DOUBLE-SEAMING MA- CIHTINE No. 31-K is illustrated, above. For sanitary cans-—the cans remaining stationary. May also be used in’can shops for double seaming the ends on empty can bodies. Continuous chain feed delivers fill- ed or empty can bodies to the seaming position at uniform speed. Covers fed automatically. Write for Catalogue Section No. 18-A CHICAGO OFFICE 1857 People’s Gas Bldg. LONDON, S.E., ENGLAND, Pocock Street, Blackfriars Road E. W. BLISS COMPANY Main Office and Works; BROOKLYN, N.Y., U.S.A. DETROIT OFFICE Dime Bank Bldg. CLEVELAND OFFICE Union Bank Bldg. 1917 PARIS, FRANCE, 100 Boulevard Victor-Hugo St. Quen 67 764 : CANADIAN FISHERMAN retary of Commerce in a most decisive way. At one point after a good deal of time had been oceupied -by these American representatives to little purpose oth- er than to introduce matter that Mr. Redfield would not allow to go on the records as being unrelated to the subject matter of the investigation, The Hon. See- retary turned on the representatives and said; ‘‘the Americans present before this commission are here by courtesy of the American members of the Com- mission. I do not think it is proper that , they should occupy the major part of the time here.’ The G. T. P. was ealled upon to ak ‘its position clear on the score that it had discriminated against some of the American interests. One of the most serious of these charges that had been laid against that company was that it would not provide the: Am- erican companies doing business in the city of Prince Rupert with sites for cold storage plants. The chief complaint was that of the Booth Company. G. T. P. officials including G. A. MeNicholl, the assistant gen- eral freight and passenger agent, were able to con- tradict this. Mr. MeNicholl remembered the prelimin- ary negotiations that had been carried on for the securing of a site for the company to do business: The fish company had desired a site which the railway was reserving for other purposes in the very centre of the waterfront. This was refused and a site was offered at Seal Cove near the site where the present eold storage is located and which under the arrange- ments. which the railway company had made was the location where the industrial concerns were to be located. The sites that the Booth and the other companies now oceupied on the railway wharves were only temporary ones. and an undertaking was given that if the location was required to be vacated the railway would give another location at Seal Cove and would recompense the fish companies for the expenditures that they had made on the temporary locations. The agreement made between the companies was produced which bore out this contention. On the point of discrimination in the matter of handling of freight and express as far us fish was con- cerned, Mr. MeNicholl said there was no distinetion made between Canadian and American fish. There were no rebates made on Canadian fish by the Gov- ernment except the payment of two-thirds of the charges by the Government on the trawl caught classes of fish that were shipped to the prairie prov- inces and which was done to induce the use of these there. The representatives of the various American com- panies doing business in Prince Rupert were called in turn. They all agreed that the practice in the port was to make no distinction. Canadian and American vessels were treated alike in the matter of bidding on the fish: No distinction was made looking to the giving of the Americans any worse deal than the Can-. ' adian. The fish were bought at auction on the ex- change and the highest bidder took the fish so. that there was no preference in the matter of companies. The Canadian Fish and Cold Storage Company was given no extra advantage in the buying. Mr. Hanson; the American consul at this port, gave excellent evidence with respect to the conduct of af- fairs here. He said that he had investigated the situa- tion for the purpose of ascertaining whether there is any discrimination against the American interests and he had found that there was no foundation for the May, 1918. charges that had been made. The Americans were 4 treated just the same as Canadians and he had no — complaints. ~ a He corroborated the evidence that had been given as to the selling of the fish and the uniform basis upon — which all were placed. He also found that the Cold — Storage Company treated all alike as far as he could a find out. % A point which the Secretary of Commerce wishing a information upon was that with respect to the trans fer of American bottoms to those of Canadian regis- — ter. The American Consul stated that of all the trans- a fers that had come to his attention there was not one — that had been made for the evident purpose of gaining — some advantage. The transfers were legitimate pur~ chases made by persons who wished to acquire the — vessel and not for the purpose of reaping some benefit by making it a different bottom. Mr. T. H. Johnson, Manager of the Canadian Fish and Cold Storage, was an important witness and was fully examined by all sides. His evidence was sub- — stantiated on all points by American fish buyers and 4 captains and others. His company, he said, made no distinctions as between the nationality of the dealers ~ in the transactions. The cold storage took its chances _ on the open market with the other buyers and when — it came to the delivering of the fish at the cold storag there was no discrimination. The boats were unload. ed and had their catches taken care of in the orde: in which they reached the wharves of the company. In this respect the boats owned by his own company fare just the same as those of other owners. In the matter of the freezing and storing of the cus tom work he acted in the same way. There was bu one set of receipts and other papers used and all wer treated alike. There had been no complaints at th way the work was done and this was testified to b other dealers in fish that were using the plant. H explained that on occasion he had sold frozen fis of his own in order to make room for the fish comin in from other dealers because he felt it was the dut of the company under the subsidy that had been drawn down by them to take care of all that offered. The cold storage was equipped with sharp free ing capacity enough to take care of the whole catch of fish on the Pacific coast if need be. The evidence of Mr. MeNicholl -went to show tha the G. T. P. had for the direct benefit of Ketchika under an agreement made between the Montreal office — of the railway and the, authorities at Washington put the American steamer Tillamook on the run fro Prince Rupert to the Alaskan port. That boat w put on to take care of the fish shipments from there, a but it had not been patronized; the railway had lost — money on the boat and had been obliged to use her in other lines of business. The Secretary of Commerce wanted to know of vari ous witnesses if they knew of any other reason wh Prinee Rupert was the port where the fish were land ed other than the fact that it was the port neares the fishing grounds that had railway connection with the outside. To this they all agreed. Before the sittings closed Mr. Redfield made it clear that he did not approve of the suspicion that had been > cast upon the port of Prince Rupert in this matter From his place on the commission he said, ‘‘ As I gro older and gain wider experience, the more I am con-— vinced that government by suspicion is a hideous mis-. take. There was too much of that he said in the world, ~ May, 1918. CANADIAN FISHERMAN 'W. R. SPOON Wholesale and Commission Dealer Fish of all Kinds 119 Youville Square, 28? MONIT AL ER I am in the market at all times to Buy or Sell on Commission, Fresh, Frozen, Smoked and Salt Sea and Lake Fish, in Carload Lots or Less Correspondence Solicited o— Representing | | National Fish Company, Limited Halifax and Port Hawkesbury - N.S. “National Brand” Haddies, Fillets, - Producers Rippers, Frozen Bloaters, | | \and Salt Scotch Cured || : Herring. Sea Fish ; STEAM TRAWLER TRIUMPH. LAKE FISH SEA FISH J. Bowman & Co., Port Arthur, Ont. Wabakin Fish Co., Montreal, Que. A. W. Fader, Canso, N.S. BONELESS COD FISH National Fish Co., Ltd., Halifax and Port R. E. Jamieson, Rustico, P.E.I. Hawkesbury, N.S. 69 766 and too much was governed by that which was not founded on fact. Too often half truth was made to guide actions. It was wise to get together and get the whole truth. A eloser acquaintance often removed a great deal of doubt. It was for that very reason he valued the sittings of the commission on which he was serving. Referring to the relations between the two nations that were represented on the commission, Mr. Red- field said, ‘‘the interests of these two great people are mutual and not divergent. Anything developed on land or sea by either one of these nations meant gain CANADIAN FIS HERMAN May, 1918 for the other as well as for the one that developed it.”? — He went on to say that commerce was not commerce ~ unless it were for mutual benefit. The thief or the fraudulent dealer might gain by a one-sided transac: 7 tion; but not so the tr ader and the merchant. ] At a banquet that was tendered the members of the commission in the city of Prince Rupert, the war was dealt with by both Mr. Redfield and Hon. Chief Justie Hazen, the Canadian Representative. The American visitor gave a lot of inside history of what the United States was doing in connection with the carrying out of the war oper rations. 2 Fish is Dried “‘Aboard”’ in Written by VICTORIA HAYWARD; Photographs by EDITH S. WATSON. Readers of ‘‘The Canadian Fisherman’’ may be in- terested to see how fish is dried, in Cuba. This pic- ture was taken on a fish schooner’s deck as she lay at anchor, in Havana Harbor, under the old Spanish fort of Cabanas, The drying fish is one of the ‘‘groupers’’—a tropi- eal fish much prized for the fine flavor of its firm, white flesh. Broiled grouper steaks, which have pre- viously been salted for a day, are prized as one of the most ‘delicate of southern dishes, and are in high fa- vor among connoiseurs of food in these regions as a breakfast dish practically without equal! Cuba, who has no white bread and scarcely any corn meal in these days of war, is looking more and more to her fish to feed her. And she is trusting to sun and salt to render her fish sound when it reaches her Spanish kitchens. As a local wit laughingly put it, ce Drying Fish. ‘“‘These schooners have become square-riggers with their ‘yards’ of fish, daily mounting higher on the mast,’’ in the interest of ‘‘food.’’ The erews of these schooners of course all speak Spanish, and have their own customs and ways of doing things. One wonders why they dry the fish ‘“‘aboard’’ instead of ‘“snreading”’ it ashore, as we .do our cod. But then you soon see that in this terrific sun, one side would be dry and the other practically ‘Gia rotten in an hour or so, whereas up the mast the air ~ blowing against it softens the piercing sun, and the © fish dries right through evenly. The festooning of ~ the ropes, however, takes some time, and only the slow ~ moving man of these sunlit zones would care about — 4 the exercise. The fish is practically cured in a day, so — it is not so bad after all. When the fish is dry it pokiell a very much like the ‘‘jerked beef’’ from South Am- erica, unloading at one of the nearby piers, and with ~ which it shares the menus of the city restaurants. In ~ fact, the best peodple, keeping the finest tables in the — tropics, prefer fish to meat every time! All fish here — is spoken of as pescado; and there are legions of ways of cooking and serving it. Some of these Spanish menus for ‘‘pescado’’ would undoubtedly be welcome among Canadian cooks, greatly increasing the popu: larity of eod in all households. ‘‘But this,’’ as Kip- © ling says, ‘‘is another story!’’ oe Drying Fish. Another reason for drying fish. ‘‘aboard’’ in these tropic regions is that here it is safe from such i truders as rats, cats, and dogs, and catches none 0 the gummy dust that is the bugbear of Cuba, cling. ing to everything, and undoubtedly capable of spread- ing germs galore to any article of food, especially ba : fish, ander St. - CANADA Mice = - CPR. Building sfeclland ‘Agency Book Store, St. Johns, N.F. Montreal CANADIAN FISHERMAN aman FISHERMAN Official Organ of the Canadian Fisheries Association 167 _ SUBSCRIPTION: ‘Canada, Newfoundland and Great Britain - - - - $1.00 United States and Elsewhere. - $1.50 payable in advance. ADVERTISING RATES ON APPLICATION Published on the 24th day of each month. Changes of advertisements should be in the publisher’s hands ten days before that date. Cuts should be sent by mail, not by express. Readers are cordially invited to’ send to the Editor items of’ Fishery news, also articles on subjects of practical interest If suitable tor publication these will be paid for at our regular rate ; MONTREAL, JUNE, 1918 No. 6 nd Directors of the Association at head- making every preparation to take care of a large attendance. Don’t disappoint hat is of greater importance—don’t fail and take part in the discussions of the ms of vital importance to the fishing in- vill be taken up. This is the first time effort has been made to bring together es from every section of the industry and t of Canada where. the business of fish pro- | distribution maintains, and to crystallize s of such a gathering on questions of great ice to the industry in which each is engaged. Ese also be present many visitors from the he oval Committee iers: as well-as the. | piece of work and to make the acquaintance of co- workers. It will also be an occasion when the people of Canada and the United States will have an oppor- tunity to learn and judge of the size and importance of the Canadian fishing industry. Other industries have long since learned to appreciate the value of such conventions. They make for better conditions and big- ger business. They are well worth the time and ex- pense. So come to Halifax for the 6th, 7th and 8th of August and bring your lady friends! All are wel- come. It will assist the work of the committees in ‘guieae if those intending to be present at the Convention will notify either Mr. S. Y. Wilson, President of the Cana- dian Fisheries Association, Halifax, N.S., or the Secre- tary of the Canadian Fisheries Association, 45 St. Alexander Street, Montreal, Que., as early as possible. The programme for the,Convention will be ready for distribution in a week or ten days, and copies may be had on applieation to either of the above addresses, TRANSPORTATION OF FISH. The first great problem of the fishing business. is to produce the fish. With the uncertainty of the weather, the uncertainty of location, high costs of labor, equipment and insurance, the problem is a try- 768 ing one. But it is easy when compared with that -of taking care of the fish when caught, particularly if they are to be marketed fresh. The nearest ports» to the Grand Banks—the greatest fishing grounds of the Atlantic—is Canso, which lies at the entrance to the straits that separate Cape Breton from the mainland of Nova Scotia. Canso, which is without rail connection, is fifteen miles by water from Mulgrave, the nearest railway station. Mulgrave is 900 miles from Montreal, and over 1,200 miles from Toronto—the two centres of population and distributing points for Central Canada. Mulgrave is even farther from the markets of the United States. But Canso and Mulgrave are the natural landing ports for the products of the Grand Banks and with reason. able attention an important traffic, originating at these points, could be built up. The fishing boats bring their catches into Canso, where they are washed, sorted, iced and boxed. They are trans-shipped from boat to rail at Mulgrave and are again washed, sorted, iced and re-boxed in smaller packages at Montreal and Toronto, when intended for outlying points in the Provinces of Quebee and Ontario. — During the long rail haul from Mulgrave to Mont- real and Toronto the bunkers of the refrigerator cars carrying these boxes of fish must be kept well filled with ice or the fish deteriorates. Heretofore the most satisfactory way to. transport these boxes of fish was. by express. But the quanti- ties have been increasing so rapidly that the express trains were becoming overloaded, and the number of ears built for travelling at express rates were not equal to the demand. So that much of the fish had to travel these long distances by the ordinary freight train, and often arrived at their destination, after many de- lays and mishaps without ice and with the fish in poor condition. As a matter of fact, they have been arriving so. often in an unmarketable condition that the pending claims against the railroads amount to tens of thousands of dollars, and the efforts and expendi- tures of the Canada Food Board and the Department of Naval Service to increase the consumption and pro- duction of sea fish are being seriously interfered with by reason of the fish reaching the consumer in poor condition. > Under these circumstances something had to be done, and at the request of the Canadian Fisheries Associa- tion the Department of Naval Service summoned re- — Si presentatives from the railway companies, express com- panies, the Food Board and the Canadian Fisheries Association, to a meeting which was held in Montreal on Thursday, June 20th. All interests, with the one exception of the C.P.R., were well represented, Notwithstanding the many demands upon his time | and attention, Mr. H. B. Thomson, Chairman of the Canada Food Board, was present in person and struck a chord of seriousness and determination in the meet- ing, by making plain at the outset that something had to be done. “Q@ANADIAN. FISHERMAN . the present to take care of the shipments of fre very satisfactory arrangement and should infant unable to talk or walk: The Associ leetively, instead of individually, tion to gather. Secretary, Capt. F, W. Wallace—the one - was intimately acquainted with Canada’s — By reason of the decreasing supplies of June. 191 cattle, hogs and sheep, a greater eerort eroule h to be made in the future than in the past to conser’ meats, The most easily available substitute was f of which Canada was fortunate in having such resources on ‘her Pacific and Atlantic Coasts. were now being produced in increasing quan The people were responding to the appeals for ger and larger consumption of fish, and ‘the 1 companies simply had to find ways and means ) transportation from the producer to the consum After much discussion arrangements were m ie ¢ a fast freight train to be known as ‘‘The Sea Fo cial’? beginning with Thursday, June 27th. Th tran will leave Mulgrave on Thursdays, Fridays, and : days of each week. It will make the trip to real in forty-eight hours and to Toronto in sevei hours. The existing express service will be y on the remaining three days of the week. This if producers, transportation companies, i and consumers each do their part. e C.F: A. ANDC. FB. liar to every man in the Canadian fishing ini They stand for the two big brothers of the in organizations which have done more to d fisheries than anything else—namely, the Fisheries Association and the Canada Food 30% The C, F. A. is of the Industry itself, The C. is a war department brought into existence gencies of the conflict overseas. Both have to help the other, and the seg has benefit, The Canadian Fisheries Association came ence at a time when our fisheries was like ered the trade together and marshalled something like cohesion and got a lin from Coast to Coast. It gathered info: won a good many concessions for igen) fish as a substitute for meat it had a lot of i fo Its first move was to get ir 2 with the Canadian Fisheries Association an line on supply and distribution. the information and furnished it. and the men engaged in it—was commandee 0% @nd- plidsed in charge of the Fish Seetion. hre igh the Association, Wallace was able to do g that could neyer have been stvonibuahen other- Si Aadoeintion’ Ss members have co- opera most y with the Food Board. Production has been led up and prices have been kept down to pre- els. Confidential information of the greatest o the Board has been furnished whenever eall- 3 oi return, the Food Board has put fish ‘‘o p”’ as a food commodity, and within nine “doubled the Canadian consumption of fish. end of 1918 it should be trebled. ration is the secret of success in prastivnlly Co-operation will win the war. The -eannot see the advantages of being a mem- the Canadian Fisheries Association belongs to Fa. or is so utterly selfish that he leaves do the work he should be doing himself and AS and ©, F. B. are two organizations which ping to win the war, and at the same time up an Industry which Canada will need in e to help pay her debts. Don’t forget it! | TO ORGANIZE A NAVAL RESERVE. since the seventies have Canadians heard or much about our future as a maritime nation. ng in wood and steel has experienced a won- ‘akening throughout the Dominion, and ships 1g built in the sea and lake ports from Coast . Canada has now a considerable naval force our coasts and Navy Leagues are being everywhere to interest our citizens in nau- irs and to imbue our youth with seafaring agazine has preached for years the import- inaugurating a Naval Reserve and enrolling ermen in it, and we intend to hammer away at et until something is done. There are over thousand men in our fisheries and coasting gnificent material to build up a strong naval foree. Newfoundland has had a Naval for years, and Newfoundland seamen have oing splendid work in the Royal Navy. New- l’s reservists are largely fishermen. should have had a Reserve of her fisher- rs ago, but a good start might be made now the men not eligible for military service. Small ies could be enrolled at’ the various ports and rom six to eight weeks training in rifle drill, , Signalling, etce., and a short cruise of a week on the patrol craft, a | to forecast how long the war may last or it zone naval warfare may shift. The German is sinking and destroying on the American ind by next Fall a huge patrol fleet may be he men to man the ships may be neces- CANADIAN FISHERMAN “7169 sary too. Now is the time to train them, and in train- ing fishermen, the Navy has seamen who only need the Naval drill to make them useful. The short train- ing course will enable them to keep up fish production until they are required for active service. We are confident that the plan will be put in opera- tion some day, but there is no time like the present. EVERY DAY A FISH DAY NOW. One of the most striking features of the present day fish trade is the elimination of Friday as an exclusive fish day. Reports from the trade throughout Canada show that Monday is one of the biggest fish selling days, with Tuesday and Thursday next. The public are eating fish now on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and the husmines: is spread well throughout the week. This is one of the most gratifying features of the new stimulus which the trade has acquired from war exigencies. For years; the Canadian Fisheries Asso- ciation worked hard to swing the public away from the Friday fish day. The Tuesday fish day was started by the Association with some measure. of success to balance up the slack end of the week, and when the Food Controller made Tuesday a meatless day, the trade benefitted materially. The meatless day was. latterly switched to Wednesday, but the general pub- lic included Tuesday as well, with the result that three ~ fish days now. obtain. The appeal to eat more fish has now ie the pub- lic eating fish on almost any day, with the biggest trade, of course, on the Wednesday and Friday. Gone, we hope forever, are the days when the fish dealer had to loaf from*Saturday to Thursday. A TRIBUTE TO H. B. THOMSON. The fishing industry of Canada owes much of its present day increase in business to the Chairman of the Canada Food Board—Henry B. Thomson. He came into his onerous office with a comprehensive know- ledge of the fishing trade, and though never directly | engaged in fish or fishing, yet his experiences on the Pacifie Coast brought him in touch with many phases. of the industry. Prior to his joining the Food Board, he was a mem- ber of the Salmon Fisheries Commission which held an investigation into conditions on the Pacific Coast in 1917. The knowledge he gained while on that work. gave him a broad insight into the vast resources Can- ada possessed in her fisheries and the evidence of fish- ermen and producers taught him the difficulties the industry labored under, and also something of the work involved in the ee and marketing of fish. His predecessor, Hon. Mr. Hanna, had already learned the value of fish as a substitute for the meats so urgently needed overseas. He preached the ne- 770 cessity of eating more fish and succeeded very well in stimulating consumption, but consumption was con- fined to the larger centres. Mr. Thomson went fur- ther. He made himself familiar with all phases of the trade from coast to coast, and personally outlined plans for introducing fish into the places where they were not eating the proportion required. The Food Board chairman has a hundred other mat- ters to occupy his attention these days, but, busy and all as he is, he always finds a moment to give personal attention to some feature of the campaign to increase the production and consumption of fish. He has also acquired sufficient knowledge of the industry to know when action is needed and cannot be stampeded into doing things which would have a deterrent effect upon the object desired, The efforts of the Board to bring food fish to the fore has been actuated largely by him. He has the faculty of quickly adopting or rejecting suggestions. His ‘‘yes’’ or ‘‘no’’ is final, and when he starts some- thing, he expects results. The best evidence of his success may be adduced from the fact that the consumption of fish throughout Canada has more than doubled within the last six months; several new varieties are now permanent staples; production has been increased in many in- stances, and most wonderful of all, abundant supplies of familiar species can be purchased throughout the Dominion at pre-war prices. The great objective of saving meats for overseas is also being slowly but sure- ly attained. - STEAM TRAWLING IN CANADA. The year 1918 will show notable advances in fishing methods by the increasing number of steam trawlers which are being added to the Canadian fleets on the Atlantic and Pacific. On the West Coast, the steam trawler ‘‘James Carruthers’’ is engaged in trawling for flat-fish and cods out of Prince Rupert, and if the trade warrants, her owners, the Canadian Fish & Cold Storage Co., Ltd., will place two more trawlers in the service. The company already have the vessels and merely have to change the gear on them from long-line halibuters to otter trawlers. The B.C. Pack- ers’ Association are operating the steam trawler ‘‘B. C. P.’’ in the flat-fishery out of Steveston, and the Can- adian Fishing Company, Ltd., of Vancouver, are await- ing the arrival of trawl gear from England in order - to fit out two or more of their steamers in the trawl- ing game, On the Atlantic Coast, the Maritime Fish Corpora- tion, Ltd.; are operating the steam trawler ‘‘Rayon- dor’’ out of Canso, N.S., and also a chartered Danish trawler, the ‘‘Ran,’’ which they secured from Iceland. Leonard Fisheries, Ltd., operate the big trawler ‘‘Ba- leine’’ out of Halifax, and the National Fish Company also operate out of that port with the trawler ‘‘Tri- umph,’’ The trawler ‘‘Orontes’’ owned by A. & R. CANADIAN FISHERMAN little book in language that the ordinary can understand — which shows that the do fishery is capable of great development on Loggie and landing her fish at Mulgrave, ‘ample the fleet operating on the Atlantic. | . It is reported that a wooden trawler is being built on the Atlantic coast for a Canadian concern and that trawlers are being sought for by leading salt houses to engage in salt Bank fishery. The removal of the restrictions on Canadian fi vessels landing in U.S. ports came in at an oppo time,’as the big fares which are being caught b Atlantie trawling fleet would never have beer posed of in Canada. Several of the Nova Scotia ers have been running their trips direct to P and other New England ports. The steam trawler has undoubtedly come to and it is good to note that Canada is kona om ) the times. BIOLOGICAL BOARD BULLETINS. We are pleased to see the Biological Board of ada coming down to earth. Previously, the soared far above our common understanding and sued its labors lost in the piscatorial clouds. the sweet, selected few who owned aeroplanes keep track of the Board and its doings. But, n scientists have descended to our level and a us some of the knowledge they have gleaned. me A little book called ‘‘The Canadian Plaice,’’ ten by Dr. A. G. Huntsman from his invest along the Atlantic Coast last year, tells us a our flounder family. Dr, Huntsman has wri clever man. Most scientists become so absorb technicalities that they cannot explain matt e1 anybody in simple King’s English, but ‘‘The ©. Plaice’’ is free from Latin names and scien if ology. “ The report is especially antuiabie to yo much as it tells him a lot about the flat habits, life and feeding grounds. This lantic coast and there is no reason why it sl be exploited to the same extent as on our Coast and by our American cousins stone Atlantic seaboard. i Flounders, or plaice as Dr, Huntsman. Pp call them, are of our best edible fishes and ada Food Board’s success in creating a mar the Pacific varieties should prove an incentive Atlantic producers. Every fish man should s copy of ‘‘The Canadian Plaice’’ from the Bi Board of Canada, Ottawa. Price 15 cents. — Other booklets covering other varieties of fish and written in a similar manner will-be p by the Biological’ Board nasi time to time. power to them! | s _ UTILIZATION OF FISH WASTE. understand that the Council of Industrial and eCallum and Ruttan, Mr. J. B. Feilding, a spe- t+ in fish reduction and other fishery problems, been employed in making a survey of fish waste ition in Nova Scotia and a part of Quebec. : Much startling evidence was produced as tending to servation of many valuable products obtained from ketable fish waste and fish livers. With such le information before this Council we hope look for not only technical guidance, but prac- ults. This is the second attempt the Gov- has made to get after this problem. a erying pity that the fishing industry does tain the same technical help that agriculture A we want is a strong and vigorous policy as ft our fisheries on to the same plane as agri- RS US, FISH SUPPLIES. uge. in the supplies of salt-water fish on the ‘seaboard during the winter and early spring has been largely remedied. This shortage was he necessary taking over of trawlers for naval 3 and the recruiting of deep-sea fishermen by Navy. The trawler production of deep-sea ow been materially increased by free admis- udian trawlers and by new construction. certain State restrictions on littoral fish- lifted, ay in each week and continuously. during season from May to December, some of arieties of salt fish will be available and esale markets along the Atlantic eoast at x from 4 to 6 cents per pound. In view itions, the retailers in the large cities tlantic coast and in the towns and cities of within reachable transportation distance Atlantic seaboard, will be able to sell every at least one variety of fish at a retail price of 10 cents per pound or under. Any re- ho does not conform to these conditions least one kind of fish to the public at the tail price mentioned is not patriotically co- 4 the U.S. Food Administration or with ar Siete sold by the jeteulae on. this , must necessarily vary from day to day ilable supplies. Fish now available on basis include market cod, serod cod, , medium hake, skate wings, ounders, shad herring, herring, whit- , butterfish (small), spotted trout (small), vote ‘small shad (known as jacks or xr mackerel, squid, small Boston mackerel, ha len, shark, sea robins, spots. Others will ed as the runs of the shore varieties strike on nah the different Atlantic coast districts in heavier country was threatened with what amounted to mine during the winter. The shortage arose lly from the necessities of the Navy in re- deep-sea trawlers and other fishing vessels iting fishermen for naval service. How “etd supplying the New Eng- CANADIAN FISHERMAN 7 how far we are behind other countries in the ~ his has been mav be seen from the fact. le 771 land districts was decreased last summer from an an- — nual capacity of approximately 60,000,000. to 35,000,000 pounds, J A substantial number of new trawlers are now on the ways and approaching completion. Owing to the action of Secretary Redfield in opening up our fish- ing ports to Canadian vessels, several Canadian trawl- ers are now fishing to our markets. There is every pro- spect of acquiring trawlers from the Seandinavian fish- eries for use in this country. In the meantime the re- laxation of State regulations that have been effected by the Food Administration should tend to increase greatly the production of the shore fisheries and its reflex will be steadily shown in the wholesale prices of fish as the season progresses. With the approach of next winter, the U. S. Food Administration is confident the deep: sea fishing and the winter production of ground fish through the various sources indicated should be restored to normal. CHEAP FISH OR FISH CHEAP, ‘‘Cheap fish or fish cheap!’’ Sounds the same doesn’t it? But there is a difference. In substitut- ing fish for meat, Canadian housewives have become very discriminating. ‘‘Cheap fish’’ sounds like it. It is invariably associated with cheap dress goods, cheap furniture and cheap other things—in fact it falls un- der the odium of cheapness as applied to mean and worthless articles. The Canada Food Board, in the early pa. of food conservation, made the pardonable mistake of advo- cating ‘ ‘cheap”’ fish as a substitute for beef and pork. It hadn’t learned the psychology of the human, and feminine, mind with regard to the term and their ef- forts suffered a little in consequence. The housewife who was offered ‘‘cheap’’ cod, haddock, pollock, skate, - whitefish or flatfish by the local fish dealer disliked the sound and incontinently passed these varieties up for the luxurious and expensive salmon and halibut. . These fish, because of their high price, must neces-— sarily be much superior in quality and food value. So she reasoned and at the same time registered a strong protest at the price charged. The Food Board officials knowing fish, but lament- ably ignorant of the workings and prejudices of the public mind, could not understand why excellent fish retailing from ten to fifteen cents per pound should be ignored in favor of varieties selling from twenty-~ eight to thirty-five cents. The Board had put in‘a great deal of hard work stimulating fish production, arranging transportation facilities and keeping the © price to the consumer at a reasonable figure. Their efforts in this direction received but little encourage- ment. Then someone—a lady probably—said to a Food Board official: ‘‘The women of Canada don’t want cheap fish. They want fish cheap!’’ mark opened up an entirely new point of view, and the Board realized that they would have to do some edu- cational work and explain. Halibut—the favorite fish of the masses—will never again rank as a low-priced fish and nothing the Food Board ean do will ever bring the price down to the ‘fish cheap’ class. The bulk of our halibut comes from the Pacifie and the heavy fishing of recent years is rapidly depleting the supply. Large fishing steam- ers have now to catch halibut up in the Gulf of Alaska —seven and eight hundred miles from the home. port This terse re-- | (72 CANADIAN FISHERMAN and the cost of operations is very high. Salmon is in the same category. The supply of certain varieties is becoming searcer each year and the cost of catching puts the fish in the luxury class. Mackerel is a period- ical fish—eaught only at certain seasons of the year— and the vessels who venture after mackerel take big chances in catching some or none. Very often they cruise for months and eateh searce enough to pay the food bill of the crew. The demand is also greater than the supply. Shad, blue-fish, butterfish, tilefish, brook trout, bass are other varieties for which there is a greater demand than supply. The varieties of fish in which the Food Board are interested, and which they urge the greater use of as a meat substitute, are Atlantic and Pacifie codfish, haddock, flatfish, herring, whitefish, lake trout, pick- erel, hake, pollock, pike and cusk. All of these are first class edible fish and fit to grace the table of an epicure. Also, through the efforts of the Board, they are in the ‘‘fish cheap’’ class, Throughout the western provinees of British Colum- bia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, a plentiful supply of excellent flatfish and Pacific codfish has been secured for the citizens at prices ranging from ten to fifteen cents per pound. These fish are NOT ‘‘cheap fish.’’ The flatfish, which includes sole, brill, plaice, witches and skate, are among the best fish tak- en from the sea, and in Europe are appreciated at their true worth for delicacy of flavor and nutritive quali- ties. Were it not for the work of the Canada Food Board in organising the supply and distribution of these flatfish throughout the Western Provinees, they would be practically unprocurable or only at. prices ranging from eighteen to twenty-five cents per pound. Pacific codfish—including grey cod, red_or snapper cod, and ling eod—all first class -varieties can also be procured at from twelve to fifteen cents per pound. Whitefish from the Western Lakes can be purchased throughout the four Western Provinces at not more than sixteen cents per pound. Other Western lake fish—trout, pickerel, jackfish, tullibees can be pro- cured at the same and lower prices, In the large cities of the Eastern Provinces, Atlan- tic haddock, cod, pollock, hake, cusk, flounders and skate can be purchased from ten to thirteen cents per pound. In outside towns, the prices will be a cent or_ two more. In the Province of Ontario, white- fish, trout, lake herring, pickerel, from the Govern- ment Fisheries can be secured from the retail fish stores at prices ranging from eleven to fifteen cents per pound. Sea herring sells around ten cents per pound. All these are instances of excellent fish which ean be procured at cheap prices, yet such is the perversity of human nature that if any of these particular var- ieties were said to be scarce and priced at, twenty-five or thirty cents per pound, the dealer would have less trouble in selling it. The instance of the man who of- fered a trayful of twenty-five dollar gold pieces at one dollar each and could not sell a single one is a fair example of the difficulty of selling a good article at a cheap price, There was a time—not so very long ago—when Pa- cific halibut could hardly be sold: at ten cents per pound. As soon as a demand arose, and the price jumped to twenty cents, the sales were enormous. Similar instances lead one to ask the question, ‘‘ Does the Canadian housewife want fish cheap?’’ The Canada Food Board’s request that more fish be June, 1918. used by Canadians is not a scheme to help the fish trade. Stern war-time necessity dictated the move, and it MUST be earried out. plentiful varieties has been rigorously kept down and the fishermen and fish dealers have co-operated loy- ally and whole-heartedly. Compared with the prices secured for other varieties of food-stuffs nowadays, and taking into account the increasing cost of pro- duction, the fish advocated by the Canada Food Board are remarkably reasonable in price. The fishermen and the fish trade are doing their part. It is up to the housewife to do hers and use more of it—keeping in mind when she purchases that she is not buying ‘‘cheap’’ fish, but fish ‘‘cheap.’’ OBITUARY. Siemon Schacht, President of the Keystone Fish Co., Inc., Erie, Pennsylvania, died on June 4th, 1918, in St. Vincents Hospital, Erie, Pa., after an operation for ap- pendicitis, made a week previous. He was in his eighty- third year. Born on September 10th, 1935, in Hollmar’ Holstein, then a part of Denmark, but now of Germany, he came to the States in 1857,.locating in Virginia. After the outbreak of the Civil War, four days following the firing upon Fort Sumter, he enlisted in the Thirteenth SIEMON SCHACHT, President of the Keystone Fish Co., Ine. Virginia Regiment, of the Confederate army. He served in that regiment until the end of the war, being wounded three times and finally taken prisoner, his regiment taking part in the important battle of The Wilderness, Spottsylvania Courthouse and the First Battle at Bull Run. : After the end of the war he loeated in the City of The price for many | : bs 3 4 4 Fs Piet ne ts ay ‘k, where he remained until 1867 when in quest locate at Toledo, Ohio, but being compelled to ge trains at Sandusky, Ohio, he had occasion to the local conditions there and found them very able to his plans, and consequently made his be- ng in the fishing business in that city. few years later he formed a partnership with C. tnicht, which partnership continued for several 892 tne various local dealers of Sandusky con- d under the name of The Sandusky Fish Co., h Mr. Schacht became the First Vice-President. company established a branch at Erie, Penna., ehacht assuming charge of the same as Resident he, together with other Erie parties, pur- 8 branch, changing the name to Keystone rhich company in 1899 was incorporated. he entire time of the existence of his con- Schacht was its President and General Man- twithstanding his advanced age he gave his onal attention to the affairs of this, what sed to term, ‘‘Child of his old age,’’ and sure of seeing it grow from a very small one of the largest concerns of its kind was married in: 1873 to Sophie Luedeke, with two daughters and three sons sur- BENE LEAVES FOR ENGLAND. » Greene, Director of Fish Supplies, and recently. Mrs. Greene accompanied 00000000000000000000 Forget August 6th, 7th and 8th. Can- _ Fisheries -Association Convention, _ ) 0) fy) ae) oe rn ¥0000000000000000000 U a ao. CANADIAN FISHERMAN geon he came to the Great Lakes. His intention - has been 773 Correspondence The following letter has been sent to all those en- gaged in the lobster industry in the Maritime Pro- vinees : June 5th, 1918. Sir :— : That the lobster fishery is now in a seriously de- pleted condition, and that it is being rapidly exhaust- ed, needs no argument to those who are actually en- gaging in the industry.. The question is what are the best and most feasible means to restore it. Different protective regulations have been tried. The taking of berried lobsters is prohibited. Hatch- eries have been established, but have not proved suc- cessful. Size limits have been provided, but the ma- jority of the lobsters have become so small that on portions of the coast where the business is practically confined to canning, they could not be enforced and_ the industry go on. From time to time the fishing seasons have been curtailed, until now on many por- tions of the coast the fishermen are unable in prae- tice to fish more than about fifty days in the year. Notwithstanding these and other methods of protec- — - tion, the fishery has continued to rapidly decline. It is realized that owing to the nature of the fish- ery we must have the close co-operation of the. fisher- men themselves if regulations are to be properly en- foreed, and to that end an educational eampaign inaugurated this year from which,. no ~ doubt, much good will result. : 4 The most effective and expeditious method to re- store the fishery would obviously be to stop all fish- ing for a few years. The information before this De- partment indieates that the time has come when this can be practically done without serious hardship to ~ those engaging in the industry. - . The cost of fishing equipment, gasoline, tinplate, and of canning, is now so great that it seems doubtful whether sufficient profits can be made to justify con- tinuing the industry on its present basis, and canned — lobster is, consequently, an expensive article of food. Moreover, it is doubtful whether shipping accommo- dation will be available for the overseas trade. It does not seem feasible to now stop the catehing IMPORTANT NOTICE. you want to be kept informed of all that is going on in Canada’s Fishing Industry. If want to know what the Canada Food Board and other War Departments are doing what their regulations are. If you want to keep in touch with the Department of e & Fisheries activities and changes in regulations. YOU. MUST SUBSCRIBE TO “CANADIAN FISHERMAN.’’ No other journal in Canada ean give you this in- ation. Send your name in now. ginte ete¢ @ 0 0 6 € @. 07-0 © @-6 0 © 06 « 0 8 6 06.6 OL ereeereTele #1674 656 W tatele a 6 acG.® © 6 a @ hi6 eo: 6 bi & (ee ee = Name... 774 of lobsters for use fresh, but. if all canning were pro- hibited for a period, the protection which the fishery needs would be largely afforded it, and once it were restored regulations could be feasibly enforced to pre- vent its depletion again. The question has been discussed with some large operators who favor drastic action. It has been sug- gested,— (1) That all lobster canning be prohibited during 1919, and every second year thereafter until the fish- ery is restored. It is urged that if this were done canned lobsters could be kept on the markets, and the demand for them maintained, and the canneries and fishing gear would not be allowed to become useless. (2) That canning during 1919 be restricted to the month of June, and that it be then prohibited for a term of years. It is represented that if this were done gear and cans that may be left over this year could “be used up and so would not become a dead loss; As it is obviously desirable that a decision in the premises should be reached this month, the Minister will be obliged if you will be good enough to imme- diately favor the Department with a full expression of your view. If such is not reeeived from you by the 25th instant, you will not have room for complaint regarding any action that may be taken in the matter. TI am, Sir, Your obedient servant, ee fai: G. J. DESBARATS, . ‘Deputy Minister of the Naval Service. Editor, The Canadian Fisherman: x Sir—In the May number of your valuable maga- zine. I find an article entitled ‘‘Major-General A. D. MecRae,’’ from the pen of William. Hamar Green- wood. This article unblushingly credits the Major- General with the inauguration and ultimate suecess of the Troons Fish Ration, a few patronizing pats on the head voing to Major Hugh A. Green, on account of his persnasive personality and prowess as a story tell- er in private life! : _ T know that you will extend the hospitality of your eo'mmns to a protest against the iniustices and inac- enraeies which Mr. Greenwood’s article contains. There is no phase in the ecareer of the Overseas Fish Ration with which T am not intimately acauaint- ed. and any storv which attempts to deprive Major Green of the eredit due to him in this connection, is either written in stunid ionorance of the subjent or in a spirit of nersonal prejudice. It would be interesting to know how Mr. Ceeaumesod connects the Maior-General with Hughie Green’s initial visit to Ottawa in December, 1915. with that historic parcel of whitefish under his arm and a determination to get the fish ration on the Canadian militia menu. He worked sinele-handed on this job throughout the — summer of 1916. and having aeeomnlished this -irst stage in his mission attacked Ottawa again with a scheme for sending frozen fish overseas to the Cana-— dians in England. General Sir Sam Hughes detected method in the apvarent fish-madness of this Scotchman from Prince Albert. and eabled General Carson. then in Tondon, and Hughie Green was commissioned and sent over to introduce, distribute and snperintend this new ration. It’ became the duty of Maior-General McRae—then Tiieut.-Colonel and Assistant Director of Supplies and Transport—to take delivery of the fish at the camps. CANADIAN FISHERMAN, . tions of this nature were several times off -erumbs which fall from the Major- . the “‘magnum opus’’ of a brother offic this correction the same prominence Columbia Salt Herring signed by somebody _on hearsay. I think it only fair to the packers berni Herring was sold as low as $10.00 pe d : June; The persuasive tongue of Major Green had nutha do with the performance of his duty. It was a ma of instruetions from Ottawa. It is: indeed ridie to imagine the Major-General himself claiming thing more than a purely functionary connection the Fish Ration, the inspection, cold storage and eral organization of which constituted the dut le Major Green. id The introduction of the ration to the British Ww Office, the securing of an experimental order 500,000 pounds, the superintendence of all ph the fulfilment of this order, resulting in a contraet for 36,000,000 pounds of Canadian froz were all so essentially the work of Major Gre the Imperial Board of Trade who handled this Office contract specially asked for the co: organizing services of Major Green. © The pioneering of the Fish Ration in () surmounting of many obstacles, some of ¥ lengthy stories in themselves, but not the least of Green’s difficulties was the. attitude of officie were sceptical concerning the new schem these officials was Lieut.-Colonel McRae, surprise Mr. Greenwood to know endeavo time to have Major Green returned to Cana fortunate cireumstance, that General Sir himself had confidence in the Fish Ration Hughie Green, and was behind. him at. volving the handling of an enormous which will include the feeding of not tain but France, Belgium. and spas oe fish from Canada. In view of this accurate. summa Ration story, confirmation of which | in Ottawa’s official circles, it would ce necessary and very nonsensical on M part to apportion to Major Green mer The story of Hughie Green’s work pedition to Ottawa to the present. sta of the Ration has been told freely in th British, Canadian and American news should Mr. Greenwood make poor Ma Rae feel so extremely foolish by ered Thanking you, sir, for the courtesy as was given to the original inaccuracies. . T remain, | Yours faithf “ONE WHO Editor, The Canadian Fisherman: Sir,—In your May issue there is an artic himself ‘‘Piscatore.’’ There are one or tw that he is in error about and evidently he did to headquarters for first hand information, b Herring and to the buyers in this district to h points corrected. re: In his naming of prices he ieastinabe tha and his letter would give one the informati $10.00. Herring was.equal. to the higher. that eld: for $10.00 consisted of goods eh Mok ‘possibly pass any inspection and rather -pack and grade as was necessary the packer 1e ay hg $10.00 so as to clean up his season’s s “also stated ihae’ an attempt was made to con- ne entire B. C. pack. As it happens, I was the who was trying to keep this pack uniform and fish as would give usa good name. We had no f inspection. There were wild rumors of high ng, with the result that everybody who had d of Herring expressed the intention of pack- h Cure. As I am one of the original movy- s pack in B. C., I tried to take every precau- ble to eliminate this sort of thing, as it would nt a black eye for us by having a poor pack. t was that those packers only who demonstrat- bility to pack according to the Scotch Cure raged by me. There was no such thing as ‘to control the pack with the idea of a trust any such thing. spondent also states that packers were to put up Nanaimo Herring. No encourage- S$ given to pack Nanaimo Herring and I state ) Fically When Pender Harbor failed, part- 0 pack Nanaimbd Herring. I advised ‘them d they packed this Herring and had it all y the middle of January or the end of Jan- he latest, the fish would be acceptable on et. The reason of this is that the earlier anaimo Herring can be cured in the Seotch Your correspondent did not mention the fact der Nanaimo Herring are classed Chemainus wichan Gap Herring, which are far superior al Nanaimo Herring. The fish from these 3 run earlier than the Nanaimo, and the re- it there is a good quality of fish there, that packed early enough, will be acceptable to The trouble: was that the packers had g Ania and March, which was a great ) consideration is the fact that Herring pack- y in the year and consisting of good marketable took two and even three months to reach the + on account of the railway congestion as per- on the American lines last winter. The result aat the goods arrived on the market too late for on and then with the additional handicap of old storage facilities, there was nothing for it as cheap as possible, This, more than any- vas a factor in the drop in prices. There is a -and that is: ‘‘When the market is good, od ; when the market, is poor, all fish is ‘do think that there is some protest to be y nst ‘some assertions as made by your , the recommendation on your cor- iment Inspection be made com- CANADIAN. Bhat were not encouraged by anyone, but os to excuse the poor fish being packed » FISHERMAN 775 pulsory here. It is, however, of no use to have anyone but a thoroughly practical Seoteh curer and one who has intimate knowledge of the American market require- ments, and one who can adapt himself to local con- ditions. I trust that you will use the good offices of your Canadian Fisheries Association to press for such an appointment at an early date. Yours very truly, ROP: HAYWARD. ALLEGED LOBSTER DECLINE. Boston, Mass., May 31, 1918. Editor, The Canadian Fisherman: Dear Sir, — After carefully perusing Professor Klugh’s learned essay, as published in your current number, I feel he has signally failed to prove his con- tention that the Canadian supply of lobsters is run- ning alarmingly low. I find the professor singularly unfortunate in choosing his points and drawing his- conclusions. One peck of personal observation, you know, outweighs ten bushels of tabulated matter founded mostly on conjecture. At the. outset, Dr, Klugh says, ‘‘Considering only the total catch, we see that the lobster industry has declined three hundred per cent in twenty years.”’ The thing is simply impossible. It is a reductio ad absurdum of the most glaring kind! Yet a little further on he again remarks, ‘‘Here we have a decrease of 400 per cent in the number of berried females.’ No measurable quantity can be reduced devon: one hundred per cent, for that is the vanishing point, as any pupil knows. To illustrate: If you make two even bites of a cherry, the first takes fifty per cent of the whole plum. The second half completes the hun- — dred per cent, and nothing remains. To figure on non-entities is pure moonshine! , A still more remarkable passage. is where Dr. Klugh apparently sets forth the theory, originated by Prof. A. P. Knight, that the female lobster could produce eggs only when paired with the male. I say apparent- ly, for the language is rather obscure; but he cites a case where, as an experiment, ‘‘where a goodly num- ber of adults—male and female—was confined’’ in certain compartments. He says, ‘‘The results have been gratifying in the extreme, as for three years it has been found that from 40 per cent to 60 per cent of the females produced eggs.’’ It is surprising that: such a notion could be entertained by professional bio- logists! It is tantamount to saying that the mature pullet placed in solitary confinement all her days will never lay eggs! But leaving academics for hard facts a slink. the lobster supply is not diminishing, if we may judge by the numbers actually brought to land. The bulle- tin issued by the Naval Department of Canada (print- ed on page 723 of your current number) upholds this view. In its report for last April it says, ‘‘The falling off was largely due to iee-conditions and unsuitable weather. With better weather during the latter part of the month, lobsters were abundant and fishing re- sults good westward of Halifax.’’ Think of that a moment; lobsters abundant in the very section that is fished steadily for five months and a half every year; and yet Dr. Klugh heads the list of his supposed de- structive agencies with ‘‘1-Over-fishing.’’ : A few more facts coming directly under my notice at 176 present may serve to dispel alarmist rumors. Regard- ing the export of live lobsters, since the regular steam- packet service between Yarmouth and Boston was in- terrupted about the middle of last March, the well- smacks, fast gas schooners of considerable size, took up their usual trips to: Western Nova Scotia rather earlier than in previous years. They have thus been steadily plying back and forth with full fares, from 15,000 to 24,000 pounds of live lobsters a trip for each vessel. The weather has been favorable and in this way alone over half a million pounds of lobsters have been brought to Boston and Rockland from seetion of the Nova Scotia coast not more than sixty miles in extent. Add to this, the substitute steamer Aranmore has been bringing aeross the Bay 400 crates (80,000 pounds) for each of her six trips, and all these pro- duced in the same district visited by the smacks. At the same time, consignments are arriving here by all- rail from East Halifax and other outlying points. A total of over 1,000,000 pounds of lobsters have been shipped to the United States during the last six weeks, without reckoning exports from New Brunswick. I invite the closest scrutiny of these figures. If this long letter finds favor in your sight, Mr. ‘Editor, IT may add another chapter to the economic contention on this very head not long henee. I will speak by the ecard, having served on two lobster commissions and studied conditions on an unlimited stretch of coast, besides being intimately connected with both branches of. the industry (canning and live export) for more than thir- ty years. M. H. NICKERSON. TO THE MEMBERS OF THE CANADIAN FISH- ERIES ASSOCIATION, Notice was received by some of your individual members, from the secretary of the Express Traffic Association of Canada dated May 28th, that on and after July Ist it was their intention to adopt a ruling reading as follows: On and after July Ist, 1918, shipments of fresh fish in boxes or cases must not contain more than 200 pounds net weight of fish to the box or case, except that a single fish weighing inore than 200 pounds may be accepted when authorized by the Superintendent also except shipments in carloads, when loaded, unloaded and carted by the shipper and consignee. | The matter was immediately taken up, through the Association with the Transportation Manager of the Montreal Board of Trade, and_ the Transportation Manager of the Canadian Manufacturers Association, and it was decided to enter. an appeal before the Board of Railway Commissioners against this order being 1s- sued. way Commissioners, to take place in Montreal on Mon- day, the 10th June. The Express Traffic Association expressed a desis to meet the members of the fishing industry, and a meeting was held in the Montreal Board of Trade on Thursday, the 6th of June, and it was explained that this would be ‘a hardship on the shippers of fresh fish, many. prominent shippers representing to the Ex- press Traffic Association that they had purchased their requirements for box making in some cases one or two years in adyance, and also pointing out that this would ‘ CANADIAN FISHERMAN the Express Traffic Association notified the Man A hearing was granted by the Board of Rail-_ increase the cost of fish to the consumer. It was al contended, that considering the fact that the inere consumption of fish was being urged by the Can Food Board, it was not an opportune time to m such drastic regulations as they proposed. We are glad to be able to advise our members, of the Transportation Department of the Mo Board of Trade, that they have withdrawn. this ci in view of the representations made to them conference held by them at the Montreal Boa Trade on the 5th inst. The notice from the See of the Express Traffic Association cancellin circular reads as follows: Ts ag Maximum weight of fish in boxes. Refere to this question and to our eonference the Board of Trade onthe 5th inst. In view of the representations made, the Express Companies realize that it would create so. what of a hardship for some of the di to comply with our notice that from the 1 ) July fresh fish must_not be packed in- containing more than 200 pounds net, and ave therefore decided to delay the- otto ate for the present. At the same time, we hoy that the dealers will consider the matte fully, along the lines suggested, and tha later date they will meet the representative the Express Companies with a view to arrivii at some arrangement that will be m ua satisfactory. ‘ Many telegrams were received from promin nt § pers throughout Canada, including the Presider the Prince Rupert Branch and the President Vancouver Branch. It was pointed out in munication from the former branch, that o members in that district shipped 80 per cent shipments of fish in boxes containing from 400 pounds to the box, and that they had already for their supply of boxes until April, 1919.’ couver Branch wired along the same lines, a that the prominent shippers in that district years’ supply of packages on hand, which worthless if the new proposal went into effec: pressed the view that all interested in the fish in the West were ready to filea strenuous oF the proposed change. cody This work,, on the part. of your Associa ol couintion is giving to the general Bi in ‘the : of the development of fish as a food. cee As: BRITTAIN 0000000000000000000000 0 O Make your plans for your Brienne Vacation — O now and bring the wife along. Canadian OQ Fisheries Association Convention is be O held at Halifax on August 6th, 7th and 8th OA good SrOgTAAuRD, is promised. 0 0 0000000000000000000000 FISH IS THE ONLY hone Caer ae CANADIAN FISHERMAN CANADA FOOD BOARD’S SECTION BULLETIN SUBSTITUTE FOR THE MEATS SO URGENTLY ) BOARD ASSISTS CAPE BRETON FISHER- b MEN. n instance of the many matters the Fish Section e Canada Food Board has interested itself, a com- nication from the Inverness, N.S., Board of Trade, be eeenoted thanking the Board for their efforts th the Government in having the harbor repaired in that fishing craft could use it and local fish ion be stimulated. The letter says:—‘‘ We are ‘atified to know that your appeal on our be- been listened to and as a consequence a grant erness Harbor has been voted, Our people ate to the full what you have done, and, that, many it means a livelihood which was impos- retofore.’’ TO ALL RETAIL DEALERS IN FISH. tail dealers in fish were required to apply for a Food Board license before June Ist. Those neglected to secure their license can be pro- d from doing business. Also, licensees are for- 1 to sell or purchase fish from persons doing without a license. The requirements of the re that the licensee shall not unreasonably . He shall not waste or destroy or permit ble deterioration. Monthly reports to the rd may be required, and he shall keep such and records as will enable the Canada Food to verify said reports. The fees are $2 if the old does not exceed $20,000 per annum and an nal $2 for each $20,000 or fraction thereof in EXHIBIT, CANADIAN NATIONAL EXHIBITION. 2 this Fall. The se of the nent will be used for the Fish Restaurant only, = the exhibit will be turned over to the Canada Board’s Fish Section. A Fisheries Exhibit will en up by the Board in conjunction with the on io Government Fisheries Department and the madian Fisheries Association. The Committee to ndle the fish display consists of Mr. S. L. Squire, Government Fisheries, Toronto; Capt. Fred. Canada Food Board, ‘Ottawa, and Mr. A. ‘ice-President, Canadian Fisheries . Associ- the price, restrict the supply or attempt a The Ontario Government will feature the fresh wa- ter fish of the Province and a fine display of live fish in tanks is promised. The Canadian Fisheries Associa- tion will make a generally comprehensive display: of Canada’s fish products in frozen, smoked, cured, pick- led’ and canned fish from both the Paecifie and Atlan- tic Oceans. The Food Board intends to feature the urgent necessity for a greater consumption of fish by Canadians in order that beef and pork may be solved. for shipment overseas. An attractive Fish Cook Book will be distributed, and motion picture films of the fishing industry on the Atlantic, Great Lakes and Paeifie will be shown daily. CANADA FOOD BOARD’S FISH FILMS. The fish film featuring the catching and marketing of Pacific flat-fish and eods which was taken under the direction of Capt. F. W. Wallace of the Food Board, has been completed and will’ be cireulated throughout the Western Provinces shortly as part of the publicity propaganda to popularize these fish with Westerners. The film shows the whole operation of the fishery from the time the steam trawler leaves the dock for the Banks until the fish are sold over the retail counter. The photography is first class, and one of the most wnique views is that of a bag of 10,- 000 Ibs. of fish breaking away while being hoisted — aboard. There are some thirty-five different scenes in the film and the whole forms a most interesting picture of one phase of our fishing industry. A film to popularise Atlantic sea fish in the eastern Provinces will be prepared by the Board, and Capt: Wallace, accompanied by an expert camera man, will direct a ‘‘movie’’ of steam trawler and schooner dory fishing on the Atlantic Banks. This film, it is hoped, will be ready for circulation some time in July. FOOD BOARD ISSUES NEW FISH COOK BOOK. A beautiful little booklet, bound in an attractive colored cover, handsomely illustrated with euts of vari- ous sea and lake fish, and containing numerous sim- ple and revised recipes on the cooking of fish, is now being printed for the Canada Food Board. The new edition is a vast improvement over former cook books and a charge of five eents will be made for each copy. Recipes for the cooking of Pacific flat- fish, and even whale meat,.is included. It is hoped that the producers and distributors will avail them- selves of a large number of copies for distribution am- ong their customers, 778 FISH CAMPAIGN IN TORONTO. The Food Board conducted a sea fish campaign in Toronto during the week of June 10th. Three car loads of haddock were brought up and retailed at 10 cents per pound. The whole 75,000 lbs. was rapidly dis- posed of. Other sea fish at eut-rate prices—cod, mac- ‘kerel, pollock, herring, soles and flounders—will be brought up during the summer and introduced to On- tario consumers, FISH POSTER TO BE DISTRIBUTED. The Food Board has had some of the best poster artists in Canada and the United States working on a design for an ‘‘Eat More Fish’’ poster. A striking de- ’ sign by a Canadian artist has been selected, and the poster, for distribution at an early date. CANADIAN FISHERMAN lithographed in several colors, will be ready . June, 1918. . PICKLED OOLACHONS—A FIRST CLASS FISH. — Sample pails of Pacific oolachons in pickle have been — received by the Fish Section of the Canada Food Board. Both Capt. Wallace and Mr. Sawyer. of th Fish Section declare them excellent and worthy o wide market, The little fish look and taste simi to smelts and might well be called Pacific smelts. T look well in the pickle, and when cooked, after so ing overnight in running water, taste as fresh ; sweet as if newly caught. These little fish are cuug t in great quantities on the Pacific coast and are com- monly called candle-fish from the oil which is contain- ed in them and which, when the fish is dried, is suf cient to enable them to be used as candles. In pickled samples submitted, no excessive oiliness v noticed. Eastern dealers would do well to oolachons. Oa £ ish Curing By J. J. COWIE. Article 1. HERRING CURING IN THE SCOTCH METHOD. Two classes of herring are cured in what is known as the Seotch method. Full herring of various grades, that is, herring that are full of milt or roe, and matjes herring, that is, fat. herring without milt or roe. The method of curing Fulls, differs materially from that. of curing matjes, in that the former are hard - cured and the latter soft cured. For the Seotech-cured herring trade it is necessary’ to use a barrel and half-barrel of a particular type and capacity. We shall, therefore, first describe the barrels and then the process of curing: The Barrels. Spruce or pine staves may be used. They are easy to shape and dress, and when properly seasoned and put together in a barrel are capital retainers of pickle. Coopers and packers should continually bear in mind, however, that the staves of barrels for use in a trade that pays such a high price for pickled herring must be eut from the best and soundest woed, and not odds and ends of logs that cannot be otherwise used, The staves for a ‘‘Scotch’’ barrel should be eut 31 inehes long and 11-16 of an inch thick. Those for a Scotch half-barrel should be 24 inches long and 9-16 of an inch thick. The heading for barrels should be 34 of an inch and for half-barrels 11-16 of an inch thick. _ The inside diameter of the end trussing Near for a barrel is 18 inches and of the bilge hoop 21 inches; intervening hoops should be in proportion thereto. For a half-barrel the inside diameter of the end truss- ing hoop is 1434 inches, and of the bilge hoop 17 inches, intervening hoops in proportion. In other words, when a barrel is properly trussed and put together its outside diameter across the ends should be 18 inches, and its outside bilge diameter 21 inches. The barrel should be capable of containing 36 2-3 gallons and the half barre] 13 1-3 gallons imperial measure. The out- side surface of the staves, and of the head and bot- tom of the barrels should be dressed or planed. The ends of the staves at one end of the barre should be bevelled sufficiently on the inside to allo the head to be easily taken out or put in. At other, or bottom end, the staves should be left bevelled. Barrels and half-barrels should be hooped wi three good wooden hoops on each quarter; but if wooden hoops are small: four should be used. head and bottom ends of barrels should be bound v a two-inch iron hoop, and the ends of baliele with a one and one-half inch iron hoop, — All knots in the staves and heading that are. to leakyshould be covered with good porn on th side of the barrels. ¥ ; ns The He ' be Large coarse fish should not bb cured in i Hie. Sootl method. Medium sized plump fish are most acce able to the trade and no fish larger than the maxi named hereinafter, for ‘‘large fulls’’ should — cured. The fish should be perfectly fresh. Any Shekwban fish—herring that have been allowed to remain in— water meshed in the nets for a day or two—shox carefully separated from the fresh or live fish, a few mixed in would spoil a whole day’s packing F endanger its sale. 5 The fish should be gibbed and packed within fifteen hours after bejng taken from the water in summer time, j They should not be washed or soaked in Sveti “fore being packed. When dories, or small boats used for bringing herring ashore from the nets, water that comes aboard with the herring is all to remain until the fish have been landed from boat. This water should be hailed or pumped — as soon as the nets are overhauled, as it softens | fish and gives them a decayed appearance. Herring should be handled in such a way that the seales will remain on the fish all through the process of catching and curing, in order that they may ret ain their silvery sheen when cured and packed. For convenience in gibbing and grading, the une, 1918. CANADIAN ould be discharged from the boats into a movable xX measuring about 12 feet in length, 4 to 5 feet ‘breadth, and 1 foot in depth. The bottom boards ould be half an inch apart to allow liquid matter pass through. The box should rest on legs standing out 20 inches high. When the fish are being discharged into the box, ¢ should be scattered amongst them. This keeps em firm and makes it easier for the gibber to grasp em. This box should be kept under cover so that fish may not be affected by the sun or weather vious to and during the process of curing. he best type of knife for gibbing herring is one a pointed blade about 2% inches long and about ¥Y, inch broad fixed to a handle about 4 inches long. _ The foregoing remarks apply to the handling and euring of both Full and Matjes herring. Fulls—Method of Curing, utting or Gibbing—The gills and gut should be n clean away by entering the knife under the cover and cutting just below the two upper fins, ing the roe or milt in the fish. ‘rading.—During the process of gutting, the her- ng should be separated into three grades and called Large Full,’’ ‘‘Full,’’ and *‘Medium Full.”’ irge Full—tThe Large Full grade should consist herring not more than thirteen inches, and not less eleven and one-half inches in length, measured 1 the point of the head to the tip of the tail, and ving the roe or milt at the throat when the gut has extracted, all—The Full grade should consist of herring un- eleven and one-half inches, but not less than ten one-half inches in length, measured from the point head to the tip of the tail, and showing the milt ‘roe at the throat when the gut has been extracted. Medium Full.—The Medium Full grade should con- t of herring under ten and one-half inches but not than nine and one-half inches in length, measured the point of the head to the tip of the tail, and ig the milt or roe at.the throat when the gut een extracted. _ . "* seasons of great scarcity it might be of advantage ke a fourth or smaller grade; but under the nor- nditions it, probably, would not be worth while king such small fish in Canada. These should con- of herring that measure less than the Medium Full , but not less than nine inches. This fourth is known to the trade as ‘‘Matties’’ and may, not, contain milt or roe, ousing.—The gutted fish should be placed in a tub, suitable box and thoroughly turned over in and with salt. A separate tub or box should, if pos- e, be used for each grade. Packing —When properly roused, the herring should ‘lifted from the rousing tub and packed in tiers in barrel or half-barrel. As much as possible of the ising salt should be allowed to stick to each fish. king should begin by placing a herring, back , against the side of the barrel; two more are against the first one, one on each side, with their ds next the wood; another is laid against the tails the previous two and two more against that one th their heads close to the wood, and so on until the has been completed when two herring should be on their sides over the heads of the herring the tier, big their tails crossed and their backs next 2 WOOL ° ; FISHERMAN 779. In packing Large. Fulls into half-barrels, two her- ring will be found sufficient to stretch across the tier, and one herring to place over the heads of those in the tier. The completed tier should then be evenly salted and the next tier packed transversely to the one below it, and so on, until the barrel is full, each tier be- ing salted separately. Gutting and packing should take place at the same time. Usually two persons continue gutting and grad- ing the fish while one packs. Just before packing begins each barrel should be thoroughly rinsed with water to tighten it up so that when pickle begins to make, none of it may leak away. Quantity of Salt on Tiers——The quantity of salt that may be used in packing should vary in accordance with the size and condition of the fish. Generally, it is safe to evenly scatter as much salt on each tier as will almost cover the bellies of the fish in the tier; Large Fulls getting a little more than Fulls, and Medium Fulls a little less. Matties should get less than either. Dating and Marking—On the bottom of every bar- rel and half-barrel about to be filled, there should be marked with a lead pencil, at the time of packing, the class of fish and the date of packing as, for example: FULL MEDIUM FULL. or July 20 August 15 First Fillmg Up.—On the third day after packing the salt will be found to have dissolved a little and, provided the barrel is not leaky, pickle will be seen al- most up to the top tier. The herring will also be found to have sunk two or three inches in the barrel. On this day, therefore, the space left by the sinking of the herring in each barrel should be filled up to the croze with herring of the same day’s pack and~ grade, a little salt being added to the herring used in filling up. The head should then be put in and made tight and the barrel laid on its side for the stated num- ber of days before the final filling up and preparation for market. Second Filling Up.—On the twelfth day, counting from the day of first packing, a bung-hole should be ‘made in the side of the barrel, midway between the centre of the bilge and the lower hoop on the bottom end, the barrel up-ended and the head taken out. The bung should then be withdrawn and the pickle run off as far down as the bung-hole. This pickle should be retained for future use. The space thus left should be filled up with herring of the same date of packing, and of the same grade as is shown by the marks on.the bottom of the barrels. The packing should be as before, and the barrel go filled that the top tier shall be flush with the end of the staves. Three herrings should be laid straight on their backs across the heads of the herring of the top tier, in- stead of two on their sides as in the other tiers, ex- cept in the ease of Large Fulls packed in half-barrels, when two over the heads of the top tier will be suffi- clent. Herring used for the second filling up should be washed in weak pickle and slightly sprinkled with salt, but no salt should be put on the top tier. The head of the barrel should then be pressed in, by the weight of a man on it, and made perfectly tight. This should cause the top tier to be slightly 780 flattened, smootn and firm. As much of the original pickle as the barrel will take should now be put back through the bung-hole. If barrels filled with herring are kept for any con- siderable time, after being filled up, before shipment to market, they should be protected from the sun and repickled at least once ‘in two. weeks. Second Fishery Liverpool salt should be used for rousing, and Trapani or Iviea for salting the tiers. If the former is unobtainable, the latter w ill serve both purposes. Matjes—Method of Curing. Gutting or Gibbing. —In gutting Matjes herring the gills and ‘all that is inside the fish is taken out at the throat. Usually not more than two grades of Meio are made, Large Matjes and Medium Matjes. Large Matjes should consist of fat herring up to 111% inches, but not less than 1014 inches in extreme length, and be without milt or roe. Medium Matjes should consist of fat herring up to 101% inches, but not less than 94% inches in extreme length and be without milt or roe. Rousing.—Especial care should be taken in rousing Matjes to make sure that every herring comes fully in contact with the salt. What is known as 2nd Fishery Liverpool Salt is preferable for rousing. Packing.—The mode of packing is exactly thes same as that of packing “Fulls. Quantity of Salt on Tiers -—Matjes should not be allowed to become hard in the curing process. There- fore not more than about half the quantity of salt used on the tiers of Full herring should be put on the tiers of Matjes. Trapani or Ivica salt should be used in salting the tiers. Pickling —About two hours after packing Matjes, the barrels should be filled almost up to the top tier with clear pickle, made strong enough to float ‘a potatoe. Fillmg Up.—Matjes are made ready for market by one filling up only. On the third day after packing a bung-hole is made near the centre of the bilge of the barrel and the piekle. drained off as far down as the bung-hole. This pickle is not preserved. The space in the barrel is then filled up with fish of the same day’s packing and the same grade, as in the second filling up of Fulls, and the head pressed in and made tight; fresh pickle should then be poured in through the bung-hole until the barrel is full. - Matjes are not cured to keep for a great length of time, and should, therefore, be shipped off to market as soon as -possible after being filled up. When either Full or Matjes herring are ready to be shipped a description of grade and kind should be legibly and neatly stencilled on the head of the barrel, as for example, ‘‘Large Full,”’ or ‘‘Large Matjes.’’ omememememenememenemeneeememenemenenenenemenenenene) ie) ; 0 O Are you interested in your business? Are O O you interested in the development of Can- O O ada’s Fisheries? If you are, you will attend 0O O the Canadian Fisheries Association Conven- O O tion at Halifax on August 6th, 7th and 8th. O 0 1) 0 0 0ODDDDDDDDDNDVNDNON OOOO ON0N0N0N00' CANADIAN FISHERMAN June, 1918 THE SALMON FISHERMAN. Me lah we. Ve Near where sea meets river He wets his net—_ World-weight of water laves His floating domicile, Falling as Neptune’s lungs intake, Rising as they expel. . With barricade of oiled twine, Made taut from buoy to buoy, Along a bobbing horizon of corks, He lies in eager wait = For silvery salmon red, In jumping, joyous race To answer Nature’s urge To propagate, Alone, a fisher through the night, *Mid crash of ghostly silenees, j Mere blurr upon God’s canvass, He lulls his futile soul, Nor asks for aught but luck To match his native skill and gear ‘Gainst instinct unsuppressed, Since birth of time. Comrade is he to Caliban. 0 ieee Mermaidens pull his floats adown ~ With fish fresh captived by the gills, To coax a caress from his lips, In vain; One all- absorbing thing he thinks While beauty’s arrayed on every handy "Tis this— ier ae - What is the price of fish? - es ae. —Wm. Hamar Greenwood. — SOME GOOD TALKING POINTS FOR ADVERT: ING FISH. er ‘‘But I am a great eater of beef and I | ‘Dbelieve that it does harm to my wit.”’ _ day, and eae now that. summer has come t a while. Beef-eating heats the eater. The manor seorches him. He is hot within and without, comes a tanks Fish is the food to eat in the hot wrenthers not produce as much heat as beef and pork, is readily digested, and in a well balanced diet i wholesome and nutritious. Fish with vegetab make an ideal summer meal. eu And when you substitute fish for beef or pork, : you may take credit to yourself for releasing the tw latter foods for export overseas where they will . most good. a Keep cool and eat more fish this summer. Or a this way, eat more fish this summer and keep “ ¥ » most marked characteristic of the British sea ries is the predominance of trawling. If not in origin at all events in its modern development it ntially a British method of fishing which has copied by most of the other countries of western orthern Europe and notably by Germany, France, nd, Belgium and Sweden. It is the method by 1 the greater part of the demersal or bottom fishes aptured, and owing to its success in this way it gradually superseded the older methods of hook ine. Its predominance in the English fisheries is n by the fact that in 1913 it was credited with apture of no less than 94 per cent of the demersal landed, 88.93 per cent being taken by first- ‘steam trawlers and 5 per cent by first-class ig trawlers, while liners took only 3.75 per cent. total quantity of 8,361,000 ewts. of demersal fish d, trawlers landed 7 854, 000 ewts., the value be- pproximately £7,015, 000 of a total value of the of the aggregate value of all fish taken that year e English fisheries, including the immense. quan- of herrings. The figures for Seotland are not So” impressive, but they show that there also @ is by far the most important means of sup- white fish for the markets. In 1913 the quantity ‘awled fish landed was 2,542,000 ewts., valued at 4,000 of a total for demersal fish of 3 296,000 ewts. ,825,000, or equal to 77 per cent and 78 per cent ctively. In Scotland 32 per cent of all fish land- of the trawled fish was 36 per cent of the whole. ulars are not available for Ireland, but for Great the total quantity of trawled fish landed in mounted to 10,396,000 ewts. — or about 520,000 which realized £8 439, 000. ‘The Beam-Trawl and the Otter-Trawl. word ‘‘trawl’’ has been applied to very dif- fishing apparatus. In North America a “trawl”? ong-line, in some parts of Scotland it is the name d to a seine-net for herrings, but strictly and ly a trawl is a bag of netting which is ‘‘trailed’’ eged along the bottom, the mouth of the net » kept open by various devices. It is a specializa- of a ground-seine or truck-net and is dragged the bottom by a boat or vessel. The mouth of » may be kept open in various ways. In some n general use in the Mediterranean the net ed between two boats, as the cocchia of Italy, del bow of ge pail the filets de pees of France, Y ged out from the side of the vessel. In Eng- 1p if the year 1894 the net exclusively used in CANADIAN FISHERMAN The British Fisheries 3rd. Article -- The Great Trawl Fishery By S. J. WILLIAMS of Billingsgate, London. rsal fish of £7, 463 000. That was equal to 70 per - uding herrings, were taken by trawl, and the. 781 part of an irrégularly-shaped framework of iron, term- ed the ‘‘trawl heads’’ or ‘‘irons,’’ the lower part of which is long and flat, termed the ‘‘shoe’’ and slips over the ground when the net is towed. The length of the beam in the largest trawls used in 1895 was from 50 to 55 feet, and the largest sailing smacks used beams up to 50 feet. The trawl net consists of a tri- angular purse-shaped bag-net, approximately somewhat more than twice as long as the length of the beam, gradually narrowing from the mouth to the terminal part or ‘‘eod-end.’’ The net consists of various parts to which distinguishing names (‘‘back,’’ ‘‘belly,”’ ‘“wings,’’ ete.) are applied, and the size of the mesh diminishes from 3 to 4 inches towards the mouth to | generally 144 inches, from knot to knot, in the cod- end, and the lower part of the net is arranged so as to form pocketg’on each side to prevent the return of the fish from the cod-end into the body of the net. The upper part of the mouth of the net is laced to the beam, but the lower part is cut away, forming a deep — curve or sweep from one trawl head to the other, and to this margin the ‘‘ground-rope’’ is attached. This rope consisted of a stout hawser covered or ‘‘round- ed’’ with small rope, and sometimes with wire rope in- side, but it- has sinee been variously modified, large wooden bobbins or rollers being used which enable fishing to be carried on on much rougher ground than was formerly the case. The beam trawl, then, with ‘a mouth of 50 feet or more in width and from 31% to 4 feet from the bottom was towed over the ground at from 244 to 3 miles an hour or more, the ground- rope sweeping along the bottom and disturbing the fish lying there which were swept into the net. A great improvement was affected in 1894 by the invention of the ‘‘otter-trawl,’’ in which, while the net itself remained practically the same, the mouth was kept open not by a great wooden beam and trawl- heads, but by wooden boards arranged one on each side, at such an angle that when towed through the water the resistance caused them to diverge from one © another on the principle of the kite. The otter-trawl had been long used by yachtsmen and even by fisher- | : men on certain parts of the coast, but its adaptation to deep-sea trawling was due to the inventiveness of Mr. Scott, of Granton, in the Firth of Forth. Since the new net almost doubled the catches of the trawl- ers who employed it, it very soon wholly replaced the beam trawl for deep-sea fishing of steam vessels. The beam-trawl is, however, still in use in sailing trawlers, especially belonging to Brixham, Ramsgate and Lowes- toft. In 1913 there were slightly over 1,300 English sailing trawlers, of from under 20 to 70 tons, and pre- sumably the great majority at least of these employed the beam-trawl, the otter-trawl, which requires a steady strain, not being well adapted for sailing vessels. The net of the otter-trawl is somewhat larger than that of ~ the beam-trawl; the head-line may be 130 or 140 feet in length, the ground rope 180 or 190 feet, and the 782 net itself 145 or 150 feet long. Experiments and a comparative study of the statistics show that the ot- ter-trawl when actually fishing has a mouth not very much wider than the mouth of the beam-trawl, but it is very much higher from the ground in the centre. Hence it catches a much larger quantity of round fishes, ‘as cod, hake, haddock, whiting, ete., than does the beam-trawl, but not much more flatfishes than the latter. The otter-trawl is towed by two warps, one attached to each otter-board, whereas the beam-trawl is worked by a single warp with bridles. The Fishing Grounds. From the above account of the trawl net it will be easily understood how effective it is in the capture of demersal fishes. All the fish which are swept into its formidable maw are retained, except those small enough to eseape through the meshes. No other meth- od of fishing furnishes so large a variety of species. In a single haul a score or more of different kinds may be captured. The supplies of flatfish (with the ex- ception of halibut) are almost entirely provided by the trawl, as well as the great bulk of the round fish, as haddocks, cod, ecoalfish, ling, whiting, catfish, etc. The trawl net, however, can be used only in such places as have a suitable bottom—sand, shells, gravel, mud, ete.—and not where the ground is rocky and broken, though with the modification .of ground-rope, etce., much rougher bottoms are now worked over than used to be the case. And whereas the beam-trawl, owing to the heavy unwieldy beam, could not be well employed in water much over 50 fathoms in depth, the otter- trawl can be used in depths over 100 fathoms, and even down to 200 fathoms. This fact has greatly ex- tended the area of trawling and enabled new grounds to be opeli ied up. In a former article a brief account was given of the gradual extension of trawling from coastal waters to distant areas in the North Sea. In 1891 English steam trawlers began to work the Ice- land grounds, and. the grounds at the Faroe Isles; later they extended their operations to the south, to the Bay of Biscay, the Portuguese coast and the coast of Morocco, and in 1905 they began to trawl within the Arctic ocean, in Barents Sea, on the so-called White Sea grounds. It may be said that all the available trawling grounds between the Tropic of Cancer and far to the north of the Arctic Circle have been opened up by English trawlers; in one and the same year the crew of a trawler were captured by the Moors at the southern limit and the erew of another, whose vessel was wrecked was rescued and succoured by the Lapps in the Arctie regions. There would appear to be no limit to the extension of trawling where the conditions are suitable and the fishing can be carried on at a- profit. Along the coasts of Norway the bottom is too rough and the depths outside the territorial waters too great for this method of fishing to be generally practicable, and from some trials that have been made on the Banks of Newfoundland it would appear that trawling there is not profitable for English vessels, though French trawlers, subsidised by the State, make ‘“‘salting’’ voyages to these grounds. The North Sea Grounds. - Owing to the gradual extension of trawling to the distant regions referred to, and into the Atlantic to -the westward, the North Sea has come to be more and more neglected. The official statistics show that in 1903 79 per cent of the total demersal fish landed by CANADIAN FISHERMAN es, : 7.64 per cent from off the south of Treland, and 7.59 first-class vessels (comprising all but a small prapee tion of the whole quantity landed) came from the North Sea, the remaining 21 per cent coming from all regions beyond the North Sea. In 1913 the percentage from the North Sea had fallen to 41 and that from regions beyond had risen to 59, so that in that year much more than half the ageregate supplies were také from distant regions. The figures - Bi be are as % ‘follow: From North Sea: * -- Trawlers Liners Steam. Sail. Steam. Sail. 1903. .4,776,081 277,530 33,388 29,980 5,116, 1913 . .3,030,277 266,602 24,173 11,632 3:332.6! From beyond the North Sea: 1903" eS ESS. Oat: ss 162,119 1913. ‘405, 122° 151,619 270, 905 6,686 4, 837,6 Thus in the ten years the supplies from. the No! rt Sea decrease by 1,784,000 ewts., the decline in catch of steam trawlers being 1,746 000. ewts., yh. the supplies from other regions increased by. 3,4: 000 ewts., the trawlers’ increase being 3,216,000 ew This shifting of the area of predominant canines i recent years is an important fact and raises seve questions and problems which cannot be discussed he The fundamental thing i is that it has been found more profitable to fish in the distant regions rather than on the older grounds, though the average catch (and _ therefore the relative abundance) of fish in the No Sea has only slightly decreased. The average cal of first-class trawlers in the North Sea per day in 190: 1904 and 1905 was respectively 18.64, 16.39 and 16.1 ewts., in 1911, 1912 and-1913 it was respectively 16.2 15.76 and 14, 08 ewts. The Iceland Grouiids, By far the most important region, which has so — to speak taken the place of the North Sea to a large extent, is Iceland, where the abundance of fish a pears to be well- nigh inexhaustible. In°1913 the quan tity of demersal fish brought from Iceland to Eng lish ports was 1,867,889 ewts., of which 1,708,260 ew were caught by steam trawlers and 159,629 ewts. by steam liners. They comprised over a score of differ- — ent species, but the bulk was made up of cod (1,065,- — 000 ewts.) haddocks, catfish, plaice, coalfish, halibut and ling. In the year named English trawlers made 1,722 voyages to the Iceland grounds, the average — duration of a voyage was 2114 days, the average quan tity caught or landed was 992 éwts., or about 50 tons and the average cateh per day was 46.1 ewts., th highest for any fishing ground and more than thre times the average catch in the North Sea. It wou be interesting to compare since 1903 the proportion o: fish taken from the different fishing regions, but spae forbids. It may suffice to say that in 1918 of the demersal fish landed in England and, Wales, 22.89 per cent came from the Iceland grounds, 41. 49 p cent from the North Sea, 8 per cent from the Faro per cent from the westward of Scotland. The remain. ing 12 per cent were taken from the Irish Sea, the English and Bristol Channels, the West of Ireland, Rockall, the White Sea, the Bay of Biscay, and the coasts of Portugal and Morocco. It is probable thé after the war is over the tendency shown above for t transference of trawling to distant grounds will bi maintained and especially perhaps to Ireland, but it ee Le eae 4 CANADIAN FISHERMAN W.S, LOGGIE, Chatham, N.B. Director, The Canadian Fisheries Association. CANADIAN FISHERMAN J. W. SIMPSON, Selkirk, Man, Chairman of the Manitoba Branch of the Canadian Fisheries Association: aie ee oy eet” Steet came > 4 4» 4 bn nn te Lp tp b> bv bn ln le CANADIAN FISHERMAN wvuevvvVvvVY i rwwwryt?*" A ee he AsAAAA ywwwetwet,?+?* -w~wwvrerrre ywTegeYVGTew..,. OOO 99 OHH 0909090000 el ee a fp fp bn bo os & & fn ted dad ywweweqwe+?™ VwuvuvVY wrevvvVVY i i he i hi i Mi he hi hi Mh hi i i hi hi hi hi he hi hi i a Charlottetown, P. E. I. The dates for the opening and closing of the lobster season in this province, were originally fixed for April 26th, and June 25th, respectively—that is for the north, east and part of the south coast; for the remain- ing small section, there is a later season. Owing to the ice lingering longer than usual on the north side, the date of opening was changed to May 6th, and of closing until June 29th. On account of stormy weather, there has been a good deal of time lost on the north side. The catch on the whole will be lower than last year, the decrease being estimated from 25 to 50 per cent. On the north side where the fishermen have a larger field for their operations, the catch has been better than in the more restricted area of the North- umberland Strait, and it will be almost up to the aver- age in the former section. On the east side, there will be a serious falling off, in fact, the Eastern Can- neries Company of Georgetown, which represents a co-operation of packers, have had to close down one of their factories, owing to a shortage of fish. Opinions. - differ as to whether the fall fishing granted last year, has affected this spring’s catch, but the concensus of views is that it has been a disadvantage. For example, a factory on the east coast last year, had more than an average catch, spring and fall, but this year it has done very little. Considerable interest has been taken in the educa- tional campaign conducted by Dr. Knight, and Mr. Perry of the Biological Board, and Mr. Andrew Halkett, Naturalist of the Fisheries Department, Ot- tawa. ferent centres, and the fishermen are becoming aroused to the necessity of taking steps to save an industry which threatens to go out of existence, unless the warn- ings of science are heeded. _ Dr. Knight takes the ground that there should be no fishing in June, July, August and September, for the reason that these are the months that the females are hatching out their eggs, casting their shells, and laying the eggs for the next year. ‘‘Give the lobster these four months,’’ he said, and the fishermen can do as they like, with the other eight. He also contends that there should be only one universal season for the whole of America. The Doctor says, he would not recommend the total prohibition of fishing, but em- phasizes the fact that first of all there should be de- termined the annual rate of increase, and the annual catch should be regulated accordingly, over the whole coast, so as to be always below the annual produc- tion. He says, this is the principle upon which a cattle rancher operates; he does not dispose of the calves or yearlings, or even the two-year olds, or the breeding animals, but only the middle- -sized or half grown. Thus, he keeps. his stock up to _ the number which he controls as a breeder. In regard to lobsters, the ‘‘babies’’ and the large sized ‘‘adults,”’ males and females, should be preserved as breeders. He said that at the eastern end of the Island, he found that, in the case of a catch by one. fisherman, 600 lob- sters weighed 230 pounds—a fraction over six ounces __ each—eompared with the average weight of we pounds each, some years ago. The Doctor noted, 99OO O99 HHOHOHOH9 9909 HGGHGHOSH OH909 009900900609 A number of meetings have been held in dif- » ee his tour of the Island that the catch was good at the opening of the season, on the north side, but it dropped off and it is doubtful if it will come up again, before the season closes. At the meetings which he addressed, he was bom- barded with questions as to the life history of the lobster and other phases of the industry. Dr. Knight addressed a meeting of the Rotary Club, in Charlottetown, a few days ago. He there gave the - reasons why the hatcheries were closed, pointing out that at the hatchery in Georgetown, in this province, out of 62,500,000 eggs placed therein, last year, only 100,000 were hatched out, at a cost of $2,500 to the Government. Mr. C. L. Baxter, the President of the Portland Packing Company, who operate a chain of factories in this province, disagreed with the Doctor regarding hatcheries. He said that if these were run as they should be, free from polities, better results would fol- low. He spoke of the proposition to shut down the fishing for a season or more, pointing out that the in- dustry in this province was worth a million dollars; that prohibition, even for one year, would mean the ruination of many small individual packers. On an average, the fishing season is only about forty-five days, making allowance for stormy weather, and if the regulations are strictly enforced, there should be good protection to the industry. The packers, on the whole, are strongly opposed to the proposed prohibition of eanning. They take the ground that it would mean a loss to the packer and the fishermen, many of whom own their own gear, and which, in many cases, repre- sents the net earnings of a lifetime. It would mean a loss to the factory hands, who receive good wages. Live lobsters, according to the proposition, will be al- lowed to be caught. These are most valuable as spawn producers, and if there is to be a close season, the pack- ers argue, the large lobsters should be protected be- fore the small. Now, that the Car Ferry is running, and there is a double train service from the Island to the Mainland daily, all the factories’ from Tignish to Elmira, could ship live lobsters. inst as well as the fae- tories of Nova Seotia and New Brunswick. The live lobster market is limited and there would be a glut that would be disastrous to the packer and the industry. Moreover, if the factories. were closed for a vear. or so. it would be nearly impossible to get fishermen. when they would be reopened, as thev would become seattered or engaged in other occupations. The dispensing with the services of 85 fish guardians _or wardens of the Island. has aroused little or no eom- ment,.as yet. The small salary which these men re- ceive and the feeling that, in the majority of cases, they are loath to lay information against their neieh- bors have rendered their services of doubtful value. The oninion is expressed, however. that there should be a Fisheries Police appointed, who could patrol the coasts and deal firmly and fearlessly with all violators. For some seasons, great injury has been done to the industry. by illegal packing. esnecially in the western part of the Island. With the laws enforeed. without fear or favor, with the present close season, rigidly adhered to, it is contended that the industry mav yet be maintained. 798 BILLINGSGATE. London, May 18th, 1918. To-day beought to a close one of the most unsatis- factory week’s business in recent years. Prices be- gan to give away at mid-week, and the downward ten- dency was more pronounced each following day until this morning a veritable slump set in, and rates fell to a ridiculous level. Several -factors were contributory causes; supplies of most kinds have been. of generous proportions, the weather has been exceptionally hot for the time of year, and with a slow trade a daily clearance has not been: effected; the latter has re- sulted in the markets being over-stocked with over- day fish in secondary condition, and this has depre- ciated prices all round, It is characteristic of the fish trade that when rates fall after a period of high figures they come down with -a erash. Unfortunately, in their eagerness to secure supplies now that generous landings are being made, merchants at the coast have not. paid sufficient at- tention to the weakening tendency reported from the consuming centres, and the result must have been disastrous, in. a financial sense, to many.- It speaks volumes for tie hold which frozen fish from Canada has now obtained in this.country, that despite the-abundance and cheapness of fresh fish from home waters, the Government Agent at Billingsgate re- ports a fair number of cases of cod, haddocks, herrings, and flatfishes going into consumption. It is to be regretted that it appears impossible to secure freight for either frozen salmon or frozen halibut, whieh are rauekt wanted. ‘London, May 25th, 1918. This week summer conditions have been in full force in the trade, i.e., generous supplies of most kinds, especially deep-sea fish, very hot weather, a slow trade, and prices at all manner of figures. In short, there has been little need for controlling prices, as except here and there where a buyer required a spe- cial-selection of weights, or a particular kind of fish, maximum rates have scarcely ever been touched. As an indication of the market, it may be mentioned that at the leading trawling ports fish has once again been put up to auection—a method of disposing of the catches that has not been possible for two or three months. Monday was a Bank Holiday throughout England and Wales, very little business being trans- acted on that day, and this comparative blank day coming on top of the. previous week’s slump did not. tend to improve matters. However, there was a change in the weather after. Wednesday, when the temperature became much lower, following heavy thunderstorms, and demand expanded for really best qualities, with a corresponding stiffening in the prices. Even then however, most kinds were still quite cheap as things are counted now-a-days. The feature of the week at Billingsgate was the arrival of eight truck loads of loose trawled fish from the Naval Authorities at a well-known East Anglian maritime centre. This fish, as before, was entrusted to the Government Agent, Peter Forge, for disposal. Mr. S. J, Williams, the Government Auctioneer at- tached to this well-known firm, states that this fish ~ was in excellent’ condition, of trawled ‘fish, and included most “kinds such as soles, turbots, brills, plaice, red and grey mullet, haddocks (medium and chat), plaice, roker, weavers, gurnets, with a few mackerel and other kinds. The whole consignment was cleared DON’T FORGET THE CONVENTION AT HALIFAX AUGUST 6 7. AND Qi CANADIAN FISHERMAN -as prices dropped, whereas had the frozen . to be found in the fact that frozen herrings — J uns 1918. sy in two days, prices, all things considered, ruling ata very fair level throughout. The arrival of this supply of good quality fish, after a surfeit of second class stuff, did much to improve the tone of the market, and the week cloSed with the trade in a much more health ; condition. As may be imagined, with the increases arrivals of © fresh fish——as distinet from frozen—the inquiry fo the Ministry of Food, Canadian fish has slackened con- — siderably. It is much to be regretted, as has been’ 86-38 strongly pointed out in previous reports, that the if quality of much of this fish has been unreliable; ine result is that buyers have been only teo anxious to once again purchase fish from home waters as Spee: q uniformly reliable the lower rate at which it is obt able would have proved attractive. iF London, June Ist, 1918. 3 Moma ak last saw the coming into force of an ame ed schedule of maximum prices for fish, the Food ( troller having fixed rates at a lower level inv sonance with summer conditions. However, ex for a few kinds, such as soles turbots, brills and sim choice selections there has been little need for mum rates to be enforced this week, supplies of kinds being more than ample for all requi “ There have been two main factors eontributin end, viz., generous supplies from the deep-neacan as the waters off Iceland are known to the this country, and sweltering heat; the latter, of | always has an adverse effect on the trade, as ; tion of the industry is inclined to purchase more fis than it is likely to dispose of pretty easily, as. weather is not conducive to the preservation | in prime condition. Thus, although at some | smaller fishing ports prices have been mai the full maximum, owing to the landings the on the light side, the aggregate quantities at the principal distributing centres have parativly generous, and rates current for have been in favor of the buyer. Another fae ing to slacken the demand for fish has been creased quantity of butcher’s meat purchasea } each of the coupons allowed to every individual the Government rationing scheme, while ate there is almost a super-abundance of bacon. The great summer herring fishing off the Hag of Scotland is now opening, and in the ordinary plenty of herrings from waters adjacent to the coasts may now be looked for until well on to mas. This, notwithstanding, there has been a sustained inquiry for the Canadian frozen — marketed by the Ministry of Food. In many © these fish seem to have given more satisfaction th any offered by the authorities, and proof of this scheduled at the same rate as fresh and sprinkled rings from home waters. The growing importanee ¢ the frozen fish trade may be gauged from the faet that under the latest Fish (Prices) Order, not oniy are frozen salmon and frozen halibut included, but frozen cod, frozen fresh haddocks and frozen flatt This being so, it behoves Canadian exporters to pl only reliable quality on the market, packed in unif weights—complaints are rife of the irregular weigh contained in the cases, it being more often the exce tion than the rule to find the contents of a case eq to the nett weight stencilled o on the outside. June, 1918. CANADIAN FISHERMAN 799 3 | The Story of Milk Powder Development in Canada and the Consumer being steadily overcome. The first milk powder made in Canada was made at ' Brownsville, Ontario, in the spring of 1904. Mr. B. A. " Gould, President of Canadian Milk Products Limited, - was then the sole owner of patents covering the mak- - ing of milk powder by the Just or roller process, and - had established the business under the name of Cana- dian Milk Products in what was one of the oldest and - best known cheese factories in Canada. Many difficul- - ties were encountered, not only as to the actual making of powdered milk, but also in convincing the farmers of the advisability of turning their milk into powder ‘instead of cheese. From 1904 until 1909 the business steadily increased “in size, although it was not necessary to do anything “more than enlarge and improve the Brownsville plant. “Tt soon became evident that milk powder was destined to be the kind of milk preferred by all manufacturers who used milk in their products. Ss No: 1 and Original Milk Powder Plant, Brownsville, ys Ontario. ~ In the autumn of 1908 patents for making milk pow- der by the spray process were obtained and equipment for making by the new process installed at Browns- ville. The product made by the spray process was a great improvement over the powder made by drying the milk on hot rollers inasmuch as the spray powder Was completely soluble in. cold water, was uneooked and retained the properties of fresh milk. At this time the company known as Canadian Milk Products was in- corporated under its present name. From the time of the adoption of the spray process, development was very rapid and in 1912 the second plant was built at Belmont, Ontario. This plant was ' designed to take care of and dry 100,000 pounds of © milk daily and was the first plant in Canada devoted » éxclusively to the manufacture of milk powder. th the haildinc of the new pliant. a new era in the First milk powder made in Canada at Brownsville, Ont., 1904. Difficulties and Prejudices of the Producer Fifteen thousand farmers now turning their milk into milk powder dairy instead of into cheese as in the past. Four large milk powder plants equipped and operat- ing and a fifth smaller but complete plant just started in Western Ontario. milk powder business was entered upon, because such a fine product was made that it became possible to use milk powder in the home. Practieally all bakers, con- fectioners, chocolate and biscuit manufacturers adopt- ed milk powder as the best milk beeause of its eleanli- ness, purity and effieieney, and it now became evident that these properties would be even more appreciated No. 2 Milk Powder Plant, Belmont, Ontario. in the home. Thus was Klim established as a house- hold artiele with a trade name. The directors of the company were confident that powdered milk was destined to replace all forms of canned milk and become a household cooking material, but believed that it should be put upon the market in a conservative but sure manner. This poliey has been followed from the beginning and the result has been a steady and growing demand for Klim from the pub- lic, together with a wide distribution. spent itt SOREN RE LE wit No. 3 Milk Powder Plant, Burford, Ontario. 800 CANADIAN As an evidence of the way powdered milk has estab- lished itself on the market, it is only necessary to point to the fact that early in 1916 it beeame necessary to build a third plant at Burford, Ontario. This plant is perhaps the finest plant of its kind in the world, as it ws built of tile throughout and has embodied in it the finest milk handling machinery. The fourth plant at Hickson, Ontario, is just being completed and the company believes that it will soon be necessary to build a fifth plant which will probably be established in the best dairy district in the West. The fifth milk powder plant of Canadian Milk Pro- duets Limited was started in operation on June Ist..and is handling 25,000 lbs. of milk daily at Glanworth, Ont. As milk powder is now well known to milk users all over Canada it should be of special interest. to note particularly the rapid development of the milk powder business and to note the size of the business. For in- ener gd No. 4 Milk Powder Plant, Burford, Ontario. stance on the lst of June this company handled ap- proximately 550,000 Ibs. of liquid milk from the pro- ducers and from this milk produced in a single day nearly 30 tons of product. It is hardly necessary to emphasize the value of a food product like Klim because it offers users a natural milk food that is pure and genuine. The flavor of it when prepared in liquid form according to directions proves its quality and genuine nature. Klim is packed in 1 Ib. tins and in 10 lb. tins for do- mestic, hotel, lumber camp, mining camp and fisher- men’s uses. It is well to remember that four quarts of liquid can be produced with one pound of Klim and this means a milk food that can be used anywhere at any time in any temperature that cannot be equalled by any other form of milk usually used in lumber camps, mining camps, on ships, and wherever fresh li- quid milk is either hard to get, too expensive, or out of the question. Canadian Milk Products, Ltd., have besides their large organization at their head office in Toronto at 10-12 St. Patrick Street, a Quebec Province office at 10 -Ste. Sophie Lane, Montreal, in charge of Mr. B. D. Buford. Quebee Manager. Salesmen cover Ontario, Quebec, and the other provinces of Canada regularly calling on the retail trade, lumber camps, mining camps and all deal- ers and users of milk. W.H. Escott Company, Winni- peg, Edmonton, Calgary, Regina and Saskatoon are the Western distributors of Klim and Messrs. Kirkland & NAN’T PARART TUR CANWUENTTAN FISHERMAN June, 1918. Rose, 312 Water Street, Vancouver, take care of the British Columbia business of the company. Attractive literature describing Klim, useful cook books, prominent newspaper advertising, and unusual street car cards are puttirig Klim before the public in — a way that is making Klim a staple milk product for the users of milk in Canada. _ AN APPRECIATION. | Port Hood Island, N.S., June 18, 1918. Enclosed find $2.00 in payment ‘‘Canadian Fisher- ] 92 man.’’ I am pleased with the Magazine. It conveys so much information interesting ‘to ‘the fisheries that every fisherman should be a subseriber. Wishing the ‘‘Fisherman’’ every prosperity, Yours, ete., — A. W. MORRISON. WHALE IS MEAT, NOT FISH. The bureau of fisheries at Washington recommends the introduction of whale meat as an article of food. The — It bears some re- — meat. is devoid of all fishy taste. semblance to beef and the bureau thinks it would not be surprising if within a short time the meat of whales in both fresh and preserved form will be extensively — utilized. Whales are mammals, like cattle and sheep ; 4 . they suckle their young and their flesh is meat and net? fish. NORWEGIAN FISHERIES IN 1917. In a preliminary official statement on the Norwegian — fisheries last year, it is said that various difficulties — had to be contended with. Coal, petroleum for the — large fleets of motor boats, and all kinds of fishing gear was scarce and very expensive, and the cost of — these necessary articles much reduced the profits of — Then the Government fixed maximum — ’ prices for the fish, which still further lowered their — -Partly on account of these difficulties the — great cod fishery gave the poorest results ever record- — Notwithstanding all this, however, the total value _ of the fish and fishery produce is estimated to have — amounted to about £6,667,000, a drop it is true of £3,- — the fishermen, earnings. ed. 333,000 on the figures ‘for 1916, but higher than in any other year. £10,000,000, in 1915 at £4,167,000, in 1914 at £3,444,000, In 1916 the aggregate value was placed at a while in 1913 it amounted to only £3,000. 000, so that q last year the value was more than twice what it was in — A simple calculation shows — that since the outbreak of the war the earnings of Nor- wegian fishermen have been about £10,000,000 greater 4 than they would have been, in all probability, had peace © the year before the war. continued. 00000000000000000000000000 | Plan your vacation so as to be in Halifax on August 6th. Your views on the Fish Trade of Canada are worth listening to. Come along and give them, — ooooo°o 0000000000000000000000000 AM TTTATTRHAWZ ATTATAM 2@HF AATTY. oO O- oO 0.3 0°) 04 ie) i¢) Be et? ~ June, 1918. An Inquiry into whether it is Feasible and Practic- able to Fix a Price for Raw Salmon to the Fish- ermen of British Columbia, and also for Canned Salmon to the Canners of British Columbia, for the Season of 1918. ; Vancouver. - Owing to the unbusiness-like methods in vogue in Canada and the United States during the year 1917, in connection with the purchase of Allied supplies by the Allied Governments, a situation was created that has been described by Sir William Goode, Liaison Of- - ficer of the British Ministry of Food, in the following terms: “During the summer of 1917 the Allied Govern- ments and even Departments of the same Allied Gov- éernments were frantically bidding against one another in the American market for supplies of all kinds, ex- - cept wheat and to some extent sugar, which had al- ready been excellently centralised by the wheat and ‘| sugar commissions. Lord Northcliffe, as head of our Special Mission to -the United States, sent repeated _ eables urging that this should be stopped, pointing out that not only was it to the obvious disadvantage of each Ally, but that it was forcing up food prices, _ beyond the reach of the poorer American consumer. _ ‘**The Allies, being all exceptionally polite and well- jie ‘meaning, agreed that it was foolish—and nothing hap- pened, Then one day there came a characteristic mes- sage from Herbert Hoover to the effect that unless _ the Allies could ‘get together’ and stop cutting each ’ other’s throats he would really have to consider the advisability of stopping their supplies from America. _ And that shocked the Allies into action: To-day all the buying in America for Great Britain, - France and Italy on Government or, with few excep- tions, on private account is centralised in the hands of what are known as Inter-Allied Executives. The _ general principles followed is that all purchases on pehalf of the Allies are determined by organizations Yow sitting in London and carried out by their New York Agencies, in co-operation with the United States Food - Administration, who in turn have set up a co- ordinat- ed board for the United States Army, Navy and Allied purchases. | is “The Inter-Ally Council on War Purchase and Fin- pence, of which an American is chairman, but which sits ‘London, is-the apex of this somewhat delicate ma- CANADIAN “FISHERMAN 801 PACIFIC COAST SECTION B chinery, Before any purchases are made in America _the necessity of the requirements put forward by each Ally and the availability of tonnage and finanee must be determined by the Inter-Ally Council. The system has solved difficulties that would have disheartened men less resolute than Lord Northcliffe and Mr. Hoov- er, and, without advertisement, almost unknown to the public, has effected an unparalleled economic re- volution by. diverting the vast imports from North America of nearly all food commodities from private hands into Government control.’’ Where the Blame Belongs. The competitive bidding of the purchasing repre- sentatives of the Allies, and the inability to control Atlantic tonnage, which gave shipping pirates and speculators an opportunity to bargain in ocean space with shippers to their ruinous cost, produced a condi- tion of affairs that enhanced the price the Allies had to pay for foodstuffs out of all proportion to their food value. For instance, canned sockeye salmon from British Columba, which sold at about $15 a ecase* in Vancouver, was retailed to the consumers in the United Kingdom at from $28 to $30 a case, because of the poor business methods used by the representa- tives of the Allied Buyers in 1917. An effort is apparently being made to assess the blame for the comic opera purchasing conditions of 1917 on the salmon canners of British Columbia, but the blame rests wholly with these who in 1917 were entrusted with the purchase of canned salmon for the © Allies. One buyer, representing the Allies, went to British Columbia, saw the leading salmon ecanners and got prices on tentative contracts, but, though warned that the price of salmon would undoubtedly go up al- most immediately, he did nothing, made no contracts for salmon, which he could have got at reasonable prices, and returned east only to find that the price had gone up beyond what he considered he could pay. Yet the Allies had to have the canned salmon and had to pay the price in the end. Had the buyer understood conditions and the methods of doing business in the salmon canning industry, he would have saved his principals hundreds of thousands of dollars. Such a short-sighted attempt to negotiate purchase of Cana- dian canned salmon apparently was in keeping with the unorganized system in vogue in 1917 on behalf of the Allies. But apparently that situation is changed now. 802 What the United States Army and Navy Contract Price for Canned Salmon Means. The suggestion has been made that because of the close affiliation of the Allied Provisions Export Com- mission with the United States Food Administration, the former has been offered all the canned salmon it desires for export in 1918 on the basie contract price for the United States Army and Navy. It is assumed that this offer has persuaded the -Allies Provisions Export Commission to believe that a similar price ar- rangement could be got from the canners of British Columbia for their canned salmon, It looks very much as if the tentative arrangement with the United States Food Administration was being used as a sort of ben- evolent club to get the British Columbia canners to meet the prices of the United States Army and Navy contracts. If industrial conditions in the United States and Canada, so far as the salmon fishing is eon- cerned, were similar this method of negotiation might be justified, but as those conditions are vastly differ- ent, such a method of procedure should not be coun- tenanced. The United States Army and Navy contract price for canned salmon is an arbitrary price foreed upon the canners of the United States, and in 1917 was fixed only for 15 per cent of the pack of one variety and 10 per cent of the pack of another. ‘All of the canned salmon of the 15 per cent and most of it of the 10 per cent were packed in Alaska from cheaply caught fish, taken in traps and by seines by the whole- sale, at a surprisingly low cost per fish. Alaskan ean- ners put up large packs. In 1917 there were six mil- lion cases of salmon packed in Alaska. The fifteen per cent of the one variety upon which the United States Government fixed a price were what are known as Alaska Reds, which are not canned in Canada. The ten per cent of the other variety on which the United States Government fixed a price were Pinks or Hump- backs. The price made by the United Statés Govern- ment for army and navy purposes was $1.75 a dozen, or $7.00 per case for Alaska Reds, and $1.50 a dozen, or $6.00 a case, for Pinks. These prices were less than the opening prices, regularly made early in the season before the pack is put up by the United States can- ners to the trade, both export and domestic, which prices were $2.35 per dozen or $9.40 per case for Alas- ka Reds. These fish were all packed in tall cans and were machine filled. This is the most economical me- thod of packing and the least attractive. Wherever the United States Government took canned Pinks from Puget Sound,—which is contiguous to the Fraser Riv- er in British Columbia—the canners were asked to present a cost sheet, and if the cost exceeded the cost of packing the Pinks by the Alaskan canners then a higher price was paid by the United States Govern- ment to the Puget Sound canners than to the Alaskan canners. Some Conclusions to be Drawn from the Above. Thus it will be seen that the United States Army and Navy contract price deals only with 15 per cent of the pack of one variety of salmon in the United States and 10 per cent of the pack of another variety, and all from Alaska, on a uniform seale, and that when Pinks are taken from Puget Sound the contract price is raised; and that the cheapest and least attractive form of packing is permitted. It is evident that price fixation on the basis of sup- plying the army and navy could not be accepted as a standard for fixing the prices of the rest of the United States pack in 1917 or it would have been done. CANADIAN FISHERMAN June, 1918. The United States salmon pack for 1917 was-over 10,-— 500,000 cases. Of this 85 per cent, or more than 8,- 500,000 eases, were unmolested by price fixation of the Government of the United States on the seale of the Army and Navy contract price. If the suggested fixa- tion of prices could not work out in the United States — in 1917, why assume that it is workable in Canada in 1918, where conditions are so different from those in the salmon canning industry in the United States? It might be possible to deal with 15 per cent of the pack of the cheaper grades of Canadian canned sal- mon on a basis similar to the United States Army and Navy contract price, but the British Government does not use sockeye salmon for its army and navy supplies but always has used Alaska Reds. ‘What might — done for the British Army and Navy through patriot motives, should be considered no argument for what should be done upon business principles in connection with Sockeye Salmon, Spring Salmon, and other high- er grades of salmon desired by the British conten ‘ but not by the British army and navy. -Is a New Principle Being Enunciated? Is a new business principle being put forward by the Allied Provisions Export Commission? Is it to be understood that the Canadian manufacturer is to be induced by possible competition from the United States manufacturer to sell his product to the Allies at a price that will conform to the United States Arm and Navy contract price? Are all manufacturers in Canada to be treated to similar competition and fixa- tion of prices? Is there to be no longer any reasonable relation between cost of production and selling price? If this is the situation, then what happens to the chief incentive to greater production, namely a good price? In the name of all that is patriotic, by all means hasten the day when all the resources of the Empire will be pooled to win the war, but price fixation on the basis of the United States Army and Navy contract price, which will eliminate the chief incentive to more greatly produce, will not conserve industry, ‘but wi pretty effectually crush it. The laborer is worthy” of hire, and the just steward will recognize that fact. Br ish Columbia should not be penalized for short-sig ed, iul-informed merchandising disabilities of the re presentatives of the Allies who sought to buy satiiee salmon from British Columbia in 1917, and fell vic- tims to U.S. shipping pirates. : How to Fix a Fair Price for Canned Salmon. — Cost of production is the only stable basis — upon which to estimate a fair price for canned salmon. In- telligent fixation of price depends on an accurate knowledge of costs. .In the salmon canning industry, costs can be arrived at with certainty only at the close of the canning season. It is true that many sales of canned salmon of the 1918 pack have been made at the closing prices of 1917, yet it is also true that both | buyers and sellers have been speculating as to costs, which is the usual way of doing business in the salm industry, for it is the greatest gamble, outside of wheat pit, in Canadian industrial activities. No one can tell whether the salmon will run or not. Mi lions of dollars are expended every season by the sal- mon canners before a single salmon is caught. As a risky, speculative enterprise, there is nothing to equ the salmon fishery in Canada. Anything that would tend to make it more speculative than it is, would cer- tainly excite capital and hinder, rather than help, in- creased production. Fixation of the prices of canned and raw salmow has such a tendency, The conditions under which the salmon canning in 4 Fito, 1918. - ie: dustry is: iekstuaa are unusual. There is an alarm- ing s¢areity of labour, the industry at best is only a temporary’ employer of labour, needing fishermen but two months out of the twelve, competition from other industries is keen, where wages are high and employ- - ment ‘more permanent. Fixing prices for raw salmon ‘caught by the fisherman who is in two minds whether he willfish, or go logging, or ship building, is a deli- cate inatter ‘that may result in intensifying the sear- ity of labour, and thus reducing the production of odstuffs. ° If the government were the employer of labour, fixed prices might be established and main- ied as in the shipyards, but where there are nearly 100 canners all- bidding for the catches of the fisher- en, uniformity of price for raw salmon seems im- ssible of achievement. and will work with more efficiency. Yet it is ad- ted that if before the pack is put up the price is ixed for the canned product, then a price should be ‘ixed for the raw salmon. But with labour conditions nd the general characteristics of the industry as they re, it is practically impossible to fix a price to the fisherman for his raw salmon. To do so would disor- anize production efforts and jeopardize millions of ollars already expended, Price Fixation in the United States for 1918. a Government fixation of prices in the United States $ been made hitherto after the pack was up, for ~even in the United States it has been considered only to regulate the price by the cost of production. United States Government has not named prices - canned salmon for 1918, and from all the evidence hand ‘does ‘not appear to be anxious to do so. On- ~e in “Alaska have prices for raw salmon been fixed ‘this year as last, but the price paid the salmon fish- en is “aes Poe the price they got last year. No price i It tah sod States does not see fit to fix prices = for raw salmon and for canned salmon, and. the Unit- Ep of, the srorid, is it not expecting too much of the Can- - adian canners to take the initiative in such a formid- able matter? There is no doubt that the difficulties of the situation in the United States are now apparent _ to the Food Administration for it has refused to fix _ prices” for halibut handled by an industry whose labour | is more easily” controlled than that of the salmon ean- _ hing’industry. + The United States Army and Navy contract price Age based on the canning of salmon in tall cans, all ma- ' chine filled. But most of the packing of salmon in _ British Columbia in 1918 will be in half pound cans in all grades except Chums. This is due to the fact that the tin plate for canning was ordered over a year ago, ' and is now being delivered with the intention of putting up the pack in the style. of half pound cans, _ which method has been forced on the canners owing _ to the short supply of labour, and because their Chin- ese contractors are paid by the ease, and get more for _ packing half pound cans than Tall cans. The United _ Kingdom as well as the United States in its Army and _ Navy contracts uses only Tall cans. It is to be remem- _ bered:that salmon packed in half-pound cans sells for _ from $1:50 to $2.00 per case above the price of salmon _ packed in Tall cans, same grade of fish; and Flats 50¢ per ease ‘more than Talls, same grade or fish, > + Production the First Consideration. tes othe! opinion of the Canadian canners that the CANADIAN FISHERMAN Fraser River. The law of supply and de- © 803 Canadian’ Government should ¢onsider greater produc- ‘tion Tather than regulation of prices. In: estimating the cost of packing for 1918, exclusive of the price. of raw salmon, the canners of British Columbia say that it will cost at least $6.00 to put up a case of salmon. If they have to pay more money for raw fish to the ‘fishermen this year than they did last, and there seems every probability of that occurring, the canners say the cost of raw fish to be put into the cans will be $6.00 or moré' per case. Hence the cost of packing -a ease of salmon, estimating that the run of fish will be fair, will be in excess of $12.00 per case. The raw sal- mon may cost the canner $8.00 or even up to $10.00 per case if the run of fish is exceptionally light on the It is conservatively estimated that the cost of packing, exclusive of the cost of raw fish, will be $1.50 per case more than last year, and this fact leads the canners of British Columbia to conclude that it: is useless to talk about a lower price for canned salmon in 1918 than in 1917. To their minds the price of eanned salmon in 1918 must be and will be higher, no matter how much the Allied Provisions Export ‘Commission may desire to lower it, and that price will be regulated by its relation to the tost of production. For all of these reasons the best opinion among the British’ Columbia canners is that the Canadian Gov- ‘ernment should. wait and see what is done in the United States before- committing itself to any fixation of prices. But even if the U.S. does fix prices for sal- ‘mon, both raw and canned, those prices, however high, might not be fair to the Canadian canners, for the prices for Puget Sound Sockeyes, Cohoes and Chums — eannot be considered as a criterion on which to base prices for British Columbia salmon of these grades. The costs,.of. production in Canada are much higher ~ than those in the United States. Facts Relative to Costs. Tin plate costs the Canadian canner $1.15 per box more than it does the United States canner, and to this cost is added a 74% per cent war tax, which the United States canner escapes, but which the Canadian canner “must. pay, for the tin plate used in the salmon canning industry is imported from the United States. Labour is harder to get and more highly paid in Canada than in the United States. The Canadian can- ners for the most part catch their fish by means cf gill nets. The American canners use traps and seines, a more economical and wholesale method of capture. Besides that, the Canadian packs are smaller than those put wp by American canners. One Alaskan can- ner will put five times the pack of a British Colum- bian canner. ’ Taxes reach the Canadian canners on every hand. The double income tax is assessed them; the income- tax for British Columbia is 10 per cent of the profits made by the canner. ' Licenses are exacted by both the Provincial and Do- minion Governments ‘in Canada, the latter being $1,- 000 a year. Profits from canning salmon accrue to the Govern- ment of Canada as well as to the canners. The canner at the best can make only 11 per cent profit; the Gov- ernment takes the rest. The Government is under no risk, but whenever a profit is made it takes its share. Financing the Purchase of the Export Pack. If Canada. provides the money with which to pur- chase canned salmon in Canada for export on behalf of the Alliéd Provisions Export Commission, surely Canada should have something to say about what is a fair price to the canners and under what conditions 804 the industry shall be operated. From what has al- ready been said, it is clear that Canada should not be asked to meet the United States Army and Navy con- tract price. In the last resort the Government of Can- ada might buy the whole canned salmon pack of Brit- ish Columbia and give it to the Allies. . If it comes down to such a desperate method of financing in order to aid the fighting populations in Europe, Canada might buy the canned salmon pack and give in ex- change for it Vietory Bonds to the canners of British Coltimbia. . Canadian industry must: pay. for this war for it is the greatest collecting agency for the revenue takers of Canada. It cannot escape the tax eolleetor, nor does ii desire to do so. It wants to make money, and as it makes money, the Government takes it andthe war is being paid for. But if an extraneous suggestion, inim- ieal to the orderly prosecution of the salmon canning industry, is allowed to have right of way, the ener- gies of industry may be affected, conditions demoralis- ed, and unusual and vexatious burdens placed upon executives already weighted with the cares of business amid a universal atmosphere of pressure and overwork. Why shackle Canadian industry? Why single out the salmon canning industry for specific treatment with an injection_of price fixation? Is there a price placed or. beef? It, as well as eanned salmon, is exported. Is pork limited as to its profits? Does its selling price bear any relation to the cost of production? What about wheat? Its price was fixed by inflation. Why not suggest the same for canned salmon. As to food value, a can of salmon will match any other food in the world, and it will keep longer and still be edible. Tonnage. Tonnage across the Atlantic may be limited to-day, but will it be limited in six months from to-day, when the ships building in the United States and Canada and elsewhere are launched? It seems fair to assume that by November and December many millions of tons of additional shipping will be afloat. Surely an excel- lent food like canned salmon, popular with and famil- iar to the people of the United Kingdom and France and Italy, will not be discarded, because in 1917 ship- ping pirates made it almost prohibitive in price to the consumers of the United Kingdom! The present seems to be no time to fix prices for raw salmon unless the British Columbia canners are lcoking for trouble with their fishermen. The can- ners are prepared to give the fishermen a fair price for their raw raw fish, perhaps as much as last year, and the fishermen may accept. When there is a friend- ly arrangement between the canners and the fisher- men, it is a courageous man who would disturb it. In the United States the Columbia River fishermen obtained 10e a pound for their fish in 1917. To-day they are asking 16c a pound, but the canners say they cannot give it to. them, and the United States Food Administration has been asked to intervene, On Puget Sound the fishermen are asking 85e¢ each for Sockeyes, 75¢c for Cohoes and 50c for Chums, but the canners consider these prices too high, and again the United States Food Controller is trying to effect an agreement. Even if the Food Administration suc- ceeds in fixing a satisfactory price for raw fish to the - fishermen, that does not mean that the fishermen will fish, for they may. go into’ other occupations. Canada should wait and see what will happen in the United States before taking action on the matter of price fixation, and it is the opinion of the salmon CANADIAN FISHERMAN. Governments of the United States and Canada, so seriously threatened with entire depletion. June, 1918. = canning trade of British Columbia that nothing should be done that. will interfere with the programme for greater production. If the canners and the fishermen cannot get down to a working arrangement on prices, it will be time enough for the Government to step and regulate them. For the Government to set a price for the finished product, before accurate knowledge the cost of production is obtained, would not m with favour’ as.a business proposal. The .canners prepared to do. all that they can to assist the Gove ment and the Allies in working out a just solution of all the problems. that. engross them, but intervention that tends to. paralyze the industry should not be a tempted without: isezere sine hasossee £ heey Vanpiaaan, BC, eh May 6ih, be To the Hanavette Members of the American-Canadian Fisheries Conferenee, in Session, Vancouver, B.C. ee The salmon eanners of British Columbia desire tee welcome the Members. of your High Commission Vancouver, and to express their satisfaction that making serious effort to co-operate in devising r sures in relation to the Fisheries in waters contiguo’ to both countries, on the Atlantic and Pacifie Coasts, which shall, not only materially assist in the succe: ful prosecution of the Fishing and Canning industries, — and the perpetuation and protection of the supplies of fish for the food of the public, but also, they h to remove for all time the causes for dissention - irritation which have hitherto unfortunately existed They submit, that the most important subject to considered by your Hon. Commissions, at this ti is how best to perpetuate and conserve the supplie sockeye and other salmon, for canning purposes, | The necessity for concerted action to prevent s a calamity as entire depletion, with its attendant. ancial disaster, is clearly recognized by the Can and Fishermen engaged in these industries on Pu Sound and the Fraser River, but so far, no basis agreement, as to how best attain the desired re has been arrived at by those interested. Peay The sockeyes and other salmon are bred in the Fras- er River, entirely in Canadian territory; and on the way back from the Pacific to their spawning grounds in the Fraser River, pass up the Straits or Fuea a through Puget Sound, where they are captured | unlimited numbers of traps and purse seines; the lat. ter of which>meet the incoming schools outside Ca Flattery, and follow them up to Point Roberts on International Boundary Line. Each year has s the number of purse ‘seines increased in numbers, and effectiveness, and the use of more powerful moto boats which not only draw the nets, but having gree ite advantage in pursing’ the seines much more quickh practically doubles their capacity. In this connect: it must be noted, that on the Fraser River and viein no such appliances are permitted by the Canadian @ ernment to be used, but fishing is entirely restricted gill nets, which have been reduced in depth of me and only nets 150 fathoms long are allowed to be f: ed. It is the present effectiveness of the gear n employed on Puget Sound, and being steadily | veloped, which has been, and is, responsible for th great preponderance of the. Puget Sound packs ove’ those on the Fraser River, and has deatroxed. the parit; June, 1918. CANADIAN FISHERMAN 61 -display them? (2 Blocks N, of Union Stn.) Phone Adelaide 3786 FISH, FISH, FISH, Have you a good case to hold and The above illustration is of the Gov- ernment Standard case finished in white enamel and ash stained. sf Write for Catalogue and Prices. A Stock Carried; Prompt Delivery Made. 4 The W. A. Freeman Co., Limited, : amilton, Canada. TORONTO MONTREAL 114 York St. 16 Notre Dame St., E. D. H. H. NEILL, 16 Richmond Sq. Phone Uptown 8547 With the high cost of labor can you afford to be without a Knapp ‘Labelling and Boxing | Machine? Knapp Labelling Machine The Brown sri ri Limited Hamilton, Ontario E. A. EARL & CO., Vancouver, B.c.., Agents ; wr _ Acadia Gas Engines, Ltd é a ees Independent Bliss, E AONE SEIN nic.) ace o's ew hee. we Se Booth Fisheries Co. of Canada, Ltd. ° Bowman, J., and Co. Dre Brandram Henderson ‘Co. ‘Ltd. British Columbia Government .. . ~ British Columbia Pose ~ Asso- ciation .. Brown Boggs Co., Ltd. Brown Engineering ‘Corporation, Burnoil Engine Co. Burns, & Co. ©. Caille booed os Motor Co. .. .+ «- — Canada tal Co., Ltd. es ; Datesinnciaitbanke- Morse ‘Co, L Ltd. oso agg Fish ane baat paroreae 0., Vs P Canadian Fisheri ae Canadian Fisheries’ Association. . ie Fishing Co., Ltd. a Ice Machine Co. . ae te Milk Products, Lid. denawe Canadian Oil Co., Ltd. ian Pearl Button “Co. ” Lta.. ys Connors’ Brothers, Ltd. gape’ Consumers Cordage Co., “Ltd. ae Cullen Motor Co. en aes 'p Cutting and ‘Washington. A age FY) eee D. Danto ae. CO. .s Na “noe ad of Naval Service ae DesBri .» and * gnu Dominion miseries, Ltd. Edwards, W. C. & és, Ltd. . Bureka Refrigerator Co. Evinrude Motor Cs ts es awed and eg La. ee sanere 2.0 aniny Metete CO, ATIC. 56 co soe e, ‘ “Co., *o ee #8 0.6) oe 6.6 Sent Peter Featet oe #8 #6 @8 #8 #8 ‘Fisheries, Index to Advertisers :: Freeman and Cobb Co., oneal etna Freeman, i Aisi’ COPS tes Fromm, F. & Co. . Goodrich, B. F. Co., wae... Gourock Ropework Export Co., “Ltd. Gosse-Millerd Packing Co., Lt td. Gray and Prior Machine Co. . Guarantee Motor Co. . < Guest, W. J., Fish Co. Ltd. x. Hallam, John, Ltd. er ‘Co. Mel hea. << wih alee eta OS aR ASE Henry, Both eS REN RIPE eo a ere Hoover: & SON, Asse ew. ce ee ee Hyde Windlass Co. alent Imperial Oil, Ltd. Wea Independent Cordage Co., Ltd. paced Independent Rubber Co., Ltd. .. .. J. )oJacoebson we ai io Co. James, F. 7) Gis = Kermath Motor Co. . ah eee ae Kildala Packing cg Ltd. Sa ey Leckie, John, Lt Phe Leonard Fisheries, Ltd. Letson and Burpee, Ltd. Lincoln, Willey and Co., Ine. . canes? none Refrigeration Co., Lipsett, Cunningham ‘and Co., “Ltd. Lipsett, Edward Lockeport at Storage ‘Co., “Ltd. Loggie, W. Co. London and Petrolia Barrel Co, Ltd. Lyons, Chas. Co., Inc. tee Marconi Wireless .. Maritime Fish Corporation, “Ltd. McAvity, T. & Sons, Ltd. Mueller, Charles, Co., Ltd. vk ame Mustad, O., and Son. .. National Refining Co. New Brunswick Cold Storage Co. Ltd. New England Fish. Company, “Ltd. relies sd S| Back betaghio?” 83 65 3 77 16 Noble, Charles, Jr., Co., Inc. .. 94 Northern Fish Co. ng 80 Nova Scotia Government 86 f oO. Ontario Government .. bie teres Yee O’Connor’s Fish Market | oe eae Oe P. Perfection Motor Co. Sar Ss Pitt, Fishmonger 4 938 Polson Iron Works .. .. .. «. «. 88 Plymouth Cordage Co. 16 Process Engineers, Ltd. 89 Qq. Quebec Government .. 92 zB. Ranney Fish C Cov ae wk bee ee Robbins, a °G., RMT ok, 5 ra 46 Robbins, F. VE Cee ic: ante Roberts Mate ors -. 814 Robin, Jones and Whitman, Ltd. . eats | Robinson, Thomas . $65 8. Seaboard Trading Co. .. .. .. .. .. 383 Scott and Co., Ernest Scythes & Co., Bctelin Glee a GL Silver, ps! R., ax. 88 Smith “~annery Machines Co., Ltd. 2 Stamford Foundry Co. Preece ee Standard Gas Wieine Co | ap Doce rary © * St. Thomas Packing ‘oaps Ltd. Bir hes ee Spooner, W. R. .. Sika eer Oe = Tabor, Geo., Ltd. . Z 88 Thorne, W. br and. Co., ‘Ltda. Tower Canad Pica ers Bie 1 Tuckett Tobacco Co. Lact ahh Vhay Fisheries Co. _ 73 Ww. Walker, Thos. and Son, oer és 93 Wallace Fisheries, Ltd, .. ...... 10 Wannenwetsch & Co. Si ABR amy | Western Packers, Ltd. imap te ® White and Co., + boeiet eae, eee Whitman, Arthur N., “'hta. | is ke we 806 which existed between the two districts, during the earlier’ years of the industry. The Canadian Government has steadily refused to permit the use of the modern methods of capture em- ployed. on Puget Sound, in order to protect and per- petuate the supply of salmon, whieh it rightly deemed to be the truest economy ; but the results have been, that such a policy was effected, entirely at the ex- pense of the Fraser River operators, and inured to the advantage of those on Puget Sound, The totals of the respective Sockeye packs, in the “Big Years’’ of 1909, 1913 and 1917 clearly brexe this contention :— Combined Puget Fraser Packs. Sound. _ River. 1909 1,558,945 es. ——-1,016,697 es. . 542,248 es. 1913 2,350,324 es. ——-:1,665,728 es. 684,596 es. 1917 535,152 es. 411,538 es. 123,614 es. The relative percentages of the combined sockeye packs were: Puget Fraser Sound River. 1909 65.23% 34.77 % 1913 = aeeaN 70.87 % 29.13% WT <. eny n oes 76.91% 23.09% — Of the packs of all grades of padinan ee peo Puiset Sound and the Fraser River during the same years, the ratios would be: a Fraser River. Puget Sound. 1909 1,582,010 es: or 61.58% | 607,743 es. or 38.42% 1913 2,553,843 es..or 69.37% 782,429 es. or 30.63% » 1917 1,921,554 es.or74.12% 497,280 es. or — > The. Canadian Ganiners do not object .to their .com- | petitors on Puget Sound, by reason of the advantages in respect to the location of their fisheries, securing a share of the salmon. but. they contend that they, as subjects of Canada, which provides the whole supply, are justly entitled to a reasonable proportion of the sal- mon, and that,. as concessions, to perpetuate that sup- ply aré vitally necessary, those who have received the » major benefits, should contribute a relative. share. of such concessions. They therefore test mouPaliy pray that your Hon. the Fraser River -will give due consideration to the following suggestions: 1.—That all matters pertaining to the salmon fish- eries in Canadian and American waters shall be treated strictly on their merits, and decisions shall not be in- fluenced. by any other considerations. 2.—That as a primary basis for a treaty bckhen. the United States and Canada, in respect to the salmon fish- eries of the Fraser River, anvarrangement be decided upon, in advance, recognizing the principle of fair pro- positions of the-supply of salmon being defined and allotted to the canners on Puget Sound | ands ‘ont the Fraser: River respectively. 3.—That pr ompt and strong-action shall-be taken by thé authorities in both countries towards .. (a) Restoring the supply of salmon’ ini‘ the: ‘Pipaby River: to its: former, dimensions, . (b); Providing: for the maintenance of such supply when the Fraser River. has been restocked. CANADIAN FISHERMAN). “menecing July 20th. - tire catches of all grades of salmon. To ask. -meén_ and canners to reduce their 25 per cent. out of- business, and* for. what? soo Commissioners in dealing ‘with the salmon fisheries of. - strieted and rept ‘it is clear as. daylig! on Puget Sound, whose’ business might not ‘be eye, but our people are as anxious as any ¢ June, 1918. . a 4—'That the excessive fone which has oceurr in American waters, shall be adequately restricted, permitting purse seines to be operated, under licer of the United States, only from a line drawn from Beachy Head, Vancouver Island to Observatory Po t, in the State lof Washington or 123 deg, 40’ West L —Fasterly to a line drawn from Gonzales Point, Vat = couver Island, to the westerly end of Deception Pa on the northwest’ point of. Whidby” ‘Island, Ste Washington. aa These boundaries would afford a rés for the operations of purse seines, and abolish sent practice of meeting the salmon outside Flattery, and persistently following the school: the traps on the American side, and ‘to the. Line at Point Roberts. 5.—Recognizing the daaeabaniy also of the days during which salmon fishing shall b ted on both sides of the line, preferably by the opening day for fishing later than: July 1 present, and maintaining weekly close ti less than 36 hours,:on both sides of the lin adian canners would be prepared to adoy sion of your Hon. Commission, provided, the 3a] for opening and closing operations: ‘shall appl ing in British Columbia as in Puget. Sound Our fishermen are restricted to gill net fish to the use of gill mets, reduced in length an (ag all practical men will admit) to the min effectiveness, therefore it will be only just. that regulations and restrictions in respect to such as gill nets, drag seines, purse seines and shall: be: ordained by the United States authori allowances made in such measure to place the River fishermen and canners on a parity with competitors on Puget Sound. oa It was suggested that our fishermen shall no fishing for sockeyes till August 5th, or five days than on Puget Sound, after, the close seaaont ‘¢ This arrangement would: méan that the: és the Fraser River must close down. entirely, ermen could make a Betts} if he could not €0 before August 5th, As shown in the icp tiibad ‘cee zien Puget Sound canners; now secure 75 per cent... one half, would simply ‘mean that‘ they would tebe M5 “Tf, as a result of this investigation, th salmon is restored, who will benefit thereby Tf the Ww demethods, of. capture’ ‘ sag will inerease their proportion | of the eateh, far as our people are eoneerned, ‘any such ir supply will entirely cease to benefit'them. The fishermen and canners on the Fraser I pend chiefly for their reward upon the’ sockey and: to a much greater extent than their com astrously affected by the extermination of th the supply of all onter grades of, salmon shall served. Provided ‘the United States Goveriinale Ee reasonable concessions before outlined, our Pe willing that salmon’ ‘fishing ‘above’ Néiw: ‘Bridge shall be prohibited, though such! a tes -will entail «hardship ron a. large’ ‘number. ‘ot es June, 1918. ere i CANADIAN FISHERMAN cea at UP” is the cry all over the land. The Kaiser has a half century start on us— we must ‘‘carry on’’—add efficiency — make every moment count. ‘*Buy better goods for harder work’’ is fast be- coming one of the most wholesome slogans in the Dominion. | Fishermen spend a large part of their time in their boots. With the tightening grip of War, rising living costs and longer hours, they are find- ing that it positively PAYS to buy ‘‘Hi-Press’’ Boots and Shoes. ‘There’s two to'three times ‘more wear in them than in ordinary footwear. And there should be for they are made a better way, ,of tougher rubber MOLDED INTO ONE SOLID PIECE! Won’t leak or come apart: Are YOU practicing sensible econ- omy in your/footwear? If not already wearing it, start in on *‘Hi-Press” with your next pair. 40,000 Dealers in Canada and the States THE BF.COODRICH RUBBER COMPANY Makevs of the Celebrated Goodrich Automobile Tires— ”? “*Best in the Long Run The City of Goodrich—AKRON, OHIO Better Goods for Harder Work with the Red Line Round the lop The GOODRICH BOOT FISHERMEN 63 4. A ; , . © , ote : — : : sree ; _ . eatery Pe pe s eat C, dL Oa ey 3 "Og ‘i ” 808 fishermen; and that the number of Fraser River gill net licenses issued shall be restricted. And further, that our Indians shall be prohibited from taking salmon anywhere on the Upper reaches of the Fraser River and its tributaries or lakes frequented by salmon, and that they shall be otherwise recom- pensed and provided for by the Canadian Government, in return for the loss of their ancient rights. The spawning beds and mouths of streams frequent- ed by salmon abound with trout, chub and other pre- datory fish which destroy large quantities of ova and fry. The Canners heartily endorse the desire of the fishermen, that permission to catch and market these predatory fish be conceded by the Canadian Govern- ment. And that more strenuous effects be made to exter- minate the herds of hair seals and sea lions, which prey upon the salmon and destroy vast numbers. In conclusion they desire to emphasize their opin- ions that no effective measures for the rehabilitation of the sockeye supply in the Fraser River are possible, unless the United States authorities, controlling opera- tions on Puget Sound and in the Straits, are prepared to adopt methods and regulations which will materially aid in securing the passage of salmon to their spawning grounds; and that should the supply, happily, be aug- mented as a result of such economic changes in ad- ministration—adequate precautions shall be provided to prevent a recurrence of the dangerous conditions now existing, and which threaten the canning and fish- ing industries on both sides of the line. All which is respectfully submitted. B. C. SALMON CANNERS’ ASSOCIATION. Per Secretary. Statement made by JOHN P. BABCOCK, Assistant to Commissioner of Fisheries for British Columbia, at Vancouver Meeting of the American-Canadian Fishery Conference. The outstanding features in the salmon fishery of the Fraser River District, in my: judgment, are the depletion of the runs, and the potentialities of the watershed. Because depletion has been shown and is universally admitted, I shall confine attention to the latter. The Watershed: The watershed of the Fraser River contains a great- er area of tributary fresh water lakes than are found — ; | The Fraser drains the _ in any other on the coast. major portion of the south-eastern section of the Pro- vince of British Columbia. Three of the largest lakes on the Pacific slope and five others of large area con- tribute their waters to the Fraser, and afford spawn- ing areas and rearing waters for a countless number of sockeye salmon. No other known watershed af- fords such an extended spawning area. No other watershed has produced, in a single year, such vast numbers of sockeye. The great runs of 1901, 1905, 1909 and 1913 demonstrate the harvest that watershed will afford when abundantly seeded. The great catches of those years—ranging from 1,572,000 to 2,384,000 cases demonstrates the number of fish that may safely be taken without injury to the runs of the future, be- cause, notwithstanding, such great eatches, every. sec- tion of the spawning area of the watershed was shown CANADIAN FISHERMAN ‘agent of the Provincial Government I have inepeee of the Fraser that lies north of the great canyon i coast ranges, commonly termed ‘‘the Fraser Riv } June, 1918. to have been abundantly seeded in 1901, 1905 an 1909, and there is evidence to show that its spawn- ing area would have been as abundantly seeded in 191 but for an accident. — Since 1901, I have made a study of conditions’ the fishing and spawning grounds of the Fraser Rive: I first inspected its spawning area in 1901. As th that watershed during the spawning period every y since, with the exception of the year 1910 and i91 The annual publication of the Provincial Goverr contains my yearly reports. As the result of my inspections, 45 feel fully fied in submitting that the major portion of the runs of 1905, 1909 and 1918, were the produ sockeye that ‘spawned i in that section of the ¥ yon.’’. And that the major portion of the runs in alternate years—the lean year—were the product 0: sockeye that spawned in that section of the water that lies to the south and- west of the Frase = Canyon. In the discussion of this question the mer is here termed the Upper Section of the I River Watershed, and the latter, the Lowet of the Fraser. Watershed. In my judgment, the runs of the big years have very largely consis fish propagated in the Upper Section; plus the no yearly product of the Lower Section. The runs” the alternate, or lean “years, have been the not yearly product of the Lower Section plus the s numbers produced in the lean years from the beds the Upper Section. In the big years 1901, 1905, “anid 1909 every_s ing bed in the Upper Section was crowded wit eye. They were found there in ineredible nu The beds of that section in 1913 showed an ala decrease. While over four million of sockeye recorded as entering Quesnel Lake in 1909, hundred and fifty thousand were ‘shown = shown to have. ‘existed’ in all ‘the ake distri Upper Section in 1913 and 1917. The num eye that reached the beds of the easier See tele years, The records of the Oops and again in ‘1917, demonstrate ae alternate—the: le soopears the spay - beds Upper Section were but sparingly seeded up and have not been as well seeded sinee. G with one or two exceptional years, the numbe eye which reached the Upper Section in the | has notably declined. Every district in the Section shows.a decline. Hatcheries. located a wap and Seton Lakes, the only hatcheries in t 4 Section, have been closed because a sufficient ber of sockeye have not Se = lak vears to afford a supply of No could have been collected | at vither the last three years. i - Passing to the spawning area of the Lower of the Fraser, the record discloses that fror 1917 there was no pronounced inerease 11 June, 1918. CANADIAN FISHERMAN == LINDE = REFRIGERATING MACHINERY - Is known and recognized the world over as The Standard Refrigerating Machine We have carefully studied Refrigeration under all conditions in Canada for the past 25 years and know what is best in this line. Special attention given to Fish Freezing and Storing Plants. Our Machinery is ‘‘ Made in Canada’’ The Linde Canadian Refrigeration Co., Ltd. MONTREAL: 37 St. Peter Street TORONTO, WINNIPEG, CALGARY, EDMONTON, VANCOUVER. Twenty-five Years’ Service to Canadian Users | Brown Engineering Corporation, Limited 2 Cycle Marine Engines . Guaranteed 5 years against mechanical defects MADE IN CANADA hh Me OMRSMOe 4 0 Ta Bae er hei Ad aule Waleds oie ¥ vemens $150.00 ‘4G a 28 15 _ we with reverse or: 227.50 Aa 3 sy 22'/2 .. 325.00 4 ‘“ 30 “ 6 ‘ 430.00 Low Repair Costs. Each Engine Thoroughly Tested Under Its Own Power, PORT SIDE 15 H. P. TWO-CYLINDER Bore 4% inches; Stroke, inches; Speed Minimum, 150 R, P. M.; IMMEDIATE SHIPMENTS. Speed Normal, 750 R. M.; Speed Maximum, 1000 R. P. M.; ° Weight, with B harteents i Gear, 480 pounds. Price of Engine, with Reversing Gear, Force Feed Lubri- E Wri y cator, Carburetor and Chain Starter. ..........+-- $227.5 rite for Circulor BROWN ENGINEERING CORPORATION, LIMITED | 415-419 King Street West Toronto, Ont. 810 in the big years over the run of the lean years. That there has been as many fish on those beds ia the lean years as in the big years. This is especially true of the runs to Lillooet and Harrison Lakes, the two great lakes of the Lower Section. The runs to this section have shown a steady decline. There were less sock- eye in this section in 1917 than in any former year, big or lean—on record, and less eggs were secured for the hatcheries. _ Because the bulk of the run of the big years issues from the Upper Section of the Watershed, and because there has been no noticeable increase in the number of sockeye on the beds of the Lower Section in those years, it appears. that the condition which originally brought about the phenomenon of the big run and the three following small runs. of sockeye to the Fraser was of such a character as to have affected only the run to the Upper Seetion and yet.did not .affect. the run to the Lower Section. Because the run to every lake district of the Upper Section was equally affected we are warranted in as- suming that the point of. obstruction was located be- low the junction of: the Thompson and the Fraser Rivers. Because the run was affected for three years only, it is assumed that the barrier, or blockade, was of such a character as to have affected the run in those years only and did not affect the run in the fourth year, that in the fourth year it had worn away or been removed by high water to an extent that permitted the run of that year to reach the spawning beds of the Upper Section. The channel of the Fraser through the canyon ex- tending from Yale to Cisco is exceedingly narrow at many points. Towering cliffs of rock line its banks. A rockslide such as the one that oecurred in that ean- yon, at Hell’s Gate in 1913, eould easily have pro- duced a similar result at an earlier period of time, and just as effectively cut off the run for a number of years as the slide of 1913 would have done had it not been removed by. the Dorhinion Government in 1914. Great as was the slide of 1913, it did not cut off all of the early run of sockeye of that year. Owing to extreme high water in July, numbers of sockeye were enabled to pass through, a$ was demonstrated by the fish reaching Quesnel .and Chileo Lakes. Assuming then that we have hére a reasonable theory of the origin and the nature of the barrier that cut off the sockeye from the spawning area of the Upper Section of the Fraser which resulted in the phenomenon of the one big year and three lean year runs of sock- eye, let us speculate as to the extent of its effect upon the runs of the three lean years. The barrier may have been sufficient to have eut off a portion of the run only, or it may have eut off the entire run. If a por- tion of the run at extreme high or low water was enabled to pass, that portion would have furnished the nucleus—the seed—for a run four years later. Tf we asstime that the entire run was eut off from the Upper Section for one or all of the three years of the cycle, we must furnish a plausible. a workable. theory to account for the restoration of the runs in the ‘ three lean years. That is not difficult. Dr. Gilbert, by his study of the growth and structure of the seales of the sockeye, has demonstrated that while the race of sockeye that frequent the Fraser are predominately four year old fish, there is in the run of every year, three year old, four year old and five year old fish. TAHATIOM HADATM NTH NAATITTAATMTAAT AM TITATTBWIA WZ iaATTAITTAM 2#F ARTT!A CUO CANADIAN FISHERMAN June, 1918, _ He demonstrated ‘‘clearly that in the Fraser basinsaees ° high percentage of four year fish accompanied a large pack or stated conversely, a small pack is occasioned | mainly by a deficiency in four year old fish.’’ x xg B. C, Fishermen Report 1915, pp. 22 and 30. ; In four runs he found an average of 82 per cent four year old fish. In the eatch of 1912 he found 21. per cent of three year old fish, and 10 per cent of fiv year old fish. The presence of from 54 to 99 per e of four year old fish in five consecutive runs and D per cent to 46 per cent of five year old fish in th same runs, establishes the fact that from each year’ spawning a proportion of five year old*fish are pre duced. We have here evidence of the existence in tht run of the year that was not obstructed the nucleu for a future run. The period taken to build up a from such a scant seeding must have been an ext by. one. . Had this constituted the only seed that Fauci 1 the beds in the three lean ‘years the run following the big year should have been more readily built up tha: the run in the two following years. In fact, the re of the pack demonstrates that the catch in the following. the big run has always been greater in the two following years. : We are not, however, confined to the conclusio that if the run for three years, was entirely destro , that the riin in the lean years was built up entire from the spawning of five year. old fish. Grantin premises” of the home stream theorists that salmon in a stream return-to that. stream to spawn because weight of evidence favors their contention—there abundant evidence on this coast and in New Zealanc¢ where the Pacific salmon have been -established, show that some of the salmon bred in one stream ha on reaching maturity, entered a different stream spawn. Further, it has not been shown or claimed all the fish bred in a watershed return to the iden tributary of that watershed in which they ‘were pagated. There is sufficient evidence to warrant t conclusion, that some salmon propagated in the Low Section of the Fraser have entered the Upper Secti and spawned there. We have, therefore, three strings - to our bow to account for the existence of the runs of the lean years. (1) The escapes at high or low stages of water during the original blockade ; (2 The overlapping five year old fish bred in the Up : Section by the run that did survice, and (3) the | i bred in the Lower Section that passed to the Upp Section and spawned there. — The building up of a run to the Upper Section of Fraser by any or all of the measures here indicat would of necessity, have taken a long period of tir We cannot estimate it but we are not compelled place it in the dark ages or even two or three centurie: ago. We can, however, postulate that, during tha period the Indians of the Upper Section, and in Fraser Canyon, were catehing such fish as they eco secure up to the limit of their demands, and we in consequence interfering with a more rapid de- velopment of a run. The records of Simon Fraser, the discoverer and original navigator of the river that bears his name, written more than a century ago : 1806-11— establishes the fact that there was in those years a big run every fourth year and a light run in each of the three succeeding years in the Upper Fraser. He also furnishes evidence to show that in some of the lean years the Indians at Stuart and Fraser Lakes could not supply his post with ae he | June, 1918. CANADIAN. FISHERMAN 67 nie Biss oe i ie he! eet : PA ‘i — ‘i | orn seen tetorenrennino ton coast = Te 7 ES a deeaieemen en eaaenaenmaree “CANS!---MORE CANS!” When the run of fish’ is good that is the ery. If the pack is to be successful and profit- able the machines that meet emergencies must be dependable. The supply of cans must meet the incoming rush of fish smoothly — always ahead, no stoppage for repairs, no failure on the part of any of them to perform its share. ‘‘Bliss’’ Automatic Can-Making Machinery is used in every part of the world where cans are required—is the development of nearly sixty years—can be depended upon. ‘“‘ BLISS ’’’ AUTOMATIC LOCK-AND-LAP SEAM BODY-MAKER No. 22-N is the machine illustrated above. Shown with automatic suction blank feed and roll solder attachment. Production speed up- wards of 150 per minute. Write for Catalogue Section No. 18-A E. W. BLISS COMPANY Main Office and Works; BROOKLYN, N.Y., U.S.A. — CHICAGO OFFICE DETROIT OFFICE CLEVELAND OFFICE 1857 People’s Gas Bldg. Dime Bank Bldg. Union Bank Bldg. 1917 * LONDON, S.E., ENGLAND, Pocock Street, Blackfriars Road PARIS, FRANCE, 100 Boulevard Victor-Hugo St. Quen 812 salmon he required and that an additional supply was obtained from the post at Kamloops, where the run appears to have been larger or the demand less. In- dicating at that time the Indians could not obtain from Stuart and Fraser Lakes all the fish they de- sired. This matter has been treated at iength that it may be appreciated that the period of time necessary to restore a depleted run to a run of commercial import- ance is under natural conditions a long one, and be- cause it has been stated that the failure of nature to have equalized the runs of sockeye in the Fraser de-_ monstrated that the runs in the lean years could not be developed to the proportions of a big year run. I submit that there is no foree in that contention. The runs in the lean years will equal the runs of former big years four years following as abundant seeding as the beds received in either 1901, 1905 and 1909. It is only a matter of seeding the spawning area abund- antly. Mr. Secretary Redfield requested that in advocating ‘restrictive measures that I should consider the present demand for foods, and that he would like me to ex- press my views on the subject. In reply, let me sub- mit. The average pack of Fraser River Sockeye in Washington and British Columbia in the last three lean years totalled but 267,000 cases. The reports from the spawning grounds of the Fraser in these years give no promise that the runs in the following three lean years will equal that average. If that be true, the best we can expect is 267,000 cases per year. Is the food shortage so serious as to demand that the few remaining sockeye of the Fraser run be drawn upon to supply that number of cases? Permit me, gentlemen, to draw my remarks to a conclusion by quoting from the very able statement furnished you by my mentor, Dr. Gilbert. ‘‘The Fraser River presents unexampled opportuni- ties for productiveness and wealth. The people need the enormous supplies of highly valuable food which the river is able to produce annually. It should not be permitted to remain at its present low rate of pro- duction. The people need the food. They will come to need it in future years even more sorely than they do at the present. No private interests should be per- mitted to stand in the way of restoring this producer of food to the public. ‘Tf the Fraser River were a private monopoly, to be henceforth wisely handled, there can. be no doubt it would now be promptly closed to commercial fishing for a term of years, and the entire rnn—now so sadly dwindled—dedicated to purposes of propagation. This should be done without further delay for at least one cycle of four years, and the results carefully noted by a continued study of the spawning beds. — If. the river were closed to fishing for one cycle of four years, we could know fairly well in advanee what the result was to be, and could then either open the river and sound to restricted fishing, if conditions should war- rant, or if necessary close it for a future period of four years. This is the only method to restore the sockeye run with any promptness and with any certainty of success.”’ “So great has been the reduction of the runs, we cannot predict with any optimism what would be the result of less drastic measures. If the amount of fishing gear in use be limited and the weekly closed season be extended, undoubtedly a somewhat larger proportion of fish would reach the beds. But it must CANADIAN FISHERMAN : 1918. be borne in mind that it is not the proportion of a given run which spells suecess, but the actual numbers of spawners. The whole of a sadly depleted run may be all too few to produce the desired results. It is greatly to be feared that any restriction in the present case which would be so moderate as still to leave it profitable for canners to operate in the face of such reduced runs, can accomplish little or nothing towards the restocking. of the river. ‘““The only wise course—the only adequate remedy : is to close the river for a term of years by cone a action of the two Governments.”’ THE SALMON SEASON IS HERE, 3 On June 20th the Northern Canneries will begin operations, as the season opens on that date, and every- thing is in readiness to begin the season. There are three new canneries to start in this year, in the North. — Two in the Naas River district, and one on Rivers Inlet. Those in the Naas River district are the West- ern Salmon Packing Co., under the management of Lieut.-Col. J. M. McMillan, and the Portland Fisher- ies, Limited. The last named one is owned by R. V. — Winch & Co. On Rivers Inlet, the new McTavish ; Cannery will begin running this season. At the Bute- — dale plant of the Western Packers, Ltd., the Cannery has been enlarged, and better facilities for the handling of the pack will be -had, by the many ire y,: which have been made. This year, as never before, the business is more a matter of speculation among all the cannerymen, as the prices for everything in connection with the can- ning industry has risen to the top notch. This in- cludes labor of all kinds, and with a shortage of the best help, many cannery foremen have been hard pushed to get satisfactory help for their several can- neries. Another matter that has bothered the cannerymen is the fact that there has been no definite statement. of the attitude the Canada Food Board will take as regards the price of canned salmon. The Fraser River season opens on July Ist. The number of canneries operating on the Fraser will be greatly reduced-this year owing to its being an off year. the Cliff-Lowman interests will operate the Scottish Canadian cannery, and according to Mr. Cliff, this will take care of their pack in good shape. Mr. Cliff has just returned from their Jarvis Inlet station, and reports things in good shape for the fall season. ae The Gosse-Millerd Packing Co., Ltd., are still unset- tled as to their Fraser River plans, according. to. Mr. Francis Millerd. But they have been making extensive — alterations to their Northern plants. At East Bella Bella, they have built a 60 x 100, three storey ware- house for the storage of cans and canned salmon, and built new houses for employees. They have also added to their cold storage facilities by building a new sharp freezer, and more storage room. They are also plan- ning for the canning and salting of herring on an ex- tensive scale during the herring season. At their Sunny side plant, on the Skeena, they have made new additions and alterations. This coneern is up to they minute at all times, and have everything up to date i all their plants. This is accounted for partly by the fact that a number of the company is in charge of each’ plant, and they are on the job at all seasons of the year. Mr. ‘‘Bob”’ Gosse is in charge of the Vancouver — The recent fire also put two canneries out of a ‘commission, and this will make a difference, although — aie Leaps Pe res | June, 1918. CANADIAN FISHERMAN W. R. SPOONER Wholesale and Commission Dealer . Fish of all Kinds 119 Youville Square, - MONTREAL I am in the market at all times to Buy or Sell on Commission, Fresh, Frozen, Smoked and Salt Sea and Lake Fish, in Carload Lots or Less. 4 Correspondence Solicited - License No. 1-017 PEE ANS POI VAS EE RNR VET EM ——————— Representing —— T National Fish Company, Limited Halifax and Port Hawkesbury + N.S. “National Brand” Haddies, S : | : : S a (Producers Fillets, Fres h, ° r ; mAppers, Frozen Bloaters, ee neo and Sali Scotch Cured | Herring. Sea Fish STEAM TRAWLER TRIUMPH. LAKE FISH SEA FISH J. Bowman & Co., Port Arthur, Ont. ; , Wabakin Fish Co., Montreal, Que. A. W. Fader, Canso, N.S. 3 BONELESS COD FISH National Fish Co., Ltd., Halifax and Port R. E. Jamieson, Rustico, P.E.1. Hawkesbury, N.S. License No. 1-036. 69 814 CANADIAN “FISHERMAN ©. > Cannery on Sea Island, Capt. Gosse at East Bella Bella and Mr. Strang in charge of Sunnyside, on the Skeena. Mr. Francis. Millerd looks after the Head Office. in- terests. The Canadian Fishing Company’s New Cannery. This company has nearly completed their new can- nery on Burrard Inlet within the city limits, and ad- jacent to their wholesale fish and cold storage plant. It goes without saying that with Mr. A. L. Hager, Managing Director of the Company, planning this new enterprise that it will be modern in every respect, and with the most up to date equipment. Mr. A. W. Ster- ret, Superintendent of the Company, is in charge of the construction, and: will have the plant ready to start by July 15th, should the salmon show up in quantities by that date. The building is built on a foundation of ecreosoted piles, which are driven on eight foot centres. It is of heavy mill construction, three stories in height. There will be two lines of ma- chinery to start, one for one-half flats, and one for pound talls, and it is planned to have a line of ovals for herring in the fall. There will be two iron chinks, and all equipment will be up to date in every par- tieular. One innovation will be that all fish after be- ing cleaned on the first floor will be carried by ele- vator tothe seeond floor, and after going through the different processes, and are ready for the retort the cans will be lowered by machinery to the first floor, where the retorts will be situated. The first floor will be used for cleaning the fish, and for storing the ean- ned salmon, and for this reason it was planned to have the retorts on the same floor on which the finished product would be stored. The second floor will be for the canning alone, and the third floor -will be the net EQUIPMENT: Motor with bronze plunger pump. Ball bearing contact timer. Planhard car- buretor, 1% in. Spark plug; Priming cup; Ball thrust bearings «nd double flange couplings. ROBERTS THE FISHERMAN’SS ENGINE "OPERATES ON KEROSENE, GASOLINE OR DISTILLATE Roberts Heavy Duty Motor for Fishermen is strong, sturdy and dependable. It is positively guaranteed to give 8 h. Be at 300 and .10 h. g at 400 r.p.m. For trolling it can be so controlled to throttle down to. ee to 2 miles per hour. The engine illustrated is a 2-cycle single cylinder, with com- pletely water jacketed manifold and upper half of crankcase all in one casting; removable cylinder head. effected by mixing oil with gasoline. PRICE, F.O.B. Sandusky, Ohio, with Jump Spark .. .. SNe eet . $150.00 PRICE, F.O.B. Sandusky, Ohio, with Make and Break Ignition .. .. .. $165.00 Marine, Aircraft and Stationary Engines ROBERTS MOTORS 2104 Roberts Bldg. - June, 1918. loft. With the equipment of elevators, and chutes the fish will be handled with less labor than it has ever been possible to handle canned salmon previously. Mr. R. A. Dickie, who has had charge of several large can- neries in the past will be foreman in charge of the new plant. With the Company’s enormous facilities for the production of salmon on Queen Charlotte Islands, the West coast of Vancouver Island, and its many sta-_ tions along the coast of the mainland there is no doubt. that they -will be able to pack the estimated quantity of 50,000 cases for. the first year. For catching and bringing the fish to the cannery the company has built six boats, and have bought three others, which will give them nine boats for seining and earrying, besides their. fleet of eight or ten large steamers, and gasoline schoon- Another feature of the location of the cannery is that of loading facili- ties for the canned salmon when it is ready for ship- The cannery is right alongside the C. P. R., which has a siding into the plant, and this means sav- The new cannery is a big’ asset to the provinee, as it will surely add to the al- ers for earriers, whenever necessary. ment. ing both in time and cost. ready enormous output of the canned salmon, and will greatly add to the fast growing canned herring in- dustry. 00000000000000000000000000 ¢) 8) O The brightest fish men in Canada will bein O O Halifax on August 6th. 0 0 oO 00000000000000000000000000 Lubrication: Weight 300 Ibs. Builders of . SANDUSKY, O. a Pe ee OA _ ‘TO THE COMMERCIAL FISHERIES - _ OF CANADA AND NEWFOUNDLAND __ THE SCIENCE OF THE FISH CUL- “a in x > i ot ah = aA h 35-45 St. Alexander St. - Montreal Toronto Office - - 1 Garland’s Book Store, St. Johns, N.F. July, 1918 CANADIAN -THE CANADIAN FISHERMAN A MONTHLY JOURNAL DEVOTED TURE AND THE USE AND VALUE - OF FISH PRODUCTS .- F. WILLIAM WALLACE EDITOR The Industrial & Educational 3 Press, Limited CANADA C.P.R. Building Newfoundland Agency FISHERMAN 819 SUBSCRIPTION: Canada, Newfoundland and Great Britain - - - -~ $1.00 United States and Elsewhere.. $1.50 payable in advance. ADVERTISING RATES ON APPLICATION Published on the 24th day of each month. Changes of advertisements should be in the publisher’s hands ten days before that date. Cuts should be sent by mail, not by express. Readers are cordially invited to send to the Editor items of Fishery news, also articles on subiects of practical interest If suitable tor publication these will be paid for at our regular rate Official Organ of the Canadian Fisheries Association won Vie MONTREAL, JULY, 1918 a ee HALIFAX CONVENTION, CANADIAN FISHERIES ASSOCIATION, AUGUST ‘6th, 7th and 8th. _ The Canadian Fisheries Association Convention at Halifax on August 6th, 7th and 8th, is going to be a momentous gathering. Members. of the Association from all parts of Canada have signified their intention of being present; prominent officials and scientists from both sides of the line will be guests of the As- sociation and the programme includes papers by the foremost authorities on the subjects they deal with. Acceptances have been received from the following ‘guests: — H. B. Thomson, Chairman, Canada Food Board; Kenneth Fowler, Fish Division, U. 8. Food Ad- ministration; Hon. W. S. Fielding, M.P., Chairman, Standing Committee on Fisheries; J. G. Desbarats, Deputy Minister of Fisheries; W. A. Found, Super- intendent of Fisheries; C. A. Hayes, General Manager, Canadian Government Railways; Dr. A. B. McCallum, Chairman, Advisory Council Scientific Research, Dr. EH. E. Prince, Dominion Commissioner of Fisheries; _ Allan Donnel, Commission of Conservation; Capt. F. ESOL, STR FT ay W. Wallace, and E. O. Sawyer, Fish Section, Canada Food Board; Professor R. F. Ruttan, Member Advisory Board, Council Scientific Research. Dr. A. P. Knight, Professor of Biology, Kingston University ; H. H. Melanson, General Passenger Agent, Canadian Government Railways; S. L. Squires, Ontario Government Fisheries. Numerous other prominent gentlemen have been invited but their acceptances have not arrived on the date of going to Press. A large delegation will be going from Toronto and Montreal and a representative of the Newfoundland Government __ will be present. The Fisheries Committee of the Halifax Board of Trade have planned a splendid programme of enter- tainment for the visitors and their ladies and there is no doubt whatever that the Convention is going to be instructive and enjoyable. The programme, up to the date of writing, is as published herewith. Other papers will be included later upon hearing from the parties invited to deliver same. Tuesday, August 6th. 9.00 a.m.—Registration Office (Halifax Hotel) opens, and will remain open during the entire Con- vention. 10.30 am.—tFirst Business Session. Welcoming Addresses. Reports of Treasurer. Reports of Committees. 3.00 p.m.—First General Session: President’s Address. H. B. Thomson, Chairman Canada Food Board, on ‘‘Canadian Fish and the War.’’ The main subject for discussion at this session will be ‘‘Canadian Fish Resources,’’ and papers will be presented on this subject by Dr. A. G. Hunts- man, Professor of Biology, Toronto University, dealing with the resources of the Atlantic; Dr. C. H. Gilbert, of Leland-Stanford University, San Francisco, California, dealing mainly with the resources of the Pacific; Dr. E. E. Prince, Dominion Commissioner of Fish- eries, dealing with the fisheries of the inland waters; a CANADIAN FISHERMAN July, 1918 408 Ton Tern Schooner “Bianca” with 100 H.P. Fairbanks-Morse Cruce Oil Engine. Bowering Bros., Owners. Mark Burk, Captain. FAIRBANKS-MORSE C-O. Semi-Diesel Crude Oil Engines DO MORE AND BETTER WORK AT 1-4 THE COST---15 to 200 H.P. Fairbanks-Morse C-O Engines have won a reputation all over the world for reliability and successful operation. These engines are the most up-to-date develop ment of the semi-diesel type of engine. They will operate on the low grade fuels found in nearly every port. They are very simple, and are always under perfect control. There are no valves—no electrical ignition. No trained engineer is required. For full information and prices apply to The Canadian Fairbanks-Morse Co., Limited ‘“‘Canada’s Departmental House for Mechanical Goods’’ 73 PRINGE WILLIAM ST., ST. JOHN, N.B. or address our nearest office Quebec Montreal Ottawa Winnipeg Saskatoon Calgary Toronto Hamilton Windsor Vancouver Victoria a ae eer ee July, 1918 GANADIAN Mr. W. A. Found, Dominion Superintendent of Fisheries, dealing with ‘‘The International Aspect of the Fisheries and the Problems before the International Fisheries Commission.’’ 8.00 p.m.—Second General Session: Reception and Smoker. A. H. Whitman, ‘‘Departmental Administration.”’ At this Session, Captain F. W. Wallace will pre- sent moving picture films recently taken of fish- ing operations on the Pacific and Atlantic. Wednesday, August 7th. 9.30 a.m.—Business Meeting. Reports of Committees. 2.30 p.m.—The Convention will be guests of the Hali- fax Committee this afternoon. 8.00 p.m.—Second General Session: © The subject to be discussed at this Session will be the ‘‘Production and Preparation of Fish,’’ and papers will be presented as follows: “Steam Trawling,’’ by H. F. Robinson, Canso, N.S. ‘‘Refrigeration’’, by Gardner Poole, Boston, Mass. “Preparation of Fish,’’ by J. J. Cowie, Ottawa. “‘Lobster Propagation,’’ by Dr. A. P. Knight, Professor of Biology, Queen’s University, Kingston. Thursday, August 8th. ~ 10.30 a.m.—Third Business Session: Finishing Reports of Committees. Revision of By-Laws. Election of Officers. 3.00 p.m.—Third General Session: The subject to be discussed at this Session will be ‘‘Transportation and Marketing of Fish,”’ and papers will be presented as follows: ‘“Transportation,’’ by Mr. A. H. Brittain, Maritime Fish Corporation, Ltd., Montreal. ‘‘Marketing,’’ by Mr. D. J. Byrne, Leonard Fish- eries, Ltd., Montreal. “Standards in Marketing,’’ by T. W. C. Binns. 7.00 p.m.—Convention Dinner, at which the guests will include leading public men from Canada, the United States and Newfoundland. CONVENTION TRAINS. All those from Montreal and West attend- ing the convention of the Canadian Fisheries Association, which is to be held in Halifax on August 6th, 7th, and 8th, and wishing to ar- rive at the convention in time for the first session on the 6th, should reach Montreal in time to take the train from that place on Sun- day evening, August 4th. The trains from Montreal either over the Canadian Government line or the C. P. R. leaves Montreal sharp at 7 o’clock, Sunday evening, and will arrive in Halifax Monday evening. On account of an order which was issued in May last by the Railway Commission the Canadian Fisheries’ Association have been un- able to secure any special rate, so that the regular return ticket is the cheapest rate that can be had. FISHERMAN 821 THE VALUE OF THE MOTION PICTURE IN ADVERTISING. The moving picture theatre of to-day is the best disseminator of information. The public go to them to be amused and instructed. Their eyes are irresist- ibly drawn to the sereen, and while a reel is being shown, nothing else seems to distract the attention. The illiterate is on a par with the educated; young and old are enthralled by the magic of the movies, and the motion picture theatre is ubiquitous. At the present time the motion picture is being em- ployed to advertise the value of Canadian fish to the Canadian public. The Canada Food Board are popu- larizing Pacific flatfish and cods through the medium of motion pictures showing every phase of the fishery from the time the trawler leaves port until the fish are sold over the retail counter. The whole story forms a romance in pictures and those who have already seen them, declare that they keep the audience thrill- ed until the finish. Several reels of this Pacific fish film are now circulating throughout the Western Pro- vinees and sales of Pacific flatfish and cods are follow- ing the exhibition of the film in the local picture houses. Another film taken at sea on the Atlantic under the auspices of the Canadian Food Board and designed to popularize haddock, cod, pollock, flounders, herring, ete., will be ready shortly and sent out into the moving picture theatres of the eastern provinces. The value of the motion picture as an advertiser cannot be too highly estimated and we congratulate the Canada Food Board for their work in connection with the popularizing of fish. ; PLACE ORDERS FOR NETS NOW. Fishermen are advised to place orders for flax nets required for the year 1919 at the earliest possible date, in order to assist net firms in making up a schedule of requirements as requested by the War Trade Board. The net situation for 1918 has been serious and promises to be more so during the coming year. Two large consignments of nets for Canadian pro- ducers were lost when the steamers S.S. ‘‘Medora’”’ and ‘‘Lake Michigan’’ were torpedoed and replace- ment of these orders has been a serious drain on manu- facturers in Scotland. The War Trade Board at Ottawa, recently sent a form letter to all of the wholesale dealers in nets throughout Canada asking them to supply at the earliest date a full list of their 1919 requirements, so that the British War Trade Board might be informed. Decreased production of flax in some section and in- creased demand for this material as a munition of war in aeroplane manufacture has reduced the quantity available for netting, but fishing requirements have received next priority after munition. 0O00DDDDDDNDVDDDDDVDNDDNDNNNNNNO 18) Oo Oo All roads lead to Halifax on August 6th, 7th O O and 8th. ie) e) | ie) ome m Ome Me meme Mememememememememememenememememene, OUR FISHING INDUSTRY A SOURCE OF NATIONAL WEALTH. Our faith in the value of our fisheries to Canada is still further strengthened by the opinions of outside observers. Embodied in a recent report of the Guar- anty Trust Company of New York on Canada’s finan- cial position after four years of war, is the following relative to our fishing industry. ‘‘An obvious instance and of particular interest to the United States is the fish industry. One-fourth of the world’s supply of fish is produced from the waters of the United States and Canada. The value of the Canadian yearly catch is $40,000,000 as compared with $150,000,000 for the United States, $52,000,000 for Great Britain, $50,000,000 for Japan, $50,000,000 for Russia and $33,000,000 for France. Germany’s annual production is valued at $12,000,000 and that of Nor- way, Sweden and Denmark, at $25,000,000. The Can- adian yearly catch before the war was 11214 pounds per person, of which only 29 pounds per person was consumed by the Canadians, while 83144 pounds per person was exported, chiefly to Great Britain and the United States. In Great Britain the consumption was 59 pounds per person per year. Since the war began there has been an increase in the demand both in this country and Great Britain and Canada is awakening to the possibilities of wealth in her unlimited supplies. The suggestion is made that the Government turn to the Canadian fisheries as a debt paying source and under the direction of a Dominion Fish Committee plans are being made to exploit both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts and the lakes in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. New methods of fishing are being pro- moted to the end that cargo space be fully utilized by taking in all varieties rather than by limiting the eatch to the higher priced fish.’’ The report also mentions the movements now tak- ing place in Canada to develop our natural resources and, insofar as the fisheries are concerned, the com- ing Convention of the Canadian Fisheries Associa- tion is an indication that we are proceeding along the lines mentioned in the following paragraph: ‘‘Canada is much in the position of many other ecoun- tries which never realized. the value of their natural re- sources until a world-wide shortage of raw materials and manufactured articles brought them into interna- tional trade, created new commercial routes to their very shores, and inspired them with golden visions of the future. ‘‘In the hope of retaining just as large a share of this newly acquired business, as foresight, energy and adjustibility can make possible, Canada desires not only to enlarge and improve enterprises upon which she has recently embarked, but also to develop more efficient- ly certain natural advantages which war conditions and the prospect of an extended period of competition have emphasized. Various organizations are being formed to work out suitable plans in the numerous in- stances where Canadians have neglected opportunities in the past.’’ THE PACIFIC FISHERMAN’S WAGES. -We reprint herewith—headlines and all—a para- graph regarding the fishermen of the Pacifie Coast which appeared in the Halifax Herald of July Ist. This magazine had occasion some time ago to print CANADIAN FISHERMAN July, 1918 a few facts regarding the deep-sea. fishermen of the Pacific and was assailed with abuse by these modern pirates. A gentlemanly objection to our editorial was written by Mr. Gill, President of the Deep-Sea Fisher- men’s Union, and we respect him for it. Unfortun- ately, the whole Union is not composed of men of Mr. Gill’s calibre, and more unfortunately, Mr. Gill is not powerful enough to bring the Union into line with the moderate policy which we feel sure he would advocate in dealing with employers. — And the worst of the whole business is that these piseatorial Captain Kidds are in the majority aliens from the Scandinavian countries — with a sprinkling of Britishers chock full of socialism of the kind that would like to see Great Britain thrashed by Germany just to get back at capital—which, in their opinion, are forever grinding dollars out of their sweat and blood. The men who do OUR fighting get $110 a day, but B. C. fishermen who earn $9, $12 and $14 a day, are now striking for $12, $16 and $19 a day! How would you like to make $12.00 a day just fishing? And have your bed and board thrown in? Pretty soft, eh? Well that’s what the men — . who fish for flat fish get out on the Pacifie Coast. These flat fishermen, who empty the trawl net a when it is full of soles, flounders, skates, red cod, ling cod, grey cod, whiting and others, are paid three-quarters of a cent a pound for that muscular effort and cleaning the fish. And the company puts up the meals, and furnishes the transporta- Some soft | tion to and from the trawling banks. job, by heck! Three-quarters of a cent a pound doesn’t look - a large just as“you say it, but when you multiply - it by 150,000 it tallies up in a big way. A manager of a trawling company at Prince Rupert that sells aS flat fish all over the west at 10c a pound to the consumer, says that three-quarters of a cent a pound represents $12.00 per day per fisherman, or _ more than $700 each to the fishing crew of a trawl- er for sixty-three days actual fishing time since March Ist. Better than that, on one of the latest trips of a trawler the flat fisherman earned $32.16 per fish- erman per day, while the smallest earnings during three months were $6.70 per fisherman per day. And his board and keep and transportation to the — trawling grounds didn’t cost the flat fisherman a cent. Well, if $12.00 a day as a flat fisherman will not — satisfy you, what about $14.00 a day as a halibut — fisherman, with no board or rent to pay and free — passage to the fishing grounds? The other day. — at Prince Rupert a halibut boat after being out nineteen days paid each fisherman $274 for his fishing, or at the rate of $14.42 a day. Since Feb- ruary 16th, the average daily earnings of each halibut fisherman on this particular boat were $10.40, with no deductions. On another halibut boat, the fishermen got only $9.57 per fisherman per day, which of course isn’t to be compared with $14.00 a day or even $12.00 a day. f See rss S| way . ee, ag ey EE Me ee Ag, Panay meee Pk ae TMD. ge Se 8 ei ar Fs : RS aes POY CES Babe as OE ee a her Od But with the boys in uniform getting $1.10 a day a ; +. a aM : IS 7, ee ee July, 1918 straight pay with some allowances, even $9.75 a day looks pretty easy and then it is a fairly ‘‘safe’’ job compared with going ‘‘over the top,’’ because going over the side of a boat is a cinch. But would you believe it, the deep-sea fisher- men on the Pacifie Coast now want their wages raised 33 1-3 per cent. The $9.00 a day fisherman wants $12.00: the $12.00 a day fisherman $16.00; the $14.00 a day fisherman $19.00. And no board _ or rent or steamship fare to pay, and no special high cost of living argument! When the news gets around, there is bound to be a general ‘“‘hike’’ from Eastern Cenada to the _ fine Pacific fishing trip that pays $9.00, $12.00 or $14.00 a day per fisherman—with everything found! Let everybody go a-fishing!! MORE FISH ON THE TABLE. nder the above caption the Montreal Gazette — » of the leading morning papers of Canada — pub- es the following editorial in a recent issue. he consumption of fish to-day in Canada is greater an ever. One reason for this condition is that the rices of beef, pork, and mutton have placed them be- d the reach of many household purses, so far as aily consumption is concerned. Another cause is the ppeal to the citizens to use substitutes for flesh meats much as possible. The regulations also have had desired effect, and the advertising of fish as whole- e and substantial food has been extensive. So fish ing bought freely at all the retail markets and the mdeney will continue without a doubt until normal mditions are restored, and perhaps after that. It is noted that the demand for salmon, halibut, ackerel, trout and other fancy fishes is greater than e supply, with the natural result that prices for such fish are maintained at a high level. But there are other arieties of fish in abundance, equally nourishing and weculent, and which retail at quite moderate rates, ymparatively speaking. The popular haddock is sup- ied to the local market in ‘large quantities, prices anging from 8 to 13 cents a pound at the retailer’s. - The fishermen of the Atlantic coast gather the haddock in at the rate of 26,000 tons annually, most of which is ' consumed in a fresh state. The rest is smoked and ymes to the table in the colder months as the appetiz- finnan haddie. Cod, another plentiful fish, is caught to the extent of 100,000 tons annually by Can- adian fishermen. It is one of the best fish foods and retails at about the same figures as its sea brother, the haddock. Fried, boiled or baked fresh it satisfies numerous. appetites, but it is more frequently seen in the salted state. Other moderately-priced fish sold verywhere are the freshwater pike, dore and white- fi Some of the fishes mentioned are always on the public market in considerable quantity and at fair prices. The Government’s intention is to increase the _ supply and to keep the prices charged to the consumer within reasonable bounds. _ The public has been informed frequently of late that fish yields a great deal of protein, which is the chief body-building material. Certainly fish food has much nergy value and is an excellent substitute for animal eat as the foundation of a square meal. Properly cooked it should appeal to even the discriminating palate. Anyway, this is war-time, it is necessary to ve the chief foods of ordinary days, and there CANADIAN FISHERMAN 823 is no limit placed on the consumption of fish. So fish must be on the platter of the Canadian householder’s table for quite a few meals in the week. AMEND FISHERY RULES IN QUEBEC. The Naval Department announces that the fishery regulations in Quebec have been amended, so as to permit the seining of smelts after the first of Sep- tember. For years past the regulations have prohibit- ed this form of fishing in Quebec before the first of October, but with transportation facilities which are now available from the coast to Rimouski, Bonaven- ture and Gaspe, it is feasible to ship smelts into the interior markets after the first of September. The regulation nrohibiting the taking of fish by any means in Brome Lake from March 1st to June 15th, has also been amended. This regulation had for its object the protection of the bass fishery, but as pike has become very numerous in this lake and can be talten by hook and line in the snring of the year, ang\- ing will in future be permitted. FISH SHIPMENT. Following a conference of the transportation com- nanies. the princinal shippers of fish. and renresenta- tives of the Canadian Fisheries Association. which was ealled bv the Department of the Naval Service. and which met in Montreal on the 21st ultimo. additional excellent transportation facilities for fish from the Atlantic coast was provided. A train. to be known as the ‘‘Seafood Special’’, leaves Mulorave and Halifax on Thursdaly, Friday and Saturday of each week. This train hauls refrigerator ears for the transportation of fresh fish. The train operates on a practically express basis and the cars are hauled right through to Toronto. For a number of years past, the Department of the Naval Service with the object of encouraging the de- mand for fish, has been paying one-third of the ex- press charges on shipments from the Atlantic Coast to Quebee and Ontario, but as all shipments available on the days on which the ‘‘Seafood Special’’ operates, should be forwarded by it, it has been decided to with- draw all assistance on express shipments during such days. THE SMOKING OF HADDOCK FOR THE CANA. DIAN MARKET. Miss Patterson, M.A., has written an article which appears in the latest report of the Biological Board in Canada, on the subject of ‘‘The Smoking of Haddock for the Canadian Market.’’ She thinks the Scotch method is superior to the Canadian method. The poizt of prime importance in the Scotch industry is the im- provement of the flavor of fresh fish, and the point of secondary importance is the preservation of the fish. Because Canada is a much larger country and markets are more widely separated, these points of im- portance are reversed by the Canadian trade. She says, ‘‘it is surely the part of wisdom to create a de- mand on the market by first producing the most ex- cellent haddie, and then to encourage fish curers to reach and keep up that standard of excellence.’’ After giving in detail the results of several scien- tific tests of curing methods, she concludes that fish 824 should be split in the way usually done in Canada, but also an additional cut should be made along the back bone. If the fish are allowed to remain on ice from one to two hours, they will become freed from blood. They then should be washed freely with fresh water. Small. fish should be salted not more than fifteen minutes; larger fish up to 4 pounds in weight, not more than one hour, and half an hour is the best limit if the flavor of the fish is to be preserved. The deli- eately flavored fish results from it being smoked for 10 hours over a beechwood sawdust or old wood smoke. Smoking from 15 to 18 hours, browns and dries the fish and aids in preservation. The more lightly cured fish should be used on the home markets, and the heavier salted for the distant ones. She emphasizes the fact that is always in the mind of the successful fish curer, viz., that if the best Fin- nan Haddie is to be produced, then only first-class perfectly fresh haddock should be used. Miss Patterson’s article emphasizes the fact that if Canadian curers adopted Scotch methods and used similar care, Canadian produced Finnan Haddie would amply supply the wants of the Canadian consumers. INTRODUCING THE FISHERETTE. A New Experiment in War Work for Women—Plucky Nova Scotians Take to Fish Cleaning in Oil-Skins and Sou’westers. This is not the kind of wartime occupation that can reasonably be advocated for Canadian girls in general. But it is a stimulating example that should prove an incentive to men and women alike. These hardy East- ern women have eschewed the easier paths open to them and have deliberately chosen the rocky trail which has known no other feminine feet in the _his- tory of Canada’s industries. Early in the season though it is, glowing accounts are coming from British Columbia of what girls have done in berry-picking in the far West. In the middle West they are operating tractors and driving cultiva- tors and standing shoulder to shoulder with their men in running the farms. But in the far East they have gone a step further. They have donned men’s oil-skins, rubber boots, and sou’westers. They are not farmer- ettes; nor are they berry-pickers nor dairvmaids. They ar fisherettes! ! Anyone who knows the native life of Scotland can summon up in this connection a vivid picture of the Highland ‘‘fishwives.’’ So they call them in the land of cakes and herring! . They were really the precur- sors of our fisherettes—with a difference. adian girls are young and strong, and the necessity of war rather than the custom of the ages has led them to take up this work. But the Highland fishwives—who can ever give them full credit for the faithful labor of years, the toil of their lives, the rigor of their work? Many of them grew old and »bent before their time ‘because of the everlasting burden of fish they bore in the ereels on their backs. They were picturesque to look at—but they were beasts of burden, more like the women of France who dragged along the plow yoked to their bodies, than like normal human beings. In the days CANADIAN FISHERMAN These Can-. July, 1918 before the war when their business flourished, they — wore about as many striped petticoats as Miss Hook ~ of Holland. On their heads were shawls or ‘‘mutch- — es.”’ 7 Very different is the Canadian fisherette! Her out- | fit is all-enveloping, smart and utilitarian. She is re-— eruited from the ranks of the younger women on the — fishing coast. She is taking the place of her sweet- 3 heart or her brother. She has entered into the “big a fish’? game. In other words, she has cut ice in an en- | tirely new spot. For years the large fish companies — on the Kast coast have been bringing girls out from Scotland to work in their factories, to can and pickl and pack—to handle the herring and other small fish. But it remained for the Maritime Fish Corporation — of Canso, Nova Scotia, to employ this dozen or so of — girls to handle the big fish in sheds—to clean ther a and skin them and prepare them for the market. It was of the fisher folk that the plaintive song — was written, ‘‘Ror men must work and women must weep.’ It does not look much like it when you see this picture! You feel more inclined to say ‘‘Cheero for Canada’s daughters.’ Men must fight and women must work,’’ | These women are not weeping—although their sweet- hearts and brothers are in France and some of them are beneath the sod. They are—cleaning fish. It sounds prosaic enough, but patriotic work is often prosaic and hard and tedious. There is little romance about it on this side of the Atlantic. There is not even the inspiration of direct contact with war’s ac tuality. It is simply a hard level grind—sometimes ok jectionable, often monotonous. What these girls are doing is not even easy. Th are not playing with suckers., These fish are big fe lows—heavy to handle, cumbersome and slimy. Ih learning, the girls get their hands cut with the fis} knives often enough. But they are mighty deft abow it and are fast earning a reputation for rapid, ski work. ee The Canada Food Board has: been telling Canadis ns for months past that they must eat more fish. At last people are beginning to realize it, with the result that — the demand for fish is increasing, and the Atlantic — dealers are having a busy time keeping the markets — supplied with the now-famous ten-cent-a-pound fish. | So many of the fishermen have heard their country’s — call to arms that it is doubly hard to cope with Do- | minion and European demands. And here is where the fisherette comes in! If women can help on the farms, in the factories, in — industries of very kind, they are surely fitted to take their places by the fishermen, and if they cannot go — out in dories to catch the precious sea food, they can at — least have a share in handling it on shore. ; There are hundreds of girls by the coast who might — take this to heart. They are on the spot. Their strong | young hands and stout hearts are needed in the fishing 4 business. The trail has been blazed. Will they follow a in the wake of those pioneer fisherettes? And will — the example set by this handful of girls inspire women in other parts of the country to cast about for the most useful and necessary forms of work to engage in—even — if they have to break new trails? This, after all, is the true test of their spirit, theity courage and their endurance, ff July, 1918 FISH “FISH IS THE ONLY READILY AVAILABLE CANADIAN FISHERMAN 825 CANADA FOOD BOARD'S SECTION BULLETIN SUBSTITUTE FOR THE MEATS SO URGENTLY REQUIRED FOR THE SOLDIERS AND CIVILI AN ALLIES OVERSEAS’’—Henry B. Thomson. SALT CARGOES FOR GASPE AND ST. JOHN. Through the efforts of the Fish Section a cargo of salt amounting to 3,500 tons will reach the Gaspe Coast at an early date from Cadiz. This salt is for Robin, Jones & Whitman, who through a misunder- standing has applied for a supply through the Depart- ment of Naval Service at a time when allocation of vessels to bring salt from Spain were only being made by the British Ministry of Shipping when supported by the Ministry of Food or the Canada Food Board. The situation along the Gaspe coast was becoming very serious because all of the previous supply was ex- hausted and salt must arrive there in time to be dis- tributed to remote sections before the winter ice sets in. The steamer ‘‘Electrician,’’ formerly the ‘‘St. Winnifred’’ will bring the salt to Gaspe. Arrangements are also being made by the Fish Sece- tion of the Canada Food Board for a shipment of 2,000 tons direct to St. John, this in behalf of Messrs. Gandy and Allison. These shipments together with the 20,000 ton ship- ment previously arranged for Halifax will provide an ample supply of salt for the 1918 season. Of the Hali- fax shipment 11,500 tons have already arrived and the balance is expected during the summer months. ee, SPECIAL FISH CAR FOR QUEBEC. The Canadian Government Railways advise they 3 would be willing to run a special refrigerator car from : Mulgrave and Halifax, to Quebee every week providing | 10,000 pounds gross weight, or more, were loaded. Ex- perience with these refrigerator cars show that by using this service regularly fish can be brought to 4 Quebec in first élass condition. Refrigerator cars of i fresh fish to Montreal and Toronto move every week, the cars are iced to full capacity at shipping points, a and there have been no complaints on the condition of % the fish up to the present. 4 The cost of icing the fish is very reasonable, it protects the fish, and if the trade in Quebee work together to make up a ear, fish will arrive in much better condition than if shipped in ordinary express cars without refrigeration. — This ruling is a special favor to Quebee consumers | for the allocation of a car for only 10,000 pound weight of fish and should result in a regular supply reaching Quebee from the Maritime shore. PACIFIC FISH FILM NOW CIRCULATING. ! The Canada Food Board’s films popularizing Pacific 3 flat-fish and cods are now circulating throughout the : moving picture houses in the four Western Provinces. ATLANTIC FISH FILM READY SHORTLY. Capt. F. W. Wallace, of the Fish Section of the Canada Food Board, has returned from Nova Scotia where, accompanied by an expert motion picture cam- era man from the Pathescope Company, Toronto, ha directed the making of a film destined to popularize Atlantic cod, haddock, pollock, herring and other fish in eastern Canada. Seven days were spent at sea on board of a steam trawler and pictures were taken of steam trawling on Western Bank. Some rough weather was encountered and portions of the film show the trawler rolling in a heavy sea. The film shows some thirty-five scenes from the time the trawler leaves the dock until the catch is packed and shipped aboard the Fish Service refrigerator cars of the Canadian Government Railways. Pictures of the shore fishing fleet were also taken and the whole makes a most in- teresting and instructive film. TORONTO DEMONSTRATING FISH COOKING. Demonstrations in the preparation and cooking of fish are being held in several domestic science schools in Toronto. More work of this nature might be under- taken by school teachers and teachers of domestic science throughout the country. It is war effort of the best and most productive kind. The Canada Food Board’s new Fish Cook Book contains the best and simplest fish receipes and can be procured from Ottawa for five cents per copy. NEW FISH COOK BOOKS NOW READY. The revised Fish Cook Book prepared by the Can- ada Food Board has been published and is being sold for five cents per copy. The fish trade should secure eopies in quantities and distribute to their customers. The following special prices have been made for large lots. Lots of 100 or more, 4% cents each; lots of 500 or more, 314 cents each; lots of 1,000 or more, 314 eents each; lots of 5,000 or more, 3 cents each. These eook books will be trade builders and every wholesaler and retailer should stock up with them. The book is printed on good paper, illustrated with first class cuts of fish and bound in a fine colored cover. ATLANTIC FISH SALES IN ONTARIO. The market for Atlantic sea fish in the Province of Ontario has been increasing by leaps and bounds. The sales of the better known species: cod, haddock, ‘mackerel and flounders has reached large proportions. _ Ontario was always a good market for sea fish, but a great majority of the population preferred lake fish 826 and would not give any sea fish, other than halibut and salmon, a trial. The work of the Canada Food Board in making known to the people the cheapness and palatability of sea fish has had excellent results and nowadays cod and haddock have become staples. A recent campaign in Toronto with haddock, cod and mackerel at prices ranging from 10 to 12% cents per pound had marvellous results—several carloads being disposed of through local retailers within a few days. Special advertisements were run in the Toronto papers and the response of the public testified as to the value of publicity. After all, publicity is all that 1s required to make our fish popular. Correspondence (Moncton, N.B., June 25, 1918.) W. R. Spooner, Esq., Chairman, Canadian Fisheries Association, Montreal, P.Q. (‘‘Seafood Special,’’ 1918.) Dear Sir,—I enclose for your information copy of the instructions issued as a result of conference held. at Montreal on 20th June, and relating to the running of a ‘‘Seafood Special’’ so called, from Mulgrave and Halifax to Montreal. oe You personally were not in attendance at this con- ference, but I would be pleased if you would see that a copy of these instructions are distributed to the mem- bers of your Board who may be interested. I trust the influence of your Association will be directed toward the extensive use of the facilities to be provided by this train, in preference to express ser- vice. Yours truly, C. A. HAYES, General Manager. As per conference held at Montreal, June 20th, at which were present representatives of the Canada Food Board, the Department of Marine and Fisheries, the Fish Trade, the Express Companies, and the Grand ‘runk and the Canadian Government Railways, the following arrangement for fast freight service was promised : Commencing Thursday, June 27th, a train to be known as the ‘‘Seafood Special’’ will leave Mulgrave 2.50 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday of each week, and, barring accidents, will arrive Montreal 1.50 p.m. Saturday, Sunday and Monday, making the run from Mulgrave to Montreal in forty-eight hours. A con- nection will be made at Truro with shipments from Halifax. This train service is provided for the purpose of handling car load shipments of fresh fish from the Atlantic to the Montreal and Toronto markets. The Agent at Mulgrave will arrange that fish for Toronto only will be loaded in the Toronto ear, it being our ad- vice from representatives of the Fish Trade that con- signments for other points west of Montreal would be handled by express, -The Agents at Mulgrave and Halifax will advise shippers that this expedited ser- vice is only necessary in connection with shipments of fresh fish; if shipments of that class of fish do not offer on any of these days of the week, the expedited service will not be given, and shipments offering will be handled on the ordinary fast freights. The Schedule to be maintained by the Seafood Spe- tial is as follows:— CANADIAN FISHERMAN Arrive Edmundston ...... 440 pm, ‘S= |‘ a Leave Edmundston ...... §.00 pam. > <"* x % Arrive’ Monk © 2350.2 10.40 pai ee Leave Monk. ......... 100 pan. ness h Arrive Diamond. ........ 4.45 am. Sat., Sun., Mon. -Leave Diamond. ........ 4.50 am, ”’ pie Pice. Arrive Chaud. Jet........5.00 am.” ”’ ” Leave Chaud, Jct. ...... 5.00 S200 $i July, 1918 Leave Mulgrave ........ 2.50 p.m. Thurs., Fri., Sat. ArPrve “EPOtO 8 ie ess 9.05 p.m. as ; Aare. Tieave: “SPUrO oe ine we 9.2D/pme as. ech Arrive Moncton ......... 3.40 am. Fri. Sat., Sun. Leave Moncton ......... 4.00 am. ”’ + Arrive Pacific Junetion ..4.30 am. ”’ ae Leave Pacific Junction .. Arrive Napadogan Leave Napadogan ae 11:45° ain ce ee er 11.50 aan Ae 1.60 pans et? bes se Shipments from Halifax will be forwarded on Sea- food Special leaving that point at 5.30 p.m., and arriv. ing Truro at 8.45 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday, connecting at latter point with Mulgrave to Montreal ~ trains. Fresh fish arriving Montreal on Seafood Specials fe Toronto will be forward on Grand Trunk Seafood Spe- cials leaving that point at 5.30 p.m. Saturday, Sunda and Monday, arriving Toronto at 5.30 p.m, Sunday, — Monday and Tuesday, rae The following instructions will govern the handling of these trains :— Arrive Ste. Rosalie Leave Ste. Rosalie Arrive Montreal Equipment. Superintendents of Districts Four and Six will ar- range to supply suitable refrigerator cars for ship- — ments offering and will keep a sufficient number empties in reserve to meet requirements. The atte tion of all concerned is called to the importance of re- turning these empties from the West promptly. Consist. 2 In addition to fresh fish through loads for Montreal or beyond may be handled on Seafood Specials. Extra heavy shipments, such as steel, scrap or coal should not be forwarded, and should trouble develop on any car other than fresh fish, it should be set out immediately to avoid delay. The tonnage of these trains between Mulgrave and Truro will not exceed 500 tons and be tween Truro and Montreal 80 tons. Only cars contain- ing fresh fish may be added to these trains between terminals. At terminals dead freight may be taken on provided the tonnage limit is not exceeded, Superintendents Martin and Hallisey will advise my office before noon on Seafood Special days, the num- ber of cars of fresh fish offering and full particulars © regarding the contents and destination of each car. In addition, Mr. Hallisey will wire complete consist of train on departure from Truro to Superintendents — Devenish. Destardins and Morazain. Mr. Morazain will wire consist of train to Mr. L. Harold, Superin- tendent of Transportation, Grand Trunk Railway, ‘July, 1918 _ Montreal, and will keep him posted as to the probable time of arrival at Montreal. Connecting Superintendents should be advised of any change in original consist. Icing. Provided the schedule of Seafood Specials is main- tained it will not be necessary to ice fresh fish in tran- ' sit. Frozen fish or other perishable freight should be ' iced at icing stations in accordance with instructions. Power. _ Seafood Specials must be protected with suitable -power. Inspection. _ Rigid car inspection of Seafood Specials must be _ made at terminals, Despatching. Seafood Specials must be handled either as sections of first class trains or upon schedule orders with right over all except first class trains. They must receive _ equal preference with local passenger trains. Care - should be taken to see these trains do not exceed a speed of any one mile in less than two minutes. Reporting. - Seafood Specials will be numbered consecutively commencing with train number 1 from Mulgrave, Thursday, June 27th. A running sheet will be kept by the Chief Operator in ‘‘BO”’ telegraph office at Moncton and Despatchers “must report the arrival and departure of these trains at terminals to him promptly on departure, ‘ee Will you please see that necessary arrangements are made for the successful handling of these trains over _ your District, and instruct all concerned that on ac- count of the National importance of this service, in- attention or neglect will be severely dealt with. Acknowledge and say if understood, ‘oa - Yours rag ee (Signed) L. 8. BROWN, 2 General Superintendent. a Moncton, N.B., June 25, 1918. _ W. R. Spooner, Esq., i Chairman Canadian Fisheries Association, Montreal, Que. Dear Sir.—Have received the ellowiie message from the ‘‘Daily Telegraph,’’ Quebec: ‘Press reports inauguration fast fish freight service, Halifax, Mulgrave to Montreal. Please advise if Que- -__ bee City shares in new service.”’ - To which I have replied as follows: — 2 “Tf fish merchants of Quebee City have sufficient --—« running ear to that point, arrangements can be made for corresponding service to Quebee City. Our sugges- tion would be that merchants your City get in touch with Canadian Fisheries Association for details of ar- rangements necessary to make before shipments order- ed forward.”’ We would be willing to run separate cars to Quebec for lots of 10.000 pounds or more and handle on ‘‘Sea- food Special’’ to Chaudiere, and we have instructed agents at Mulgrave and Halifax accordingly. It is manifestly impossible to permit the loading of small lots of fresh fish for Quebee City into cars con- taining such shipments for Montreal or points West, - without seriously deca delivery of eile latter ship- - ments, CANADIAN FISHERMAN quantity fish offering, Halifax and Mulgrave to justify 827 I would like you to acquaint the members of your Association with this inquiry as made by the ‘‘Daily Telegraph,’’ as it is possible the members of your Association can secure sufficient trade at Quebee City to provide for a car of 10,000 pounds or more in weight. Yours truly, C. A. HAYES, General Manager. The following circular has been sent by the Depart- ment of the Naval Service to the various lobster can- neries on the Atlantic coast and to any others whom it is considered are interested in that fishery. Ottawa, June 30, 1918. Sir,—This Department has under consideration the best and most feasible means of restoring the now seri- . ously depleted lobster fishery, and it has obtained the opinions of many of those engaging in the industry on the different parts of the coast. While these opinions differ quite widely as to the steps that should be taken there is a practical unanimity of opinion that some drastic measure should be adopted. In view of these conditions, as well as of the great national importance of the industry, and the econse- auent necessity for acting with the utmost care, the Devartment feels that the question could he most satis- factorily and efficiently dealt with by holding a con- ference of those interested in the industry. at which the matter could be fully discussed from all angles. It has. therefore, decided to call such conference. The Department’s understanding is that the annual convention of the Canadian Fisheries Association will be held at Halifax, this year, on the 6th and 7th, and forenoon of the 8th of August. As many of those desiring to take part in this conference will attend the Agsociation’s convention. and as Halifax is probably the most convenient centre for all those interested in the lobster fishing industry to meet. the conference will be convened at Halifax at 2 p.m., on August 8th next. Information will be given in the Halifax papers on the dav or so preceding the conference as to the room in which it will be held. The Department trusts that you will be good enough to attend the conference and take part in the discus- sion, or should such not be feasible. that some one will be delegated by those engaging in the industry in your locality, to be present at the conference, and speak for the others. It is hoped that it will be found possible to reach conclusions which will have the sup- port of all as to the action that should be taken. T am, Sir, Your obedient servant. : G. J. DESBARATS. Deputy Minister of the Naval Service. 0O00D0DDDDNDVDDVDNDDNONNONNNNND O 0 O O 0 Fishermen, retailers, wholesalers and pro- O O ducers of fish are urged to attend the Fish- O O eries Convention at Halifax, August 6th, 7th O' O and 8th. Don’t wait for a special invitation. O O You’re invited. oO Oo 0 0 Le) 0000000000000000000000 L238 CANADIAN FISHERMAN Fish Curng By J. J. COWIE. ARTICLE II, Herring Curing in the Split Method. The enormous trade in herring cured in what is called the Scotch method is due to the fact that the Jewish people, who are the chief consumers of salted herring on this continent, as well as in Europe, prefer the fish cured in that way. They are ready at all times to pay handsome prices when the quality, size and cure are right; but, as may be gathered from the preceding article, they are very, very particular as to those three_ requisites. One essential feature of the ‘‘Scotch’’ cure is that the roe or milt is left in the full fish be- cause the consumers referred to, make use of it. There are other consumers of salted herring on this continent whose demands, however, are not so exten- sive as those of the Jewish people. They do not make use of the roe or milt, consequently, it is removed be- fore curing takes place. Then, again, fairly large quantities of salted herring are consumed in the West Indies, and it would be difficult, if not impossible, to prevent the fish from going wrong, when submitted to the heat of the tropics, if the roe or milt were left in them. So long,.therefore, as people, other than the Jewish people, continue to eat salted herring there will, in all likelihood, remain a demand for what are ealled split herring. ’ The term is somewhat misleading as the fish is not really split like a salt mackerel, kippered herring, or finnan haddock. The belly of the fish is simply slit open, and its contents, as well as the gills, removed. Method of Curing and Packing. The fish should be perfectly fresh. All ‘‘drowned’’ herring should be separated from the fresh fish. They should be placed under cover as soon as _ possible after being taken from the nets and kept under cover during the whole process of curing. Splitting—tThe belly of the fish should be neatly opened with a sharp knife. On removal of the in- testines the blood should be ‘‘broken’’ along the part of the bone that the splitting has exposed. This can be done quite easily and quickly with one sweep of the point of the knife used as a kind of scraper. This is very important, and should never be neglected by curers of split herring. Washing.—Splitting renders washing necessary be- “cause of the amount of blood and spawn that adheres to the fish. For this purpose weak pickle should be used, not fresh water; moreover, the fish should not be left to soak, but. should be simply washed clean and immediately salted. Salting—tThe usual practice is to salt split herring into tanks or large casks where they remain for ten or twelve days, or until they are eured, after which they are packed into barrels. Tainted split herring are, unfortunately, too com- mon, and one of the chief causes, probably the chief eause of this, is to be found in the use of insufficient quantity of salt; unevenly distributed, when the fish are being put into the tanks or casks; also in the weak- ness of the pickle with which the tanks or casks are filled up. Nothing that may afterwards be done in the way of salting, when packing the fish in barrels, can thickness; and the heading not less than 11-16 of an -inches from edge to edge. bilge 17 inches outside measurement. should be bound with an iron hoop 134 inches broad, barrels and half-barrels should be planed smooth, in fish are to be packed should be thoroughly rinsed with E July, 1918 overcome the effect of light or uneven salting and o weak pickle in the tanks or casks. It is there the fish must be cured. us a As soon as the fish have been washed, therefore, they should be dumped on a clean floor or platform and _ turned over with a shovel while salt is being very free- _ ly spread over them. They should then be lifted into _ the tanks or casks along with all the salt that can possibly stick to them; more salt being added where it appears light. After the space of from two to three _ hours the tanks or casks should be filled up with pickle _ made strong enough to quite easily float a potatoe. A weight should be placed on top of the fish to keep — them continually under the pickle. The top of the tanks or casks should then be covered tightly to pre- vent rain or dust and such like from getting in. On each tank or cask should be marked the date on which they were filled. The fish should be left in them for at least ten clear days before being removed, © and packed into barrels. ie Grading and Weighing.—As the fish are drawn from — the tanks or casks for packing they should be separated into three grades, namely: Large, Medium, and Small. The Large should measure not less than 13 inches, the Medium not less than 11 inches, and the Small not less than 914 inches from the point of the head to the tip of the tail. In the course of grading all tainted or defective fish should be discarded. Each grade should then be weighed into lots of 200 pounds for bar. rels and 100 pounds for half barrels. From five to ten per cent extra weight should be allowed to each lot in accordance with the length of time the fish have been salted in the tanks or casks. Barrels.—A barrel constructed to hold 200 pounds of — packed cured herring, and a half barrel constructed to hold 100 pounds are used for marketing split-herring. Good sound spruce or pine close-grained and well seasoned should be used for staves and heading. _ The staves for barrels should be cut not less than 271% inches in length, and 11-16 of an inch in thick- ness. The staves for half barrels should be cut not less — than 221% inches in length, and 10-16 of an inch in inch in thickness. ‘aye s a The diameter of the head for a barrel should be 17 The bilge of the barrel should be not less than 20 inches in diameter, outsi “measurement. The diameter of the head for a half a barrel may be 14 inches from edge to edge, and of the — Barrels and half-barrels should be bound with three wooden hoops on each quarter. The ends of barrels and of half-barrels with an iron hoop 11% inches broad. The outside surface of the heads and bottoms of order that the stencilling on the filled barrels may be _ not only legible but neat. apres d Packing—The barrel or half-barrel in which the clean water immediately before packing begins. Packing should begin by scattering a handful of wuly, 18 salt over the bottom of the barrel, on which the first tier is packed—backs down and heads close up to the sides of the barrel. The next tier should be packed across the one below it, and soon till the barrel is full or the quantity weighed is packed in. Every barrel should contain at least 200 pounds and every half- barrel 100 pounds of fish when completely packed. It is advisable, during the packing, to place two her- rings on their side in barrels and one in half-barrels over the heads of the herring in each tier in order to keep the tiers level. Each tier as it is completed should be salted with an equal quantity of salt spread evenly over it. There should be no spot in any tier with either too much or too little salt. Careful attention to this is essential. The quantity of salt necessary for each tier depends on the size and qaulity of the fish and the market for .- which they are being packed. These points, therefore, should be very carefully considered by the packer, The Large Grade will require rather more salt than the Small Grade. Fat summer herring will require more than thin spring herring. Then, again, herring intended for consumption in Canada or the United States should be more lightly salted in packing than CANADIAN FISHERMAN 829 herring intended for consumption in the tropical West Indies, Trapani, or Ivica salt is perfectly suitable in all stages of split herring curing. Barrels and half-barrels after being packed full should be immediately headed up made perfectly tight, and filled, through a bung-hole in the centre of the bilge, with clean strong pickle. The top quarter hoops should be made secure with three nails long enough to enter the staves, but not long enough to go through them. If the filled barrels are kept for some weeks before shipment, they should be protected from the direct heat of the sun and examined frequently with a view to discovering and stopping leaks and repickling. A tap on the bilge with an axe or hammer will indicate whether the barrel has lost any pickle or not . It should never be forgotten that it is only by close attention to the details of curing, grading and pack- ing that an article fit for sale and consumption can be produced. The continued marketing of an inferior product, sooner or later, puts an end to all trading in that particular commodity. MeclauchlANn He.trax We Steam Trawler of Leonard Fisheries, Ltd. 830 By J. S. WILLIAMS, of Billingsgate, London. Fishing with the drift-net, particularly for herrings and mackerel, has been practised on the British coasts from time immemorial; it is one of the oldest methods known. At the present time the drift-net fisheries are second in value only to the trawl fisheries; in some respects they are even more important. They are car- ried on at one part or another of the coasts through- out the year, but are concentrated in certain districts at special seasons according to the appearance of the shoals of fish for whose capture they are used. The great drift-net fisheries are thus seasonal. limited to a period of the year, and differ in this respect from deep-sea trawling, which is prosecuted with almost equal intensity in every month of the year. The drift- net is used to capture the pelagic or migratory fishes which swim about jn shoals near the surface of the water, viz., the herring, mackerel, pilchard and sprat. The name ‘‘drift-net’’ is derived from the method in which the net is used. It is shot from a boat in the open sea and allowed to drift with the tide. It con- sists of a longer or shorter ‘‘train,’’ ‘‘drift,’’ or ‘‘fleet’’ of nets, composed of separate nets fastened to one an- other end to end, forming a wall of netting standing more or less perpendicularly in the water and extend- ing it may be to a distance of over two miles from the boat. The unper part of the net is corked and the lower is attached to a heavy rope at intervals, while surface buoys are attached to the upper part at the junction of two nets by ‘‘buoy-ropes,’’ by lengthening or shortening same the fleet or train may be made to fish deeper down or nearer the surface as desired. The drift-net is essentially the same for whatever fishing it may be employed in, but it differs in mesh, in length, ete., according to the kind of fish it is desired to capture. The shoals moving about encounter the wall of netting; the fish too small to be caught pass through the meshes and escape; those somewhat larger attempt to get through and become meshed, usually by the gills—the net is a drifting “‘ gill- net.’’ The nets used to be made of hemp twine; they are now practically all made of cotton, which is ‘more effective and cheaper. With few exceptions, drift-net fishing is carried on at night; the fish come more to the surface in the darkness, and the nets are less visible. The Statistics of the Drift-Net Fisheries. In 1913 more than half of all the fish landed on the coasts of the United Kingdom belonged to the ‘‘nelagic’’ division, the quantity being about 645,000 tons. “As an addition to the food supply, however, the proportion was really greater, inasmuch as the pelagic fish are weight.for weight much more nourishing than the demersal fish taken by trawl and line, and it has been estimated that about 65 per cent of the nutriment derived from the sea fisheries comes from this group. The official figures of the pelagic fish landed in 1913 are as follows :— CANADIAN FISHERMAN The British Fisheries 4th Article --- The Drift-net Fisheries Herring. . Cwts. England and Wales .. .. .. .. 7,318,425 Seotland . . 4,449.323 Treland .. .. 420,620 © Potala Oe Mackerel. Cwts. England and Wales teen, oan CeO oe Scotland . 74,348 Treland . 160,459 ROU cee Nea yuan 579,902 Sprats. Cwts. England and Wales... .. .. .. 75,156 Seotland . : 8,117 Treland.. .. 1,464 Total . 84,737 << ae to be visited in calm weather or against head winds, J uly, 1918 : s : _ Cwts. England and Wales .. .. .: .. 7,785,239 Seotland . i . 4,532,093 ‘Irelangee ie ease kyon 582,543 Total .. . 12,899,875. © The totals are made un of the following :— In addition to these, 51 563 ewts of pilchards, vah at £21,865 were landed in England and Wales, an ewts of smelts (‘‘sparling’’), valued at £903, in land. The overwhelming importance of the he is apparent, forming 94.4 per cent of the total quar tity and value, the mackerel forming about 4% per cent. All the pelagic fish are not caught by 4 nets; a small proportion is taken by seines, tr: ete. Particulars do not exist for each country, in England and Wales, in 1913, 93 per cent of the rings and pilchards were taken by drift-nets, 81 cent. of the mackerel and 46 per cent. of the oa te The Herring Fisheries. In a previous article something has been said to the gradual development of the herring fisherie The boats grew larger and more seaworthy, the elle more extensive an’ the fishing grounds got farther ‘om the shores. Twenty years ago the steam- wind lass had almost everywhere replaced the hand-capstan for hauling the nets in the deep-sea fishing, and 1897 steam began to be used forthe propulsion — the boats. The advantage of the steam-drifter were quickly recognized, and just as in the trawling indus- — try, the introduction of steam propulsion gave a great impetus. to the fishing. It enabled the fishing grounds y, 1918 1ortened the voyages, allowed more nets to be ear- ied, and-inereased the catches of herrings. The steam essel was able to get the early markets and the high- t prices. A few days later the motor herring drift- r was introduced, and it also made rapid headway for e same reasons. These steam and motor vessels can ow carry on the fishing throughout almost the whole ear—from the south of Ireland to the Hebrides, the 3 Shetlands, down the east coast, finishing up at the East glian fishery late in the year. In a report of the ttish Fishery Board it is said ‘that in one year the rage gross earnings in the summer fishing in an coast district were, for steam-drifters, £1,388; r-boats, £973, and sail boats, £412. In consequence » more profitable fishing of the power vessels, the er of sail boats engaged in the herring fisheries in inished very substantially in recent years, while number of steam-drifters and motor-drifters has reased. In 1913 there were 671 English steam- fters (624 belonging to North Sea ports—Lowes- ving 334 and Yarmouth 205), 192 first-class drifters, 125 motor-drifters and 85 motor boats yloyed in the herring and other fisheries. The num- f Scottish steam vessels other than trawlers was and the motor boats number 523, the greater num- f both being engaged in drifting for herrings. As ing the extent to which the power vessels have aced the sailing vessels in the British herring fish- es, the following table stating the quantities of her- ngs landed by each kind of craft in 1913 is of interest. Steam Motor Bo, Cwts. Cwts. d and Wales.. cs. (6,701,182 222,041 ae ee cats 91.6 3.0 | Sail Total Xs: Cwts. Cwts. and Wales.. 389,637 7,318,425 | regs 5.3 _ Steam Motor Cwts. Cwts. . ..2,863,141 366,610 sl ed 64 8 — Sail Total Cw's. Cwts. . 1,219,572 4,449 323 28 i o- > __ Under ‘‘steam”’ in the English returns, 528,356 ewts, r 7.2 per cent, taken by trawlers, are included, and in he Scottish 12,106 cwts or 0.3 per cent; 565 ewts in the English total are unaccounted for. re L The Fishing Grounds. There are two herring fisheries distinguished in Ire- land, one the summer fishing, from May to October, ‘earried on chiefly on the east and north coasts, and a ‘winter fishery, from October to January or February r later. In 1913, the former supplied 229,000 ewts and the latter 142,000 cwts. In Scotland three fishings are distinguished, (1) the winter fishing from 1st January to 31st March, chiefly at the Hebrides, but also at other parts of the west coast, at. Wick and the Firth of Forth; in 1913 it furnished 628,197 ewts; (2) early summer fishing, from 1st April to 30th June, y at Shetland and Orkney and along the east but also on the west coast; it supplied in.1913, obs Fini CANADIAN FISHERMAN 831 1,445,469 ewts; (3) the great summer and autumn fish- ing, from Ist July to the end of the year, chiefly on the east coast, but also at the Orkneys, Shetland and on the west coast; it supplied in 19138, 2,877,657 ewts. In England there is an east coast spring fishing of little importance, the great fisheries being in late sum- mer and autumn off the East Anglian coasts, mainly from Yarmouth and Lowestoft. By far the greater proportion of the herrings landed are derived from the North Sea. The following shows the quantities, in ewts, landed in 1913, on the various coasts: East Coast. West Coast. England and Wales -. . 6,935,413 275,632 WOOMONG 8 eiatrded Ge ian. . BER Oae 1,044,606 9,342,435 1,320,238 Orkney and South Coast. Shetland. England and Wales .. LIE A Eh ye Waco POODRR iF eof oe ei Aen vis Rosa bhae 1,027,693 Almost 95 per cent of the herrings landed in Eng- land come from the North Sea and about 80 per cent of the total landed in Great Britain. Though herrings are caught somewhere or other in every month of the year, the concentration of the fishings in certain months is a conspicuous feature. The following gives the quantities landed in each month, to the nearest 1,000 ewt, the figures for Yarmouth and Lowestoft being shown separately: Jan. Feb. Mar. April May June MarOuteeg fe! Prawestote ooo. Sie cage 4 mee 2 England. .... Il cs 5 38-188 Seotland.... 288 289 98 24 403 1,018 249 290 98 29 441 1,151 July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dee. Yarmouth. °° 40 9°93 F,953" 1,005 59 Lowestoft .... — 2°13. 2287-758 76 England . 427 572 591 3,508 1,819 207 Seotland.... 972 1,093 190 40 380 52 1,399 1,665 781 3,548 1,849 259 The herring is a coast fish, and spawns in shallow water or water of moderate depth. The fishery is car- ried on from quite near the shore, in bays and arms of the sea, to a distance of 70 or 80 miles off. The Disposal of the Herrings. Precise information is awanting, but the best auth- orities estimate that less than 20 per cent of the her- rings are consumed at home and over 80 per cent ex- ported. Those consumed at home are used fresh, smoked as bloaters, kippers, reds, and a few tinned or pickled. By far the greater quantity are pickled for export. In 1913, 1,166,598 ewts of fresh herrings, valued at £589,657, were exported, Germany taking 1,- 111,548 ewts, or 95 per cent, of a value of £551,771. The exports of cured or salted herring amounted to 8,795,232 ewts, valued at £5,331,042, Germany taking 3,996,892 ewts, or over 45 per cent, the value being £2,267,108. British cured herrings go over almost the whole world, the pickled going chiefly to Germany and Russia and the smoked fish (far less in quantity) to the Italian and Greek markets. * 832 CANADIAN FISHERMAN The Mackerel Fisheries. A considerable proportion of the mackerel landed, especially in Scotland and the east coast of England, are taken in the herring drift-nets, but there are also regular mackerel fisheries, chiefly by drift-nets and also by seines, trawls, lines and fixed nets. Of the 345,095 ewts landed in England and Wales in 1913, 280,905 were taken by drift-nets, 28,606 by trawls, 19,592 by seines, 10,593 by hand lines and 5,124 by fixed nets. Of the total quantity, 177,551 ewts were landed on the east coast, 116,715 on the south coast and 50,829 on the west coast. The chief ports were Newlyn, Lowestoft, North Shields and Milford. Most of the mackerel is caught in the summer months. In Ireland there is a spring and an autumn fishery, the former from March or April to July, the latter from August or September to February; a large part of the mack- erel in the autumn fishing is pickled for the American market. Most of the mackerel is consumed at home in the fresh condition, but there is also a considerable exportation. In 1913, 14,849 ewts, valued at £16,010, were exported, mostly to France and Belgium, and 98,- 370 ewts of cured, valued at £79,367, nearly all to the United States. The Pilchard & Sprat Fisheries. Little need be said about these. The pilehard fish- ery is a characteristic Cornish industry, the fishing be- ing carried on chiefly from July to October; most of the pilchards are landed at Newlyn, Mevagissey & Porthleven. Of the total of 51,563 ewts landed, 48,- 067 were taken by drift-nets and 3,496 by seines. Most of the pilchards are cured for the Italian market; the exports thither in 1913 amounted to 32,850 ewts, of a total export of 37,101 ewts. Sprat fishing is carried on in bays and estuaries in the winter months, from November to February or March, several kinds of fishing apparatus being em- ployed. Of a total of 75,156 ewts landed on the Eng- lish coasts in 1913, 34,3821 were taken by drift-nets, 32,354 by stow-nets (a large bag-net attached to a boat at anchor and fishing with the tide) 6,016 by seines and 2,465 by trawls. Most are taken on the east coast, chiefly on the coast of Essex and Suffolk, but also on the south coast; the Scottish fishings are in the Firths of Tay, Forth, and Beauly. Nearly all the sprats are consumed fresh, but some are smoked, an industry which used to be of far greater importance than it is now. Sprats are not mentioned in the re- turns of the fish exported, but it is known that large quantities are bought by Swedes and Norwegians, to be manufactured as ‘‘Swedish anchovies’’ and ‘‘sar- dines,’’ in which form-they come again on British markets. PENALTIES FOR BREAKING FOOD LAWS. ‘‘Any person violating any provision or any order or regulation of the Canada Food Board now or here- after made in pursuance of the power invested upon it, is guilty of an offence, and shall be liable upon summary conviction before a Police Magistrate or a Justice of the Peace to a penalty not exceeding $1,000, and not less than $100.00; or to imprisonment not ex- ceeding three months, or to both fine and imprison- ment.’’ By Order-in-Council, P. C. (1542) of June 22nd, 1918. The enforcement of the orders and regu- lations of the Canada Food Board depends principally upon the patriotic co-operation of the municipal police anthorities. ee | July, 1918 Plant of Connor Bros., Black’s Harbor. July, 1918 CANADIAN FISHERMAN 833 The Way of Japanese Nimrods By GAYNE T. K, NORTON. (Taken from American Forestry Journal). An engineering friend, recently returned from Jap- an, is full of tales and stories of the customs and habits of the Japanese. However, like many travel- ers, he looked much and saw little, and of the little seen no form of record was kept. It is small pleasure to hear travel stories recounted by such folk. Beyond the engineering work—the work of rebuilding the entire Japanese railway system at a cost of 308,002,000 yen has been started—which he knows very well, the cor- morant fishing interested him most. . The custom of using the sea-birds to catch fish for market, a habit practiced today in many parts of Japan, was observed on the Nagara River, near Gifu, in the province of Owari. In certain parts of China the birds are used in the same way. The species of cormorant used belongs to the same family as our double-erested cormorant, or shag, and is much like him. The native fishermen breed their own birds as a Mosquito nets are provided them during the summer to insure their comfort. The fishing always takes place at night by torchlight. Four men occupy each boat. The boats go out in small fleets and drift slowly downstream; three hours’ fishing is a night’s work. The man at the stern does nothing but manage the craft. In the bow the master stands, wearing the peculiar hat of his rank, handling a dozen trained birds with astonishing skill and cool- ness. This skill has earned for the fishermen of Gifu a reputation that might be envied even on Great South bay. A fisher of the second grade is amidships, handling four birds. Between the fishers is the fourth man, called kako from the bamboo striking in- strument of that name which he uses, whose sole aim is to make the noise and disturbance necessary if the birds are to be kept at work. He helps out by shout- ing, caring for extra apparatus‘and lending a hand where needed. rule. The first bird of the team or corps is caught with thé use of decoys set in trees frequently by the birds and bird lime smeared upon the surrounding branches. After one bird has settled and becomes a prisoner it is placed among the bushes, decoys are re- moved and other birds are caught in the sticky lime. The birds taken are young, being caught in early winter on the coast on their first migration southward from the places of summer residence on the northern coast. Once trained the birds work well from 15 to 20 years. During the winter their food taxes to the utmost the income of the owner, but during the sum- mer they are previous and profitable hunters, or fish- ers, well warranting the care bestowed upon them. iin e My han Each cormorant wears at the base of the neck a metal ring drawn tight enough to prevent fish of a marketable size from being completely swallowed, but at the same time loose enough to allow the smaller fish captured to pass and feed the bird. The ring is never removed. Around the body is a cord to which is fastened at the middle of the back a short piece of stiff whalebone with which the bird is lowered into, or lifted from, the water when at work. To the whale- bone a twelve-foot spruce fibre is fastened which is so lacking in plianey as to minimize the possibility of entanglement. ; The fishing ground reached, the master lowers his twelve birds one at a time into the water, gathering 834 the reins into his left hand. The second fisher does the same with his four birds. The kako starts his din. The birds set to work, diving with wonderful swift- ness, as fish, attracted by the torches, become plenti- ful. Now is the time the master proves his skill and makes ; his reputation, for he is the busiest of men. His eyes must be everywhere with his hands working according- ly, adjusting the dozen strings and keeping the twelve erratic fisher-birds from entangling themselves. He must see the moment that any of the flock is gorged— a fact the bird makes known by swimming about in a foolish, helpless way with head and swollen neck erect. Discovering this, the master shortens in on the bird, lifts it abroad, forces open the bill with his left hand, still holding the eleven other lines, and squeezes out the fish with his right hand. The bird is off on a fresh hunt so quickly that the others have had no time or chance to get their reins tangled. The opera- tion is performed with such dexterity and quickness that in a few seconds the whole team is again well in hand and at work. The operation in no way injures the birds, in fact, so accustomed to it are they, that they assist. From four to eight marketable fish is the usual result for a single excursion of one bird—an average of about 150 fish an hour per bird, or 450 each for the three hours. Multiply this number by 16 and you have the average catch. And do not forget that fish is one of the chief staples of the Japanese. CANADIAN FISHERMAN Each bird in the team has and knows its num- ~ber. A funny habit with them is the quick-witted “jealousy with which they invariably insist, by all that — cormorant language and pantomimic protests can do, on due observance of the recognized rights belonging to their individual numbers. Ichi, or number one, the corps leader, the senior in years and rank. The other birds come after him in numerical order accord- ing to their ages. He is last to be put into the water and first to be taken out; the first to be fed and the last. to eniter the carry-baskets when the work is over. Ichi has the post of honor at ‘‘the eyes of the boat.”’ Usually he is a solemn, grizzled old fellow, with a pompous, air worthy of a victorious politician on the fifth of November. When aboard, the other birds are placed after him, by rank, alternately on either side of the gunwale. If, for instance, number three is placed in the water before number four, or num- — ber nine be placed above number seven, a family rum- pus promptly results. ter As each bird is taken from the water, the val 7 : can tell by its weight if it has secured enough food. — If too light it is fed from the catch. The sight of the — great, ungainly sea-birds, placed so -exactly in the’ boat—shaking themselves, flapping their wings, gaw- ing, making toilets, clearing their throats, looking — about with a stupid stare and indulging in old. anna . tiffs—is quite the strangest one would wish to see. — ‘Saving the Canned Lobster Business (This article was prepared expressly for the Canadian Fisherman by a gentleman who is recognized as an 2 authority on the practical side of the lobster industry.—Ed.) We welcome the interest that is being taken in the problem of Canada’s supply of lobsters by the scientists from some of our universities. There is much to be learned concerning the nature and habits of this crustacean that should be fully known before one can hope to grapple intelligently with the ques- tion of its conservation, and a great improvement in the methods of catching, handling, utilising and pre- serving of lobsters can be looked for if better informa- tion as to their composition and constitution prevail- ed. Hitherto, conservation has been attempted with only a superficial knowledge of the life and peculiarities of the lobster, while haphazard methods of packing have been used, and any reforms instituted were gain- ed only from the bitter See failures of earlier attempts. Up to a certain point, our scientists appear to have contented themselves with the discovery that a lob- ster caught off the Atlantic Coasts of America differ- ed slightly from those secured elsewhere and dubbed it with the name of ‘‘Homarus Americanus’’ to dis- tinguish it from ‘‘Homarus Vulgarus’ and then con- sidered the matter closed, leaving to the reader’s im- agination, or buried in the archives of some scholastic institution, wherein the difference lay. But as to the reason why there is, or should be, a variance, or how caused, that had. apparently been passed over and the primary fact evidently considered sufficient to be illustrated as proof of the Darwinian theory of evoli- : tion. ; Too long there seems to have existed in Anglo-Saxon countries an idea that Commerce and Science were far removed; that commercial life and scientific study — had no connection with one another. It was ‘‘infra dig’’ for a professional man to directly connect his researches with matters of money; his duty was con- fined to matters suitable for text books that appeal to the intellect and not to the purse. Like old-fashioned preachers, educated with theories of future punish- ment and brimestone, who hate to depart from their original modes of obliterating original sin, or like old- fashioned doctors whose interest in curing sick. peo- ple is greater than that of keeping healthy people well, some of our scientists’ interests seem to lie in giving _ each product of their own land and sea a foreign ~ name and then going to explore foreign countries for additional curiosities to give them names of their own. It is probably true that this war has aroused in our scientists a new conception of their duties, and means of serving their country. ‘mn any ease, the awakening is apparent, and those interested in the lobster in- dustry heartily welcome and will assist those who are now devoting their attention to the lobster. Unfortunately those now studying our Canadian lobster are being started out with incorrect statistics regarding the situation. Figures are given to them Jaly, 1918 9 July, 1918 CANADIAN FPISHERMAN S. Y. WILSON, Halifax. President, C. F. A. $36 CANADIAN FISHERMAN July, 1918 H. A. BRITTAIN, Montreal. Ist Vice-President, C. F. A. July, 1918 CANADIAN FISHERMAN See | A. L. HAGER, Vancouver, B.C. 2nd Vice-President, C, F, A, CO on CANADIAN FISHERMAN CAPTAIN F. W. WALLACE, Ottawa, Ont. Secretary-Treasurer, C, F. A. July, 1918 July, 1918 CANADIAN FISHERMAN 839 W. R. SPOONER, Montreal. . Chairman Transportation Committee, C. F. A. 840 CANADIAN FISHERMAN : July, 1918 H. B. SHORTT, Digby, N.S. Chairman Membership Committee, C, F. A, July, 1918 CANADIAN FISHERMAN 841 J. A. PAULHUS, Montreal. Chairman Literature and Publicity Committee, C. F. A. an sate eee. ee ee ihn | c July, 1918 CANADIAN that the Government have admitted to be incorrect, but which they continue to furnish and publish when- ever any Commission or investigation is begun. In- correct data are misleading and wrong inferences made at the outset are liable to set any enquirers on a false seent. While admitting there is a shortage in the lobster pack during the last twenty years, there is no such per- centage of decline as is shown by Government statis- ties. There has been a great increase in the shipment of live lobsters during that period, but nevertheless the statistics of live lobster shipments show a decliny. The number of traps in use has been arrived at by a sys- tem of guess work, and although traps have increased somewhat in numbers they have not done so to the extent claimed. Therefore the ‘‘catch per trap’’ argument, so often used, is robbed of its force. As the number of factories increased and each new pack- er entering the field prepared for a big pack, and each _ old packer was determined to maintain his quantity, both were often disappointed at the end of the season and each reported a falling off in the catch to the local inspector, which was duly recorded, although ac- tually not proved. As attempts were inade later to obtain more correct returns, the earlier figures were found to be excessive. In many places, the basis upon which the number of pounds of live lobsters packed ‘into cases were computed has been changed, and there has been in the process of correcting the errors of the past some more modest figures regarding this fishery produced. It is those differences which have errone- ously been used since to show that the catch of lobs- ters is declining rapidly. One might refer to a series of short articles under the caption of ‘‘Talks on Lob- sters by Homar D.’’, which appeared in the Halifax Chronicle early in 1917, containing a number of inter- esting items showing some of the fallacies in these. statistics. However, we agree with the writer of your article last month that the lobster industry is in a bad way, because any decline in the catch must be unsatisfactory to our Dominion while it possesses over 90 per cent of the world’s lobster fishery. The supply should be saved for the future, but the Canning Branch of the industry ought not to be condemned upon cireum- stantial evidence at the outset, or by quoting figures that are known to be incorrect. It is a duty to our scientists that they shall be furnished with correct in- formation regarding the industry, past and present, without being convinced ’ere they begin their work that lobster canning must be tabooed. Then generally speaking the trade will assist them in their researches to the best of its ability. We welcome the new Minister of Naval Defence’s ex- pressed desire to save the lobster industry, and could wish that he had more time to devote to the fisheries portion of his Department, which must unfortunately continue to suffer because matters of Marine Con- struction and Naval Defence naturally absorb so much time in these strenuous days. His first attempt for the lobster industry is a nine-inch law for Western Nova Seotia, to go into effect next December. But to those in the trade, the re-establishment of a system that had to be abandoned some years ago because of its impracticability is not considered as likely to at- tain the desired result. One of its present advocates referring to it in 1912 declared it from a canning standpoint as ‘‘an absolutely impracticable regula- tion’’ and stated then ‘‘that the size limits that have FISHERMAN 843 obtained in the past have not accomplished much for the industry.’’ Of course, if éxisting factories are known to be detrimental and if there is reason to expect that it will aid the solution of international différencés be- tween Canada and the United States, then there would, perhaps, be some justification for establishing such 4 size limit, but the fishermen of these parts do not wish, generally, the lobster factories to be closed. Statis- tically, the situation in most of the districts covered by this edict has not suffered much during the last thirty years, and the Commission now enquiring into international questions has so far given Nova Scotians but scant opportunity to place their case before it, al- though the findings of such a Commission are most vital to the people of this province, The present factories cannot be operated profitably under such a law. It is asserted, with good grounds for the contention, that a lobster factory and a nine- inch limit for Western Nova Scotia cannot be run to- gether successfully. To enforce such a law and induce (or even permit) the factories to remain open, will cer- tainly not be conducive of the Gladstonian maxim of making it easy to do right and difficult to do wrong. The feeling of the fishermen and packers within the sections affected has not found full utterance yet, but there is bound to be consternation during the coming Fall if the Government retains its present stand. A nine-inch law sounds well to the layman, but its efficiency remains doubtful even with the most rig- orous enforcement, and without the sympathy of the fishermen and packer the cost of carrying it out will be greater than the benefits derived. Many in the trade believe that in the recent Act that is also to go into force next season regarding the net weight of lobster tins, the sound of fourteen ounces net dry weight of lobster meat in a pound can appeared to the layman as more honest than the re- quest made by some of the larger dealers for a ‘‘thir- teen ounce’’ basis. The dealer in asking for this could not be accused of selfish personal interest in his re- quest. Whatever standard is established will naturally apply to all and he would like to have it also stand- ardized in Newfoundland, as a producing country, and in Great Britain and the United States as consuming countries, along with our own, to remove the discrep- ancies that occur at present. Canned lobsters cannot be‘packed dry as well as they can with a certain am- ount of added pickle, and during the bathing process there emanates a certain moisture from lobster itself which permeates with that pickle, forming a ‘‘sauce,”’ which is not only palatable, but serves in protecting the action of the tin upon the lobster meat, and in days gone by caused much black staining and cost thou- sands annually in claims for ‘‘blackened lobsters’’ that is now almost unknown, having been overcome by the addition of this pickle. The cans in use at present for lobsters coincide in size with those of other canned fish foods, such as salmon. To provide for the pickle now necessary, and the net dry weight of 14 oz. in addition, it will be necessary to have larger cans made and stocks now on hand will then be wasted and be- come practically worthless to the lobster packer. It is easier to pack a tin of lobster on which may be stated (as in Newfoundland) ‘‘Net weight of contents 16 oz.,’’ than to certify ‘‘net dry weight of lobster meat 14 oz.’’ Those in the trade consider, too, that if an universal standard of net dry weight of 13 oz. be in vogue, then lobsters will be in line with other goods 844 and whenever infractions occur by packing dishonest weights they can be made easily punishable by adopt- ing the lower basis, whereas if the higher standard is adopted the infraction may be considered accidental because there are periods during the packing seasons when lobster meat is more ‘‘watery’’ than at others. These two new laws for the 1918 season are adding worries to a trade that is already overwhelmed with trials and tribulations in these days of stress. The items referred to in this article may be contro- versial, but are not submitted in that spirit. There is that feeling abroad that ‘‘the lobster industry is in a bad way’’ and whereas the general public consider it thus because of the threatened shortage in supply, those in the trade believe that the lobster situation is being made worse by the regulations that are being put into force instead of saving the industry, as is their desired intention.. The object of drawing atten- tion to these matters now is that those affected may take any action they consider advisable in regard to the last two items mentioned before they become ef- fective next December. Then in the midst of these disquicting topics arrives another suggestion from the Department of Naval CANADIAN FISHERMAN July, 1918 Service that all lobster factories shall be closed for a period of years. There are good and sufficient reasons to consider this thoroughly as there have been many who advocated such a course immediately after the opening of the present war. The Deputy Minister’s letter gives among other rea- sons the rapid decline of the fishery and the cost of fishing equipment and gasoline, as well as the diffi- culties of transportation, but adds that) it does not seem feasible to now stop the catching of lobsters for use fresh. The letter does not state why, though the above reasons apply to the fresh lobster trade as well as the canning industry and so again the canned lob-. ster branch is made the butt for the attack. The eanned and the fresh article ought to be regarded to- gether and no preference should be shown to one branch or to the fishermen on one section of the coast over another if: the legislation proposed is intended for the whole. ‘‘What is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander,’’ but there may be some reason for the distinction and those interested in the trade both as fishermen and packers should write and meet and con- sider these questions on common grounds for the com- mon weal. Berried Lobsters. y E , to July, 1918 q a 4 e 2 ° CANADIAN FISHERMAN 00000 *2000d 5900000000000 300004 200000 600000000000000000 0000040000000000 Prince Edward Island Notes wv + tb tb > i i rwwwwt?*™ he he he vvewvwwwyYY The lobster situation was thoroughly discussed at a large meeting of the representative canners and fish- ermen, from all parts of the province, held in _ Charlottetown, in July 3rd. _ Senator John McLean of Souris, one of the veteran _ packers presided, although under the pressure of grief at the death of his only daughter, Nursing Sister Rena ge f in ral 4 \ ea MelLean, who was lost on the ‘Llandovery Castle’, a _ few days before. object of the meeting, namely, to determine what steps _ should be taken to conserve an industry which, m his _ opinion, was being depleted to some extent. _ he ‘other speakers included: —Senator Murphy, _ Yignish, W. B. Tidmarsh, Charlottetown, Manager of _ the Portland Packing Company, Rev. Dr. P. C. Gau- _ thier, Palmer’s Road, representing a group of canners - and fishermen of the western part of the province, Captain Joseph Read, M. P., Summerside, R. N. Cox, ca ee The chairman briefly stated the who operates canneries at St. Peters Harbor and at the mi ~ McNutt and Sons Cannery, at Malpeque, B. W. Lepage, Be Magdalen Islands, Mr. Fred Bennet, Manager of Peter a Rustico, J. J. Hughes, ex-M.P., Souris, Simon Pineau, _ Rustico, Dr. J. D. McIntyre Montague, John S. Cousins, Park Corner, P. C. Gallant, Summerside, Professor Per- ry of Acadia University and Mr. Andrew Halkett, Naturalist, of the Fisheries Department, Ottawa. The consensus of opinion was expressed by a series of resolutions passed unanimously. The setting apart of the bays and estuaries as permanent sanctuaries of . the lobster, and the fixing of the open season, from the first of May until the thirtieth of June, in each year, were recommended. All present, pledged themselves to support the Fish- eries Department in its efforts to enforce the pro- teetive regulations and suggested that an efficient force be organized to carry out these regulations. The meeting also endorsed the action of the Department in its initial step to introduce an educational campaign by appointing scientists to investigate the lobster industry, and it suggested that the educational process be ex- tended, so as to reach the fishermen direct, and en- larged to include other ‘branches of the fisheries as well. The Resolution.also contained following clauses :— ‘“‘Whereas it is as feasible to stop. the catching of lob- sters for fresh use, as it is for canning, and whereas the catching of the large lobsters is destroying the lobsters necessary for reproduction, therefore resolved, that if it is decided to close the fishing for a period, that all fishermen, whether fishing for use fresh, or for canning purposes, be treated alike.”’ : There was some difference of opinion as to whether the industry was really being depleted or not, but in the resolution there was a statement that ‘‘according to the records of the Marine and Fisheries Depart- ment, there is no evidence of depletion as the eatch in 1916-17 exceeded the catch of 1897, by 201,878 one pound cans. It was argued from this that with the proper protection, and with the close season kept rigid- ly closed, the lobster industry can be maintained in perpetuity. ; Professor Perry, however, declared that during his tour, the opinion of all the old fishermen showed that steady depletion has been going on. todd b> Oslanld rwwvuevGw* Mr. Shelton Sharp, who has had twenty-three years experience as a packer on the north side, took an opposite view. He had in his employ a fisherman for twenty years. The first year the fisherman caught 9,000 lobsters: last year 18,000 and in the intermediate years from 12,000 to 28,000, and he had fished the same number of traps each year. Mr. Sharp declared that north of the Island there is a fishing ground. embracing many hundreds of square- miles. The ground actually fished each year is only a small part of this. How, therefore, can there be depletion when only the surplus of the larger outside area is caught. The disposal of the spawn or berried lobsters was discussed at some length. Mr. Halkett advocated the putting back into the sea of every spawn or berried lobster, declaring that, after the eggs had been hatch- ed out, this lobster would again become marketable and legal. When these female lobsters. were returned to the sea, their instinct would lead them to the shal- low water, to hatch out their eggs. Mr. Halkett could not see any force in the objections made by one of the packers that the spawn lobsters would return to the traps to be caught over and over again. The suggestion was thrown out that the fishermen should be paid by the Government for each berried lobster on the understanding that they return it to the waters. Professor Perry declared that the taking of these berried lobsters was one of the great drawbacks of the industry. In one Island factory out of every sixteen females, thirteen were ‘‘berried’’. Time and again he had been asked why does not the Government enforce | the law prohibiting the taking of these? Instead of im- posing a mere nominal fine, it should make the penalty heavier. Mr. P. C. Gallant, said that the mother lobster will live for ten hours out of water and it would not be difficult to transfer her to shallow water of the bays to hatch out her eggs. The majority of the speakers declared that granting the fall fishing last year, was a serious mistake. In the words of Senator Murphy—‘‘Fishermen cannot eat the cake and have it.’’ Mr. Halkett said that he had visited canneries dur- ing the fall season and found conditions something terrible. Lobsters were molting in the traps. In some eases it was not necessary to crack the shells to get out the eontents. The soft pasty-stuff could easily be pulled out through the opening left when the smaller claw was detached from the larger. At this meeting delegates were appointed to the packers conference to be held on August 8th. The proposition made by Capt. Read that there should be a separate Minister of fisheries was unanimously en- dorsed. The lobster season in this province closed on June 29th. Taken on the whole the catch would be about two-thirds an average. Last season must not be re- garded as a criterion. One of the largest dealers states that during the double season, spring and fall, 500,000 more cans were put up than in the previous year. 846 CANADIAN FISHERMAN July, 1918 The Tale a Salmon’s Tail May Tell Pacific Salmon to Be Tagged. Now that the study of Pacific salmon scale has de- monstrated their life in fresh and salt water, and their age at maturity, the fish, themselves, are to be made to tell their rate of travel from salt to fresh water. Rutter, Babeock, Bareham and Chamberlain, by their experiments and observations, established the life and movement of Pacific salmon in fresh water. Gilbert, by his study of the growth of their scales, has furnished a record of their growth both in fresh and salt water, their age at maturity, and has gone a long way to establish that they seek the waters in which they were hatched to deposit their spawn. And now, for the first time, the salmon itself is to be made to tell the rate of travel from salt to fresh water. In order to show how long it takes a sockeye to travel from the Strait of Juan de Fuca or from ithe Salmon Banks and Point Roberts, to the Fraser River, the Governments of Canada and the United States will place silver buttons in the tails of live sockeye tak- en each day from the traps on the southern shore of Vancouver Island, the Salmon Banks at Point . Roberts, after’ which the fish will be returned to the seé to journey as it will. Lieut.-Col. F. H. Cunning- ham, Dominion Inspector of Fisheries, Mr. Henry O’Malley, Chief of the United States Bureau of Fish- eries, and John P. Babcock, representing the Hon. Wm. Sloan, Provincial Commissioner of Fisheries, conferred in Victoria on July 11th and 12th, and arranged for the interesting and novel experiment to be undertaken at once. a Agents of both Governments ‘will undertake the work at each of the above mentioned points. The work at the traps on Vancouver Island will be undertaken by Dr. Fraser, of the Biological Station at Nanaimo and Wm. H. Rich, a Scientific Assistant of the United States Fish Commission, who, for some years, has been engaged in salmon investigation in California and Oregon. Mr. Rich is especially familiar with experi- ments in marking fish. The work at Sooke has already been undertaken. Work at the Salmon Banks and at Point Roberts will be begun by the 15th of July. At all points it will be continued throughout the season. It has never satisfactorily been shown how long it takes the sockeye to pass from Juan de Fuca Strait to the Fraser River. The route they follow has been clearly defined. The move from the Strait of Juan de Fuca to the Salmon Banks off the southern end of San Juan Island and thence, through Rosario Strait, to the Gulf of Georgia and into the Fraser. In the years of abundant runs of sockeye, a small proportion of the schools pass to the west of San Juan Island and through Haro Strait to the Gulf of Georgia. Authori- ties are in doubt, however, as to the length of time the fish take to reach the Fraser. Though it is known that the fish travel forward only on the flood tides, it has not beet’ demonstrated that they proceed on every flood tide. Some observers advance the idea that the sockeye travel on each flood and continue until they reach the river. Others believe the fish play around in the Straits and Gulf before they enter the rivers: that many of the fish take ten days or two weeks to make the journey. At the recent sittings of the Ameri- can-Canadian Fisheries Conference in both Seattle and Vancouver, there was a conflict of opinion concern- ing the time it takes for the sockeye to reach the river. It was because of this conflict of opinion, and because it was essential to clear up the matter in order to de- termine upon.a system of uniform regulation, that the present work of tagging the fish is to be undertaken. In order to settle the question satisfactorily, tagging is to be resorted to. The fish will be tagged by rivetting to the tail of the fish ‘a silver button, bearing a stamped num- ber. The live fish will be taken from the spiller of the trap, placed in a padded floating crate or live car, and taken separately from the crate by dip nets. With gloved hands the experts will insert the button through the upper rays of the tail fin and secure it by. means of a punch. The fish will then be returned to the open water and note made of the number of its tag and time of liberation. securing of the numbered silver button does not injure the fish or interfere with its movements on its being returned to the water. It can then continue its jour- ney to the river, if it does not again enter a trap or be caught by a purse or gill-net. It is anticipated that the majority of the fish marked and liberated at the traps on Vancouver Island. will be again taken by either the trap or purse-nets in American waters, or by gill-nets in Canadian waters. A reward of 25¢ will be paid for the return of each tag. The fish from which the tag is removed may be sold in the ordinary way. It is not necessary to return the fish. All that is necessary is to return the tag to a fishery agent of either of the Canadian or the United States Govern- ments, together with a note giving the date, hour, and place of capture, and the reward will be paid. As at present arranged, an effort will be made to mark two hundred fish per day at each point of opera- tion. By conducting experiments at three points it is believed it can be shown just how long it takes the sockeye to travel from one point to another. A Fish. marked at Sooke and taken at the Salmon Banks or at Point Roberts, or in the Gulf of Georgia or the Fraser proper, will give the time taken by it to reach that point. may be taken at some one of the hatchery egg collect- ing stations on the upper river. Fishermen and canners have been asked to keep a sharp lookout for the marked fish. The suecess of the experiment depends upon the return of a considerable number of the marked buttons. The tale they will tell, will settle a fishery question that is of economic importance. MORE FISH USED. The Canada Food Board campaign to increase fish consumption is having results. In the Canadian army stationed or in training in Canada 200,000 pounds of beef were saved in the month of May, and approximate- ly the same amount in the month of June, by the sub- stitution of fish. In the west a trainload of.flat fish every few days from Prince Rupert is sold at popular prices under the auspices of the Canada Food Board. In Toronto recently 100,000 pounds of mackerel. were sold within one week as the ‘result of a special cam- paign. The method of handling and— If any of the marked fish pass above the fish- _ ing limits in the Fraser, it is quite possible that they | a ea ee ee ee oe ee July, 1918 LOOK FOR THE BUTTON. Go-operative Salmon Marking Experiments Conducted By the Canadian Department of Fisheries, the United States Bureau of Fisheries, and Local Fisheries Authorities. Adult Sockeye Salmon, on their way from the sea to the fresh waters, are being marked with a metal button attached to the upper part of the tail fin, as shown in this cut. The purpose of this experiment is to secure informa- tion regarding the time required for the sockeye sal- mon to pass from the Strait of Fuca into the Fraser River and on to the spawning grounds at the head- CANADIAN FISHERMAN 847 for the return of each button, with an accompanying statement of the place, date, and hour of capture. The fish from which the button is removed may be disposed of as usual. The success of the experiment depends upon the co- operation of all fishermen, cannery employees, and others interested in the fishing industry on Puget Sound and Fraser River. Everybody should watch for the buttons; record the date, place, and hour of capture of the marked fish; and forward button and information to either of the following addresses: United States Bureau of Fisheries, 1217 L, C. Smith Building, Seattle, Wash. Chief Inspector of Fisheries, Vancouver, British Columbia. waters of that river. A reward of 25 cents is offered | Lend Your Assistance, ye “7 Ze ee e "Ae 2 Sa SS25 BILLINGSGATE. . London, June 8th, 1918. The market this week have presented few features - of interest differing from recent weeks. The total landings have been pretty generous, heavy voyages of fish from the Icelandic grounds bulking largely in the aggregate supplies. Several of the choicer kinds, such as soles, turbots, brills, halibut, ete., appear to stand more or less at fixed rates, these figures being the maximum figures now permissible, but other kinds have varied in accordance with supply and demand, haddocks, cod, plaice, and most of the commoner— but none the less nutritious—varieties of trawled fish usually being obtainable well below schedule level. Herrings have been much more abundant, but the fish have run rather small, which has militated against their sale, except at very low prices, while small had- docks, known as ‘‘chats’’ in this country, have been almost unsaleable. The comparative abundance of fish from home waters has naturally checked the sale of Canadian frozen fish, especially as. on oceasions deep-sea fish has. been obtainable at lower rates than frozen. Still, the frozen fish proved very acceptable during the time of scarcity, and will again serve in this way, although supplies of fresh fish may be expected to be ample on most days for the next few months. In the meantime, Canadian exporters should heed the advice which has been given in this column in recent months for future shipments, and profit thereby. Frozen fish, in prime eNO ser pba So _is unobtainable, or scarce and expensive. Frozen sal- mon is much wanted. Cannot the Canadian Fisheries Association put pressure on the authorities to assist shipments ? London, June 22nd, 1918. Apart from excellent catches from the Icelandic grounds which have been landed at Grimsby and Fleetwood, the general supplies this week have been the lightest recorded for some considerable period. In the deep-sea catches cod and fresh haddocks have been most prominent, followed by plaice. Apart from ‘“ehat’’ haddocks, there has been no particular abund- ance in the fish landed from home waters, while, for the time of year, herrings have been quite scarce. De- mand has remained active throughout, and except for one or two of the most plentiful varieties, all best quality has changed hands at the maximum prices al- lowed by the Fish (Prices) Order. During the week, a consignment of frozen salmon and frozen halibut arrived safely, but it is re- ported that so keen is the demand the whole of the steelhead and silverside salmon, and all the halibut. had been sold ‘‘to arrive.’’ Every endeavor should be made by exporters to secure freight for both sal- mon. and halibut, as there is litttle doubt that inquiry will remain active for any frozen salmon and frozen halibut received in prime condition. There has been a great shortage of fresh salmon throughout the pres- ent season, while landings of halibut are quite insuf- ficient for requirements. It is understood that further shipments of cod, fresh haddocks, flatfish, schnapper, 848 ities in the near future, and if pressure be placed in the right quarter, consigners should be able to obtain space for salmon and halibut in the vessels bringing over these other kinds. It is to be hoped that attention will be given to the points enumerated in this column in past months when’ despatching any further quantity of frozen fish. In the interests of the future of the fish export trade the Canadian fishery authorities might well give their at- tention to this matter. London, June 28th 1918. During the past week deep-sea fish has again been the most prominent feature of the markets, trawlers reaching Grimsby, Hull and Fleetwood from the Ice- landic fishing grounds. Fish from the home waters, on the other hand, has been none too abundant, rather boisterous weather for the time of year being reflected in meagre catches in many instances. Speaking gen- erally, all choice quality fish has been eagerly snapped up at maximum prices, but while schedule rates have . ruled on occasions at the port of landing for deep-sea fish this kind has not always, in fact very seldom, reached the controlled wholesale, or distributor’s fig- ure. In the early part of the week, plaice, also was obtainable below the maximum level. Chat haddocks have been abundant throughout, and on several days quite easy prices, as things are reckoned nowadays have been accepted by salesmen in the inland markets in order to effect a clearance. After being a comparative failure more or less dur- ing the season so far, the Scotch herring fishing has shown a vast improvement towards the end of this week, and to-day (Saturday) generous consignments CANADIAN FISHERMAN July, 1918 are advised from Fraserburgh and other centres. Once this fishing sets in heavyy—the fishing is now being pro- secuted from some half dozen ports, supplies to the principal consuming centres will in all probability be most liberal, as it is reported that it is not the in- tention of the Government to purchase any quantity of herrings for pickling this year. In normal times, of course, by far the greater proportion of the herrings landed at British ports were purchased by curers for pickling for overseas markets, and undoubtedly the action of the Authorities in the past two or three sea- sons has prevented the markets being swamped with fresh herrings, which would have had disastrous results to all sections of the industry; at the present time, there are pretty large stocks of pickled herrings still on hand, and in order to ‘ease the situation the an- nouncement is made that the Government is prepared to consider applications for export licenses. At the moment the trade in Canadian frozen fish is more or less dormant and is likely to continue so until supplies of fish from home waters — trawled fish — begin to fall off with the approach of winter. Consider- able business, however, has been transaeted in .the recent arrivals of frozen salmon and halibut, prices for steelhead salmon being very firm at the maximum rate permissible under the Fish (Prices) Order. Silverside salmon does not appear to.be so much appreciated as steelhead, while the fish being marketed as ‘‘fall’’ sal- mon is looked at as askance by large numbers of the trade. Demand is expected to remain strong for all best. known _ kinds of frozen salmon marketed in prime condition, and shippers are urged to press for freight for any consignments they are in a position to for- ward. General View of Canso, NS. ag ae I SS eT Ss aa TT ES ETT ae ieee July, 1918 CANADIAN FISHERMAN 849 The New Brunswick Cold Storage Co., Limited There are doubtless many interests and industries of the Port of St. John occupying a larger place in the public mind than the New Brunswick Cold Storage but few have made steadier and more assured progress. The Company was incorporated in 1902. Construction, however, did not start until 1907, just before the finan. cial crisis of that year. The property was opened for business early in 1908, changed hands in 1910, was very considerably added to in 1912 and further extended in 1917. That is the brief history of a business which fact, plans are now being considered for installing electric power as a substitute and cold weather stand- by, the idea being that the power requirements may thus be more accurately adjusted to the load from time to time. The present boiler and engine plant is in du- plicate throughout. In the power plant department the Company maintain one feature which we believe is unique in Canada—a spray pond of 100,000 gallons capacity for cooling the condensing water. This elim- inates both the deterioration which salt water would CANADIAN PACIFIC 282262 1.—The New Brunswick Cold Storage Co., Limited, St. John, N.B., main building, as seen from City Yards; Pacific Railway Fish Dept., in shadow. touches the fishing industry at so many angles that no apology is offered for presenting herewith half-tone illustrations of the plant and some interior flashlights of the fish department. They began with two sharp freezers and 130,000 cu. feet of ‘‘dead room’’ space. Today they have five sharp freezers and have trebled their low tempera- ture storage area, having something over twelve miles of two-inch pipe and mains, hooked up with two sixty ton compressors and one one-hundred-ton absorption plant, the latter being driven with exhaust steam. Two of the sharp freezers operate on brine, the other three on direct expansion. Flexibility has been aimed at _ throughout in every extension made to the plant; in Canadian cause and the cost of pumping into a high tower. Also, it adds a picturesque touch to the surroundings, which cannot fail to please. The property stands in the city freight yards of the Canadian Pacific Railway and has inter-switching with the Canadian Government Railways as well. Con- : struction throughout is of eork board and concrete. Temperatures are readily controlled and in piping the rooms there has been no tendency to risk effi- ciency as against the installing of ample coils. - The St. John plant, of course, handles many other lines of refrigerated goods than fish, anything, in fact, except eggs, which are not yet a surplus product in New Brunswick. The Company restricts itself to pure- 850 CANADIAN ly public warehousing. This feature leaves unrestrict- ed time for clierits and has been the keystone of the growth of their trade, many of their largest accounts being attended to wholly by mail and wire, and with and through men personally unknown to them, as yet. The time of those in charge has thus far been too fully 2—The New Brunswick Cold Storage Co., Limited, St. John, N.B., Interior old Power Station, showing one unit. 3.—The New Brunswick Cola Storage Co., Limited, St. John, N.B. One of the five sharp freezers, with pans. FISHERMAN July, 1918 employed to permit of wide travelling, but the hope is indulged by the management that the cuts herewith shown may interest distant customers and that with changed conditions the personal touch may become more general. 4.—The New Brunswick Cold Storagé Co., Limited, St. John, N.B. Storage room with smoked fish. 5,—The New Brunswick Cold Storage Co., Limited, St. John, N.B. Storage room, showing pan frozen herring, fifty to pan, twenty-five pans high. RE SHAD FISHERY. The shad fishery of the Bay of Fundy waters, which was years ago of major importance, has become so seriously depleted that on the 28th of February last a Regulation was adopted prohibiting fishing for shad for the next four years. It recently transpired that notwithstanding that notice of this Regulation was given at the time, a num- ber of the fishermen in some sections of the upper Bay of Fundy waters did not become aware of it, and made all their arrangements, including the purchase of nets, for fishing this season, and many of them con- templated putting up sufficient shad for their domes- tic purposes during the coming winter. As these fishermen found themselves in a position of hardship, and as the spawning season is now prac- tically over, it has been decided, during the remainder of this fishing season, which will end on the 15th of August, to allow shad fishing in these waters during Wednesday and Thursday of each week. oe a > a ee ee ee July, 1918 CANADIAN FISHERMAN 851 Sea Fishes of the North Atlantic By HON. WILLIAM E. MEEHAN. Former Commissioner of Fisheries of the Common wealth of Pennsylvania—Superintendent of the Public Aquarium, Philadelphia—Author of Fresh Water Fish Culture in Ponds and Inland Waters—History of Fish, Fishing and Fisheries of Pennsylvania— In Arctic Seas, Part 2—The Battle of the Fishes, Etc. (Continued from the June issue.) CHAPTER 2. THE ANCIENT STURGEONS. Millions of years ago, immediately after the Azoic period or the one in which the earth was formed and solidified and in which there was no life, there came another called the Primary. In this life was found, the earliest and lowest being immovable. Towards the close of the Primary there appeared an age called the Silurian. Here towards the end is found the remains of a group of creatures, apparently developed from the sharks, of a higher order, to which has been given the name Ganoid fishes. They differed materially from the sharks in struc- ture and were so like the teleosts or true bony fishes, developed in the next or Secondary Per.cd, and its _ first part or Devonian Age, that scientific men have classed them in that group. The differences between the Ganoid fishes and the teleosts or true bony fishes are of a minor charter. One is that in some forms the bones are not all thoroughly calcined and another that the body is covered whole or in part with bony plates instead of scales. something of what the tribe witnessed and _ passed through. The creation or development of the sturgeon was probably contemporaneous or nearly so, with that of insects. the first air breathing creatures, and not far, geologically speaking, from the beginning of living things. The family was well along in years when rep- tiles were created. they were a big family when birds, mammals and deciduous trees came into being. It saw the creation and the extinction of the giant saurians, and although. it suffered heavily, it survived the coal bearing period and triumphantly entered the tertiary and modern periods. Throughout the vast extent of time and the many and awful changes in terrestrial conditions. the stur- geon has changed very little from its original form. The greatest alteration has been in its outer. covering. Tn the earliest period of its existence as now, the sturgeon was an inoffensive creature. It was entirely without means of offence against other living animals. It did not even have teeth. There was given it but one means of defence, namely a complete covering of The Sturgeon. During the Devonian Age, commonly called the Age - of fishes, the ganoids had increased to such an extent, both in tribes, genera and species, that they were nearly as numerous as the true bony fishes. But in the succeeding ages, culminating in the Carboniferous, the Age that was particularly disastrous to pre-existing life, the number of tribes, and species rapidly dimin- ished through extinction, until now only a few remain. As an illustration the family of bowfins, one of the ear- liest of the ganoids and in which at the height of strength numbered more than a hundred species, is now reduced to one species, and that living in fresh water only. Among the survivors of the ganoids are the sturgeons, Only two or three families of fishes have as ancient or longer ancestry than the sturgeons. Indeed, it is older than that of most of the moveable life in the world, whether aquatic or air breathing. Among those that may have a slightly longer lineage are the gar- pikes and the bowfins, both fresh water fishes. When the few years of man’s existence on this earth is compared with the vast period of time that has elapsed since the first appearance of the sturgeons, there must be a feeling of awe or veneration towards such an ancient tribal history. It is worth considering heavy bony plates on which the teeth of the many fero- cious reptiles, fish and animals had no effect. When in course of ages, the terrible monsters had been wiped out of existence, and there was no further need for the protective armor plate, it was gradually taken from the body of the sturgeon,-until now in modern times the mature fish carries but five rows, one down the back, one on each side and one along each ventral line. But there is a curious survival of ancestry in the newly hatched sturgeon, for they have the complete covering of armor plate and carry it until they are over a year old. The majority of the sturgeons are anadramous fish- es or those which make periodical journeys from the sea to fresh water for spawning purposes. When that function is over they usually remain until autumn before returning to their natural element. There are a few species that are of fresh water entirely, but there is reason to believe that at some time in the distant past, the ancestors of these were also anadramous, but that by some convulsion of nature were prevented from returning to the sea, and they and their projeny accommodated themselves to their new environments. Other anadramous fishes have undergone the same * 852 - experience, the ouananiche, for example. The original progenitors of this wonderful fresh water game fish of the north were the Atlantic salmon. One of the reasons for believing that the fresh water sturgeons were once sea dwellers is that the sturgeon of the great lakes have found their way out of Lake Ontario and into the Gulf of St. Lawrence where they are fre- quently found, probably as often as the common stur- geo Sturgeon are found in nearly all parts of the north- ern world, short of the arectics. They are numerous in northern Europe, Asia and America. A curious fact is that the common sturgeon of Europe and America are believed to be identical species. It is curious because apart from the extremely cold water fishes like the cod and halibut, fishes of the same species are rarely found in the two continents unless they have been in- troduced into one or the other by the agency of man, and such introductions are not always successful be- cause it is a law of nature that when an animal is transferred from one environment to another, sterility is apt to result either at once or in a few generations of the progeny. Apart from the strays from the Great Lakes, there are but two species of sturgeons along the Atlantic coast, the common and the short nose. The latter is of no commercial importance, for it is very small, seldom exceeding three feet in length, and it is be- sides scarce, even in the sections where they belong, which is from New York to Virginia, The common sturgeon grows to a length of nine feet or more, and is without exception the most valuable, individually, known. A six foot female sturgeon with eggs is worth from one hundred and fifty to two hundred dollars. Every part of the body can be used. The flesh, which somewhat resembles beef in appear- ance and even in taste, is an important article of food. The eggs, after undergoing certain preparations, is the highly prized caviare, From the air bladder can be made isinglass or gelatine, only equalled in quality by the ‘“‘sounds’’ of the cunner. The gills make an ex- cellent soup and soup is made from the marrow in the backbone. Chinese eat the fins. Ropes and lines of exceptional strength are made from the skin, and the skin also can be converted into a high grade leather. From the head, hide and backbone not otherwise used is extracted a fine quality of oil much sought for by tanners. The refuse after the oil is extracted makes an excellent fertilizer. From the bony plates are made rasps. The flesh of the sturgeon was not always held in high esteem. Quite the contrary. It was contemptu- ously characterized by the general public as ‘‘nigger food’’ and few, save the poorest, bought and ate it. As for the spawn, before its value as caviare was ap- preciated, it was thrown away, excepting such portions as anglers took as bait for fishing. Those same stur- geon eggs are now worth from one hundred and fifty to one hundred and seventy-five dollars a keg. The public was induced to buy and advance the flesh of the sturgeon to the class of a delicacy, through the in- genuity of a man who put it on the market as ‘‘ Albany beef.’’ _ Primitive sharks were all exclusively bottom feeders and rarely came to the surface or strayed far from the bottom, but in course of time, and particularly when the modern sharks came into being, the habits of many changed to free swimming or almost surface dwellers, even though their structure did not change CANADIAN FISHERMAN July, 1918 to conform; but the sharks offshoot, the sturgeon neither changed its habits nor its structure throughout all the changes of the ages. Created a bottom feeder, a bottom feeder it has remained, and it seldom comes to the surface except in sportiveness, and then not even the lordly salmon can outdo it in leaping. In outward appearance the sturgeon closely follows the lines of its ancestral shark. Even the upward turn of the tail is there. When turned over, the underside also has a shark-like appearance until the mouth is examined. Then the innocent, harmless character of the fish stands revealed. It cannot bite anything, for not only has it no teeth, but it can put -no_ biting strength into its jaws. Around the mouth is a cup shaped organ composed of muscular tissue with which food is picked up by suction and swallowed. Around — the mouth are barbels of extreme sensitiveness, and these are used as an aid in both locating and tasting food. In food hunting a sturgeon moves with extreme slowness over the bottom rooting up the sand or mud with its strong sharp snout. soft foods, and when found are gathered up by the sucking mouth. Mud and sand often naturally accom- - panies the food down the throat of the sturgeon, but apparently without any inconvenience to it. There is a feeling that the sturgeon is doomed to early extinction. No other sea or anadramous fish has decreased in such a ratio in the last twenty-five years. The greater proportion of the decrease is un- doubtedly. due to unrestricted fishing for many years, and a habit of fishermen of pursuing a ruthless cam- paign of destruction against them, before their great value was appreciated, because of ‘the injury they did to their nets. It is not a difficult matter for fish cul- turists to incubate fertile sturgeon eggs, but little has been done in that direction, because the fish have become so scarce that it is almost impossible to secure ripe females and males at the same time, so as to fer- tilize the eggs. CHAPTER 3. The Mysterious Eel. Strictly speaking the eel has no rightful place among sea fishes. that has its natural home in one kind of water, but en- ters another for the purpose of spawning and can live therein indefinitely. According to exact science the eel belongs to the catadramous fishes, or those which have their natural home in fresh water, but must en- ter the sea for reproductive purposes. A large num- ber of them, either after reaching the migrating age do not enter fresh water at once, or after spawning,— if they survive that, to them, generally a fatal ordeal,— remain a year or two in the ocean. Because of this and: because of a prevalent belief that the eel found in the ocean and the eel found in fresh water are different species, they are described among the sea fishes in this work. As a matter of fact there is only one species of eel that inhabits the waters of the north Atlantic sea board. The so-called salt water eel and the fresh wa- ter eel are identical. The lamprey, which somewhat resembles an eel in outward appearance, and which has been taken for one of the sexes of eel, is not even dis- © tantly related to it, or does it, as already pointed out a member of the family of fishes. The conger eel, found more or less abundantly along the coast, be- The barbels are con-. stantly working and feeling for small crustaceans and It belong to one of the anomalous groups __ oe ae BA ane ete ae agri see pee ee \ July, 1918 longs to an altogether different family of fishes. A deep mystery surrounds the lives and habits of many familiar fishes, and the deepest of all, with few exceptions enveloped the life history of the eel for thousands of years. Theories, rank and fantastic, curious and impossible, environed the snake-like fish, and some are still believed, and much of the mystery has not to this day been entirely cleared away by scientific men. ’ The eel has been both venerated and avoided as poisonous food. Ancient Japanese and Egyptians be- lieved that eating the flesh of the eel was liable to produce leprosy, and the Egyptian priesthood, in or- der to prevent the people from eating the dangerous flesh, placed it on the list of sacred animals. They covered their real purpose, however, by declaring that the eel was made-a sacred fish, because it was one of ‘the symbols of fruitful life, to be venerated and not eaten. Aristotle, who for centuries was venerated as the greatest of scientific men, declared that eels were sexless, and were produced spontaneously from ‘‘the entrails of the sea.’’ Pliny, a Roman scientist of a later day, agreed with Aristotle that eels were without sex, but differed as to the means of reproduction. He held that a mature eel rubbed itself against a submerged rock, and the slime scraped off separated into small CANADIAN FISHERMAN | 853 an eminent Italian naturalist, made the discovery that the eel is an egg-laying fish by identifying the female. Nearly one hundred years later, the male was deter- mined. It seems astonishing that the reproductive character of the eel should remain a puzzle for so many centuries; but the explanation is simple. The ovum is so minute as to be searcely visible to the naked eye even when developed and ready to be deposited, and it is also the same color as the fats in the back, among which it is embedded. The discovery of the male was delayed for so long because it was naturally sought for among the larger sizes, whereas it is al- most as small as a three-year-old eel, rarely exceed- ing fifteen or eighteen inches in length, ‘ While the ancient Egyptians and other early peo- ple looked with terror on the eel as unfit for food, the people of the middle ages regarded it with more favour. It is true that they considered the blood as a virulent poison if a person were inoculated with it, but they averred that the poison was dissapated by heat. They also attributed many beneficent powers to certain portions of the fish. Some believed that the heart of an eel, eaten hot from the body would give ‘the eater the power of prophesy. Others were, and are firmly convinced that the oil of an eel well rubbed in is both a cure and preventative of rheumatism. Even. nowadays, boys before going to the ‘‘old swimming The Eel. particles and became imbued with life as young eels. The ancient Greeks ascribed the paternity of the eel to Jupiter, and in Sardinia, modern fishermen argue that the eel is born of a certain water beetle. There is an early belief that the eel is the offspring of a catfish and a snake. It might be added that occasion- .ally a modern will be found to hold the same convie- tion, Nowadays, with a sense of superior knowledge, people smile over the fantastic theories of Aristotle and Pliny and other scholars of a later date, but what they proclaimed was scarcely more grotesque than some of the popular beliefs of the present time as to the origin or life history of the eel. There 1s a very large con- tingent for example who firmly believe that eels are produced from the hairs of horses, and these are apt to become heartily offended if their statement to that effect is questioned, because their conviction is some-: times founded on what they thought they actually saw, whieh was in fact a hair-like parasite fall from a horse into the water and active life. Neither are the ancient theories more absurd than a modern belief that the lamprey is the male of the eel. Some Je hundred years after the death of Pliny scientific men began to assert that eels i ey sex, but they held that the young were born alive frori the female. It was not until 1777 that ‘Mondini, hole’’ tie the skin of an eel around one of their legs to ward off cramps. About 1850 a manufacturer recalled an old faith, that luek would come to the woman who wore or ¢ar- ried articles made of eel skins, and soon ladies of fashion were possessors of belts, bags and other arti- eles made from the skin of that fish. The- fashion, however, was soon precipitously abandoned when someone looked up the legend and made public the fact that the luck referred to was many children. The true history of the eel is scarcely less inter- esting than the superstitious and legendary. It comes of an ancient family which dates back to the Devonian period. But there has been in the lapse of time a decided retrogression in the structure of the fish. The modern eel is a degenerate when compared with its early ancestors. Its bony system is much simpler; its ventral fins have disappeared, and it is therefore without legs, so to speak; and its pectoral fins are moving toward a rudimentary form. The scales have been becoming smaller and smaller, until now they are almost microscopic and entirely covered by a thick mucus, making it appear as though they. are without scales. The dorsal, caudal and anal fins have all merged into one fin, that extends clear from the front of the back to the anal with the exception of the extreme tip of the tail. ~ : * . ~ 54 CANADIAN FISHERMAN The annual great journey to the sea begins about he middle of August. From every pond and mountain ake, from every brook, stream or waterway, eels warm into the principal rivers and make their sinuous yay southward by the millions, all with one common urpose, to reach the mud banks in the shallows of the ay at the mouth of the river, there to spawn. Some of the vast aggregation do not go on this jour- ey, and the question may well be asked why? The nswer is that apparently the stay-at-homes are barren r have not reached the spawning age, and are there- ore without the instinet to turn seaward. Only death r capture can prevent the eel, having once started, rom completing it and fulfilling its mission. If they 1eet an obstacle in the river they cannot pass, thev o not hesitate to go ashore and go around it by land. fothing could more forcibly illustrate the great doc- rine enunciated by my father, the. late Thomas Teehan, before the American Association for the Ad- ancement of Science, some years ago, the ‘‘self- acrifice plays as great and important a part in na- ure as the ‘struggle for existence’,’’ for at the end f the journey death awaits the majority, perhaps all. The minute eggs of the eel do not develop until rackish water is reached; then ripening begins and it ; completed within a few weeks. The number of ges deposited by a single female is enormous. running nto the millions. There is a difference of opinion mong scientific men as to what follows when a fe- 1ale has deposited her eggs. Some contend that every ne dies. others that while most of them do, a few urvive the trying ordeal, basing their belief on a big un of mature eels up river in the spring. Incubation is a short process. The young, which are ather ribbon-like, make their way far out to sea. vhere they remain for two years. at the end of one ear of that time they take on the form of the mature el and the following year return shoreward, and make he ascent of fresh water. The eel holds an important place in the market. It s highlv esteemed for food and brings a high price, eldom less than twelve cents a pound wholesale. CHAPTER 4. The Flat Fishes. Throughout the world there are found numerous orms of. flat fishes grouped under the name of the ‘lounder family. It is a big one, for there are 55 enera and about 500 species. From an economic stand- oint it is one of five or six most important families nown. The ancestry of the flat fishes has not been lefinitely traced, although it is undoubtedly modern ‘eologically speaking. There is ground for belief that hey were not in existence before the Eocene or third yeriod before the present. There is strong difference f opinion as to the origin of the flat fishes, but none s convincing. Some hold that they are an offshoot rom the Cods, and others that they branched off from he Mackerels. A few declare that the flat fish is ‘only a cod fish with a distended cranium.’’ But the tructure of the fish does not bear this out. On account of certain structural differences, the fam- ly of flatfishes are divided into three sub-families: ‘he Halibuts, the Flounders and the Turbots. Only ne relative of the Turbots, the window pane, is found yn the Atlantic coast of North America. The best cnown of the genera and species met with in the July, 1918 vicinity of the same region are: The Common Halibut ranging from New York northwardly; the Greenland Halibut, ranging in the Greenland Sea; the Sand Dak or Rough Dab, ranging as far south as Massachusetts; the Summer Flounder or Plaice, ranging from the Car- olinas to about Cape Cod; the southern flounder, rang- ing from the Carolinas, southwardly; the Gulf Flound- er, South Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico; the Four Spotted Flounder, from the southern New England coast northwardly ; the Window Pane, from Cape Cod southwardly ; Rusty Dab, from New York to Labrador; the Winter Flounder, from the Carolinas to Labrador; the Hog Choker from Cape Cod to Texas; the Eel- back Flounder, from Cape Cod to Labrador; Pale Flounder, from Cape Cod northwardly. All these after the first few days of life generally swim on one side, and for the remainder of their lives all or nearly all have both eyes on one side of the head. They are without air bladders and, therefore being of greater specific gravity than the water, can- not maintain themselves in suspension without exer- tion. It is impossible for all excepting possibly one species, for them to keep upright because of a pecu- liar position and structure of the paired fins. One side of the flounders is called the bottom and the other the top. The former is usually white and the latter dark color. In some genera the bottom is on the right side, in others on the left, and in a few it is either right or left; the eyes naturally are on the top side. A young Flounder, when first hatched, is trans- | It swims in an upright position, has the eyes | lucent. on both sides of the head, and the mouth in a normal position. In a few days, however, by rapid degrees the young fish begins to lean to the left or right, as the case may be, and finally assumes the position of the mature fish. In the meantime, the eye on the under side begins to move over to the upper, a course made — by the then cartilaginous character of the skull. three days. Simultaneously with the migration of the eye, the mouth and head twists out of shape in most of the species until it reaches the position it is to hold for the remainder of its life. With few exceptions all members of the Flounder family hold a high rank as food, and millions of pounds are consumed annually. Some species are pro- nounced unequalled for the delicacy and sweetness of their flesh. The European Sole and Turbot are world renowned in this respect, while epicures declare the | American Winter Flounder equal to the English Sole, and the Summer Flounder is often entered on the menus of high class restaurants as Turbot, and as such eaten and enjoyed by the patrons, Flounders were highly esteemed by the ancients. According to legendary lore, the fish was once white on both sides. Then one day, according to this ven- erable uncertain authority, Moses, the great Hebrew law-giver and leader, went fishing, caught a Flounder and started to cook it. When one side was nicely browned, the fire became suddenly extinguished, and no more being immediately available, that great man, much disgusted, seized the partly cooked fish and tossed it into the sea. Although half-cooked, the fish was not dead and speedily recovered from the dread- ful experience: However, it never lost the brown col- or on one side which resulted from the cooking, and its descendants have retained it. With few exceptions, all flounders are exclusively carnivorous. Occasionally a species like the winter The change takes place in the short period of - 4 eg Tees ea ee ey meen July, 1918 flounder will eat sea-weed, but the chief foods are crustaceans, mollusks, small fish, blood worms and shrimps. - ~ All species bite freely on the hook, and several of these along the coast of the United States afford much pleasure to anglers. None of the family has sufficient fighting qualities to be termed a game fish. The shape, fins and general structure forbids other than a heavy pull on a line. Common Halibut. One of the best and most important of food fishes, the Common Halibut, is a dweller in cold water only. It delights in a temperature about the freezing point, and will not remain in a locality where it rises more than ten degrees above. Hence it is rarely found and then only in the winter, as far south as New York State. At times the Halibut will.venture into shoal water, but its preference and general abiding place is on and beyond the Great Banks where the water is from 200 to 300 fathoms deep, The Halibut is a huge fish, one of the four or five of the largest known. It is equalled or exceeded only by the Sword Fish, the Tarpon, Tuna, and one or two others. Specimens weighing over four hundred pounds have been caught, and between two hundred and fifty and three hundred pounds are very common. The huge sized Halibuts are all females; the male rarely exceeds a weight of fifty pounds. In the Halibut, the eyes are usually on the right side, POREED TAIL ARCHED LIVE Halibut. although occasionally they are on the left. The upper or top side is a dark brown, and once in a while, with dark spots near the dorsal line. The lateral line is distinct and extends in a straight line to the extreme edge of the right pectoral fin, where it ends upward sharply to a little above the medial line of eyes, then bends downward to the back of the head above the gill covers. The head is not as much distorted as in some flat fishes, and the mouth is large and well filled with sharp teeth. Having a large mouth and sharp teeth, the Halibut is naturally an extremely voracious fish, and very active in pursuit of its prey, notwithstanding its abnormal position. Its get foods are lobsters, squids, fish, and in fact any animal life that it ean catch. A fair sized Halibut can devour an incredible number of aquatic creatures. It is said that as much as half a bushel of unfortunates have been taken from the stomach of one of these large flat fishes. Halibut are specially fond of whiting, mackerel, herring and cod, and it is said that its rapacity and agressiveness will drive away schools of all kinds of fish from their feeding grounds, excepting Cod. Ap- parently the Cod hold their ground, for the commer- CANADIAN FISHERMAN 855 cial fishermen when on the Banks catch both Cod and Halibut indiscriminately. — When a Halibut attacks a large cod, it does so in a manner peculiar to itself. Approaching swiftly, if awkwardly, it gives the Cod a heavy blow on the head with its tail, and follows this up by other on different parts of the body with amazing swiftness, until the Cod succumbs from weakness, and allows it- self to be devoured. It is stated that when making an attack of this kind, the Halibut will even follow the Cod into shallow water, and becomes so oblivious of its surroundings that it fails to pay any attention to a chance proximity of man. The spawning season of Halibut is in some doubt. If reports made at different times and places by vari- ous fishermen are accepted, Halibut have no set period for performing that function, for gravid females are said to be found in almost every month of the year. The ovaries are huge, sometimes exceeding two feet in length, and having a weight of over fifty pounds. They contain a vast number of eggs, estimates made set the number at over 2,000,000. Halibut fishing is not a sport. Few persons are like- ly to go after the fish for the fun of it. While much of the Halibut fishing is done with hook and line, by commercial fishermen, it is almost invariably in very deep water and in winter. Both the great length of line, often over 1,200 feet and the freezing weather, with the inevitable wetting, must necessarily destroy all pleasure. Moreover, the actions of the Halibut it- [FP ™—, s ss ? wag y Wy, f Ny uw self when hooked does not compensate either for the long wearisome hauling of the line, either by winch or hand, or for the weather discomforts. One who has tried it thus deseribes Halibut fish- ing: ‘‘ With the hook perhaps six hundred feet below the plunging, rocking boat, there comes a powerful tug on the line, and presently it will get so light as to induce the belief that the fish has been lost ; then again it feels heavy; this time we know it is a Hali- but, and it has to be hauled very carefully to the sur- face and knocked on the head before it can be taken into the boat.’’ The name Halibut is of Scandinavian origin, and it is made up of two words, meaning deep sea flounder or flat fish. Curiously, and very much out of the ordin- ary rule, the common name is the same almost every- where, with only trifling exceptions. In England it is often called Holibut; in Germany it is Heilbutt; in Holland, Heilbot; and in Sweden, it is Halleflundra. Sand Dab. The Sand Dab, sometimes called Rough Dab, like the Halibut, is a northern fish, not being found south of Massachusetts, excepting as a stray. It belongs to SZ A pa

afterward, apparently demonstrating that conditions — are not suited to the fish. Years ago the Common or Summer Flounder was sold in certain northern markets as Turbot, accepted and eaten as such, and early visitors from abroad un- doubtedly believed, when the Summer Flounder was ~ set before them, that it was Turbot, as told them. As a matter of fact, as already stated, there is but one representative of the European Turbot in North Am- erica, namely, the Window-Pane Turbot, sometimes — called the Spotted Sand Flounder, the Water Flounder, and Daylight. The name Window-Pane and Daylight is on account of the remarkable thinness of the fish, | and its extreme translucence. It is so thin and trans- lucent, that on being held up to a strong light, the shadow of a solid object on the other side ean be faint- ly seen. Although a close relative of the European Turbot, its flesh is decidedly inferior, although it is by no means to be despised. Moreover, it is so small that there ~ is very little flesh, and for that reason is scarcely worth the trouble of preparing it for the table. The | July, 1918 range of the Window-Pane is from Northern New Eng- land to North Carolina, and is quite common along the coast. It is an attractive little fish, grayish brown on the upper side, with an abundance of spots and mot- tles even on the fins. The first eight or ten rays of the dorsal are higher than those immediately behind, and are more or less filamented. The eyes are on the left side, and rather wide apart. The mouth is large, and the lateral line while plain is thin and sickle shaped. . Winter Flounder. In the family of flounders is a tribe upon which has been bestowed the elegant English name of Bastard Halibut, and the scientific name of Paralichthys. One of the most important of these on the Atlantic Coast, is the Winter Flounder. It is a small fish having a maxi- mum length of less than two feet, usually not more than twelve to fifteen inches, and an average weight of from half a pound to two pounds, although it is _gaid that occasionally one is caught that weighs five pounds. What the Winter Flounder lacks in length and weight, it makes up in abundance. The shallow bays and ‘harbors of the Atlantic swarm with them from the Chesapeake to Labrador, and catching them for the market is an important winter and early spring indus- try. LIne It is a curious illustration of the influence of the old saying, ‘‘What’s in a name?’ that many people who go into raptures over ‘‘fillet de sole’’ in a first class restaurant often do not encourage the same fish in their household under the more homely name of floun- der. However, whether the fish may be called Sole, Winter Flounder, or Mud-dab, there are few fish that ~ equal it for delicacy of flavor, or whiteness and firm- ness of flesh. The Winter Flounder is an American fish, not found in Europe, although it is very closely related to the English Fluke. or harbor to its liking settles there or in the neighbor- hood indefinitely. In some localities they will even bite on a hook throughout the summer, but it is from October to May that they are at their best in this respect. we The Winter Flounder is an unobtrusive fish, never rising to the surface in pursuit of its prey, but sticks close to the bottom, moving sometimes slowly, some- times rapidly, capturing and swallowing food which comes its way. As its mouth is very small, it can eat small creatures only or those which it can tear apart easily with its sharp slender teeth. Its favorite foods are tiny crabs, small crustaceans, blood worms, shrimps, and even pieces of sea-weed. qi When not in motion, the Winter Flounder loves to 3 partly bury itself in the sand or mud with its flat back, CANADIAN FISHERMAN It is no traveler, and finding a bay © 857 head, eyes and mouth protruding. Resting thus, it is almost impossible for anyone to distinguish anything excepting the two little beady eyes, on account of the eolor of the back being almost the same as the sur- rounding bottom. Winter Flounders settle themselves says Dr. Goode, ‘‘by convulsive motions of the fins and body, which has the effect of pushing them down into the soft bottom.’’ Winter Flounders begin to spawn about February, and that important function is usually not completed until the beginning of April. Sometimes it is later, for I have found well developed and perfectly good spawn and milt in the fish as late as the first of May. The fish are very prolific; a single female will yield a million or more eggs. Development is rapid, and the young are at least half an inch long by June, and an inch and a half by September. In a year it will make a growth of about five inches. One of the marked differences between the Winter and the Summer Flounder is that the migrating eye of the former is the left, while that of the latter is the right, so that at the time of complete change the Win- ter Flounder has both eyes on the right side of the ae while the Summer Flounder has them on the left. The Winter Flounder is elliptical in shape, and the color of the upper side is a rusty olivaceous brown, with very indistinct irregular splotches of a slightly darker color. The under side, including the blind side of the head is white and smooth. . At low water, the Winter Flounders congregate in the shallow channels, but as soon as the tide rises, they scatter over the flats and bars. As they are in- cessant feeders they may be caught with the hook and line at all stages of the tide, the angler merely shift- ing position with their movements. While they bite at almost any time of the day, it is at high water slack and near the ebb that they do so with the gréatest avid- ity. There is little or-no game in the Winter Flounder. When hooked it is hauled to the boat with very lit- tle resistance. Because of this, many fishermen, who use a rod altogether when after other fish, employ a couple of hand-lines. Nevertheless there is more en- joyment in the use of the rod for this fishing, although, on account of the peculiar methods of the fish in tak- ing the bait, the users of the hand-lines may, in most instances, catch the most fish. A Winter Flounder does not take its bait with a snap and a gulp like the Summer Flounder, but picks it up daintily and sucks it into the mouth. All this is done so gently that the fisherman has no conception that a fish is anywhere near, and as the flounder after swallowing the bait often lies still for some time, the angler might think it a long while between bites unless he raised his line from the bottom with a slight jerk every few minutes, As the fish moves about from one place to another erratically, and eats only very small creatures, it is the practice of the fishermen after anchoring, to stir up the bottom alongside of the boat from bow to stern with oyster or clam tongs. This releases the small crustaceans and other foods in the sand and mud. It also creates a roil which the flounders see and make for, knowing that in it there is something to eat. The fish- erman drops his hooks in the roil and thereby usually increases the size of his catch. : Hooks for Winter Flounders fishing must be very small, not larger than number four, nor smaller than ff 858 number six New York Trout, or similarly numbered other patterns. Two hooks may be used, one at the end of a three-foot leader, and the other seven or eight inches above. The sinker, which is fastened at the junction of the line and leader, need not be heavier than three ounces for slack water, and four ounces for tide. If the line is very thin, the weight of the sink- er may be reduced by an ounce. A short, light fresh water bait casting rod will yield the most sport. The best baits are small pieces of clam or mussel, or pieces of blood worm. Fragments of angle worms are also taking baits. There is one annoying feature of Winter Flounder fishing, and that is the depredations of sand or lady Sand Flounder. crabs. The stirring up of the bottom to make a roil sets these pests free along with the food, and they make straightway for the tid-bits on the hooks. Some- times the crabs are so numerous that they scarcely give the fish a chance to bite. Summer and Southern Flounders or Plaice. From a commercial standpoint the Summer and Southern Flounders or Plaice are the most important food fishes in American waters with the exception of the Halibut. Their excellence as food, and the low price at which they are usually quoted render them popular with consumers, and an incredible number of tons are caught annually and sold in the markets from Maine to Florida and New Orleans. The two species resemble each other so closely that it is difficult to distinguish them by a cursory glance. The chief differences are technical. The Summer flounder is a brownish olive in the left or upper side, with numerous small white spots on the body and ven- tral fins, and sometimes a series of large white spots along the bases of the dorsal and anal fins, and about 14 ocellated dark spots on the body. The eyes are on the left side of the head and rather close together, and the mouth is large with many sharp teeth. The lateral line is faint and straight for about only half the length of the body forward of the caudal from where it pro- gresses to the head in a wave form. It is on account of its teeth that the specific name dentatus is given. ‘The generic name is Paralichthys, meaning parallel fish. The Southern Flounder is dusky olive and nearly plain, that is without spots, hence its specific name lethestigma. As with the Summer Flounder, the eyes are small and on the left side of the head, but they are rather wide apart. The two species, under the name Plaice, were among CANADIAN FISHERMAN the first sea fishes with which the early colonists be- ‘ came acquainted. Curiously it was a well known mar- ket fish before the attention of scientific men was drawn to them. Finally in 1766, a Dr. Garden of South Carolina sent specimens to Linnaeus, who described and named the Plaice. interest and value because of its being a new genus and without representation in European waters, and for many years it was believed to be nowhere else than along the Atlantic coast of North America. however, representatives were found in the Pacifie July, 1918 vile eS Le - The fish had a special scientific Later, not only on the American side, but along the coast of E Japan and China as well. Besides the name Summer Flounder and Plaice, the fish is known as Fluke, Brail, Pueckermouth, Deep Sea _ Flounder, Turbot Flounder and Chicken Halibut. The last is chiefly a restaurant name when served as young Halibut, The migrations of the Summer Flounders are with great regularity. About the middle of May, shortly after Sea Bass commence biting, they begin coming into the — bays and inlets, and into the breakers along the shore. By the middle of June the shoal waters swarm with | them, and with the coming of cool weather—the lat- ter part of September—they begin to depart. In a week or two they are all gone excepting some tardy ones, these seem to become benumbed and occasionally an oysterman will pick one up with his tongs. When he does the fish comes to the surface as if dead, mak- ing not the slightest effort to escape. The Southern Flounder is not so pronouncedly migratory, for they = are found inshore all the year. “While in shore, the Summer Flounder is found in from four to one hundred and fifty feet of water. The favorite haunts in the bays and inlets are where the S bottom is muddy or grassy and on the sandy shallows. Both the Summer and Southern Flounder often bury gy themselves until only their backs and eyes are above Plaice. the mud or sand line, awaiting the coming of food, but this is not an invariable habit, frequently they swim actively about and pursue their prey, coming to the surface and sometimes leaping out of the water. Notwithstanding the ungainly appearance of the fish, the abnormal position of the fins and other apparent drawbacks, the movements of both the Summer and Southern Flounders are very rapid and their agility is surprising. “The Flounder is not a ‘*sechool’’ fish in the same sense as the Mackerel, Herring and many other fish- _ * es, yet vast numbers are to be found together, and — this gregarious habit is probably due to the fact that the fish are more or less continuously on the move in search of food. Both species grow to a large size. Specimens from — ~ me s +h ‘Sa 4 teen to twenty-six pounds have been recorded; but it is seldom that one is caught weighing over ten pounds. The average weight is about two and one- - half pounds. The Flounder is one of the fishes the - weight of which can be closely determined by its length. One measuring fifteen inches in length will weigh about a pound; one of fifteen or sixteen inches - about a pound and a quarter; one of seventeen to ' eighteen inches, about two pounds; one of twenty inches, about three pounds; one of twenty-two inches, _ about four pounds; one of twenty-seven inches, about eight pounds; and one of thirty inches about ten - pounds, - Flounder fishing is good sport. While not as pro- _ nouncedly ‘‘game’’ as many other fishes, they dis- _ play great activity, and put up a lively fight to the x very last, and if not handled carefully may break away _ from the hook. One gratifying feature about Flounder fishing is q that no account has to be taken of the condition of the _ tide. Flounders bite with equal vigor at all stages, and during the season it is generally incumbent on _ the angler merely to find where the fish are to ensure a good catch without long and irregular waits. _ Flounder fishing may be done by casting in the surf or from a row boat; by still fishing or by drifting. The last, in many respects affords the greatest amount of _ pleasure. Often in New Jersey, fishermen employ, - what, if they were m a boat would be drifting, by x walking slowly across a trestle, dragging a line after them 3 Of the several methods of rigging for Plaice, the _ most desirable seems to be to fasten a sinker at the _ lower end of a three-feet twisted gut leader, with one a four-ought or five-ought hook about six inches above, and another the same distance below the other end. 7 The sinker must be heavy enough to keep to the bot- _ tom, and not lifted by the run of the tide. Sometimes _ where there is much floating sea-weed, it is better to use a six-foot leader instead of one three-feet long, in which ease the second or upper hook had better be :- fastened about two feet above the lower, By doing _ this the weed is more apt to fasten to the line and keep _ free of the hooks, especially if, as should always be 4 done, there is kept out from forty to fifty feet of line in shoal water, and proportionately more in deep water. _ Live bait, or dead fish, cut into strips make the _ best bait, although clams are greedily taken. Unfor- _ tunately small sea bass and black fish are passionately _ fond of clam bait, and cause so much annoyance by Drifting is done usually in a row boat, and it is 2 well if the fisherman is alone, to have the anchor be- _ side him, so that when he gets a strike, he can drop - the anchor overboard and bring himself to a halt while he lands the fish: The line also should be fastened to chor to allow it to reach the bottom and hold firmly. If this is done, however, care must be exercised to pre- vent the fish from wrapping itself around the anchor : Four Spotted Flounder. There are three flounders that pass by the name of ur Spotted Flounder. One is found more or less monly from Cape Cod to New Jersey. A second third are from Virginia southwardly. All are good d s and both desirable from both anglers’ and CANADIAN FISHBRMAN , Stripping the hooks, that many fishermen will not — the side, and only enough allowed to follow the an- - 859 commercial fishermen’s standpoint, Both bite freely on a line and fight with the same vim as the summer flounder, although not as long, for both are smaller fish. The northern form has a long gracefully shaped body, totally unlike most of the rest of the tribe. The dorsal and anal fins are of uniform height throughout; the eyes are large, set close together, and on the left side of the head. Its large mouth is well supplied with long sharp teeth. The upper side of the body is a dark olive brown with four large black spots (called oeelli) surrounded by a broad circle of pinkish white. Hog Choker. One of the famous British fishes is the sole, and Englishmen who come to America and Americans who visit Europe are fond of expatiating on its exquisite flavor and wishing the fish were in American waters. The English sole is not here, although the winter flounder is not far behind it in toothsome qualities. KK Mj ES Th Nyy . & SS = \ Ss = SS ee Ss < X ( Up By. (SHALL NOUTE Vw Sole. There is, however, an American representative of the sole, such as it is. Unfortunately it does not hold up the high reputation of its English relative. It is call- ed the hog choker and its flesh is generally considered worthless for food. It is said to be so bad that a hog will choke if it attemps to swallow one; hence its name, hog choker. It is a small fish seldom exceeding a quarter of a pound, nearly round, olive brown on the back and marked with black streaks and thickly dotted on the underside with round dark spots. It abounds as © far as Cape Cod and found even farther north. The Hog Choker can stand living in fresh water and fre- quently ascend rivers in the spring within tide water, and remains until autumn, Greenland Turbot. Although purely an arctic fish and found most abun- dantly off the coast of Greenland, the Greenland Tur- bot, or Little Halibut, is marketed almost exclusively in markets of the Dominion of Canada, the New Eng- land and New York markets. In all, save the last named, it is an important fish, Very little is known of its habits, but the Tittle that is known shows it to be one of the most remarkable of all the flat fishes. Its favorite abiding place is in water from one hundred to nearly three hundred fath- oms. It is more symmetrical than most of the flat fishes, and is colored on both sides of the body. From these two facts and further that it is often found on submerged slopes so steep that the fish can scarcely hold its place on the bottom, it is deduced that its movements are more like those of the ordinary fishes and that it ean rest with the body in a vertical posi- tion. CANADIAN FISHERMAN July, 1918. Port Elgin, N.S.—Plant of Yarmouth Trading Co., Ltd., Yarmouth, N.S. Northport, N.S.—Plant of Yarmouth Trading Co., Ltd. YARMOUTH. The headquarters for deep-sea fishing and the lobster trade along the southern shore of the Bay of Fundy is Yarmouth. Yarmouth is the nearest port in Nova Scotia to the United States and it is only natural that much of the fish caught on the southwest shore should be shipped from Yarmouth. More than 1,500 people in this dis- trict are dependent for their living on the fisheries. The firm engaged in the industry are the Yarmouth Trading Co., Ltd., Mr. E. B. Ehrgott, manager, which deals in dried and pickled fish exclusively. The com- pany also have curing plants at Port Elgin and North- port. Their new warehouse is one of the most up-to- date on the continent being equipped with mechanical means for drying fish by means of hot air. H. 8. Amiro, established in 1914, has 4 schooners engaged in the business and does an extensive busi- ness.in the West Indies and South America in pickled fish. The wharf connected with this plant is 450 x 100. feet. | The Gateway Fish Co., Ltd., Mr. J. M. Walker, manager, occupy a wharf 50 x 450, and have a fleet composed of three schooners and a number of small boats. The company deals in’ fresh and pickled fish only, shipping chiefly to Boston and Gloucester. The Consumers Fish and Cold Storage Co:, Ltd., Mr. Yarmouth Trading Co—Fleet at Liverpool, N.S. bp _ dl July, 1918. CANADIAN FISHERMAN 53 . More Fish Less Meat} || With thelhigh cost of labor can etka Meat f you afford to be without a ave e ea or our K ® r) Encourage the Government in the good work of solving the I b lI g d B g food question. a e In an OxiIn This can only be done by installing a good FISH BOX for ba ? storage of same. ac ine . Complies with the Government re- quirements. Easily moved, and an at- tractive fixture, finished in WHITE ENAMELLED OR MISSION. Built on the same STANDARD as our REFRIGERA- TORS. We can build them CHEAPER, © but we won’t. We would build them ' BETTER, but we a can’t, Do not neglect to Write to-day for CATALOGUE showing FISH BOXES—Sent Free. Manufactured by : Knapp Labelling Machine. The W. i‘ Freeman Co., Ltd., Hamilton, Ont. ae seitAvoe): Toronto: Toronto: The Brown Boggs Co., Limited DANIEL H.H.NEIL, P.D.DAVIDSON, G.SIMORELS, € iy ‘lt B85 ae } 16 Richmond Sq. 72 Chester Ave. 3444 Markham St. amuton, Untario Tel. Up. 8547. College 8794. E. A. EARL & CO., Vancouver, B.C.., Agents e e a e e - Index to Advertisers sigs A, Freeman and Cobb Cos Tm: BiG pet Noble, Charles, Jr., Co., Inc. .. .. ... 94 Acadia Gas Engines, even co se oe 99 Freeman, W. A., Co. Pee eee Northern Fish Co. j .. 80 American Can. Co. i ae Rye 5 | Fromm, F. H. & Co. 80 Nova Scotia Government 86 care 2 tal Independent "Fisheries, a. ‘ Ltd. te vee 88 Goodrich, B. F. Co., Ltd. 63 Gourock Ropework Export Co., “Ltd. $3 Ontario Government . sit aa tears Bliss, E. W. Co 67 Gosse-Millerd Packing Co. Ltd. .. 8 O’Connor’s Fish Market .. .. .... 98 Booth Wisheries Go. of Canada, Ltda. 90 Gray and Prior Machine Co. .. .. .. 78 Bowman, J., and 96 Guarantee Motor Co. a, ; P. Brandram Henderson Co., Sag... Guest, W. J., Fish Co. Ltd. .. .. 89 Pitt, Arishmonger os ae ee eae wD British Columbia Government .. .. 12 Gulowsen, Grei, Engine Co. .«.... 75 Polson Iron Works .. .. «2 os «+ 88 British Columbia Packers’ Asso- i. aah as H. ee Process Engineers, Ltd. .. ..... .. 89 ciation .. . RSS ROY AS | aren atton, ‘0. ri Cel Ea te Brown Boggs Co., Ltd. 53 Hoover & Son, 2) cat pian eibhoteRiien Q. sips hi: eng hetead _ Corporation, Hyde Windlass Ave. 2 wen gag baa e SEE Quebec Government .. .. .. .. .. 92 faye zB. sHumaetl ‘Engine Co. SAN a 6 oS) 10.21 Ook Imperial Oil Ltd. 59 Ve Pepa Y - Ranney, Wish Cons 2304 ce) cece ¢. epee Oe Burns, P. & Co. aes Independent ater Co., Ltd.’ 98 Robbins, Chas. C., Ine. « tt ee aee 76 obbins, F. ay eer ee Motor | Co. oe ee ee 8 pee tea a Daa Phat ye eBiaiteee + Robin, Jones and Whitman, Ltd. . a) 9 oO. * . . . *e ee oe F 8 She ee torso Co., Ltd. 20 x. obinson oma : Canadian Fish and Cold Storage Kildala Packing Co., Ltd... ...... 5 ° Co., Ltd. St eee se a. L. seeboart preting. sat wan eB oa Bion 4 Canadian Fishing Co, ve ee ee Bs tse oes chmidt, B. pee gee BY Canadian Ice Machine Co. re Leone Bisheries, ita.’ “Beak Gover Scythes & Co., Titd.” Pee Canadian Milk Products, Lid. 1 & 88 Letson and Burpee, BGS EE iT Silver, H. R., Ltd. 2 «(88 Canadian Oil Co., Ltd. 7 Lincoln, Willey and Co., Inc. ge Smith Cannery Machines Co, Ltd. 16 — one pak es "Co., Ltd... 39 Linde Canadian Refrigeration Co., a pope pay eae Gee’ < Pgh ans” o 9) r ers, ° 5 oh nat nt see ae a Consumers Cordage Co., Ltd... .. 72 tapebte. Cunningham ‘and Co., ete: 8 Stairs, Son & etl tok Ltd., Wm. 738 Cutting and ‘Washington : us 73 Lipsett, Edward .. 1% 3 Spooner, W. R...... . Bed) 61 , D. Lockeport Cold Storage Go.; Ltd. os oettnat cr’ Navel Service... |. 18 Pee ra Sotsmtia’ Barrel ‘Co, Ltd. 84 Tabor, Geo, Ltd ...... « $3 Department of and Co. Ltd... .. 4 Lyons, Chas. Co., In 68 Taylor, a one Co.,Ltd. a y 4 eee Tower Canadian . peas aes ose Saag warithe Pie’ Corporstiiaic: Lita. a fs Tuckett Tobacco Co., “Ltd. 68 aritime Fis 5 eas wae i tor ee aie sig tit? McAvity, T. & Sons, Ltd. . rein ee . ee enae mote Co. . b amies yes 2 96 Miner Rubber oe. ia BT. Fd pe Vhay Fisheries Co. 65 Matthews ackwe és beatae * Po Sprains fe Ww. Fi Farquhar and Co, Ltd. .. -- + 87 Mustad’ 6oana’s Co. oie) Miia tees ae alias: has. and Osa Hts. carat HH stein, Be Uh Oh Sawa meee allace Fisheries, oat Saw ‘Finlay Fish “Gasette Daieeewgs use oe National Refining Co. “g 7 yeounen Wee & Co. se 00 #0 oe so! 8. es Ptah ld Stora e. estern Packers, ssi rans g Foreman Motor and “Machine Co, el gab age ca 5 gg Wa etek yee Fores, ROLES eee Ee 1% th cts 84 New England Fish Company, “Lta 165 Whitman, Arthur N., “Lita: oe 98 @@ ioe. we 862 CANADIAN G. R. Earl, manager, in addition to other plants at Yarmouth, has branches at Barrington Passage, Shel- burne and Liverpool. The Yarmouth Fishing Co., Ltd., own 3 schooners specially adapted to fresh fish busi- ness. The ‘‘Yafico’’ is engaged in sword-fishing and has shown that there are large possibilities for de- velopment in this branch of the industry. The New York and Yarmouth Fish Co., Ltd., Mr. ©. H. How, manager, have 5 schooners and deal in fresh and salt fish. S. Epstein has a growing business mostly in fresh fish. Parker-Eakins Co., Ltd., do considerable busi- ness in dried fish and fisheries supplies and Nickerson, Plant of the Consumers Fish & Cold Storage Co., Ltd., Yarmouth, N.S. “Dorothy Earl.’—Yarmouth Fishing Co., Ltd. y FISHERMAN Prior, Ltd., are also engaged in the fresh fish business mainly with the Boston market. It must also be remembered that Yarmouth is also a centre for the clam, oyster and lobster trade of south-— western Nova Scotia. In this district are located lob- ster packing houses whose shipments of fresh lobsters reach a value exceeding $500,000. The canned lobsters of Yarmouth and Shelburne totalled in 1916 over 30,- 000 cases, valued at $600,000. All ready for Sword-fishing.—The “Yafico” owned by Yarmouth Fishing Co., Ltd., Yarmouth, N.S. July, 1918 : pts Links on a Vora. CEE ae ee Se Soe ie Ee ae oe Te ee ee no ae ee ee wre. oor a jas Saltz poe BE ee GAT Cia | TAR ERS ene ene te Fea oie on ene 1 nee Weds Ro aed 7 Fy Si = We ia oh re on, ate Sia “ i he ia Slee y bas pe Eke a 7 z > Ne ee be FR ne asia’ a og oe =. CANADIAN FISHERMAN 55 Fish Producers and Distributors The Dominion Government, through the Food Contvroller’s Office, has inaugurated a campaign to imerease the consump- tion of Fish. This is being supported by an aggressive campaign of advertising — all to the one end — the increased use of Fish as a food. To the Producer--- Get behind this campaign. Lend your aid and see that the distributor gets enough fish. Be sure your fish is packed right, and that it gets to the proper market in proper condition. To the Wholesaler--- Largely upon you rests the success of this campaign. See that you have the supply necessary to support the demand. Co- operation on your part means much. The Government has provided improved boxes for the keeping and displaying of fish. See that the dealers get them. Show them how to use them. Urge the dealers to be satisfied with a reasonable profit and give their customers a satisfactory service. It all means . better and bigger business for you and them. To the Retailer--- In this campaign you will find the material on which to build an exceedingly profitable business. Be sure you are in a posi- tion to supply fish every day—especially Tuesdays and Fridays. Keep your fish right — display it right. This and the increased demand will mean bigger profits for you. 864 CANADIAN FISHERMAN LOCKPORT COLD STORAGE CO., LTD. One of the best known firms in the fishing industry in Eastern Canada is the Lockport Cold Storage Co., Ltd., Lockport, N.S., of which Mr. Wm. Hodge is President and Managing Director. The plant proper consists of power house, cold stor- age, smoke houses, fresh fish receiving rooms, ma- chine shop, box factory, equipped with complete print- ing plant, mill, salt and storage buildings and has a frontage of over 600 feet, while outside warehouses “Starling.”—Lockport Cold Storage Co., Ltd. and_yards cover over 10 acres. The cold storage build- ing is 5 stories high with 2 sharp rooms, having freez- ing capacity of 100,000 lbs. of fresh fish daily. The company also owns large warehouse for fishing gear, gasoline, engine supplies in which they are one of the largest dealers on the eastern coast. They also claim to handle more bait than any other firm on the east- ern coast. The firm have their own fire equipment with under- writers pump with a eapacity of 500 gals. per minute and connected with a water curtain around the cold storage plant. Their fresh water and ice supply is located on land owned by the company at the back of the town where is also located their ice house. Some 20 schooners fish for the plant, but in addition to this the company owns a gill-net boat, and a large steam vessel the ‘‘Starling.’’ which in addition to pick- ing up fish handles freight to Boston. The company also owns the boat which connects with Allendale. The plant is under the direct supervision of Mr. W. Hodge, the president. MEAT AND CANNED FOODS ACT. It would appear that some .of those who preserve and sell fish in cans are not very clear as to whether the amended Act (1917). which becomes effective on December 15th, 1918, prohibits the sale or export, after that date, of fish or shell-fish. canned in the course of the current (1918) season, unless the cans are labelled in accordance with the amended Act. The operation of the amended Act was deferred till December 15th, 1918, the opening date of the 1919 lob- ster packing season, — to allow packers time to adjust themselves to its changes and to use up any stocks of labels they had on hand. For that reason. the pack of 1918 is not subject to in- spection and marking under the amended Act, and it is obvious that the sale or export of all fish canned be- fore the 15th of December next. bearing the old labels, must be permitted even after that date, July, 1918. John Jackson, St. John, N.B. In 1903 Mr. John Jackson established his present business, handling cured fish and fish oils. Previous to going into business on his own account Mr. Jackson had been with one of the large wholesale houses of St. John for 26 years, the greater part of which time as manager of the fish department. Previous to that he was engaged in fishing off the south shore of Nova Scotia. Recently Mr. Jackson has. relinquished active in- terest in the business to his sons, Mr. Harry F. Jack- son and Mr. R. P. Jackson. Mr. Jackson is a member of the Canadian Fisheries Association and of the Canadian Fisheries Advisory Board. . The LaHave Fish Co., Ltd., dealers in hard eured and pickled fish in addition to their present fleet of five schooners have a beam trawler under construe- tion. Two 200 H.P. erude oil engines, supplied by Canadian Fairbanks Morse C©o., Ltd., will be used. They propose building four more trawlers of similar type during the next year. These trawlers will be 145 ft. deck measurement, 25 ft. beam and 11 in. deep. They will be used for the fresh fish business. Capt. J. E. Backman is President, and Fraser Gray, See- retary-Treasurer. Their associated company, the LaHave Outfitting = | pete 2 Fee: Suby 1918. CANADIAN FISHERMAN “SCYTHES SLICKERS” Wet Weather Garments When buying Oilskins, make your selection from the following grades: “LION” BRAND “SWAN” BRAND “SAILOR” BRAND OILED CLOTHING BEST FOR THE FISHING TRADE | | Write us for price list Pecythes & Company Limited MONTREAL TORONTO WINNIPEG fem oem Salmon C (| Sardine A A! Lobster |N N} _ Herring S 2am Etc. Packers of Canned Fish of every kind will be interested in the variety and sizes of cans manufactured to suit every need of the trade | AMERICAN CAN COMPANY HAMILTON, Ont. VANCOUVER, B.C. MONTREAL, Quebec a re eee aoe . « ae ~ 866 BOOTH FISHERIES, LTD., OPEN NEW SARDINE FACTORY AT ST. JOHN, The new sardine factory of the Booth Fisheries, Ltd., which commenced operations early this month, is one of the largest and best equipped on the Atlantic, 60 men and 120 girls, exclusive of office staff, will be employed and three auxiliary sloops of 50 tons each, and one auxiliary schooner of 75 tons, Ww ill be engag- ed in carrying sardines.from the weirs to the factory. Several large motor boats will also be used to care for the catch. = * = pee Sea Se SS as gis : iss. De Nas ss ce] S. Q. Grady, General Manager of Booth’s Eastern factories who supervised the erection of the St. John N.B. factory. When operating at full capacity 10,000 cases of fish per week will be turned out. A wharf 160 ft, long has been erected, and the ap- proach dredged to provide a depth of 6 feet at low tide. The sardines will be erected to a tower at the end of the wharf, and thence by means of salt water circu- lated by a powerful pump sluiced into the lower story and steamed. Two large towers carry off the vapor which develops in steaming. The fish are then dried, the dryer being located in the second story, and the fish carried to it on an endless chain. Every pro- cess is mechanical. Machines seal the tins, which are then given a further curing in steam retorts, Cloak and toilet rooms are provided and sanitary drinking fountains are installed in various parts of the building. CANADIAN FISHERMAN July, 1918 The boiler room is on a separate building and the— motive power is supplied by the N.B. Power Co. 20 electric motors are used. Mr. 8. Q. Grady, general manager of Booth factories on the Atlantic coast, has had direct supervision of the erection. . Mr. V. D, Bachman, who has had extensive experi- ence in managing sardine factories, will be resident manager, Mr. E. S. Murray will have charge of office. ; V. D. Bachman, Manager, St. John, N.B., factory of Booth Fisheries, Ltd. The Robert Taylor Co., Ltd., 140 Market St., Hali- fax, whose warehouse is shown below, are the distribu- tors for Maritime Provinces and Quebec, of the well- known VAC rubber boots for fishermen. This firm was established in 1866, and Mr. W. B. Taylor is President, and Mr. D. Taylor, General Manager. Their repre- sentatives who call on the fish trade are Messrs. G. W. Graham, R. J. Hurst and W. H. MeLaren. J. Ernest & Son, Ltd., Mahone Bay, N.S., dealers in dried and pickled fish have, through their associated company—Ernest Shipbuilding Co., Ltd.—built 4 ves- sels during the past year. Two of these were 350 tons, and the other two 100 tons, and they now have the keels laid for two more, one of 350 tons and other = 175 tons. x —————LL——— i i ET de a PS eT ne , er a eal i a i aha I ee ry CANADIAN FISHERMAN A Fisherman’s Profit Depends Upon The Way His Motor Acts OLARINE has just the right body to maintain the gas-tight seal between piston rings and eylinder walls. Polarine possesses the lubricating qualities that ‘reduce wear and friction in every moving part of the motor. Its use means freedom from excessive carbon troubles. It lengthens the life of your motor and in- ereases the satisfaction and service you will receive from it. FRICTION REOUCING MOTOR OIL Makes a Good Motor Better Profits depend largely upon your motor. Your motor needs Polarine. Premier Gasoline, Gargoyle Mobiloils, Royalite Coal Oil, Silver Star Kerosene, No. 1 Engine Distillate and Arctic Cup Grease are other Imperial products well known to those engaged in the Fishing Industry in Canadian waters. THE IMPERIAL OIL LIMITED BRANCHES IN ALL CITIES T 847 ” ; LOU) . CANADIAN FISHERMAN July, 1918. New Sardine factory of Booth Fisheries, Ltd., St. John, N.B. 52 years ago this month Mr. Jas. Patterson started in the fish business in the exact location where he now carries on his present business as a wholesale fish mer- chant, in St. John, N.B. During this entire time Mr. — 0” Mr. James Patterson, St. John, N.B. Patterson has been engaged in the fish business, first with his unele, then later as a partner in the firm of Masters & Patterson, and since 1877 has carried on the business in his own name. ae “Miriam J. Smith”.—370 ton vessel, owned by W. S. Smith Co., Ltd., Lunenberg, N.S, July, 1918. CANADIAN FISHERMAN | W. R. SPOONER Wholesale and Commission Dealer Fish of all Kinds 119 Youville Square, - MONTREAL I amin the market at all times to Buy or Sell on Commission, Fresh, Frozen, Smoked and Salt Sea and Lake Fish, in Carload Lots or Less. Correspondence Solicited wea nub- License No. 1-017 + can remember, eee e- . ceiul skill to so toughen pert’ that it will outlast ordi- uary boots TWO TO ONE. Again, we WANT to make them RIGHT. We want your con- tinued patronage. We won ’t skimp —we want you to always insist on Goodrich Goods because you know they are best. ‘*Hi-Press’’ Boots and Shoes are sold by 40,000 dealers. Ask yours . for the footwear with the Red Line ’Round the Top. THE 6.F. GOODRICH RUSSER COMPANY Makers of the Celebrated Guodrich Automobile Tires— **Best in the Long Run” The City of Goodricu— AKRON, OHIO ae with the Red Line Round. the lop The GOODRICH BOOT _FOR FISHERMEN _ * 870 : CANADIAN FISHERMAN NORTH AMERICAN FISHERIES & COLD STOR- AGE CO., LTD. The North American Fisheries and Cold Storage Co. Ltd., are erecting a plant at Liverpool, N.S., which will cost over $100,000, and will be one of the most modern in the country. For the foundation of the main building which will be 188 x 60 feet and three stories high, along the water front and for 25 ft. up piles-were driven and cut off at low water and a 3 ft. wall of concrete built up to ground level, and then a 1-ft. wall of concrete above the ground level to a height of 3 feet, so that the first floor will be on a level with freight cars. The entire build- ing is of very solid construction, douglas fir and spruce being used throughout the entire building, The building on the third floor will overhang to the edge of the wharf where two hoists will take fish direct from boats to the third floor, where they will be wash- ed and panned and placed on gravity conveyors into as July, 1918 The power house is a separate building 100 ft. x 30 ft. and 24 ft. high. Arrangements are made for further addition, 75 x 188 ft., to main building at a later date. The company has a siding on each end of the pro- perty for shipping and receiving purposes, and a wharf 186 ft. long with 24 ft. of water. Mr, Wm. Fellows Morgan, Jr., of New York, is president, and Mr. E. J. Murphy, general manager. Mr. Murphy has been in the refrigerating business for the past 25 years with the Brooklyn Bridge Freez- ing and Cold Storage Co., and the Merchants Refrig- erating Co. of New York. J. F. Clifford, formerly manager of South Shore Fisheries, Ltd., Liverpool, N.S., has taken over the business of this concern. They will deal in fresh fish to the Boston and Canadfan markets and will also handle ice and bait. They are now putting up Seotch ve quan- The smoke howe will cured herring and plan shortly to put up lay tities of bloaters and kippers. New Sardine factory of Booth Fisheries, Ltd., St. John, N.B Patterson has been engaged in the fish | 52 years ago this month Mr. Jas. Patterson started in the fish business in the exact location where he now carries on his present business as a wholesale fish mer- chant, in St. John, N.B. During this entire time Mr. with his uncle, then later as a partner in the firm v Masters & Patterson, and since 1877 has carried on the business in his own name, “Miriam J. Smith’.—370 ton vessel, owned by WwW. $s. Smith eon o re Ltd., Lunenberg, N.S, — Mee Mr. James Patterson, St. John, N.B. July, 1918 3 CANADIAN FISHERMAN 63 Give Such Unusual Wear? ‘*Hi-Press’’ Boots are delivering so much more wear—keeping feet so much more com- fortable—that they are ungestionably the most popular footwear among fishermen today. TRACE MARK ~e The Boots’ success is based on two things ad —knowledge and good will. First, we know rubber. Goodrich has meant ‘‘Best in Rub- ber Goods’’ as long as you can remember, and it takes wonderful skill to so toughen the rubber that it will outlast ordi- nary boots TWO TO ONE. Again, we WANT to make them RIGHT. We want your con- tinued patronage. We won’t skimp —we want you to always insist on Goodrich Goods because you know they are best. ‘‘Hi-Press’’ Boots and Shoes are sold by 40,000 dealers. Ask yours . for the footwear with the Red Line ’Round the Top. THE 6.F. GOODRICH RUSGER COMPANY Makers of the Celebrated Guodrich Automobile Tires— **Best in the Long Run” The City of Goodricu— AKRON, OHIO ‘with tf with : Red Line Round the lop Tse GOODRICH BOOT _FOR FISHERMEN _ 872 WM. MacMILLAN, One of the best known men on the southwest shore of Nova Seotia, is Mr. Wm. MacMillan, of Lockport, NS, Mr. MacMillan was born in Lockport, but his first business venture was with Mr. A. W. Hendry at Liver- pool, as wholesale dealers. In 1891 Mr. MacMillan felt the lobster business offered possibilities, so choosing an undeveloped field he went to Anticosti and started the first lobster factory on the island, using a steamer, ‘“The Anticosti,’’ to gather up the eatch. Owing to the severe weather the second year, which practically pre- vented any operations whatever, Mr. MacMillan sold out and returned to Lockport, starting in the salt fish business and also operating a shipyard. The trade at that time in salt fish was entirely with the West Indies. This gradually changed on account Wm. MacMillan, Lockport, N.S. of the heavy duty. placed on fish imported into the French islands, and the decline of the sugar planta- tions owing to the competition of German beet sugar, so Mr. MacMillan entered the New York market, and has since shipped large quantities of fish there. In latter years the difficulty of obtaining crews for the vessels has forced Mr. MacMillan to reduce his fish business so that at present only 2 vessels are being operated. Mr. MacMillan is a great believer in the future of Lockport, and contends that with railroad facilities this place will be the leading Canadian fresh fish port on the Atlantic coast. He states that as soon as a spur line is run in from Allendale he is ready to extend his operations to a much larger scale. Mr. MacMillian’s last words to your correspondent were: ‘‘Lockport is in close proximity to the best win- ter fishing grounds on the South Shore, and with a branch railway line the fresh fish business here can be inereased practically without limit.’’ CANADIAN FISHERMAN July, 1918. Se eR et MR. H. R. L. BILL, Lockport, N.S., who is one of the largest shippers to the Canadian market of live shore fresh fish. The Athabasea Fish Co., Ltd., of Edmonton, Alta., of which EK. A. Sims is president, D. H. Watson, Vice- president and Manager of Fresh Fish Department and J. W. Pace, Sec.-Treas. and General Manager, have start- ed a fish cannery in Edmonton. They intend to can their surplus production not needed for the fresh fish market. .The cannery was started on June 8, and have . already done a fair business, but supplies have been in- creasing and by the 1st of August they hope to have receipts amounting to two or three cars per week. Government Inspector Davidson made a third exam- ination of the cannery a few days ago and expresses himself as being highly pleased with the lay-out opera- tion. Under the brand ‘‘Athabasea’’, canned Pike and Mullet will be put on the market. The cannery will have a capacity of 500 cases per day of ten hours, al- ready their supply of fish has enabled them to put up as high as 200 cases. The company is accounting on packing about 10,000 cases this year. The fish are obtained from Lesser Slave, La Biche, Wabamum, St. Anne, Island and Kristina and some of the smaller lakes. The supply promises to be much better after July 15th, when the whitefish season opens. The Government limit for whitefish on Lesser Slave Lake is 1,500,000 pounds and from La Biche, 500,000 pounds. The proportion of coarse fish is usually about 30 per cent. of the above mentioned variety, even when the fishermen are trying to keep away from the coarse fish haunts. . oe re — ee ee = v4 : ‘skagust, 1918. eee Cn ee ee ae) ee =a i W. R. Spooner, Esq., was run.’ If we had known this, a very serious pro- _ test would have been made, and we would not have consented to the taking off of the express assistance for the benefit of an extra day of the Seafood Special freight. I wrote a letter of protest to the Department and told them it would be manifestly unfair to dis- eriminate against other sections if this express assist- ance was removed, and since it seemed of such great importance to increase production of fish to assist in the war, it did not seem to be a proper time to re- move assistance granted for a number of years. I do - not think the Department has treated us altogether fairly in cutting off without any notice or advice, so that we could set our side before it. There was no question raised or any talk of removing express ship- ments when they undertook to give the increased freight service. The following members were added to the Trans- portation Committee to assist in preparing the resolu- tion:—Messrs. Byrne, Short, James, Binns, Cornell, O’Connor, and Hodge. _ The Convention adjourned until 3 p.m, . Afternoon Session. The Afternoon Session commenced at 3 p.m. THE PRESIDENT (Mr. S. Y. Wilson) read his ad- dress, as follows: Gentlemen: In presenting this report for the period just past, I wish first to express my apprecia- tion and thanks to the officers and members who have carried on the work of the Association so efficiently with but little personal assistance from myself, owing to the fact that cireumstances have prevented my at- tendance at the executive meetings, which have taken place at Montreal due to the fact that a quorum was more quickly obtainable there. The details of these meetings and the work performed for the Association will be reported by the different committees so that - it is necessary for me to go into details. The activities of the Association were not entirely - confined to matters connected with the industry. for on the occasion of the fearful and horrible disaster that befell this city on the 6th of December last a special committee gathered together a subscription totalling $3,000 for the victims of the disaster who had been deprived of their sight. : This amount was transferred by your President to Sir C. F. Fraser, whose acknowledgment was as fol- lows: January 7th, 1918. Secy.-Treas. Canadian Fisheries Association, Room 600, Read Building, 35-45 St. Alexander St., Montreal, P.Q. Dear Sir,—I beg to acknowledge the receipt of your very kind letter of December 31st, which with your splendid contribution of $3,000 from the Canadian _ Fisheries Association was handed me to-day by Mr. S. Y. Wilson, of Halifax. It is very encouraging to the Committee having in hand the Halifax Blind Relief Work to find that the interest in this particular form - of relief was so fully appreciated by your Association, and I can assure you that our Committe are deeply grateful for your timely and generous help. It is impossible at this date to give absolutely ac- - eurate details as to the loss of sight due to the ter- yiblu explosion of December 6th. It is known that at CANADIAN FISHERMAN 891 least one thousand men, women and children had their eyes injured at the time of the disaster. Four hundred or more were minor injuries which did not effect the sight. Four hundred others lost the sight of one eye and in many eases enucleation followed. About two hundred have been made totally blind or have had their sight so far impaired that they will be prac- tically blind for life. The problem of how to care for these newly blinded people, to shelter them and to arrange for after-care and for training is one that is receiving the most careful attention of the Commit- tee and I think I can assure you that this problem will be dealt with in a satisfactory and practical way. Will you kindly, through your official organ, con- vey to the donors of your contribution the very sin- cere thanks of the Halifax Blind Relief Committee. Very gratefully yours, (Signed) C. F. FRASER, Chairman Halifax Blind Relief Committee. Overseas Shipments. The volume has correspondingly enlarged as the number of troops overseas has increased. The con- ditions for distribution in England have been improved under the direct supervision of Major Hugh Green, to whom the thanks of this Association are due for his efforts in connection with this development. Home Markets. The consumption of fish products has materially increased in Canada during the past year, due in a large measure to the hearty patriotic co-operation of the consuming public in conserving the beef and other products as a means of winning the war. Your association has made earnest and effective efforts to increase production and better transporta- tion conditions and introduce improved methods of distribution with some degree of success. Publicity. — Your Committee have continued the campaign in- augurated during the previous year and we are pleased to acknowledge the able assistance in this work afford- ed by the Food Board so that the consuming public have in a large degree been convinced that Fish pro- ducts are a staple diet and not just a substitute as was largely the popular idea not many years since. Transportation. The greatest problem the industry has to consider is that of transportation. It is so vital that we can only hope for progress and development to the extent in exact ratio that transportation facilities are pro- vided. -Material improvements have been obtained through the efforts of your Transportation Commit- tee, which will be reported by their chairman. Production. Since the last Convention in January, 1917, there has been added to this branch of the industry, on the Atlantic Coast, no less than four steam trawlers by purchase, one by charter or contract and two more are under construction. With these seven steam trawlers operating under ordinary conditions there should be produced an aver- age of 1,000,000 pounds per week. The ordinary production of fresh fish by the shore boats has fallen off in proportion to the enlistments from the respective districts, but on the whole has * 892 CANADIAN FISHERMAN increased by at least 100 per cent. The bank fishing of 1917 was at least an average and very satisfactory from a financial standpoint, due to the high prices obtained for the product. The present season will be equally satisfactory if reasonably fair conditions-continue to the end of the season. Pickled fish branch has shown a marked improvement in the matter of the standardization of packages and selections together with an enhancement in values partly due to the before-mentioned standardization and partly to the short import supply of both mackerel and herring from Great Britain. Similar developements are taking place on the Pacific Coast in connection with their off-shore fish- eries. At the last convention the value of the Canadian fisheries as reported by the ‘‘Blue Book’’ was about $34,000,000. I am creditably informed that the values for the present fiscal year as far as it has gone, in- dicates a value of over $50,000,000. Branches. Many fisheries associations have been formed in the various districts throughout Canada and almost all have become branches of this Association, so that our activities are of necessity broadening and widening. This subject will be dealt with in detail by the Sec- retary’s report. Finance. This is a subject that demands the most serious and liberal consideration of the members of this Associa- tion because our efforts are curbed and curtailed by the limitations of our financial ability. This Association has already obtained results which have and are directly worth many times the actual amount expended by the Association so that in asking you to give greater financial assistance to it, we do not have to apologize. Programme. The programme which the Association is able to place before the members at this Convention, for their instruction and pleasure, is mainly due to the efforts of Director J. J. Harpell and to whom the generous thanks of the Association are due for his efforts in gathering together so many men of recognized scien- tific and technical ability at your Convention. Per- sonally, I would like to recommend him for the D.S.0. In conclusion I desire to draw to the attention of all those connected with the industry, their responsi- bility towards the same. The Fisheries of Canada are a natural national re- source, vested in the whole people of the Dominion and that although we are privileged to operate and develop the same, we have no right to do so in a way that will jeopardize its future by methods calculated to impair the future. I am more convinced than ever, that the duty of one and all connected with the industry is to join this Association, so that it will become the one and only clearing house for the exchange of ideas, looking towards the conservation development and perpet- uation of the industry. As is usual, I would like to add that I deeply appre- ciate the efforts put forward by the Executive as well as other members of the Association, who have always responded with any information required for carry- ing on the work of the Association, and to bespeak for my successor the same cordial support that has been accorded to me during the past year. THE PRESIDENT, in introducing the next speaker, Mr, H. B. Thomson, to the meeting, said: In introducing Mr. Thomson, it is unnecessary for me to say anything in a personal way, as you all know him favourably, and probably to a greater extent than I do myself; but I would like to say that this associa- tion feels -deeply grateful for the efforts the Fish Section of the Canada Food Board has put forth dur- ing the last year or more. In my report I claimed the. increase is about 100 per cent, taking the fisheries in- dustry as a whole as I see it from this side of the Do- minion. But in many sections of Ontario, where they have expended more directly their efforts, they have figures to show the increase has been as much as 700 per cent in parts of Ontario, and while that is very good, they do not seem to be satisfied with their efforts yet, for they are doing a great deal at the present time to help the introduction of the Atlantic product by bringing the producer and distributor closer together, — and giving us a helping hand in the matter of transpor- tation, which is one of the vital questions we have to _ deal with. I think the best that can be said for Mr. Thomson is not any too good from this Association. — Mr. Thomson’s Address. H. B, THOMSON (Chairman, Canada Food Board) : Mr. Chairman and gentlemen,—I am very glad indeed to be with you here today, and to hear the kind words that have fallen from the lips of your President. It is unusual for the Canada Food Board or any member of it to hear such kind expressions of opinion. As a rule we are continuously in receipt of the reverse, but as we receive a great many communications dur- ing a day, and a good many kicks and complaints, I think even after the very kindly remarks of the Pre- sident there is no liability of our heads swelling at all, because the other remarks will counteract anything that has been said. At the same time, although we are - trying to fill an exceedingly difficult position, I must say I am pleased to accord to the Canadian Fisheries Association and the people in the fish business of Can- ada the praise that they have supported us on every hand; in fact, that has been universal in every trade we have taken up and put under license. The beginning of this licensing system, which was the only way that we could see a proper and efficient control was effected, there was a general spirit throughout the trades to re- sist, if possible, the introduction of the license system. The Fisheries section was the first we took up. We didn’t meet with any marked resistance on their part, and they very soom came to the conclusion that we were a very good organization to tie up with, and we were honest in our endeavours, and although many looked upon us as amateurs, which we were, they look- ed upon us kindly and said we will give them a chance and get in and help them. Anything that has been accomplished along the lines of increased production and consumption of fish in Canada has not been the result of the work of the Canada Food Board, but the co-operation of a great many of the producers and deal- ers of the country, and what we want to do is to spread that co-operation right down the line so that we get every producer together in the country, and every dealer. Another point I am continually bring- ing out is this: The fish business of Canada should be — August, 1918. August, 1918. / F a great national business. In the little booklet which we sent out dealing with the fish question and recipes _ for cooking fish, ete., we endeavoured by way of a * diagram to demonstrate how the production of fish per capita had fallen off and the consumption was not what it ought to be, but we hope with the general eco- operation that we will overcome this, not only as a war measure to reduce the consumption of beef, but to put the Canadian fish business on a substantial and permanent basis. Every man today, whether he is a _ producer, fisherman, or has anything to do with the ____ business, should look upon it in that light. People of the world are creatures of habit. You recognize _ that in every part of the world. To give an instance of ___._ this; before the war it was almost impossible and prac- ' tically useless for the American bacon and pork packer to send a commercial traveller through France; they would not consume bacon. Today they have gone in there and through sheer force of necessity the French people are eating bacon, and after the war is over, the United States and Canada have a huge market open for their bacon products simply because owing to the necessity of the war the habits of the people have been changed, and in future they are going to eat pork products. And it is just as easy for us, be- cause I consider myself a fish man here to-day, to change the habits of the people of Canada and to get them to eat their own fish. Take the Provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba; you have the finest fresh water fish in the country; in 1916 the con- sumption of their own fish was only 15 per cent of the catch, and through organization and general pub- licity and getting the people into line, by last year we changed that 15 per cent consumption to 65 per cent consumption of their own fish. Once the people of this country get into the habit of using their own - fish they will continue in that habit and it will fol- ’ low throughout every Province of Canada. The great - thing to realise is, don’t get them confined to one kind of fish. There are other gentlemen better fitted than I to explain the different kinds and merits of the fish in ‘ Canada, but if you keep on giving a variety of fish ot + You will increase consumption materially ; because, as __ you all know, if you are up against it—I used to think fine brook trout were the best to eat; in one place in _ British Columbia I could not get anything else, and I had to eat that for ten days, and I got so absolutely sick of it, I didn’t want to see one again. The people of Canada have been educated to halibut and salmon, especially the Pacific coast, and many people think they are the only fish we have; and because the price does not go down they are under the impression they are not getting cheap fish. I am very much interested - in the Pacific coast, but I think your Atlantic haddock Ce ee, ee eo : ‘ is just as good as anything that ever came out of the | Pacific. Haddock, as you all know, is selling at 10c or less in Montreal and Toronto; halibut is selling around 35c; it is far easier to shift people on to a cheaper commodity, and you will develop a market and increase your business. I am not particularly keen on ‘any line I am selling; my object is to increase my turn- over, if possible. I don’t care what it is. I am not stuck on one line at all; anything to increase the turn- over; you should view it in that light, and so we will come in for varieties and keep the people well supplied, and you will be amazed at the increased consumption _ you are going to have. And that will not only be a war. measure, but a permanent benefit to the country CANADIAN FISHERMAN. 893 and tend to develop the fishery industry and put it on the proper plane it should be, and that is one of the great industries of Canada. We have been too prone to get goods from other countries, but I can hardly go into that question with you business men; you realize, owing to this war, and the expenses Can- ada has to bear, our bond issues, our interest is going up, and taxation is going up, and the more we purchase from other countries the more the balance of trade is against us, and to fight the great commer- cial warfare after the war we have to face the situa- tion and develop our own resources as much as pos- sible, not only to meet the home consumption but to become an exporting country to a larger degree. There is no community in the world that is going to bene- fit by taking in another’s washing; if you pay your bills and make money and get ahead, and pay interest on loans, you: naturally have to get the money from the other fellows. Canada has to get the money from the other fellow, and the only way to do it is to develop the natural resources, produce goods to ship to the other fellow and get the money back. And we should face the fisheries from that point of. view and develop home consumption and the export busi- ness. It might interest you incidentally to know what the effect of the fish consumption has been, I don’t say this is direct, beeause it is almost impossible to figure out these different situations; there is nothing we have to go up against in a harder way than statis- tics, because as you known, you can get statistics to tell you almost anything; and after you get them you have to figure out the horse-sense of the situation and arrive at what you consider is some sane conclu- sion, because you can get figures and statistics to sup- port any argument you may advance. Prior to the war Canada was raising enough beef for her own consump- tion; today—I can’t tell you it is owing to the econ- sumption of fish, but it has something to do with it— today the position is this: that Canada is exporting sufficient beef to the Mother Country and to the allies to support 500,000 soldiers at the front. How much of that 500,000 soldier beef supply you fish men want to take credit for remains with yourselves. The fact. is there, and that is what we are doing in that line, and along other lines; but I don’t need to go into that. You know the increase along other lines. It means you are really getting somewhere in the fish business. I am here today to point out these differ- ent things, and point out how the Canadian Fisheries Association and the men associated in the fish busi- ness can help in this work. To go back and give you some idea of what has been done in a small way in the work of the Canada Food Board; one of the first things Mr. Hanna did when he became Food Controller was to appoint a committee to look after the fish busi- ness. In all these undertakings that we tackle, no matter what industry it is, in the first few months there is an immense amount of what we eall ‘‘donkey work’’ that has to be done. The preliminary lay out, trying to get people together, and people in that busi- ness to understand what we would like done. Great eredit is due to Mr. Beer and Mr, Eaton. They devoted an immense amount of time and hard work to this fish- ery question and developed a working program. In the first instance, most of these problems look like fog and you don’t seem to get anywhere—but after a time we got down to business and the present success which has been met with is largely due to the work 894 that these men have done. Of course, a great many people think that because I am Chairman of the Can- ada Food Board, that everything is done individually by myself. That is absolutely not the case, because when I tell you our monthly average for June in let- ters received was over 4,000 a day, Sundays included, and incoming telegrams over 180 a day, you will realize it is a physical impossibility for one man to earry on that correspondence and these details, and were it not for the fact that I am surrounded by. a staff of men I would not give second place to, to any staff of men in the country, it could not be done. There is not a man associated with the work of the Board that does not realise it is war work. There is hardly a man working for the Canada Food Board today, and they work early and late, that could not better himself very ma- terially by leaving the service and going out into the ordinary commercial pursuits along the line he is spe- cially adapted for; and in selecting these men we tried to get the men closely associated with the busi- ness under consideration, and who ean talk best along the particular line, and we have selected the best men ‘for every department organized. There are a large number of departments, because you will readily appreciate we have to be familiar with every detail of each business. The fish section was particularly fortunate when we selected Capt. F. W. Wallace. Capt. Wallace is a man who thoroughly understands the practical end of the business; he has been a fisher- man himself and been at sea. The time he came to us he was serving His Majesty in the Naval Forces, but we felt owing to his knowledge of the practical end of the fish business, and his general knowledge, that he could serve the country a great deal better by com- ing to the Board than by working on a trawler or something else in the North Atlantic. He has remained with us and is doing continuous and untiring work. I also mention Mr. Sawyer, who is continuously in the office and conducts the detail of the business. Al- though not an Atlantic man, he was associated with the fishery business on the Pacifie coast, and I am satisfied of this, if any of you men have troubles with the Fish Seetion, it will not be for want of care, diligence or trouble that he will not try and_ set it right, and he has the business at heart and works night and day on the job. I don’t propose to take your time to any great length, because you are all experts in your particular line of business. I am not. I take the general view of the situation and point out to you what I think is necessary and what should be done. First and foremost in connection with the fish busi- ness, is the question of production: along these lines great advances have been made. One of the things we specially urged on producers on both the Atlantic and the Pacific was the necessity wherever possible of reducing the cost of the production of fish. We had great trouble indeed on the Pacific, to persuade them they could do well with the steam trawler. They ‘tried it before, and they said it was impossible. It took a great deal of nursing and finally Captain Wallace went out with the steam trawler, saw their difficulties and gave them the benefit of his know- ledge and experience, and the result has been we have steam trawling started on the Pacific, and it is very satisfactory, and the result to the consumer is more than satisfactory, because in the Western Provinces, and I hope soon in Ontario, the Pacific fish will be go- CANADIAN FISHERMAN. I .. August, 1918, ing down there, and the majority of that fish is sell- ing at 10¢e to the consumer. The plaice, flounder and sole of the Pacific are to my mind just as good as the halibut. If you can get those fish introduced at some- where around 10¢ you will accomplish a great work | and develop a great business. As far as trawling for flat fish on the Atlantic, you know more than I do. I warn you to look out for the Ontario market, be- cause if you don’t get into it, the Pacifie fellows will. It is a question of competition, and I cannot look with favour on any particular Province, but there will be a friendly rivalry for that Ontario market for all trawl caught flat fish. The Pacific men are going to hustle you pretty much. The next step is transportation. As you know, the Marine and Fisheries Department have been trying for a considerable period to secure more satisfactory transportation, and owing to a meeting that Mr, Found called in Montreal some four or five weeks ago he was enabled to make a most sat- isfactory arrangement whereby you are getting your fish hauled in refrigerator cars into Montreal and — Toronto. Were it not for the persistent manner in which Mr. Found stayed with this question and finally arranged for that meeting, I don’t think your transportation difficulties would be as good as they are. Then the question of distribution. There is a tendeney on the part of the distributors of fish to ignore the small man; the fellow that sends in a small order. I have had a good deal of experience in intro- ducing goods on the market of various kinds, and you must bear this in mind, that if properly handled you can get hold of the energetic small customer, I don’t care how small, give fish to him in the way he wants it; his trade will develop and that small customer grows into a big one. I hope in dealing with the small man you won’t ignore that fact. Everybody has to be nursed along. There is not a man in this room today who, when he started business, had not to be nursed by somebody; he had his difficulties to encounter and his own stiles to get over, and there was someone there to give him a helping hand and say, ‘‘Your orders are not big, but if we fill these orders properly you will satisfy your customers and your business will in- erease and you will increase your orders.’’ That is the way to look at the situation. Encourage the small man, keep him going along and you will find he de- velops into one of your big customers. Don’t sit down and say,—‘‘ We are only shipping out fish by car load orders’’; as soon as you get a firm in that attitude of mind, another fellow will come along and grab up and develop the small order business, and by and by he will say; ‘‘I might as well go in the big car load business,’’ and he gets that, and you have not the small order business, and he gets away with the business. Take care of the small man; get him to de- velop his business and go after him along right lines, because he develops into a big buyer later on. As re- gards the.next point, the education of the public. In everything else, particularly pertaining to this war, there is no country in the world that appreciated the education of the people like Germany. What was their propaganda for? They had a regular system of propaganda; look at the result in Russia; they had — : a propaganda in the United States and everywhere. It is the same in every business. You have to have publicity to educate the public. The average person was not eating fish because he didn’t know any- thing about it. Those who did, thought halibut and = a ie ews were the only fish that Canada produced. Owing to a general rise in prices and cost of gear, the price ‘elimbed up until halibut and salmon got to the stage where they were no longer a substitute for beef from ‘a cash point of view; people said it is costing more than. beef; I will buy ‘beef and mutton. If these peo- ple had been educated that you had other kinds of fish it would have been different. Look at what the _ Ontario Government has been doing in educating peo- ple to eat fish. The possibilities are absolutely un- _ limited if you keep people posted and educated to the act that there are different kinds of fish, and there are varieties they had never heard of before. That is the way the business is developed. If you continue dueating them you can all go to work and build up a ibstantial business, which will not only do you per- ae sonal benefit, but the country at large, a great benefit, because it is absolutely essential for Canada today to elop her great natural resources, and the fisheries ire one of the greatest of them. To give some idea t the increase of business since the starting of licen- ss—last year we by a careful estimate showed there rould be 950 producers and distributors. Today we ave issued 1,555 licenses, since last November, show- ng an increase of over 50 per cent on the estimate. don’t ai the estimate was correct, but it certainly | ing applications from new people going into the ess. To give you some ome details which 1 e flat “re and we include cod, and red cod and ‘grey cod. landed by these firms in the first five months of 1917 was 2,600,000 pounds: since we got in ) the flat fish business, in 1918, it was for ree months. approximately for half the time, 3% million pounds, and the price has decreased; on the one hand halibut decreasing and the price going up, and on the other hand. flat fish increasing materially ‘and the price going down. As regards the general ‘situation and the export fish business, it is unnecessary for me to come to Halifax to tell you the situation of the export fish business, because you know it better _ than we do. But I point out this, owing to the sub- marine warfare and the mine areas in the North Sea, the production of fish is going down rapidly. That _ production should be filled from this side. Take Hol- land alone. In the North Sea her fisheries were very large. Take the question of smoked herring: I take that because along. the Atlantic seaboard you can _ supply that—the production of smoked herring in Holland. that was exported mainly to Great Britain. was 13.500 tons. Jn 1917,. owing to the difficulties of -—s watching fish. it dropved to 2,500 tons. That means - 11,000 tons of smoked herring to be made up. Why should the people on the Atlantic seaboard of Canada -- not get that business. I have no patience with the pro- fiteer and the men who take advantage of the situation. but in a case of this kind it is not taking advantage of ___ the sitnation: it is sunplying a necessity. There is a loss -__ of 11,000 tons. As far as you men in the business are -_ eoneerned, it would be good business as part of the eae - Empire to make up your minds, if it is practicable—it CANADIAN FISHERMAN. ; pot. ne pioneer Snipa should the per on the = 895 Atlantic seaboard not get in and say we will make up part of the deficiency of 11,000 tons of smoked and kippered herring. You conserve so much money in the Empire. You help Canada out financially and replenish the old country with food that they cannot obtain from the usual sources of supply. I don’t think that I have anything further to add; there are a great many men attending the convention here today that can attend to all these things, but I want to feel that as far as the Canada Food Board is concerned, we are endeavouring to deal with every situation absolutely impartially and fairly; giving every one a square deal and helping out the ‘industry; to build up this in- dustry not only as a war measure and necessity, but for an after the war necessity and also from a financial point of view, and we are perfectly satisfied that ' now is the time, for the public is in the right frame of mind. If we make a request of them to de anything, a very large percentage of the people fat in line at once. They do not argue and say it is crazy it is not doing any good; they assume, and I hope they are right, every time they make the assumption—and we do our best to see they are right—we have gone carefully into the situation and we have information at our disposal-which the general public has not got, and when we make a request of the people they do not argue the point or discuss it; they say, these people at the Board have gone into this and it must be right, and we are going to do it. At the present time we are going to ask the people to increase the consumption of fish because the food situation warrants it; although I am glad to say the situation is materially better than it was last Spring. If you had sat in my office last January, February and March and received the cable- grams which we had from the British Food Controller, and the French and the Italian Controllers, laying before us the almost hopeless situation, particularly Italy and France; if you conceive the fact, from a sur- vey on the 23rd December last there was only a three days’ wheat and flour supply for France; and if you knew what that meant, supposing four or five ships went down, what it would have meant to France and to the allied cause, you would appreciate the serious posi- tion we were in, although doing everything we could to fill requirements. We were able to raise the embargo on pork the other day, conditions were that much better; but we are not out of the woods by any means. The situation is not too cheering; we have to see that the condition that arose last Spring cannot arise again. It is not because I have any desire or wish to remain in this job that I am taking this attitude, but it is be- cause I think it is right and proper; and the allied food controllers took that attitude in London when they urged the people of this continent to increase pro- duction and take no chance whatever until the war is over and wound up for good. THE PRESIDENT conveyed the thanks of the meet- ing to Mr. Thomson. He said: We have all been very much interested and instructed thereby, and all I can do is to pledge the continued effort of the Association in assisting the Food Board to attain the object they are aiming at. Dr. Huntsman’s Address. Dr. A. G. HUNTSMAN, Professor of Biology, Toron- to University, read a paper entitled: ‘‘Canadian Fish Resources; dealing particularly with the resources of the. Atlantic. ’? He prefaced his paper as follows :— Your Secretary asked me to prepare some statement * 896 of the resources of the Eastern part of Canada, deal- ing with Hudson Bay as well as the Atlantic coast, and I am proposing to speak first of all about Hudson Bay, because that part is the most pessimistic, and I don’t want to end up in that vein. If I knew what your attitude was towards Hudson and James Bays it is possible I would speak in a more optimistic vein. I have here a short account of the fishery prospects for the Hudson and James Bays. FISHERY PROSPECTS FOR HUDSON AND JAMES BAY. By A. G. HUNTSMAN, Biologist to the Biological Board of Canada, Professor of Marine Biology, University of Toronto. That vast inland expanse of waters consisting of Hudson Bay with the adjacent bays and channels oc- eupies an almost central position in the Dominion of Caneda and has for centuries attracted the attention of dreamers, men with vision, who have considered the enormous possibilities of trade along its shores, of easy transport of merchanise over its bosom, and of the food and wealth to be derived from an exploitation of its innate resources of fish and other marine pro- ducts. The first of these, the shore trade, was real- ized at an early date, producing the wealthy and influ- ential Hudson Bay Company, the Company of ‘‘ Gentle- men Adventurers,’’ which has persisted from its found- ation in 1670 up to the present day. The use of these waters for extensive transportation is in process of being achieved by the construction of the Hudson Bay railroad, by the detailed survey of the waters ~ to be tarversed, and by the determination of the means of avoiding the dangers incident to navigation in those regions. We are, however, particularly concerned with the last of the possibilities that we have men- tioned, namely the prospect of developing important fishery resources. An inland sea with an area of over 200,000 square miles, with an average depth of about 50 fathoms, only a small part having depths exceeding one hundred fathoms, and situated between latitudes corresponding with those of Ireland and middle Norway in Europe, - has almost universally raised exceedingly high hopes of the development of an enormous fishery industry similar to that of the North Sea in Europe. We may ask how far these hopes have been fulfilled and to what extent their continuation may be justified by the facts already determined in the past as to the con- ditions in Hudson Bay. In the actual development of a commercial fishery nothing has been accomplished in spite of the lapse of more than three centuries since the region was dis- covered by Hudson, during which time many, many vessels have sailed across its waters. When we con- sider the distances to which voyages are made in search of fish, as well as the location of fishing stations in remote and desolate regions, it seems hardly possible that the waters of Hudson Bay could have been navi- gated for so many years without the discovery of im- portant fishing grounds, unless there be no consider, able quantities of fish, particularly of those that can be taken with hook and line, existing in the bay. It has been stated that the discovery of America was due to the excellent fishing to be found along her shores, and she was at that time far more inaccessible than Hudson Bay has been for hundreds of years. CANADIAN FISHERMAN. What is actually known regarding the fishes that _ August, 1918. : Pe tee, occur in that bay and in the waters connected there- | a with? Of expeditions to the bay and of reports there- on there have been not a few, of which we may men- tion the following: 1769, Hearne; 1773, Forster; 1784, Pennant ; 1846-7, Rae ; 1878-80, Bell; 1892-5, Low; 1897, Wakeham; 1903-4, Low; 1914, Melvill, Lower and Comeau. The fishes used for food in the Hudson Bay — a Tegion are almost exclusively fresh water species, or at least such as live partially in fresh water, of which we may instance the whitefish, speckled trout, lake trout, Hearne’s salmon, sturgeon, pickerel, pike and), ae ling. The salt water species are of small importanee,, — Greenland or rock cod, capelin, and sculpin being the, — only ones recorded as being taken for food. The claim — is frequently made that the deep-sea fishing possibili-_ ties of Hudson Bay have not been sufficiently in- — vestigated and the impression is left’ that extensive waters teeming with valuable fish await the success- ful explorer. three centuries ago its waters have been traversed almost yearly, with the exception of the first half cen- tury, owing to the fact that it gave the easiest ap- proach to the vast region in the interior of North Amer, ee ica,.so valuable for the fur it produces. The inecaleul-. able value of the discovery in that bay of important fishing grounds must have spurred many a sailor to, try for fish whenever an opportunity offered, yet no, fish of any importance have been found. Pennant wrote in 1784, ‘‘Hudson’s Bay is very ill supplied with fish. The common whale is very frequent there. The company have attempted to establish a fishery; and, for that purpose procured experienced people from the, _ Spitzbergen ships, and made considerable trials bes tween lat. 61 and 69; but after expending twenty, thousand pounds, and taking only three fish, were, in, 1771, obliged to desist.’ We are safe in saying that Hudson Bay has produced the most expensive, al- ee though not the most valuable, fish in the world. ful rer. Does past experience to any extent justify this view? There can be only one answer, that — it does not. Since the first discovery of the bay over Tita Fete "aE On the other hand what do the scientific results “ty show? As many as seventeen species of salt water fishes have been reported from Hudson Bay, and these _ include many species much more difficult to catch than are the important commercial fishes of our eastern coast. In addition to the three kinds already in use, ae namely Greenland cod, capelin, and seulpin, there are _ only three others that have even a prospect of proy- ing of importance commercially. They are, a flounder, — a BS SRR aT AR en era A Ey ORS Ne Lea aoe PIR Pcl which is rare, the lumpfish, which is actually rare, and — the sand launee. overlooked. ‘ Without exception, the marine fishes in Hudson Bay That’ even these will be found in — abundance is doubtful, as the flounder and sand launce come close inshore and if in numbers would not be are such as are capable of living in the cold waters of ; the far north, as at Greenland. They are all to be found on the Labrador coast. Some of them occur no farther to the south than Newfoundland, the majority are found only as strays farther south, and only range as far along the coast as New York. Beh Just as these northern fishes disappear one by one a 3 as we go south, so do the important sea fishes of our __ Atlantic coast drop out in groups or one by one as we go north. Pollock, swordfish, albacore, and whit- __ .ing barely enter the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The had. __ dock, hake, bass, shad, alewife, tomeod, oyster, and fi the fresh water species. aa August, 1918. quahaug do not reach the north shore of the gulf, or - only rarely. The herring, mackerel, lobster, and eel, go no farther than the Strait of Belle Isle, if that far, and the smelt is found only in the southern part of Labrador. The cod, halibut, and salmon enter Hud- son Strait, but do not reach Hudson Bay. Less im- portant fishes show the same gradation in range. There are undoubtedly fundamental climatic condi- tions that determine the distribution of these species and we can expect only a limited success in an attempt to extend their ranges. We have but meagre informa- ‘tion concerning the physical conditions in Hudson Strait and Bay, and in James Bay. However, the ob- servations made by Bell, Wakeham and Lower show that except. for a narrow zone along shore and in the estuaries, the surface water of James Bay does not attain so high a temperature as 50° F. even by the end of summer, that of Hudson Bay not so high as 45° F.., and that of Hudson Strait not so high as 40° F. This may be contrasted with our other waters — Bay of “undy, over 50°F. ; water off outer coast of Nova Scotia - end in northern part of Gulf of St. Lawrence, over 5° F.; southern part of Gulf of St. Lawrence, over 60° F. In this respect, if in no other, Hudson and _ James Bay do not afford conditions suitable for our important marine food fishes. We are. therefore, able to state definitely that there is no prospect whatever of the development of a fish- __ ery for either cod, halibut, smelt, herring, mackerel, lobster. hake, haddock. shad. or pollock in either Hud- son or James Bays. While the deep-sea fishery of that region offers such poor prospects, the same is not true of the coastal and inland fisheries. Nearly all. the im- nortant commercial fishes of the Great Lakes are to ae he found there in comparatively great abundance and many of them, such as the whitefish and trout, go to sea during a portion of the year and so make use of the food available in the salt and brackish water off the coast. Much still remains to be discovered concerning the animals occurring in those waters and the conditions under which they live, and the task of the future will be to determine these. and in so doing to discover what quantities of ultimate food material there are available and in what way it may be converted into forms most - suitable for the use of man. The point must be emphasized that the region has been quite thoroughly investigated with hook and line and with shore nets, but an investigation with a steam trawler remains to be made. Very, very few, however, of the commercial fishes taken by the steam trawler fail to be taken also with hook and line. It is, there- fore, quite certain that the fishes we have already mentioned as not being found in the bay, will not be found there in the future, even by the use of a steam trawler, except as strays. ‘They are not regular in- habitants of the bay. The reason for their exclusion from those waters is not because they have no ac- cess to the bay, but because they do not find there - suitable conditions for development during the egg and fry stages and the distances to be traversed from their breeding-grounds are too great. It may prove possible at some future date to regularly plant young _ fish of certain sepcies in those waters, where they will grow to a commercial size. A brief survey of the more important fishes may not be without interest, and we will consider first The sturgeon is rather abund- CANADIAN FISHERMAN. 897 ant and occurs in the lakes and streams connected with James Bay and in those of the southern part of the west coast of Hudson Bay. The species, one or several ocenrring there, appear to be in doubt. The lake trout or salmon trout is found in all the larger lakes and in some of the rivers on both coasts of the bay. It should prove of considerable importance. The speckled trout is abundant on the Labrador coast, in Ungava Bay, and on both shores of James Bay. In the rivers flowing into Hudson Bay proper it does not appear to be so plentiful. The Arctic trout or Hearne’s salmon is found in the lakes and rivers of Hudson Bay and enters the sea. It is less abundant toward the south, being found in James Bay only at the extreme north on the east side. The Atlantic sal- mon is not an inhabitant of Hudson Bay, its range ex- tending only so far as the eastern part of the strait. However, the ouananiche or land-locked salmor has been found in lakes on the rivers emptying into the south-eastern angle of James Bay (Melville), but not elsewhere. The whitefish, of which there are several species distinguished with difficulty, is abund- ant on both coasts of the region and is of relatively great importance. It frequents both lakes and rivers and in James Bay enters the sea. The tullibee is found along the coast and in the rivers on both sides of James Bay, as well as on the west coast cf Hudson Bay at least as far north as York factory. The pike, like the lake trout, is abundant in the lakes and in the rivers of both coasts, and is of large size. The pick- erel abounds in the lakes and streams connected with James Bay; but is less abundant toward the north. For Hudson Bay it is to be found only in the southern rivers of the west coast. The yellow perch has been reported only from the upper waters of the Albanly’ river (Lower), that is, in the extreme south. The fresh-water ling or burbot occurs in the lakes and large rivers of the whole region up to tne far north. A more extended account of the distribution of the few strictly salt water species, that are of value, may be advisable. The capelin has, since the earliest days, | Leen known to occur in Hudson Bay and it appears to be particularly abundant on the west coast of the bay, but is found from the northern part of James Bay all the way to Hudson Strait, if Gordon’s account of smelts at Nottingham island refers to the capelin. It is also known from Greenland, Labrador,. and the Arctic coast of western Canada. It is of uncertain appearance on the shores of Hudson Bay, but as it is taken at times in great abundance, it is to be con- sidered as an important fish of the region. The sand launce is distributed up the Labrador coast, through Hudson Strait, and down the east coast of the bay into James Bay, but there is no record of its occurrence on the west shore. Although small in size, its occurrence in schools makes it of importance as a bait fish, and it might also be of some value as food for man. A single specimen of a peculiar variety of lump-fish was taken at Fort Churchill, by Dr. Bell, but, although this form is of devided value in some waters, its appar- ent rarity makes it unlikely that it will ever be of much value in this region. The Greenland cod must be considered as the deep-sea fish of Hudson Bay most likely to provide a regular, although limited fishery. It. reaches a fair size, from upwards of five to perhaps as much as twenty pounds, and occurs along the east -ecoast all the way from the strait at the north down into James Bay nearly to its southernmost end. The fishery for the true Atlantic cod extends _onlv so fon 898 as Port Burwell at the eastern extremity of Hudson Strait; but it has been caught at times even to George River at the bottom of Ungava Bay. Its absence from Hudson Bay appears to be thoroughly established. The pollock has been reported from Hudson Strait and the west side of Hudson bay, but in each case only a single specimen was found, and one of them, if not both, was a small, although ‘apparently mature speci- men (Johansen.) These localities are so far from the known haunts of the species, that it may be doubted whether the individuals found are really the true pol- lock. The Aretie cod is in reality a diminutive pollock with certain slight structural’ differences, and it has been taken in Hudson Strait as well as along the coast of Labrador. It is at least probable that these north- ern specimens, identified as pollock, are but examples of another dwarfed race adapted to life in such high latitudes. The ordinary flounder of our Atlantic coast is dis- tributed along the Labrador and into Ungava Bay at the entrance to Hudson Strait. The only account of statement that an Indian took one in 1914 in a net set for whitefish on the eastern side of James Bay, and the description given by the Indian makes it very probable that this was the flounder. Although this fish is of considerable food value it is scarcely likely that it will be found to oceur in any great abundance in Hudson Bay, and it is probably confined to the east coast, as the opposite one has been so much more thor- oughly investigated without revealing its presence. For the fresh water fish the general distribution is that those of more southerly habit drop out as we go north, but are found farther to the north on the west side. The southerly marine species, 0 nte contrary, drop out as we pass in through Hudson Strait on the south side and as we go down the east coast of the bay. This may be accounted for by the dominant cur- rent, which, according to the information. given by Wakeham takes this course, but in a reverse direction, passing southward on the west coast and northward toward the strait on the east. The Arctic condition of this current will be ameliorated as it passes around and out of the bay. FISHERY RESOURCES OF OUR ATLANTIC COAST. By A. G. HUNTSMAN, Biologist to the Biological Board of Canada. We do not propose to speak of those resources that have already been developed, since the Blue Books, giving statistics concerning them, are generally avail- able and we have no more refined computations to offer you. Canada should not fall behind the records of the past, nor even merely hold her own, but should advance to ever greater achievements in production. It is, there- fore, undeveloped resources, with which we are con- cerned, and at the present time we, as a nation, are to a greater extent than ever before taking stock of the re- sources we possess, particularly of those of food. owing to the world shortage and the high prices that pre- vail. Our fishery resources on the Atlantic Coast are in- deed vast, for we have a very extended coast line and extensive fishing banks have been produced by the submergence in past ages of a considerable area of the margin of the continent.- The banks stretch out one hundred miles or more from the coast and beyond them the ocean floor drops very abruptly to depths of a mile CANADIAN FISHERMAN. August, 1918. or more. Inside the hundred-fathom line, this compris- ing virtually the whole of the area suitable for fishing, we have upwards of one hundred thousand square miles of sea, and in addition the immense banks off the New- foundland coast, including the Grand banks, are in part exploited by our fishermen. This fishing area does not belong to us, since the greater part of it is in the high seas and is common to all nations, but our prox- imity to it gives us first opportunity, and perhaps al- | oe so first claim, to garner in its riches. That many sources of food on our Atlantic coast still — remain either untouched or only slightly utilized is a — ae matter of common knowledge. How much more can be taken from these waters without endangering the sup- ply, we are not yet in a position to say, but the amount is certainlv very great. We are in the favourable posi- _ tion of having our waters neither with the icy coldness of the Arctic, nor with the barren warmth of the tro- pies, but with the intermediate condition of the temper- ate regions. It is true that the icy Arctic current comes down along the Labrador-coast and helps to lower the temperature of the water covering many of our banks, and also that the Gulf Stream brings tropical condi- tions to within a few miles of our coasts, but the great mass of the water is of such a temperature that life flourishes in abundance and the equal alternation of — ; seasons promotes very rapid growth. If we consider the extent of the fishing area (66,000,- 000 acres) and the amount of fish landed yearly at our Atlantic ports, (from 6 to 7 hundred million pounds) it will be seen that the yield is not large, amounting to only 10 pounds per acre per annum; yet all this fish __ equals 60% of the total catch for all Canada and has a value amounting to 50% of the total value of the It has been estimated that in 1904 _ Canadian fisheries. the North Sea yielded to the nations along her shores 15 pounds per acre, and the fishing there must be con- _ sidered to have been very intensive for such an exten- sive area. These figures are very samll, compared with the yield of waters under cultivation. The carp ponds — at Stettin in Germany were estimated to yield from 58 to 141 pounds per acre per annum. An acre pond cul- ~ : _ tivated experimentally by the government of the State of Kansas is said to have yielded the extraordinary amount of 4,700 pounds of fish in three years, which is” at the rate of more than 1,500 pounds per acre per an-— num. ‘Conditions vary greatly i in the different waters, some being of necessity barren and yielding little or nothing. The factors that determine the prodigy Walaa of any body of water are as yet only imperfectly known, — so that we are unable to say whether a yield of evena _ tithe of this large amount is possible jn our waters. The. maximum production occurs in areas that are rich<>.3 in the inorganic constituents, which are so necessary for the plant life, that furnishes the ultimate food for the animals in the water, but a shallow region, in which the light can penetrate to the bottom and which will have a relatively high temperature in summer is also necessary. A larger or smaller Jack in these directions — means a lower productivity, and we find this emeinpiee a, fied in many directions. For example, in the Province — of Ontario, the Georgian bay is moderately deep, drains a rather poor and barren region, and consequently — yields the small amount of from one-half to one pound © per acre per annum: Lake Ontario is deeper, but its waters have come to a considerable extent from rich ~ farming land, and the yield of the Canadian portion | is from one and half to two pounds ‘per acre — < at ie ee | = 7 & 3 # * a, | ¥a <7 be “a if ta ba a ws bay tS ie a ere ss sett hea! bo et of ove: Ss eR ey, i is li le a Es Ua August, 1918. _ per annum. Lake Erie, on the other hand, is both shal- low and rich, and from the Canadian portion form three ~ to four pounds per acre are taken each year. In none mum production has been even approximated and great _ resources still remain for proper gathering and con- servation. It may be peiaalened as quite certain that the pro- _ duction of our Atlantic waters can be increased by at least three hundred millions pounds per year. The at- tainment of this much to be desired end, will not come ‘without a very careful and thorough consideration of all the possibilities that are presented, and also not with- ‘out a comprehensive organization of our energies to develop these possibilities. Wedo not believe it advis- able to attempt any estimates, which would indeed be ‘most rough and of very doubtful value, of the amounts of the various kinds of fish which an intensive fishing _ of our Atlanaic waters would make available but we shall indicate in what direction development seems to be possible. _ The fisheries for certain of the shores fishes have al- Yeady reached or perhaps have passed in some cases the limits of profitable expansion, unless recourse be had, as has already been done in some instanees, to artificial ‘means of increasing the stock. Such are the salmon, lob- ster, trout, sturgeon, shad and bass, oyster and qua- haug. A few of the deep species are in approximately the ‘same condition, namely the halibut, swordfish, and al- bacore, as well as the important marine mammals, — _ whale, ‘seal, blackfish and beluga —, although suffi- wat information is not available for many of these. _ here yet remains an opportunity of increasing the 3 “landings of certain of our inshore fishes, such as the smelt, alewife, tomcod, flounder, eel, clam, eockle or round whelk, and crab, as well as of our seaweeds. The landings of some of these have greatly lessened in the last two decades, the fisheries for tomcods, founders, _ and eels having entirely ceased along certain sections of the coast. owing to the fishermen having obtained more lucrative employment. There is no evidence of any lack of these fishes, and a strong effort should be made to bring these fisheries back to their prime condi- tion of some years ago, and indeed to surpass former records. which would not be difficult of achievement. _ While flounder fishing has ceased in some districts, in others it has been steadily increasing. ' The dragging for scallops could be much more ex- tensive than it is. for on only a small portion of our -eoast has this industrv been prosecuted. Much also re- _ mains to be done, particularly to the north, in extend- ing the fishing for such deep sea kinds as the cod, had- dock. hake. and pollock, and the off-shore net fishery for herring and mackerel is still in its infancy. The ea for business of catching and capelin for bait has as- * sumed considerable proportions. but the catch could readily be increased and there is a good prospect of utilizing them both, but especially the capelin, as food oe for man, and a demand for them could soon be created. er _ There is much reason for self-congratulation in our having begun in recent years utilizing a number of spe- cies of fish that had been neglected or despised pre- viously, and the success that has attended efforts in this direction augurs well for what can still be done in . Introducing new varieties as food. The fishery for albacore and swordfish has developed aH -yiitbin the last decade and has quickly reached a con- dition whieh is sbpeeenly one of maximum produc- ‘ CANADIAN FISHERMAN. of the eases referred to is it conceivable that the maxi- - 899 tion. Other fisheries on the contrary are little more than started. The dogfish or grayfish offers great pos- sibilities in the direction of the easy capture of large quantities of food, and it has been used sporadically in various ways. It is to be hoped that the efforts being -put forth to place this fishery on a permanent footing may meet with success. It was only four years ago that skate and whiting were though worthy of a place in the fishery statistics and the demand for them has been steadily increasing. The available supply of these fish- es has been little more than touched and we may confi- dently look forward to a steady increase in their con- sumption. We may eall special attention to the ne- glect of the small species of skate, which are of a very convenient size for the frying trade and of fine flavour, as we have recently determined. They are much pre- ferred in the English markets. ~ The deep-water flatfishes, excepting the two hali- buts, have come into use only in the last few years and have passed on the markets as sole or flounder. There are three kinds, sole. plaice and dab, and only a very small portion of the available quantity has been utiliz- ed. The development of a market for each kind under its own name would be well worth while, and, owing to their fine flavour and convenient size, the results would be permanent. One of the fishes that has most recently been put upon the market is the catfish or wolffish, which is of large size and an ugly customer for a fisherman to tackle, but, in spite of its unprepossessing appearances, it affords.a large quantity of beautifully white meat with a delicious flavour. There are three kinds, of which only one occurs along shore and is well known the others being taken only on the banks to the north. For the last three years a considerable quantity of mus- sels and periwinkles has been shipped from at least . one district of our coast, and a part of this has found a sale in our markets. When it is considered how abun- dant they are along our coast and how easily they are obtained, the probability of their furnishing a very large quantity of cheap and wholesome food is very great indeed. The mussel is much the more important of the two,and the sustained effort that is being made in the United States to popularize this spgcies of shell- fish is worthy of emulation by us. There are also many kinds of which we have made little or no use up to the present, and for many of these the question of their utility is not in the least problem- atical, as they have long been in use in Europe or in the states to the south of us. Our failure to benefit from their presence in our waters has been due to the habit of eating other kinds, as well as to the former superabundance of so many and so varied fishes. In this connection we may mention a number of species. The rosefish has long been appreciated in this city of Halifax, where it goes by the name of the John Dory. The butterfish is of very fine quality indeed, but has on- ly a limited distribution on the southern part of our coast. The muttonfish has been pronounced by many of us who have tried it, as superior to cod and had- dock. The cunner is noteworthy for having had for many years a society founded in its honour, the purpose of which was to do justice to its edible qualities. The Iumpfish has long been esteemed in Chaleur Bay and, I am informed, in Halifax as well, also in many coun- tries of the old world, including Scotland. The monk- fish is exceedingly ugly, but, when decapitated, it is not unattractive and yields excellent steaks for the frying trade. I have been told that a fish merchant * 900 in England ‘‘made a fortune’’ out of monkfish. Sharks, of which we have a number of species, are coming into demand, it having been reported that they sold at as high a figure as 24 cents per pound during last win- ter in New York. Of unused species of shellfish, we have many, such as the hen-clam, razor clam, deep sea clams, limpet, and several species of whelks. Crabs from the Pacific coast and shrimps from the southern states are being sold in our eastern cities, while our own stores of these animals are scarcely touched. Two species or crabs are abundant, one of them along the whole extent of our eastern coast, while a very fine and large crab can be taken in considerable quantity in the deep water of the gulf of St. Lawrence. Shrimps and prawns in large numbers are to be found along the coast, but the feasibility of having a successful fishery for them re- mains to be determined. Many other marine resources of our Atlantic waters, having perhaps a lesser value, we shall pass over. It cannot be supposed that the mere enumeration Be unused resources can do anything but call attention to their extent. Each case will have to stand or fall upon its own merits. The success of a new venture depends upon so many factors that it is wise to predict only after a careful consideration of the attendant circum- stances in the particular case in hand. It is easy to be too pessimistic as well as too optimistic. Little more than half a century ago haddock was considered a de- cided inferior fish, and halibut were avoided by the fishermen. possible concerning the distribution, abundance, size, edibility, mode of capture, and season of the fish in question, as well as concerning the best methods of handling and cooking it. Conditions at the time may or may not be favourable for its introduction, or the neglect to attend to some necessary details may cause the failure of the new venture, a failure which fore- sight might have prevented. Experiment on a small scale and the elimination of the difficulties that are met with may be necessary. The Biological Board is trying to assist in this work by procuring some of the needed information and with a part of the inquiry it is the body best fitted to cope. But success can only come through co-operation. Fish- ermen, fish merchants, transportation companies, wholesale dealers, retail dealers, and the public are the essential links in the chain. We, the scientists, can in that capacity merely serve to a greater or less extent as a sort of intelligence bureau, and we shall be glad to have the mistakes we make in the parts of the prob- lem more unfamiliar to us forgiven and, when known, pointed out, and also to have the asssitance of all those interested in the fisheries in the common task of obtaining the necessary information and of dissemi- nating it, which should finally result in action being tak- en. We shall feel thoroughly repaid if our share of the work helps to finally place our fisheries on the best possible footing, one in advance of that of any other na- tion in the world, and nothing less would satisfy us. Dr. Huntsman concluded his paper by remarking :— The conclusion is. commercially, scientifically and theoretically, from the physical conditions, there is no prospect of deep sea fishing in Hudson Bay, but the fresh water fisheries are of considerable importance. In connection with this work, find what there is, determine the conditions which make for success in using any of these forms, and in that I hope we shall CANADIAN FISHERMAN. What is needed is as full information as— August, 1918. have co-operation. Part of this work we can do well, but all the aspects of it can be considered scientifically, and it would be well if we had the best scientific ex- perts of which some of you are already on the trans- portation and fishing side; it must be all brought to- gether. There are some who can approach the problem from all these aspects and it would be better for them to do it. But no one seems to get started, so we will start and would like your assistance. THE PRESIDENT: I am sure the members of the Association have enjoyed this paper to a very great extent; I can only say for myself, and I believe for the other members of the Association, that co- operation is the word. When we get the men working on the scien- tifie side and get those handling the commercial side together, there is no question as to the future. MR, PAULHUS: I was interested in the paper read by Dr. Huntsman, and I was surprised and disappoint- ed in one way about Hudson Bay. What I had read and understood, we don’t know anything about Hud- son Bay in regards to fish. Now, we are led to be- lieve there is no fish there of any commercial value. I am of opinion that all the surveys up to now are not, to my mind, conclusive. I would like to have an expression of opinion by some practical men in the fish business. The fact that it is said there are lots of fish in the rivers flowing into the Hudson Bay leads me to the conclusion there must be lots of salmon, for in- stance. Regarding the description he has given us _ of the area of our fishing grounds, I was pleased to — learn that we had such an area; that the amount of fish taken was only two pounds, I look forward that we shall increase it to ten before long. It is one of the aims of this Association that everyone in the fish business should get together and develop it so that — it will be one of the best assets of this country. Mr. HARPELL: The estimates of the northern and north-western parts of Canada have always been pessi- mistic—much more so than were justified. For years we heard of north-western Canada as being unfit for agri- culture, yet we now know that it is one of the best agri- cultural districts in thé world. We received the same kind of report concerning the district of Patricia lying to the south-west of the Hudson and James Bay, yet according to the commission which the Ontario Gov- ernment sent up there shortly after this territory be- — came a part of that provinee it is very fit for agri- culture. This commission ventures the prophecy that it will not be many years before a large section of this territory is under cultivation. This commission reports that in the early days the © Hudson Bay Co., maintained a farm in the most north- erly part of the district and grew much of the agricul- tural products they required, but when the Canadian Government began to be interested in the north-west for settlement purposes the above-mentioned farm was discontinued. From all that I have eu able to gather concerning the explorations of the Hudson and James Bay there does not seem to have been any proper investigations, which would be likely to determine the value of these waters as deep-sea fishing grounds. Dr. Huntsman has never explored these waters himself. The infor- mation and the general outlook presented in the paper he has just read are based upon the reports of other . investigators ; none of whom have ever made an investi- gation even approximating what is necessary in order to determine the presence or absence of deep-sea “ ~~ 1 ee ~ August, 1918. ~ ple rule. fishes. We will not hold Dr. Huntsman responsible for the pessimistic outlook he has just presented. He did not take the fish out; but will continue to believe that the fish are there until a proper investigation has been made. ag So MR, MALLETT: I might say I find myself unable to disagree with any of the very many fine points brought forward. From a practical standpoint, I am unable to controvert any of it. In Massachusetts wa- ters we are getting a large increase of fish, utilising to the fullest extent every fishing craft we can get off the stocks. We are working to the fullest extent on the staple lines. MR. BOWMAN: I have met men who have spent their lives on Hudson Bay, and I think their testimony bears out what our friend Dr. Huntsman tells us; they distinctly point out there is a scarcity of deep sea fish, but there is considerable of what we call the lake fish; trout, whitefish and those descriptions. MR. CORNELL: We know very little about deep sea or shallow sea fishing. I am a great admirer of Dr. Huntsman. I never heard him without a great deal of pleasure. I consider he is one of those scientists who do not lose common sense with science. I could not let this opportunity go by when he spoke of cul- tivating the waters. As far as the lakes or inland wa- ters are concerned, I consider, and we generally con- sider now, that that is the keynote for perpetuating the fishing industry; when I tell you, and I will perhaps surprise you, that the more, you fish a lake the greater the quantity of fish comes in that lake. I will have to illustrate it by a farm. Suppose you want to raise all the food possible to raise on 100 acres of land; would you keep the bullocks until they are 14 years old? Or ‘would you sell them when they are fully matured? You sell them for two reasons. You want to get the money, and to save the food that 100 acres would pro- duce for calves and growing stock. We have a sim- Fish only the proper size mesh so that no- thing but fully developed fish is taken, and take all you possibly can, because you weed out the non-pro- ducers and leave the food for those that are growing. Be very careful as to the fish that you hatch by arti- ficial hatcheries. Suppose you want to consider a lake from a purely business standpoint. There is a great deal of pleasure in catching trout, and you like it. Tt is a nice fish to eat, but as far as the lake goes it is the most expensive that ever was there. Let us illustrate that: Suppose you had another 100 acres, and you wanted to produce all the food possible, and wolf meat was worth 8c a pound; mutton worth 10c. - Would it be good business to raise sheep and feed them to the wolves and then sell the wolf meat? When you are hatching pirate fish—cannibals—you are feeding them on the fish that are worth as much or are of greater value, and it will take 25 lbs. of white fish to make 1 lb. of trout. Would it be good business to put close seasons on trout or any other pickerel and raise them in hatcheries and keep up wolves to eat the rest of the fish of greater value? These things ought to be considered before you undertake to cultivate your inland waters. I hope before there is a general system jmaugurated whereby they undertake to cultivate in- land waters it will be considered as to the most profit- able fish that you want to replenish your lakes with. Mr. W. A. Found: I don’t want this matter to close without it being clearly set before the convention as gs to the steps that have been taken to ascertain what CANADIAN FISHERMAN. 901 are the real possibilities in Hudson Bay and why these have not been proceeded with to a greater extent. When expressing any personal opinion, I should like to quote the opinion of the late Dr. Wakeham whom I re- gard as having been one of the best authorities on fish- ing conditions in the North, and whose opinions were very largely in line with those given expression to by Dr, Huntsman. For some years before his late lament- ed death, when this country lost the services of an excellent officer, the matter was very fully discussed with him, and we decided that it was best to have an exhaustive examination of the conditions obtaining there from the double standpoint, that of the Bay it- self, and that of the rivers flowing into the Bay. Af- ter canvassing the situation, it was felt that these ends could be best achieved by sending a couple of men, capable men, with canoes down the rivers from points on the G.T.P., to Hudson Bay, and to send a boat around from here equipped fully with fishing equip- ment of the different kinds to test the conditions in the Bay. The conditions in the rivers flowing into the Bay were fairly well examined as closely as time at the disposal would allow, and as the season would permit to get out in time, and it shows, as Dr, Huntsman indi- cated, quite an abundance of different kinds of river fish, some of which, contrary to the habits of the same fish in other waters, went from the rivers to the salt waters during a portion of the year. The expedi- tion to the Bay itself was not satisfactory. We chose a fishery officer from Seven: Islands, a naturalist, and who had a large experience in Northern waters. Con- ditions developed which made it impossible for as sat- isfactory a survey to be made there as we would have liked. In fact, there was very little information of a positive or final character obtained, but sufficient was obtained to indicate that that method of examination was not going to yield the information; the best me- thod would be to get a capable steam trawler. Nego- tiations were taken up by the Department with Great Britain to try and find out about a trawler, and we found it was extremely difficult to get a trawler with sufficient coal carrying capacity to stay there long enough to examine conditions sufficiently: The war breke out, and the Hudson Bay Railway was in pro- of being completed when there would be a base from which a trawler could operate readily. A sum was in the estimates up to two years ago to complete the investigation, but on account of these conditions which I have just spoken of, the matter was dropped, not permanently by any means, but until conditions would again become normal; the Hudson Bay Railway would be completed and the investigation could be ~ made which would be final in its character. D. J.. BYRNE: I heard one gentleman remark that what he liked about Dr. Huntsman as a scientist, he talked sense. My experience has been that when scientists go into a question of this kind they invari- nably: talk sense, and the sooner we realize that the work done by scientists is not only common sense, but it is backed up by the examination of the conditions as we find them, the better it will be for us. I think our Association is particularly fortunate in having access to the biological members to assist in determining any- thing required to develop the fisheries. As commer- cial fishermen we should be very much interested in what Dr, Hunthman said about the unused specimens. In these he mentioned particularly plaice, soles, skate, cat and dog fish. I assume by catfish he meant deep sea - catfish or wolf-fish. It has been my own experience in landing a quantity of gound fish, including haddock, pollock, where there were cat fish or wolf fish, which are beyond doubt excellent food fish, they had to be sold about le a lb. and the reason was the varieties were not known, and they had to be disposed of at a price which was not profitable to fish for them. And the same in the matter of shellfish, periwinkles, mussels and clams. To return to the seale fish, plaice, soles, skate; I think not only would the development of a market for these help to enlarge our business, but it would also at the same time help to decrease the cost of producing the other kinds. It is a well known fact they do not market more than 50 to 60 per cent of their catch, because they get these varieties which take up space and do not bring a sufficient return to carry them to market; while they are excellent food fish. I think the idea should be to develop trade for all varie- ties which Dr. Huntsman mentioned in his exhaustive paper, and by doing so we will increase the possibili- ties of the fisheries; the quantities and varieties for the public, and at the same time reduce the cost of pro- ducing. Mr. T. W. C. Binns: We have been asked to co-operate with the Food Board, and one thought I would-like to mention is this: When the demand begins to go up, keep the price reasonable and the retailers will co- operate. Mr. HARPELL: Dr. Huntsman, in dealing with the Hudson Bay was quoting entirely from reports other than his own. But the field in which he has done valuable research work is covered by the second part of his paper, namely, that on the unused fishes of the Atlantic. In this part of his paper he touched upon the scientific work that was possible in both the pro- ducing and non-producing fishing grounds. I think there is a pronounced opinion among our members that this scientific work is very necessary and since it is being done on grounds that are com- mon to the United States, Canada and Newfoundland, these three countries might reasonably be expected to undertake it conjointly. For some years the outbreak of the present war there was an International Scientific Commission form- ed by the countries of north-western Europe to make scientific explorations in the fishing grounds of the North Sea and adjoining waters and as their work is generally recognized as being most valuable I do not think that the countrieS on this continent could do better than follow this example and appoint a promi- nent International Scientific Commission to do similar work on the deep-sea fishing grounds off the Atlan- tic and Pacific and in boundary waters such as the Great Lakes. It would seem only right that such work be undertaken conjointly by Canada, the United States and Newfoundland or such of them as are jointly in- terested in the waters explored. Work such as has been done recently by Dr. Hjort, whose report has not yet been published, might come under such a commission. THE PRESIDENT: I would like Dr. Huntsman to elucidate; if I recollect, he said there were quite a number of whales in Hudson Bay; they were one of the species more plentiful than other commercial fish. DR, HUNTSMAN: The whale fishery was very good for some time, but not so good in recent years. THE PRESIDENT: How would it be possible for 902 CANADIAN FISHERMAN. August, 1918. these to maintain themselves without smaller fish to feed on? . DR. HUNTSMAN: I feel confident there is food there; ordinary food fishes are not there. I think an expedition such as Mr. Found suggests can be made with a steam trawler to see if any other fish can be caught, and at the same time other conditions as to temperature, ete., can be found out; also conditions of small life, and then we will have a complete story; there may be considerable food there. That water is not too cold for cod; cod are found in as cold waters - along our own coasts; but apparently the cod that live at the upper end of Newfoundland, that are caught there, around Cape Chidleigh, migrate there from far- ther South and they are only able to breed success- fully on the South shores of Newfoundland; Hudson Bay is too far from the breeding grounds. QUESTION: In your opinion is the temperature of the water too low for the development of the cod roe? DR. HUNTSMAN: I believe it is too cold for the development of the eggs and young fry. From the in- formation I have, even the Bay of Fundy does not produce young fry. It is produced in warmer waters. HON. MR. STONE: I may say I am only just a visitor here and I have listened with a great deal of interest to the paper which Dr. Huntsman has entertained us with, and through the medium of his paper I seem to gather a whole lot of information in connection with Hudson Bay; although being from Newfoundland. Hudson Bay is a place I am not familiar with, nor with the fisheries around there. This is exactly what we have been after for a long time, for some- body who has a good knowledge of the investigating conditions, to go right down to the bottom and try to teach us something that we don’t know. We, of course, as fishermen, which I have been all my life time, I have fished on the coast of Newfoundland, Belle Isle and Labrador, I have not been afforded an oppor- tunity, because I have always got my fish this side of the Cape, well down the coast. I think the paper read here this afternoon by Dr. Huntsman is of great inter- est, and I believe if carried out along the lines he sug- gested just now, in sending a trawler to find out con- ditions, I believe we shall derive great benefit from the information brought back. There was a coal sup- ply mentioned in connection with the trawler; we thought also we would have obstacles when we started the Northern Labrador service from Hopedale, North. We had to get over the coal supply. We found we had to send ships to Sydney and send them to certain parts of the coast and put it on another ship and send it further along still. We seem to have a system where- by we get our coal supply down there now, and if a similar system was arranged I don’t believe you would experience any difficulty in connection with getting a trawler down there to make investigations and find out everything in connection with the fisheries which Dr. Huntsman has spoken of here this afternoon. As far as Newfoundland is concerned we only have a small population, 240,000, and I suppose we are practically unknown to the outside world, but as far as quantity, quality and variety goes, I think we have as much fish as any country in the world, practically speaking. There is one particular point, and that is, we are the oldest British colony, and in addition to being the oldest British colony, we have been operating the fish- eries for the past 400 years, on or about, and tomy mind at the present time they are only just in their ae a ltatioe oe te ae ee els Be a aes Sh: 13 ue s ; Lan me A gy ee ae eS Pe ee Ne % i =s August, 1918. initial stage, and it is further development and co- operation we want, and we want scientific informa- tion; and if we can go along the lines and try to get some means of finding out conditions North, I don’t think we shall lose any time and we will benefit a great deal by the information which will be supplied. DR. A. H. MACKAY: My object here is to learn something more about the subject, especially from the practical side. I think there is such a thing as evolu- tion at work in the sea, as well as on the farm, and that conditions even in Hudson Bay may change when we do something to change some of the conditions on the land surrounding it. EVENING SESSION. Mr. W. A. Found’s Address: W. A. FOUND, Dominion Superintendent of Fish- eries, read a paper dealing with the ‘‘International Aspect of the Fisheries and the Problems before the International Fisheries Commission.’’ : THE INTERNATIONAL ASPECT OF THE FISHER. IES AND THE PROBLEMS BEFORE THE INTERNATIONAL FISHERIES COMMISSION. W. A. FOUND, Dominion Superintendant of. Fisheries, Ottawa. The oceans are commonly regarded as the great separating spaces between countries. From a fisher- jes standpoint, they are the common meeting grounds of the nations, where all engage, by the means they think best, in gathering the harvests of the seas. While the laws_of any nation can govern the actions and methods of fishing of any vessel flying its flag on the high seas, as well as in U. S. territorial waters, they eannot be applied to competing vessels of other na- tions. It is, therefore, not surprising that the fisher- jes have been a fruitful source of international con- sideration and difficulty. Also, from the earliest times the fisheries have been the parent of navigation and of commerce. In earlier years the fisheries were regarded as the nurseries of the navies. It was with a view to naval strength that England had from an early period confined to British subjects residing on the European side of the At- lantic, the right to dry and cure fish on the shore of Newfoundland. This is clearly evidenced by the in- -troductory words of British Statute 15, George III, Chapter 31, 1775, entitled: “‘An Act for the Encouragement of the Fisheries earried on from Great Britain, Ireland and the British Dominions in Europe, and for securing the return of fishermen, sailors, and others employed in the said fisheries, to the ports thereof at the end of the fishing season.’’ The introduction to this statute read as follows: ‘Whereas the fisheries carried on by His Ma- jesty’s subjects of Great Britain, and of the Brit- ish Dominions in Europe, have been found to be the best nurseries for able and experienced seamen, always ready to man the royal navy when occasions may require, etc.’’ It is, therefore, not surprising to note that the rise and fall of the naval ana commercial supremacy of Maritime European nations were largely coincidental CANADIAN FISHERMAN. 903 with their rise and fall in the control of the fisheries. The early history of the North American continent is in a large measure embraced in a history of its fisheries. Tradition has it that fishermen from Brittany visit- ed the Banks of Newfoundland before Columbus dis- covered the West Indies. It would not be impossible in those days that this could have happened without the information reaching the ears of the court. Neither the fishermen nor their employers had much communi- cation with the court, and they themselves were ac- customed to undertake not only the defence of their own trade, but the punishment of their enemies. We, however, know that the discovery of Newfoundland and the North American continent by the Cabots in 1497, was immediately followed by the extension of the voyages of British and other fishermen to the un- speakably rich fishing banks off Newfoundland, and in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Under the practice then obtaining, Great Britain might reasonably have claim- ed exclusive use of these fisheries, but the too power- ful navies of Spain and Portugal at that time made this impracticable. Indeed, that such effort on the part of Great Britain was anticipated, is evidenced by the fact that the Spanish Ambassador at the British Court, lodged a protest against possible interference with Spanish fishermen. Spain, however, soon became absorbed in her rich discoveries about the Gulf of Mexico, and her fishermen gradually left the banks. In the fifteenth century, Portugal was strongly en- trenched in this fishery. Even the conquest of that country by Spain did not end her participation in the New World fishery, but the number of her fishing ves- sels rapidly declined in the last few years of that cen- tury. : But at this time the French flag floated on prob- ably the largest number of vessels. It was through the efforts of those engaging in the fisheries and of the companies having fur-trading concessions from the French king that French colonization was undertaken in America. ' British seamen and merchants were, however, not idle. As early as 1502, Henry VII granted letters patent for colonizing Newfoundland to two. Bristol merchants named Elliot and Ashenhurst. While little seems to have been accomplished in the way of colon- ization, every spring British fishermen sailed for the Banks and returned in the fall with their catches, which they had dried and eured in Newfoundland. The profits were large and merchants began to quarrel amongst themselves for the most desirable shore sta- tions. Soon after Queen Elizabeth came to the throne a far from purposeless energy seized her sea-faring subjects, and her great admirals, Drake and Gilbert, and others, soon obtained for her the mastery of the seas. From time to time, patents of fishing rights were given by British sovereigns and large profits were made. The reported discovery of gold, in Newfoundland, caused a flurry of excitement in England, and a com- pany was formed in 1610 to develop it, but interest in the fisheries predominated. Lord Bacon, who was one of this company, was willing that they should leave the search for gold to others, and that they should engage in the fisheries; to use his own words, ‘‘Like which, of all minerals, there is none so rich.’’ More and more attention was being directed to the . 904. fisheries. of the coast of Massachusetts. In 1602 Bartholomew Goswold, an English navigator, who was associated with Sir Walter Raleigh, sailed in a small ‘vessel to this coast, and after reaching Massachusetts Bay, he proceeded to the headland which he named Cape Cod, which it still bears, on account, as he said, ‘‘of the fish which pestered the ship.’’ Fishing could only be carried on in the summer, and the spare hands who remained with a sufficient store of provisions forthe winter, were the first colonists of this section. Evidently, it was the possibilities of the fisheries that prompted the Pilgrim Fathers to choose that section, as when their spokesman was asked by King James what profit might result from their settle- ment there, he replied in the single word ‘‘fishing.’’ The first colonists of New Hampshire went there for fishing and hunting. The first export therefrom was fish, and the trade and navigation of this whole section was’ founded on fish. Friction between the colonists of this section and those from France further North, in what are now Nova Scotia proper and Cape Breton, in connection with the fisheries, soon began. The British and French Governments freely granted overlapping patent rights in the wilds of North America. The boundaries given were vague, and monopolies of the fisheries were either expressly conveyed or assumed, and when claims con- flicted the patentees urged their respective Govern- ments to reprisals. More time may not be devoted to this aspect of the matter. Let it suffice to say that all or nearly all the conflicts between the British and French that went on for about one hundred and fifty years and were finally settled on the Plains of Abraham in 1759 grew out of, or embraced disputes about, the fisheries. Under the Treaty of Paris in 1763, which ended French domination in the New World, and transferred to Britain all French dependencies, it was provided that the French should continue to retain the liberty to fish and dry their fish on a portion of the coast of Newfoundland, as was specified in the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713. It was further provided that they should have the liberty of fishing in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, on condition that they would not come nearer the shore than nine geographical miles, nor nearer Cape Breton Island than 45 miles. From this it will be seen that Great Britain at this time claimed very wide territorial jurisdiction. The treaty further pro- vided that the French should retain the two small is- lands of St. Pierre and Miquelon, in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, as a shelter for their fishermen, but they were not to be fortified nor to have permanent resi- dences erected thereon. These provisions were modified by the Treaty of Versailles in 1783. Little colonization of what are now the Maritime Pro- vinces was done following the Treaty of Paris and be- fore the American Revolutionary war, but the then British New England colonists continued to exploit the fisheries of that region, and following the Revolu- tion they claimed that as they had in the past con- tinuously and freely resorted to these fisheries and had borne, almost unaided, the burden of maintaining and defending their own and British interests, in these fisheries, against the aggressions of the French dur- ing the wars between Great Britain and France, they CANADIAN FISHERMAN. August, 1918. had in them at least equal rights with Great Britain and the British colonies. Massachusetts was one of the most influential of the New England colonies, and the fisheries were of prim- ary importance to it. Prominent amongst those who negotiated the Treaty of Peace of 1783 was John Quincey Adams, of that colony. It is, therefore, not surprising to find the representatives of the United States insisting on a continuance of their fishing oppor- tunities and that Article III, of this Treaty, provided as follows: ‘‘Tt is agreed, that the People of The United States shall continue to enjoy unmolested*the right to take Fish of every kind on the Grand Bank and on all the other Banks of Newfoundland; also in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and at all other places in the Sea where the Inhabitants of both Coun- tries used at any time heretofore to fish. And also that the Inhabitants of The United States shall have liberty to take fish of every kind on such part of the Coast of Newfoundland as British Fishermen shall use, (but not to dry or cure the same on that Island), and also on the Coasts, Bays, and Creeks of all other of His Britannic Majesty’s Dominions in America; and that the American Fishermen shall have liberty to dry and cure fish © in any of the unsettled Bays, Harbors, and Creeks of Nova Scotia, Magdalen Islands,.and Labrador, so long as the same shall remain unsettled; but so soon as the same, or either of them, shall be — settled, it shall not be lawful for the said Fisher- men to dry or cure fish at such Settlement, with- out a previous agreement for that purpose with the Inhabitants, Proprietors, or Possessors of the ground.’’ It will be observed that this Article contained two distinct stipulations—the one recognizing the “‘right’’ of the United States to fish on the high seas, and the other granting fishing and other ‘‘privileges’ British jurisdiction. These inshore and onshore fishery privileges soon. | began to prove a cause of unrest and friction between the local fishermen and the visiting ones from the United States. It frequently happened that the local fishermen were not only obstructed in their lawful enterprises by competing United States fishermen, but they were often prevented altogether from fishing in desirable places by finding harbors and creeks pre- occupied by such fishermen. Also goods were being smuggled into the British Colonies by the visiting fish- ermen. It is, therefore, not surprising that Great Britain absolutely refused to allow this state of affairs to continue after the war of 1812. of the Treaty of Ghent, in 1814, by which peace was restored, were unable to agree regarding the fisher- ies. Hence that Treaty is silent in the matter. The United States contended that their fishery ‘‘liberties”’ as well as their ‘‘rights’’ provided by the Treaty of 1783 were unaffected by the war. They contended that this Treaty was not simply a treaty of peace, but one of partition between two parts of one nation, agree- ing henceforth to be separated into two distinct sov- ereignties; that the fishery ‘‘rights’’ and ‘“‘liberties”’ were not grants from Great Britain to the United States but acknowledgment of them as rights and liberties enjoyed by them before separation, and which it was agreed should be continued to be enjoyed under the i new conditions. “ > within mi fio ake o ¥ cen ae, eR am © eae pat J eg SE TRS my dS Pe tiny te re WEP om ass fel r in ; TRE Seat te Soe EL 1 A are ee a ne ee eS she an aie ea ee it , << ua Md a Ni 2k a eT % ps oF a is cot ‘The negotiators — re = i Sages pees he oto ene August, 1918. CANADIAN In this contention Great Britain did not for a mo- ment concur. She insisted that the Treaty of 1783 had been abrogated by the war, and in the absence of any provision regarding the fisheries in the new treaty, the United States fishermen stood in the same position in British waters as those from other foreign nations, and were so not authorized to use the shores or to fish in territorial waters. Great Britain, however, while main- taining this attitude without qualification, mtimated that it was not her desire to exclude the United States fishermen from enjoying reasonable privileges on the British coasts, conditional on interference with the local fishermen being guarded against, and expressed will- ingness to enter into negotiations in the premises. This was done and the negotiations resulted in the Treaty of the 20th October, 1818, the first article of which deals with the fisheries. It reads as follows: ‘(Whereas differences have arisen respecting the liberty, claimed by the United States for the inhabitants thereof, to take, dry, and cure fish on certain coasts, bays, harbours, and creeks of His Britannic Majesty’s Dominions in America, it is agreed between the high contracting parties that the inhabitants of the said United States shall have, for ever, in common with the subjects of His Britannic Majesty, the liberty to take fish of every kind on that part of the southern coast of New- foundland which extends from Cape Ray to the Ramea Islands, on the western and northern coast of Newfoundland; from the said Cape Ray to the Quirpon Islands; on the shores of the Magdalen Islands; and also on the coasts, bays, harbours, and creeks, from Mount Joli, on the southern coast of Labrador to and through the Straits of Belle- isle, and thence northwardly, indefinitely, along the coast, without prejudice, however, to any of the exclusive rights of the Hudson’s Bay Com- pany; and that the American fishermen shall also have liberty, forever, to dry and cure fish in any of the unsettled bays, harbours, and creeks of the southern part of the coast of Newfoundland, hereabove described, and of the coast of Labra- dor; but so soon as the same, or any portion there- of, shall be settled, it shall not be lawful for the said fishermen to dry or cure fish at such portion so settled, without previous agreement for such purpose with the inhabitants, proprietors, or pos- sessors of the ground. And the United States here- by renounce, forever, any liberty heretofore en- joyed or claimed by the inhabitants thereof to take, dry, or cure fish on or within three marine miles of any of the coasts, bays, creeks, or harbors of His Britannic Majesty’s Dominions in America, not included within the above-mentioned limits; Provided, however, that the American fishermen shall be admitted to enter such bays or harbors for the purpose of shelter and of repairing dam- ages therein, or purchasing wood, and of obtain- ing water, and for no other purpose whatever. But they shall be under such restrictions as may be necessary to prevent their taking, drying, or curing fish therein, or in any other manner whatever abusing the privileges hereby reserved to them.”’ It was thought at the time that this treaty had put an end for good and all to the questions in dispute, but it soon developed that the two countries placed different interpretations on certain portions of the above quoted articles. J. W. Johnston—whose name ye FISHERMAN 905 is well remembered and justly honored in Nova Scotia —who served as Attorney General in this province dur- ing the decade of the forties—he was later a distinguish- ed judge—submitted a reasoned paper to the then Gov- ernor of the Province, in which he argued that the United States fishermen had no right to come into a Canadian bay at all for fishing purposes no matter what its size might be. The United States, on the oth- er hand maintained that their fishermen could not be excluded from any bay that is more than six miles wide, or the usual territorial three miles from etiher shore. The Nova Scotia assembly backed Mr. John- ston, and the matter was submitted to the law officers of the Crown in Great Britain, who supported his view, and an effort was made to enforce it. In 18438, the United States vessel ‘‘Washington’’ was seized in the Bay of Fundy. The United States protested. The British Government finally decided to stand by the Nova Scotia contention, and in a few years the two nations were all but at each other’s throats. Also the growth of the mackerel fishery, the tend- ency of the fish to school inshore, and the need for sur- face bait used in this fishery, were strong incentives to invasions of our territorial waters. On the other hand the markets of the United States were the most attractive ones to our fishermen. In ‘the later forties, and earlier fifties, heated diplo- matic discussions went on and war was certainly immi- nent, and it speaks volumes for both nations, that even at that time they decided to settle their difficulies amicably. Negotiations for the treaty were set on foot, and these resulted in the Reciprocity Treaty, of 1854. Under this treaty, fish and fish products pro- ducts were admitted into each country from the oth- er, free of duty, and the United States fishermen were allowed to fish in our territorial waters, excepting in the rivers and for shell-fish, and similar privileges were accorded our fishermen on the portions of the coast of the United States north of the 36th parallel of north latitude. Owing, not only to the growing competition by Can- adian fishermen, but to conditions between the two nations that arose during the Civil War, the United ‘States gave notice in 1865 that the Treaty would be terminated at the expiration of twelve months, which was the length of notice required by the treaty. It so ceased to be effective in 1866. As a matter of grace, and no doubt in the hope of again.reaching an amicable settlement in the matter, the British Colonies arranged for the continuation of the privilege during the year 1866 by the issuing of licenses, the tonnage fee on which was 50c. This fee was raised in 1867 to $1.00 per ton, and in the follow- ing year to $2.00, but as the number of vessels taking out such licenses fell off from 365 in 1866 to 35 in 1869, the licenses were withdrawn, and the Treaty of 1818 again became effective. A fisheries protective force was put on and seizures of and interferences with United States fishing vessels ensued, with the conse- ‘quent international friction and irritation, but in the following year the two nations got together again and negotiated the Treaty of 1871. This treaty became effective in 1873. It revived the fishery conditions under the Reciprocity Treaty of 1854. It also pro- vided for the appointment of a Commission to déter- mine the amount of compensation that should be paid by the United States to Great Britain, as the differ- ence in the value of.the fishery concessions granted 906 CANADIAN United States fishermen in Canadian waters over those granted our fishermen in United States waters. This Commission sat at Halifax in 1877, and their findings have since been known as the Halifax Award. The amount of their award was $5,500,000. Of this amount $1,000,000 were apportioned to Newfoundland. This Treaty was terminated at the instance of the United States in 1885, but negotiations looking to a new treaty were set on foot, and Canada continued to allow United States fishing vessels to enjoy the privileges of the Treaty throughout the season of that year. These negotiations were not successful, and so the Treaty of 1818 was revived in 1886, and a fish- eries protection fleet, to enforce its provisions, was put on. Seizures of, and interferences with United States fishing vessels followed, with the consequent irritation and rather heated diplomatic correspondence, but negotiations that were in process resulted in the appointment of plenipotentaries, who, on the 15th Feb- ruary, 1888, agreed to what has since been known as the ‘‘Unratified Treaty of 1888.’’ This Treaty de- fined the limits of exclusion of United States fishing vessels in certain bays, and in all other bays it was to be three marine miles seaward from a line drawn across the bay at the first point where the width does not exceed ten marine miles. It also provided that if the United States admitted fish, fish products, and their containers, free of duty, such articles from the United States would be admitted duty free into Canada, and United States fishing vessels would be granted an- nual licenses without fee, authorizing them to pur- chase in Canadian ports all provisions and outfits, to trans-ship their catches and to ship crews. It was out of this Treaty that what have since been known as the modus vivendi licenses, grew. It was recognized by the Commissioners that the necessary legislation to make the Treaty effective could not be obtained in the respective countries before the fishing season of that year would come round, and with a view to promoting good feelings, and removing all pos- sible subjects of controversy, the British plenipoten- taries offered to make a temporary arrangement, or modus vivendi, not to last longer than two years, whereby on the payment of a fee of $1.50 per register- ed ton of the vessel, the privileges of purchasing all supplies and outfits, shipping crews and trans-shipping catches in Canadian ports would be granted. This Treaty was ratified by Great Britain, Canada and Newfoundland, but was not approved by the United States Senate, but in the hope of reaching some arrangement, Canada continued the arrangement by special Act in 1890, and again in 1891. The following year a statute was adopted, giving the Governor in Council authority to continue it from year to year, and under such authority it has been renewed every year since that time. As at the time this arrangement was adopted, fish- ing vessels were driven by sails only; when motor driven vessels began to be used, thev were held not to be eligible for such licenses, and as more and more vessels were installing motors annually, every year the number eligible for licenses decreased, and the value of the privilege became less and less. During the past twenty or twenty-five years a situa- tion has been developing on the Pacific Coast, which, in 1916, became quite critical. On that coast, mainly off British Columbia and Alaska, there has been and is still the greatest halibrt FISHERMAN fishery the world has yet known. This fishery was started on its extensive commercial basis in 1888, from Washington State ports, by vessels sent around the Horn from Massachusetts. A few years later the New England Fish Company of Boston opened a branch at Vancouver, as that port was nearer the fishing grounds than Seattle, and afforded equally favorable railway facilities to the Eastern United States’ Markets as did Seattle, where the business centered in Washington State. The duty into the United States was at that time one-half cent per pound on fresh fish, and to escape this the Company, in 1894, asked the Canadian Government to allow them to use American fishing vessels and ship their fish in bond, but this was re- fused. In or about 1898 the United States duty was raised to one cent per pound. The Company then again approached the Government with a request to be permitted to use American vessels so that they might bond their fish. They claimed that while they found it possible to compete with Seattle shippers and pay one-half cent per pound, they could not do so and pay a duty of one cent per pound, so that if their. re- quest were not granted they would have to close down at Vancouver. The Government decided to grant the concession experimentally for six months, but it has been continued, from year to year since that time by Special Order in Council. In 1915, when the G. T. P. © began operating from Prince Rupert the privileges were extended to allow American vessels to sell their fish in bond as well as to ship it in bond, the object being to enable the smaller vessels which had not selling connections in the Eastern Markets, to avail themselves of the privileges. Vessels coming for such purposes were also allowed to buy bait and ship crews, but not otherwise. . The intensive fishing to supply the ever growing demand for halibut was more than the banks could stand. The more accessible southern banks off British Columbia have been so depleted as to be threatened with commercial exhaustion, and in recent years the © greater portion of the fishing has been carried on off the coasts of Alaska, even as far northwest as Kodiak Island. The vessels from Seattle and Vancouver going to these northern banks make a return trip about equal in mileage to the railway journey across the continent. It is, therefore, not surprising that practically all the - boats not owned by companies with headquarters in other places, soon began to resort to the nearer base of operations—Prinee Rupert. This caused so much agitation, principally in Seattle and Ketchikan, the chief Alaskan port, that in 1916, a private Bill was introduced into Congress having for its object the prohibition of any Pacific fish entering the United — States through a foreign country unless it were ship- ped from an American port. This Bill found marked support and it was passed successfully through the initial. stages, but it was finally defeated. It was in- troduced again at the next session, but that Congress expired before it was reached. timated that it would be introduced at the following one. 2% Had this Bill become law it clearly would have been a serious blow to the Canadian fishing industry on the Pacific Coast; but it would have been equally serious for the American constming public, as it would have had to pay more for its fish and receive it in poorer condition. : 5 tis ae On the other hand, there had always been a strong August, 1918. It was, however, in- | ! F md “tt, ah ee lia ee ie i a Aig ping 4 4 ; 5 August, 1918, CANADIAN FISUBRMAN 909 J. A. PAULHUS, Montreal. 2nd Vice-President, C.F.A. 910 CANADIAN FISHERMAN August, 1918, ARTHUR BOUTILIER, Halifax, 3rd Vice-President, C.F .A. August, 1918, CANADIAN FISHERMAN , O11 CAPTAIN F. W. WALLACE, Ottawa, Secretary-Treasurer, C.F.A. 912 CANADIAN FISHERMAN August, 1918, W. R. SPOONER, Montreal, Chairman, Transportation Committee, C.F.A, August, 1918. CANADIAN FISHERMAN 913 ; F. T. JAMES, Toronto. Chairman, General Improvement Committee, C.F.A, 914 CANADIAN FISHERMAN. I. B. THOMSON, Ottawa. Chairman Canada Food Board. August, 1918. ‘August, 1918. feeling in British Columbia against granting Ameri- can fishing vessels any privileges there. It was urged that so long as there was a duty on fish going into the United States, American companies operating in British Columbia had an advantage over competing Canadian companies shipping to the United States to the extent of the duty, and after the duty was re- moved, it was felt that our geographical advantages for carrying on the fishery are so great, that if they were not shared, American fishing vessels could not continue to compete. _ As was previously shown, all the past negotiations between the two countries contemplated fishing and full port privileges to American fishing vessels in Can- adian waters in exchange for free access by Canadian fishermen to the United States markets, and following the modification in the United States tariff, by which fish were admitted duty free into that country, the United States Government requested that all the privi- leges covered by the modus vivendi licenses, should be extended to all their vessels, no matter how they might be driven, and at a nominal fee. No fishing privileges were asked for. These conditions constituted one of the main series of problems before the International Fisheries Com- mission. At the instance of the Commission, action was taken during the past winter, by both governments which settles these questions for the term of the war, some of which have been causing friction, at times approach- ing open conflict.between Great Britain and the United States, ever since the Republic was established. As the Commission has not completed its work, more may not be said in regard thereto at this moment. Returning again to the International aspect of the fisheries, it is interesting to note the conditions in the North Sea. ; : __ While earlier attempts at international action to con- trol fisheries, were made, which reasonable space pre- vents me reviewing here, those in the North Sea are by far the most important and the most successful. To this marvellously productive area the fishing fleets of all the maritime European countries resorted. The fishermen of the different countries spoke differ- ent languages, and more or less used their own peculiar methods in fishing. Interference by one class of fisher- men with another was common, trawlers coming into contact with drift-netters, ete., and anarchy largely prevailed. Certain foreign trawlers, particularly those of Belgium, were equipped with an implement, which came to be known as the ‘‘Belgian Devil,’’ for cutting right through drift-nets, which they might foul. This implement was something like an enormous grapnel with three or four prongs, the insides of which had cut- ting edges. These were carried at a sufficient depth to the foot-rope of a drift-net, and then loop the net up and cut it in two as the trawler moved on. The nations interested finally got together, and on May 6th, 1882, representatives of most of them signed at the Hague, what has since been known as the North Sea Convention. This Convention does not contem- plate the protection of any of the fisheries of the area to which it applies. It mainly provides for the pro- tection of a vessel already engaged in fishing from uinfair interference with one coming on the: grounds later; the restoration of gear accidentally carried away, to its proper owner; the prohibition of wilful damage 5: to fishing gear by the different vessels, and the en- CANADIAN FISHERMAN over the ‘‘British seas,’’ 915 forcement of the regulations by the national vessels of the contracting powers. While changing conditions have found this conven- tion lacking in details, it has in a large measure met the situation by establishing law and order in the fish- ing operation. . The parties of it were: ; Great Britain Germany Belgium Denmark France and The Netherlands. It is interesting to note that this Treaty appears to have established international acceptance of the three mile territorial belt. Norway and Sweden which still -eontend for a four mile zone, would have become parties to it except for this contention. Territorial jurisdiction over the seas had been a complicated question for centuries. Away back in the year 1200 we find that King John elaimed jurisdiction whatever might have been involved in that term: About two centuries later the Pope issued a Bull dividing the seas between Spain and Portugal, Spain becoming ruler over the Pacifie and the Gulf of Mexico, while Portugal was to have the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic, south of Morocco. In 1609 King James, by proclamation, forbade foreign- ers from fishing on any of the British coasts, except- ing under license to do so, but it was not until the North Sea Convention was signed, that international recognition was given to a fixed area. As steam trawling developed, a system grew up of sending collecting boats out to the trawlers, on the fishing banks, and taking over their catches, so that they could keep on fishing instead of having to lose time in running frequently to port. Hence many trawlers remained on the fishing grounds for long periods at a time. To supply the needs of these, the practice of send- ing out vessels which were in a sense floating retail stores grew up, but these vessels did not limit them- selves to selling clothing, tobacco, ete., but did a large business in the sale of liquor, to the fishermen. When they could not obtain money in payment they would — accept fish. The temptation to dishonesty was obviously great, and scenes of drunkenness, violence, insubordination, recklessness, ete., were frequent. To put a stop to this the same powers that. signed the North Sea. Convention, agreed on the 16th of November, 1887, to a treaty known as the ‘‘ North Sea Liquor Traffic Convention.’’ It forbade ships not hav- ing proper licenses from selling liquor or tobacco to fishing vessels. In practice the issue of these licenses is limited to vessels employed as “‘hospitals’’ or ‘‘mis- sion’’ ships. These will sell liquors only as they are needed for medicinal purposes and the consequence has been the absolute disappearance of the vessels known as ‘‘coopers,’’ that were carrying on this illicit ‘trade, and very largely the disappearance of the evils that. followed in their trail. Apart from the interest that attaches to these Con- - ventions: from a fisheries standpoint, generally, they indicate a direction of action that it may yet be found expedient to take in connection with the fisheries of the marvellously rich banks on this side of the Atlan- tie, as different methods of fishing thereon develop. Our efforts in connection with international regu- 916 CANADIAN FISHERMAN lation of the fisheries, have so far been from a differ- ent standpoint, viz., the protection of the fishery it- self, which in Europe has up to the moment been sur- rounded with too many difficulties to prove feasible. Our achievement thus far is confined to the case of the fur-seal fishery of the North Pacific Ocean. While pelagic sealing, or the hunting of seals at sea, is a legal method, vindicated by a court of arbitration, there can be no question that it is a highly improvident one, as it admits of no selection, and in experience, seals carrying young or nursing mothers formed a large portion of the catch. By the Pelagic Sealing Treaty of 1911, between Great Britain, the United States, Japan and Russia, this method of sealing has been prohibited over ap- proximately 12,000,000 square miles of high seas. Seal killing is thus confined to operations on land, where selection can be made almost as readily as amongst a flock of sheep, and none but the surplus males are taken. The different countries share equitably in the returns. As a consequence of the protection involved the herds are rapidly increasing to the maximum of pro- duetion the rookeries or breeding grounds will stand, notwithstanding that many more seals are being kill- ed annually, than would have been possible by land and sea, if pelagic sealing had been allowed to con- tinue. No apology is needed for referring to the pelagic sealing industry, as a fishery, for while a ‘‘seal’’ is not a ‘‘fish,’’ the industry partook of the inditions surrounding a fishery and was everywhere known as such. This leads up to the other main problems before the International Fisheries Commission, viz., the pro- tection of our vanishing halibut fishery on the Pacific Coast and of the sockeye salmon fishery of the Fraser River system. As was previously stated, off the Coast of Washington State, British Columbia and Alaska, there existed the most wonderful halibut fishery the world has so far known, but as the halibut is a slow ‘growing fish—investigations indicating that not more than 50 per cent of them have reached maturity at even twelve years of age—it could not stand the exceed- ingly intensive fishery that has been carried on for the past fifteen years. The southern banks have been so depleted that the number of mature fish thereon has become so small as to threaten the future of the banks. While the question is much more difficult to deal with than it would have been some years ago, owing to the development of other deep sea fisheries on the same grounds that are frequented by halibut, it is not complicated by a number of nations being engaged in this fishery. It is shared by Canada and the United States alone, and owing to the locations of the banks it is extremely improbable that the fishermen of any other nation will visit them. The Fraser River is potentially, the greatest sock- eye producing river on the entire Pacific Coast. There are five species of salmon — commercially speaking there are six — frequenting the Fraser and several other Pacific Coast rivers, but by far the most valuable of these on the markets, so far, is the sock- eye. The flesh is of a much deeper red color and is more oily than that of the others. These salmon mature at different ages, but they all die after spawning, so that they reproduce but once. August, 1918. The sockeye salmon of the Fraser river is a four year fish. That is it matures and returns to spawn when it is four years old. It is true that some of the specimens mature in three, and some in five years, but the four year fish greatly predominate. The sockeye are hatched in the fresh waters, usually of the streams flowing into the lakes, tributary to the main river. They go down to sea when they are young, and when they reach maturity they come back to the watershed in which they were hatched — it is now commonly claimed, to the exact tributary — to spawn and die. In coming in from the ocean through Juan de . Fuea Strait, they enter on both sides of the boundary; — but after passing the southern portion of Vancouver Island they move over to the State of Washington side, and do not emerge from it until they approach the entrance to the Fraser river, so that most of them are caught on the United States side. Obviously there- fore, joint action by both countries is necessary to properly protect the fishery. From the earliest records, which go back to 1806, the Fraser river has had the peculiarity of an exceed- ingly heavy run of fish every fourth year, followed by three small-run years. There are different theories as to the cause of this, which space for, this paper forbids reviewing. While the catches of the ‘‘big’’ run years were enor- mous, owing to the tremendous numbers of the fish running in these years, sufficient escaped to. the spawning beds beyond, to keep up the runs undiminish- ed. In the last big year, 1913, no less than 2,357,695 eases of 48 lbs. of fish each, were packed on the United States and Canadian sides. In the ‘‘off’’ or small run years too heavy a toll’ of the fish has been taken, and the number reaching the spawning grounds has been growing less, so that each year was essentially holding in store a diminished run for the coming fourth year. What the state of depletion in the ‘‘off’’ years is, will probably be best appreciated by pointing out that while the total pack of sockeyes in this system, in 1913, the last ‘‘big’’ year was 2,357,695 cases, in 1916, it was but 112,031. In dollars this would mean a market value of about $35,- 000,000 as against about, $1,680,000, with an almost certainty of the catch of 1920 being seriously less than that of 1916, and so on. But in 1913, a ‘‘big’’ run year, a disaster happened in avery simple way. During the building of the road bed of the Canadian Northern Railway along the side of Hell’s Gate Canyon—a narrow portion of the river, where the water rushes between two almost perpendicular walls of rock—blasted portions of the rock went into the river, and while no one—fishery ex- pert or engineer—would have anticipated the result, a small pocket like bay, just inside of a projecting. rock at the entrance to this canyon, and which forms the Gate was filled in, and it subsequently transpired that it was owing to this little pocket that the salmon were able to make the passage, as when they rushed through the Gate, it gave them a resting place to _regather their strength, to make their way through the remainder of this difficult channel. With this bay gone they could not do so and fell back exhausted. When this was discovered, the best engineers avail- able, were hurried to the scene to consult, and work to overcome the difficulty was immediately started, and a good many salmon got up but not more than in a good ‘‘off’’ year, and so the year 1917, which — ee eT ee ES “August, 1918 to a good ‘‘off’’ year, and the ‘‘big’’ rele oct at ht Le eae I ee international significance. fact in Europe that led in 1902 to the formation of the _ International Council for the Exploration of the Sea with headquarters at Copenhagen. 1901 at Christiana. ‘should have been a ‘‘big’’ run year, was only equal run years are at an end. What this river can produce every year under proper conditions, must be measured by the results of the “big’’ years of the past. On the other hand, unless the situation is taken in hand the fishery must soon pass into commercial extinction, or in dollars, thirty cold millions against nothing. The restoring of this system to a maximum state of productiveness is nationally and internationally a problem of great importance, and is one of those that ‘is engaging the attention of the International Fisher- ies Commission, but as the Commission has not yet - entirely completed its labors, more on the subject may not be said. In closing let me emphasize the great need of ex- tensive and exhaustive scientific investigation of the conditions affecting our fisheries. made by. the Biological Board, but vast fields remain to be traversed. A start has been _ As this work is mainly on the high seas it has an It was a realization of this Preliminary con- ferences had been held in 1899 at Stockholm, and in The primary object of its investi- gations is to ascertain facts upon which to base Inter- national agreements for the preservation of the fish- -eries, but they are conducted generally so as to acquire knowledge, both of the physical condition of the sea and of marine life, which may prove the means of as- sisting and developing the fishing industry. ‘The main lines of work taken up were: (a) General and special statistics. - (b) Special fishery and biological statistics. (ec) Occurrence and distribution of eggs and young of food fishes. (d) Migration of older fish. (e) Fish food investigations. (f) Hydrographical investigations. All the European countries except France were rep- resented on the Council, and also the United States. The Council did much valuable work, but its investi- gations were practically suspended by the war. What its standing will be when peace is resumed cannot now be stated. D. J. BYRNE: I think the only comment I would like to make is that I regret the findings of the In- ternational Commission have not been made public, so that Mr, Found would be free to carry on the work in his paper and give us the results of the recent meeting of the delegates from the United States and Canada, in which work Mr. Found was actively en- gaged and has followed from start to finish. It will be of great importance to the fisheries of America in general, in future, and while we can quite understand Mr. Found would not wish to go into the matter on account of the Commission’s report not having been presented to the parliaments of the two countries, still it is regrettable we could not have the finish of that. paper, which-I hope at some future time we will be able to induce Mr. Found to give us. CANADIAN FISHERMAN 917 MR. HARPELL: As one of the later students of the Canadian Fishery history, I know how much we have lacked a collection of the data such as Mr. Found has given us tonight, and I am sure that paper will stand’ as one of the leading historical collections and com- pilations of historical data that we have . There are several questions growing out of the paper that might be taken up and discussed. I would: like to mention one: In Mr. Found’s excellent paper he referred to the Halifax Convention which settled the differences be- tween the United States and Canada by the payment of some $5,500,000, which has been dealt with in vari- ous ways. That is a permanent endowment, and the revenue from that has been dealt with in different ways and, of course, calculated for the development of the fisheries. These ways no doubt were admirably appropriate at the time they were instituted but, as Mr. Found has pointed out, times are changing, so that many of these old payments are out of date, and I think there is some opinion among the members of the Fisheries Association that the appropriation of some of that endowment might be amended and altered to be more beneficial to the commercial fisheries. Part of the proceeds of that endowment are paid in bounties, which I think are not as productive and as helpful to the commercial fisheries as they have been in past years. And there is a lot of work opening up before the fishing industry as a result of the new develop- ment. One of them is the result of the encouragement of the trawler; better and more scientific knowledge; increase of the areas frequented by the different species of fish at different times; all of which inform- ation would be helpful. As a matter of fact, as the development goes on, this will become more and more necessary. The carrying on of the scientific work is one of the new fields that is being opened up, and one of the possible methods of utilizing some of the proceeds of this endowment. MR. SHORT: I have always understood when that award was made at Halifax, one of the conditions was that the investment of that award was to be distribut- ed among the fishermen of the Atlantic coast, and therefore I do not see that any influence we might bring to bear on the government they could not change the conditions. That has always been my understand- ing. W. A. FOUND: No. The award was made in 1877. If you go back over the record of the discussions in the House of Commons at the time, it was decided at the time that the money should go into the Consolidated Revenue of the country; it did not belong to the peo- ple of the Maritime Provinces any more than any other portion of the country. It went and remained there untouched for some two or three years. I think it was in 1882 when the appropriation was made by Statute providing for an amount which was considered to be equal to approximately 3 1-3 per cent on the amount of money; that was not stated in the Act, and only came out more or less in discussion; it was fixed by Statute; it comes up in the estimates every year, THE PRESIDENT: My understanding of the award was the interest belonged to the people who had suf- fered by the fishing done by the Americans, which is considered to be coast fisheries. I understand they took the money and did not pay any bounties to the fishermen at all. 7~ 918 CANADIAN FISHERMAN Mr. A. H. Brittain’s Address: MR. A. H. BRITTAIN, read a paper on ‘‘Transpor- tation.’’ TRANSPORTATION. By A. H. BRITTAIN, Vice-Pres. and General Manager, Maritime Fish Corporation, Limited. I am sure, we have all listened with great interest to the able papers which have been presented to this econ- vention, and it now falls to me to give you a paper on transportation, as applied to the fishing industry. I fully admit that I have taken a deep interest in trans- portation matters, as applied to the fishing industry in Canada, and at the same time I realize that this us a vast and broad subject, and I hardly feel that I can do justice to a work of this kind, especially when transpor- tation men have given their life study to this work. I believe it would be more to the point, if I confined my remarks to the transportation of Fresh, Frozen, Smoked, Salted and Pickled Fish for pat athe in Canada. I am strongly convineed that the success of the de- velopment and increased consumption of fish.as a food in Canada, is coupled with the transportation system, and unless the transportation of this perishable food is properly worked out, there will be very little hope for increased consumption and wide distribution. It cannot be disputed, that we have on both the At- lantie and Pacifie Coasts, fish food equal to any ‘pro- duced in the world, and we have fishing areas and fa- mous fishing banks,. which are capable of producing enormous and practically unlimited quantities of fish food. In the past very large quantities of fish have been salted, in fact that has been the principal method of handling these fish foods, but there is no doubt what- ever that there is room for great development in the movement of these fish, in a fresh or mildly cured form, to the inland parts of Canada as well as to the United States. I think I would be perfectly right in saying, that next to the producing of these fish foods, the next and most important item is the movement of this fresh fish product to the markets. To bring these fish to the distributing centres and to the markets, they have to be earried on fast freight trains, as well as by express, and I have yet to be con- vineed, that any one of these methods alone can move the products in a satisfactory manner. To illustrate this point further, it has always been my conviction that the express movement of fish has been the intro- ductory or the’ development movement of fish, in centres where fish is not being distributed, and it has been further illustrated by actual practice within the past few years, that in centres where fish has had good transportation facilities by express, the educational part of the work has been earried on, and eventually movement of these products has gone forward by fast freight in carload quantities. I think no better illus- tration can be brought forward than to illustrate the movement of fish from the Pacifie to points in the Eastern parts of Canada within the past ten years. I think everyone, whether directly interested in he fish business or not, has heard of the large quantities of Pacific Halibut and Salmon which have moved by August, 1918 express to the inland parts of Canada, as well as to the | New England centres of the United States and to Chi- eago as well. This movement was inaugurated by the Transportation Companies when they were looking for business to develop their roads, and by supplying suit- able equipment to travel on passenger trains, an ex- periment of one carload of. Pacific Halibut was sent through to the East, and later when this product be- came known, and it was demonstrated to the public that the Pacific Fish could be landed in centres such as Montreal, Toronto and Buffalo in first class econdi- tion in iced refrigerator cars, the business from that time grew steadily, and in place of one car, we have read on many occasions in the Press, that train loads — of fresh Halibut were dispatched by express to the in- land centres, creating an active consumption and a large business for the Transportation Companies. Later, operators and producers of fish, realizing that the fish could be transported by freight, invested large sums of money in Cold Storage Plants, to enable them to freeze the surplus products arriving at times when. the catch was large. This did not interfere with the movement of Fresh Fish by express, but it meant that © during the bad weather, and when the fishermen were landing smaller trips, there was sufficient frozen pro- duct on hand to take care of the demand. This frozen — product was then shipped by fast freight from the Cold Storage Plants in refrigerator equipment, and transported to its destination in the same condition as the fish was shipped, and immediately placed in Cold Storage at the distributing centre, for re-shipment_ to the smaller towns and cities. My principal object in bringing out this illustration, is to try to show that this consumption of fish would never have developed had it not been for transporta- tion facilities with express and freight movement com- bined. To-day, the movement by freight on fish from the Pacific Coast is an item producing large revenues for the Transportation Companies, and I am safe in saying will be increased, and help to furnish tonnage necessary for the up-keep of the Transportation Com-- panies. I will now refer to the movement of these products from the Atlantic, as I think a great many of those present are especially interested at the present time in the movement of fish foods from the Atlantie Coast. We have off our shores on the Atlantic, it is claim- ed, the largest fishing grounds in the world. These fishing grounds produce enormous volumes of the well known varieties of fish such as Codfish and Haddock, : ard there is one particular feature which I think is of great importance, and it is that we have not only these staples, but also a large variety of the finest kinds of other fish foods available. We have Herrings in unknown quantities, we have the Mackerel, we have Flatfish of all varieties, we have the far famed Atlantic Salmon, in fact we have, right at our doors, almost every variety of Sea Fish known. These fishes, outside of the staple lines such as Cod and Haddock, school along our shores, in our Bays. and - during the season are taken in enormous quantities. Unfortunately, the fishing industry is one which can- not always be regulated to effect uniform and steady _ supplies, and for this reason it has perhaps been diffi- eult to get the Transportation Companies to understand that this is a business which will fluctuate, and at times large quantities will be available, and at other times, owing to weather conditions, the supplies will be limit- ed. Oe aS ee ee ae eg ae i j os 4 zack, Ae ate) OO ~ Angust, 1918 ; CANADIAN ____- The point which I endeavored to illustrate in con- nection with the Pacific Coast, ean be well applied in the case of fish from the Atlantic, but I am sorry to say that owing to lack of proper refrigerator equipment, the business from the Atlantic has not developed as it should. Fish shipped from the Atlantic is closer to the large markets, but through lack of proper equip- _ ment, it was not possible to get these products through to destination in good shape, consequently very large - quantities have been salted and exported to other coun- tries. Iam not trying to depreciate in any way the Tran- ; Sactation Companies. because I believe that within the _ past few years, greater strides have been made: than - ever before, owing to the fact that the Railway Com- panies operating in the East have a fairly good supply of.refrigerator equipment, for movement on freight _ trains, but it has only been within the past year that _ the fishermen, producers and shippers of Fresh Fish have been able to send forward their products by ex- - press on passenger trains, under refrigeration. __ During the summer months, it is absolutely essential ‘that Fresh Fish shipped by express should go forward under refrigeration, and it has been thoroughly de- Egpoustrated, not on one oceasion but many occasions, Fresh Fish shipped by express under refrigeration seg keep i in good condition at least three or four days longer, in fact I should say a week longer, than fish shipped in the ordinary baggage cars without refrige- ition. Many tentative schemes have been tried out, mith a view to properly develoning this business, but in my opinion, a great many of these schemes have not _ been given sufficient time to bring them to a final — eonelusion. It is my own opinion, that the most successful scheme _ with a view to having fish arrive at destination in first ~ class condition, was the building of two or three cooled express refrigerator cars to transport the fish products on passenger trains. and I believe I am safe in saying _ that not only was this movement a success. but the only trouble was that there was not sufficient eauipment to take care of the business offering. What did this mean? It meant, that one part of the country would get their fish sent forward under refrigeration to arrive in first elass condition, and another Town or City have their fish go forward for express in a box baggage car and the product arrives in anything but first class shape. It may be contended. on the part of the Transporta- tion Companies, that the fish business is not of suffi- cient volume to warrant capital expenditure, but I con- tend that there is to-day sufficient movement of Fresh Fish to warrant expenditure on equinment, and until such time as this equipment is available, this tonnage ‘will not increase as quickly or as rapidly as it should. I feel. that at a time like this. when fish is given such 4 publicity, and when the publie are being asked to use % fish in lieu of meat, that the Transportation Companies should seize upon this opportunity to furnish ' equip- ment and service, to develop the industry which would ~ be permanent and lasting as a revenue producer. I am not able here to furnish you with figures as to the volume of Fresh Fish shipped from the Maritime Provinces but I think I am safe in saying that there is to-day more fish shipped from the Atlantic than there is Halibut produced from the Pacific. Even with this, the movement is comparatively small, compared to Wwhat_ it would be under satisfactory conditions. i T have it on very good authority, that from one ship- ie sid Ew alone in ‘the: East, over’ ey te million FISHERMAN 919 pounds of fish were supplied during twelve months, with a revenue due the Transportation Companies of over one thousand dollars. What is said of this one port, Iam safe in saying, can be said of many other shipping points in the Maritime Provinces. What does this twenty-three million pounds of Fish represent in tonnage to the ordinary individual? It re- presents eleven hundred and fifty cars, at twenty thousand pounds each. I do not feel that this is my place here, to go into too much detail, neither do I feel that it is within my rights to make any definite-suggestions, as I believe this matter will be dealt with by the Committee ap- pointed for this purpose, but I would strongly urge upon all those interested in the industry, and upon the transportation people themselves, the necessity of fair and reasonable rates, as well as proper equipment to take care of what could be made one of the biggest natural resources in our country. Let me just briefly touch upon the question of rates, for the movement of this product. I have had some figures given to me, which show that since the year 1914 the freight rates on Fresh Fish have increased in carload lots some 40%, and is less than earload lots 78%. In a recent judgment issued by the Board of Railway Commissioners, further inerease in rates will go into effect, which will practically mean an increase from 1914, on carload lots of fresh fish, of approxiniate- ly 75%, and in less than carload lots 122%. We must all remember that fish is a low priced article of food, and as such should be carried by the Transportation Companies, practically on the same basis as neat, but the price of fish is not anything like that of meat, no matter what is said to the contrary. The fisherman stakes his life to produce fish, he goes to sea in all kinds of weather, and has to be strong and hardy and capable of standing all ixinds of hardship. He is the farmer of the sea, and as such he should be properly remunerated, and to furnish the fishermen of . the Atlantic and the country with revenue, he should be able to transport his product, and thereby create a~ demand for everything he ean produce. Does it ever occur to you, gentlemen, just what this increased consumption and production of fish means to transportation? It not only means a heavy move- ment of fish products put up in different forms, but it means a large movement of other materials used in the fisheres; a movement of all classes of products fram all classes of manufacture, and J believe, speaking broadly, that the fishermen or the fishing industry is one of the best customers of all classes of manufactured products. The fishing industry in the Maritime Provinces has invested large capital. They have invested eapitat ip eauipment, cold storage plants, and are large employers of labor and purchasers of all classes of products. They are ready to make further expenditures on equipment and plants, and to keep pace with the industry it is the duty of Transportation Companies to furnish the equip- ment and the service, which no individual corporation, firm or fisherman can do. Mr. N. 8S. CORNELL (Port Stanley): Our situation is very much different from the situation set forth so _ ably by our friend Mr. Brittain. Seventy-five per eent of our fish finds a market in the United States. That being the case, the difficulty with us arises large- ly with American transportation companies. For in- stance, shipping fish to New York—the major portion of our surplus which is not distributed in Ontario goes * 920 to New York. After leaving Buffalo the delay seems to be there, and we have had a very bad service as . far as that is concerned. A deputation from the Lake Erie Fishermen’s Association went down last Monday to interview the Food Board at Ottawa in reference to this matter, and they have promised to do what- ever they possibly can. We heard from them, when they referred the matter to the authorities in the United States, that they say we are suffering no more than the producers on the South Shore of our lake, or very little more. That does not relieve the matter at all. For illustration: In that statement, verified by individual instances—we made the statement that 40 out of 75 per cent deteriorated in value; it was put on the commission market of New York and fetched very much less than it otherwise would have fetched; and 25 per cent of the total shipment to the United States was a total loss. Under the conditions we are living under now, where we are admonished in the press and the pulpit and on the platform to do every- thing we possibly ean to not only conserve but pro- duce food, we are trying to do it. I am glad to hear the seamen say they are trying to do it, more or less of a feeling among Canadian fishermen and Canadians generally. They ought not to pay so much attention to us Lake people, because they say your fish goes out of the country. Are we not all engaged in the one cause? The only cause, practically speaking, that ought to be consid- ered, and when we are relieving the situation in the United States to furnish the kind of fish they want to use, we are relieving the situation whereby there is more bacon and beef and more grain and wheat goes to not only support the men from the United States in the war, but the whole of our Allies, and we think that just as much consideration ought to be given to lake traffic, notwithstanding that the major portion of that fish finds a market in the United States. That is why we want the co-operation of this Association with us. We are willing to help you in every way we possibly can, and we ask you as brother fishermen to help us in this matter of transportation. MR. SHORT (Digby): The matter of transporta- tion is so important today, and is such a vital question in connection with the fish business, I think everyone should do everything we possibly can to assist it in every possible manner. Mr. Brittain has brought out some very good points indeed in connection with the transportation of fish, but there is a great deal yet since it has been formed, a great deal to facilitate the transportation of fish, but there is a great deal yet to be done. We are only just beginning. There is a matter that I am more directly concerned about, and I want to speak of, because there are several Members of Parliament here. The matter of rebating on express shipments. Some years ago, I think it was in 1898. the government of the country at that time decided that it would be a good thing to assist the fishing in- dustry and to create a market for our fresh and smok- ed fish in the Upper Provinees, that they decided they would pay one-third of the express charges to the Up- per Provinces, through Quebee and Ontario, but not to Manitoba. That worked so well that our ship- ments increased by leaps and bounds. Previous to that regulation going into effect there was practically no fresh fish shipped from the Maritime to the Upper Provinces; it was all in the hands of our American neighbours. Our duty at that time was %e per lb. CANADIAN FISHERMAN There is. August. 1918 on fish; the express rate between Boston and Portland and Montreal and Toronto was %e a Ib. less than the express charges from the Maritime Provinees, and that absorbed’ the duty. Consequently we could not get an order for fresh fish in this country at all. I think it was when Mr. Fielding was Minister of Finance, he came down to Nova Scotia and held sessions to hear the views of the business people with reference to the tariff changes; and the Secretary of our Board of Trade, Mr. Jamieson, who afterwards became Mem- ber, read*a paper before that commission and pre- sented the views of the fishing industry of our part of the Province and the next year the government very wisely decided it would be a good thing to assist this industry by rebating one third the express charges. They did so, and as I said before, our business inecreas- ed by leaps and bounds until today we have that mar- ket entirely in our hands. There is very little fish of the kinds we produce down here imported from Bos- ton and Portland, except when we are under weather conditions here and cannot produce it. If they de- cide at the present time that they will take off that one-third rebate for three days of the week because in the Eastern part of the Province they have started - what they call a Seafood Special, that is practically shipping by freight at express time; it means two days from Mulgrave and Halifax to Montreal, at freight - rates. But we in the Western part of the Province and in St, John and St. Andrews, all of which produce large quantities of fresh fish, and Yarmouth, we can- not connect with that train at all. It is no use to us whatever. I contend that this is a most inopportune time for the Government to pass any such regulation - as that to cut off a part of the province from the re- -bating system, when we cannot use the Seafood Spe- © cial that runs from the Eastern part of the Province, and we are asked by the Food Controller and the mem- bers to produce more food, and we are putting forth every effort, and the Government should assist us in every way to get the food to the people as cheap as they can. Since this regulation went into effect, so far as our territory was concerned, Saturday was one of our best days for shipping, because the goods got to the market the first of the week; since that regula- tion went into effect we do not ship a thousand pounds a week on Saturdays. In that section of the coun- try we have lost the trade, and it is a gross diserim- ination against that section of the country. I think the Government should put that regulation back into force again for those three days, or give us the same facili- ties on the C.P.R. as they have put on the Govern- ment road. We cannot use the Government road be- cause we have no connection, but if they give us the same facilities on the C.P.R. as they put there, I say take the rebate system off every day in the week; but they have not done that. They are giving the Pacific coast rebating of two-thirds on certain lines of fish; not halibut and salmon, because nobody wants them . to do that, but on the other grades of fish they are rebating two-thirds, and in one section of our Province they are taking off the rebating system that has been in vogue ten years, and it is a most inopportune time as now every assistance should be given to the fishing industry to produce and market their goods. MR. SPOONER (Montreal): I support Mr. Short in his contentions in reference to the one-third rebate. There is no question his section of the country is be- N ‘ ae i ie ti i a eee he August, 1918 CANADIAN ing discriminated against. But I think that this one- third rebate might better have been left on until after the conclusion of the war. We are all doing our level _best to develop the business, and trying to get all the fish we can and market all we can, and we are not charging exorbitant prices and are selling as low as we can, and in talking with our Transportation Com- mittee different times, we have felt it would be to the interests at large if the one-third rebate was con- tinued until the completion of the war. This Seafood Special is a splendid service when we have the fish, but the trouble is, the fishing is uncertain; some days we have it, and some days we have not. When we have the fish, and have that special, we certainly make use of it to its full limit. I think probably Mr. Found, having heard the expressions, will reconsider the Order-in- Council that has been passed and cancel it. MR. BYRNE (Montreal): One point Mr. Brittain made, which I thought was a strong point, was to re- _ fer to the express as a precursor of the freight ser- ' vice. The method employed by the Government in as- sisting in the payment of the charges had a two-fold object: To make the cost of transportation as reason- able as possible with a view to inducing greater con- sumption. The other point was that there was al- ways a tendency to ship by freight, in view of the saving of charges. Consequently, the product did not reach the distributing centre as good as it should be- cause the transportation was not as good as at present. The dealers in the Eastern part of the Province of Nova Scotia, who have the advantage of the Seafood Special service will use it, and it is not reason- ‘able to suppose they would want te ship by express on days when they ean use the Seafood Special, while another section of the Maritime Provinces — which also affects New Brunswick—is unable to take advantage of that service. I claim on that account, the work of the Seafood Special, which tends to in- erease consumption or aid in quick transportation of fish, should not be offset in any way because the Gov- ernment, as Mr. Short put it, has requested that we increase our production to the greatest possible extent, and the express service is still required and will not be used by dealers who have access to the Seafood Special, so the removal of the Government assistance on the day the Seafood Special moves out would not affect that section, because shippers would not use it on those days, yet it does affect other parts which have not that advantage. I hope the Department may be induced to reconsider that decision for the present and permit us to go on with the work which was re- quested by the Chairman of the Canada Food Board to increase production during the period of the war. Mr. BRITTAIN: I would like, if it is possible, while we have Mr. Found with us to get an expression of opinion from him. [I don’t want the thing to die down. We are going to keep on. Hither withdraw rebates entirely—take it off the At- lantic and the Pacific—fish is being laid down in Win- nipeg, the ordinary cheap classes, for 35¢ per 100 lbs. from the Pacific coast. It is no wonder in the world they can sell fish for 10c. If the Government has no money, if they are not out to assist the industry, get away from it and leave it alone, and let us work out something that will work out, and work it out on a basis that will develop it. I admit this rebate has been a good scheme. It was given to the people and not to the shippers. At the time it was distinctly understood FISHERMAN 921 this rebate would go into effect and the small dealer would get the benefit of the one-third rebate to enable him to sell the products and introduce thousands of tons of sea fish of the Atlantic and Pacific to the pub- lic. The Pacific business does not need any encourage- ment. They have the equipment and they have ser- vice and rates, and it has built up the halibut and salmon business, and it is equipment and service that has built up the business from the Pacific. We have not had that service on the Atlantic. It is a erying shame; you will send forward 500 pounds of fish by express on Saturday morning, and it will arrive in Montreal Sunday night, and on Monday morning that fish was heated; it went by freight and arrived on Tuesday, and I have it from one or two gentlemen here to-night that that fish was the finest haddock that ever reached Montreal and a credit to the At- lantic Ocean. This man had to have the 500 lbs. on Monday morning, and the only way he could get it —he could not send it on the Seafood Special, be- cause he didn’t know on Friday how much that man required for the troops. and he therefore ordered it Friday afternoon to send forward by express on Sat- urday, and arrived Sunday night in a heated condi- tion. The storekeeper practically almost lost the con- tract. He lost the confidence of the Militia people, and I am safe in saying it will take years and years to get back the sale of that class of fish to the people. We had no control over it whatever. You cannot ask the express company to put on a refrigerator express car for one or two thousand pounds. The Seafood Special takes care of the fish for Montreal for volume. but there is business at times that has to be carried all by express. It is the advertisement department of the fish business. and it will develop into ear load movements. and in a short while, in a few years, we will put fish on the map and we won’t need assistance. I don’t want to ask the railway companies to give us rates which are too low: thev have to get their revenues. And thev are getting them; 122 per cent on less than ear load lots and 75 per cent on ear load lots, and they must deliver the goods and put on the service. We ean’t do it. We do our part. The fishermen are land- ing the finest haddock: the firms have the cold storage plants: steam trawlers. and a large capital invested and we cannot go further; we cannot build railways or operate them; we are depending on the railway com- panies. MR. TAMES (Toronto) : The rebate on the fish from the Atlantic was a very good thing. The same thing applies to the Pacifie coast. They were wasting thous- ands of pounds of fish that never found a market; and the two-thirds rehate is a grand thing for the Western Province. As far as rebating goes in Ontario, I don’t agree with the Order-in-Council. where it dis- criminates against the balance of Nova Scotia and dif- ferent shipping points with the same facilities. CAPTAIN WALLACE (Ottawa): I agree with Mr. James and disagree with Mr. Brittain, regarding the Pacific two-thirds rebate. These were fish there was no market whatever for: they were thrown away by the fishermen: when the Western Pro- vinces were asked to eat fish, and the only fish was halibut and salmon. we had to find a_ sub- stitute. The Government made arrangements to utilize this wasted fish. In order to get the fish into the West- ern Provinces, to the Eastern boundary of Manitoba. it was necessary to make a popular price. We could S‘N ‘Wnoumseq “prT “oN eSepsog ssouNsu0H 4e Soyesofeq “WV A ‘OD August, 1918 RMAN _ a0 TR — a z < —~ a < Z << C ENS PRD Cy Ay e operas Rams ERE SI _ not do that unless we had assistance from the De- _ partment of Marine and Fisheries to subsidize the _ transportation, and they offered to pay two-thirds _ which enabled us to bring the fish in at popular prices. Since that was inaugurated there is about 400.000 _ pounds per month of flat fish and cod being consumed in the Western Provinces and in another year it will be doubled. More trawlers will go out from Van- couver, Rupert and Steveston, exclusive for that fishery. This assistance has built up an entirely new ishery on the Pacific coast. The halibut fishery is done, and the two-thirds rebate is a very material as- istance, and I don’t think any one in the fishing in- ustry should register any kick about that small as- stance being given. ‘MR. BRITTAIN: I don’t think it is fair to bring out the fact that I am against the rebating from the _ Pacific. I did it more to illustrate the fact that the _ Pacific today could lay fish down with this two-thirds ate -at 35¢ per 100 lbs. The rebating system of -thirds is on express shipments on car loads and ‘This fish is being retailed for 10c in Vancou- it costs 4c to bring it to Winnipeg, that makes 4c a lb. The retailer is supposed to get 3c a lb. ofit on the fish; that was the arrangement made with the Food Board, which I was a party to, offer- ig to do the same thing from the Atlantic coast. That 2 baal class of fish for a cent a lb. cheaper than out there. But we cannot get our fish to market. It is not a question of the rebate, it is a question we cannot get our fish to the market. How many people have had fish shipped, and it has arrived in a heated con- dition. That makes you say you cannot do the busi- ~~ MR. FOUND (Ottawa): I feel somewhat like Mr. _ ___ Brittain. We have had many hours, and days and _ weeks of discussion, working together, not only with him, but with all the other big companies in the coun- ___ try, trying to devise ways and means of transporta- tion. This only starts at the beginning, and it is liable to take more time than patience will admit of. _ The position was this. Prior to 1907 the fresh fish business so far as the shipments from the Atlantic _ @oast to the interior are concerned, and from the Pa- ___ @ifie coast are concerned—I am speaking of shipments S to United States points, it was in the first instance to _ Boston and New York and the shipments supplying Montreal were in a measure going from Vancouver to Boston and New York on a 3c basis and shipped back ___ to Montreal and Toronto. So that prior to the date I am speaking of the business was in a languishing con- dition. The Government set the Department to work to see if something could be done to try and stimulate the industry. The question was taken up with the companies and it was felt the express facilities were inadequate from both coasts. Prices were unfair and did not enable the business to be done, when one con- siders the express rate from the Maritime Provinces, outside of St. John, $1.50 to Montreal, against 80c from Portland—rates are matters I am not very. much skilled in, but you can see where the competitive rates come in. Take Portland and St. John, the express rate from St. John was $1.30 to Montreal. It was competitive with Portland. An appropriation was _ procured in 1907 to try and do something. The ex- press companies could not be moved. It was taken up with the O.G.R. and assistance was asked by fast - CANADIAN FISHERMAN ves 644 a lb. for your fish. We are today offering. 923 freight. But the railway did not find it. paid to place transportation facilities at the disposal of the dealers for the shipments they made, excepting the ar- rangements from Mulgrave, the shippers guaranteeing the earnings of the car. The business was started by the Government guaranteeing the earnings on one ear from Halifax and Mulgrave one day each week. We made a practical express arrangement with the C. G. R., whereby a refrigerator car was attached to the Maritime Express one day each week. The dealers took delivery themselves. It looked good on paper and was cheerfully gone into by the dealers, but it was proved it had to do two men’s work. The express facilities had to be made available. The department recommended, knowing at the time what it was doing, that by accepting responsibility for one-third of the express charges it would be a difficult matter to dis. continue. It was discussed with all these gentlemen here end they will remember as well as I. it was hoped that five years would be the limitation of the time ~ when this express assistance would be required. How- ever, the placing of the express facilities at reasonable rates at the disposal of the dealers gave us all a very cheery impression of what the Canadian fishing in- terests can do when given a fair chance. They imme- diately started to do what was regarded as impossible, to build up a big business in the interior. The ship- ments from the Atlantic coast began to come along. The business began to develop from the time that one- third assistance was given. That gave a rate from the Mar‘time Provinces at a net rate of $1.00 against $1.25 from Boston. The business has gone on in a way that has been on the whole eminently satisfactory. All credit must be given to the Canada Food Board for what it has done since it has been inaugurated, in helping to extend the demand for fish. They have co- operated with us in the most cheerful way in every phase of the work. I think the Canada Food Board will agree with me when I say it was owing to the assistance that had been given during these years that enabled them to seize the opportunity that lay at their doors. The business from the Pacific coast came up in ear load lots; halibut and salmon assistance was not further required. It was absolutely withdrawn last year. The position is one that everyone will readily under- stand. The trade is getting big. If it cannot take eare of itself. now, the time is approaching when it will attain such proportions that it ean avail itself of the best transportation rates that will be available; if these rates are too great they ought to be reduced, and no one should take from anything I say that I am arguing that anything like reasonable facilities have been made available. It is only by insistent urg-. ing we have got as far as we have. It is not lack of enthusiasm on the part of the railway either. It is not easy to overcome things. ; The demand that has arisen for flat fish from the Pacifie coast is possibly going to relieve the strain on the halibut and provide the people of this country with an excellent fish which was before being wasted. Mil- lions and millions of pounds every year were thrown back into the sea. In dealing with the appropriations last year the Government found it necessary to re- tract in many ways and considered it desirable not to vote any more money for transportation of fresh fish this year than last. I do not think it is fair to say it is discrimination against one portion of the Province 924 to improve the service from another portion where that improvement can be made. It is an unfortunate con- dition. Every man cannot have a post office at his door. If there is a possibility of doing sufficient busi- ness from the Digby end through St. John I would not be hopeless that we might find it possible to work up an arrangement similar to the Seafood Special at the disposal of the shippers from there, and if the dealers from that end can give any indication that they can make available reasonably large shipments, at least the Department will be glad to take the question up, and the Food Board will assist in every way they can to get such an arrangement. MR. SHORT (Digby): I am very pleased indeed Mr. Found has expressed the opinion he has, that the Government will if possible undertake to give the same facilities. We do not want concessions or fa- vors. A business that cannot stand on its own legs should not go at all. We don’t want discrimination. It is most unfair to take three days off our shipments and give it to the West. They never had two-thirds on any shipments, they had one-third, and if the De- partment has not sufficient funds to carry out the policy, it is unfair to discriminate against one part unfavourably to the other. We want equal rights and . no concessions. MR. FOUND (Ottawa): The reason for the with- drawal of the one-third on halibut and salmon was _ because this fish had become well established. I think all our fresh water men will agree with me that cer- tain well known varieties of Atlantie fish have . be- come well established, such as cod and haddock. Would Atlantie dealers advocate the taking off of the assistance altogether on these well known varieties from the Atlantic coast and replace it by two-thirds on what are regarded as cheap fish, equal in value and good fish, only the people don’t know it. MR, BRITTAIN: The Association had no notifica- tion this was coming into effect, and they complain about that. You have done a good deal of service, but I think we should have been notified and given time to adjust ourselves to the conditions, and had we been given time we could have worked it out, and there would have been very little cause for complaint. MR. CORNELL: I am sorry to say I disagree with Mr. Brittain on something he said. He said we are go- ing to come, and come.and come again until we get this. That is not necessary. I know our dealings with ‘Mr. Found and the Government, particularly when you present a good and proper ease they give it to vou. I have every faith that this resolution of the Committee as brought forward will benefit every per- son, and they will be only too glad to give it without coming again, MR. BROWN (Kingsville): I come from the West- ward end of Lake Erie, that is a district where the fishermen pay more for the privilege of fishing than in any other place in the world. The fishermen on the Atlantic coast, it costs them to ship fish to Montreal $1.50 per 100 lbs.; it costs us $2.00 to Montreal. They vet a rebate of 50¢ a 100 on three days of the week. They originally got it on all. We get no rebate. The fish from the Atlantic coast enters Montreal in direct competition with our fish, and I don’t see why they CANADIAN FISHERMAN ways; service, should have any rebate. one-third and it costs us 100 per cent more to land our fish in Montreal, why should they not get along with- out a rebate. ’ They have had four to eight years to get the fish established on the market; but when you come down to discrimination, I think that is a fair case. MR. SPOONER: There is no question the Lake ship- pers have a market in the United States where they get big prices for their fish. Our fish as a rule is sold at 5e¢a lb. and the Lake fish would probably sell at three times that, and it does not cost as much to produce. : THE PRESIDENT: You said you paid more for the privilege of fishing? “a MR. BROWN: Yes, and I mean it. It cost me $1,- 406 for a license fiom the Ontario Government last year; I caught 196 tons. _ _ MR. CORNELL: We only have half of Lake Brie 4 _to fish in; you can eross the Lake and the American people pay $25.00 a year license for a tug; they are unrestricted as to time and quantity, and they fish out of the same lake and market the fish in the same ee market. MR. BOWMAN: With regard to the grievance of Mr. Short; did this Seafood Special and the cancel- lation of the rebate three days in the week originate entirely with the Government, or were there some fish- ing industries represented in the conference Lice led to that decision? MR. FOUND: I don’t know how to answer Bal The question of transportation has not been a closed book and the Department has been dealing with it all through. It was a matter of Government policy. THE PRESIDENT: It came as a bolt from the blue as far as the East was concerned; we didn’t get any 2 notification. It was put through. QUESTION : weeks ago under the Chairmanship of Mr, Found, the question was mooted, but I thought it came from the General Manager of the Canadian Government Rail- if the trade ‘thought they could make use of or would require a better or increased freight ser- vice the Government railway was prepared to give a three days’ a week service and on any days the deal- ers agreed upon to run this special, which had been only run on one day, and last year two days. He offered to give that special from Mulgrave to Mont- | real on three. days in the week if we required the The dealers representing the trade, distribu- tors, producers, were glad to have an opportunity of -inereased service, and we accepted the proposition, _but no mention or intimation was given at that time that the increased freight service meant taking away the express assistance. There was no mention at all, so when the notice came in the shape of the notifi- eation that an Order-in-Council was passed to the effect that on the days the special was run there would be no rebate on express shipments, it came as a bolt from the blue; we had no intimation; and we could not advise our customers. Tt being 11.15 p.m. the Convention: adjourned until hiags Augnst, 1918 If they get that rebate of 4 When the conference was held some — a SS; . August, 1918 CANADIAN 4 Second Day 11 0 ‘clock a.m., Report of the Work of the Publicity ‘ Committee. es Read by Mr, J. A. PAULHUS, of Montreal. P ‘ Mr. President, Gentlemen,— My intention is to be brief and to the point. To re- late in detail all that has been said, written and done, since our last meeting would take too much of your time, and time is so precious just now. I will first sum- __marize much of our publicity work, analyse and com- ment on some of it, and add a few practical sugges- tions, which may help to direct our activities for the coming year. Though the period I have to cover is much longer than the previous one, I intend to start with.the last celebration of our National Fish Day. I don’t need to say that it was a splendid success, be- cause you are aware of it as well as all the fish com- munity. The National Fish Day i is now an established and recognized institution in Canada, It will live as long as the fish business itself. Every Tuesday, the last one before the first of November of each year from one end of this Dominion to the other, fish will be particularly in evidence. Every citizen of this country will be reminded at this time that fish is a perfect food, that our oceans, lakes and rivers can produce immense quantities of it, and that it is a patriotic, as well as an economic, duty to encourage the consumption of fish, and thereby increase the comfort and wealth of this Dominion of. ours. ‘The National Fish Day, as well as the innovation of another Fish Day a week—Tuesdays—are the crea- tion of the Publicity Committee of this Association. Perhaps it would be nearer to the truth in saying here, that the National Fish Day was originated by the present chairman of the Publicity and Educational Committee. At all events, both institutions are pros- perous and deserving of note in this report, because they have contributed in a large measure to advance and popularize the fish cause not only amongst our- selves. but even with our neighbours, as it has been .proposed to adopt in the United States the same me- bo * thods in advising consuming classes to eat fish on 4 Tuesdays well as on Fridays. % When speaking on the specific work of the Publicity - Committee of this Association, shall I recall to your attention that the proposal of relief to Halifax suffer- ers was conceived and proposed bv the chairman of the committee, and that as a result, the sum of $3.000 was eollected for the purpose. I wish to add that the Publicity Committee of this Association has done the initial work and the most arduous and persevering work towards putting the fish business and the fish interest in the forefront of the public eye and ear. Others have followed in the trail with new ideas and more will embark on the beaten track. levelling all in- ecnalities and onening large and snacious areas which will render more prosperous the fishing industry of Canada. One of the principal events that is recorded in pub- licity this vear is the advertising campaign under- taken by the Food Control under Mr. Hanna’s term of office. and through a committee of which your chair- man. was president. The sum of $5.000 in round fig- ures was appropriated and used solely to advertise in ‘the Province of Quebec. A series of cleverly written eee ents were published for nearly two months FISHERMAN 925 in the most circulated papers of the different cities and towns, both in French and English. It was cer- tainly an eloquent and persuasive call, which has been responded satisfactorily in large centres, but with a certain dose of indifference in the rural districts. Another financial help which we owe to the liberality of the late Food Control was the grant of half the cost of fish display cases. These implements were cer- tainly a long-time felt necessity by a certain section of the fish community. Strange to say, very few fish dealers, comparatively, availed themselves of the golden opportunity. In all, I believe, not more than 300 packages were offered to the trade in the Mont- real district, and some of them are not yet distributed. I am pleased to mention that in connection with the distribution of these fish display packages, we had good assistance by the Municipalities Association. A little later, the eash and carry system in the fish busi- ness was introduced and commented by Captain Wal-. lace. Though only a recent innovation, many stores have adopted the system and there is every indication that the cash and carry system will become universal in a short. time. It will answer the irritating complaints of a certain class of consumer, who cannot discriminate between the value of service added to the price of a commodity. The Canada Food Board has done wonderful work in the matter of education, and I think it would be agreed that its chairman, Mr. Thomson, has devoted a eood deal of time and energy towards having the pub- lic to realize that a good substantial and economic substitute for meat %& fish. The war has created and will still develop in future new conditions, both in polities and economics, ~ The question of providing food for allied countries which are no longer producers of foodstuffs, or, at least with their capacity of producing limited to a minimum, is a considerable one—just as important, in my opinion. as the one of armaments, of munitions, of soldiers. Food saving, food control and food dis- tribution, will win this war. The present chairman of the Canada Food Board has the situation clearly understood. He has faith in the saving of foods, and his recommendations and advices are always the result of sound and deep think- ing on the subject. Take, for instance, the Canadian Food Bulletin. Each edition has a mine of informa- tion, of hints, which teaches the lesson of how to live well under present conditions without stinting oneself. How a little individual sacrifice will do so much col- lectively for the war. The last publication — ‘‘Fish and How to Cook it’’ is a perfect exponent of its subiect, and after reading it the consumer cannot but fail to be convinced that by using fish he is helping the cause of the war and himself at the same time. . In the month of November last, Mr. J. J. Harpell and the chairman of your committee were called be- fore the Board of Trade of the city of Montreal. and at a session of the Executive addressed the meeting, asking the co-operation and influence of the Board to- wards developing and improving the fish industry of this ecountrv. A little later the chairman of this committee also spoke before the Chamhre de Commerce on the same subiect. In both eases. it is right to ex- pect that valuable assistance will come from both of these powerful institutions, in due time. T am pleased to mention that Mr, T. W. C, Binns, of * 926 CANADIAN FISHERMAN. Ottawa, who is on the panel of the Publicity Com- mittee that has contributed articles in the papers of his city. He has also with a great willingness assisted the Canada Food Board, in the matter of general in- formation, conducting experiences, making observa- tions, ete., for the benefit of the Association—and the fish industry generally. Miss Doris Hemming, who is a member of the Committee, has also, in the columns of the ‘“‘Star’’ under the heading. of. 8.0.8.0.8. published quite a number of well written articles, where fish eame often and quite naturally under her well-trained pen. I wish to add a word of praise and thanks to the ‘‘Canadian Grocer’’ and the ‘‘Prix Courant,’’ for the interest they have taken in the fish cause, by publishing—the first named in the English language. the other in French—manyvy interesting items for which they deserve the congratulations and thanks of the Association. I want to lay stress once more up- on the importance of publicity and education with our Association. Our work is in most eases a direct ap- neal to the consumer, and it is only by increasing con- sumption of fish that we ean develop and improve this neglected resource of ours. Already our endeavors have had their reward. There has been a substantial: inerease in the consump- tion of fish of late—as a proof, our statistics estab- lish that in our last fiseal year there was an increase of 40 per cent of fish marketed over the previous tabu- lations of the department. We should in future de- velop the vropaganda or teach the vosvel of ‘* Hat more fish,’’ especially with our rural districts, Why not make an effort to impress the minds of our rural friends, and convince them that an ideal sum- mer food is salted codfish, mackerel, sea trout, her- rings, turbot, salmon? Salted. viekled and dried fish is the principal article of food for people living in tropical regions. During the summer months a diet on salt and pickled fish is not only healthier. hut more economical, and there would be a double profit to our eonsumers of the rural districts, if they would adopt it; besides the encouragement and impulsion given to our fish industry. I want. before closing this report to give a note of warning to some of our Press, which in the past has sown the seed of discord and caused friction be- tween consumers and the trade. last spring a cer- tain quantity of fish had been sent to the incinerator in Montreal, but no more than usual; still, this event caused some dailies to publish quite sensational re- ports, contrary to the facts, and put in such a form before the publie as to convey the impression that all tradesmen, and particularly fish tradesmen, were dis- honorable, dishonest and deceitful, not to say any more. I think it the duty of the Publicity Committee to protest strongly against such statements, which are antagonizing one group of the community against an- other, without any real cause, and thereby encroach- ing upon the privileges of the tradesmen without im- proving the situation of the consuming classes. I beg to convey my heartiest thanks to the other members of the Publicity Committee, who have assist- ed me so ably and so generously in the preparation of this report. J. A. PAULHUS, Chairman. August 6, 1918. August, 1918 Mr. J. A. PAULHUS :—The Publicity Committee, whose report I have just read, is a very important branch of the Association. I will go so far as to say that it is perhaps the most important committee in the Association, because we appeal directly to the con- sumers, and it is the consumption of fish that will de- velop the industry. sumption of fish the industry will increase, and I am sure that all the other matters in relation to the business will settle themselves. I would like to make a plea for, strong and able men in this Committee. I think we must have in our Association a great many good men. I have been chairman now for two years; I have dorte all that I could in the place which I have had the honour to fill, but I believe that a change is often a good thing in — a matter of the kind; the human brain is a good deal | like an electric battery, you have got to charge it over again, and in a case like this the only way to charge it, I believe, is to get a new head and new brains to refresh our worn-out ideas. I have done my best for you as chairman of the Publicity Committee, and if you now see fit to elect another chairman you can depend upon me to do all in my power to assist the Publicity Committee in making the fish business st as prosperous as it is possible to make it. CHAIRMAN WILSON: There is not much of a con- tentious nature in this report of the chairman of the Publicity Committee, gentlemen, but I think that those who are prominently interested in this end of tae matter ought to feel very grateful to Mr. Paulhus for the work which his Committee has accomplished during the past term. I was rather disappointed to hear his last remarks; they sounded rather as if he were trying to pave the way to side-step the duties of his position as chairman. I may say that he has served in this capacity for the last two terms and his work has been most efficiently performed. I am sure that the industry has gained very materially by the able work accomplished by Mr. Paulhus and the other members Me of his committee. Perhaps there are some suggestions that can be offered that might prove helpful to the incoming committee. It is an important part of the work, al- most as important as transportation — Mr. Paulhus thinks probably it is more important—and I am sure that it is certainly one of the things that have got to be put in line with other important matters, such as transportation and production. I would like to have from any member, but more particularly from _ those interested in the production of fish, some sug- gestions that might be helpful to the incoming Pub- licity Committee. Mr. T. W. C. BINNS (of Ottawa) : two sections of the Canadian Fisheries Association, the producers and the distributors. Speaking now as a d‘stributor, we look to the producers to provide the goods and they look to us to get rid of them, and it | seems to me that the work of the Publicity Committee is a work of propaganda that should be carried on practically every day in the year. There are two sug- -gestions I should like to make for the benefit of the incoming committee. Due, of course, to the way in . which the members of the Association are separated across the continent, it is impossible for any one man to see all that is being printed in the newspapers about the industry. There are many, however, who notice from day to day items of interest in the papers, and If we can develop a large con-— x - > 9 ME” ty Meee tee er ORE. AGP pete Ce nr it bs h fc Re ge) Ot PORES aye Se Tee Matra ope: There are really a Cf er Ses ee Ay i ee As Se at! Soe meee” eM Ae ROT ES mee ete ~~, x ie . Beis aE Rd ey: a _! August, 1918. if they would cut them out, marking them and sending them to the Chairman of this Committee, he might be able in the course of a year to provide us with some very good reading matter, selecting certain items of vital interest. I would also like to suggest that the chairman of the incoming committee be requested to gather up a series of advertisements, either posters or newspaper advertisements, which could be displayed on occasion so that those of us interested in advertis- ing might be able—as Mr. Paulhus has expressed it _ —to refresh our worn-out ideas. I should like to tell Mr. Paulhus now while I have the opportunity, how much I have always looked forward to reading his reports, and I am sure that I have always received a great deal of benefit from them. LOBSTER PROPAGATION. Dr. A. P. KNIGHT, of the Biological Board of Canada read a paper upon lobster propagation. Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen,—In accordance with the programme which was laid out for the proceedings of the Convention, I had expected to be asked to give my paper at to-night’s session, and I have only had about five minutes’ notice that my time has been changed to the present hour. I had intended to have a couple of lobsters here, male and female, to show the parts of the lobsters and how development takes place, the way the sperm or milt comes out, how eonu- lation takes place, and how the eggs are laid, I shall not be able to show you that to-day, as I have not been able to get any lobsters in Halifax. I thought that I could at least easily get boiled lobsters or lobsters from the cold storage plants, which would have served my purpose, but I find they are not to be had, and that not being possible, I shall have to omit that part of my address. I had especially in mind those of you who are ac- tual fishermen, but it not being possible to give what I had intended, I am obliged to change my address, and talk to you about one method of lobster propagation that I find is not ‘popular by any means amongst the fishermen. I mean the production of eggs, increased egg production. Those of you who have had a classi- eal education will remember that the celebrated orator Cicero was at one time asked by a student of his what the most essential things in oratory were. What was the first essential? Cicero replied, ‘‘Action.’? What was the second essential? He again replied ‘‘ Action.’’ What was the third essential? he was asked, and once more the answer was, ‘‘Action.’’ Now, if you ask me what the essentials are for the conservation of the lobster industry, I might say that the first thing to aim is the production of eggs—if you cannot produce more eggs, at any rate take care of all the eggs that are produced. What is the second essential? Eggs. The third? Eggs, and still more eggs, for if you do not take care of your eggs you will very soon find that you are not able to keep the lobster industry alive. Now, I said a moment ago that I did not find my recommendation to fishermen to endeavor to increase egg production very popular. I did not expect ww find it popular. Conservation is not a popular thing at all, it is very unpopular amongst the fishermen, be- cause when you talk of conservation he knows that you - and he does not like that; he wants to catch every mor- a - tal thing in the shape of a lobster down to five inches, CANADIAN FISHERMAN. 927 at least that is what they tell me. They want no limit less than the five-inch limit, they want to keep all lobsters from five inches upwards, and are quite willing to throw away any lobsters under five inches. It is a preposterous idea of course, but at the same time that is the proposition along most of the coast. The question is, can we make existing lobsters produce more eggs than they do? My answer to that question is this: Four years ago I had forty-five female lobsters and about seventeen male lobsters put into Long Beach Pond in a pen made of latticed material such as you often use for building a fence. The pen was twenty DR. A. P. KNIGHT, Member Biological Board of Canada. feet long and ten feet wide and the slats were about four feet high. I had two pens, one adjoining the other. Then I put in these forty-five females and seventeen males at the end of June, just at the very end of the fishing season. I left them there, feeding them twice a week regularly and oftener if the food disappeared, until the end of August. On the 29th of August I had every one of them dipped up. I exam- ined every lobster and to my utter amazement I found that thirty out of the forty-five females had eggs on them. I assure you I was never more amazed in’ my » 928 CANADIAN life. Why? There should not be much amazement about animals mating, you would say, and yet this is why. In St. Mary’s Bay just immediately adjoining one end of the pond and in the Bay of Fundy, about a mile or so away from the other end, from all I could gather from the lobster fishermen there they never found in their fishing at any time of the year—and their fishing season begins on the fifteenth of Novem- ber—more than about one female out of every hundred that had eggs on it. Yet in this little pen, where I brought the male and female together there were thirty out of forty-five, and—moreover—the ones that had eggs on were all big lobsters, the balance of them being the small or medium-sized lobsters, ten inches and ten and a half inches. You can explain that in any way you like, but these are the facts. Now I have a theory about it, of course, but you know we fellows are often twitted with being terribly theoretical. Let me say here, in passing, however, that the man that has more theory about him than any other man I ever met in my life is the fisherman, and in illustration of this I might tell you a little story. I went out one year with the cod fishing people. I was after an experiment, and though I got beastly sick every day. I stuck to it, and went out day after day at two, three and four o’cloeck in the morning. One day, when there was a little sea on, one of the fishermen was not catching as many cod as he thought he ought to get, and this is what I learned from him when I asked him what he thought the matter was. ‘‘T guess they must be seasick.’’ That was his theory, ‘*Oh,’’ he said, ‘‘the waves are stirring them up,’’ and and if you can beat that by any other theory you can advance, I will not tell that story again. I think that is a pretty good illustration of every fisherman that I have ever met, and yet they want to tell you that we scientists are the theoretical people, and that they are the practical people. Now, I would like you to theor- ize just‘as much as you like about this, and I will give you the facts next year. The next season we tried the same experiment, but we had fifty-one females and only one male, and that year we got forty per cent, that is forty females out of every hundred had eggs on them. There was just this difference between the eggs the first year and the eggs the second year. The first year’s eggs all went on and developed, became fry and hatched out, but of the forty females of the second year’s experi- ment, only two or three had fertilized eggs, the rest all went bad—you can understand that easily enough. (Laughter.) The third year’s experiment was similar, except that we carried the experiments on at three pens, Long Beach Pond was one, Pictou was another place—I had charge of that myself—and the third was in St, An- drew’s Bay, where we have the station. We had these three different pens along the coast, and the average of the percentages at these places was forty-two out of every hundred—and you can explain that in any way you like. QUESTION: What proportion of males and females was there the third year? Dr. KNIGHT: Roughly speaking they were equal, just a few more females perhaps. QUESTION : And all the eggs were fertilized? Dr. KNIGHT: Every one of them. The last year, that is the fourth year, with the ap- proval of the Biological Board of Canada, under FISHERMAN August, 1918. whose jurisdiction I work and of which I am a member myself, I carried on experiments on a very much larger scale than during the first three years. We bought one thousand males and one thousand females, and I put them into the muddiest part of Long Beach Pond, not into these compartments which we had used before, but right out in the central part of the pond, where it is exceedingly muddy and where there is sulphurated hydrogen gas coming to the surface all the time—so that if you but touch the top with a stick you can smell the gas all over an area as large as this room. There is no question about the gas, and theer is no question about the mud. I had it analysed by Doctors MeGill and Goodwin (both of them chem- — ists well known throughout Canada) and it was just stinking, slimy mud. Now from this pen I, of course, did not expect we were going to have as large a per- centage as in the other three years, because you. can see the disagreeable conditions under which we were working, but I got three- hundred and _ thirty-three per cent more berried females in that muddy bottom last year than the fishermen could get either in Mary’s Bay at the one end or in the Bay of Fundy at the other. There are your facts, and you can theorize as much as you like. I am here to-day to give you facts, and although, as I said before, | admit I have my own theory about it; I am not going to give it to you, for a man does not care to be twitted too much about these matters. QUESTION : Do you say the best breeding place was. in the stinking water and the mud? Dr. KNIGHT: Yes, and it was exceedingly muddy. QUESTION: We couldn’t tell the consumer that. Dr. KNIGHT: Ob well, we liberated them all after- wards into St .Mary’s Bay. . QUESTION: What was the difference, how much better was the last experiment? ee ANSWER: Three hundred and thirty-three per cent over what you would find in the fishermen’s traps in either of these two bits of salt water. I have been pressing these facts on the lobster fish- ermen this summer, and how were they received, do you suppose? In dead silence. They don’t want to make lobsters; they want the Government to breed lobsters and to produce eggs, and to grow the fry — up into adults so that they can catch them. QUESTION: Why shouldn’t they? Is not the lobs- — ter industry one of our natural resources? I think it is the duty of the government to protect all our na- tural resources, Dr, KNIGHT: Precisely, and I admit the Govern- ment should do all they can to protect them; but speak- ing now as a citizen of Canada and not merely as a scientific man, I say that I do not care what the nat- ural resource is, whether it is lobsters or fish or lum- ber in our woods, every one of our natural resources should be taxed in order to support and maintain all the resources of Canada—it should not come on the general citizens of Canada to have to pay for it al- together. It is not justice to expect the people to spend their money on a natural resource which is be- ing depleted all the time by the fishermen for their own personal benefit. I may, of course, be all wrong, but that is what I think about it. Why the fishermen look upon this matter in this light I do not know; but if I have a theory, why, the fishermen regard with open hostility any suggestion to co-operate with the Government in its efforts to replenish the lobster fish- a s jae _ Angust, 19, 18, _ eries, as I said a moment ago about the propagation, T will keep it to myself to-day. a say that the protection of the lobster industry and the increase of it—if it can be increased—should be supported by a tax levied and particularly collected in the form of a license fee from the fishermen and the canners also; they ought to have a license fee and be licensed to help pay for the re-stocking of the half- depleted lobster areas. If a fishermen would not obey the law he should have his license taken away from him. We should say to him that if he breaks the law he can’t fish for the rest of the year, and if he breaks it the next year he should not be allowed to fish at all. If he is not a decent fisherman he should - not be allowed the privilege of fishing. Part of the tax ought to be borne by the canneries, and let me just say that I find the big canneries are _ all perfectly willing to be taxed to support this in- dustry, and they are anxious to support the govern- ment financially or otherwise in its efforts to revive it. One of the biggest canners told me he was. quite will- > ving to pay even 35c a case. It is easy to see what the ome would be from that to support the protection service and help pay for the scientific investigation “necessary to maintain the lobster fisheries in the con- dition in which they are now to-day and to prevent them from running down. How did the canners re- eeive the suggestion that they also should contribute _ to inereased egg production? By this I mean that _ both fishermen and canners should be required to build mating pens along the shores that are naturally pro- tected (it would be useless, of course, to put them on te exposed shores where they would get smashed to pieces _ by any severe storm.) As I said before, not a fisher- is - man said a single syllable about contributing to egg production, but, on the other hand, one of the large te ~ eanners (I don’t mind telling you it was Mr. Baxter) said to me when I spoke to him about this matter— “By the gods, Dr. Knight, you are right, and I will _ support that to the uttermost.’’ In France and Ger- - many they have laws to this effect with regard to their forests, they are conserving their forests there and _ have been doing so for many years, and in France and _ Germany what happens if you cut down a tree? You are required by the law to plant another tree to take Be its place. be I say then to the lobster fishermen and to the lobster ie _ packers—you cannot expect to go on forever taking _ lobsters out of the sea without beginning now to do at ~ least a small amount of re-seeding. You must begin to plant some seed. You may not like it; none of us like to have work foreed upon us. But take the farm- er for instance; what has he to do to get his harvest? First, he has to plough and then to sow the seed and __~ then to harrow it in—those are his preliminaries—he _ plants seed in order to get his harvest, while the fish- ermen expect the government. to keep on replenishing _ __ their industry and think all they have to do is to pick | the ripe fruit. I say to you lobster men, both fisher- men and canners, if you go on as you are doing to-day, the time will most surely come when the industry will die out. If you wish the industry to flourish and sur- vive you must begin to cultivate the lobster in this way, by increasing the egg production. CHAIRMAN BRITTAIN: I am sure we are all very “much indebted to Dr. Knight for coming here to give ‘us such an able address on the propagation of the lobs- 2 ‘ep : ter: It is a question which is much before the fishing * a i CANADIAN FISHERMAN 929 interests at the present time and Dr. Knight, making as he is such a deep study of his subject, is in a position to give us the valuable scientific information that is necessary if the lobster is to remain as part of our fishing industry. I think perhaps it might be well to have some discussion on this address which has just been given to us by Dr. Knight. We have men here with us to-day who are directly interested in the lobster industry and who will perhaps be able to give us an expression of opinion on what we have heard from Dr. Knight or along a different line. MR. H. B. SHORT (of Digby, N.S.): I was very much impressed with what Dr. Knight said as to the production of eggs in the pond with the muddy bot- tom. With such splendid results being obtained it seems Strange that the government should pass a regu- lation condemning all these ponds. If thirty lobsters out of forty-five produced fertile eggs in the pen and if in the muddy pond you ean produce three hundred and thirty-three per cent of eggs, why do they say that they will do away with all these ponds and let the lobster breed under natural conditions? such results in a muddy pond it seems to me it would be a great mistake to do away with these experiments. DR. KNIGHT: The answer to that is simple enough. No man would want to keep up that breeding in the mud pond. I certainly would not want to. Although the pond has served a very useful purpose it has cost a lot of money, but I do not know of any experiment in science that has not cost money, and a great deal more money than Long Beach Pond. I think it was a cheap experiment, but I do not by any means ad- vocate continuing there; we could do far better else- where. I tried that experiment in the middle of 'the pond, under the worst conditions possible for the pur pose of giving the mating egg production experiment the severest test I knew of. MR. SHORT: The idea of mating these lobsters in the pens certainly has proved to be a very valuable experiment, you have proved that you can produce seventy-five per cent of fertile eggs in that manner. If this is so, why is a recommendation handed in to the committee to do away with the production of them in this way at all? DR. KNIGHT: No, on the contrary I am recommend- ing it, both in my report of last year and in the ad- dress which I am making to-morrow. I am recom- mending strongly that these should be continued, but only in suitable places. MR. W. 8. LOGGIE (of Chatham, N.B.): I think the recommendation is to discontinue the hatcheries rather than the ponds that Dr. Knight has reference to. DR. KNIGHT: The hatcheries all around the coast. MR. LOGGIE: I would like to know how the en- closure was made, what the protection was to keep the lobsters from getting out and whether it is very _ expensive. If what Dr. Knight states is practical in harbors I should think it would be a very good plan to adopt it; it certainly ought not to be very expensive if suitable places were found. I know, however, that the location of most of our canneries on the sea coast would not make the experiment very practical there, _ there would be such risk of sea damage; the storms would damage any material which you might place around the lobsters to keep them from getting away. I would like to know what protection there would be to keep the lobsters from getting out of the enclosure. Dr. KNIGHT : The answer to that is that Long Beach If you can produce ~ 930 Pond is a pond with one side on St. Mary’s Bay for one barrier. This is made up of a sea wall of large stones and smaller boulders and gravel, and as the tide, rises out in St. Mary’s Bay the water soaks through this sea wall so that once the animals are in the pond the big wall prevents them from getting out. Mr. HUGHES (Prince Edward Island): I did not quite catch Mr. - Loggie’s remarks and Dr. Knight did not make is quite clear. In one case he mentioned the actual number of lobsters that bore eggs and in the other he spoke of percentages, and I could not gather a clear understanding. In a word, what I mean is this: Does he say that a muddy bottom and stinking water are better for the propagation of lobsters? Dr. KNIGHT: That was the severest test that I could have given to this experiment on egg produc- tion. If the animals increased in that shallow, muddy water they will increase much more rapidly anywhere else in better conditions. Mr. H. B. SHORT: Have you any theory as to the condition these lobsters would be in when they ma- tured, after being bred under such filthy conditions? Dr. KNIGHT: Well we have had no time; our first experiment was only four years ago and it takes from four to five years to grow an eight-inch or ten- inch lobster. Mr. SHORT: Have you any idea what their con- dition would be? That is, would it be an eatable thing, just as good as a lobster bred under sanitary conditions? Dr. KNIGHT: Oh come now, I cannot answer that. Mr. SHORT: Well then, I think you are a theorist. (Laughter.) Dr. KNIGHT: We have been experimenting in this connection for some there years now, but it will be at least three years before I could tell you what the full-grown lobster bred under these conditions will be like. It will be at least two or three years before any of them will be ready, will be large enough for — food. CHAIRMAN BRITTAIN: If none of the other mem- bers have anything to say in connection with this mat- ter I think we must pass on to our next subject as there is still a lot of work to be done here. We have a paper kindly prepared by Mr. T. W. C. Binns, en- titled, ‘‘Standards in Marketing.’’ I see we have Mr. Binns here to-day and as I do not want to let him get away from us I am going to ask him to give us his paper now. “STANDARDS IN MARKETING.”’ By T. W. C. BINNS. ‘Mr. President, and Members of the Canadian Fisheries Association.’’ Mr. Harpell, your acting secretary and director, has_ requested me to offer a few thoughts for your consi- deration, and has furnished me with a title ‘‘The Standardization and Marketing of Fish.”’ While I feel at times, like many other Canadians, op- posed to ‘‘titles’’, I hope I may bring out for diseus- sion a few ideas which have come to my attention as a retailer of Fish. It may be only a co-incidence, but the two other papers which are being discussed at this session, under the heading of ‘‘Marketing of Fish’’, have been prepared, one by an out-and-out producer. Mr. Brittain, and the other by Mr. Byrne, who until comparatively recently was considered more CANADIAN FISHERMAN. gone by when the retailer could ask ‘‘any old Winter. ‘have been asleep and my suggested remedy as a ‘Wiidlewels distributor. _ My remarks will be e entire from the retailers standpoint, and it may be well ju at this time to remind you that the retailer comes iit tion of the Fishing Industry. ; a Consequently the retailer hears all the ‘eae and is, in the final analysis, the party who should ceive reasonable consideration from the producer. — ‘‘The Standardization and Marketing of Fish.’’ — A standard is defined as ‘‘a medium or weight | which others are to be regulated and adjusted. ing as a standard — capable of satisfying certain tions fixed by competent authority — Fixed— tled.’ ”’ tea As a body of men, both wholesalers and retailer are anxious, as never before, to put the Fish Inc in its’ proper place, we should at this Conv frankly and fairly discuss and smooth out poi difference, so that when we shall return to our spective business we may be in a position to devote fullest energy to the encouragement of a still consumption of Fish as a necessary food. The: and still be sure of making a handsome pro with a responsibility to the great. consuHiaa’ ever in mind, it is most important at the prese as never before, to know just what to expect wh ing orders. It might be well to again remind you that servations are ‘Sfugpiagd from the retailers » adian Fish is shipped abroad, bie oo should, own interests cater to the domestic market. — a retail dealer to expect when he orders a barrel « Tom Cods? This question has already been asked partment of Marine and Fisheries, but to quo reply ‘‘as the Department has not been asked pulate any standard weight, no standard has been ed.’’ As we are evidently to make our req known, possibly we may now make some reco. tion to the Department as to what a barrel, Cods should contain. When a fruit dealer purchases a barrel of a] knows just what quantity he will receive, dealers have been so apathetic, that to put it mil have taken anything the producers have felt to give us, and generally speaking we have ui ing; and we are to infer that until somebo Department, no standard will be fixed. Let u and say something right now. Why should a Tom Cods at times weigh 100 pounds and on. 8 casions only 60 pounds? These are actual figures taken from experien n For many years practically all retail sae every retail Fish dealer should make a pre weighing the goods he receives, and, if I am not. mistaken he will be surprised to find what he has paying for and not receiving. Have any of you, who are retailers, ever figured how much snow is shipped with your Tom Cods other Frozen Fish, on which you have had, eith rectly or indirectly to pay freight charges, which now considerably higher than some years ago? Do you, who are retailers, make it a pract ie dapiss 1918. weigh your boxes of Finnan Haddies and Fillets? If _ you have not done so, start right in this Fall and take notice. The consumer - must be protected at all costs and the retailer goes to considerable expense in equipping his Store with the most. modern weighing machines, so that the consumer may get what he is paying for, but _ what of the retailer, who often receives 270 and even _ 260 pounds for a 300 pound box of Haddock or Cod. : T realize that I am treading on dangerous ground, but _ why should a retailer receive 260 pounds of Fish and be compelled to pay for a full 300 pounds, also to pay a Express charges on 300 pounds ; again I say, ‘‘ Retailers, _ weigh your Fish every time.’ : Apparently retailers have not yet realized their im- _ portance in the claim of distributors. _ On several occasions the ‘‘Canadian Fisherman’’ has _ been very emphatic in its determination that Packers _ of Canadian Fish, for example, should mark their pro- - duets with the actual weight, that half a pound can of _ Lobsters, for instance should contain 8 and not 7 Pe ounces of meat. The Canadian Food Board regulations have also been : en to protect the consumers, yet the retailer of Fish _ has allowed the producers to suit their convenience his contention is also borne out by the repeated com- “a plaints of receivers of Canadian Fish in Engiand, as - reported from time to time. As another of poor marketing conditions and which a might be greatly improved upon, I will refer to the _ manner in which Flounders and Atlantic Flat Fish are _ shipped as compared with the Pacific product. While _ Pacifie Flat Fish is shipped nicely headed and gutted, : > the Atlantic Fish is usually shipped just as taken, with _ the gutt in, simply dumped into a barrel, just another ease of careless indifference. : What is the Standard for Smelts, Extras, No. 1’s and a No. 2’s? At present apparently there is none, and . again the retailer is at the mercy of the producer. To give an instance which brought this forcibly to my at- tention:— Last Winter I purchased a shipment of Extra Smelts _ from New Brunswick necessarily without seeing the _ Smelts beforehand. On arrival at Ottawa the Smelts sold freely, and in consequence another shipment was ~ bought from the same producer, but in the meantime the price had advanced very materially. I felt justi- fied in expecting the Smelts to average out about the same size, but on arrival, the so- called ‘‘Extras’’ were no larger than the No. 1’s of the previous shipment. In consequence customers who had purchased from the first shipment were very wrathy when they were later cones a higher price for smaller Fish. Evidently **Standardization is necessary.’ Without wishing to take up too much of your time, I would ask yet one more question: — When Haddock is scarce and prices high, so that producers at times quote Haddock at a price and ‘‘Small’’ Haddock at a shade lower, who is responsible for the grading? What weight should a retailer expect to receive when he or- ders ‘‘Haddock’’ and ‘‘Small Haddocks’’? I thank you for the close attention you have given me, and look forward to a free discussion on the points raised. CHAIRMAN BRITTAIN: We are very much indebt- ed to Mr. Binns for bringing up some very live ques- tions and you gentlemen perhaps will join in giving us some valuable information along these lines. When 3 CANADIAN FISHERMAN 931 Mr. Binns referred to buying tommy cods in barrels, which. when received weighed as low as sixty lbs, I presume that in that particular case he bought the tommy cods by the weight, that he bought a barrel of tommy cods and paid for what he had purchased with the natural shrinkage taken into consideration. In the ease of a barrel of apples of course the apples are bought by the barrel and not by weight or measure. In regard to this whole question of shrinkage I am sure that co-operation will develop some sort of stand- ardization which will help in bringing us all closer together. It is a very difficult question for the pur- chaser to overcome after the fish leaves his premises, and he also has his shrinkage to take care of before the goods leave his warehouse; they then start on their journey to the consumer and there is further shrink- age in transit. There is the same problem in the meat business, they have shrinkage in their hams and in their bacons. But when they take an order for a basket of hams they mention distinctly that the order is taken for a ‘‘basket of hams supposed to weigh fif- teen pounds,’’ but they admit that it will shrink in transit. The difficulty perhaps could be overcome by the retail distributor adding enough to his costs to take care of the shrinkage. Mr. N. 8. CORNELL (of Port Stanley): On the Lakes we take care of the shrinkage while the goods are in our possession. We pack our fish in 100-lb. packages. The packages are carefully weighed while being packed and we do not weigh ice or snow but we weigh fish, and in every 100-lb. package we put in 105 lbs. of fish, and still we sometimes get complaints from the men that handle the fish that there is some- times a shortage. We have had several investigations in an endeavor to find out where that shortage would _occur, and in most cases we have found that the fish has been stolen in transit by the agents of the express companies; in going from the station to the retail dealer again they sometimes break upon a box and take home some fish for their families and friends. Mr. J. T. O°;CONNOR (of Montreal) : I may say that I have spent practically a lifetime in the trade and there has always been this controversy over shrink- age. We have always had trouble and have endeavor- ed to get together to devise some means whereby we eould get the weight. I think, however, that this long discussion could be wound up very easily if the Atlantic people would adopt the practice in vogue on the Lakes and on the Pacific Coast. The Lake people and the Pacific people turn out good weight and our firm has no complaint with either. There may be oceasionally some slight difference, but nothing be- yond what is natural and allowable. The Eastern peo- ple never seem to be inclined to be generous in weight or to allow for shrinkage, while the Lake man puts in overweight allowance for shrinkage. I think if the Atlantic people showed the same generosity they would find little complaint coming from the trade. Mr. LOGGIE: I certainly was much interested in Mr. Binns’ remarks. I followed him carefully, but he did not make his case as clear to me as I would like it made. He admitted there was shrinkage, and yet in view of that fact if he bought 100 pounds of fish, f.o.b. Halifax, and there was shrinkage he would ex- pect to pay for less than he bought, that is, if it weigh- ed out only 95 pounds in Ottawa he would only want to pay for 95 pounds. I think there is a matter of prin- ciple there: If I buy so many pounds of fish, f.o.b., 932 a certain station and there really was that many pounds in the box when shipped it seems to me it is up to me, at the other end, to bear the shrinkage, and yet Mr. Binns’ contention as a retailer is that he should have to pay for only the 95 pounds which the box con- tained when it reached its destination. I do not sup- pose it is much good to discuss it, but as a matter of principle it strikes me that when goods are bought f.o.b. a certain point the buyer should stand the risk of shrinkage. I think Mr. Binns will acknowledge that that is a business proposition recognized in all com- mercial life. If he bought the goods delivered Ottawa then I could understand his claim, but as I need not tell Mr. Binns the shipper has done his duty when he gets a clean bill of lading from the transportation company and it is then up to the carrier and the con- signee to adjust any differences in weights. If the goods were bought at a delivered price I would per- haps find no fault with the contention that the shrink- age should be borne by the shipper rather than by the receiver. I think that this point that Mr. Binns has brought out is really worthy of consideration. He mentioned the fact that a can of lobsters contained only » 7 ounces weight. I need not tell him that the wisdom of Canada has passed judgment upon that, the par- liament of Canada has deliberated upon the subject and is willing to accept only 7 ounces of meat for a half-pound can of lobsters, provided you mark it plain- ly on the label. Not only does the Canadian parlia- ment allow this, but if you go just across the line you will find our American neighbors doing the very same thing; whatever the can contains of net weight the label must set forth. I know that is the idea of the Canadian Government in passing this regulation which will come into force in the very near future. Seven ounces is a legal weight for a half-pound can of lobs- ters, provided it is so stated on the label. (Applause.) Mr. BINNS: I have listened closely to Mr. Loggie’s argument. The retailers have no objection to getting tommy cods in fifty-pound lots so long as we have the packages marked fifty-pounds and containing fifty pounds. If these tommy cods were sold by weight it would be a better proposition for the retailer. Our contention is that we must know what we are getting and what we are paying for, so as to know how to ad- just our charges. Mr. LOGGIE: I have a conviction i in “my mind that the case Mr. Binns refers to is a very exceptional one. Our tommy cod barrels are always packed full and they weigh about 100 pounds, they contain about 100 pounds when they leave us. QUESTION: Are they sold by weight? Mr. LOGGIE: No, by the barrel. However, they contain about 100 pounds when they leave us. My ex- perience is that this same barrel that is full when it leaves the shipping point often may be down to three- quarters when it arrives at its destination, sometimes perhaps because of mild weather. Of course, when the retailer opens a barrel and finds it only three- quarters full he is dissatisfied ; but it is something you cannot overcome—the weight was there all the same. If anybody sends out a barrel with only sixty pounds in it of course they have no right to be paid for one hundred pounds, and if Mr. Binns receives any sixty- pound barrel he is a very foolish man to accept them. A barrel of tommy ecods should contain about 100 pounds or thereabouts, a little over sometimes and then again a little under perhaps. CANADIAN FISHERMAN August, 1918, Mr. BINNS: Gentlemen, I am a peaceful man, but a when I get a letter like this from a man I confess it _ upsets me: ; Chatham, N.B., Feb. 27th. Matthews-Blackwell, Ltd. Gentlemen: . We regret very much that same should bes apparently poorer than the previous lot and are. unable to understand the matter, since our Extra Smelts are as far as we are aware the same quality as shipped you before. ome Regarding the weight of the tonicods.you speak i about, we think this must be an exception, since our foreman at the shed is very particular with reference to his fish and we have had no other complaints with reference to snow this season . Trusting that you will have no further cause for dissatisfaction with these tomeods. ; Yours truly, sith W.S. LOGGIE COMPANY. th Mr. LOGGIE: As I understand from that there ink sngw in the barrel. It could not have been properly emptied out. Possibly our men may have been a lit-— tle bit careless. All I ean say is that it is our practi e to empty out all our tommy cod barrels thoroughly before ai are refilled and then all that the b 1 tight as ‘possible. Perhaps a shortage in the season might be accounted for by the fact of the fi being frozen, when it is much more difficult to pac them solid. This one instance, however, does not fect the situation or the principle i in doing business. | Mr. BOWMAN (of Port Arthur) : I once got an order from a man to fill eight hundred kegs of herring. A the time I took the order I did not realize how m emphasis he was going to place on the word eb Although he supplied the packages himself, the ma ended in a lawsuit in which I fortunately cam on top. But he supplied the packages and el; afterwards that there should be a large over-run, indeed his idea of an over-run was that there sh be twenty-five pounds allowed. We men from the Lakes are rather surprised at { lack of generosity apparent sometimes in the sh: pers from the Atlantic sea board. As Mr. Cornell pointed out with us it is always understood that pounds of fish shipped from a lake point contains — pounds extra to allow for shrinkage and to ens that the purchaser at the other end gets his pounds of fish. I think that Mr. Binns has bro up in his paper some very important questions. retailers are the men who handle the fish and he to take the final losses, and even the distributo wholesale and retail, should, I think, be entitled | some lee-way in the way of allowance for shrinka: I am of the opinion that it is up to whatever comm tee of the association has that task in hand to that a proper understanding exists. barrel cae down to 62 pounds was quite in keep- - ing with the conditions under which the tommy ou was shipped. If we shipped 100 pound packages from a certain point to Montreal and found that when they - got to Montreal they only contained 62 pounds we should investigate thoroughly, and it sometimes turned ee ‘Angust, 1918. out as Mr. Cornell has pointed out that these leakages occur after the goods leave the hands of the shipper. At one time I had considerable trouble with an agent _ who was handling fish merely as a side-line and was not very careful about the way he handled it, so that there are dangers all along the line to the man who buys fish. _ Mr. CORNELL: I may further say that in Port Stanley we have a surplus sometimes. Each individual producer is credited up with the number of boxes put to the freezer. Those fish are weighed in by the ld storage company, and on one occasion there was a plus of from three to seven per cent, or about what he fisherman had shipped them out at, and that had 0 be divided up pro rata to the shippers, credited up them. So that it depends a great deal on the dis- tance that you are shipping your fish and also on the conditions under which they come in. Fish standing right in your warehouses are what we called slimed | we allow five pounds on each box to take care of what we call the sliming. Now if they only come a very short distance the receiver will have more than s 100 pounds, but he never gets less. (Applause.) r. SHORT: Mr. Chairman, I was very much inter- ed in Mr. Binns’ paper. Most of us were aware it was going to create a certain amount of dis- Sion, but according to some of the remarks you have eard here just now the public might be led to believe hat the producers on the Atlantic end were not giving ; good weights to their customers as the producers n the Pacific end. Everybody is aware of this shrink- age in fish all the way along the line. You can weigh 100 pounds of Atlantic fish to-day and then put it on e and weigh it to-morrow and find you only have 95 ounds. Everybody realizes that. But I am sure that ‘hen that fish is shipped to the consignee he gets his pounds every time, because I am quite familiar with the majority of the producers on the Atlantic coast and I know that all of them are thoroughly hon- est. fellows. (Voice): Honest, but not generous. (Laughter.) ‘These gentlemen forget that the majority of the fish that come from the Pacific coast are frozen fish, and rozen fish will not shrink, the shrinkage is taken out 1 the freezing, so that they do not shrink as the fresh fish do at all. Why the producer on the Atlantic end ‘cannot understand. We can’t get 105 pounds from the fishermen; he is very, very particular in his weight ‘and the minute that scale moves up he stops it. We “are the ones who get the poorest weight, we do not get nearly as generous a weight from the fishermen as we give to our customers. We see that every barrel of - 100-pounds that goes out gets 100 pounds. You ldom get full weight in any commodity, all commo- dities shrink to a certain extent. Take soap, for in- tance. When you get a pound package there is never pound of soap there; but we do not hear anything about that. Now the retailer must provide for the shrinkage by __ putting up his price sufficiently. There is a natural shrinkage in fish always. For instance, I know of a _ ease where a party in Montreal got twenty pounds of fish and took it home. But he did not want-it that day, and the next day he weighed it out before using it and ‘was much surprised to find out that it only weigh- ed nineteen and a quarter, So he went: back to the deal- r, and of course the dealer said, “Oh, well, there, that CANADIAN FISHERMAN 933 is the shrinkage.’’ But the retail men do not provide for that sort of thing, and the only way to settle the difficulty about this natural shrinkage in fish is for Ns retailers to put up their price enough to provide or it. Mr. O’CONNOR: I should like to follow Mr. Short’s argument up, it is an appeal to both Mr. Binns and myself. Follow a ecarload of your fish from Digby right up to Montreal. There we divide it up. There is t@irty pounds short, the shipper is not willing to’ lose it. Who is going to lose it? We are the ones who lose the whole thirty pounds, but I cannot see why the original shipper should not take a part of that loss. Mr. SHORT: Because he is not making a profit on it. Mr, O’CONNOR: Well then there is nothing for it but for us to take our medicine and pay the differ- ence. We cannot put it up to the customer, he would be quite sure that our seales were wrong. Mr. LOGGIE: Well, about the weight of the tommy cod barrels, as far as I am concerned, I should be glad to have some arrangement for a standard weight. Perhaps we could sell the 100-lb. barrels by weight, by the 100-pounds weight when packed. At the same time it must not be forgotten that when a thaw came there would be a shrinkage. Mr. BINNS: Your doctrine of co-operation has been preached for a couple of years. We have to-day with us men from the Atlantic and men from the Pacific and men from the Great Lakes. We have been told that the weights we get from the Pacific are usually good, and I have in my hands two orders sent by American shippers where it is plainly stated that they allow five pounds for shrinkage in transit; there is evident- ly some lee-way given by them. But our friends from the Atlantic coast do not seem to be inclined to be generous. We were told yesterday that the small man must be helped along. So far as my firm is concerned, we are using Pacifie fish and lake fish and Atlantic fish, although we are using more lake fish, I think, at the present time. - Now if the Atlantic people will not be generous to us we are going to take the line of least resistance, buy our goods where we are going to make the most money,—we are going to buy lake fish, We leave it to you, gentlemen; if you won’t come down we can do without Atlantic fish. We are educating the people of Ontario to eat lake fish and they are eating lake fish to a larger extent every month; there are many even heze in this room now who have taken quite a liking to fish from the lakes just in the last few months, and the Atlantic people are going to suffer if they are not generous to the people of Ontario. I am going to stand by my attitude to-day, gentlemen, throughout this Convention, and if you will not agree with me now, why at the next Con- vention I will be back to fight you again. (Applause.) Mr. E. LAPOINTE: (Ottawa): We do not mind five pounds shortage, but when it comes to ten, fifteen or one hundred pounds, I think it is a little too much. “I have often told Mr. Binns that he is a little too gen- erous in his attitude toward the public; he should make his price a little higher to take care of the shrinkage he complains of, : QUESTION: Does Mr. Short make the statement that fish weighing 100 pounds when caught by the fishermen would only weigh 95 when the fishermen got it on his landing stage? When we receive the fish it * 934 is 90 to 95, I think that is the average, so that he gets the 100 pounds from the fisherman, but we do not get 100 pounds from him when we receive it. Mr. SHORT: We get the 10 pounds from the fish- ermen, but we do not send it right from ‘the fisherman to you; that fish comes in and goes on ice and we weigh it out the next morning, and if it is only 95 pounds we have got to put in the other 5 pounds, and we do this in every case. When you sell 100 pounds of fish and ship it out to a suburb of Toronto, what do you do about it if the fellow comes back next day and says he has only got 95 ‘pounds? We buy 100 pounds of cod, and as I said before, it is very near weight, but when we ship this out to you we give you your weight every time, and we have lost five pounds over-night. Mr. D. J. BYRNE: Cod begins to shrink from the time it is taken from the water, and I think 1 am safe in saying that during the first twenty-four hours there would be a shrinkage of anywhere between seven and ten per cent. The fish coming out of the water is full of water. Now it is so regular a thing that it is almost a rule that fish taken in from the fishermen is not weighed up or shipped within the first twenty-four hours, which is the time the greatest shrinkage takes place. The dealer who buys from the fishermen—I have seen it in many of our branches many times— where the fish are weighed in—they are weighed as they come from his boat, and there is a shrinkage on that fish during the time it is in the producing deal- er’s hands which he absorbs. If we get an order from an inland dealer, retailer or wholesale distributor, we expect to deliver him: at the price agreed upon 100 pounds for 100 pounds charged. Perhaps if the At- lantic dealers had the same profits as the lake fish dealers they could afford to throw in five pounds ex- tra, but we have very keen competition on the Atlantic coast, haddock and cod are cheap fish, sold very fre- quently at 214‘to 3¢ a pound. QUESTION: When does that price prevail? Mr. D. J. BYRNE: I understand from the whole- sale dealers that this is the price for vhe last ten or, at least, five years. QUESTION: For haddock and cod? Mr. D. J. BYRNE: Yes, haddock and cod. The retail dealers here to-day have spoken aboud the wholesalers being honest. I am glad to hear that said, because there is always an insinuation of dis- honesty when this question of weight is brought up; but, gentlemen, the wholesaler who is in business to- day must deal honestly, you all know that. Then if we dispose of that there is the other question raised that they are not generous. In my experience in deal- ing with the retail distributors I have not found them generous on price; they are very keen buyers, I will say that to their credit, and they will place their order where there is a difference of one-quarter of a cent. So that they hold us down to a very small margin of profit. There has been a contention between Mr. Binns and myself—between our companies—for some time, I just want to lay down my idea of the principle involved ; it is not sound business for any man buying goods from me f.o.b. Halifax to ask that I shall put in more weight than he is paying for. If the inland dealer wants to get full weights he can buy his fish from the closest point to him and exact the weight there, but if the dealer at the producing end down here in Nova Scotia CANADIAN FISHERMAN “August, 1918. puts in 100 pounds of fish for 100 pounds charged he cannot be asked to do more. To do so, I think, would be an unsound principle of business, because as I said before, this question of profit has been by keen com- __ petition cut down to a fine point. If the inland deal- er wants to buy his fish and get his pound of flesh— _ or pound of fish I should have said—he will buy it delivered at his own station: then he can exact the weight, but I claim that if any dealer buying f.o.b. point of shipment gets the 100 pounds put in at that point for 100 pounds charged he cannot claim more. ee It is a well known fact in the trade, as has been _ submitted today, that fresh fish does shrink; haddock — and cod and fish like these are subject to a great deal more shrinkage than the closer fish like halibut and salmon; and therefore when we ship 100 pounds (and > I have watched it for a period of twenty years) the — shrinkage within three days is usually five per cent, — although I have known it to be three, and three anda half and up to six per cent, according to season. The fact of hot weather will create a greater shrinkage. This occurs while in transit, and it is our claim as ship- pers or producers that when we sell a man goods f.o.b. Halifax they belong to him as soon as they are taken out of our hands by the transportation company, and — where there is a shortage in weight when the goods — reach him—whether that is due to pilferage or to the natural shrinkage which we know exists—it is up to him to stand it. This point of shrinkage is one we must expect. It is a fact which everybody knows, - and I do not think the inland retailers would consider — for a moment that if they were selling Mrs. Jones or Mrs. Brown a fresh haddock which weighed five and a half or six pounds and which after it reached her some two miles away in the hot weather touched the — seales at only five or five-and a quarter or five and a half, that they were liable for this half-pound or quar- ter-pound shrinkage. I think the point for the dealer to remember is that the producer delivers the amount he charges for, and if the goods are bought f.0.b. ship- ping point the shrinkage must be absorbed by the re * tailer. That is the cod and haddock situation, and the prices are based on such a small margin of profit that you | cannot expect the wholesale dealer at the point of shipment to put in weight for which he does not charge or to allow for shrinkage for which he is not responsible. It is a very unimportant feature of the fresh fish trade, because it isa trade which only tains from three to four months of the year, at. outside. As to tommy cods, these were always wel a ch fish and sold by the dealers at such a low price tha it was a question of buying in barrel lots, and in o carload there would be six or seven standard sizes 0 barrels; and it was always assumed by the dealers tha the tremendous profits which the retailer got allowed him to absorb any little question of difference in weight. We understand that the tommy cods are sold more by measure than by weight, and as Mr. Loggie has pointed out, mild weather in transit woul cause the fish to fall down so that the consignee only got three-quarters of a barrel. Perhaps the suggestion coming from the retail dealers that these tommy cods be sold by weight is the very best method of handling them. We know that very recently—within the last year in fact—it has been decided in some of our larg- est American markets that fish which had previously August, 1918. been sold always by count—like shad and mackerel, _ __ for instance—would be sold in future by weight, and Bs I for one think that the standard for the trade through- _ ___ out Canada in handling all kinds of fish should be by aaa weight instead of count or measure. (Hear, hear.) Take frozen herring. For many years we sold it in- variably by count, so much per hundred, and we al- _ ways had a bone of contention between the dealers, retails, wholesalers, shippers and producers, as to what the weight per hundred count amounted to. _ Within the last year, Mr, Chairman, as is well-known in the trade, this method has changed, at least at the _ distributing points, so that now frozen herring are sold by weight and not by count. I think the same thing - should prevail with regard to tommy cods and mac- _kerel and shad and every other kind of fish: instead of selling by count or measure we should sell by weight. ' QUESTION: How would you allow for shrinkage if you had to allow for shrinkage? Does the speaker mean that the wholesaler must accede to the demands of the retailer, and that he must grant him an allow- - ance of weight to cover that shrinkage? Mr. BYRNE: That would mean that the wholesalers, 0 protect themselves, must advance the prices. Now, ‘gentlemen, the margin of profit in handling fresh fish by the wholesalers and producers is usually a question ‘of fractions—it is a matter of fractions of a cent— whereas the profit made by the retailers is very much larger; and for that reason we feel that the retailer should absorb as he has been doing, not the total _ shrinkage, but his own share of the shrinkage. If I buy something here in Halifax at a price that is agreed upon f.o.b., Halifax, I cannot compel the man _ from whom I am buying to say that he will undertake _ to deliver in Montreal in the same condition as the shipment is when it leaves Halifax, I must assume that - risk. So must a dealer in Montreal assume the natural shrinkage which occurs in fish in transit from the At- __ lantie seaboard to the inland city. As TI said before, there is always this question of - dishonesty, it is always a mooted point that perhaps is that the dealer inland will not continue to buy his _ fish from a wholesaler or producer if he is not satis- _ ___ fied that the man is honest. It is very easy for us to _ determine if the shrinkage is greater than it should ___be because we have had many years of experience in _ handling this fish—my company in Montreal has bought fish from producing firms here for the last _ thirty years, and we always recognize that on all shipments of fresh fish from this section which are from two to four days in transit there will be a shrink- ce age in the summer time of at least five per cent. It is __——s a recognized feature of the trade and we never claim that shrinkage back from the shipper; I do not be- lieve that the man who buys fish f.o.b. shipping point has any right to claim it. I am trying to make out, Mr, Chairman, that there is an allowance, although no standard allowance is re- ecognized. There is a usual shrinkage on fresh fish like cod and haddock. There is the question also of buying fresh cod and of buying steak cod. No in- land dealer, wholesaler or retailer, will maintain for a moment that the prices of these should be the same, - although they are the identically same fish; they are ___willing to pay considerably more for the steak cod, _____which has the head and is the larger and selected fish. CANADIAN FISHERMAN 935 But on both there will be shrinkage—that is recog- nized. I think the retailer’s point has been set forth clear- ly and strongly, but the other man should be heard from, I venture to say that in other lines of business this fact is recognized and allowed for. The firm.in the west ordering a carload of pork or beef products from here or the firm here ordering from the west, at a price f.o.b. shipping point, would certainly expect to take care of such shrinkage as was the regular recog- nized shrinkage while the goods were in transit. Mr, LOGGIE: I think the point has been well made, and strongly emphasized. When goods are purchased f.0.b. shipping point, it does seem to me that the buyer at the other end should not expect more than was coming to him at the shipping point. Take for in- stance a box of fresh salmon that you ship from here at a value that you feel they are worth f.o.b. Halifax, and you give 100 lbs. for 100 Ibs.; but when they reach their destination perhaps they, only weigh 95 lbs., and it does seem to me that this is a shrink- age that somebody at the other end should bear, wheth- er the retailer or the consumer is, of course, another question. But I do not think that it is proper busi- ness procedure to expect the shipper, if he sells the goods f.o.b. shipping point, to give more than the weight that he invoices for. (Hear, hear.) THE CHAIRMAN: Gentlemen, this is a point that certainly should be thrashed out, in the interests of the retailer, wholesaler and producer. My experi- ence has been that all along the line there is shrink- age, and it is no use to talk of stopping it. The pro- ducer who takes fish from the fisherman has the great- est shrinkage to bear, because the. greatest shrinkage takes place in the first twenty-four hours. Then after the fish have been packed the shrinkage will continue until finally the fish reaches the consumer; and both the wholesaler and the retailer must take care of their own shrinkage while the fish is in their possession. As Mr. Loggie has pointed out, fish sold f.o.b. shipping point become the property of the purchaser, and he has got to take care of that shrinkage until he sells them. It is, of course, greater on cod and haddock than on fish like salmon and halibut, but I would also draw attention to the fact which Mr. Short brought out, that there should not be much shrinkage in frozen products—as a matter of fact, the man who freezes the fish and glazes it gains weight, 100 pound of lake or Atlantic fish frozen and glazed will weigh more than 100 pounds. That is just as natural as the shrink- age, because you can’t put the glazing on without add- ing to the weight of the fish and you have to take that, although the fact. is that you are probably pay- ing for perhaps two or three per cent of ice. The retailer has got to take care of that, and you can’t handle your stuff without doing so. QUESTION: Are the fish weighed before being glazed? THE CHAIRMAN: No; after. QUESTION: There is nothing allowed for that ice? (A Voice: Yes; there is an allowance made.) Mr. BRITTAIN: Taking the case of salt fish, this fish will start to shrink and keep on shrinking; put it into salt pickle and perhaps it will shrink two pounds to make one, and if you go to work and put it in: the sun it shrinks three pounds. When we sell boneless cod and other salt fish, our firm always have it distinctly understood that we sell f.o-b. cars and 936 guarantee to give the full weight. If the business is of sufficient volume we ask the customer to appoint or send someone to see that they are getting fair weight. Even then, when they get the salt fish in Gloucester, Mass., perhaps they find on taking it out that it has shrunk ten per cent sometimes in transit. Then after it is out of pickle and starts to drain off, the more you press the weight on the more it shrinks. In the past the United States people took advantage of us, they wanted twenty-four pounds allowance, one man even wanted twenty-five pounds, but the shippers said, ‘‘Here, the only fair way to do is to sell f.0.b. shipping point. You can take care of it after it has left our hands.”’ THE CHAIRMAN: I think the legal phrase ‘‘in possession’’ is applicable here; after the bill, of lading is signed the fish is in your possession and becomes your goods, the shipper can’t do anything after that. Once the bill of lading has been signed for 1000 pounds of fish delivered to the transportation company it is your goods, you are the only man that can endorse that bill of lading. The goods belong to you, they are then in your possession, if you order f.o.b, shipping point. If you buy in Montreal, of course, you get the weight you actually pay for, but the man who imports from the shipper has to take charge of that 5 per cent shrinkage. The fisherman in the first instance takes eare of his shrinkage by giving to the man that he lands to the 100 pounds weight. That man puts it on ice and weighs it the same day or the next day and finds he has got 5 per cent to take care of before it is shipped. Then it goes to the man who orders; the producer has taken eare of the shrinkage while in his possession and then after the bill of lading is signed the man who purchases has to take care of the shrink- age from then until the time he sells it to his custom- er, and so on. The shrinkage that there is in transit must be taken care of by the owners of the fish at the time. There is sometimes a difficulty when washing the fish; if your men are not careful thev can put in 5 per cent of water, but as a rule these fish are drained very carefully. Again, in cold weather there will be a percentage of ice to take into consideration, and this shortage is usually avoided by giving a little extra weight—the trade generally want to give the 100 pounds full weight and then feel that is all that they are entitled to do, because they have already taken eare of the shrinkage while in their possession. A great deal depends on the weather conditions under which the fish are packed, but in all cases I think the 100 pounds weight is given by the shipper. (VOICE: Except tommy cods.) I think tommy cods, like everything else. should be sold and bought by weight. You know what the natural shrinkage would be if the fish thawed and froze and thawed and froze again, a much greater shrinkage than if the fish-remained in a frozen state. Mr. H. A. LETOURNEAU (of Montreal): The way we get the stuff we are in a handicapped position as ee far as supplying the trade is concerned. Suppose we . buy fillets or haddies in fifteen or thirty pound boxes. T take the box as I got it, it weighs fifteen pounds or as it is marked, and I send it to my customer. About an hour after I am ealled to the telephone: box of haddies and I just weighed it and it onlv weighs thirteen and a half pounds.’’ Well, I can’t lose his trade and I have to give him credit for it, and CANADIAN FISHERMAN. ed them so tight that you jumped on them you for the way you have discussed this paper. ““‘T got a ‘mentioned of these 300 half-barrels is a question August, 1918: after I give him this allowance I am making six cen on the box, where I should make eighteen, and we have got to do it to keep our trade. Last year I got three hundred half-barrels of salt herring, marked 100 pounds each, from Halifax, and I sold it out to about twenty-five people, and five or six out of the twenty. five who bought the herring weighed their —_ find out whether to sell by the dozen or the pound, @ they found only 78 lbs. in each 100-lb. barrel. Wh shall I-do? Well, I have to lose that much on me barrel, and not only this, but most times pay draft which is often attached to the bill of lading. do not see where we would get any protection — way and if we have to put up the price, _ T an stuck again, I am handicapped in selling, because : wholesaler has only perhaps two or three. there is a lack of protection for the retailers. Mr. LOGGIE: I do not think there should et this shrinkage on pickled herring. I think the goods mt have been short packed by the shipper and he sho be held responsible, Mr, LETOURNEAU: I spoke about it to thes hi per’s agent—who is right here to-day, and it was down to the natural shrinkage. I am willing that there cannot be any more than 3 per cent: age on fresh fish. But we have got a keen comp: and are selling haddock and cod at jobbing prices, I do not see if we have got to lose three per ¢e1 of a 100 lb. case that we can make a living. As tommy cod is concerned, these last two years has been great competition in the price because are a very cheap fish. I do not say the weight short on purpose, but those barrels, why, if you fy not put 100 pounds in those barrels. So I. should be worked out to satisfy the jobber. Th is harder for us, we have to lose more than the per, and we have to contend with the public, — Mr. BINNS: I remember the words of the ch of the Food Board yesterday, he reminded us should not be confined to one particular line. \ in the general fish business. I am now speaki my firm as their representative. We are not lar whether we sell haddock or cod or pickel f lake fish or Pacific fish or even Pacifie flat f necessary, we are in business to supply the peop what they want. We can give them a few sugg however, as to what to buy,-and if Dr, Adam came into my store to buy fish I would certainly gest to him that he should buy something wl knew I was liable to make a little. If I see can’t make money on haddock, if I see that lantic people are not willing to be reasonably g that is their business; my business is to sell fis Atlantie or Pacific or lake fish particu hai fish that I am going to make money on. I got it typed, they all told me I had awful nerve, when I was on the way to Halifax a couple of days T thought my nerve was gone, but I guess it is Db (Laughter: ‘‘It is back, all right.’’). Ae Mr. BYRNE: The question of pickled herrin case mentioned— I think is a ease of pushing Ww known as the fishermen’s pack. That is, the whol sale dealer at the producing end takes over from th fishermen in small lots, and I do not think the ¢a _ ~ August, 1918. CANADIAN _us at all: it is simply dishonest treatment, dishonest weight, the packages are marked 100 pounds, but they _ never had 100 pounds packed in them. he other question raised was a question of the weight of fresh fish, which is known to shrink in _ transit, and I want to particularize one point that oc- -eurs in Montreal and no doubt in Toronto or any of the other large centres where quantities of these fish are re-sold in the original package. In Montreal we quote the trade a price f.o.b. the shipping point, and t is usually quoted this way I know by the Maritime _ Fish Corporation. If the fish are to be shipped by ex- press the price is f.o.b. the shipping point, and the Shaver bears the express charges and the fish are ship- a5 ped direct to him. If, however, he desires to get a wer transportation cost by having. the goods ship- _ ped by faster freight or by taking advantage of the py ebsioad rate, then the price named is delivered Mont- real, but that price is based on the f.o.b. price, and we “not at any time consider that the wholesale dealer or the shipper or the producer assumes the shrinkage . hich will take place while in transit. That is the con- tion which prevails in Montreal with the trade, sev- dealers get a carload together, to get the faster eight service which is available and which permits a jower transportation cost and better shipping condi- ms than if shipped by express. I am, of course, re- ‘erring now to the refrigerator cars which are iced t the expense of the buyer or receiver of the fish, who Ss when small shipments are put into the one car yout 10 per cent extra on the freight charges to eover the cost of the ice. When these fish are de- vered in Montreal they are invoiced by the dealers there at the marked weights which the boxes contained en shipped up, and if that rule did not prevail then vould have to be a basis of charging the f.o.b. price ‘same as for express te Can and id heat! unnecessary details. About this shrinkage on haddies, Mr. Chairman. = There Is a seme in the winter time which occurs , what the previous chairman said about the weights gained in freezing when speaking of finnan _ haddies and fillets, because these are smoked fish that you cannot glaze, and a box of haddies packed fifteen _ pounds and frozen in one of our artificial freezers in _the east here would have in two months, say, a shrink- age of at least one-quarter to three-quarters of a pound on each case. I know from my own experience that we generally find the boxes of haddies will run to half a pound short, that is because they cannot some- - __ times, in working quickly at the point of packing, the men eannot get the fish, the exact fish to make the weight just even. I have also found boxes marked fifteen pounds containing fifteen and a half and even sixteen. So I am of the opinion that the idea is to determine what the natural shrinkage on the fish should be, and as I say, in the ease of fillets or haddies it would be = about half a pound. _ CHAIRMAN WILSON: Gentlemen, this paper of Mr. S Binns has certainly brought out a lot of valuable sug- asta and I hope that the incoming committees will FISHERMAN. 937 be able to get together and endeavor to work out some- thing that is going to be equitable to the small fisher- man, the small retailer, the wholesale men and the producers all combined. Adjourned until Thursday, August 8th. Third Day Thursday, August 8th. The following paper, prepared by Mr. A. H. Whit- man, of Halifax, who could not be present, was read by the President :— FISHERIES ADMINISTRATION. By A. H. WHITMAN, of Halifax. Some ten or more years ago the Halifax Board of Trade, through its Fisheries Committee, endeavoured to persuade the Dominion Government to apply the Ad- ministration of the Fisheries a modification of the Fish- ery Board System so successfully carried out in Scot- land and Norway. The project was strenuously oppos- ed by the Fishermen’s Unions of Nova Scotia, giving the Government a good excuse for continuing the po- licy of drift that has always characterized the Fisher- ries Department. At the time referred to, the benefits that would ac- erue from the application to the pickled fish industry of an act similar to the Fruit Act—the adoption of a standard barrel and having advisory fishery boards in the various fishing centers, were duly set out in pam- phlets issued by the Halifax Board of Trade. Since that time the writer has somewhat changed his views in regard to depending upon the Government for the working out of many of the details in regard to fish- ing operations, and has been in a position to prove that the merchant can, to a great extent, inaugurate im- proved methods, better results to the fishermen, as well as additional profit to him. To-day, in a number of lo- ealities, the merchant is buying Codfish, Herring and Mackerel in a fresh state from the fishermen, paying comparatively better prices than would result to them if they cured their own product. By having the fish earefully prepared and by using high-class barrels, the merchant is able to obtain a much better price than ean be had for the usual product as entirely produced by the fishermen. As an illustration of this I would refer to the Cape Breton fat Mackerel, which on the West Coast of Cape Breton are to a great extent bought by the merchants from the fishermen ex boats, and which the merchants after carefully curing and packing at their own plants, sell for from $2,00 to $5.00 per barrel more than iden- tically the same fish bought by them after being split and cured by the fishermen. Also, in order to have a superior pickled cured Codfish, suitable for the American market, it is necessary in most localities for the merchant to have his own splitters, thus producing a high-class article, the extra returns for which more than offset the extra cost. ’ I am not stating the above facts as a reflection on the fishermen, many of whom can and do produce a high-class article, but their efforts are spoiled by the carelessness or indifference of others. Now, the point I wish to make is this, that the mer- chant has it in his ewn hands to apply te his own busi- 938 ness the use of high-class packages and the production of high-class pickled fish as far as his own establish- ments are concerned, but there remains large sections of our Coast line where there are no merchants’ establish- ments working on improved lines, and, therefore, I have no hesitation in saying that the reorganization of the Fisheries Department, with the establishment of Provincial Fishery Boards or Commissions, along with the enactment and adequate carrying out of progressive laws and regulations in regard to packages and the cur- ing of fish, cannot but eventually bring better returns to the fishermen, and result in materially increasing the fishing industry. The merchant who has developed his business along the lines indicated above has more or less lost interest in the movement to bring about reforms through the Fisheries Department. I, however, consider this a nar- row view of the situation, and consider that the fisher- ies of Canada are of sufficient importance to warrant a further effort to remedy matters. I maintain that there should be a Minister of Fisheries; that the Ad- ministration of the fisheries should not any longer be tagged on to the Department of Naval Service. The Administration of the Fisheries, previous to the War, left much to be desired, but since the War, the Naval Service has quite overshadowed the Fisheries; as a matter of fact, there is little or no connection between the Fisheries and Naval Service, and there should be no difficulty in separating the Administration. If the Government cannot be made to realize that the Fisheries are of sufficient importance to have a separ- ate Minister, there is the alternative of appointing a Minister of Natural Resources, combining the Fisheries the Mines and the Forests, which I would consider a big step in advance of the present conditions, under which the Fisheries have practically no attention what- ever. I regret being unable to personally present my views in this matter. and trust that the Canadian Fisheries Association will see its way to take action towards put- ting into effect the policy set forth in this paper. Resolutions Passed at the Annual Convention of Can- adian Fish Association, Halifax. Resolution No. 1.—Appreciating H. B. Thomson and His Work. The Canadian Fisheries Association in Annual Convention assembled, desires to express its apprecia- tion to Mr. H. B. Thompson for his presence at their Convention and for the interesting and valuable ad- dress made by him to the members, and takes this opportunity to pledge their continued support and co- operation to the Canada Food Board in their effort to inerease the production of Food, Fishes, and econ- serve Food Stuffs, which is so necessary to the winning of the Allied cause. Resolution No. 2.—Fresh Fish Transportation from Atlantic Coast. WHEREAS transportation is a vital matter in con-| nection with the distribution of perishable fish, AND WHEREAS express is the only satisfactory method of distributing small shipments from points of production to points of distribution and from terminal points of carload shipments such as Montreal and Tor- onto, to the outlying points of consumption, and also in view of the fact that the small shipment is the na- CANADIAN FISHERMAN. August, 1918, tural forerunner of the carload shipment to any point, — BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED that the Canadian Fisheries Association in Annual Convention as-— sembled, unanimously request that at this time the De- partment of Naval Service do not change the ade '. by which the present large and satisfactory cons tion of fresh fish has been built up. The introdu of the Sea Food Special Fast Freight Service, w good in itself, cannot entirely replace the servi less than carload shipments by express. Furthe the introduction of such a drastic change withow ficient notice to allow the trade to adjust their ness to the new conditions, is a serious hardshi the Department considers that the increased ship are likely to make demands in excess of the appr tion available, the matter can be adjusted wi least inconvenience to the fish business, by a confer with representatives of producers and distributo f We would particularly emphasize that the ser from the Atlantic should be at least, one exp frigerator car on the Ocean, Ltd., and two exp frigerator cars on the Maritime Express, fr grave and Halifax to Montreal and Toronto, dai interference with this service would materiall the quantities of fresh fish moved from the Atlantic We .would further suggest that the Departm Naval Service provide that the common earri cise special care in the handling of fish sh At transfer points, facilities should be provided keeping of the fish out of the sun, so far as pos: and in transit the fish should be kept away from h in ears and from heated ears. “al H. B. SHORT, speaking on Resolution, a wie. a.m., when the reporter arrived. We have no equipment on our section wha cept the express, and we have no express*refri at all. I think that this association should to get a part of the same equipment to serve t ern part of the province of Nova Scotia ame a of the province of New Brunswick (Hear, ee the counties of Digby and Yarmouth there < producers of fresh and smoked fish, and it is ab necessary that we get this to market, but if 1 no facilities in that end of the province and - all these facilities at the eastern end, why it fair to suppose that in a little while our b going to peter out to nothing; and although of course, be glad for you to have this equ the eastern part, it seems to me that it is not f you should give all the equipment to one section Province and none to the other. We must get we are entitled to without having to do a lot of. ping over it, and I am going to keep at it until get it. I would like the Association to take the ern part of the province into consideration in tion with this equipment. Mr. SPOONER: I understand the C. P. R. number of refrigerator cars. Have the shippers for any? sie Mr. SHORT: Sure they have. Mr. SPOONER: What was the reply? Mr. SHORT: Give us a carload; if we guaran carload they would give us a ear. You don’t do th even there. ee. Mr. SPOONER: In express réfrigétabal ihe quire certain minimum quantities. Fa Mr. SHORT: In one sense. But last year at one ti 10 we had an order for a full carload from Toronto t Pawan tae et August, 1918. CANADIAN go by express. It had to leave Digby on Friday and it was absolutely impossible for us to get a refrigerator ear and place it in St. John. As a result, we lost the trade because we could not deliver that car in Toronto until Monday. Mr. SPOONER: The trouble seems to be that the cars were not held at a point where you could get them; the Dominion Express certainly have the cars. Mr. SHORT: They have all sorts of equipment for bringing the stuff from the west. Mr. BRITTAIN: If the C. P. R. is not looking for business to-day they are going to look for it sooner or later, there is going to be competition for business. Now from a business standpoint, could not some ar- rangement be made with the C. G. R. that they have os a car at St. John to go forward to Moncton to connect with the Sea Food Special and help make up the ton- nage on the Special, thereby reducing express ship- : - ments—which they all ask us to try to do. Perhaps some arrangement of this sort could be made. Mr. SPOONER: You could probably have a full car- load, Mr. Short, quite often—a minimum carload. Mr. BRITTAIN: Have a minimum, and then there would be no trouble. ' Mr. SPOONER: Oh no, the minimum is where the trouble comes. - Mr. WELDON (Can. Govt. Rlys.): If we brought down refrigerator cars, is the equipment good? Yes. We have recently ordered one hundred re- frigerator cars to be delivered just as soon as we can get them and we are placing another hundred on order, so that we ought to be fairly well equipped with that class of car soon. As for running a car from St. John, provided the quantities are obtained I see no difficulty _ at all. If you can deliver the fish at St. John so that it ean be moved out in the evening to reach Moncton and make a connection with the Sea Food Special, as - certain cars of some other classes of goods are doing at the present time every Thursday, Friday and Satur- day, I see no difficulty at all in taking advantage of ‘the Sea Food Special. But as I said before, when it comes to running express refrigerators on our pass- enger trains, if you keep adding cars, for instance from - the Halifax and South Western section and some from the Dominion Atlantic section, you very soon have a train of express cars, and that would perhaps be a bad thing for all of us. I do not think, however, that there would be any difficulty about having the fish move through to Montreal by the Sea Food Special, if the cars leave St. John, Halifax and Mulgrave to con- nect with it at Moncton. Mr. SPOONER: Is it express or freight refrigerators you have reference to? Mr. WELDON: Express. Mr. SPOONER: Would not that help you out from - your district? Mr. SHORT: I understand we could not connect with it, we could get there the next day, but there would be twenty-four hours delay. Mr. SPOONER: There would be a delay in shipping direct over the C. P. R. from St. John. They have much quicker time. ; Mr. BRITTAIN: Let these trains all feed in to the Sea Food Special and then consolidate into the one train. Gather it up from points along the Halifax line, take up the St. John stuff and put it all on the Sea Food Special, consolidating into the one train to go through to Montreal. FISHERMAN . 939 Mr. SHORT: I was speaking of shipments less than ‘earload. Mr. BRITTAIN: Perhaps Mr. Weldon could be in-. duced to run a ear on those three days a week on the minimum of 10,000 pounds, and if there was not enough somebody else could be brought in to take care of these extra cars until the thing got running smoothly. It would give the service you want, then you could have the C. P. R. as you have it to-day and the express regular over the C. G. R. as in the past. Mr. SHORT: If arrangements could be made with the C. G. R. to have a refrigerator car there to connect with that at Moncton it would serve us first-rate, that is, if they undertook to take shipments less than ecar- load. THE CHAIRMAN: I do not know if Mr. Weldon paid particular attention to the paper on Steam Trawl- ing read this morning. It is aggregated that a steam trawler produces 150,000 to 300,000 pounds a week. There are 5 steam trawlers operating on the coast of Nova Scotia at the present time, so that there would be no trouble as far as filling up that Sea Food Special. If the railway will help us along, in a little while per- haps we will be making them run trains every day a week the trade would develop even as it has done in the old country where they have to run fresh fish trains from Grimsby and Yarmouth in two sections. This may be looking rather far into the future perhaps. but at the same time it goes to show that the production end has not been neglected and that transportation is the nexf link in the chain; as soon as this is developed sufficient- “ly the distributors will have to look after it, and then the consumers. They are willing to help us out pro- vided we can give them the goods in the best possible condition for their consumption. ‘Transportation is the first and we consider at this time the weakest link in the chain; and it is not by way of criticism that we wish to lay the matter before the railroad for. as Mr. Brittain has said, the C. P. R. has done more than any other railway in Canada for the development of the Atlantic. But on the other hand look what it has done for the Pacific; and we believe down here that an equal development would take place at the Atlantic sea board if we could get the proper transportation facilities. We have the distributing end of this tmat- ter fairly well organized now and it is improving all the time; the Food Board has done a great deal during the past year towards helping in this way. The pro- duction end has also developed greatly in the past year; and so we want to get transportation—the con- necting link between the two—in line. Resolution carried. Resolution No. 3.—Transportation of Fish From Great akes, WHEREAS fishermen in the lake districts in Can- ada and dealers in the United States, have, during the present season, suffered great loss owing to delays in transit and careless handling of Fish by the com- mon carriers handling like fish shipments from Can- adian points to American points, . AND WHEREAS considerable loss of Food Fish has resulted, BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED that the Canadian Fisheries Association in Annual Convention as- sembled, request that the officials of the Dominion and American Express Companies. take special care in the handling and transferring of Fish shipments from Can- * 940 ada to the United States, giving preference in forward- ing same, and, if the Canada Food Board and the Amer- ican Food Administration, deem it necessary, call a joint conference with the Express Companies, to pro- vide special service for these shipments. Mr. H. S. CORNELL (of Port Stanley): Mr. Presi- dent and gentlemen: I do not think it is necessary for me to say anything further as I have already spoken on this subject. Conditions are very serious with us as about seventy-five percent of our fish find a market in New York, Chicago, Boston and Philadelphia. We have had such very unsatisfactory service given our shipments that I may be pardoned if I illustrate. Under ordinary conditions we would make a shipment Saturday say; this ought to arrive in New York for the Monday morning market, but in several cases this season this fish which has been shipped out on Satur- day, perhaps fifty to a hundred boxes in one shipment, arrives in New York, twenty-five boxes perhaps on Tuesday and the balance of the shipment on Friday. ‘You can imagine in what condition these fish would be, uo arrangements for re-icing or anything of the kind; and they have to be opened up on the open market and sold to the highest bidder. They come in on a dray or express wagon, and a gong sounds which brings a crowd of Jews, who buy a box each perhaps at auction. - When a box of these fish is opened they certainly do not look attractive, there is no ice left and whatever little sawdust or anything of that nature was sticking to the ice will show on top of the fish, and they look about 15 or 20 per cent worse than they really are. The value has depreciated about fifty per cent; ana as for the portion that did not arrive until the fol- lowing Friday, they would be totally unfit for food and condemned. Resolution carried. Resolution No. 4.—International Scientific Commission. WHEREAS there are-large areas of Deep-Sea Fish- ing grounds off the Atlantic and Pacific Coasts of the Continent of North America, where much scientific work might be done of value to the commercial fish- eries, particularly in the way of mapping grounds and determining the habits and seasons of the Fishes that frequent them, AND WHEREAS this work is of mutual interest and value to the Fishing Industries of the United States, Dominion of Canada, and the Dominion of Newfound- land, and for other international considerations should be undertaken by these three countries, BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED that the Canadian Fisheries Association, in Annual Convention as- sembled, respectfully recommends to the Governments of these three countries, the formation of a permanent international scientific commission to collect scientific data, statistics of resources and production and direct surveying of Fish grounds common to two or more ste these countries. THE CHAIRMAN: For the information of some of the members not present when the discussion on this matter took place, I may say that this is along the lines of what has been done in regard to the North Sea fisheries; the countries surrounding the North Sea got together and appointed scientifie investigating committees to get the information and data necessary to the preservation and development of the fisheries. I think that there are one or two men from Newfound- CANADIAN FISHERMAN land here to-day, and we would like to hear a a views on this matter, ; me Mr. CHETWYND: I am sorry that Mr. Stones is 3 Wo o here himself. I think the resolution is all right, spe ing from my own personal standpoint, although th is, of course, much that could be said. But I do see anything in it which should not have the co-op tion of the Newfoundland Government. I think resolution is a very good one. i Resolution carried. Resolution No, 5. — Advise Industry of Departmen hanges. WHEREAS there have been several instance hasty and ill-advised legislation and changes i ministrative regulations that have not been in t. terests of the commercial fisheries of Canada, ° have, in some cases, entailed losses to those eng: ge them, BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED that the Can Fisheries Association, in Annual Conventi sembled, request that the Federal and Provincial partments advise our Secretary of all proposed le lation and intended changes in the administrative lations and allow a reasonable time for our tion to communicate with our branches and affiliated _ organizations in the districts affected and rep results of these communications to the Depart Read and earried. Resolution No. 6.—First Inspection Act be | Compulsory. WHEREAS the inspection of Pickled Fish | rels under the Fish Inspection Act of 1914, is o AND WHEREAS the purpose of this Act h generally commended and its spirit and intent. cepted by those engaged in this branch of t Industry, AND WHEREAS it has been found diffieul duce all coopers to produce the proper type of and all packers to raise their standard of curing | optional inspection, AND WHEREAS it is in the best interests of Industry to prevent the marketing of carelessl; ed fish in unsuitable containers, RESOLVED that the Canadian Fisheries’ tion in Annual Convention assembled, unanimo commends that the Fish Inspection Act be so a as to make the inspection of pickled fish and compulsory. Mr. LOGGIE: It seems to me that this is a which requires consideration, and I do not thi should hastily pass this resolution. The mat been fully discussed before Committees of the H and they found it not wise to make it compuls Every packer who can, will take advantage of there are certain circumstances sometimes w 1 is impractical to take advantage of it. I think y should hesitate somewhat about passing a reso of this nature, without more time to consider ¢ fleet on the whole situation. ae THE CHAIRMAN: A discussion took place yest day in regard to this question, and there were s instances given where packages marked 100 pout salt herring when delivered in Montreal only turn out to contain 75 pounds. As to being hasty in f matter, it is seven years since it was first brought 1 before the Fisheries Committee of the ‘Halifax of Trade. The enforcement of this Bix ction \ er eee See et, ee Peli : i x August, 1918. CANADIAN possibly be considered hasty at all, because you have had three or four years’ notice by the Department that the Department desired, the trade desired, the consum- er desired, and the industry desired these standard packages and weights. Now, we have all had a chance to know what the issue is, and what is the very best thing to do. Besides this, I do not think that as a member of this Association and as a citizen, I ought to allow conditions to prevail which destroy fish, for that is what we are doing. What is the good of in- creasing production when you waste what you al- ready have—you are undoing with one hand what you are trying to do with the other. I contend that it is the absolute duty of the Department to enforce this in- spection for that very reason, and for no other reason. (Hear, hear.) That is what it means. The fish are produced all right, they come from the water all right, but we allow conditions to prevail that are absolutely wasting a whole lot of that fish. After six years to think about it, are we justified in letting conditions like this continue, are we willing that these wasteful conditions should prevail any longer? (No, no. ‘‘It is a question.’’) Resolution carried. Resolution No. 7.—Ontario’s Fish Policy Condemned. WHEREAS the Government of Ontario is engaged ‘in the production and distribution of Fish from waters closed to the licensed commercial fishermen, AND WHEREAS the said Government is also tak- ing from such licensed commercial fishermen a por- tion of their catch from the licensed Ontario waters at arbitrary prices, AND WHEREAS unprecedented interference has re- sulted in loss to the fishermen and confusion to dis- tributors, and dragged the industry into political in- terference and unfair preference and disorganized this established industry, AND WHEREAS the Ontario Government has re- fused to appoint a commission or otherwise publicly consider the loss and hardships which their policy has entailed, BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED that the Canadian Fisheries’ Association in Annual Convention as- sembled, protests against the above mentioned injustices which are so detrimentally affecting the fish industry of that Province. Carried. - Resolution No. 8.—Federal Department of Fisheries Should be Re-organized. . WHEREAS the ‘administration of the Fisheries branch of the Department has been over-shadowed in the past by the Naval branch. AND WHEREAS there is little or no connection be- tween the Fisheries and Naval Service, AND WHEREAS it is very advisable that the ad- ministration of the Fisheries should be under the juris- diction of a responsible official occupying, at least, the status of Deputy Minister, BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED that the Canadian Fisheries Association in Annual Convention as- sembled, unanimously recommend that if the Dominion Government does not consider it possible to appoint a Minister of Fisheries, that it be strongly urged to ap- point a Minister of Natural Resources, who shall have charge of the administration of Canada’s Mines, For- ests, and Fisheries. with a Deputy Minister at the head of the administrative work in connection with FISHERMAN 941 each of these three important natural resources. THE CHAIRMAN: The last resolution, and one added this morning, is of considerable importance, and left to the last probably for that reason. It is a mat- ter that might possibly change the whole trend of the industry as far as the fishing is concerned. Some ef- fort has been expended in the past in an endeavor to try to get the Fisheries Department under a Minister who would really take some interest in the thing, a Minister having the time and the talent to devote to the industry. This has always been felt to be one of the great weaknesses in connection with the develop- ment of the fisheries, and it is a change which should have been effected twenty-five years ago, but which has not yet been achieved. I notice in Mr. Whitman’s paper this morning a complaint of a policy of drifting, and it is not drift net fishing he meant, but drifting without a net and really without a Minister, The Minister’s activities are occupied in other branches of his Department, he is bound up with the Marine and the Naval Departments. The Marine Department has an agent here, but the fisheries have never had an agent or an office. This recommendation calls for the establishment of a Ministry of Natural Resources to take under its wing the Canadian mines, forests and fisheries. At the present time the mines are under the Secretary of State, the forests under the Interior Department and the fisheries under the Naval Department, and the lat- ter are really under a minister who is the Minister of Naval Service. I do not know just what has taken place in regard to the mines and forests, how much they have been held up in the matter of development, but I certainly know how the fisheries have been handi- capped on account of being under the Naval Service. You cannot censure or blame a Minister for devoting his efforts and energies to the Naval side of his branch in wartime, but even before the war began the same situation seemed to prevail, the fisheries did not get the proper attention. The fisheries service is not what is considered a large spending department, as Depart- ments are considered at Ottawa, the others are the large spending Departments; and, of course, it is nat- ural that the financial side of the problem is that which appeals most strongly to a Minister, that is what he is usually criticized for on the floors of the House. Personally, I am a strong advocate of this thing, al- though I do not want to foist my personal views on the Convention. I know, however, that a large num- ber of the executive of the Association feel much the same way, and believe that it would be a stride, and a long stride, in the right direction if we could get such a Department established, not only for the fisheries, but for the other natural resources of Canada. As the Food Controller stated to us yesterday, we have to develop our natural resources and become an export- ing country if we want to pay our war debt. I should like an expression of opinion on this matter. Mr. HARPELL: This is a subject to which I have given some thought and a subject. on which I have had an opportunity of hearing some expression from oné at least of our sister societies—that of mines. The industries of mines, forests and fisheries have a good deal in common, they are all industries in outlying districts and all industries engaged in the development of the natural resources of the country. 942 They are also industries that are partially under the jurisdiction of the provinces and partially under the jurisdiction of the federal authorities at Ottawa. We know what a very great incentive it was and how - greatly it facilitated the development of agriculture when this industry was brought under the Minister of Agriculture at Ottawa and a co-ordinate department or portfolio of agriculture in each of the provinces. So that when a matter pertaining to agriculture comes ‘up in which both the Dominion and a province are interested, they can easily co-operate. Not so in con- nection with the industries of mines, forests and fish- eries. When an official from Ottawa from the De- partment of Naval Service (under which the fisher- ies are at Ottawa) goes to Toronto to co-operate or consider a subject of common interest with the De- partment having charge of the fisheries there, he has to go to the Department of Public Works. When he goes to British Columbia he has to go to a dif- ferent official, and when he goes to Quebec, he has to go to a different official again. In each of these three provinces the province has considerable to say in the matter of its fisheries, so that I think there would be much gained by having a portfolio in the Federal Government, which could be easily duplicated in each of the Provincial Governments. If there was a portfolio of Forests, Mines and Fisheries that would be comparatively easy. In two of the Provinces, viz., the province of Quebee and the province of Ontario, there would not need to be much adjustment. In the Ontario province there is a portfolio of Mines, Forests and Lands, and the Department of Fisheries is under the Department of Public Works. It would require very little adjustment there to establish a portfolio of Mines, Forests and Fisheries. In the Province of Que- bec there is a Department of Colonization, Mines and Forests, so that very little adjustment would be need- ed there. The greatest adjustment required would be in the Federal Government at Ottawa. As your President has pointed out, and as I think every per- son in the country will agree, these natural resources of Canada are her trump ecards, and yet they are handled in a most promiscuous manner and have been almost since the beginning of Confederation. The im- mense developments which have taken place during recent years justify some adjustment in keeping with the importance of these industries. This matter has already been taken up by the Can- adian Mining Institute. The Canadian Mining Institute is one of our oldest industrial organizations, formed one of our oldest industrial organizations, formed along lines similar to those of the Canadian Fisheries Association. This Institute began to advocate for a Minister of Mines in the early nineties. They finally succeeded, and the Honourable Mr. Templeton, as you will remember, was Minister of Mines for a number of years. But experience proved it such a small port- folio that the Minister did not carry enough weight, did not have the status in the Cabinet which it was neces-, sary he should have in order to carry through all the important changes and to administer that resource in the way the industry felt that it should be adminis- tered. TKere is a good deal in that: a minister in the Cabinet takes his place and exercises influence in the Cabinet and on the floor of the House in accordance with the size of the portfolio he holds. Well, some years ago that portfolio was abolished, and since then the Department of Mines has been under the Secretary CANADIAN FISHERMAN. ¥ August, 1918. of State; and very often its affairs are handled by men who know little or nothing about the industry. In the Canadian Mining Institute they tell a story of an interview with the Minister, at which he wanted to know whether Cobalt was the name of a place or the name of a mineral. Now ata meeting of the Canadian — Mining Institute not long sinee, the whole matter was discussed with some of the principal officials, and it © was quite unanimously decided that it would be a step _ in the right direction to form a portfolio of Natural — Resources, covering these three. great resources of Mines, Forests and Fisheries, with a Teper Minister | at the head of each Department. Dr. MACKAY: I think Mr. Harpell has made a very strong case for this resolution. The fact that a Minister of Mines was for some time in existence, — shows that there is a very good ground for the pre- sent scheme. The mines alone proved too small a port- folio, but with the three natural resources combined there would be sufficient work for a full-sized de- partment, and if you wanted a specialist for each of — the three sub-divisions that could be had of course in the Deputy-Minister. I do not think we should be making any mistake at all in recommending this reso- lution or in legislating for it if we had the power to do so, but certainly we should recommend its consid- __ spelen SINCLAIR (M.P. for Guysboro): Mr. Chair- — man, am not a member of this Association, wal there- — fore I do not suppose that I have any right to put my opinion forward; but I have one eriti-— cism to make, and that is that our Depart- ments have grown very rapidly of late years. We used to get along well in Canada with fourteen, but — I understand we now have twenty-three and are ask- ing for another one. I would prefer a resolution point- ing to some re-adjustment of the present departments and giving a good place to the fisheries. No man can take a greater interest in the development of our fish- ing industry than I do; I had the honour to propose the Fisheries Committee in the Dominion Parliament, —for many years, twenty-five or thirty years, we did — not have a committee meeting to diseuss the fishery questions, so little interest was taken in the fisheries at the Federal Parliament, and when I went there four- teen years ago, that was the condition of affairs. We had mining committees and agricultural committees — and committees for nearly everything else, but the ~ men from the maritime parts of Canada did not even — meet to discuss those most important questions relat- ing to the fisheries. Now we have a president of the Council who, I understand, sits as you do sir, and a Chairman who once in a while calls a Cabinet meet- — ing, perhaps once a month or oftener; he has a De- — partment and a large staff of officials under him. I would prefer, therefore, that some of the present de- partments be re-organized in such a way as to give us a man representing the fishing industry. I would ra- ther do that than favour the organization of another — one, largely on the question of expense; the organiza- — tion of a new department means a very large sum of money, it means not only the salary of the Minister but a great sum besides that to pay the official staff. THE CHAIRMAN: But you understand, sir, that — they are already organized; the forests, fisheries and mines are already organized, and it is just a question of taking the staff from the one Department and put- ting it in another. There would be no expense in that — i = tion. August, 1918. = connection unless it be on account of the Deputy Minister. There would be no expense in connection with the staff, as the staff is already in existence. Mr. SINCLAIR: But the Naval Department could not dispense with all its officials, and turn them over- to the Fisheries. THE CHAIRMAN: The fisheries branch has nothing to do with the navy, it is a separate branch by itself, except the deputy; I think I expressly mentioned the deputies. I am now talking of the staff, Mr. SINCLAIR: Well, in that way the expense would not be so great, but I am in favour of a Fish- eries Department with a Minister having special eharge of the Fisheries and giving it his whole atten- I think that would be a good move. I never es. could understand just why the fisheries were put in with the navy; the two things did not seem to work together at all. I thing it was a blunder to start the Fisheries Department in that way. My view would be to favour the resolution with that reservation—that if _ possible the Departments be re-organized so as to save the country from a twenty-fourth one. Mr. HARPELL: I would point out that this matter has been discussed with the Ministers of the Cabinet at Ottawa and with several Members of Parliament, . and the fact mentioned by Mr. Sinclair was one of the strong features in its favor. It was cousidered by the Members of the Cabinet, to whom it was represented and by several Members of Parliament, that a re- adjustment of the present Cabinet courd be made to - include a Minister of Natural Resources, without add- ing to the number of portfolios. Mr. CORNELL: It strikes me that the members of this association are probably not generally as inti- mately connected with the Department of Marine and Fisheries at Ottawa as we have been. We are so situated on an International Lake that we can only go to the boundary, and there is a systematic poaching _ earried on by the American people over the boundary line. Now on several occasions we have gone to the Department and asked for a proper patrol whereby _this_might be stopped, and we have run up against everything that has been set forth in that resolution. Last spring a deputation from our Association went to them and set forth that there was no patrol that was of any practical use. The Department have a boat on there called the ‘‘Vigilant.’’ What she was built for I should like to have some of these marine men tell me, we do not know and we cannot find out. She is a beautiful-looking boat but when there is any sea at all she lies in port, and the American people know ex- actly when the Vigilant will not be there. When the _ big run comes on in the fall along about the twentieth of November, when the biggest fishing is on, the Vigil- ant is always laid up. ‘We went down and asked that there might be some- thing more thaw a beautifying of the lake by putting that boat and others similar on, that something prac- tical be done and a proper patrol boat put on Lake Erie. The objection was raised that in war time they ‘must curtail expenses. My friend Mr. Brown here pointed out to them that the expense would not be anything. He figured up the cost of the running of the Vigilant for the season, showed them where to buy a boat that would cost a certain amount and fig- ured up what it would cost to equip and run that boat a - for the season; and he had sufficient money left be- tween the purchase of that boat and the running of CANADIAN FISHERMAN. 943 her for the season and the cost of running the Vigilant to charter three other tugs. This would be very much better from a practical standpoint than the Vigilant and there would be a little money over. We showed them an actual economy in war time and a protection that would be something more than a pretended pro- tection, but the answer was, ‘‘What are we going to do with the Vigilant? We have her, she is there, we must run her.’’ x Well, the Ontario Government put on a canoe pro- pelled by gas, and it had to be a very fine day indeed when that craft could go out. They soon became aware that they had made a mistake and that boat was sent up to Lake Huron one day on a trip and very for- tunately she happened to get burned. ‘‘Now,’’ says Mr. Fisher, ‘‘I would suggest using the Vigilant.’’ I said, ‘‘For goodness sake, send her to Lake Huron to make a trip and be burned, that is the very best thing that could happen to her.’’ But nothing was done. This resolution that you have before you is the very best resolution that has come before this Committee. (Applause.) Mr. LOGGIE: Mr. Chairman—I have given this mat- ter considerable thought in the past and I am of the opinion that it would be wise to have a minister di- rectly at the head of the fishing interests of the coun- try, that is to say, rather than have a minister at the © head of naval affairs and the fisheries combined with that. I think it would be better to have a separate minister for the fisheries department, or if you like to utilize him as the head of the mines and forests as well I think that could be done for this reason. The Federal Government has not very much to do with the forests; as has been well said, the forests are adminis- tered by the provincial governments. In New Bruns- wick we have a Department known as Lands and Mines, and in all the other provinces except Alberta and Sas- katechewan the lands and mines or at any rate the lands are administered by the Provincial governments. If a minister were at the head of the fisheries, the mines and the forests, I do not see that it would be too much work for one man and I am not sure that you would need even a deputy minister any more than the one deputy minister, he could—I think—take it all. I am a member of the Mines Committee in Ottawa, and for the last two or three years we may have had one meet- ing during the session, so that there surely is not so very much work in regard to the mines and forests. I think perhaps it would be a good move to consolidate some of these departments now in existence and add the fisheries to it, separating them from the Department of Naval Service. Mr. H. B. SHORT: I notice that your resolution reads ‘‘mines, forests and fisheries.’’ Now we have been. told by gentlemen present who are in a position to know that both the mines and the forests—so far as the federal government is concerned—are very small, and that the fisheries is the largest department of the three. Why not change it to read: ‘‘Minister of Fish- eries, Mines and Forests.’’ (Applause.) THE CHAIRMAN: I might explain that that was simply the modesty of the man who drew the resolu- tion. Mr. HARPELL: If you will pardon my speaking again I would like to say a word in reference to the comparative importance of these three industries, which I neglected to do before. In point of the number of people engaged in it, the largest industry is the fish- * 944 evies; about one hundred thousand people in Canada earn their. bread and butter in the fisheries. Thie, mines come next with about eighty thousand people, and the forests are very much less, the industry being much more in the form of large companies. There are two departments of the forestry, one very important and of comparatively recent growth—the pulp and paper industry ; in this only about five or six thousand people are engaged, but the products of that industry amount to about $70,000,000. In point of value the mines come first, with a pro- duction of about $200,000,000; the forests come next with an aggregate production of about $150,000,000, I think, although I am speaking from impressions rather than facts; that the fisheries amount to $50,- 000,000. So that you see this new department would be administering to industries in which there are en- gaged roughly between 250,000 and 300,000 people. Comparing this with agriculture we find that agricul- ture has about 1,100,000 people—productive people— engaged in it. So that while the new portfolio would not be as large as agriculture, from the point of view of administrative duties the three sub-departments in the aggregate would be much larger as regards either federal or provincial work—that is, provincial work in a number of the provinces and certainly as regards aia eral work. Resolution No. 8 earried. Mr. T. W. C. BINNS: I would like to ask if it is in order for a private member of the association to move a resolution. : THE CHAIRMAN: Most certainly Mr. Binns. Mr. BINNS moved a resolution with regard to the weight given by the Atlantic producers on fresh fish to Montreal. Mr. H. B. SHORT: If this resolution comes before the meeting we will certainly be here for a _ week. There is not a dealer that produces fish who will not have something to say about it. Therefore I move that we do not receive it; we have a lot of work to do yet and our time is getting short. Mr. BRITTAIN: If this resolution was going to bring any direct results I think perhaps it might be well to bring it along, but I cannot see that it is. The larger corporations producing fish and even some of! the very small fishermen are, I know, endeavoring to do the square thing in this matter as well as fhe re- tailer and the distributor, and I think that it is some- thing more or less regulated by the man himself; any man purchasing fish can arrange to purchase from the man who gives him the most for his money. - Mr. HARPELL: This deals with the large question of weight, measures and standardization. I understand it is the purpose of the incoming executive to give a good deal of attention to this matter. This is the first year that this very important question has come up, however, and I think it would be well to consider for one or two more years before definitely establishing any principles. THE CHAIRMAN: The only thing we can do is to hand it to the incoming committee on resolutions. We really have not time to deal with it here, unless it comes up in connection with Mr. Byrne’s paper which we are going to have this afternoon, and which will probably deal with the very subject you have dealt with in your resolution, Mr. Binns. This is the only district in the Dominion where cases are not charged CANADIAN FISHERMAN for, and therefore this matter is one in which the pri. o ducer on the Atlantic seaboard is very much iuterested) Pee Adjourned until three o’clock, p.m. ‘‘MARKETING.,”’ By D. J. BYRNE, Montreal. You cannot divorce marketing from tcaneporaal without missing an important link between the pro- — ducer. and the consumer, and in connection with th x Whole question of marketing it should be borne in men themselves, that the greatest of care is necess from the time the fish are taken from the water handling fish products we have all felt the losses a very great disadvantages, and at times serious inec venience caused both to ourselves and our custo due to want of care, lack of attention, or perhaps w of the knowledge of what care should be taken by th producer at the point of production, It is hardly n sary to illustrate this point before you gentlemen wv are practical fish men and know that fish which not been properly cared for during the first fiv: six or eight hours during warm weather, becom deteriorated in quality that no efforts which may put forth afterwards will avail to bring back loss caused by the neglect during those first few h Jt we could interest our fishermen in the questi quality and eare of their product from the time taken from the water, a lot of the problems we find so difficult to overcome would be solved. — While on this question of care in production, I say that it also seems to me, gentlemen, that the efforts now being made to create a market for vari heretofore practically unknown or not used com cially enough to make them a business commod such as the various kinds of flat fish—will affee cost of producing even the staple varieties now 01 market. When the fishermen can find a market fo kinds of fish which are taken by him, it is natur. suppose that his price can be lowered, because his duction will be greater, and after all it is with h question of a day’s pay, and quantity will really duce better results for him than high prices on lin quantities. This brings up a question which perhaps migh considered in the nature of a dispute between connected with the trade at inland or distributi points and those at the producing end. There are fre- quently causes for discussion, Mr. Chairman, and r that the time to bring the subjects up and thrash - out is at an annual Convention, such as we are holdi to-day, so that any question which interests one sectic or another of the trade should be brought up here; one object of these remarks I am going to make some of the matters have been so fully covered befa is to open discussion on the questions brought up what I have to say, and I hope through the diseuss to lead to an amicable settlement or adjustment of real or apparent difficulties which can be easily sur. mounted when we are all working with the same onde in view, to conserve our fisheries, to increase the ¢ sumption of fish as a food and to develop this grea natural resource. We have discussed rather fully, I think, the question of shrinkage, and it is not my purpose to re-introduce © that question here, but I want to talk about a closel: _ August, 1918. CANADIAN related subject—that question of packages. On the Atlantic coast, at least on the Canadian Atlantic coast, _ tt has not been the custom to charge for the packages _ in whieh the product is shipped to inland points for _ market; we have held out on this question for such a long time because of very keen competition, because _ when the attempt was made to charge for packages in _ one section, it was not carried out at all judiciously or _ regularly in other sections, so that it has never been _ possible to arrive at a definite conclusion, a uniform _ regular charge for stipulated packages. I am refer- g particularly now to the fresh fish. trade. As is well known, the custom on the Great Lakes and at all ur inland fisheries has always been to charge for the _ packages—as long as I can remember, we have paid for packages on fish from these ceritres. Up to re- _ cently packages from the Pacific coast were sent free, but that custom no longer prevails, and. to-day there _ is a charge for packages and also charge for the ice used on the cars shipped to the east by western firms. In addition to the Lake and Pacifie centres, at other ‘points where fish are produced—the markets of Bos- n, New York and Portland—it is customary to arge for the packages. Why should we not regard this now as a general rule, and make a charge for the kages used when shipping the Atlantic fish pro- ets to inland points? > When discussing this question some time ago with ne of the large dealers, he remarked that there was o need of going over it, as they all knew that you arged for the packages, that the charge for the pack- age was incorporated in the price at which the fish were billed. If that be the case, gentlemen, would it ot be more fair, more honest, better all round, to show the charge for the package on the invoice, as is customary in all the other trades, and in most of the other producing centres, instead of camouflaging it im the price at which the fish are billed? Owing to the increased cost of the materials used in making these shipping packages, the increased cost of pro- ducing the ice that is used, and the increased cost of labour for making up the boxes, either the pack- ages must be charged for or, if the charge is absorbed n the price of the commodity, the price must be raised. T submit to you, gentlemen, that to me it would seem much fairer, and sounder business principle, to make ‘a direct charge for that package, as is done in the dry tically every other legitimate trade. It would not be ‘an innovation, the charge is made in American ship- ‘ping centres, the charge is made at the Lake shipping points, and now it has become the custom on the West coast, and I think there is no longer any reason for the Atlantic coast shipper to continue furnishing free packages or if not free packages including the cost of the package in the price of the fish. I have gathered together a few notes in order to ~ eover some of those subjects not previously covered in - the papers which have been read on ‘‘Transportation’’ and ‘‘Standardization of Markets’’; but if I were to attempt to go into the question of marketing from the source or production to the ultimate markets,—why, gentlemen, J would have to confess it beyond me, and it would in any case occupy more time than could be allotted at a meeting of this kind. We are aware that the fisheries of Canada in finding a market for the -produet reach many distant lands. Take this great ee rs ay ert he We gary PISHERMAN goods business, the boot and shoe business, and prac- . 945 old province of Nova Scotia; for very, very many years the fish products were marketed in Roumania, Portugal, Spain, West Indies, Brazil, and—what may not be generally known—a portion of our products were marketed on the west coast of South America, and the business was done from Hamburg, through German firms. A Canadian fish produced on the con- tinent of American marketed in South America, and first handled and: shipped through German concerns! There is now a big movement on foot in the United States for after-the-war conditions, to take care of the South American trade. That the possibilities there are immense I need not remind you, and one of the ob- jects or features of the Committee which is now at work and has been working for six or eight months is to divert the South American trade into North American channels. Before the war, the Germans had complete possession of the South American trade by means of their subsidized steamship lines running from Ham- burg and other German ports direct via Cape Horn to the west coast of South America and to the east coast also, and by means of their system of nationalized . banks with German native-born employees in the banks, with a nationalized system of credit by which long extended credits with the sanction and backing of the Imperial German Government were possible for those who did their business through these banks—the object throughout being to control the trade in such a way that other countries could not possibly take it from them. Now, I think, our opportunity has come; this great war is making possible a closer union with our ally to the South—the United States—and there is an opportunity for an immensely increased trade with South America, from which we may also receive in return goods such as those we were privileged to see yesterday. In this country it is absolutely necessary that we have a binder twine to use with the sickle in taking care of our crops and manilla and other fibre with which to make the ropes used in shipping, and these, gentlemen, are produced in large quantities, in addition to many of the other products required in our industries, in South America. It seems to me there is a definite objeet to be attained at the present time, and I feel that our Association would be warranted in re- questing the Federal Government of Canada to make such representations as would permit of our people working in close harmony with the already existing committee in the United States, which has for its ob- ject the control, or the obtaining of at least a portion of this trade which is not only great to-day, but which will become very much greater in the years ahead. My disjointed remarks, gentlemen, are merely to bring before you some few points I thought of, not with a view to opening any long discussion, but to set before -the members what I considered might perhaps be of benefit in adjusting the differences which exist. May I be permitted, Mr. Chairman, to refer again to this question of packages, which brings up such a long train of troubles, troubles we only feel vaguely, and trouble we know we have. There are sections where perfectly good fish are shipped in secondhand packages simply because the producer or shipping dealer finds he cannot charge for the package, and he is selling his product at such a low figure that he ean only make a living profit. He is disposed, there- fore, to make the package cost as small as possible; in order to do so he uses secondhand packages, and very, * 946 CANADIAN very often it means disaster while the fish are in tran- sit—all because of that wrong principle which now pre- vails of either not charging for the package at all, or of charging for it under the price, consolidated in the price. 1 feel we have so much to gain in marketing our product in the efforts which could be put forth to improve the quality that other questions are of minor significance. We should have an improved and uni- form system prevailing in the producing centres, so that when these fish are marketed they will be in the best possible condition; only in this way can we build up a larger business, a better business, a more profit- able business, Mr. LOGGIE: Do you charge for finnan haddie and kipper boxes? Mr. BYRNE: To be frank and straightforward, as every fish dealer should be, we do. We must. It is charged in the price. The cost of these packages, as many of you gentlemen know, is high. The cost, when shipping in 15-lb. boxes, to the producer or dealer who ships from the producing point the general cost is practically one cent a pound. It must be incorporated in the price if not charged for as a package. Taking the 30-lb. boxes, the cost of the package has dropped immediately and the cost of the 30-1b, is not much greater than the 15-lb.; so that. I think the custom which has now become almost general of making a difference in the quotation on finnan haddies in 15-1b.. and 30-lb. boxes and making the price 4c higher if a portion of the order is required in the smaller pack- age, is the only sound and proper one to follow. Mr. BINNS: I may surprise you by saying that I agree with a great deal of what Mr. Byrne has said, but there are one or two items which require a little explanation. It has been stated by him that all Lake fish packages are charged for. I can state from my own personal experience as a distributor of—I will say —a large quantity of Lake fish, that for the whole of the fresh Lake fish we handled this year, I think I am correct in saying that we have not paid for a single package. He also remarked that it was usual in other businesses to charge for the package, he mentioned dry goods in particular. I admit possibly it is fair to charge for the packages there, dry goods packages can be used again, and I believe in charging for them and having them returned. But if I go into a store and buy a can of tomatoes I am not charged for the can as well as the tomatoes. We-know we have got to pay for the finnan haddie boxes and I certainly agree with Mr. Byrne’s suggestions that there should be uniform- ity; but the uniformity I am in favour of would be to have all the packages charged for in the price of the fish. We would then have a better idea just what percentage of profit we can count on and what to charge for the goods. Mr. HORNE (of Lockeport): There is no way that T know of that we can include that charge for the boxes in the charge for the fish. Fresh fish quotations are usually three, four, five or six cents a pound and there is no way to work into that quotation the cost of the package. I ship to markets at Boston, New York, Montreal, Toronto, and the West. Boston and New York allow me for cases, Montreal, Toronto and the west allow no charge. Some four years ago I charged for cases, and with very few exceptions the trade ac- cepted the charge made without any difficulty. But about that time Mr. Boutilier and I got into compe- ‘ can testify. Ne, Mr, BOWMAN: I think the most vital question that — FISHERMAN August, 1918. tition and he did not charge, so I had to stop charging, and since then I have never put it on. The cost of the packages to the producer is one of the most important and expensive things we have to contend with. Take a concern shipping out two hundred to five hundred cases a day. Those cases that cost formerly 60, 70 and 80c are today worth $1.65; that may mean the differ- ence between profit and loss on the shipment. In fact, I have made shipments to Boston where the only thing I got back was the cost of the cases. It is an extremely important matter, and considering the almost daily ad- vance in the price of lumber it is becoming a matter very burdensome to the producers of fish; and for my part I would like to see a reasonable charge made, pro- i I does vided it had the approva! of the distributors. not say even that we should charge them the full price, but I certainly think it should be divided so that a part of the burden could be lifted from our — + shoulders. Mr. BROWN (of Kingsville, Ont.) : you refer to, Mr. Binns? Mr. BINNS: Lake Superior, Nipegon, Tipewa — many lakes, : Mr. CORNELL: As far as we are concerned on Lake Erie, the only question whatever of our making a charge for the packages is when we were comman- — a deered not to do so by the Imperial Government; they do not allow us for our packages; but in every other instance as far as we are concerned, we always add the price on the package on the invoice, as Mr, James > « has been raised by Mr. Byrne, is the question of the care of the fish; the question of the package is one which can be settled between the man that ships and the man that wants the goods. The question of the care — is of the fish is of first importance because, if we can get the fish on to the market in good shape it means that — ae the demand will be increased and the prices better. I have had a good deal of experience in going among = the fishermen. It is the duty of the men who are hand- _ ling the product to keep at the fishermen and educate them in regard to the care of the fish from the fish- — ing ground to the fish house and also in regard to the ~ nets being attended to and not left out too long. We — have a certain lake, for example, from which we get — a very excellent quality of fish. The Dominion Fish - Company were having trouble with the fish and they came to me about it; the fish would come down as — pale as if half-boiled (it was a shallow lake which got exceedingly warm in the summer time; and it hap- — pened we had a man available who had had consid- erable experienc in the Western lakes—I mean the © great West—and we sent him up. He took a quan- tity of ice out with him in the boat, and as soon as the — fish came out of the water they went under the ice. ~~ This produced a marvellous difference; fish which heretofore was a nuisance to handle, became one of a the best lines that we had, simply because the fish was cared for in the manner I have indicated. This fish could afterwards be kept for days and days, and we still handle this pike fish and consider it one of the best lines we have, and it is just because it is stiffen-— i ed and cared for right at the point where it is most necessary that it should have attention. Mr. James will remember, no doubt, the carelessness of shipping on the C.P.R.—it got so bad that he had to tell ushe did not want any more of these fish. What lake did August, 1918. _ Ihave lectured the fishermen time and time again,’ and although they suffer tremendously in the culling RS only answer you get is that you are stealing their fish from them. It is absolutely necessary for every- _ one connected with the fishermen to keep impressing upon them, keep educating them that the first place o care for the fish is the fishing ground and from here to the fish house; they should be insistently urged to take the greatest care of the fish and bring them to the fish house in good shape—and “the rest fr. BYRNE: What is your experience in charging ckages on Lake Erie, Mr, James? : -F. T. JAMES (of Toronto): I never remember @ any that I did not have to pay for. With re- largest shippers there told me that the main for making that charge was that fish had gone wh they were a little afraid of the Food Con- they put it up any higher, so they began or the packages. As far as we are con- be trying to sell a little bit less than the w anyhow. It is a matter for the shippers which way they charge for them. In re- e statement of Mr. Binns about the Lake ges, I have been in this business for a long shipper but that we paid for the boxes. 1 know ‘has been a sore spot with Mr. Binns, and when ing with him what we usually did was to add the n to the cost of his fish and let him have the ree. HARDING (of Montreal): Is it any advan- o the trade in general to relieve the wholesale f the burden of the cost of the package and im- the retailers? He wishes to be relieved of ‘of the boxes and impose it on the retailers. that be any advantage of note to the trade? not take it out of his customers how are we to it of ours? | YRNE: The package, like the fish which it is, becomes the property of the buyer, the re- or the inland distributor, when it is delivered ‘ansportation company. I have known retail in the city of Montreal who made a very good t of the boxes by selling every one of their fresh fish cases to a certain wholesale house used them for re-packing. But whether to sell or 2 away or use as firewood, they were the property of the retailer to do as he pleased with, you see, so that I do not think it is a question of transferring the load from one shoulder to another, it is more a ques- tion of adjusting the cost to show what the invoice means. The price of the boxes must simply be added in with the express and put on to the cost of the fish; if the boxes are 50c and the express $1.50, it is 2¢ a _ pound to the price of the fish, and that is the only legitimate way to get out of it. It is what you must do. Then the purchaser has the lumber in the boxes - for an asset, -_- Mr. SHORT: I was not in the room when Mr. Byrne read his paper, but I glean from the remarks which have been made since that it is the charge for the package that is under discussion. I see no reason in CANADIAN FISHERMAN. 947 the world why the fish industry should not charge for the packages the same’ as every other industry; in the dry goods business the merchant is charged for the package his goods come in, and the hardware man not only charges the wholesale hardware trade for the boxes but puts on a charge for the cordage as well. Now with the price of lumber and the boxes costing as they are to-day you have got to charge from one cent to a cent and a half a pound more for your product. You are paying for it somewhere, and as Mr, Byrne says, why not put it on the invoice plainly what you are charging for—it is not the cost of the fish, but the cost of the package. Fish dealers in the United States always charge for the packages, you never get your fish without paying for the packages, even if you buy a carload. I sold a few carloads of fish to the United States the other day, and their agent was right there at our place. I said, ‘‘How do you want these pack- ed? There is the case, we can give you these cases for $1.00.’’ ‘‘Well,’’ he said, ‘‘if I can get a refriger- ator car I will tie them up in 100-lb. bundles.’’ ‘‘ All right,’’ I said, ‘‘but I will have to charge you for the rope.”’ .‘‘Oh,’’ he said, ‘‘that’s all right, we will pay for the ties.’’ Well, you see, it was the custom with them to pay for packages, and why we should not do it I can’t understand. Take the haddie boxes, they used to be 6¢, today they are 15c. Well, now, that cost has got to be added in the same way.. But the fresh fish case costs double what the haddie boxes do, and you used to put 400 in a case where now you ean only put 300 in because you have to put in more ice. Some- body has got to stand it. Why not be charged for what you are actually paying for—put it on the in- voice. Mr. BINNS: We retailers understand that the pro- ducers are going to make us pay eventually for the cost of the boxes, we don’t figure that we are going to get the boxes for nothing. But it seems to me that if it is ineluded in the price, it makes things an awful lot easier. How are we going to know what a box is going to cost us otherwise? THE CHAIRMAN: There will have to be a stand- ard price so that you will know. Mr. BINNS: I would just remind the retailers here’ that this to my mind is the thin end of the wedge. It is not only boxes; as many of you know there are cer- tain times of the year when we get fresh salmon pack- ed in shavings, they will be charging us for the shav- ings next. As a matter of principle, I am opposed to it. Mr. CORNELL: I think there is a splendid illustra- tion along that line furnished by the last speaker and Mr. James. When we send Mr. James a box of fish we charge him 60c for the box; when he re-ships that box to our friend in Ottawa, who does not want to be charged up with the package, he adds a cent to the price of the fish. Now, if it were put on the invoice — as a separate charge, Mr, Binns would know exactly what he was paying for, but as it is, Mr. James has a rake-off of 40c, in order to satisfy the Ottawa man who does not want to be charged up with his package. Mr. J. T. O°>CONNOR (of Montreal): We know we are paying for the packages anyhow, and we know we are not getting any premiums with the order. If we were up against some combines as they had in our days in the West we might have some reason to fight about this thing, but we buy in an open market, we get quotations from Maritime people and Lake peo- 948 CANADIAN ple and other firms, and if one firm is charging for the package and another is not charging, we have to figure it out—we know the price of the package is going to come in somewhere, I feel sure we have to pay for it, and we might as well know it is there. But my view is that if we are going to pay the full amount of the cost of the packages, why cannot we be allowed to give our views as to the size of the box we want; why insist on giving us 300-lb. boxes when we want 100-lb, packages, and are willing to pay for them. The American firm had their choice in buying from Mr, Short. In getting a ecarload of frozen fish sometimes, it is all-important for us to get 100-lb. box- es, but we can rarely get them—we get the box that suits the shipper. Mr. BYRNE: Because he was not charging specifi- ally for the package. You will have that privilege if you are paying for the package. QUESTION: Under the present system they ship in any package they find convenient. (A Producer: We don’t care what we pack the fish in, but it is a matter of expense. If we quote 6¢ and a certain package and the man comes back and says he wants a different package, the whole thing is up- set. But if we charge for the package, we will suit the customer.) Mr. BYRNE: The 200-lb, package will cost more proportionately than the 300-lb., and that is the rea- son why the dealers adopted the 300-lb. packages as uniform when no other arrangement was made. The express companies recently tried to insist on a smaller package. One reason why the 300-lb. package has be- come more uniform is because fish come in to the pro- ducing point during the afternoon and evening and are packed as quickly as possible when the market is short and the orders need to be got ready in a hurry. But if the producers were compelled to use a smaller package when shipping by express than the regular package which is used for shipment by freight, you would find an absolutely different package if your order were -changed from freight to express. That 300-lb, package would hold 350-lbs. of fish with suffi- cient ice to carry it in good condition to the inland point in weather such as we have in October and No- vember, but during the months from May to Septem- ber it cannot hold more than 300 lbs., and you under- stand that the balance of-the space in the case in the warmer months has to be used for crushed ice. If the dealers want a smaller case and will stipu- late their wants sufficiently ahead of time to permit our getting the packages—because we must make con- tracts with the factories sometimes six months or even a year ahead in order to get our box requirements— we would be glad to accommodate them.’ We follow the usual rule, the 300-lb. standard will only contain 250 pounds of frozen fish because this kind of fish will not pack so closely, and this has been used as a standard. But if the trade insist on a smaller pack- age, these can be provided, and if they know what they want they can have what they are paying for. Mr. JAMES: There should be various-sized pack- ages, even as low as fifty pounds. If the fish are all shipped in 300-lb. boxes it means an added cost in distribution, because we have to provide smaller pack- ages for our shipments. But if we could ship out in the original package it would save this extra cost and would mean the distributor would have no loss in shrinkage. I think it would be a great help all round FISHERMAN. ae “a Pa “3 Bs August, 1918. to the distributors if they could buy in 50, 150, 200 and 300-lb. boxes as they wished. We handle a lot of 300- 4 lb. boxes, but on the other hand a big percentage of our trade find these too large, and I think one very good size would be a 100-lb. box. If we had the fish boxed as we wanted it, it would save a lot of extra q labor in re-packing, and perhaps we could even sell P the fish cheaper than we do to-day, as it costs us a 4 lot of money to re-pack the large boxes. - Mr. BYRNE: Fresh fish would not pack in smaller boxes to so much advantage. § Mr. JAMES: They used to ship fish in 1500-lb, pack- ages from the Lakes, but they reverted to boxes. The idea then was that they would carry better in those 3 big packages, which were double, more like a small ~~ refrigerator, with air cells around them. But to-day “4 . ens s ¢ R. E. COKER, | , U.S. Bureau of Fisheries. be S. L. SQUIRE, ae Ontario Department of Fisheries. i people would never go back to the large packages, _ ae Mr. BYRNE: If you will remember, I think you will — agree that the reason for discontinuing these was be-— on cause the express companies would not carry them. se Mr. JAMES. It had nothing to do with them then, ~ the dealers were the first ones who wanted. the bo - instead of the ears. "August, 1918. CANADIAN Mr. BYRNE: We were notified by the express com- pany that they would not carry these unwieldy cars - any longer. Mr. H, B. SHORT: I think the contention that Mr. - James is making is an excellent one. I really believe _ that if we adopted these standards of 50, 100, 150 and _ 200-lb. boxes, it would have a tendency to increase the sale of fish, the fellow that could not handle 300-lb. _ boxes could ‘take 100 or 150-lb. It would have the same _ effect, I believe, in the fresh fish business that the - small boxes had when introduced in the haddie trade. When haddies were packed in 50 and 100-lb. boxes only a few men handled them; when they got down to using 4 30 and 50-lb. and cut the 100-lb. box out there was not a very greatly increased demand; but when they be adopted the 15-lb. box, every small grocer all over the country got to handling haddies. This is just a sug- estion of mine; it occurs to me that if the small fel- low could get the fresh fish in the original package it might have the same effect on the trade as the 15 ). boxes of haddies had on the haddie trade. Mr. BYRNE: There is some difference , Mr, Short. The haddie box is packed and shipped and redistribut- ed in n exactly the condition in which it leaves the pro- re) A But. if we packed the fresh fish in such a small Mr. : JAMES: The bulk of our trade for re-shipment my ‘5 and 100-Ib. boxes. this original package idea the better. ae BYRNE: I disagree with the view put forward — with ‘sage to 50-lb. packages. It has not beén found necessary in the Lake fisheries, and I leave it to these tlemen interested in shipping large quantities and ndir tien out to various centres whether it would > wis > to go below the 100-Ib, standard. If you go be- The more we can get down to z mate, a and I do nit see any Sood reason for doing ttt fact, I see many reasons against it. You would 10 ie: th poorer condition because of the fact that the _ fish would be more exposed to the lumber in the box and it is always important that the fish should be kept fron | touching this as much as possible. I think if you \dopt lower standards you would do well to consider ' before going below the 100-Ib. box. _ Mr. JAMES: Don’t you get business where the man Fe hatits 50-Ibs. of one kind of fish? The best selling box in Toronto i is the 50-Ib. box. We buy this size in pre- hie ce to any other package. * - QUESTION : It does not apply to cod and haddock. - Mr. JAMES: That is frozen fish,.I had reference to fresh’ fish »—any man can buy 100 pounds of frozen | pat - THE CHAIRMAN: The fish coming next to the box, ~ the frozen fish, touching the box does not interfere fis . Gath the quality. But I think there is a minimum in the packing of fresh fish and I believe with Mr. Byrne that 100-lb. boxes are the minimum. Mr. SHORT: You could not get the 50-Ib boxes for the same price you get the 100-lb. boxes. _ THE CHAIRMAN: There is a difference of 5c. Mr. BROWN (of Kingsville): You will find that if you use the 100-lb. standard box your fish will reach its. destination in better condition than in a 300-Ib. t 300-Ib. packages, the grocer generally wants 50, FISHERMAN 949 box. The 300-lb. boxes have no handles on them, and you have got to have a crow-bar to get them loose from the floor of the car, takes three or four men to handle them. The 100-lb. boxes have a handle, so that they - must pile these boxes one on the other, and they can- not fall down; and the ice stays where you put it. But with the 300-lb. box the ice will run down and melt and allow the top end of the fish to become exposed to the open air; so that the 100-lb. boxes will hold the ice in its orginal position far better than the 300-lb. boxes will. Then again, the 100-lb. is another box that you can re-sell. It is made with a seam down the centre, and you ean cut it in two and make two boxes to take eare of 50-lb. orders. Mr, WALLACE: On the Pacifie coast the most sue- cessful innovation was the introduction of the 50-lb. box, a lot of the dealers who could not handle 200-lbs. could easily handle the 50-lbs. This was frozen fish, of course, but at the same time I think it could be applied to both frozen and fresh fish. The 50-lb. boxes are per- haps too small for fresh fish, but 100 lbs. would cer- tainly be a good innovation. Mr. BYRNE: I should like to get the viewpoint of some of the retailers as to whether they consider that the 300-lb. boxes would earry the fish long digtances— as from the Atlantic to interior points—as well as the smaller package. Mr. BOWMAN: When shipping to New York I must - frankly admit that we find the 150-lb, box superior to the 100-lbs., because it contains more ice, and of course the greater amount of ice the package contains the safer you make it that the fish will reach their destin- ation in good condition. Mr. O’CONNOR: While I admit that the introduc- tion of the small boxes would create a demand amongst the small towns, yet from my point of view I do not think they would be advisable because they would not stand the long haul as well as the larger packages, where there is naturally more space for ice; in these small packages the four sides—in fact nearly all of the fish—would be touching the wood. Mr. JAMES: It is seldom we get any complaint of deterioration in transit. THE CHAIRMAN: If you had fish packed in 50- pound boxes and a few days on the way to Toronto, you would have to get the health team to take them away as soon as they arrived. Mr. BOWMAN: I move that we adjourn this discus- sion, it has now been fully thrashed out from all dif- ferent points of view. Mr. BINNS: Before adjourning I think we should have an expression of opinion. We all want to do the right thing and the best thing for the whole of the fish industry. I do not care whether I get 50 or 300- lb. boxes as long as I get the stuff there in good con- dition, The smaller packages are certainly more con- venient to handle, if you have 300-lb. packages you re- quire heavy men to handle them, if you have 150-lb. boxes, why any boy almost can take care of them—up our way. Mr. BYRNE: What is your impression of the condi- tion the fish would arrive in the smaller package? Mr. BINNS: It would arrive better, that is, Atlan- tic fish, in the 300-lb. boxes, but as far as shipping it out and handling it is concerned, why, the 100-lb. box- es would seem to me to be a splendid innovation. Mr. JAMES: Some shipments of 300-lb, boxes that we get have stood on their ends from Mulgrave to To- 950 ronto. We havé to take the order in and they stand all day in the warehouse, and after about 48 hours there is not a bit of ice left, the ice has all shifted down to the bottom of the box. Mr. BYRNE: It is a transportation difficulty, the companies insist that these boxes be carried flat in the cars. Mr. BROWN: Stick your handles out and then they ean’t do it. Mr, A. BE. CREWE (of Merlin, Ont:) : My experience has been that it would be a mistake to ship anything under 100-lb, boxes to the trade in regard to the icing alone. You would need the quantity of ice for 50-lbs. that you have for 100 lbs., in order to make it carry safely. THE CHAIRMAN: What size box do you use? Mr. CREWE: The size I use, the body of the box out- side would be 32 by 18 by 10, with projecting handles of say 3 inches on each end. T think it is a model box for Lake shipping. Larger fish possibly would need a little larger package. The handle is part of the box, part of the side of the box,.and I advise by all means if you can get the lumber wide enough making the side of the box one piece. Mr. BOUTILIER: Some three or four years ago we. adopted a box to hold 150 to 200 lbs., with the ends projecting as described, and I think it has worked out very well, although there are some points where it is not convenient to use it in shipping. . For instance, at Canso, we ship on steamers to the train, and it would not be so convenient as the larger box there, but we have found it very convenient indeed in shipping from here, and I think it has been very satisfactory to the trade. Mr. BRITTAIN: There is no doubt that a standard package is the ideal method of carrying on the fresh fish business from the east, and perhaps frozen fish when possible. A standard package of 200 lbs. weight might be worked out which would give very . good satisfaction to the trade in general; it might mean a little extra cost but, as we have been saying, these costs are all absorbed in the quotation. I feel that the standard package will eventually come — although some time ago I was very’ much adverse to changing the size of the package that we made. The Food Con- troller, however, got me in the corner of the room one day and spent about fifteen minutes talking to me on the subject, and he was so big and heavy that he finally convinced me that perhaps a standard package would be the ideal one. There are a great many people who buy a large box and destroy the package, having no further use for it, and yet at the same time the wholesale distributors buy a lot of packages of other kinds to re-ship the goods in—that is a waste. We must get together in some way and get a package that can be used for re- shipping Lake fish and other fish out from the dis- tributing centre. The question of the small package of - 100 pounds perhaps is an interesting one, but it hardly seems feasible at the present time. With the transpor- tation facilities at present available it does not seem possible, but when we get our transportation diffieul- ties fixed up I think there will be wonders produced as regards the shipment of the sea fish from the At- lantie sea board. Another point in connection with this small package is that there is a great deal of fish produced on the Atlantie coast in outlying centres away from the rail- CANADIAN FISHERMAN. _tailer, we want you to consider the cond August | roads and the goods have to be igghwenried by er to the railway centre, slung down into the hol a boat and out again into the car. You must ha strong package for that kind of work; the frail age used on the Lakes would be no good. Perhaps a smaller package of about 150 pour could be worked out as the standard, and if they Ww. ed a smaller package than that the charge could made accordingly; but get the standard package 150-200 lbs. and then if you want 25 or 50-lbs. for of your trade they can be supplied. It will all ¢ I believe, when we get the transportation. Mr. JAMES: It seems to me that you gentlemen 0 the Atlantic here want to do things in the same as you always have done, instead of considerin man who is sellng the goods at the other end. take a man in England who is manufacturing line of goods and sending them out to Canada. finds it is not suitable to us here he very ofte to the expense of sending out a man to investige find out what the peonle want in this bare of the world. THE CHAIRMAN: In pebutide it is no are not anxious to please the distributor a tailer in every possible way, but we want the matter and try to get their viewpoint. - to take into consideration the fact that we got the ideal conditions for transportation ling that we would like; if we had, ae difficulties at all, you could have SIb, | we want both the viewpoints of the distrib which we have got to handle them; and | tical experience covering a great many ye find the consensus of opinion is that fo to Montreal and Toronto the smallest practi age is the 200-lb, one. If we get cold storag ears then we can put up in packages of any s: with the conditions prevailing today I do no! it is possible to get fresh fish from Mulgray ronto in packages under 200 lbs. — Mr. BYRNE: Owing to the methods of tr tion from points like Canso and from outlying to the railway assembling points, there is the a necessity for packing in strong, well-made bo: the 200-Ib. is adopted as a standard these dea are going to have to pay for the packages that the 200-lbs. will cost them practically as the 300-lbs.; that will be a cost to them and th better understand and realize that. Just as the | haddie box costs almost the same as the 30-Ib. the difference being so slight that it is negligib in these 200-lb. and 300-lb. packages, the 200-1 Ib. going to cost practically as much as the 300-lb. have to be made as strong as the 300-lb. on it will stand being put into the hold of a stea slung up again into the ear. | a Mr. CORNELL: I do not think you can use care in getting your fish to the market in | condition, but I do not quite understand te August, 1918 ment that a 300-lb. box carries fresh fish in better con- dition than a 100-Ib. box. One of the very best ship- pers that we have on Lake Erie is Mr, Bates, he has _ aveputation for his fish that no other shipper on that : ‘shore has obtained, and fish landing in New York with his brand on the box always command a good price. _ He has a different box for summer shipping than the one he uses for early spring and fall, the summer box ads higher, it contains exactly the same number of _ eubie inches, but it is a little higher. He puts ice in the _ bottom and packs the fish thinner, his object being . hot to have too many fish together, not too great a 3 body of fish, and then he puts a lot of ice on top, and _ the ice melting and the cool water sapping down _ through the fish keeps them in good condition. That is his contention. Of course, he has the additional ad- vantage of being right by a marsh, and he cuts this _ marshy hay and puts it on top, which is a considerable _ advantage. In the summer time when we are shipping fresh fish out to distant points we line our boxes with paper; this makes them more air-tight and we find it a very great saving and help in preserving the quality _ of the fish. QUESTION: What is the weight of the box used by Bates? | _. Mr. CORNELL: Well, we use pine, ‘and they use . _ hardwood, and our pine boxes are about 40 pounds. _ There is 200 Ibs. weight altogether in a box, that is what the express companies charge us for, the total weight of box, fish and ice. Of course, our boxes would not live a minute under the method of handling which you have described, I _know that. But I think that in the interests of getting _ your fish to the retail dealer in proper condition you _ should insist on some better way of loading and un- loading those fish into the vessels. Under the old- _ fashioned way that used to prevail of packing our fish - in barrels, before we introduced boxes, there would “not be a scale left on the fish when it got to New York, they looked as if they had come through a blizzard; but with these improved boxes with handles and the fish resting on the proper bottom and the ice con- _ tinually melting and sapping down through the fish, _ the box is very attractive when opened. This is es- pecially important on the New York market. where _ every box of fish is sold from the appearance it makes. af Mr. H. B. SHORT: I think, gentlemen. that the _ packages have a good deal to do with the goods. If you make your packages more attractive you are go- ing to sell more fish. Our method of packing fresh _ fish has been very crude, they are often put up in _ boxes not even planed, and today in many cases you _ ean buy planed lumber pretty nearly as cheap as you ' ean the other. Our packages are certainly most un- attractive. If we got up a nice neat package, smaller perhaps than the box gotten un last vear by the pro- ducers. it would make a great difference in the distri- bution of the fish, and the people would take hold of _ it more than in the past. However. we certainly have _ got to get down to a standard. Take the export busi- | ness in salt fish, we have got to give each place the ' kind of package they want; if we ship dry fish to | Havana we have got to give them 128-lb, drums and ~ eod fish in 100-Ib. boxes; but if we are shipping to ‘South America we have got to give them codfish in | 128-1b. boxes. and they will not take the drums. We have to give them what they want, and they wont buy CANADIAN FISHERMAN. 951 their fish in any other kind of package than the one they specify. Perhaps the 50-lb. package is a little too small, but we certainly ought to have 100-lb, and 150-lb, and 200- lb. packages, and I believe that if we adopted these you would be surprised at the increase in shipments all over the country—we would reach tows that never use a bit of fresh fish at the present time. (Hear, hear.) THE CHAIRMAN: Now, gentlemen, we cannot very well prolong this discussion further. I suggest that a committee be nominated to give this matter further consideration and report to the Executive and that their decision in the matter, after being dealt with by the Executive of the Association, be given thirty or sixty days’ notice by being inserted in the ‘‘Canadian Fisherman.”’ MOVED AND SECONDED that the matter of the standardization of packages together with the costs on the Atlantic sea board be handed over to a special committee for report. The following papers, prepared by Mr. H. F. Robinson, of Canso, N.S.; Mr. Gardner Poole, of Washington, D.C.; and Dr. E. E. Prince, of Ottawa, were taken as read, and ordered to be printed with the proceedings: STEAM-TRAWLING By H. F. ROBINSON, of Canso. Notwithstanding the extreme prejudice with which the first endeavours to introduce the use of the steam trawler as a means of increasing the production of sea- foods in Canada and the United States was met with on the part of the owners and operators of sailing boats and schooners, it is a recognized fact today that the steam trawler is here to stay. There are several of these fine ships of the most ap- proved and up-to-date type operating out’ of Canadian ports now, and a good-sized and fast-growing fleet is owned and operated from the principal fishing ports of United States. All progressive concerns in the fish business are in- terested in the subject of steam trawlers and are doing everything in their power to secure by purchasing, building or chartering this class of vessel for the pro- duction of their supplies. There is no doubt in the minds of the producers today that steam trawling is the proper method of procuring a steady and reliable supply of fish. However, the steam trawler is not, as many people who have not been through the mill of hard-earned ex- perience, believe, a fortune making machine, but when judiciously handled they will pay fair returns on the investment. The operating expenses of a modern steam trawler are enormous as compared with the cost of operating a sailing schooner for line fishing. The investment in the ship and equipment amounts to about five times as much as that of the old-time sailing schooner, and'there- fore with the heavy investment and expenses, in order to make the least financial suecess the steamer traw]l- ers’ production must be many times greater than that of the line-fishing schooner. The bitter prejudice which existed against the steam trawler some six or seven years ago both in Canada and United States has been over-come to a very large ex- _tent, and many of those who cried most bitterly against this method of fishing at the beginning are now either 952 CANADIAN FISHERMAN. in the steam trawling business or are trying very hard to get into it. The great redeeming feature of the steam trawler to the fish producers is felt most perceptibly by those en- gaged in the production and sale of fresh fish, as in the fresh fish business a steady and reliable supply is very essential. Our most efficient Food Board is putting forth a lot of. effort to inerease the sale of fish, and their en- deavours to educate the consuming public as to the value of sea fish as food have met with a very marked success. Their most excellent work must be backed up by the producers and distributors, and in order to do this they must have a steady and ‘reliable supply. The steam trawler is just the answer to this problem. In the days when we had to depend on the shore boats and schooners entirely there were seasons when they landed nothing for weeks, and there was nothing but uncertainty as to what we could offer the distri- butor and when we could offer. The schooner would leave port with ice and bait on board and ‘perhaps the weather would be stormy. She would lay around some harbour or jog around the ocean waiting for a change to set their lines. Perhaps before that change came her bait was spoiled. Then she would have to spend days and perhaps weeks looking for new bait which would have to be secured before any fishing could be done. After much delay we will say she gets her bait and has a few sets and then starts for home. This kind of trip often consume four, six and sometimes even eight weeks or more, and the vessel comes home with anywhere from twenty to one hun- dred pounds of fish and probably arrives on some day of the week that does not suit the market conditions and it is almost impossible -to sell any fresh fish. Again probably many of the fish are too old to be sold to the fresh market and have to be salted at once. This is not so with the steam trawler. When she leaves the wharf her Manager knows when the market wants her catch. He tells her Captain when to come in and is just as sure that the ship will arrive within a few hours of the appointed time as he is that the sun will come up on that day. In fact he is so sure that he can tell the distributor just when he is going to have some fresh fish to ship him, and it is always there when the consumer wants it. These trips seldom last. over about a week which brings the fish in in good market- able condition. The catch for this period amounts to from 150,000 pounds according to conditions. Another thing to consider in favour of the steam trawler is the reduction of the hazard of life to the fish- ermen to a minimum. Few people who are not directly connected with the operation of vessels realize what it means to go over the side of a vessel, in the wintertime, into a frail dory, in which 2 men row boldly away from their vessel to set the lines which gather in the finny treasures from the deep.with the temperature sometimes © around zero mark, with the fog likely to set in at any minute and shut them out of view from the vessel, and with the liability of a breeze of wind starting up at any minute, which means if the dory is a little varia ; ed, which she is likely to be if the fishing i is good, that only the skill of these hardy men pith the oars can save them from swamping. At the best they know there is only the boards about one inch thick on the bottom of the dory between them and fifty to seventy fathoms of cold water. You can see from this that the old method of line fishing, from dories, is no child’s section of the British Navy has been grea play. Many times these dories pet astray in the fog. the vessel cannot locate them and after days of ex sure they may be picked up by some ship, with ft men half dead. In some cases they row hund r : alive. This is where the great advantage of the sean er comes in again. All the work is done on the de the ship. The work is hard and the hours are long, the fisherman is always comforted by the knowled a good substantial meal, and a steaming mug of coffee, as he prefers, and a warm bunk in the castle is waiting for him, when he comes off wa As to the remuneration these hardy trawler ) ceive for their work, it all depends upon the am fish they land. When the ship is landing good and making good returns to the owners the er in the good fortune, and when the fish are se trips small the crew have to share these cond so. But it is sufficient to say that the avera work of a steam trawler fisherman runs into an in dollars and cents fully to encourage him — hardship he endures. Their food and living is th that money can buy. But make no mistake. — hardy, good-natured sea- dogs earn every cent be There is.no need of going into details about portant part that steam trawlers, which were eered by the British Government at the the war and used as mine-sweepers and pa played. The drudgery and deeds of daring ik been performed by these steam trawling erews have had severe training in the perils of th same sturdy little ships, will go down in h ecomplishments that no other class of sea-me to achieve. There is no doubt that this most ble for the British being able to keep the open for the most essential traffic. poke The indications at present are that before mai there will be a fleet of steam trawlers bi Atlantic Ocean and landing their catches of some food in Canadian ports. The erow come over night, but must be slow and health fore this the demand must be created and - t learn to realize the advantage of Fish as Foo the fast-growing country and increasing por which we expect in Canada after this war is 0 market for fresh fish should inerease steadi there is no doubt that the steam trawlers will coming in numbers suitable to supply the creased demand for fresh fish. « It is hoped that there will never be anoth world-war the same as is raging now, but if come to pass in future it is very probable that will have a fleet of steam trawlers with tra é Seamen to fall back on, which will play as im part of the conflict as Hho British steam sy doing today. FISH CONSUMPTION IN CANADIAN 3 CAMPS. In the ten military districts of Canada, ued thousand pounds of beef were saved in the May, and about the same in the month of Jur substitution of fish. The result of conservation i military camps is interesting as an example of fulness of observing the food regulations. : 3 ig SS ct, 1918. a a -. (eae: aheegiiete AS APPLIED TO THE ie FISHERIES. GARDNER POOLE, bs “Commonwealth Cold Storage, Boston, & Fish Division, 4 U. S. Food Administration, ae The fish production of any country is largely a sea- sonable crop, subject. to very large fluctuations in the bee 42 5 rly yield, and in greater measure than our land crops is dependent upon natural factors beyond the — eontrol of man. The catches of fish are governed by climatic changes, water temperatures, feed conditions, and other factors, all of which naturally control the volume of production and fundamentally bring about extremely variable and unstable conditions. While the stocks of flesh foods available upon the d are in sight and under control, the actual supplies food fish afloat in the broad pastures of the ocean, » in no sense available to meet consuming demands ntil actually reduced to possession by the fishermen. During certain seasons fish are produced in quantities in excess of immediate needs, and the ordinary mnels of trade being blocked, the product is dammed and must be diverted to other channels to be con- served, and without methods of effective conservation hese vast temporary surpluses would go to waste. Before the method of cold storage was known large ntities of fish were saved, as they still are, by can- salting, pickling and smoking. Et” a most effective method, however, in modern times ra by freezing and storage as the process does not alter the flavor or appearance of the fish and therefore makes available in and out of season, fish in almost a natural condition. _ Large fish freezing plants located at many points in _ Canada and the United States now constitute an im- _ portant industry and are becoming more and more ‘important as sources of nitrogenous food, to make up the deficiencies in the meat supply. Their function is ae ead true food conservation. ~The large crops of fish, unlike the land crops, add to, a ra her than take from the fertility of our soils. “Meat represents the conversions by animals, of grain r other foodstuffs into another form of food. Fish, however, represents the conversion of aquatic getation or animal material into human food and are had for the labor and expense of harvesting. They are, therefore, a net gain in the food supply. _ The freezing of fish and the storing in proper tem- eratures causes no appreciable chemical change in ‘those constituents upon which the food values are usually caleulated, even when carried for longer periods than are necessary in commercial practice. - Tests have been made by the U. S. Bureau of Chemis- _ try on frozen fish held for éxcessively long periods un- _ der its control, sample lots of fish being withdrawn and analyzed at different times. _ These tests showed no significant difference in _ eomposition between the frozen fish and samples of _ fresh of the same variety and no loss of food value was noted. When fish are properly frozen, glazed and held at _ proper temperatures for reasonable periods, no lessen- ing of food value or palatability can be noticeable to =: the consumer. This is bound to be true as the process of freezing Sebi: Tiakes| nothing from the product and adds nothing to ro a except the glaze of ice which only serves to seal it XK CANADIAN FISHERMAN 953 from the air and prevent an injurious action by any : change of temperatures. It is true that some of the varieties of fish are not as firm when thawed out as when taken from the water but this is due largely to the fact that in some fish the muscle cells of the body contain large percentages of liquid and readily burst by expansion in the process of freezing. Too little publicity is given to the wholesomeness of cold storage products and to the benefits of modern cold storage plants themselves and their effect on the ordinary three meals a day. It might not be out of reason to state that the very winning of this war to a large extent depends upon the facilities of cold storage both ashore and afloat. We find that a very marked prejudice exists in the minds of a large number of consumers against frozen fish, in fact, there are at least two erroneous beliefs. One is that cold storage food is more or less bad food and the other that cold storage plants are used for the Bee purpose of increasing the fish man’s unholy pro- its. It is certainly imperative that we must place the real facts before the purchasing public, in order that they may appreciate the real value of cold storage and its importance in the equitable distribution of foods, es- pecially as the underlying cause for their suspicions and prejudices is complete ignorance’ as to the facts that cold storage as we know it is a necessary out- sap of the changed conditions under which we now ive They do not realize that cold storage makes varie- ties of fish available in the various distributing centres, that could not be had at all. It makes the product more staple and standardizes prices. Its effect is certainly to lower the level of prices and during the periods of scant production, has a marked effect on prices of the fresh product. It solves transportation troubles to a large extent and makes it possible to ship fish in refrigerator cars to distant points with the danger of decay reduced to a minimum, The time is now ripe for the right kind of a publicity campaign by which we can emphasize the need and value of cold storage. ; It was my privilege last winter to do some lecture and demonstration work in the interests of a larger use of cold storage fish, particularly those varities little known to the buying public and I was amazed at the meager knowledge of most of the audiences. All sorts of questions were put to the speakers and the people were very eager for a true knowledge of froz- en fish. In a very small way we held exhibitions and demon- strations in cooking, gave the people a knowledge and a taste of a wholesome product which in some cases was not known to exist and in others was until then looked upon with suspicion. - Some retailers show the same prejudice and will not handle frozen fish at all. Others do handle them but thaw them out and in many eases sell as fresh pro- duets and this does more injury to the frozen fish industry than any other one thing as the fish is often kept on the stands until it becomes soft and unattrac- tive and is looked upon with disfavor by the purchaser. When frozen fish are thawed, they are as perishable as fresh fish and should be consumed as soon as possi- ble. Hetailers should make every effort to keep fish froz- 954 : CANADIAN FISHERMAN. en up to the time they are sold and the housewife should insist on purchasing the fish in this condition if possible and thaw it out gradually just before using, on ice preferably, in order to retain the essential flavors and make it palatable. : We have a great work ahead, in some way the con- sumer must be shown the value and modern need of cold storage. THE FISHERIES OF THE INLAND WATERS OF CANADA. By Professor EDWARD E. PRINCE, LL.D., F.R.S.C., ete., Dominion Commissioner of Fisheries, Ottawa. It may appear like rank heresy here in Halifax, the metropolis of the Maritime fishing industries of the Deminion, to pronounce the fish and fisheries of our in- terior waters highly important and valuable. When, however, we have regard to the fact that the inland lakes and rivers of the Dominion are the home of the finest species of food and game fishes, chiefly of the salmon and trout family, it will be seen that our fresh water fishes must take a high place, and that the spe- cies caught commercially are of unexcelled food value. Salmon Family Prominent in Interior Fisheries. Though the cod, haddock, mackerel, halibut, herring, lobsters and other food fishes stand in the front rank, the interior waters of the Dominion produce fish which cannot be excelled, and no country in the world can compete with Canada in the widespread abundance and variety of species of ‘‘Salmonidae.’’ Few Species Commercially Utilized. Over one hundred and fifty (150) species of fresh water fishes have been determined as inhabitants of our interior waters, but of these only about twenty (20), or less than one-seventh, are of commercial importance in the fish markets. These include five species of sal- mon, three species of whitefish, five species of lake herring or lesser whitefish, three species of trout, and the valuable pike-perch or pickerel, with various kinds of catfish, bass, and pike and other kinds. Carp and Other Fisheries Can Be Developed. Quite a considerable number of these fish, at present not utilized, could be added to the list of fresh water food fishes and, indeed, some that have been neglected, and even des- pised, such as the German carp, fresh water ling, white and yellow perch, Buffalo fish, and other spe- cies, are now being made use of for market purposes. Even the detested bowfin, or great lake dogfish, is be- ing declared by some United States authorities quite acceptable on the table. _ Area of Inland Waters. Of the total area of Canada, 3,729,665 square miles, no less than 220,000 square miles are covered by the great lakes and rivers, so that at least one square mile is water for every thirty (30) square miles of land. The innumerable small lakes, which are scattered over al- most all the nine provinees and the northern territories have been little utilized commercially, but were they ex- tensively turned to account the production of fresh water fish could be vastly increased. At present these are only fished for sport and limited local needs, so that the lake and river areas, which are at present utilized for commercial purposes, may be extended to about 126,000 square miles. In the north west regions, Lake of the Woods and other waters, the Uni north of the 60th parallel of north latitude, there a: nearly 35,000 square miles of lake areas availabl cluding Great Slave, Great Bear and other vast but amongst the Provinces Ontario ranks first 41,382 square miles of lakes, Manitoba next with ak half that area of lakes, namely 20,000 square mm Quebee with 16,000 square miles, Saskatchewan 8,000, British Columbia with 2,500 square miles berta with 2360 square miles, the Yukon with square miles, Nova Scotia with 360 square mile New Brunswick with 74 square miles. ee Value of Interior Fisheries. According to latest returns (1916-17) the valu fresh water fisheries is as follows, in round num Ontario .. 6. ce os ee ee 8 288,100,008; Manitoba.... .. Quebec 2. is Saskatchewan .. a8 VaS Alberta s:0ies 0 Gear ee ee eee Yukon osu) sito 60,01 Thus the total fresh water fisheries amount $5,000,000 per annum, or about the same as t lobster fisheries, or the halibut and herring combined. 5 eten’ y, Number of Fishermen, Amount and Kinds 0: _ Tt is estimated that about 10,000 — engage in these interior fisheries, using abc steam tugs, over 5,000 sail and gasoline boats, fishing gear, fish houses, ete. are valued about 000. While the fresh water fisheries emple about one-tenth of the number of vessels and gaging in the sea fisheries, yet their numbers ciently considerable to justify the claim that t terior fisheries are of high importance among national industries in the production of fo kinds of gear used in the interior fisheries a gill-nets, and pound nets, or large traps, 1 seines, hook or fyke nets, baited hooks and other vices are also employed in these fisheries. It may stated that, in such areas as Georgian Bay, the amc of gill nets used by tugs and boats, according ~ Georgian Bay Fisheries Commission, 1908, than 4,600,000 yards or 2,556 miles. ti, United States Shares Most of Boundary Ls It must not be forgotten that on the Gre possesses a considerable part of the fishing ¢é that the Canadian statistics do not indicate th extent of the fishing in these waters. The States fishermen not only use vastly greater ¢ of gear in most cases, but also are permitted kinds which are forbidden in Canada, especii submerged trap-net of which very large num always been used in United States portions of Lakes. a - * General Progress Marks Inland Fisheries. Many authorities have prophesied that limited as even the Great Lakes, compared vast marine fishing grounds, must give out and | entirely depleted, even though the utmost care ercised in preventing gross abuses, and such have long prophesied that commercial fishing come to an end in the interior waters, after a peri years of extensive exploitation. The facts and whieh our Canadian fisheries afford do not this view. Of course. wise reculations, including” cense restrictions, limitation of gear, mesh of ne cloge seasons, ete., must have had a beneficia ( rah > al August, 1918 counterbalanced the drain due to commercial fishing, but fresh water fish are very prolific, and Nature has provided that the finn tribes produce progeny far in excess of all destruction or death. This protection more than suffices to keep up a permanent supply of fish. Hatcheries and Regulations Warded off Depletion. I have always laid stress, during my many years work as Commissioner of Fisheries, on the policy constantly “pursued by Canada since Confederation, namely, the -eombination of wise fishery regulations, based on train- ed scientific conclusions, and artificial fish-propaga- tion by hatcheries. Accurate, educated, technical knowledge can alone furnish a basis for reliable laws in the fishing industries, as has proved to be the case in farming, mining, and: other industries. Amateur, un- _ -teained wformation must do harm in the long run, as many industries have found to their cost. Wise laws _ and fish hatching must go hand-in-hand, if our interior fisheries are to be maintained. Fish hatcheries are of * inferior importance in the marine fisheries, because, s while the parent fish in fresh water produce annually _ eggs and fry by tens of thousands, the most important fish in the sea produce young annually by millions. A salmon or whitefish may produce five thousand to fif- teen thousand eggs each season, but a cod or halibut ss Seed produce some five to ten million of eggs. Berar i$, Increased Catches of Certain Species. -- Various authorities in the United States have made Poiborats investigations to decide whether hatcheries _were benefical, and one of these authorities five or six ‘years ago, when asked if hatcheries do any good, said ‘““My reply has always been, ‘Certainly; I believe fish idichories have been benefical’,’’ and this authority wrote a paper, read by the American Fisheries Society » in 1912, pointing out that the catches of whitefish, lake _ herring, pickerel or pike-perch, had increased three- CATCHES OF IMPORTANT FRESH-WATER 2 WEIGHT IN POUNDS AND VALUE. ONTARIO, QUEBEC. MANITOBA. SASKATCHEWAN ALBERTA. Pounds Rg ge $10,684 Pounds, $40,788 Pounds. Pounds. : fish . 1896 3,432,560 $272,283 132, . 794, ; aoe 1906 2,927,65 290,155 59,510 5,951 9,300,100 609,685 2,196,000 131,760 968,100 $48, 405 t 1916 6,071,100 516,290 309,900 30,938 5,039,900 350,543 2,855,100 126,758 2,145,200 0,472 | ae t-; 1896 5,975,661 597,566 we a oe 1906 6,951,260 669,376 155,000 9,300 1916 7,811,600 638,888 125,900 8,818 275,900 14,155 98,400 18,543 Lake Herring... 1896 6,292,721 204,670 if . 196 4,280,500 214,025 1916 10,687,200 526,976 , Pickerel 1896 2,998,595 149,930 268,945 13,447 3,497,970 104,939 | Wall-eye or 1906 2,956,200 295,620 112,970 11,297 6.749,100 399,065 506,000 25,300 $2,100 4,105 RR cn 1916 4,541,800 454,187 677,300 67,763 4,529,800 311,262 466,200 24/833 307,600 11,584 Pike or 1896 1,101,050 44,042 169,695 8,485 2,324,045 46,481 Jackfish...... 1906 1,950,200 78,008 111,200 5,560 3,564,100 121,048 603,000 18,090 136,100 4,083 1916 1,483,600 118,690 423,800 25.967 4,125,900 204,749 873,600 41,732 489,200 13,265 aah Pag tae 1896 1,111,160 33,335 156,590 4,698 65,800 808 a "4906 754,700 22,642 148,900 7,445 89,000 3,115 | 1916 1,258,500 62,926 151,600 8.457 860,300 43,015 ees eles Lt. Se: 1896 189,985 8.399 900,000 57,008 é phe 1906 20,100 1,206 784,510 47,071. SR 1916 166,100 9969 874,100 49,716 fai .... 1896 1,590,135 110,130 267,748 18,387 cepted 1906 329,000 26,320 498,000 49,800 173,000 17,300 f 1916 147,500 22129 181,900 20,506 8,700 870 1,500 125 |: “Codfish ...... 1906 101,600 3,048 27,300 819 200,000 16,000 jag " "4916 542,700 43,417 288,000 24,141 108,500 6,510 Carp . 1916 1,857,800. 37,157 Yukon — Lake Whitefish — 78,900 Ibs. — $19,725, Yukon — Lake Trout — 25,200 Ibs, — $7,560. CANADIAN FISHERMAN. 955 fold in recent years in the State of Penncylvania alone. Of course the fishing industries fluctuate from season to season, owing to various complex causes of weather, storms, disease and death amongst fish, and other caus- es, but this all overcomes in a period of years. A study of the Canadian returns for our Great Lake fisheries during the last twenty or thirty years proves that there has been a general advance and improvement; an ad- vance and improvement in the catches and the money returns. It would be wearisome, at this place, to deal with these dry statistics in detail, but I offer figures covering a period of twenty years, and I have selected years separated by decades, namely, 1896, 1906 and 1916. From this very brief survey of our interior fisheries, it will be apparent that they are an important and re- liable souree of supply, for they include some of the most important fish used for food, especially the sal- monidae, which ineludes salmon, trout, whitefish, lake herring, ete., and the percide which ineludes the valu- able pike-perch or blue and yellow pickerel, sometimes ealled wall-eyed pike. Vast Interior Waters Await For Exploitation. There are some areas in the interior which still await exploitation, not only in small lakes numbering tens of thousands in the older provinces, but vast areas in the extreme north-west like the Great Slave, Great Bear and other lakes which abound in whitefish and lake trout. of large sizes and of superior quality. It is impe- rative that these unutilized areas should be turned to account, and that all the species of fish, such as those already mentioned, not now used for food to any ex- tent should be introduced into the markets, and pre- . sented in attractive form (cleaned, ete.), and if these steps be taken, the fresh-water fishes of Canada will be even a greater source of food and wealth in the fu- ture than in the past. ‘FISHES IN 1896, 1906, and 1916. CANADIAN Speeches Delivered at the Banquet of the Halifax Convention of Canadian Fisheries Association After the toast to the King was drunk, the Chairman, Mr. H. A. Brittain, called upon Mr, 8, Y. Wilson to propose the toast of— “THE ARMY, THE NAVY AND OUR ALLIES.”’ Mr. Wilson spoke as follows :— Mr. President and Gentlemen: It has fallen to my lot to propose the first toast of the evening, but before doing so I should like to congratulate the Association on having selected the present President (applause) and also to congratulate the present president on having been elected to this office in our Association. The toast which I am asked to propose is that of ‘‘The Army, the Navy and Our Allies’’, coupling with it the names of Lieutenant-Governor Grant and Consul-Gen- eral Young. I believe it is a subject pretty close to the hearts of everybody here to-night, for there are not many of us who have not got some representative in either the army or the navy or with our allies. I want in passing to mention particularly the debt we owe to our allies the French. No one reading the pa- pers of the last six weeks could help admiring their great courage and unswerving attitude in the war. I should, perhaps, have mentioned first our neighbors the South. (Applause) I feel — and no doubt everybody else feels in the same way — that we owe to them a debt of gratitude for the position that they have taken at this particular time and in this particular stage of the war that we could not or would not have felt had they gone into it earlier or later. I am not going to inflict my prosy talk on you fur- ther, gentlemen, but I would like you to join in drink- ing to the toast — ‘‘The Army, the Navy and our Al- lies. ’” ; LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR GRANT.— . Mr. Chairman, Brother Fishermen of Canada and of the United States: I do not know why I should be se- lected to speak for the Army, but as Mr. Wilson said they are very close to my heart as they are to yours. The nearest I have been to the army was a great many years ago when I was color sergeant in the old Hants County Militia, which was commanded by Major Lau- rie at that time. They told me one day that they were afraid I did not know my place, and this so affected my pride that I dropped the army for all time. (Laught- er.) I do not know that we need to hear much about the army to-night; we hear about it day after day in the morning and evening papers, and our hearts are all united, I am quite sure, in universal love for our coun- try. (Applause). I see here to-night representatives of that great country to the south of us. God knows what Great Britain and France and Belgium would have been like to-day if it had not been that the United States cast in their lot with us. I have also to say that my own heart was never more deeply touched than immediately after that sad occurrence that happened in Halifax last December. The news reached Boston as you know shortly afterwards, and the next day a train fitted out with supplies of all kinds and with surgeons and nurses - to-night. FISHERMAN ~ was sent to us and the relief they gave on arrival he will never be known this side of Eternity. My hea has so warmed up to that great country that I never s an American now without wanting to shake hands wi him, and as for the ladies — well, the members of t fair sex I want to kiss (Laughter), and so say wi (hear, hear). he % Gentlemen, I am not going to inflict a speech on - although I want to thank Mr. President for giving the pleasure of speaking. I sometimes think tha good old verse in the Bible that ‘‘It is easier for a to enter the Kingdom of Heaven’’ ought to have changed to a fisherman, (laughter) although I suppose it applies in your case. I never feel so i ed in my life to tell stories as after I have been fishing trip, I think it must run in our family. Now gentlemen, let me thank you again for h given me the pleasure of speaking to you. I wan to my American friends that old Government | of which I am a tenant for a few years—is open at all times, and it gives me no greater pleasure to hands with some good old Yankee inside those than it would to welcome some of you gentlem I am sorry that you are most of you ing to-morrow. I hope that you are pleased with visit to Halifax this time and that you will come next year, and if you do we can promise you | welcome and a happier time if possible than 1 given you this year. (Applause.) Mat antet CONSUL-GENERAL E. E. YOUNG. — Your Honor the Lieutenant-Governor, I Brittain, delegates to the Canadian Fisheries - tion, and friends: re ES eae It was said some time ago that a banquet wa affair where the speakers did not particularly ear the dinner owing to the fact that they were hensive of what they were to say and the diners not say such an awful lot for the speeches. T however, those who had in charge the arrange: a very pleasant banquet were so kind as to omit the menu the usual programme of toasts and al careless as not to notify any of the speakers that were to be called upon. I am glad, however, Mr dent, of the opportunity afforded me to express preciation of your kindness in inviting me to m here to-night. In endeavoring to respond to the toast wi my name has been so kindly coupled by Mr unfortunately I cannot tell you any stories: s late, my. stories are all fish stories, and to tell you would be far worse than carrying the pro coals to Newcastle. Addressing myself more par ly to the toast Mr. Wilson has proposed, it is hai me to convey to you the pleasure which it affords 1 be able to respond to that toast, to a toast of the ture. For some two, or slightly more, years while ing here as a consul-general for the United Sta position of my country — the republic to the South was that of a neutral, and it was my duty officie during those long months and to me intolerab! spite of the great kindness, courtesy and thou August,,1918. CANADIAN shown me by all of my Halifax friends who, I am proud to say, are limited only by the printed list of the di- rectory, at least, that is the way I feel about you — during those days it was my official duty, I say, to be neutral in speech and conduct, but I could not be neu- tral in thought. (Loud applause). Some day this long, tedious, terrible war will end, and of the ending who of us assembled here in this room to-night can doubt? With no attempt at bombast, it were as well, it seems to me, to doubt that the sun would rise again, or the stormy waves ere be still as it would for us to doubt the possible ending of this war. (Hear, hear). And when peace does come once again to a war-weary world, for such in these days we are, the sunshine that wreathes the tops of the hills will be a little brighter, the fragrance of the flowers a little sweeter, the music of the birds a little dearer, — because of the sacrifices of the stalwart manly men of Canada, France, Italy, England, and, I trust, my. own brothers from the south. Of the awfulness of war we know full well, though many of us probably have felt but little of it yet. But through the darkened clouds which follow the wake of war, carrying hunger, famine and want to the world, can we not see with clearer vi- sion what to me at least is a dear and beautiful picture — the ever drawing closer and closer together of the members of the Anglo-Saxon race. (Loud applause). TO OUR FISHING INDUSTRIES. Proposed by J. A. Patilhus. Mr. Chairman, Gentlemen: I have much pleasure in proposing this toast to our Fishing Industry and would associate with it the name of the Honorable W. S. Fielding, M.P., chairman of the Fisheries Committee of the House of Commons, who has shown such a deep in- terest in the fishing industry in attending most of our meetings, and also the names of Mr. G. J. Desbarats and Dr, MacCallum. As a member of the association I feel much encouraged by the progress and development of the fishing industry for the past few years: in fact, - when we look at the figures that have been published lately we discover that the industry for the last fiscal year has increased by 40% over the previous year. I think we have good reason to feel elated over that, es- pecially when we think that it is due in a great part to the activities of our Association. We feel that we are able to still_increase this development, because we know that we have a source at hand which is inexhaustible. We have been given to understand at this last Con- vention that we cannot depend very much on the Hud- son Bay, and it has disappointed us very much; but there is still enough left in this country to say that we are safe to have hopes to not only treble, quadruple or even more than that in the future the development of the fishing industry. What encourages our hopes still more is the declaration of your interest to-night and the fact that we have secured Mr. Brittain for our president. He tells us that this year every one of us has to work, and I am sure that he will keep his word “and see to it that we do: he is energetic, he has determi- nation. and we can expect at our next annual meet- ing to have good things to report regarding the deve- lopment of this great resource of ours. I would ask you to arise and drink with me to the fisheries, FISHERMAN HONORABLE W. 8. FIELDING.— ‘Mr. Chairman, Your Honor, Gentlemen: Let me first express my very sincere thanks to the officers of the Fisheries Association for having been kind enough to extend to me an invitation to partici- pate in the very interesting meetings you have had, which are being brought to a close to-night by this very pleasant gathering. Let me also add my congratula- tions to those already tendered Mr. Brittain upon his election to his important office and also to the very energetic committee of management for the success which has attended your Convention. I have had an opportunity of attending a number of these meetings and must confess that I have been very deeply interest- ed — I have found them not only interesting but highly instructive. Everybody living by the sea ought to be interested in the fisheries. I onee got into trouble in Parliament by boasting that I represented more lob- HON. W. 8S. FIELDING, M._P., Chairman, Fisheries Committee, House of Commons. sters than any other man in the House, — somebody thought I had done an injustice to my constituents. (Laughter.) We who live by the seaside or come from the seaside have in a general way a knowledge of the great fisheries resources of our country and perhaps we think we know a good deal about them, and yet I am sure that the native Bluenose who has been brought in contact with the operations of the Fisheries Association, as exhibited in the papers read and the addresses deli- vered at your meetings, will discover that he has learn- ed a good deal about his own country, that his know- ledge of the fisheries has been broadened, his pride in the industry as a great national asset increased, and his zeal quickened by being brought in touch with the 958 ANADIAN splendid work that you are doing. (Hear, hear). The fisheries are indeed a great national asset, and they are managed by a great Department at Ottawa. When you have a large industry to manage, where you have a ‘Department which has to deal with a wide range of subjects and a Department dealing with subjects which have been so much matters of contention, it is inevitable that this Department. will not be able to please everybody always, inevitable that there should be a measure of criticism and enquiry.. Of that the of- ficials of the Department will not complain ; public dis- cussion and enquiry and frank criticism are the very essence of democratic government ; and I am sure that criticism of that nature is always welcomed; but of course it should at all times be blended with fair re- gard and consideration for the difficulties which are attendant upon the management of such a great De- partment under such circumstances. I have seen a good deal of the Fisheries Department from many points of view — have had an opportunity of observ- ing it for many years, as a Cabinet Minister, and as a private citizen when I found occasion to be brought i in- to contact with the Department, and more recently from the angle of a private member of Parliament—and let me add, in order to bear my proper share of what- ‘ever guilt there has been in the management of the Fisheries in the past, that I have occasionally had the honor to be Acting Minister, sometimes for some months —and I want to say of this Department that under all governments and upon all occasions I have at all times found its officials faithful to their work, zealous and anxious only to do that which they believed to be best for the promotion of the great interests committed to their care. I know you are tempted at times to indulge in criticism, proper and legitimate criticism, but when- ever occasion arises to eriticise these gentlemen at Ot- tawa I ask you to bear in mind that their task is a broad and difficult one, that the subjects that they have’ to deal with are subjects upon which you yourselves are as a rule not able to agree, and that it will be inevitable so long as there is a department managed by a demo- cratic country that there will be occasion for criticism passive and objective. All I ask and suggest is that in the good work you are doing — and it is good work —you should count yourselves co-workers with the officials of the Department at Ottawa, giving them the benefit of your knowledge and experience. I am gure that at all times they will be glad to welcome you, be- cause of the sincere desire to advance the industry which I know exists among the officials of the Depart- ment, irrespective of what government is in charge. I am satisfied that by co-operation you ean do justice to this magnificent industry, extending it in value and making it of a greater sp aac in the future even than in the past. Although we here may think we know all about the fisheries, I have already admitted we have much to learn; and when a man finds a good thing in these days he wants other people to know it too; if T may quote a familiar statement, ‘‘It pays to advertise’’ . Your Fish- eries Association is seconded by the Canada Food Board and is doing good work in advertising the fish of Can- ada and particularly the fish of the Lower Provinces. As a mere piece of war work I am satisfied the country will appreciate this good service. Moreover, I am satis- fied that it is going to be of permanent value: ; you have started an educational campaign, and even if it should end to-day you have spread a knowledge in Central FISHERMAN August, 191 F eas Canada of what the Atlantic fish is, its value as a food and the advantages coming from eating more fish. W are often asked in Ottawa why A.B.C. from the Lowe Provinces makes such a good mark. Well, as you prob- ably know, there are three reasons: one is fish, these ond oatmeal, and the third the shorter catechism % (Laughter). That is a great combination we have got — down here in the Maritime Province. Now we are a vertising the fisheries of Canada and the Loy Provinees through the work of your society and t work of the Canadian Food Board, and I feel there is going to be a continued interest in the fisheries v will last after the war has ended and that as a commercial question the work you are doing will 1 a rich reward for the fishermen and the fish deale1 Nova Scotia and the Atlantic Coast generally. Finally, if occasion arises to have a difference the Department, gentlemen, count yourselves | hostile critics but as friends desiring to correct, am satisfied that if this is your attitude nothi r good will be the final result. I thank you, gentlem for your kind reception. (Loud applause). MR. G. J. DESBARATS.— Mr. President, Your Honor, Gentlemen: I hav to thank the members of your committee and A: tion for their very kind invitation to myself and officers of the Department to attend your annual ing in Halifax. It has been a great pleasure for myself and for my colleagues, to meet you here, I wish to congratulate you on the success of the ings, on the excellence of the papers which have presented and on the very harmonious discussion has taken place at the different meetings. congratulate the Association on the very g that they have been doing since they were fou years ago, and I would refer more particula assistance which the Department has found it tained from the executive and members of the | tion. The Department is often looked upon asa ment of repression, as the organ, the instrument is used to enforce a close season, to preve catching fish, and to restrict them ‘in various Now this is one of the apparent methods of partment’s administration, but that is not by an, the object. The object of this repression, the of the limitations in fishing, is the encourageme! the industry, it is one of the methods of protecting industry, of ensuring its continuance, of conservi for future generations. It is a difficult and a,the task frequently to have to put in force these restri regulations, but in this necessary work the Depart has found help and assistance from the members of Association, it has profited by their advice, it has the advantage of information presented to it in t form of matters put before it by men who were e2 pe enced in the various lines of fishing, experienced i in handling of fish commodities; so that the Departr feels it is under a deep deébt of gratitude to this / ciation and its members for the assistance they | given it in carrying out the work of assisting es eries. At the present time the fishing industry in Car é is enjoying a high measure of prosperity. ‘This i is d q partly to the war, you have profited in some meé by war conditions and the food necessities of a cov in war time, the necessity of economising on ° August, 1918. meat and other food requirements of the army. The advantages of using fish to a much larger extent have been brought to the attention of the Canadian public by the Food Board and by the exhortations of your executive and members. But this, gentlemen, must not be regarded by any means as a war measure. It is merely the opportunity which has been given you of ex- plaining the advantages of fish as a food to the public of Canada, it is an introduction which must be conti- nued after the war. It must not be regarded as a tem- porary work but as the beginning of a work of exten- sion which will be continued in the years to come and which will lead to a very large widening out of the fish business and bring fish forward as one of the main sta- ples of food in Canada. Your trade overseas has grown, G. J. DESBARATS, C.M.G., Deputy Minister of Naval Service. has almost been created by the war, and should conti- ' nue to a large extent after the war, although some of _ the conditions which obtain in the trade to-day will _ disappear. This, however, is an opportunity to estab- _ lish foreign markets which can be retained after the war. The fishermen of Canada are contributing a very large part in every way towards the winning of the war, not only by their work in handling an extremely valuable food product but by their work on the seas in obtaining this food. In the North Sea the trawlers have fallen one after the other before the attacks of the enemy. In this country up to the last few days we had been free from any such attack, but unfortunately in the last two or three days some of the fishing schooners .have been attacked and sunk, luckily with no loss of | life, as far as the Canadian schooners are concerned. CANADIAN FISHERMAN 959 It is to be hoped that this menace will soon pass away and that our fishermen will be able to resume unhin- dered their regular occupations and to bring to our ports the food we so much need for ourselves and for our soldiers over-seas and for our allies. Gentlemen, | thank you for your kind attention, for your invitation here this evening and for the opportu- nity of attending your meetings at Halifax. (Ap- plause. ) DR. MACALLUM.— Mr, President, Your Honor, Members of the Had I the time I might tell you something of the ee tent of the fresh water area of the province of Ontario but to show you something of the immense possi-” bilities of the fresh water fisheries, let me just sa: in passing that we have forty thousand square niiles 0 tario almost as great as any province in the Dominio: of Canada, with the exception of one province. Th Professor Huntsman, show that taking the average i Lake Ontario, the area that we have is capable of pr ducing annually eighty million pounds of fresh wate fish. So that although you may get into the way 0 considering the fresh. water fisheries only secondary, you see that they occupy naturally first place. I do believe that there should be the closest co-opera- tion between us; the people in Ontario know little ie the salt water fish excepting what they have learned ~ in the last few years, I am speaking of fresh fish now. ~ L.do not mind perhaps if you have a laugh at my ex pense as you probably will have when I tell you tha until I married a New Bunswick wife a few years ago, I did not know that codfish was ever eaten as a fres ‘4 article, and this is probably true of fifty percent. | of — the people of Ontario until very recently. It gives you an idea of the wonderful field you have before you Ontario has a population of two million possibly eig hundred thousand or nearly that; you will find that the fish campaign now being carried on in our provinee by yourselves, the Food Board and the Government, is” productive of the results which are anticipated, thi province alone will consume two and a half times as 7 much fish as is taken in the entire province. Fresh fish © taken amounts to forty million pounds per year, and on ~ the basis of one pound per week per person it would : quire as much fish as we produce in thé province, pro vided all the fresh water fish possible were producec have a field in the province of Ontario which it would be hard to calculate. There is a possible market for a great many million pounds of fish that has not as ye The basic idea behind the Ontario gov- ernment in entering into the fish question was a nation- — al idea, it was w ith: the idea of assisting in every possi so much needed by our Allies and our boys overseas” that they wished to make the eating of fish more popu lar. While perhaps in certain sections they may not ac complish just that average per head, yet I will say th if certain statistics we have are correct, they indica fish as they were twelve months ago, and I am satis fied that you can tell us that they are eating a creat % deal more fresh salt water fish. _Appetites are con- but I am satisfied that we can get the people in the. way of eating fish we a There are Sor sections = Canada where they only believe in ea jack ike nls can use fish at Six or seven ne week if weather is not too warm; I notice in to-da ry paper that we had it 101 in the shade there, an ~ August, 1918. CANADIAN FISHERMAN 61 display them? * TORONTO 114 York St.. 6 -€2 Blocks N. of Union Stn.) Phone Adelaide 3786 FISH,. FISH, FISH ‘Have you a good case to hold and The above illustration is of the Gov- ernment Standard case finished in white enamel and ash stained. Write for Catalogue and Prices. A Stock Carried; Prompt Delivery Made, The W. A. Freeman Co., Limited, Hamilton, Canada. 16 Notre Dame St., E. Phone Uptown 8547 MONTREAL D. H. H. NEILL, 16 Richmond Sq. ] With the high cost of labor can you afford to be without a Knapp Labelling and Boxing Sree reas | Knapp Labelling Machine The Brown Boggs Co., Limited Hamilton, Ontario E. As EARL & CO., Vancouver, B.C., Agents ; y Acadia Gas Howines, Kimstron ‘Can. tied Tadependent " Fisheries, z : Bliss, Co. “Booth Dicnarice. Co. of Canada, Ltd. wman'J., and Co Ptirandram Henderson Co., ‘Ltd. net British Columbia Government ..... ._ British Columbia i ge sad Asso- i ciation... - pen ee. es | Brown Boggs Co., Ltd. Lerown 7 Mhgineering,. _-Corporation, = Burnoil Engine Co. VG REL: ps Burns, P. & Co. Se dtrit ek DAE Di oath we Z Canada Metal Co., Ltd. ete petonke. -Morse “Co. Ltda. spe eae gl and Cold Storage Lt Soca Canadian Fishing “Co, Ltd. Pe ete Canadian Ice Machine Co... .. .«- Canadian Milk as 2am Ltd. _ Canadian Oil Co Pearl Button Co., Ltd... f » Clifford, J. F. * F Connors’ Brothers, ‘Lta. ‘ +. Consumers Cordage Co., Ltd Cutting and Washington Saas 2, gs a D. 4 Danto & Co. pars ae) Department of Naval “Service Zi ie ace DesBrisay, M., and Co., Ltd. .. .. ee Dominion Fisheries, Ltd. E. Bureka Refrigerator Co. fe Hvinrude Motor a oe Paras har and a Ltd. PERE pe SA Finklestein, Max. .. .. ie ake ee : fb en wees ne. Sigdigye: oie) Se pan : s rades Gazette .. .. - Foreman Motor and Machine ‘Co., SL ee 8 Ole 0.6, 2B (6 ee. 68 oe Ltd. . ioalee Peter Ghvay Naish 4 eee wa" ghee Index to Advertisers Freeman and Cobb Cas Sai in Pearee _ Freeman, W. A., Co. Fe, Mee x | Fromm, F. H. & Co. SOAK ig ge gare OD 7 ad. Gandy. & Allison .. ... woe Goodrich; B. F. Co., Ltd. 63 Gourock Ropework Export Co., *‘Lta. 83 Gosse-Millerd Packing Co., Ltda Gray and Prior Machine Co. Guarantee Motor Co. ; 8 Oeics we. 00 8 3 Guest, W. J., Fish Co. Ltd... 1: 89 Gulowsen, Grei, Engine Co. .. .. .. 75 Matlott: A. Wes iy Ca eee ee ie 70 Hatton, D., CO... oe ve oe we we oe AT SEE IOCK “John & Co. ae a pe Ct A BS Hickman, A. E. : Stee ER eines he Hyde Windlass’ Co. etd Se eae AOE Imperial Oil, Ltd.. Se et OD Independent Rubber, Co., “Lt. odes OS Jacobson Gas Engine. es Sea) ate he Oe James, F. T., Co., Ltd. <2 oe « 9% Kildala Packing Co, Ltd. ip oi dele Tae aoe: 5 Leckie, John, Ltd. .. .. Leonard Fisheries, Ltd. Letson and Burpee, Ltd. .. Lincoln, Willey and Co. ‘In 83 Tie aren ins Refrigeration Co., Lipectt, Cunningham’ ‘and Co., ‘ Lta. 3 Lipsett,, Edward .. aa 3 Lockeport Cold Storage Co., “Ltd. ar igo Loggie, W. S. Co. 81 London and Petrolia ‘Barrel Co, Ltd. 84 Lyons, Chas. Co., Ine. 72 Marconi Wireless .. ¥S play & | Maritime Fish Corporation, Ltd. eat) BE McAvity, T. & Sons, Ltd. he, wine Mueller, Charles, Co., Ltd. | oe tale 59> ae -Murray & Fraser .. .. § Seta eo Te Mustad, 0., ane" Sond. os... oa eeu 3 National Refining Co. 13 - New. Brunswick Cold Storage ‘Co. | Ltd. TT New England Fish Company, Lta. 16 18 “Back Cover e = e e Noble, Charles, Jr., Co., Inc. .. .. .. Northern Fish Co. Se hae bs ek Nova Scotia Government ain ot ao) ra o. Ontario Government . as Veco Seee e O’Connor’s Fish Market . pane NS ve Sig P. Pitt, PISHMONSEL 5. | ci. sa'ei jeie ee wees Polson Iron Works .. .. ss os es Process Engineers, Ltd. "Pagte eee ery oe Q. Quebec Government .. «6. «2 «+ ow BR. Ranney Fish Co. eo 088 88 @8 Robbins, Chas. C., Wie. x vk oe onthe Robbins, F. R. & Co. a Robin, Jones and Whitman, Ltd. cs Robinson, Thomas .. . é picecs 8. Seaboard Trading ie ied $s Sonate Schmidt, B. L., Co. AES ate Dt Scythes -& Co., oa Baa. ech eee git 9 Silver, H. R., Ltd. Milen ecw mates & Stamford Foundry Co.. na mtee lds: e Standard Gas Engine Co Stairs, Son & Morrow, ‘Utd., wm. Stewart, B. & OM Ltd. Spooner, W. R. iy T. TAROMr GeO) TAs oe ee ee wee Taylor, Robt. Co., pS AR Sa Tower Canadian... ae ‘ Tuckett Tobacco Co., ‘Ltd. Vv. Vhay Fisheries Co. Ww. Walker, Thos. and Son, went Wallace Fisheries, Ltd Wannenwetsch Western Packers, Fen Bias Na i = White and Co., Ltd. A Whitman, Arthur N., “Ltd. Williams, A. ‘ere Machinery Go. tedelypasid W. C. or. ee oe ef Oe n.d? 99.2 Hei ee tee. 94 86 * 970 en of as an orange city, although it depends upon the view point you take of ity but one good thing the On- tario development campaign has done was to make l,- 000 or 1,500 Orangemen eat fish on the 12th of July. (Laughter. ) Thank you, gentlemen, for this opportunity of speak- ing on behalf of the people of Ontario, I congratulate the Association on the good work it is attempting, and I am sure we all wish it every success. THE MOTION PICTURE AS AN EDUCATOR. The suceess of the Canada Food Board’s fish films in encouraging the greater consumption of Pacific and Atlantic fish throughout Canada is but one phase of the value of the motion picture film to the fishing industry, The resolution passed by the C.F.A, at the Hali- fax Convention advocating compulsory inspection of pickled herring in accordance with the methods pre- scribed by the Pickled Fish Inspection Act of 1914, leads us into the belief that. some excellent educa- tional work might be commenced immediately in the proper packing of Canadian herring by means of the motion picture. We would suggest that the Fisheries Department have a film made showing the construction and type of barrels to be used, and every step in the proper pre- paration of herring, mackerel, etc., packed under the requirements of the Act. This film, when prepared, should be _ circulated throughout the fishing centres accompanied by a com- petent lecturer, who could explain the scenes illus- trated and the methods to be employed. The film would be especially valuable in that it could be shown in centres during the winter or at periods when the herring were absent—thus doing away with the neces- sity of being in particular localities only when the herring or other fish were striking in. ; There are a host of places around the coast where such a film could be shown, and if the Department had a machine, the pictures could be screened wher- ever electricity was available. Educational films might well be employed in many other branches of fish curing—the salting and dry- ing of codfish on modern lines might be another sub- ject. Education nowadays must be made attractive and nothing spreads a gospel or draws a crowd more so than the ‘‘movie.’’ THE FRASER ENGINE. The Fraser Engine is very well known in many of the fishing districts in the Maritime Provinces, but not so well known in other parts of Canada. - This en- gine is manufactured by Murray and Fraser, New Glasgow, N.S., and Mr. T. D. Fraser, who designed the Fraser engine formerly manufactured by the Fraser Machine & Motor Company, is in charge of the mechan- ical department of the firm. Mr. W. G. Murray looks after the business end. - Murray & Fraser, in addition, are manufacturing gas engines from 3 to 27 H.P., make a specialty of bronze propellers from 12 in. to 36 in. and manufacture a full line of fittings for gas engines. CANADIAN FISHERMAN. August, 1918. CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. The results of the Fisheries Convention held in Hali- fax, have been on the whole quite acceptable to the fishing interests of this province. The regulations made with regard to lobster fishing met with general approval, as lobstering is now the most important branch of Prince Edward Island’s fisheries. The catch. last spring is now considered to be only between sixty and seventy per cent of a normal average and there- fore the desire to conserve is uppermost in the minds of packer and fishermen. The granting of the fall fishing season last year is declared by almost all packers and the majority of the fishermen as being a step in the wrong direction, be- cause they believe it has been responsible for the short- age this spring. The visit of the experts here this summer and the conferences that have been held in this province and in Halifax, have been of much educative value along the line of inducing fishermen to recognize the need of preserving the spawn lobsters. oa The propaganda by the packer and by the Press ra . - Leit to Right:—A. S. Brown, Kingsville, Ont.; N. 8. Cornell, Port Stanley, Ont.; A. E. Crewe, Merlin, Ont. must continue until this ‘‘killing of the lobster that lays the golden egg’’ is effectively stopped. The proposition that sanctuaries be established does not meet with the unanimous approval of the packers and fishermen. For instance, in Richmond Bay, which will come under the category of sanctuaries, there are eight or nine factories, and these could not very well be shut down unless the owners were compensated. The decision made in Halifax to equalize in a large measure the length of the seasons was heartily endors- ed here, as all along there has been a feeling of re- sentment that certain sections in Nova Scotia, for in- stance. were allowed seven months, whilst in this pro- vince the law only allowed two months and bad weath- er reduced the number of actual fishing days still low- er. Cod fishing is now carried on with fair success but — August. 1918. CANADIAN FISHERMAN me 59 “SCYTHES SLICKERS” Wet Weather Garments When buying Oilskins, make your selection from the following grades : “LION” BRAND “SWAN” BRAND “SAILOR” BRAND OILED CLOTHING BEST FOR THE FISHING TRADE Write us for price list Scythes & Company Limited MONTREAL TORONTO WINNIPEG IMPERIAL MOTORS When you buy an Imperial you are getting an engine backed by years of service so satisfactory that Imperial Motors are the standard fishing boat engines of Hastern Canada and are to be found in every fishing district in Canada and Newfoundland. They are the best that money, skill and experience can produce. General Dimensions of 5 H.P. Model ‘‘A’’ Bore of Cylinder, 444 inches; Diameter of Propeller, 2-blade, 18 inches. Stroke, 4 inches; Diameter of propeller, 3-blade, 16 inches. Weight, engine only, 230 lbs.; Shaft diameter, 1 inch. Complete shipping weight, 420 lbs.; Shaft length, 5 feet. For full information regarding this or any other Model send for catalog. 5 H.P. Model ‘‘A”’ The Motor that Makes the Mark. BRUCE STEWART &- pepe aan LIMITED. CHARLOTTETOWN, ; ‘ P. E. I. 972 CANADIAN operations have been hampered in some sections by lack of bait. Around Souris, where the headquarters of the Gorton Pew Company are located, somé of the fishermen have been making as high as fifty dollars a day when the fishing was at its best. They are re- ceiving from $2.75 to $3. 00 per quintal from the knife. Some complaints have been made. among the con- sumers in the city that they have to pay seven cents per lb, retail, and they consider it too wide a margin between retail prices and the prices paid the fisher- men. The quahaug season closed last month, and since then there has been more attention than usual paid to the canning of clams, which are quite abundant around our coasts and which have been neglected here- tofore, because other branches of the fisheries seemed to afford more lucrative returns. Oyster fishing, as is well known, is steadily declining in this province and the attempts to restore it by means of artificial. cultivation have been disappoint- ing. A number of companies which were organized to carry on the work have wound up or suspended op- erations; but, nevertheless, the preparatory work which has been done in the way of cleaning up the beds _ FISHERMAN _ August, 19 and the atitabndee of collectors of init will hav good effect later because much spat from the. publi beds heretofore Jost, will get a chance to develop is gratifying to know that there is apparently no tr this year of the disease which spread such havoe a ong the oysters last season. This was first pat to be brought here by the stock imported from — United States to plant the cultivated beds, althoug investigation has shown that oysters a conside! distance away from’ such beds were also affected. Although investments in oyster development been retarded by the war and there have been foreseen difficulties and drawbacks, the outlook is to be viewed pessimistically. The decline in this branch is shown by. the that about 25 years ago, 58,000. barrels was shippe one year from.the province ; last year there wer 3,000. Whilst the catch in Richmond Bay, the hom the’ far famed ‘‘Malpecs,’’ has dwindled almost to t vanishing point, there has been an inereee tae nu ber taken in East and West Rivers. Some fair catches of herring and mackerel been netted iar the past month, = a au gee Canadian Trawler Becomes Hun Raider | National Fish Company’s trawler ‘‘Triumph”’ oper- ating on the Western Banks was overhauled by a Ger- man submarine on the afternoon of August 20th. A prize erew of 16 men from the submarine was put on board and two light guns and wireless installed. Thus equipped, the former Halifax fishing steamer be- came a German raider and commenced cruising over the Western Banks sinking all the fishing-schooners in her course. The parent vessel evidently kept handy to the trawler and no doubt. assisted-in destroying the - fishing fleet. Reports to hand state that many American and Lun- enburg craft have been sunk. The trawler-raider would ‘come up alongside the schooner and vompel them to lower sails. The crews were allowed to escape in the dories and the vessels were destroyed by bombs. The crew of the ‘‘Triumph’’ landed in their boats at Canso, N.S. Gjert Myhre, skipper of the ‘‘Tri- umph,’’ stated that the submarine captain told him that six submarines were operating on the American coast and that they intended to wipe out the fishing fleets. The crews of the ships destroyed were not molested and those of the ‘‘Triumph’’ were given refreshments and cigarettes by the Huns before they took to the boats. : Threats by submarine commanders that they in- tended to sink the Lunenburg fleet were made in the early part of August to the skippers of schooners sunk off the southern coast of Nova Scotia. One command- er stated that he knew every vessel in the Lunenburg: - fleet, and the names of all the skippers. It was stated by the crews of the craft sunk then that the command- er of one of the German subs was a former Gloucester fishing skipper. It is safe to assume that the Doraciiel of The sub- marines operating. on this coast are composed of men familiar, with our waters and the vessels plying there- on. Numerous German-Americans and possibly Ger- -man-Canadians—fishermen and coasting ~ lantie. -—vanished mysteriously from Canada and after war was declared, and these men ar in the submarines now raiding the Vo The effect of the none will cage = 2 of the fish = ae from the A tla are around. Stile tor a time at rile the come from the Gulf of St. Lawrence, the Bay of I and the inshore grounds, and those craft which v off shore will have to be guarded by. naval some kind. It is not a difficult feat for submarines to. among our fishing fleets. They. are seatte August, 1918. CANADIAN FISHERMAN 61 Nh |\ Why Do ‘Hi-Press’ Give Such Unusual Wear? ‘*Hi-Press’’ Boots are delivering so much more wear—keeping feet so much more com- fortable—that they are ungestionably the most popular footwear among fishermen today. The Boots’ success is based on two things —knowledge and good will. First, we know rubber. Goodrich has meant ‘‘ Best in Rub- ber Goods’’ as long as you can remember, and it takes wonderful skill to so toughen the rubber that it will outlast ordi- nary boots TWO TO ONE. Again, we WANT to make them RIGHT. We want your con- tinued patronage. Wewon’t skimp —we want you to always insist on Goodrich Goods because you know they are best. ‘*Hi-Press’’ Boots and Shoes are sold by 40,000 dealers. Ask yours for the footwear with the Red Line ’Round the Top. THE B.F. GOODRICH RUSSER COMPANY Makers of the Celebrated Goodrich Automobile Tires— **Best in the Long Run” The City of Goodrich—- AKRON, OHIO with the Red Jone Round the Top Tse GOODRICH BOOT FOR FISHERMEN 974 CANADIAN FISHERMAN August, 1918. Steamship “Triumph” making for Halifax in winter. Note ice-coated shrouds and decks. a huge area from Georges Banks to Grand Bank and to protect this great space of water from raiding oper- ations, a vast fleet of submarine chasers and armed vessels would be necessary. The surest protection is to keep the fishing fleet inshore and maintain a strong coastal patrol. To keep up the fish supply, our re- maining steam trawlers should be allowed to trawl within bays and the three mile limit, The trawler ‘‘Triumph’’ is a steel, serew vessel, 125 feet in length, built in England, and formerly owned by the B.C. Fishing Co., Vancouver. In 1916 she was purchased by Messrs. Jennsen and Oleson, who brought her to Halifax via the Panama Canali and sold her to the National Fish Co., Ltd., Halifax. The Lunenburg schooners reported sunk by her to date (Aug. 22nd) are the ‘‘Una Saunders’’ and ‘‘Lucille Schnare.’’ The Lockeport schooner ‘‘Nelson A.’’ was sunk by a sub- marine early in August, Anderson & Woodman have recently erected a smoke house with a capacity of 500 barrels at Digby, N.S. They will operate twelve steam boats. They have a weir at Greenpoint. U Mr. Brown, representative of the Burnoil Engine Co., South Bend, Ind., manufacturers of high grade oil engines, is at present on an extended trip through the Maritime Provinees. 7 % a 7 c i i ARTHUR BOUTILIER, q President National Fish Co., Halifax, N.S., : owner of the “Triumph.” ; j b 4 - r 4 x 4 CAPT. GJERT MYHRE, Captain of the “Triumph.” August, 1918. CANADIAN FISHERMAN W. R. SPOONER Wholesale and Commission Dealer Fish of all Kinds 119 Youville Square, - MONTREAL I am in the market at all times to Buy or Sell on Commission, Fresh, Frozen, Smoked and Salt Sea and Lake Fish, in Carload Lots or Less. Correspondence Solicited License No. 1-017 = as Representing National Fish Company, Limited Halifax and Port Hawkesbury - N.S. “National Brand” Haddies, — 5 oo ee : me : / Producers Fillets, Fres h, errer®, Frozen Bloaters, \and Sali Scotch Cured | 3 Herring. | Sea Fish STEAM TRAWLER TRIUMPH. LAKE FISH SEA FISH J. Bowman & Co., Port Arthur, Ont. Wabakin Fish Co., Montreal, Que. A. W. Fader, Canso, N.S. BONELESS COD FISH National Fish Co., Ltd., Halifax and Port R. E. Jamieson, Rustico, P.E.I. : Hawkesbury, N.S. License No. 1-036. Few people realize that there is in Canada a firm manufacturing gas engines which compares favorably in the size of plant, equipment and output, with any other firm on the continent. Acadia Gas Engines, Limited, Bridgewater, N.S., was founded nine years ago by Mr. W. T. Ritcey, the present president and general manager, and although the ‘beginning was comparatively small, this firm en- joys today the distinction of being the largest manu- facturers of two-cycle engines in Canada. The illustration gives some idea of the size of the plant, but several recently erected buildings are not shown. The factory proper, which is 9 ft. by 32 ft., three stories high, is covered with asbestos slate shingles, equipped with automatic sprinkler systems and elevator. All castings needed in every department of the busi- ness are turned out in the firm’s own foundry which occupies floor space 100 ft. by 46 ft. Every motor before being shipped is tested out un- der severe conditions in the testing plant for which there is a special department. These tests are very thorough and eareful and no engine is shipped unless it stands every test perfectly. The plant is situated on the bank of the La Havre | River, and the firm have a 170-foot pier and a large warehouse, thus giving excellent facilities for ‘ dis- charging and loading shipments. Acadia engines are particularly well known in New- foundland where the firm maintains a permanent of- fice and staff of seven employes. In practically every fishing district of Eastern Canada and Labrador are to be found loeal representatives and in Newfound a com: @ANADIAN FISHERMAN. Acadia Gas Engines, Limited, Makes Rapid Progress August, Ww. T. RITCEY, President: and General Manager, Acadia Gas Engines, Ltd. plete stock of engines and accessories is carried. The first year’s sales amounted to less than $10,000 and next year, if the business continues to increase in the same proportion as it has in the past two years, the total PLANT -OF THE ACADIA GAS ENGINES, LIMITED. August, 1918. CANADIAN FISHERMAN 65 HE success of a FISH FREEZING plant depends on the 'YPE of machinery installed, and to insure continued success dependable SERVICE must be available. | “YORK’ MACHINES & ‘CIMCO ‘service COVER THESE REQUIREMENTS SOME USERS ~ New Foundland Atlantic Fisheries, Ltd., Maritime Fish Corporation, Ltd., St. John, Nfld. Canso, N.S. Leonard Fisheries, Ltd., Port Hawkesbury, N.S. National Fish Co., Ltd., Port Hawkesbury, N.S. Shelbourne Fisheries, Shelbourne, N.S. Job Bros. & Co., Ltd. St. John, Nfld. A. E. Hickman & Co., St. John, Nfld. Matthew & McLean, Souris East, P-E.I. D. Hatton & Co., Ltd., Montreal. Stanfords Ltd., Montreal. 3 York Ammonia Compr. at National Fish Coy.’s Plant 3 York Ammonia Compr. at Newfoundland Atlantic Fisheries’ Plant CANADIAN ICE MACHINE. CO. LIMITED || WINNIPEG TORONTO MONTREAL SS ——_—_———__ $$ 978 (66) sales will reach approximately $1,000,000, which is the surest proof that Acadia Engines are meeting the needs and requirements of the trade and also to the simplicity and working qualities of the products of manufacturing. \ In addition to the manufacturing of internal com- bustion engines, Acadia Engines Limited, also manu- facture power winches for the hoisting of sales and cargo, heaving of anchors, etc., and also handles large quantities of united engines, and it is possible that in the near future new lines will also be added. CANADIAN FAIRBANKS-MORSE CO., LTD., SUP- PLY OIL ENGINES FOR FISHING VESSELS. Nova Scotia Shipbuilding & Transportation Co., Lid., Liverpool, N.S., have under construction two large fishing vessels. One is regular type of fishing vessel, 150 tons. net, the other is a specially designed 3-masted schooner, which can be used for South American trade or for bank fishing, This design covers the best ideas in fish- ing vessels and its dimensions are 132 feet over-all, 26 foot beam, 12 foot hold. Both vessels are built to accommodate twin 60 H.P. oil burning engines, which we understand are being supplied by the Canadian Fairbanks-Morse Co., Ltd. Both vessels will be completed this fall and are being built on builder’s account. Mr, H, A. Frank is man- aging director of the Nova Scotia Shipbuilding and Transportation Co.,Ltd. Geo. M, Barr, of St. Johns, Newfoundland, producers and exporters of cod fish, are building at Noel, Hants Co., N.S., a three-masted auxiliary schooner of 500 tons net capacity. CANADIAN FISHERMAN August, i918, Power will be supplied by two 100-H. P. engines, fur- 4 nished by Canadian Fairbanks-Morse Co., Ltd., St. John. and Brazil salt fish trade. Capt, S. Courtney has been on the ground in direahi supervision of the building, and when she is completed i 4 will be in charge. - She will be used especially for the European ; At Scott’s Bay, the same company is building a fours a Power She will be used for the same masted vessel of approximately 600 tons net. by two 120-H.P. engines. trade. ~ PROTECT FISHING BOATS. Off Coast of New England From Submarines. Washington, August 21.—Steps to protect the fishi fleets off the coast of New England from German sub- marine raiders have been taken by the navy. Secretary Daniels has announced that where the vessels operate in fleets, as is the general custom, naval patrol boat hereafter will accompany them to their banks and there may stand guard. Protection of the fishing fleets was decided upon a food conservation measure. The New Burrell-Johnson Co., Ltd., Yarmouth, N. have discontinued the manufacture of shells and go back to their regular line of marine work. They hav now under construction two large vessels. Mr, H. 8. Crowell is manager, A full account of the visit of the C.F.A. delega to the Dartmouth plant of the Consumers Cordage Co Ltd., during the convention at Halifax will appea in our next issue. NOTICE! The attention of those interested in Cod Liver Oil Industry is called to the following sections of the Rules governing same: 18. A certificate of inspection must be pro- duced by the Exporters to the Customs Offi- cer when applying for Export Entry for the exportation of Refined Cod Liver Oil and Non- Freezing Cod Liver Oil, and an inspection fee of one cent per gallon shall be paid to the said officer by the Exporter to be remitted to the Department of Marine and Fisheries at St. Jchn’s. 19. Any person who shall not obey the or- ders of the Inspectors, or who does not carry out their instructions, shall be deemed guilty of a violation of these Rules and Regulations, and may have his License forthwith cancelled on complaint of said Inspector, or on complaint of any person who may certify that the In- structions or Rules of the Inspectors have not been complied with. 20. No package other than a new oak barrel made especially for Refined Cod Liver Oil, a tinned lined barrel, or a butter oil cask shall be used to contain Refined Cod Liver Oil. J. G. STONE, Minister of Marine and Fisheries TS Sr ee August, 1918. GANADIAN FISHERMAN SEALING FILLED CANS When the “speed-up” is at its height and minutes count in the mind of the anxious manager—then is the time when he appreciates “Bliss” Automatic Dou- ble Seamers., : The can supply and the operations of packing must flow smoothly and without interruption abreast of each other until the last case has been added to the pack. “Bliss” Equipment—complete—has been taken to the far parts of the earth where repairs or replacements would be difficult if not impossible to obtain—and has made good, “BLISS” AUTOMATIC DOUBLE-SEAMING MA- CITINE No. 31-K is illustrated, above. For sanitary cans-—the cans remaining stationary. May also be used in can shops for double seaming the ends on empty can bodies. Continuous chain feed delivers fill- ed or empty can bodies to the seaming position at uniform speed. Covers fed automatically. Write for Catalogue Section No. 18-A CHICAGO OFFICE 1857 People’s Gas Bldg. LONDON, S.E., ENGLAND, Pocock Street, Blackfriars Road E. W. BLISS COMPANY Main Office and Works; BROOKLYN, N.Y., U.S.A. DETROIT OFFICE Dime Bank Bldg. PARIS, FRANCE, 100 Boulevard Victor-Hugo St. Quen CLEVELAND OFFICE Union Bank Bldg. 1917 68 Billingsgate Market CANADIAN FISHERMAN. a. London, July 6th 1918. To-day has seen the close of a thoroughly unsatisfac- tory week’s trading. The weather throughout the week has been unusually hot, with the result that very little fish has reached the consuming centres in really choice condition. Then again there has been quite a glut of herrings, while several varieties of trawled fish, especi- ally deep-sea cod and haddocks, have been available in substantial quantities, and salmon, after a season char- acterized by searcity, has come forward much more freely. The heat has checked demand, with the result that fishmongers have not been inclined to purchase beyond their bare requiremnts, while they have scarce- ly looked at secondary qualities. As a result prices have come down with a crash more or less generally; _ for instance, salmon, soles, turbots, brills and other of the choicer kinds, which have remained practically fix- ed at the maximum level since the enactment of the Fish (Prices) Order, have sold daily at rates below the schedule, while other varieties have changed hands at all manner of prices, while it has been practically im- possible to obtain an offer for herrings, es- pecially ‘‘sprinkled’’, i.e., herrings treated with a light application of fishery salt to assist in the preserva- tion while being transported. The outcome of this. state of affairs has been that quantities have been left unsold on the principal markets in the consuming cen- tres day after day, and this has had the effect of de- pressing the value of newly-arrived consignments the next day. In fact, to sum up, it may be said that the markets have presented all the familiar features of mid- summer in this‘country, with the addition that owing to labor shortage railway transport is very tedious and unreliable, while when the fish has ultimately reached the distributing markets there has been insufficient la- bor to handle it expeditiously. Billingsgate, July 13th 1918. This week closes with the markets in a much héalth- ier condition than was the case a week ago. With the exception of a few kinds, notably ‘‘chats’’ haddocks, supplies all round this week have shown a falling off, this being mainly due to boisterous weather at sea, and as the weather since about Tuesday has been much ‘cool- er, the fish has been reaching the consuming centres in much better condition. Prices have not fully recover- ed from last week’s decline, but during the past day or two really choice qualities of many kinds have com- manded the maximum rates. The feature of the catch- es landed at the East Coast ports has been the abund- ance of small fish, mostly haddocks and whitings, which have been cleared with difficulty. At the West Coast ports hake has been pretty prominent, while deep-sea fish has also been forward at Fleetwood. Supplies of herrings have continued in excess of requirements, with the markets much depressed, and kippers have ben more plentiful, and much cheaper, than for some con- siderable time. Fewer mackerel have been available; ‘‘first day’’ mackerel, that is, mackerel reaching Bil- the last report have been on rather a limited seal anything like generous catches prices have immed = lingsgate the same date as it ‘anda at the borat on the South Kast coast, which was coming in rather free % ly, and was greatly. appreciated by the trade, has quite. stopped, rough weather resulting i in the nets being + moved until conditions at sea improve — cand by tl time the fish may have “taken off’?! i Salmon, and more especially grilse, have continiy to come in more freely from home waters, and thus” the time being there is little call for frozen sal However, the season for native salmon will speedily gin to wane, which will at once give an. Geaiabe ad sale of frozen salmon. “onan, oe 20th 1918, Taking t the week as a whole, supplies generally 1 with an abundance of ‘‘chat’’ haddocks, the qui of other kinds of trawled fish available has been lighter than the total weight of the landings would in. dicate. The only arrivals from the Icelandic grou this week has been at Fleetwood. The result o shortage has been that competition has been throughout and all sizeable fish in. choice condit have readily commanded the maximum prices per under the Fish (Prices) Order. Landings of her have varied from day to day at the different ports which this fishing is now being prosecuted, an dropped below schedule rates. Kippers too hav ed in value in sympathy. Curious as it may see the general shortage in landings, some kinds: of) fish, more aepeeiatly soles and brills, have tainable on most days under maximum rates. on the other hand, which have been most p in the arrivals of prime fish at both Grimsby have usually commanded the full value. — The main reason of the shortage has been boistere weather, conditions having been unsettled for t time of the year throughout the week. At th time, the atmosphere has been very heavy an and anything but conducive to the keeping of prime condition.. At the moment inquiry f adian frozen fish is practically dormant. Ho with the waning season for home-caught salmo has been rather more demand for frozen salmon. London, July 29 1918 Supplies have been gradually ‘shortenin last report until today there was a marked shor in most kinds. ‘‘Chat’’ haddocks have predomina most days, while there has been quite a seareity fish. Chats have been almost a drug on some lays an values have fallen to a ridiculous level at the dis ing centres, sales being made with difficulty | at a level as 2/- per stone, a rate much below [e ports where the fish were landed. Orie Herrings have been abundant on maga days, : August, 1918. CANADIAN FISHERMAN 7 69 ECONOMY AND CONSERVATION Are the watch words of to-day—True economy in fish plants can only be maintained by the installation of machinery ™: that will conserve power and maintenance cost, yet give the most efficient results. Ask at the Largest Fish Plants in Canada. Your requirements will be given the benefit of 25 years of careful study of the conditions in Canada. ! Their success is due to the above facts, all of which are em- bodied in Write for Full Information LINDE | ee : COMPLETE a fi) PLANTS CANADA — DESIGNED: MACHINERY AND ERECTED THE STANDARD REFRIGERATINGEIMACHINE oor THE LINDE CANADIAN REFRIGERATION CO., LIMITED 37 ST. PETER ST., MONTREAL, P.Q. - TORONTO WINNIPEG: VANCOUVER TOWER’S WATERPROOF CLO1HING 7 te ples of mackerel haye come from Seoteh fishing sta- 3 tions. ait s f rae - September, 1918. A MONTHLY JOURNAL DEVOTED TO THE COMMERCIAL FISHERIES OF CANADA AND-NEWFOUNDLAND THE SCIENCE OF THE FISH CUL-— TURE AND THE USE AND VALUE - OF FISH PRODUCTS - —— F. WILLIAM WALLACE EDITOR "9 Industrial & Educational Press, Limited 3545 St. Alexander St. - CANADA : Office - C.P.R. Building Newfoundland Agency Garland’s Book Store, St. Johns, N.F- Montreal phe CANADIAN FISHERMAN. F THE CANADIAN FISHERMAN SUBSCRIPTION: ‘Cuda: Newfoundland and Great Britain. - - - - $1.00 United States and Elsewhere... $1.50 payable in advance. ADVERTISING RATES ON APPLICATION Published on the 24th day of each month. Changes of advertisements should be in the publisher’s hands ten days before that date. Cuts should be sent by mail, not by express. Readers are. cordially invited to send to the Editor items of Fishery news, alse articles on subiects of practical interest, If suitable tor publication these will be paid for at our regular rate : Official Organ of the Canadian Fisheries Association MONTREAL, SEPTEMBER, 1918 No. 9 THE SUBMARINE MENACE. The ravages of German submarines and the raider “Triumph’’ among our North Atlantic fishing fleets has happily eased off. This may be accounted for in the fact that all of the salt bank fleet promptly made for port and most fishing craft kept the shore handy or fished in sheltered waters. Cruising around look- ing for victims in deserted waters is neither pleasure- able or protitable for the Huns and they have prob- ably moved south to watch for convoys or coasting . eraft. A large number of American, Canadian and New- foundland craft were sent to the bottom by the under- sea-boats, and while the destruction of ships has not been serious enough to affect the fish supply, yet the driving of fishing craft from the Banks has caused some little scarcity in fresh fish lines. This, however, in Canada, is coming back to normal again, though prices are higher. This is only natural as fishermen - and owners expect some premium for the risks taken. Canada lost a large fish producer in the trawler “Triumph,’’ but we understand this vessel will be replaced shortly by a new trawler for the same own- ers. No lives were lost in any of. the Canadian craft sunk, but this is not due to any outcrop of human- itarianism on the part of the U-boat crews—attempts to escape or avoid capture would have been ruthlessly suppressed by gun-fire. Then again, our practice of fishing in dories gave our fishermen better chances to make the land in these boats in rough water rather than in the small yawls and life-boats of the British fishermen — many of whom were lost through being swamped in over-crowded boats. The light, easily _ stowed, and sea-worthy fishermen’s dory is undoubt- edly the best life boat for small craft. CANADA’S FISHERIES FOR 1917. Under a new system, the statistical period of the Federal Fisheries Department will hereafter run from January Ist to December 31st, instead of from March 31st to March 31st. The new system is much more satisfactory and more in line with the orthodox run of yearly statistics. From figures furnished by the Fisheries Department, we find that Canada’s fisheries totalled $52,352,044 in value for the twelve months ending December 31st, 1917. This is a substantial in- crease in value. over the statistical year previous, but comparisons cannot easily be made as three months of the previous statistical year are included in the 1917 figures, and we atso assume that the price units upon which the values are based have been raised. British Columbia, as heretofore, leads the other pro- vinces in value of fisheries with a total of $21,558,595. Nova Scotia comes second with $14,468,319. New Brunswick is third with $6,143,088. The other pro- vinees are as follows: Quebec, $3,414,378; Ontario, $2,- 866,419; Prince Edward Island, $1,786,310; Manitoba, $1,543,288 ; Saskatchewan, $320,238; Alberta, $184,009 ; Yukon, $67,400. Of the fish caught, salmon leads as usual with a total value of 17,411,029. Cod is second with 7,402,516. Lobsters are third with 5,654,025. Herring is valued at $3,733,688. Halibut, $2, 066, 635. Haddock is ahead of halibut with a value of $9 936.7 19. Other important species are valued as follows: Sardines, $1,910,705; Mackerel, $1,333,354; Whitefish, $1,248,006; Smelts, $1,027,555. Black Cod (Sablefish) amounted to $879,404 in value. Albacore, $81,961—practically all used in a fresh state. This fishery is capable of greater development on our Atlantic Coast. Scallops to the value of $26,800 were * 988 CANADIAN FISHBRMAN September, 1918. Steamships and Vessel Owners. THE Lockeport Cold Storage Co. LIMITED | W. M. Hodge. President. PRODUCER Live Shore Ocean Fish Frozen i Cod - Haddock - Herring - Mackerel ) | --- Smoked --- Fillets - Haddies - Kippers - Bloaters Car lots a Specialty. Plant, Smoke house and Freezer, LOCKEPORT, Nova Scotia. Sie eee en eee eee NE ee ee 4 RR LN pe ed ; C5 3 am a 2 ne art Bey, E; s F a ‘ieee - have paralleled Grimsby and Fleetwood somewhat in their development of Prince Rupert as a fishing port, put this is the only effort in that line made by a Can- s adian railway. Our fishing ports have been built up The matter will be definitely decided at the next meeting of the Executive Council and as soon ag the date is set, preparations will be made at once to make the next Convention the best ever. AMERICAN TRAWLER SUNK BY U-BOAT. The American wooden steam trawler ‘‘Kingfisher’’ owned by the East Coast Fisheries Co., Ltd., of Bos- ton, on Sept. 20th was overhauled by a German sub- marine off the Nova Scotia coast while bound for the fishing grounds and presumably destroyed by bombs. The ‘‘Kingfisher’’ was one of the largest trawlers operating on this side of the Atlantic, and was launch- ed about a year ago. Captain J. R. O’Reilly and the erew made the land safely. This is the first American trawler to be a U-boat victim, LIVERPOOL, N.S., COLD STORAGE READY SOON. The plant of the North American Fisheries & Cold Storage Co., Ltd., at Liverpool, N.S., is almost com- pleted. The daily capacity of the plant will be about 100,000 Ibs. with a total storage capacity of 6,000,000 Ibs. William Fellowes Morgan, Jr., of New York, is President and Edward J. Murphy is general manager. CANADIAN FISHERMAN CANADA FOOD BOARD'S FISH SECTION BULLETIN “FISH IS THE ONLY READILY AVAILABLE SUBSTITUTE FOR THE MEATS SO URGENTLY REQUIRED FOR THE SOLDIERS AND CIVILIAN ALLIES OVERSEAS’’—Henry B. Thomson. FISH CHEAPER HERE THAN IN UNITED STATES Abundant Supply of Ocean Fish at Moderate Prices in Canadian Cities. The people of Canada too often fail to realize and to take advantage of the tremendous advantage which they have over the people of the United States in re- gard to the abundant supply of ocean fish at moderate prices. Comparison of retail fish prices in several of the principal cities in this country with those prevail- ing in cities similarly situated in the United States shows in a striking way what has been accomplished in the Dominion, through the efforts of the Canada Food Board in co-operation with the Department of the Naval Service and the fish trade to make splendid sea fish available to the consuming public at moderate prices. The Canada Food Board just made such a comparison, the prices being those secured through the Board of Trade in each of the cities on the list and being representative retail prices on a recent Friday. » It will be noted that in nearly every case the Cana- dian price is lower and in many instances much lower than the American. This is especially true of the more moderately-priced fish, while the prices of the ‘‘lux- —$ —_————---- ne oeunnEeeneene ury’’ fish, salmon and halibut, are high on both sides of the International boundary. Enquiry was made at Halifax and Gloucester, as these are among the principal points at which Atlantic fish are landed for shipment to the interior. The cause — 2 for the discrepancy in price is that at Gloucester and Boston dealers are unable to secure sufficient quan- tities of live shore fish to supply the demand, while at Halifax and nearby points, which is several hundred miles nearer the fishing banks, an ample bine 2 landed. : Cod and flounders and sole from the Pacifie have been made available at points in Western Canada as far east as Winnipeg, at prices ranging from 11 to 15 cents per pound, while at St. Paul, Minn., practical- ly nothing is known of these fish. Seattle is the only city on the list at which any fish is offered at a lower figure than in Canada, the fish in question being floun- | ders and sole. they are not in demand. Following are the prices as given by the Canadian be a Food Bulletin: Cod. Haddock. Flounders. Sole. Halibut. Salmon. Whitefish. Herring. Trout. ‘Pickerel. % 4 ets. ets. cts. cts. cts. ets. ets. ets. doz. ets. mt - Fe een Halifax: <{0"0. 9.44.5 e0eeuee 8 8 8 None 20 30 15 25 None None Gloucester, Mass. . .... 16 18 35 30 35 38 None None None None Montreal* 4.7. 1. sckeeee en 9&10 9&10 15 15&18 30&32 35 20 & 22 7&10 22 23. New York .. 23-27 16-18 15-21 None 25-29 25-37 30-38 19-23 : ot (Steaks) (Big) (West) ( West) (Lake Erie) Par 16-18 PAIGE Oo. SU ee 29-33 40-45 13-16. = 22 11-14 (Whole) (Med.) (East) (East) (Shad) (French) Ottawa .... 10 11 10 10 30 35 15 10 20 Be ges Washington, DO. 18 12 12% 15 30-40 30 None None 15-20 None — Toronto... 02° -s ake eee 10&11 10-12 None None 29 & 30 30-33 15-18 12-14. 18-20 18-20 Buffalo, N. Y. 20-25 15-16 20 20 30-32 35 25 None 25-26 None Winnipeg . . . .......005 124%-15 12%-15 11 11 28-35 - 82-85 15-17 6-10 1418 12% -15 St. Paul, Minn. -.5{ 24205 None None None None 25 26 19 9 23 13° Vaneodtet os 22 ee 12% 20 9 9 25 25 18 15 18 None _ Vancouver (Municip. Mkt.) 5 None 5 5 15 ’ None None 2 None None ~ Sésttle 5... 5. 60. aS 15 None 6 «6 22 20-22 None None 25 None *Montreal quotations are on a cash-and-carry basis. The consumption of Atlantic fish in Ontario for the first six months of 1918 was 500 per cent over that of last year. In the western provinces the consumption of Pacific fish has also been vastly increased since the war, but Canadian fish consumption is still far short of the one pound per week standard recommended by the Canada Food Board in order to conserve meat supplies. STEAM TRAWLING OUT OF VANCOUVER. Mr. A. L. Hager, of the Canadian Fishing Compan Ltd., Vancouver, advises us that his steam trawler, “‘Imbricaria,’ > is now trawling for cod and flat-fish and is operating successfully. Mr. Hager recently fi received a shipment of complete trawl equipment from — England and is prepared to fit out others of a. steamers should conditions warrant. ‘3 The reason is that no market has been — 4 established in the Western States for these fish oo ae a » September, 1918. CANADIAN FISHERMAN 991 Fisheries Exhibit at the Canadian National Exhibition Canada’s fishing industry was well represented at the Canadian National Exhibition, Toronto, during the period from August 26th to September 7th, by the joint exhibit of the Canada Food Board, Canadian Fish- eries Association and the Ontario Government Fisher- ies. Previous years, the fish exhibit was conducted under the auspices of the Marine & Fisheries Depart- ment, but this year, owing to the lack of necessary appropriations, the show was turned over to the Can- ada Food Board who enlisted the Canadian Fisheries Association and the Ontario Government Fisheries in making up the exhibit. In spite of the fact that there was only a short time left in which to plan the booths and gather the exhibits of fish, ete., Capt. F. W. Wallace, of the Food Board, who was in charge of the fish show, succeeded, with the aid of the Fisheries Association members and Mr. S. L. Squires of the Ontario Government Fisheries, in getting a first class exhibit together and one which excited’a great deal of interest. Owing to the promi- nence of fish as a food nowadays, the public took more interest in the exhibits and the booths were usually crowded. The refrigerator show rooms held exhibits of At- lantic and Pacific fish contributed by members of the Association, and also lake fish from the Ontario Gov- ernment fisheries. The Canadian Ice Machine Com- pany, Ltd., of Toronto, operated the freezing plant free of charge for 16 days and materially reduced the expenses of the exhibit to the Association. . In addition to the frozen fish of all kinds shown iy the refrigerator rooms, there was a display of smoked and cured varieties in refrigerator show eases and also a section devoted to fresh sea and lake fish on ice which was changed daily. A large booth was dressed with samples of Canada’s canned fish which included everything packed on either coast. The main stall, at which literature and cook books were distributed, had two lighthouses at each end. A fisherman’s shack, artistically built of pine slabs, occupied the centre of the stall. On the walls of the shack, lobster traps, dory-sails, oars, buoys, nets, ete., were hung. The roof was used to display fish posters specially prepared for the occasion. In this booth was exhibited a dory from the Glou- eester schooner ‘‘ A. Piatt Andrew,’’ in which the crew rowed and sailed 55 miles to Canso after their vessel had been destroyed by the raider-trawler ‘‘Triumph.”’ 992 CANADIAN FISHERMAN September, 1918. President Brittain, of the C. F. A., secured this dory « at Canso and had it shipped up to the Exhibition. Needless to state, it was a great centre of attraction and brought a big crowd to the Fish Exhibit. For two days, this craft was loaned to the Toronto Navy League and was used in collecting money for the League’s Seamen’s Fund. Pound nets, hoop nets, gill-nets, photos, and an unusual model of a submarine raid on an East Coast fishing port were among the other attractions of the stall. Capt. Wallace, of the Food Board, was in attendance at the Exhibition throughout the period: Mr, Squires and Mr. Miller represented the Ontario Government Fisheries, while Mr. H. W. Thompson, Western repre- sentative of the CANADIAN FISHERMAN looked after the interests of the Canadian Fisheries Associa- tion and remained around the exhibit aaily during the two weeks. Through the efforts of these gentlemen, no fewer than 7,000 copies of the Canada Food Board’s Cook Books were sold to the publie at the Fish Ex- hibit. Fish received much publicity in other ways at the Exhibition. In the Patriotic Food Show of the Can- ada Food Board, fish as a meat substitute was given great prominence in a practical manner by the Domes- tic Science experts there. Fish was cooked and pre- pared before the eyes of the public and the prepara- tion of tasty and economical fish dishes were daily demonstrated. The motion picture films of the Can- ada Food Board, taken at sea on Atlantic and Pacific trawlers, under Capt. Wallace’s direction, were also shown daily at the Food Show along with the excellent ~ MR. H. W. THOMPSON - eee pee oe ; ee ee ee ee ne eee eee A ei % ieee Pee ne he ee. Bee eas i ee Fe Te ee F bes < sa i a ‘ oS i ae f 4 September, 1918. fish films of the Ontario Government and over 53,000 persons saw these pictures. A large number of fish eook books were sold in the Food Show booths and fishes was prominently displayed in the stalls of T. Eaton Co., Simpsons, Maritime Fish Corporation, Ltd., and others. Under the auspices of the Marine and Fisheries De- partment, a Fish Restaurant was operated in the Ex- hibition Grand Stand. At this restaurant a full course meal could be had for 35 cents and the number who took advantage of the fish meals ran into the tens of thousands. The attendance at the Exhibition just fell short of the million by some forty thousand — for a war year _an excellent figure. In so far as fish is concerned, the exhibits and publicity were the best and most satis- factory since the exhibition was inaugurated. Next year, it is to be hoped that a Government appropria- tion will be forthcoming to make the Fisheries Ex- hibit more extensive and worthy of the great industry it should represent. REPORT ON THE SOCKEYE SITUATION. In the recent report to Hon. William Sloan, Com- missioner of Fisheries for British Columbia, Mr. J. P. Babcock, confirms his statements published in the June issue of the CANADIAN FISHERMAN, respect- - ing the present and future of the sockeye in the Fraser River. The report is based upon four weeks’ inspec- tion of the spawning grounds of the Fraser River basin and is as follows :— “The Fraser is fished out. Conditions this year are even worse than they have been. None of the great lakes like Quesnel, Chileo, Seton and Anderson, Shus- - wap and Adams have any brood sockeye. Lillooet Lake, at the head of the Harrison Lake section, is the only one that has any number of spawn fish, and the run _ there will not equal those that spawned there four years ago.”’ Less than a dozen sockeye had reached Quesnel _ Lake up to September 5. The run in the Chilcotin Riv- er has been the smallest ever known there. The In- dians have taken less than 1000. No sockeye had reach- ed Seton-Anderson lakes on September 9 or Shuswap- Adams lakes up to the 10th. Smallest in Canyon. The run of sockeye through the Fraser Canyon, above Yale, has been the smallest ever observed there. Indian fishermen there have taken not to exceed 1,500 sockeyes this year; those at Bridge River Canyon less than three hundred, and those at Chimney Creek and Soda Creek less than one hundred each. It is still too early to judge of the number that will spawn in the lower section of the Fraser. There is, however, no prospect that they will reach such proportions as to produce a run of commercial importance four years hence. _ The unseeded spawning beds of the Fraser, together with the fact that not a cannery on the Fraser River or on Puget Sound paid operating expenses on sock- eye this year, gives emphasis to the statements that commissioner Sloan expressed at the meeting of the International Fisheries Conference last spring, when he advocated suspending all fishing for sockeye in the Fraser district in British Columbia, and Washington, for such a period of time as was necessary to restore the run. we te CANADIAN FISHERMAN 993 The following is Hon. Mr, Sloan’s comment on Mr. Babeock’s report : ‘“There is no question of doubt but that the sock- eye run to the Fraser has been so depleted that fishing can no longer be condueted at a profit to either the fishermen or the canners. The combined catch of sock- eye this year in Canadian and United States water of the Fraser district did not produce 70,000 cases, The watershed of the Fraser will, when adequately seeded, produce more sockeye salmon than any watershed known. In 1913 it produced 2,300,000 cases of sockeye. In the three following lean years it produced an aver- age of but 267,000 cases per year. The catch of 1918, the first of the three lean years in the present cyele, has dropped to less than 70,000 cases, and now we know that there are no sockeye on the spawning beds this year. There is no getting away from such evi- dence, the fishery of the Fraser is in a precarious con- dition. It can not be restored without drastic meas- ures. It cannot be restored by halfway measures. If. this is not now recognized on the American side, it must be before very long. I have not yet been advised what the Canadian-American Commission, that took evidence here last spring, have determined upon. I understand they have reached a conclusion and signed a report, but I am not informed as to its character. The questions involved are international in character, and not provincial or state questions. They should be dealt with upon broad national lines, and in the inter- est of the people of Canada and the United States.”’ (Note :—Latest reports from the hatcheries indi- cate that Mr. Babeock’s prediction is correct. at Black’s Harbor in the way of gathering from the ocean depths the fish, which feed the multitude. Look- ing back from my recent visit to Black’s Harbor two facts stand out in bold relief in my memory. — First, the splendid condition of the factories of Connors Bros. Ltd., and second the magnificent type of labor employ- ed. The factories are cleanliness itself while the em- ployees are clean and healthy looking, with rosy cheeks and sparkling eyes. They are eager, alert, energetic, — ~ Fig. 2—Sardines being unloaded from a Boat. doing their work with celerity and ease most pleasing to see. A visit to the Connors Bros. plant gives one a keen appetite for sardines, and in saying this we are paying a high tribute to the progressive company which last year had a turnover 43 nearly a million dollars. : Of course the first step in the process of canning sar- dines is to get the fish. Just as a recipe for making hare stew would begin with ‘‘First catch your hare’’, just so with the canning of sardines. Up-to-date ma-~ chinery, skilled employees and the best management will avail nothing unless there be fish and just as in days of old we read ‘of fishermen toiling all night and getting nothing, so does history repeat itself in this’ twentieth century. Those who go down to the sea in ships must be hardy and courageous, ready to tackle anything and to remain calm, alike in peace and dan- September, 1918. CANADIAN FISHERMAN 1003 HON. WM, SLOAN, Commissioner of Fisheries for British Columbia. 1004 CANADIAN FISHERMAN September, 1918. JOHN PEASE BABCOCK, Assistant Commissioner of Fisheries for British Columbia. September, 1918. CANADIAN FISHERMAN 1005 COL. F. H. CUNNINGHAM, Assistant to the Superintendent of the Fisheries for the Dominion Government, New Westminster, B.C. 1006 CANADIAN FISHERMAN . September, 1918. ——~ ss DR. G. McLEAN FRASER, Director Biological Station, Departure Bay, B.C. { September, 1918. CANADIAN FISHERMAN. 1007 ger. While the fishermen frequently make big hauls which net them much money, yet there are lean days as well and all in all fishermen no doubt earn all they get. To be a fisher of sardines, a man must be a capi- talist in a small way. He must not only own fishing boats, but he must build a weir—a fish catching appa- ratus—which is a large hoop-like enclosure of stakes, brush and nets. For the information of the reader be it said that a weir resembles a cattle yard, into which the fish go when the tide is coming or going out. When the fish go in the gates are closed and then it is merely a question of getting them into the boat with a big dip- Fig. 3—Showing the Hopper or Endless Belt Arrange- : ment, which Carries the Fish from the Brine Tanks to the Flakes. net. If a man wants to build a weir he must first choose the site—which must be not nearer than a thou- sand feet to any other weir—and for this site he pays the federal government a license fee of $5.00. A weir is usually located off some point of land and far enough from the shore so that at low tide there will be from four to five feet of water in it. A fence of stakes and brush, known as the ‘‘lead’’ runs out from the shore te the gate of the weir. The stakes are driven by pile driver mounted on a secow. Cross-pieces are then nailed from stake and long spruce and bireh poles, with the topmost branches still attached known as ‘‘weir- brush’’ are bent in and out between the crosspieces with the top ends downward. Long poles are next nail- ed to the stakes so as to extend high above them, and _to these a net is stretched. Over the gate of the weir a weighted net is suspended so that it can be dropped _to close the weir. Some weirs have only one gate while others have two. The usual practice nowadays is to =a =, General View of the Plant of Connors Bros. Limited at Black’s Harbor, New Brunswick. “‘pomyorjnueyl 3 SS 81d : ah *queUry Ie SUISOTN JO SUT[VEg 94 JO META W—9 ‘SIL re , 1918. ptember ‘soxog ulveig 913 UI peyxocg Suteq 04 10g ‘soyVTT oy} UO poewNqiasiqd Sulo_ YSLI—P “SLI bo < = 4 soa) jan a7) nd te Zz < — Qa < Z < => eae = . «Je SOE err ees: ON ote ee Be he BT: i Te ‘Harengus) coming in from the -ermen in a small boat. ¢ September, 1918. CANADIAN have two gates—one on each side of the lead. Weirs cost from $300 to $1,700, the average cost being in the vicinity of $1,000. Supposing the wéir has been built the next thing is to wait for the fish. The man who is running a weir keeps close by it during the season, so as to lose none of the fish which enter the enclosure. The sardines, which are really young herrings (Clupea sea keep close to the shore. When they strike a lead they will not swim between the brush of which it is composed, but will swim along the lead into the mouth of the weir. These fish travel in schools or shoals, thousands of fish being bunched together. fisherman as they enter the weir, are then closed. Usually the fish come in on a night tide. After the fish enter the weir and the gates have been closed, the next step is to put out a seine or net, the gates of which Mr. Lewis Connors. ~ which is long enough to reach around the inner circunt- ference of the weir, and deep enough to reach the bot- tom, usually from fiteen to twenty-eight feet. The seine is stretched around the inside of the weir by the fish- Then the cords which are at the top and bottom of the net-or seine are gradually drawn in, like great puckering strings, until the fish are gathered into an almost solid mass. At this point the big sardine boats, usually from forty to fifty feet _ long, arrive in response to the signals of the fishermen. ’ A bargain is struck for the fish and the work of load- ing them into the small boats is begun. The fish are dipped into the boat with a huge dip-net having a long bag. The hoop of this net is placed on the boat and the bag pulled in, hand over hand, the fish in that way being Joaded into the small boat, which transfers its - barrels have been taken at one time, The fish can be plainly seen by the. they are, FISHERMAN 1009 eontents to the big sardine boats, which are waiting outside the weir. The catch of fish varies greatly. As high as three hundred hogsheads or twelve hundred from fifteen to thirty hogsheads are considered a fair day’s eatch, while anything over two hogsheads are worth seining for. As the fish are being transferred from the dory to the sardine boat salt is shovelled on them. A sardine beat is equipped with sails and a gasoline engine with power varying from fifteen horse power upwards. The boats are sometimes owned by the sardine factories though many of them are owned by private individuals who. are paid from $1.50 to $3 per hogshead for tran- sporting the fish to the factories, the charge varying actording to the distance of the weir from the factory. Connors “Bros. Limited own the sardine boats which sarry the fish to their factories and mighty fine boats Mr. P. W. Connors. manned by husky, good-looking men who smack of the sea with its invigorating and energising influence. Ordinarily the sardine boats are run by gasoline engines, the sails being merely an auxiliary power in case something goes, wrong with the engine. The poetry, picturesqueness and artistic beauty of the sail boat is rudely jarred by the ‘‘chug, chug’’ of the gasoline engine, but what has been lost in beauty and harmony has been more than made up by utility, for gasoline engines have revolutionized the fishing busi- ness. The old days of boats being tossed about on the seas at the mercy of the winds have been superseded by boats equipped with dependable gasoline engines which produce speed entirely unknown in the years that have: passed. The sardine boat having been loaded with fish, at + ‘poyoegd ole soutpieg © UUM Ul SUPO eT} SIMIOVINULYL OF pasn soUTyOLL Sutdureig—ot ‘S17 % - A September, 1918. Z, < = ge ea) 4 N fx, ‘poyulig Sureq 134je ‘sueO sUIpIeg 9344 fo szeACcD peysIuIvA o1e UL], JO sJooyg oY} V10TM OUINIVPT SulJonhoe'yT oy—é ‘Sslz ey} uo susisoq 94} SJUlIg YOUMM ssaig Sutudersouyry oyT—g_ ‘stT CANADIAN September, 1918. (See Fig. 4). once proceeds to the factory where it is moored at the wharf, alongside of a small building containing a hoist- ing apparatus (See Fig. 1.) A tub is lowered into the hold of the boat and two men with scoop nets quickly fill it. (See Fig. 2). The machinery is started and the tub filled with fish is hauled up and emptied into the sluice, about a foot square, sufficient water is run ito the sluice to wash the fish and float them into the factory where they first reach the brine tanks, large vets partially filled with salt water. From these tanks the fish are carried upwards to the second flat by a hopper or endless wire belt arrangement (See Fig. 3) which at length deposits the sardines on a large w heel- shaped apparatus which spreads the fish evenly upon arge wire trays of a standard sive known as “Flakes” These flakes on which the fish have been - Fig. 11—The Big Tank Erected in 1918. a Spread are then placed in racks, which hold twenty- five _ flakes, about a tub of fish or approximately four hun- — dred pounds. These racks, of which Connors Bros. ee: have two hundred and fifty, on wheels, are shoved into it the steam boxes or enclosures twenty by twelve feet and six feet high where the fish are left to cook for twelve minutes. There are six of these steam boxes in the Connors Bros. factory and one hundred and fifty barrels of these fish can be cooked at une time. From the steam boxes the racks are removed to the drying ‘room, a large enclosure with a very large fan at either end, driving the hot air into the innermost recesses of the racks and flakes. Here the fish are allowed to remain for one and a quarter hours at the end of which time they are perfectly dry and in first class shape for paces which is the next process. a the dry room the rocks are wheeled to the pack- CANADIAN FISHERMAN 1011 ing room, and my what a packing room it is! (See Fig. 5). Two hundred and twenty feet long and forty feet wide, built new, clean, light airy and sanitary, the packing room of Connors Bros. No. 1 factory is some- thing worth seeing and talking about. If you could stand with me at one end of that immense room and observe the long rows of active energetic girls working with amazing rapidity; if you could see the care and attention which is given every detail of the work; if you could see for yourself how spick and span everybody and everything is in the packing room. I am _ sure that you wuuld at _ once make a bee line for the nearest grocery store and buy some of Connors Bros. sardines Some- times the less you know about a factory the better ap- petite you will have for its products, but in this case the reverse is true. The sight of thousands of small fish, cooked to a nicety, and neatly arranged in those cunning little cans is enough to tempt the most laggard appetite that can be imagined. Boys wheel the racks into the packing room and place the flakes covered with fish on tables in front of girls, who immediately proceed to cut the heads off the sardines with scissors. The girls become so expert in doing this that the eye cannot follow the motions.. The fish seem to jump between the blades of the scissors and the heads fly off as if by magic. The fish, bereft of their heads are pack- ed rapidly into the cans, which are placed on trays, each holding twenty-five. The packers are paid by the case, one person packing from ten to thirty cases per day. From the packing room the trays laden with cans, now full of fish are carried on trucks to the oiling ma- chine. The tray is placed in the machine and the pres- sure of the lever pours the right amount of oil into all the tins at once. The low-priced sardines are packed in cottonseed oil, while those that are sold at a higher price are put up in olive oil. Many are put up in mus- tard and tomato sauce in which event the process is slightly varied. After the oil has been added the covers are laid on the cans which are then placed into a kind of moving rack, which automatically carries them into the sealing machine which clamps on the covers making the tins air tight. These covers were formerly soldered on but now the sealing machines hermetically seal them at the rate of thirty per minute. As a result of this method of sealing, sardines can be cheaply canned, making their price low to the consumer. From the sealing machines the cans are placed in huge vats of boiling water, where they are boiled for two hours, later being dipped oui with chain dip-nets, dried in sawdust and shovelled down a sluice into the shipping room, here they are allowed to cool thorough- ly. Each can is subsequently brushed carefully with a whisk and packed into wooden eases holding one hun- dred cans each. After the name of Connors Bros Ltd. has been stenciled on, each box the fish are ready to be ad- dressed for shipment throughout the Maritime Prov- inces, to Australia, New Zealand, West Indies and other” parts of the world. The making of cans and cases used in the packing of sardines is quite an industry in itself. Nearly half a million feet of lumber are used each year in the Con- nors factory, while huge quantities of tin are made up into cans. The box department is equipped with up- to-date machinery, including a nailing machine which is shown in figure 7. The process of making and print- ing cans is a most interesting one and the equipment September, 1918. CANADIAN FISHERMAN ‘ 2 101 a? a oa] ‘S1OUU0D SIMO'T ‘IP JO OOUOPTSOY ou ,, 801g slOUUOD,, JomleeIg OL pm, sous sssnna- all a ‘poywT'yT ‘solg sz1ouu0g jo juL[gd oy} Surmoyg ‘ASIUNOS LV HWOAUVA S.MOVIA September, 1918. includes a Hoe lithographing press, a lacquering ma- chine, an oven for baking on the lacquer, various kinds of stamping and cutting machines, ete. Fig. 8 shows the lithographing press into which the sheets are fed. Each sheet makes sixteen covers, the design being printed on each one. From the press the sheet is car- ried by a sort of endless belt to the laequering machine where the sheeis are lacquered or varnished, becoming yellow or golden in color which is distinctive of Brun- swick Brand sardine cans. The sheets are next ear- ried to the oven where they are subjected to 500 degrees of heat for eighteen minutes, later coming out of the oven ready to go to the can making department where the sheets are fed to a slitting machine and afterwards to another machine, which turns out completed covers at an exceedingly rapid rate. In Fig. 10 are shown a - __ row of stamping machines used in making the sardine cans or tins. The sheets of tin are fed to the machines - which turn out the complete boxes with a speed that fairly takes one’s breath away. In this department as - in every. department of the factories of Connors Bros. ___ Limited the most modern and up-to-date machinery and ean the fish necessary to supply the demand for the popular. Brunswick Brand Sea Foods. Ca Most of the fish, which this year will amount to about ae 200, 000 cases, are shipped by the steamer ‘‘Connors BPs. Bros, i above mentioned. Their customers number nearly four hundred wholesalers and jobbers. The eompany have an office and warehouse at 6 Ward St., - $t. John, N.B., Mr. Campbell being the manager. _ The necessary power to operate the plant is produc- _ed by a battery of three 65 H.P. boilers and one 85 H.P. boiler. A number of engines located in yarious parts of the plant. are used to run the machines with which the factories are filled. A splendid brick smoke stack one hundred feet high, was recently built, taking the place of metal stacks, which had previously. been used: _ his stack provides ample draft for the boilers and does away with the smoke nuisance, which had pre- —. viously caused considerable annoyance to nearby resi- - dents. In 1916 the sprinkler system was installed mac out the plant which consists of factories numbers 1, 2 ‘and 3, warehouses, general store, etc. A very large metal tank with a capacity of 75, 000 gallons was erect- ed (See Fig. 11). These hydrants are located in con- __- venient places, with small sheds containing an equip- ment of hose, axes and other necessary fire fighting ap- _ paratus. Every building throughout the plant is fit- ted with the pipes and apparatus so familiar in con- ‘nection with the sprinkler system so that the danger of a bad fire in the plant is reduced to a minimum. In- “surance rates which before the installation of the sys- tem had been almost prohibitive are now greatly re- duced much to the satisfaction of the members of the company. Water is pumped into the big tank from an ‘artesian well not far from the plant. The pressure is fifty pounds to the square inch. The system was in- ‘stalled by a St. John firm at the cost of about $20,000, and is a credit to the enterprise of Connors Bros. who have the reputation of tackling big jobs with commend- able energy, great enthusiasm and very unusual ability. he directors of Connors Bros., Ltd., are as follows: __~—--—sCYwpPresident and secretary, Lewis Connors; vice-presi- dent, P. W. Connors; John McDowell, director without office. Associated with the business are Bernard and | _ J Edwin Connors, sons of Mr. Lewis Connors and Mr. William Connors and Misses Annie and Margaret Con- CANADIAN FIS - hors, son and daughteérs of Mr. P. W. Connors. Mr. nard Connors is head book-keeper and takes a very equipment are used, but all facilities are required to... of Flanders. HERMAN. 1013 Ber- active interest in the conduct of the business. Messrs. J. Edwin and William also take a deep interest in the business ,while excellent support is given by the Misses Connors who have grown up in the business and know every step of the Sardine industry. During the summer of 1917 an electri dynamo eap- able of ea. rying two hundred lights was installed and already the iactories have been equipped with one hun- dred and eighty lights. . This has proved a wise step which adds greatly to the convenience and comfort of the plant.. Not satisfied with the improvements and progress of the past, however, Messrs. Connors: Bros. . expect soon to tear down the old part of factory No.1 consisting of shipping room, bath room, ete. and erect in its place a building with which the new packing room built last year wiil form a harmonious whole — a’ factory unsurpassed for the purpose which it is intend- ed. ; : Mr. P. W. Connors looks after factory number one, doing all the buying for this department and selling the goods produced therein. . He also gives personal at- tention to the canning of kippered herring, finnan haddies, clams and kipperines. He is a director of the ° Canadian Fisheries Association of Canada. Mr. Lewis Connors looks after the store and number two factory as well as having a general oversight over the big enterp:ise. In No. 2 factory higher priced sar- dines are canned. Here sardines are put up in olive oil, - and specially labelled cans, with a key to open them are prepared for picnickers and for the people having special tastes for. the gratification of which they are willing to pay prices above the ordinary. In number 3- factory beef and clams are canned, the beef being put up in the oe after the close of the sardine season. The village of Blaék’s Harbol has been made by the industry of Connors Bros. Two hundred and fifty men, boys, women and girls are employed, nearly $75,- 000 is paid out yearly for wages, The company own a goodly number of houses all built alike, being designed for the comfort and conven- ience of their tenants. Since the outbreak of the great war the company have been greatly handicapped be- eause of the scarcity of labor. Many of the Black’s Harbor men have heard the call of their King and Country, and have gone. to fight the Hun on the Plains Many too have made the supreme sacri- fice giving their lives in the great cause of_ freedom and liberty. The company, however, have sought in the trying circumstances to do their best to produce every possible can of fish in order that the world may be fed. When one sees the heads of the sardines falling off with remarkable rapidity as the pretty girl packers ~ wield the scissors one cannot fail to wonder what be- - comes of all the fish offal, quantities of which remain as the result of each day’s canning operations. The answer is not far to seek. The heads and other refuse are gathered up and cooked for some time then placed in great presses which press out all the oil, the residue being packed in barrels and sold as fertilizer, a ready market being found for the four hundred or more tons which are produced each year. The fish oil, two hun- dred barrels of which is the yearly output, is sold to domestic and foreign markets and the two by-products fertilizer and oil bring in a very. respectable sum. In addition to the sardine factories Messrs, Connors 1014 Bros. have a well stocked general store, fifty by fifty feet, with large warehouse containing big stocks of merchandise. Goods are sold both at wholesale and retail, deliveries being largely effected by the steamer ‘‘Connors Bros.,’’ reference to which was previously made. For the entertainment of the people of Black’s Harbor and to make life more agreeable to the em- ployed in the various factories the company conduct a moving picture house, shows being put on four nights a week. Excellent films are shown and the pictures are greatly enjoyed by the people, young and old, who patronize them. In addition to the business carried on under the name of Connors Bros., Limited, Messrs. Lewis and P. W. Connors are mixed up in various enterprises, including the Sturgeon Cove Land and Lumber Co., located about a mile from Black’s Harbor which supplies the shooks required for sardine packing boxes; the Maritime Steamship Company, Limited, owners of the steamer ‘*Connors Bros.’’ which plies between St, John and Black’s Harbor and intermediate points; a couple of silver black fox companies and so on. Time would fail us to tell in detail of the activities of these men who with their sons and daughters make a combination which should spell big things in the way of progress and development in years to come. The growth of Connors Bros, business has been phe- nomenal. Twenty-five years ago two Irishmen, Messrs. Lewis and P. W. Connors, were fishermen in very mod- erate circumstances. A start was made at canning, and gradually the business has grown until to-day it is one of the most important in the Maritime Provinces, and the name of Connors. Bros. is a household word CANADIAN FISHERMAN. September, 1918. in Eastern Canada, and is coming to be very widely known. No kid-gloved aristocrats with high-toned ideas of their importance are founders of this splen- did industry, but men right on the job, looking after the detail of the big business, not afraid to do any-. thing that needs to be done about the plant; true as steel and as solid as the rocks which guard the magni- ficent haven, Black’s Harbor. No one can meet Con- nors Bros. without being impressed with their sincerity — 4 their earnestness, their industry, their willingness to live and let live. ak Through the energy and business ability of these men a splendid industry has been established. Why cannot similar plants be established on the shores of New Brunswick? Why should the towns of Eastport, Lubec and other Maine ports be thriving as the result of the sardine industry while New Brunswick, with its splendid harbors and unsurpassed facilities for ean- ning sardines be almost without these evidences of life and enterprise? Given more men like Messrs, Lewis and P. W. Connors and these Maritime Provinces would be blossoming as the rise and taking their right- — ful place as the most resourceful and progressive of all the provinces of the Dominion of Canada. I have great pleasure in congratulating the Connors Brog.. Ltd., upon the success that they have attained in the a worthy work of sea food production and conservation. May their business increase rapidly with the passing of the years and may others, inspired by their excel- lent example, and having learned of them, attempt similar enterprises which will help to build up our = glorious heritage, these provinces by the sounding sea. Western Fish from the Waters of the Prairie Provinces WINNIPEG, - The coming days will find a greater demand for our Western Lake Fish. Be an advance dealer. other fellow to create your market. BUY NOW --- SELL NOW Headquarters The W. J. GUEST FISH CG; LIMITED Don’t wait for the MAN. September, 1918. CANADIAN FISHELMAN 59 3 OAS ou = 50 pe! cat NH ? at — sd r re DIEU s biekT MON Fish Producers and Distributors The Dominion Government, through the Food Controller’s Office, has inaugurated a campaign to increase the consump- tion of Fish. This is being supported by an aggressive campaign of advertising — all to the one end — the increased use of Fish as a food. To the Producer--- Get behind this campaign. Lend your aid and see that the distributor gets enough fish. Be sure your fish is packed right, and that it gets to the proper market. in proper condition. To the Wholesaler--- Largely upon you rests the success of this campaign. See that you have the supply necessary to support the demand. Co- ‘operation on your part means much. The Government has | provided improved boxes for the keeping and displaying of fish. See that the dealers get them. . Show them how to use them. Urge the dealers to be satisfied with a reasonable profit and give their customers a satisfactory service. It all means better and bigger business for you and them. To the Retailer--- In this campaign you will find the material on which to build an exceedingly profitable business. Be sure you are in a posi- tion to supply fish every day—especially Tuesdays and Fridays. Keep your fish right — display it right. This and the increased demand will mean bigger profits for you. re ¥ 1016 CANADIAN FISHERMAN September, 1918. A 75-Foot Fish Carrier for British Columbia Ee ene en ES Se et ee aes hr A i gale aes ee Pe eee | The Outboard Profile of the 75 Foot Fish Carrier for the Alfred Bay Fisheries. The plans on this page show a 75-foot fish carrier The over-all length is 75 ft., the beam 17 ft. and the which was constructed in Vancouver by the Taylor En- moulded depth 74% ft. The motor will be an 80 hp. — . ing Co., Ltd. for the Alfred Bay Fisheries, The Frisco Standard that will give a cruising speed of about een rs : q - om ‘bes . ana mee ee m.h. p. The plans as prepared by the Taylor Engi- | Se eee ee eee € wueen “neering Co. show very staunch construction with a Charlotte Islands for offshore work, both as a fish car- 4in. x Qin. keel, Sin. x 15in. keelson and 234in. x Qin. rier and a towboat, and was launched and placed in’ gum false keel spiked to the keel. The stem is of commission, July 1. Australian blue gum and the frames are of white oak | cial ‘ ih we gaia : —- - =F = itt 4 1 ! —— Mes SSeS —— ae { f SS 0 os ai - x u_e . oe 08 e@8 mrinrade ‘Motor ae Pater re ae Murray & Fraser .. .. 75 Walker, Thos. atia’s Bot, Tse. Soc Marauhar and Co. “al Mustad, O., and -s 13 wealeny, mistortes Le. eel ee ee ee et aga og Aa becpd ge Peas tess 7 National Refining Co am i 13 Western Packers, Ltd. Rp Aas ans et es eo ee ee £8 #8 #8 #8 Re Sa aAtVay or GS lwcticeterl) ee Fish ‘Trades Gazette .. aioe og! 85 New. -F itpdeglerate o orage Co. 17 Whitman, Arthur Ltd. e pore: mtg rea 4 * 87 New England Fish Company, “Lté. 15 Williams, A. R., Machinery ‘Co. Forse, Peter ..... og retina eee whey * Newfoundland Government .. . 719 Wilson, W. C. & Co. ‘ * 1018 double 1%4in. and spaced 12in. in engine room and for 18ft. at the for’d end and 14in. elsewhere. Four tons of cement will be placed in the bilges to give addi- tional stability. The accommodation plan shows a chain locker in the forepeak aft of which is a foe’sle cabin with built-in berths, folding seat, lockers, ete., this cabin being reached by a hardwood ladder from the deck.. The wheel house will also be fitted with a berth, with lockers underneath and will have a compass shelf, folding chart table, chart racks, ete. The galley is in the texas aft of the wheel house and in addition to Shipmate range will have folding table with fixed seats or stools, ample locker space, etc. A light and ventilation shaft runs up from the motor room to the deck of the texas and the after accom- modations are arranged around this. On the port side is a lamp room which contains a metal-lined filling shelf, racks for lamps and an oil drum with a tap for filling. Aft of this and just forward of galley and messroom is a pantry. On the port side and opening off the deck is the engineer ’s quarters and aft of this is the toilet, while in the extreme after starboard cor- ner is the staircase down to the engine room. There is a 150-gallon tank for fresh water under the after deck and a 50-gallon tank for salt water with an air pipe on top of deck and a lin. semi-rotary dou- ble-acting pump to provide water for flushing the toilet. The fuel tanks contain a total of 1,000 gallons of distillate and are placed in the wings of the motor room. There is also a 40-gallon air tank and 35-gal- lon lubricating oil tank. The boat is electric lighted from the main engine by the use of Edison storage bat- teries. BILLINGSGATE MARKET. London, August 10th, 1918. Market conditions this week have been to a great extent controlled by the holidays. Monday last was observed as a Bank Holiday throughout England and Wales and as this is the last public holiday until” Christmas. All who could possibly manage to do so, have been away for a few days up to the whole week seeking rest and refreshment by a change of sur- roundings. Thus, despite the restrictions now in force on the railways in the shape of a 50 per cent increase over pre-war rates on all fares, and a much reduced train service there was a marked exodus from the big centres of population last week-end. This has ad- versely affected trade this weely and except for a few of the choicer kinds in request for holiday require- ments, trade has not been fast except at prices more or less under the maximum. Small haddocks have again been the most prominent fish landed, and prices while comparatively easy generally, have ruled in ae- eordance with the size and condition of the fish. Catches from Icelandic waters have reached one or two ports, but taking the country as a whole there has been a marked scarcity of long fish. Another fea- ture of the markets this week has been lack of buyers for plaice. Supplies of herrings have varied from day to day, but the first sign of abundance brings prices down with a rush. In order to quicken the trade during the summer months, when many kinds of fish from home waters can be secured at a level much under the schedule, the wholesale prices of the Ministry of Food Canadian frozen fish have this week been reduced to a flat rate of £5.0.0 per case of about 200 lbs. for cod fresh had- @ANADIAN FISHERMAN, | ‘ly: this had not had the effect of quickening sales to any appreciable extent, and there appears little doubt that owing to variations ih the quality of the fish in ‘the same cases, and the unreliable weights fishmongers will not be induced to purchase this fish except when e -Seareely any landings from waters surrounding thé _ British Isles are available. -exporters will heed the lesson, and if necessary th not be any shortage in the quantity landed. Supete eaten 1018, docks, flatfish, herrings arta schnapper, 'Cntertannilall . It is hoped that Canadi matter should be taken up by the companies packin and exporting the fish in question by the Canadian Fis Trade Association, should one be in existence. _ Billingsgate, August 17th, 1918. Although the general landings this week have be fairly generous, plaice and small, or chat, hadd have been unduly prominent, with a corre shortage in. other kinds. Demand on the pie been moderately active, but many varieties changed hands in the distributing markets a more or less under control rates, also at. many | the coast values ruled at the maximum level. one lot of deep-sea fish has arrived this week, being landed at Fleetwood on the North-Western co: of England; previous to the War it was only on ve rare occasions that trawlers from the far north ing grounds, off Iceland, put into Fleetwood, and n regular Icelandic fishing was carried on from ther e but now convoys come in regularly. Herring landings have fluctuated, but with the fi ing now opening at more southern ports, there shoul of kippers vary with the lands of herrings, but li difficulty is experienced in placing all kippers choice condition, prices usually being in the neighbor- hood of the maximum allowed by the Fish (Pri Order, viz., 10s 9d per stone wholesale. The average pre-war price would be about 2s 6d to 3s 6d per box. — The reduction in the price of Canadian frozen fi: referred to in the last report does not appear to - stimulated the demand to any noticeable extent, it is fairly obvious that owing to the faults so of pointed out in this column this trade must win fresl laurels by being marketed as a standard article wh can be relied upon ere the trade reaches impaehenaa mensions. : Bruce Stewart & Co., Ltd., Charlottetown,! is a well known firm in the. fishing districts, ar ticularly in Eastern Canada, as pee fie of Im perial Motors. oe - 25 years ago this business was founded nh Mr. " Stewart and Mr. A. McNair, and was continued a partnership until 1908 when the present company formed with Mr. Bruce Stewart as President, M MeNair, Vice-President and Mr. ©. L. MacKay, retary-Treasurer. In their large and well equipped plant at Charl town, P.E.I., they manufacture Imperial Gas Motor from 4 to 30 H. P., and also build a 4 eylinder, 4 eye 40 H. P. - They also manufacture ean-making t schooner hoisting gear and the ‘‘Thermex’’ Pa Silencer. val It is worth noting that this firm have their rm) foundry which puts them in an excellent position give attention to repair orders for every type of engi which they have made. All parts are made to star ard gauges and every department is under the sup vision of Mr. Bruce, the President. POP Te eS Se ee ee nee ee ORE - : w : a =" * September, 1918: CANADIAN FISHERMAN 63 rm meCYTHES SLICKERS” Wet Weather Garments When buying Oilskins, make your selection from the following grades : “LION” BRAND “SWAN” BRAND “SAILOR” BRAND OILED CLOTHING BEST FOR THE FISHING TRADE Write us for price list Scythes & Company Limited MONTREAL TORONTO WINNIPEG =—_—_—— 5 H.P. Model ‘‘A”’ The Motor that Makes the Mark. IMPERIAL MOTORS When you buy an Imperial you are getting an engine backed by years of service so satisfactory that Imperial Motors are the standard fishing boat engines of Eastern Canada and are to be found in every fishing district in - Canada and Newfoundland. They are the best that money, skill and experience can produce. General Dimensions of 5 H.P. Model *‘A’”’ Bore of Cylinder ... . 4% inches Stroke ... Ay jaag& My Weight, engine outy ate Dig” aie 72.200 lbs. Complete shipping weight, + ehtti. outfit Bp jae SA Ae? Sees Sr Oe Are are 420 # Diameter of Propeller, 2-blade ... 2... 22. see cee see eee see 18 inches Piameter of Propeller, 3-bldder ji. eas tet Semel eh ee tae pes!) BC ¢ hott diameter!) a. sek co isis chee ow healers Miles inch 5 feet Shaftvlength S20 cee ee eae tears) 48 For full information regarding this or any other — send for catalog. State size engine required. BRUCE STEWART & COMPANY, LIMITED. Drawer 370, CHARLOTTETOWN, : : P. E. I. * 1020 CANADIAN VISIT OF DELEGATES OF CANADIAN FISHERIES ASSOCIATION TO THE CONSUMERS CORDAGE CO., LTD., PLANT, Dartmouth, N.S., Aug, 7th, 1918. By ONE OF THOSE PRESENT, The boat containing the delegates was met at the wharf by Mr. R. L. Graham, Maritime Province man- ager of the Company, and Mr. John Urquhart, their travelling salesman, who escorted the party for the short walk to the works. Arriving at the plant, we were taken directly to one of the raw material warehouses and made acquainted with the appearance and some of the characteristics of the various fibres which are used in the different class- es of rope and other cordage. It was surprising to learn of the distant sources of supply embracing the United States, Mexico, Phillipine Islands, India, New Zealand, Italy, Russia, etc., from which countries the several classes of fibres are procured. Next we were taken to the factory proper where more than an hour was spent witnessing the process of rope-making, from the initial stages to the fin- ished product, coiled and matted ready for the market. In the several buildings visited some hundreds of high-speed machines were in operation, and the ac- cumulated noise from these made it impossible for one conducting such a large party as ours, to explain in detail, the functions of each machine. Therefore, be- fore entering the department, Mr. Graham gave a short sketch outlining the purpose of each group of machines which we would see, and explained the relation of each stage of the process to the next. Hence we saw the loose disjointed fibres opened from the bales and converted on the preparation ma- chines into continuous ribbons (or in ropemakers’ par- lance ‘‘slivers’’) these slivers being gradually reduced from a width of seven or eight inches and a consider- able thickness as they leave the first machine, to a thin ribbon not more than one inch in width and one-quar- ter inch in thickness when finally passed into tall cans from the final working of the finishers, At this stage the fibres forming the sliver are so thoroughly combed and worked that each fibre lies perfectly straight and flat paralleling its neighbor and the sliver runs an even average number of feet per pound, being now ready for the second stage of the process, namely spinning into yarns. The spinning is carried out on hundreds of high- speed machines called ‘‘Jennies’’ operated by deft fin- gered girls, each girl caring for a number of machines. As the yarn is spun it is automatically wound on to bobbins. and as these are filled to capacity they are removed from the spinners and conveyed to the next or third stage of the process; which consists of form- ing a group of yarns into strands, and the strands in turn being ‘‘layed’’ together into the finished rope and automatically reeled into coils ready for matting and shipment.° This part of the process is accomplished by wonder- ful machines laid out into groups according to the size of rope they are capable of laying, the size, of course, being regulated by the number of yarns contained in each strand. For the larger sizes of rope the party was taken to the ‘‘Rope Walk,’’ a building about 1,100 feet long, loaded on motor trucks at one time, it would h FISHERMAN September, 1918. and here was shown the method of strand forming and — rope laying employed when ropes from 2% in, cireum- ference to 18 in. cireumference are required, and the _ eyes of the visitors bulged at the rapidity with which the finished ropes were turned out. 4 Further interesting sights were the methods of tar-. ring the yarns when a tarred rope is wanted, and also the process involved in the salvage of valuable. tg fibres which drop from the machines and are subse- _ quently gathered up with the mill sweepings. Here all the dust and useless material is eliminated from the _ good fibres, and the latter spun into band stock with & which the coils of marketable rope are bound. — aS Time did not permit of the party visiting the Small oe Twine Department, where wrapping and counter 4 twines are manufactured, but many visited the well- . equipped machine shop where a staff of competent ma- “a chinists care for the upkeep and wear and tear of the — great quantity of valuable machinery installed in bes, ie various departments, | At the conclusion of the tour the delegates were grouped in front of the Company’s fine new office building—erected like most of the factory buildings since the destruction of the plant by the explosion of Dec. 6th, and a photograph taken, a copy of which appeared in the last number of the Canadian Fishe man. Before departing for their steamer to resume th harbor excursion, each of the party was presented wit a handsome and valuable souvenir in the shape of a — combination desk paper-weight and calendar bearing the company’s name and their ‘‘traditional’’ trade i. mark, the lion, which elicited three hearty cheers an many tigers for the hosts of the afternoon, A 160 MILES OF LUBRICATING OIL. When recent reports showed that over a milion ga lons of En-ar-co National Motor Oil were sold during 1917 for use in aeroplanes alone, few readers, realize the real extent of ‘‘a million gallons’’ or grasped t! the true significance of this enormous quantity. i An ensuing discussion brought to light an interestin vision of this vast quantity. If you have never co templated its magnitude the following calculation wi help you realize what ‘‘a million gallons’’ really means If this entire quantity of En-ar-co National Mot« Oil had been put in regulation 5-gallon cans and the cans set side by side, they would have extended proximately 160 miles. Or, if all these cans had b taken over 2,000 trucks to transport them. Using one quart each day, it would take a motoris or boat owner over 10 600 years to consume the entire lot of En-ar-co National Motor Oil that was sold las year for aeroplane use. . When we consider that this huge sale was bu small part of the total consumption of this fame lubricant, we begin to understand its popu amon all classes of motor users. The Canadian Oil Companies, Ltd., makers of En- ar-Co Petroleum Products, have sales depots in hun dreds of Canadian cities and in the following sea an lake ports: Halifax, St. John, Quebec, Montreal, Owe: Sound, Sault Ste. Marie and Toronto, Their genera offices are located in the latter city. - September, 1y1:. CANADIAN FISHERMAN 65 Kil \\ N Why Do‘“Hi-Press’ Give Such Unusual Wear? ‘*Hi-Press’’ Boots are delivering so much more wear—keeping feet so much more com- fortable—that they are ungestionably the most popular footwear among fishermen today. : a TRAOE MARK The Boots’ success is. based on two things —knowledge and good will. First, we know rubber. Goodrich has meant ‘‘Best in Rub- ber Goods’’ as long as you can remember, and it takes wonderful skill to so toughen the rubber that it will outlast ordi- nary boots TWO TO ONE. Again, we WANT to make them RIGHT. We want your con- tinued patronage. We won’t skimp —we want you to always insist on Goodrich Goods because you know they are best. ‘‘Hi-Press’’ Boots and Shoes are sold by 40,000 dealers. Ask yours for the footwear with the Red Line ’Round the Top. THE B.F. GOODRICH RUBSER COMPANY Makers of the Celebrated Goodrich Automobile Tires— **Best in the Long Run” The City of Goodrich— AKRON, OHIO with with the Red Line Round the lop Tse GOODRICH BOOT FOR FISHERMEN * 1022 The ‘Pioneer”’ EANADIAN FISHERMAN September, 1918. ; i the First Oil-burning Trawler Like all other patriotic measures that Uncle Sam has put before his people, the ‘‘Eat-More-Fish’’ cam- paign has met with a most gratifying response. In- . deed, the demand for sea food has risen to a point that leaves production woefully inadequate. To make the situation still more serious the govern- ment has seen fit to take over a number of our larger fishing vessels, while the U-boat activities in fishing waters have interfered in no small measure with pro- duction. Unhappily, at this time when fish is playing such a vital part in our food problem, the supply has been actually curtailed since our entrance in the war. Without government or U-boat interference—with every fishing boat working to its fullest capacity— there would still be a serious disparity between de- mand and supply. Such has been the result of Uncle Sam’s advertising. He has made this country a fish-eating nation almost over-night, catching the fish producers utterly unpre- pared. : Type of ‘‘C-O’’ Engine installed in the ‘‘Pioneer.”’ When we consider that the: British Isles, with a population of some 50,000,000, is equipped with about three thousand steam trawlers, while the United States, with twice the number of people, has less than twenty-five such boats in. service, we bégin to appre- ciate the extent of this unpreparedness. Fortunately, we are now awake to the situation; and the building of that most efficient of fishing craft, the trawler, has begun with a rush that bespeaks an effort to make up for our past negligence. Up to a short time ago steam was the only opted motive power for this type of heavy- working, sea-go- ing boat; but the tremendous strides made in the field of oil- burning motors during the past few years natur- ally led to the application of this type of motive power . to the trawler. It fell to the Gray-Aldrich Co., who years ago intro- duced the gasoline motor to Boston’ s fishing fleet, to work out the motive power plans for the first oil- buring motor trawler. This latest innovation to the connection with a 75 K.W. generator. fishing world gives this « ‘company a high place among the marine motor engineering authorities of the coun- try. ; Mr. Frank C. Pearce, of Gloucester, had not only an abundance of faith in the ability of the Gray-Aldrich Co., but had the courage to back up his convictions to the extent of ordering the builders to go ahead on a type of boat that had never been built before. It is courage of this kind that has made possible the pre- eminence of America’s inventive genius—courage that a contributes immeasurably to the welfare of a nation. _ a Thus, the first of this new type of boat—the “Pioneer” —was launched at Essex, Massachusetts, the latter part of July, from the yards of Tarr & James, Be the builders. It is 140 feet long, 22 feet beam, with gross tonnage of 128. cs She: is equipped with two 150 HP, ‘‘C-O” engines capable of driving her better than ten miles an hour. — Her winch is electrically driven by a 65 H.P. motor in This generator is turned by. another ‘‘C-O”’ engine of 100 H.P. a The deck engine, a 10 H.P., Type ‘‘Y,’’ oil burner,. is used to operate a generator ‘to supply power for the . deck lights, engine room lights and search lights. It is also used to run an air compressor, the hoisting appar- _ atus and a force deck pump for washing out hold, Sey- eral distinctive engineering features were developed expressly for this type of boat in connection with the exhaust stack and electrically driven winch. On a recent trial trip the ‘‘Pioneer’’ more than lived up to expectations. Though she has not yet been put to an actual working test in fishing waters, there is — every prospect that she will make good in every way. — The early performance of the ‘‘Pioneer’’ will be watched with very great interest, for her obvious ad- — vantages over the steam trawler will tend to revolutionize the building of he mic: e. of fishing boat. ae In comparison with the steam ae a en trawler the ‘‘Pioneer’’ has the — following advantages: — Its initial cost of build- - a ing is but one-half as great; the cost of operation is less, requiring fewer men in the engine room; its cruising radius is far greater—six weeks — for the oil burner against eleven days for the steam eraft; its cargo capacity is very much greater—equal 2a to that of a 175-foot steam trawler. Only the experi- a8 - enced’ fisherman can fully appreciate this imposing ar- a ray of facts in favor of the new craft. It will be seen at once that the success of: ‘the ‘*Pioneer’’ will be of tremendous economic importance * to the country. Its low cost will enable the building a of two for every one of the steam driven craft, at an _ expenditure of less in raw materials; and by using oil a it will not place an additional burden on the coal situ- ation. It may be well to say here, that the Gray-Ald- rich Co. has the asurance of Secretary Redfield that there will be no shortage of oil for boats engigee in fishing. At noon, August 14, the ‘‘Pioneer,’’ Capt. : fa a Thompson, arrived at the Boston Fish Pier with 200,- 000 pounds of ground- fish—thus | gonuplenng: the maid- en trip of the first oil-burning trawler. — CoD es athe >» By < = Bo a8 gk x es ae Bee es 133 Seo egy SS Lee es. 8 8 cc 9g 9 Big eS ees. a ieee) 2 ce E 5 vee Ser ae Bo a Se gs 93° .€2 aS ce 5 : FI 45 28 gumbod gies a q 4 4 Bw 6) < _ Whitefish and ___ trout, round 8 8 nea 6" Panta 0 ea 7 Whitefish and trout, dressed 8% 8% 8% 8% 8% 8 8 _ Pickerel, round 8% 8% 8% 8% 81% 8 8 , 2. (a) No producer, trader or fish handler shall _ sell any such fish to a wholesale distributor at more _ than one cent ver pound advane* over the above | prices at primary shipping point plus the railway freight charges. ES) ~ {b) No wholesu!. distributor shall pay a producer, _ | trader or first handler for any such fish more than : one cent per pound in advance over the above pric-s at primary shipping point plus the railway freight - charges. ; (ce) No wholesale distributor, producer, trader or first handler shall sell any such fish to a retailer at ' more than three cents per pound advance over the above prices at primary shipping point plus the rail- way freight charges. . - (d) No retailer shall pay for any such fish more / than three cents in advance over the above prices at primary shipping point plus the railway freight charges. 3. Individual licenses to export winter caught fish cen from thelakesof Manitoba, Saskatchewan or. quirements of the Canadian trade. Approval of ex- port permit will be refused to any person and the license of any person licensed by this Board may be eancelled who has refused to fill a legitimate and reasonable order from a Canadian wholesale distrib- utor, or from a Canadian retailer in good financial standing. 5. No person shall ship or have in hig possession for sale any winter caught fish taken from the lakes of Manitoba, Saskatchewan or Alberta in boxes not bearing the name and license number of the fisher- man or dealer by whom packed and without having marked thereon the kind or kinds of fish contained therein, 6. In this Order :— (a) ‘‘Fisherman’’ means a person actually engag- ed in the work of fishing and known to the trade as a ‘‘Fisherman.’’ (b) ‘‘Produecer, Trader or First. Handler’’ shall mean any person who buys fish from the fishermen and sells wholesale. (c) ‘‘Wholesale Distributoy’’ means any person who purchases fish from a Producer, Trader or First Handler and who distributes fish wholesale, and who - is known to the trade as a ‘‘ Wholesaler.’’ (d) ‘‘Retailer’’ means a person who sells direct to the consumer and known to the trade as a ‘‘Re- tailer.’’ . (e) ‘Round Fish’’ means fish in the condition caught, - (f) ‘‘Dressed fish’’ means fish which have been cut open along the abdominal cavity and which have the gills all entrails and blood clot removed . 7. The Dominion Inspectors of Fisheries are here- by authorized to enforce the provisions of this Or- der. 8. Any person violating any of the provisions of this Order is guilty of an offence, and shall be liable on summary conviction before a Police Magistrate or two Justices of the Peace to a penalty not exceeding one thousand dollars; and not less than one hundred dollars; or to imprisonment for a period not exceed- ing three months; or to both fine and imprisonment. 9. Order number 12 of this Board is hereby re- voked. : Dated at Ottawa this 2nd day of October, 1918. HENRY B. THOMSON, Chairman Canada Food Board. 1034 CANADIAN FISHERMAN October, 1918. Board these days. rous cartoons. Some clever newspaper advertising of fish as a food is being done by the Canada Food Some twenty ‘‘ads’”’ simi- lar to those illustrated herewith have been prepared and decorated by clever and humo- Matts of the drawings have been prepared and are sent out to the press. on request. ADVERTISING FISH — We would draw the attention of these adver- tisements to the wholesale and retail trade _and suggest that they make use of them in advertising and in price lists. The matts for making the cuts can be secured from Ottawa DAILY FISH BULLETIN WAR ON THE U-BOAT ISSUED BY CANADA FOOD BOARD. Subdue the Submarine by: Substituting fish of all varieties for meat. Substituting economy for waste. Substituting basket marketing for telephoning and delivering. Substituting knowledge of sea food prices for gossip about profits. Substituting co-operation for criti- cism. Substituting common sense for com- mon gossip. Substituting encouragement of -the fish dealer for abuse’ of the fish dealer. DAILY FISH | BULLETIN FISH CHEAP EVERYWHERE ISSUED. BY CANADA FOOD BOARD. There is no excuse for any house- keeper failing to serve fish several times a week. It can now be secured at singularly low prices all over the Dominion and no matter how isolated one may be from the rest of the world it should be possibe to have on hand a supply of frozen. fish either from the Pacific or Atlantic Coasts. DAILY FISH BULLETIN ADVERTISING HELPS ~ LAT FISH pacific sores PLAICE. — pRivies. “FLOUNDER SiWETCHES@® “Meyer ISSUED BY CANADA FOOD BOARD. The retail fish dealer has pretty much the same task before him as the pedagogue with a class of children. Housekeepers don’t know more about fish largely because their dealers have not taken the pains to educate them through the most convenient medium —advertising. There are dealers who do not be- lieve in advertising. They think their business can jog along without it. But advertising is as much a part. of life today as electricity, aeroplanes, sur- gery or wireless telegraphy. There are thousands of people in Canada who could be induced to eat more fish if the matter were presented to them in the right light by their dealers. Tabulated lists of fish prices, special bargain. days, advertisements that arrest the attention of the most. casual. reader—all these help to make known to the general public the oppor- tunities they are missing in neglecting to buy fish. And at the same time the dealer is on’ the way to imcreasing. his trade. DAILY FISH BULLETIN os CHEMICAL COMPOSITION ISSUED BY CANADA FOOD BOARD. The scientist talks in terms of cal- ories when he comes to analyse food- stuffs. And where calories are con- cerned, fish holds its own against meat and poultry. In one pound of fresh codfish there are 205 calories and in a pound of salt codfish, 315 calories. DAILY FISH BULLETIN WATCH THE LIGHTHOUSE ISSUED BY CANADA FOOD BOARD It is on an uncharted sea that the housekeeper rocks her boat in these troubled days, but so long as she keeps her eyes fixed on the lighthouse and stands ready to alter her course when the be gives her the cue, then | “all’s we DAILY FISH BULLETIN GOOD ‘BUSINESS ISSUED BY CANADA FOOD BOARD. This is the kind of crowd the Food Board wants to see trooping into the fish shop with baskets over their arms. The ‘personal shopping’ method counts here. There are no delivery expenses and there is the advantage of. personal selection. It is conservation of the most ap- proved kin October, 1918. CANADIAN FISHERMAN 1035 erences iN _ Canadian Fisheries Association 45 St. Alexander Street, Montreal, Oct. 10th; 1918. To Members of Canadian Fisheries Assn. _ Thursday, October 3lst,-is the date set by our As- sociation as Canada’s National Fish Day. This day was inaugurated as an annual event some two or three TS alg ago by the Publicity Committee of the Associa- tion, and we carried out the necessary publicity work - ourselves. This year, I am pleased to say, the Can- ada Food Board is co-operating with us and is ask- ing the people of Canada to refrain from meat on _ National Fish Day. They are also assisting us greatly ‘through their Fish Section and Publicity Staff, and it is safe to assume that the coming National Fish Day will be extensively advertised to the Canadian Public. It is now up to us in the Trade to do our part and ‘make the National Fish Day a permanent calendar ate—not so much for the amount of fish which will consumed on that day—but for its value in the ublicity and attention it draws to the industry in hich we are all engaged. I would therefore ask that-all our members keep the date in mind and do all they can to ensure its iecess locally and through every medium at their disposal. The producers and wholésalers in the larg- r centres should create a common fund for news- aper advertising. This advertising should be of a eneral nature, calling attention to the value of fish as food, Canada’s fisheries as a national resource, fish as an economical and healthful diet, and most import- ant of all the great necessity at this time of substitut- ig fish for meats and assisting the Canada Food oard in its objectives. ith this advertising should go some matter for reading columns of the newspapers, and which Tag ay ¥ ~ ll rR you may have to prepare. Enlist the editors of your local press and have them write an editorial on our fisheries: and fish as a food. Remember the Food Board’s slogan of ‘‘One Pound of Fish per Person per Week,’’ which is their objective. In all your corres- pondence, price circulars, etc., keep the fish day be- fore you. Local branches might well have a luncheon or din- ner on Fish Day at which prominent speakers and the press should be present. Retailers should advertise their specialties, dress their windows tastefully, and have a plentiful stock on hand. REMEMBER! THE PUBLIC WILL BE WELL INFORMED OF THE NATIONAL FISH DAY AND THE TRADE MUST BE READY TO CATER TO THEM. Special ‘‘stunts’’ and publicity can very well be left to your individual ingenuity. The foregonig is only an indication of what might be done to help the game along. The Food Board are ready to send out any of their various pamphlets and posters on request. Their ex- cellent Fish Recipe Book can be procured from Ot- tawa for 5 cents each. I would suggest that you invest in a number of these and distribute free to your customers. Trusting you will get behind the Association in this matter, and make October 31st a permanent cal-. endar date dedicated to our National Industry. Yours sincerely, A. H. BRITTAIN, President. P.S.— Write the Canada Food Board for one or two of their posters. 1036 FISH THE SMOKING OF HERRING. Article ITI. Kippers. Herring in the form of kippers are a delicious ar- ticle of food, provided they are produced from per- feetly fresh fish and are not over-salted. They are in- tended for consumption within eight or ten days after being taken from the sea; but they may be kept for a much longer period in cold storage. The production of a desirable kipper calls for the exercise of a great deal of skill. Any intelligent fish dealer, however, can, with some practice and much close attention to salting and smoking, readily be- come 3ufficiently expert to supply exactly what is required. Beheading and Splitting. This is the first step in the process of making kip- pers, and should be performed immediately after the herring have been landed. With a sharp knife each fish is beheaded and then split down the back from shoulder to tail. The knife should run close to the bone. In removing the entrails see that the silvery gland or sound is not left in the fish. In Great Britain, kippers are made and shipped to market with the heads on—a custom for which there seems to be no good reason. In Canada, the practice is to remove the head from the fish before salting and smoking. Washing. A large tub into which water is allowed to run con- stantly during the washing operations, is generally used for washing the split fish in. To permit the es- cape of the overflow water there should be a hole in the side of the tub near the top. Washing is a simple process. A shallow basket filled with split fish is given a few quick turns to left and right in the running water of the tub-and the washing is completed. The flavour of the finished kipper would be largely lost were it allowed to remain longer in the water. Pickling. The fish, when washed, are placed in pickle which should be strong enough to float a potato. It is extremely important to have the pickle at all times of a uniform strength, by always dissolving the same quantity of salt in the same quantity of water. Any water tight receptacle, in the shape of a tub or tank, may be used for pickling. The time allowed for pickling depends on the con- dition and size of the fish. While half an hour may be safely allowed for the average sized herring, ten to fifteen minutes longer should be allowed for very large fat fish. The pickle may be used more than once, but its strength should be tested and salt added as required. ; Hanging. When the fish have been sufficiently pickled they are hung on what are known as tenters. " a a CANADIAN FISHERMAN purchased the. ‘‘Rayond’or’’ to land his catches at their Canso plant, This ves- . - October, 1918, Seotia began to purchase trawlers to inerease their production. The Maritime Fish Corporation, Ltd., from Capt. Olesen i 1915. The National Fish Company, Ltd., of Halifax purchased the steam trawler ‘‘Triumph’’ from Messrs: Olesen and Jennsen in 1916. This craft was Englis built, and had been out on the Pacific Coast for som years. In 1917, Messrs. A. & R. Loggie, of Port Hawkesbury, N.S., bought the steam trawler ‘‘Oron: tes’’ from the Wallace Fisheries, Ltd., Vancouver, B. In 1918, the Leonard Fisheries, Ltd., purchased the — “Baleine” from the Lockeport Cold Storage Co., Li and secured her release from Naval Service. a ee ‘ At the present time, the trawler ‘‘Rayond’or’’ operating out of Canso. She is an up-to-date irae of the finest type, 140 feet overall. Leonard Fisheries — trawler ‘‘Baleine’’ is an even larger craft—165 feet overall—and modern in every respect. She is operat- ing out of Port Hawkesbury, N.S. The National Fis! Company’s trawler ‘‘Triumph’’ was captured an latterly destroyed by a German submarine on August 22nd, 1918. The ‘‘Orontes’’ is 125 feet overall, and is operating out of Mulgrave, N.S. In addition to these three trawlers, the Iceland trawler ‘‘Ran’”’ is op- erating out of Canso under contract to the Marit Fish Corporation, Ltd. The ‘‘Ran’’ was built in 1915, and is 135 feet overall. The average trips of thes craft are from 80,000 to 100, 000 pounds of fish Pp pounds to be landed by the Gat trawlers. The National Fish Company are replacing t ‘‘Triumph”’ by a new steel trawler now being built Quebec. It is reported that several wooden trawl are being built in eee Scotia and New Brunswicl ada’s east coast fish producers will be able to ke pace with the ever-growing demand for fish in _ lar supply. ~ yer, 1918. CHAPTER V_ COD FISH FAMILY. yplied to certain self-made families trying to push 10 inner social circles. Consciously or unconsciously r as lack of known ancestry is concerned, the y phrase has a point of aptness. Nothing is n of the line of descent of Cod, and from a geo- *s standpoint its appearance among the family of $ was in modern times. Even the Salmonoids, is called a new family, have their ancestry sev- million years farther back in the world’s history. rently the Cod family came intwu being during » period, but this is not positive, since certain ssil remains thought to be those of the family have been definitely determined. e other modern families, that of the Cod is large. ntains 25 genera and 140 species. Nineteen of the ra and approximately 36 species are in American IS. ‘Cod fish aristocracy’? was applied as a term roach to ambitious humans because of their lack ligree, it may be equally considered as one of for the Cod family is one of the greatest im- mee among fishes. It is so important that na- ; have quarreled and, at least on one occasion, bers of men of two countries came to blows over fishing rights for it. Nearly all the species are le food fishes, and two, Cod and Haddock are hoicest. peculiarity of the Cod is, that most of them have 1 fins instead of seven possessed by a majority of hes. They have three dorsals, two anals, one caudal, ‘ventrals and two pectorals. Originally the Cods undoubtedly all strictly bottom fishes, and fed ely on small mollusks and small aquatic crea- that live in the bottom mud. To assist in the reh for food nature gave to each a barbel attached the under part of the lower jaw. Later some of the ies rose higher in the water and took to feeding mall fishes and in process of time, these either lost bel entirely or became greatly reduced in size. lith very few exceptions all Cods are dwellers in solder seas and sometimes at great depths. There ne genus found in cold fresh water. This is the Maculata, locally called EHel-pout, Burbot, Ling, Lawyer. Unlike most of its relatives, its flesh f very inferior quality. most important members of the Cod. family in North Atlantic waters are: Common Cod laddock, Common Tom-Cod, Common Pollock, ake, and Squirrel Hake. habits of the family are interesting -and CANADIAN FISHERMAN. Sea Fishes of the North Atlantic By HON. WILLIAM E. MEEHAN. 1041 Former Commissioner of Fisheries of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania—Superintendent of the ‘Public 5 Aquarium, Philadelphia—Author of Fresh Water Fish Culture in Ponds and Inland Waters—History of Fish, Fishing and Fisheries of Pennsylvania—In Arctic Seas, Part 2—The Battle of the Fishes, Ete. (Continued from the July Issue.) varied. Both Common Cod and Pollock hunt their prey chiefly in the daytime. The former is assisted in the search by their barbels, while the latter depend on sight alone. Hake come to the surface to feed and+ then only at night, resting quietly on the bottom dur- ing daylight hours. The Common Cod. Common Cod has played a mighty part in the political and economical history of North America. It was the existence of this fish in vast abundance, that furnished the chief reason for England’s establishing colonies in America, and ultimately taking Newfound- land from France. Indirectly, therefore, it is possible that had it not been for the presence of Cod and the value of fisheries, the free and independent United States of America might never have come into being. Karly colonists considered Cod of such great import- — ance that, in the northern regions the fish was por- | trayed on coins, medals and seals. It is pictured on a Nova Scotian coin; is on the seal of Massachusetts and on its colonial coinage. The superstitious have enfolded the fish in their category of mysteries affecting human kind. They say that anyone who carries about his person the small bones of the head of a Cod will have good luck. It is believed by fishermen that Cod ean foretell the com- ing of a storm and that before one occurs they swallow stones as ballast to keep them firmly on the bottom until the fury of the tempest has passed. A dried Cod-fish when hung in the air is an infallible baro- meter, indicating coming rain by becoming moist. Cod fish is one of the comparatively few species of fish found alike in both the Atlantie and Pacific — oceans. This is doubtless because of its love for cold water, which enables it to make the journey from one ocean to the other by way of the North Pole. It is said that Cod although a salt water fish, and not even of anadramous habit, sometimes ventures into fresh water and remains there for lengthy periods. They have been found in branches of the St. Lawrence and Delaware Rivers, and according to reliable authorities it appeared in the St. Johns River, Florida, on one occasion. Its natural habitat is from shore to deep water, but favored grounds are on the Great . Banks, and it is there that fishing fleets go for the bulk of their eatch. There is much diversity of opinion with regard to the assembling of Cod. Some close observers declare that it is not a school fish, others say that it schools throughout the year, and others that it has the habit for at least ten months. Evidence is very strong, how- cver, that Cod is not a true school fish, but merely f-und in great numbers in certain localities because of an abundance and uniformity of food on the bot- 1042 CANADIAN tom. In support of this it. may be pointed out that true bottom feeding fish seldom do school, excepting perhaps when they assemble for spawning purposes, and Cod is almost exclusively a bottom feeder. It. is also noticeable that’ Cod found near the shore, or ‘‘Shore tenders’’ as they are called, are greatly scat- tered and live solitary lives among rocks and sea- weeds. Dr. Goode says ‘‘they are ordinarily met with inoving about independently. They are most likely to occur in great numbers in places where food is most abundant. At certain seasons of the year they are brought ‘together by a common desire for wandering together from place to place in immense bodies, some- times their object being a united attack upon some special kind of food only to be found at that season, and in particular places.”’ Cod grow to a large size. Specimens have been caught measuring over six feet in length and weighing over 200 pounds. This, however, is an abnormal size and weight; it is not often that any are caught weigh- ing over 75 pounds, and Bank Cod average from 20 to 35 pounds. Cod are wonderfully prolific, and if all the eggs which are deposited yearly were fecundated and hatch- ed, and the young grew to maturity, they would soon become so numerous that the ocean could not contain them. A 74 pound Cod will yield more than 9,000,000 eggs, and an average sized one will yield about 3,000,- 000.. They are so small that it requires 337,000 to fill a quart measure. They are buoyant and as soon as estruded, rise to the surface, where they float until hatched. A large percentage are not fertilized, and vast numbers are devoured’ by spawn eating creatures. Incubation is completed in from ten to twelve days, and the little Cod shift for themselves as soon as they emerge from the egg. Almost immediately they seek places that will shelter them from their numerous enemies. This they find under jelly fishes and float- ‘ing seaweed. Here also they secure abundant food suitable to their needs, increasing rapidly in size and weight. Jelly'fish and sea-weeds shelter them for sey- éral months, when they make their way close inshore, remaining for three or four years among rocks and algae. Gadus, the first or generic name of Cod, is that by ‘which it was known to the ancient Romans, and the specific or second name ecallarias means “young Cod.’’ Fishermen have a multitude of names.usually to in- ‘dicate the locality where they are found, or some peculiar charactertistic of the fish, as for example: Rocklings, Rock Cod, Shoal Water Cod, Shore Cod, Inshore Cod, Worm Cod, Clam Cod, Black Snappers, Black Biters, Brown Cod, Ground Keepers, Herring Cod, Pine Tree Cod, and Red Cod. The Common Cod is elongate in form although not ‘slender, for it is rather deep and chunky back of its head to the front of the first anal, tapering rapidly to the base of the caudal. Its head is large with the top gently rising to the line of the back. Its mouth is large, the anterior part extending beyond the front of the eye.. It is also provided with teeth, not of a for- “midable character. There is.a single well developed barbel:at the forepart of the under jaw. Each of the three dorsals and two anals are separated, and the caudal is only faintly forked. All are dark colored. ~The lateral line is light in color and in large speci- mens not very distinct. The scales are small. Its color varies greatly according to location and ‘weakness for squid and young fish of “species. larger usually keep near the bottom except when 01 FISHERMAN October, 1918. — food, brownish and greenish predominating. Some- times they are yellowish or reddish, and both the — back and sides are thickly covered with small round — brown spots. Cod fish is one of the great commerci fishes caught almost exclusively with hook. The prin- cipal method. is by trawl lines baited with fish or a Trawl lines are merely a sea fisherman’s name for the fresh water outline or set line. They are generally buoyed and of such great length that often they hay a thousand or more hooks attached to each. There is little or no sport in fishing for Cod, cause it lacks game qualities. When hooked it is hauled in by main strength, and it makes scarcely resistance. Sportsmen rarely seek Cod, especia those on the Banks, since the season is the most bidding of the year, and the months when the oe« is. in its most rurly mood. While it is not a spo1 man’s fish, yet more than 7,000 men risk their li and undergo hardships to secure the more than ‘ 000,000 pounds of fish brought to the markets ye and share in the more than $2,000,000 which the brings. Cdaiede Pollock. Occasionally individuals are found among hy families who, with or without reason, fear or di one or more of their relatives. A similar situati found among fishes. Common cod, for example good reason to fear its cousin the Common Po Although the mature of both are found together : younger cod must keep a sharp lookout lest they find — themselves, making an unpleasant journey into the insides of a hungry Pollock, which is a voracious ; and seems to have a special weakness for the y of its more inoffensive relative. It exhibits wo ful skill and cunning in rounding up a school of y Cod to satisfy its appetite. Thousands of hungry lock with gather and surround a schoool of little and by rapidly’ converging circles herd them int thick bunch. Then, by another quick movement, them to the surface where the ‘‘poor little fish themselves attacked on all sides; below by the vor Pollock, and above by hundreds of screeching gulls,’’? that have been attracted to the spot by commotion. Often between the two, almost an e school of infant Cod will be wiped out of existenc Young Cod are not the only choice food for Common Pollock, they are almost equally fon sand eels, and display quite as much ingenuity determination in capturing them. They also ha areca While the Common Pollock wall not refuse — wherever found, it is chiefly a surface feeder, owing to its voracity and strength possesses pronov game qualities, consequently it is eagerly sought anglers along the New England coast. They are ed for among rocks and in open bays where the; caught both with bait and artificial flies. Only tl smaller fish are caught by the latter means, since thi one of their maurading expeditions. Smaller fish, t to four or five pounds, take an artificial fly with a much energy and snap as a Sea Trout, and wh taken by fly or bait the Pollock puts up a prole and’ vigorous fight that almost equals Miiat of a fish. ‘ Pollock. are caught for market chiefly with and line, and one of the methods employed i is bo October, 1918. * tiene and exciting and not unworthy the attention _ of a sportsman angler. A number of seven feet poles are fastened on each side of a sailing vessel, and to the ends of these are fastened lines weighted with bright lead weighing from half a pound to a pound and a half. Hooks are attached and baited with strips of the bright undersides of a Pollock. The vessels in sail- ing keeps the bait in motion like a live fish which the Pollack seize eagerly. _ The scientific name of the Common Pollock is Pol- shius virens, the generic name being derived from ts best known. common name and the specific from the greenish eolor of the body. It has probably a hun- dred or more local names in different parts of the - world, among which are Green Cod and Coal fish. In - Germany it is the Kohler, and in Norway and Sweden the Sei. There is another species found in English waters to which the name Pollock, is given, but it dif- fers materially from the species found in North Amer- iea and popularly known as Pollock. It is of great importance as a food fish and brings the average as good a price as the market Cod. Vhile not universally as highly esteemed as Cod, the esh when perfectly fresh is of fine flavor, white, firm and flaky. Unfortunately all these qualities do not re- ‘main as long as with certain other fishes. It soon loses s high flavor and becomes coarse. The liver contains a large amount of oil said to be equal medicinally to that of Cod liver. Accepting this used as an adulterant of Cod liver oil, is not likely to xcite much indignation. _ The Pollock is a cold water fish, but while often found associated with Cod, it does not range as far orth or south, and is most abundant along the New land coast, being not uncommon off New York, Be gecaconaliy found as far south as New Jersey. It rely exceeds four feet in length, nor much over 25 ounds in weight; the average weight is between ten d twelve pounds. Although its-maximum length is Tess, the growth of Pollock to maturity is much more rapid than Cod. This doubtless is due to its greater voracity. While it resembles Cod in a general way, yet it is much darker in color and the lower jaw is longer, projecting slightly beyond the upper. Its bar- sls when it has one, is on the tip of the lower jaw and always smaller than that of a Cod. Very often the _darbel i is entirely absent, for that necessary appendage “to the Cod is not needed by the surface feeding Pollock. Breeding habits of the Pollock are identical with those of Cod. Its eggs are frequently found floating mong the spawn of the latter, but are easily dis- ishable on account of their smaller size. The period of incubation is from five to six days. Haddock. BG one occasion hc it came time for the Jews to pay the annual tribute to the Roman tax gatherers, our ‘Saviour found himself without money. He rebuked a follower who advised him to refuse to pay and Ne directed Peter, his fisherman disciple to cast his net 1 the Sea of Galilee. He was obeyed, and on the first haul there was captured a huge Haddock. Under further direction Peter seized the fish by the gills, s forcing its mouth open. Within was a coin of a mination sufficient to pay the tribute tax for him- 'f and twelve disciples. ey having been secured, the fish was liberated CANADIAN FISHERMAN ‘as correct, the allegation that Pollock liver oil is often» am away, but its descendants to this day retain — 1048 black spots back of the gills made by the fingers of St. Peter when he forced the ancestral fish to open its mouth and disgorge the money. Such is a story of the Haddock, handed down: by generations and believed by thousands of people to this very day. Unfortunately, unless the fish has entirely changed its habitat since the days of Christ, it could not have been a Haddock that figured in the miracle, for nowadays no species of Haddock or any of its relatives is found in the Sea of Galilee. Although it belongs to the Cod family, the Haddock is of a different genus. Its scientific generic name Melanogrammus is derived from the deep black lateral line which curves gracefully from the rear of the gill covers to the recurved caudal fin. The specific name is aeglifinus. While the general outline of the body is similar to that of the Cod, it differs markedly in other respects. Its mouth is smaller, reaching only half way to the line of its eyes, its barbel is much smaller and a high front dorsal is sharply recurved at the back. Its back and upper sides are dark gray, with the lower part of the sides and belly whitish. _ Just above the pectorals on each side are the dark blotches which have given rise to the legend that this fish is the one which figured in the Biblical account of Christ and the tribute money. Three dorsal fins and the caudal are all of a dusky hue. It is not a very large fish, considering the size of some other members of the family, averaging only from five to ten pounds, although fish weighing fifteen pounds are not unusual. The range of Haddock is restricted in the Atlantic waters of America to the region between the Straits of Belle Isle and Cape Hatteras, although in the latter region it remains in deep water. Haddock are gener- ally as abundant for brief periods along the New Eng- land coast as the Cod with which they mingle freely. It is, however, erratic in its habits and movements. Some years they are plentiful and in others very scarce. Although a eold water fish, Haddook likes a little higher temperature in summer than Cod, consequently they enter the New England Bays, notably Mas- sachusetts Bay, early in summer, coincident with the departure of Cod to colder waters of the Great Banks. Haddock spawn from May to June, and as with oth- er members of the family, its eggs are buoyant and yielded in large numbers. One million eggs to a single female is by no means’ unusual. Haddock rarely feeds on the surface. It seeks most of its ‘sustenance on the bottom, devouring anything edible. It is particularly fond of mollusks, and for this weakness the Germans have named it Schellfisch. It is called Dickie in Connecticut; Egrefin in France; and Haddie in Scotland. i ‘enue Haddock does not appeal to the sportsman angler, its movements are sluggish and it is not even as powerful as Cod. It is caught, however, with hook and line By commercial fishermen in the same manner as Cod. | Tom-Cod. Early in the winter months there comes to the gibpes and ascends the rivers of New York and New Eng- land for a long distance an active and medium. sized fish eagerly sought. by fishermen and. readily sold in the markets. Because of its. invariable appearance © with cold weather in the bays and rivers, it has been . “named Frost fish. Otherwise it is the familias Tom- cod (Microgadus tomeod), a member of the Cod fish 1044 family, with an ocean range from Labrador to Vir- ginia. Its snout is rounder and its olive brown body is covered with darker blotches and spots, and it has a perfectly formed barbel under the lower jaw. Tom-cod rarely exceeds a foot in length and feeds eagerly on crustaceans, mollusks and small fishes. Its annual migration shoreward and into the rivers is for the purpose of reproduction, and its generic name Microgadus means small cod. It is a good pan fish but its flesh is soft; to the taste of many it has but Lt- tle flavor. Sportsmen do not highly esteem it for angling purposes, although it takes the hook readily, its fighting qualities are not high. The Codlings. There are in the Cod fish family about half a dozen species of fish in a genus called the Codlings. In some respects they differ so materially in externals from the remainder of the Cod fishes that they might be considered by some as belonging to another family, or at least a sub-family. For example, instead of three distinet dorsal fins they possess but two, and instead of two anal fins they have but one. Moreover, the ventral fins haye been pushed forward until they are ahead of the pectorals, and have degenerated into two or three long filaments. All possess barbels, since they -are strictly bottom feeders, but in some of ‘the species they are only just visible. In addition to the peculiar- ities mentioned that distinguish them from other mem- bers of the Cod family, most of the Codlings have a long filament on the front ray of the first dorsal. Codlings of various species are found more or less abundgntly from Nova Scotia to South Carolina, some of them at certain times of the year come inshore, while others appear to remain generally in deeper waters off the Banks. While different species are foanilt in some abundance in the territory mentioned, only two are considered as of any considerable value for food purposes, and these belong to the New England coast. Here these fish are known chiefly as Hake, and this name belongs more properly to them than to the King fish which frequent the coast below New England. The two species most sought by commercial fisher- men are the Common and the Squirrel Hake. Millions of pounds of these are caught annually by hook and line for the market. As a food fish the codlings are inferior to other Cods, yet tons are annually converte? into ‘“boneless Cod,’’ and ‘‘shredded Cod.’’ It yields a valuable oil and its air bladders or sounds are con- sidered edible, and are also made into a fine qua. isinglass and glue. All the Codlings are strictly bottom feeders and hunt their food principally at night, favoring crustaceans, small mollusks, squid and little fishes. They do not average a large size, rarely exceeding five to ten pounds, although occasionally, it is said, that speci- mens as heavy as 40 pounds have been captured. The spawning season is in the summer. Both Squirrel Hake (Phycis chuss) and White or Common Hake (P. tenuis), the two chiefly sought for food purposes, spend the summer months on the mud- dy bottoms of the ocean off the New England coast, and the winter along its sandy shores. Outlines of the head and body of the two species are similar, but other characteristics are so marked that it is easy to dis- tinguish one from the other. Squirrel Hake has a brownish body with a short filament on the front of the dorsal, and the filament like ventrals extend but CANADIAN FISHERMAN “rarely exceeding twelve or fifteen inches, and is moi with it, some works on North American sea fis October, 1918. F: : little beyond the extremity of the pectorals. Also the — lateral line is very faint. The Common Hake on the © other hand has a decided brown body, its dorsal fila- ment is long, nearly one-fourth its length, and teh fila- mentaceous ventrals extend beyond the vent and part of the frontal end of the anal fin, The lateral line is dark, King Hake (P. regius) while of little value as food, — is unquestionably the most remarkable of all the Cod- yr lings. It along of the half dozen species, possesses — electrical powers, and is said to be able to administer severe shock. It is one. of the smallest of the grou or less abundant all the way from Nova Séotia to Cay Hatteras. It is without a filament on the dorsal hb the filamentaceous ventrals are both long and heavy. Its body is a yellowish brown and the lateral line is as dark as though drawn with a pencil. At regular in. tervals along the lateral line are round white sp The first dorsal is tipped with dark brown and base of both the dorsal and anal are of a lighter sk of the same color. Very little is known of the ha of this fish. ; Earl’s Hake (P. Earli) is another species known. Like the King Hake, it is without a ape ment and its ventrals are similar. With these exceptions the two fishes are quite dissimilar. scales are much smaller, its front dorsal stands n erect and is sharply recurved in the rear, and x4 lateral line is heavily curved and pale. The body is s brownish but plentifully sprinkled with irreg ular shaped pale blotches. Chester’s Hake (P. Chesteri) is sonia recent discovery being found first between 1870 1880 by the United States Fish Commission w dredging with trawl nets off the New England co It has much larger eyes than the other codlings graceful body outline. It is easily distinguishable its extremely long filaments which, on the first are nearly as long as the second ‘dorsal, while which constitute the ventrals reach nearly caudal. The second dorsal and the anal are edged a narrow band of dark brown, and both cae gracefully eurved, - Cusk, a The Cusk is so rare south of Cape Cod that f ple south of Northern New England are aeq no include it in their lists, yet it is an excell fish, not much if any inferior to some of the other bers of the Cod family. It is called a deep species although in extreme northern New Englar it is frequently caught from the rocky ts, shore. ‘ Cusk (Brosmius brosme ) is erratic in its moy then absenting themsélves’ in others. As with - Cods the Cusk is a bottom feeder, living chiefl, mollusks and small crustaceans. Its spawning. c is supposed to be in the spring. In some respects the Cusk may be classed as fish. The angler who undergoes a week or two. sidered as lucky. A Cusk takes the ook: wither that in itself is perilous to the line and rod; is nothing to that which frequently follows. Tt i that the fish once hooked, will endeavor to tw: tail of its eel-like body about a jutting piece | es a Di i ae a so ae ae ? te stag ‘as a favorable sign showing that the fish CANADIAN and hang on with such tenacity that it is difficult to dislodge it. While so clinging it gives savage tugs with its head in the endeavor to tear the hook loose. When finally the Cusk is beaten and brought to the surface “‘the skin rises from the body in great blist- ers.’ Commercial fishermen regard this peculiarity are ‘‘thrifty’’ or healthy. somes fe with large, armed with small sharp teeth. Cusk is eel-like in shape with a single dorsal extend- ing unbroken from the back of its head to and con- necting with a round caudal. Its anal fin is similarly connected with the caudal and is about two-thirds as as the dorsal, which with the anal fins are edged a whitish color with a narrow ribbon of black be- Its head is long and narrow, and its mouth is Its body is brownish and generally mottled with a yellowish color. During the early part of the last century Cusk was almost universally called Tusk, and from this a well known rock in the Gulf of Maine receives its name. Another fish closely allied to the Cusk but an in- habitant of fresh water is the Burbot or Eelpout (Lota Maculosa. ) low. Silver Hake. The Silver Hake (Merluccius bilinearis) found from Virginia northward is sometimes separated from the -Codfishes aid placed in a family of its own under the popular name of Hakes. As a matter of fact the ar- rangement of their fins are more in conformity with those of the true Cods than the Codlings and the Cusk, having three dorsals and two anals. Silver Hake, oth- erwise called the New England Whiting is a long Sf ' (2) Philadelphia Aquarium Grounds and Buildings Fairmount Park. FISHERMAN 1045 symetrical shaped fish, having a pointed*head with a large mouth and sharp teeth. It is pronouncedly a fish of prey and receives its name Merlucius or Sea-Pike because of its voracity. its narrow outlines and swiftness of motion. The body is a dull silvery with the lateral line nearly straight and dark in color. In its feeding habits it follows the Pollock by feeding almost exclusively on the surface. Here it wreaks destruction among schools of herring and other small fish, although it does not average much over a foot in length. The Silver Hake is of a roving disposition appearing suddenly in certain localities for a year or more and then as suddenly departing for some other place. Al- though a surface feeding fish, the Silver Hake remains usually in what is called the middle depths of the ocean or the outer edge of the continental slope. At times, however, they enter the New England Bays in great numbers where they are caught with nets and with rook and line. As an angler’s fish the Silver Hake puts up a vigorous fight and gives keen sport on the rod. The flesh is sweet and palatable when fresh, but is soft and deteriorates so rapidly that as a shipping market fish it is of little value. OOO meme meme mememememememememememese O O ‘‘Remember, Thursday, October 31st—Can-° O O ada’s National Fish Day!’’ O O O 0OD0DD0DDDDDDDDDDVDV0NDNDN000000 0000 ; O 1046 A Plea for Fish. Production in our Lesser By J, B. FEILDING, F.ZS. (Late President British Fish Breeders’ The question of the fish producing capacity of our smaller lakes, scattered for the most part over prac- tically barren lands, is one that appears to have been very much overlooked. Why this has been so is difficult to understand, since one would have thought even the railway companies would have done some- thing to stimulate freights from points where these are within agricultural, mineral, or timber develop- ments. Again, there are many large areas of water that _have been for years looked upon as sporting waters and reserved for holiday makers and tourists, though I fear these waters hardly justify the title of sport- ing waters, seeing that they are for the most part very sparsely stocked with ‘‘sporting’’ fish and pro- duce no market fish. We are now faced with the problem of iniinan food production—food in particular rich in protein—the most expensive element in any food to produce. As has so often been said before, fish cultivation ab- sorbs less capital and less labour than the production of either meat or cereals. No effort should therefore be spared by which fish can be produced cheaply, not only so far as the actual cost of propagation is con- cerned, but also distribution to the people. Hitherto our energies have been spent to a great extent, if not entirely, on the development of our fish- ing interests on the Great Lakes—waters over which we have not sole and complete control, and which, in relation to their total acreage, do not contain the same proportion of fish producing grounds as do the lesser lakes. Prof. Paul Reighard of Michigan Univer- sity tells us after careful survey of known facts, that, in his opinion, of the 91,000 square miles of water con- tined in the Great Lakes, only 25,700 square miles, or 28 per cent, can be termed white fish producing. Has the railway passenger ever stopped to think when travelling northwards and westwards between. Toronto and Winnipeg, whether the hundreds of small lakes adjacent to the railway produce anything at all? Indeed, is there anybody who can give us a concise description of these lakes other than their approxi- mate geographical position? We often wonder wheth- er at a future date any of that vast and rocky land in Algoma, Thunder Bay and Rainy River districts will ever produce anything of economic value? Railways have been pushed through those districts in all direc- tions in order to reach more distant fertile parts, but surely some effort could have been made to collect pro- duce in transit through these barren areas. I venture to state that there are few, if any, areas in the world so well provided with railway accommodation pro- ducing so little. Let us look at the question from another aspect. Is it not true that our great sources of sea fish have such great distances to travel to Central Canada that, by the time it reaches the ultimate consumer, there are excessive freight charges to be met out of all propor- tion to the value of the commodity? It is true, we still CANADIAN FISHERMAN problem cannot be raised for we have lots of fis . lantic. October, 1918. ee Lakes Association. ) have our great lakes to supply Ontario and the Pra ies, but here we are met with competition with t thickly populated districts across the Border to south, and there is not enough to go round unless sal are regulated by the authorities. Hence prices gone up—they say in sympathy with cereals and m z —but such is not a correct view to take since, unlike cereals and meat, very little, if any, lake fish of the class referred to are exported to Europe. It is admit ted, of course, that fish is used now more in subsi tion on this continent. Prices of fish appear to m be governed, so far as inland waters are conce much more by the supply than anything else. Only cently have two or three of our minor lakes been ope: ed to limited fishing with very disappointing res for reasons not far to seek, namely, we know not of them biologically. In any case their output h hardly, if at all, been felt on the market. The lab ° men anxious to acquire licences. Fish is still a dearer food to the consumer in’ districts, and indeed in the towns of Ontario Central Canada, and until we can get it cheaper fresher so long will meat be held at home, how much it may be called for on the other side of the Now let us leave the academic and look at the pr | tical issues involved. Let us tabulate the main D0 briefly :— $7 oes 1. Most of our lesser lakes are in chains contained in comparatively few wate. 2. In nearly every case these watersheds . versed at some point or other by a railw: 3. For the most part these lesser lakes are in Ontario—the most thickly populated | inland provinces. ~ 4. There are always more persons desirous ing privileges than can be granted on. over-crowded Great Lake fishing grot 5. It is an admitted fact-and known to z eulturists that the fish producing ee small and shallower waters is alw in proportion to their area than is the ca large waters. ae: 6. The extraction of fish from small waters a less capital and labour per ton-of fish ta is the case with large areas of water. 7. Small waters are easier controlled and stimulated to production than large: wi - obvious reasons. 8. Quicker ‘and more accurate results frome : ficial methods of stimulation are obtained small waters. We like to say we are obta great beneficial results from our hatcheries the Great Lakes, but documentary evid hardly bears it out. The obstacles in the wa accurate accounting are so great, and fur we are only partners in these great shee ace ey CANADIAN water, and therefore only know part of the story. Finally, were these lesser lakes vigorously taken in hand, would it not be a means of attracting a po ulation who would to some extent cultivate sufficient land to maintain themselves? The problems admitted are many and various, and Beh cet amoriget them is the fact that our various fishery _ administrations would become more like our agricul- tural administration in that they would be stimulat- ‘Ing production in new fields and carrying out a certain - amount of experimental work in addition. A complete survey of our fisheries would doubtless be undertaken in order that we might have on file full.particulars re- _ garding the possible output of each watershed. We have already inaugurated soil surveys, mineral surveys and forest surveys, why not a fishery survey? There are many points in addition to the foregoing which will doubtless occur to the reader, but it is only necessary to eall attention to a few. ~ 1. The grouping of lakes ynder watersheds, mak- ~~ ing each watershed a unit of control. 2. A careful: biological survey would necessarily be made of each watershed in order to ascertain the species of indigenous fish, the necessary food for fish, the necessary plant life on which the the latter subsists, the possible means of stimu- lating an increase of fish foods. 8. The consideration of the most suitable species of fish to the particular watershed, taking into consideration the beneficial, or otherwise, results of the introduction of exotic species. ' 4. The consideration of the question of the location of a watershed hatchery, with its associated field FISHERMAN 1047 ‘‘eyeing’’ stations. 5. The question of the division of the lakes in each watershed into equal groups so as to have them arranged in such a way that one group is being ‘“‘planted,’’ two groups contains growing fish, while the fourth group is being netted and the fish marketed. One question of the introduction of exotic species is an interesting one, and one that deserves the most careful consideration. We have known many instan- ces of unsatisfactory results due to want of thought, while, on the other hand, we know of some wonderful results where judicious planting of foreign species after careful experiment, has resulted. We need only refer to two or three instances. The United States Fish Commission at a cost of $4,- 000 introduced the Atlantic shad on to the Pacific coast some fifteen years ago and at the end of 1907, 1,- 500,000 lbs. of fish were taken by fishermen and sold for $300,000. What the returns from the shad fisheries - are today I fear I have no data by me to verify. Again, at a cost of $1,000 the striped bass was introduced on the Pacific Coast, while in the same year 16,000,000 lbs. of fish were marketed for $900,000. I have myself successfully introduced the Rainbow and Steelhead trouts to the highlands of Ceylon, New Zealand, British East Africa and other countries. Finally, may I venture to express the opinion that such a scheme of fishery development is worthy of careful consideration by any public or private body with a view of producing fish near our thickest popu- lated districts on the minimum of expenditure and freight charges, while at the same time it would be stimulating industry where none at present exists. 250,000 lbs. of Fish Drying at Digby, NS. 1048 CANADIAN FISHERMAN The British Fisheries 5th Article-- The Having described the great fisheries, trawling and drifting, it will be convenient to deal with the other fisheries, which are, whether individually or collec- tively, of much less importance. They differ from the great fisheries in one respect. They are not concen- trated at a few chief ports, but are scattered for the most part along the coasts and associated: with numer- ous fishing villages; and with a few important ex- ceptions they are carried on, not in the deep-sea regions, but more or less close to the shores, and it may be within the territorial waters. The minor fish- eries comprise those making use of very different kinds of fishing apparatus and for very different objects. The Hook and Line Fisherics. The line fishing is the most important of the minor fisheries. It may appear to some that to call lining a -minor fishery is rather to misuse the term, for in sev- eral countries it is the principal method by which de- mersal or bottom-living fishes are secured, and not so long ago that was true also in the British fisheries. The immense development of trawling since the latter half of last century has, however, put lining in the shade, so that now, in England especiatly, its share in furnishing supplies of demersal fish is very small indeed. That is sufficiently clear from the fact that of a total quantity of 8,361,000 cwts. of demersal fish landed in England and Wales in 1913, only 3.75 per cent was furnished by line vessels, viz., 3.53 per cent by steamers and 0.22 by sailers. It is not possible to state the number of boats and vessels engaged in the line fisheries, because most of them are also used for other methods of fishing. The official returns show that in 1913, 66 first class and 27 second class steam vessels, with 38 first class and 557 second class sailing vessels were employed in the line fishing in England and Wales, and many others were engaged in lining together with other methods. The statistics for the Scottish fisheries are more complete and they go further back, so that a picture may be given so to speak of the gradual replacement of lining by trawl- ing. In 1913, of a total of 3,296,000 cwts. of demersal fish landed in Scotland, valued at £1 ,825,000, the con- tribution of the liners was 661,000 ‘ewts., or 20 per cent, the value being £357,000 or 19.6 per cent. The contribution of the set-nets (large-meshed nets, loose- ly set, and anchored at the bottom in certaig locali- ties) was 93,000 ewts., or 3 per cent, valued at £44,000 or 2.4 per cent. The whole of the remainder or 77 per cent were landed by trawlers. Of the total of 661,000 ewts. landed by the liners, 305,000 ewts.; valued at £178,000 were taken by steam liners; 45,000 ewts., valued at £29,000 by motor liners, and 311,000 ewts., valued at £150,000 by sailing liners. In Scotland up to the year 1899, the greater part of the demersal fish was landed by line boats, but since that year the great- er part has been landed by trawlers, the share of the liners diminishing year by year as the following table shows :— Line-Caught Fish, Trawl-Caught Fish Cwts. £ Cwts. £ ..1,577,000 591,000 292,000 . -1,480,000 549,000 582,000 1890 . 1895 .. 204,000 291,000 Minor Fisheries 1900 .. 757,000 371,000 1,077,000 703, 000 1905 .. 736,000 349,000 1, 745, ,000 948, 000 1StO.%. 867,000 388,000 2, 102, 000 1,103,000 “ 1913 . 754,000 401,000 2, 542, 000 . 1 "424, 000 © Under line-caught fish are included the small quan- q In association with the ex- — tension of trawling and the use of steam—latterly also a tities taken by the set-nets. of the internal combustion oil engine—the number of — sailing boats and the number of fishermen have ma- 4 terially declined. Here are the figures for a series of years extracted from the reports of the Scotia Fishery Board, showing the number and tonnage of — sail boats, the value of the boats and gear and the — number of fishermen employed: Value of Number of of Vessels Fisher- Year. Number. Tonnage & Gear. men. 1890... .. .. ..14,815 114,783 £1,439,000 46,800 1895... .. .. ..12,980 112,528 1,379,000 42,784 — 1900 gus .- 10,973 108,384 1,581,000 37,609 1905°.. .. .. ..10,088 119,183 1,721,000 Siar BERL i eee . 8,128 89,979 1,210,000 25,785 pNP .. 6,762 71,169 886,000 21,840 We have already seen in former articles that the total quantity and value of the fish landed in the — British fisheries have gone on increasing from year — to year, and in that aspect of the subject these fenton s ought not to cause disquiet — they merely represent _ a phase through which the fisheries are passing in all — progressive civilized States. Nevertheless, the great — decrease in the number of fishermen is to be deport on other grounds, and what has happened in Scotland — has also happened in England, particularly perhaps — 2 on the east coast, though no figures which bear upon The decline in the line fisher- the case are available. oi October, 1918. ie ia tad ace i ins ies has had a certain compensation in another diree-_ ay tion. The increasing competition of the trawlers drove - a larger and larger numbers of the younger and more _ enterprising fishermen from the line fishing to the her- : ring fishery, and the remarkable development of the herring fishery in the last decade or so and not least on the East Anglian Coast has been not a little due to — this cause. It may be noted that the decrease of 25 000. fishermen of the sailing boats in the twenty three years — comprised in the above table is made up to some ex- tent by the crews of the steamers and motor boats. — These numbered 11,731, leaving a net decrease in the period of over 13 000 men. | » Line fishing is carried on in two ways, by long- lines The long-line is much the more im- 3 portant; it is also called spilliard, bulter or trot, ac- . cording to locality, size, or the purpose for which it is a and hand-lines. used. In Scotland the ‘‘oreat-line’’ is distinguishea from the ‘‘small-line,’’ or ‘‘haddock-line,’’ the former — being used mainly on the deep-sea grounds and the latter generally near the shore. line may be eight or more miles in length as used by © the sail boats, with over 5,000 hooks; it is anchonsaa 4 at both ends and at intervals along its course. The — bait varies; The steam-liners, which may work lines of twena miles in length, usually fish their own a herring: bait a The long-line or great- — a it may be whelks, herrings, squid, ete. q ‘ cs e October, 1918. with drift-nets. Long lines are chiefly used in the _ winter months, from November to April, and in the deep-sea, down to about 200 fathoms; they are used on the North Sea banks, at Iceland, the Faroes, Rock- all, the Shetlands, the Atlantic slopes, ete. The fish _ taken are chiefly cod, ling, torsk, halibut, coalfish, _ eonger eels, skates and rays, catfish, dogfish, ete. _ Sometimes the cod and halibut are kept alive in wells, a practice which used to be more in vogue than it is now. The smaller lines laid nearer shore are baited s with various baits — mussels, limpets, shore crabs, _ worms, sand-eels, ete. The fish chiefly caught by them are haddocks, whiting, small cod, small coalfish, plaice, _ dabs, flounders, ete. Hand-line fishing is carried on all around the coast, and perhaps chiefly in the sum- _ mer months, with various tackle and for many kinds he fish, principally cod, haddock, whiting, coalfish, pollock, flounders, dabs. Another method is “whit- fing”’ or ‘‘railing’’ in which the line is drawn through “ the water by a moving boat; mackerel are often thus _ taken in large quantities. Seines, Stow-nets, Set-nets, Etc. ‘The seine net is less used in the British fisheries than in some other countries, and mainly for the pelagic fishes, pilchards, mackerel, sprats and herring. It is used in the Cornish pilehard fishing, and sometimes, if the fish come into the bays, it takes a large propor- tion of the catch. The ground seine or scringe-net used at various parts of the coast for flatfish, bass, ‘mullet, pollock, shad, sand-cels, etc., but the quan- tities taken bear little _proportion to the catches of the ‘other methods previously described. The American . _ purse-seine, so largely used in the Scandinavian coun- _ tries, appears not to be employed-in the British fish- eries. The stow-net is an enormous bag-net used for the capture of sprats and ‘‘whitebait’’ (essentially a mixture of young sprats and young herrings), from Bs _ November to February at the mouth of the Thames, % in the Solent, the Wash and elsewhere. It is a tri- “a DS geigular bag, 50 or 60 yards long, With a large nearly ; square mouth about 25 feet wide, and tapering to a _ few feet at the end; the meshes range from about one inch to half an inch. It is used from an anchored a _ boat (below it) in a tideway, the tide sweeping in some- - times enormous quantities of sprats and young her- _ rings, as well as many varieties of fish. Set-nets are of various kinds and adapted to capture several species ae of fish, but their use in Great Britain is by no means 0) general as on the continent. They are corked above, x _ weighed below and anchored at the bottom of the sea CANADIAN FISHERMAN 1049 near shore, being set up in a slack way so that the fish get entangled as much as gilled. Herrings, turbot, hake, skates and rays, and latterly cod and plaice in considerable quantities, are taken in these nets. The nets are sometimes called trammels, which term, however, should be reserved for the net with. three paraliel walls of netting, the two outer with large square meshes set exactly opposite one another, the one between with smaller meshes and hanging very loose, so that a fish pushing the loose net before it forms a pocket in which it is retained. It is chiefly used al the capture of red mullet, but other fish are also taken. The ‘‘Shellfish’’ Fisheries. These comprise fisheries for certain molluses and crustacea. The molluses include the oyster (Ostraea edulis), the mussel (Mytilus edulis), the cockle (Car- dium edule), the whelk (Bueccinum undatum), the periwinkle (Littorina littorea), the escallop (Pecten maximus), the queen or quean (P. opercularis), the limpet (Patella vulgata), and one or two others. The erustacea comprise the lobster (Homarus vulgaris), the crab (Cancer pagurus), the pink shrimp (Pandalus montagui) the brown shrimp (Crangon vulgaris), the prawn (Leander serratus), the Norway lobster (Neph- rops norvegicus), the crayfish (Palinurus vulgaris) and one or two others. Most of these molluses and ecrus- | tacea are not, however, distinguished in the returns, but are included under ‘‘other shellfish,’’ the English statistics specifying only crabs, lobsters and oysters, the Irish these and also mussels. and the Seottish mussels and quean (‘‘clams’’) a well as crabs, lobs- ters and oysters. For 1913, however, the English report gives par- ticulars regarding some shellfish included under the heading ‘‘other shellfish.’’ Among crustacea the quan- tity of shrimps was 73,252 ewts., valued at £67.060; Norway lobsters, 13.848 ewts., valued at £6,991; prawns, 411 ewts., valued at £4,695. Among molluses were cockles, 241,496 cwts., valued at £25,234; mus- sels, 186,736 cwts.. valued at £17,259; whelks, 52,418 ewts. valued at £10,761; periwinkles, 12.108 ewts., valued at £4.776; escallops and queans, 2139 ewts., valued at £1,270. It is to be noted that the fisheries for shellfish have not kept pace with those for fish. although the total value over a period of 27 years (for which there are statistics) has not materially diminished. The figures are as follows (to the nearest 1,000) for, first, Eng- land and Wales and (2) Seotland :— be Total * } Lobsters Crabs. Oysters. Others. value * (1) No. £ No. 2 No. £ —Cwts. £ £ Meme. cw ww es. . 452 «8919 2,868 89). AB SSE WRB ao 76 269 Meets we es ee e922 45 4,808 57 47,564 145 505 127 374 MEEEOD... wee. ee © GIT 30 4.501 55 25.276 78 590 146 309 me 2000 22s. >. . 654 29 5,177 57 37,847 132 539 «154s 88°72 Mee) sw se. 503 24 5,106 59 36,427 102 423 117 302 ME.) ok wk 533 25 4,487 52 15.339 43 433 109 228 1913 634 31 5,568 62 27,973 91 584 143 327 eee i iss Me ice TO | 81 2,385 14 296 1.3 334 28 73 ME. ew es ss 648 28 2,882 15 350 1.5 261 24 69 Me ig. Sw es 610. | 26 2,548 13 238 tt 266 27 66 1900. - 680 32 3,128 18 796 3.2 207 23 76 i905. - 760 36 1,990 12 218 0.9 164 22 71 S910... 698 35 2,207 14 877 3.5 155 18 70 1913... 681 37. ~~ 2,214 14 1,316 4.8 127 17 72 1050 The decline in line fishing caused a great falling off in the quantity of bait mussels landed, especially in Seotland. While the quantities and value of fish greatly increased, most shellfish remained stationary or decreased. The proportion which the value of the shellfish landed bore to the total value of all fish landed was the following, in percentages: 1886 1890 1895 19001905 1910 1913 England and Wales .. Ore. (8 Bs ®.38 440: Be ee Seotland .. 4:1 -4.1. 3.6 3.2. 2.6: °2.27 258 This is a very different picture from that presented by the French or Dutch, American statistics, in which the increase of shellfish, essentially oysters, is remark- able. Little need be said about the methods of fishing for these shellfish. Lobsters and crabs are taken more or less all around the coasts, especially where the bot- tom is rocky, in the well-known baited ‘‘pots’’ or ‘*ereels’’; these are also used for whelks in some places and for prawns. The dredge is used for oysters and mussels, escallops and queans, while ecockles are raked, as are also mussels in many localities. Norway lobsters are brought in almost entirely by steam-trawlers; they frequent moderately deep grounds. Shrimps are taken mostly by small-meshed trawls or by ‘‘shove-nets’’ or ‘*nush-nets’’; in some places horse and cart shrimp - trawling. known as ‘‘trolloping’’ is carried on. The shrimp fisheries are responsible for at least the cap- ture of enormous numbers of the very young food- fishes, in particular flatfishes, as plaice, soles, ete. They are said to be mostly returned to the water alive, before the shrimps are boiled. Before passing from: the British fisheries to those of the Continent. a glance may be taken at the effect of the war on them, and the prospects ahead when the sword is at last sheathed. The quantity of sea- fish landed has naturally been very much reduced, but it is satisfactory to note that it is rapidly becom- CANADIAN FISHERMAN Netober, 1918. : ing established, thanks to the activities of the depart- ments concerned and the better organization. ct price of fish has soared and total values, with a third of the quantity, are nearing pre-war figures. The totals, a to the nearest 1,000, are given in the following table: My The v7 Cwts. a 1918. 1914. 1915. 1916. oi : England & Wales . 16,152 10,125 5,785 4,244 4051 Scotland .. .. 7,828 7,440 2,319 3,412 . Ireland... 676 590 550 566 Totals.. .. ..°..24,656 18,155 8,654. 8,999 Ba. England & Wales . 10,009 7,847 7,391 7,223 Scotland .. . 8,925 3,144 2,051 3,148 Treland. . 295 239 334 445 Totals. . ..14,229 11,230 9,776 10,816 13,3 Fishermen and fishing boat-owners have never - bee so prosperous. Steam trawlers have landed catch after a week or two’s voyage, which have realized to £7,000 and £8,000 and even £10,000. The prospects after the war are favorable gener- ally, for fish will be the animal food most readily pr curable, and there will be a market for all the none fish landed. From the rest to the grounds it is believ. fish will be more abundant, and there has been a large increase of the trawling fleet — the second line in th national hulwark and shield. Herrings are believed be also abundant, but as the herring industry res upon the great cured fish markets of Germany and Russia, the outlook is obscure. Much attention is ges being given to the better distribution of fish, its 1 = frigeration and.cure, and there is every reason to thin the public will be in a position and in a mood to cor sume larger quantities of fish than ever before. ' P next article will deal with the fisheries of Germany. ~ Lockeport Cold Storage Co., Lockeport, N.S, oe CANADIAN FISHERMAN NAVIGATION FO R FISRERMEN. ‘d : 28 bud g Rs : Qro 7 Q Qu ae : eh | aris? | a a ay 33 ~ & Be » 3 ew ELS ; Recetas | * 3 < Rn x: aN An I> i> ‘ae a oe ak Bo eS 7, "es, iw 4 4 sg 8 xg ig ar : = bog 1 3 y Rin gg vg ‘An 8 : M4 geet 8 h Re |e es ¢ Ms Boe . ee dogs ong Sn are a | & ; fe Re « a! ev es a x : : al” en a* A he ea meat, mec. S a © me © Ss aa % a 2 * nN © e Ca awk bie 4 » “BM © Thy % N ane’ eel, ry ea nae a rd ; : ‘ s y x4 Re Bho g x = ae 2 iin qi g & 8g AK yg Re 2 2 Xn 5 r | h : Qe y Roe a & . Lae? gM j a’ aaa oe 8 = ai? Qs S 'g x ‘ 8 § Re deg est , “Meise, , ee 3 % i S.—9 : On. and Compass Rose, tion of Navigators’ Chart ‘showing Soundings, Aids to Navigation Fisheries of the North Shore of the Gulf ot St. Lawrence By S. H. HOWARD. The Steamship ‘‘Guide’’ of the Gulf of St, Lawrence North Shore Trading Company left Quebec at daylight on September 13th, bound for Natashkwan, a fishing station situated on the north shore, just clear of the lower end of Anticosti Island, calling on the trip down and up, at about 20 fishing villages. On the trip down it was loaded to the hatches, piled on decks, and on top of the cabin roof with miscellaneous freight, in- eluding supplies for the winter, salt, gasoline, lumber, flour, dry goods, hardware and empty cod barrels. On the trip up, collecting fish at various ports, her hold was filled up to the hatch covers with salt cod and dried cod, and some salmon, while every part of the decks was piled with barrels (two barrels deep), and in some places where there was no traffic, they were three and four deep. With accommodation for ten second-class passengers, she was carrying part of the time 29: some sleeping on deck, over the engine-room out in the open, and one or two of them on the table in the dining room. Others sat up all night. One cab- in fitted up for the cabin boy, originally, with one berth and room only for one chair beside the berth, had a family of one man, one woman and two children to accommodate. Last year, a larger steamer, the ‘‘Gaspesian,’’ was on this route, and the ‘‘Percesian’’ was also on the Gulf trade on the south shore, besides other small steamers and schooners. The ‘‘Gaspesian’’ and the ‘‘Percesian’’ were purchased by the Government, or >? on the Government’s behalf, and sent across the At- ~ lantic before the winter sunplies for the North Shore had been delivered from Quebec. There was there- fore, a serious shortage of food on the North Shore last winter. the bulk of supplies remaining in Quebee for lack of transportation facilities. The Steamship ‘‘Guide’’ is a small steel vessel, orig: inally a pilot boat for the pvort of London. and the hold space is small and entirely inadequate to the require- ments. The onlv other steamer on the route this year is the ‘‘Savov,’’ a boat not much larger than the ‘*Guide.’’ and concerned mostly with trade for Anti- eosti Island, There is undoubtedly a vast development possible in the north shore fisheries. The ‘‘Guide’’ returned with a capacity eargo of 900 barrels and boxes, the latter containing dried fish. and the former salt fish, and at several vlaces fish had to be left on the dock on shore, for lack of space on the boat; at Godbout, 10.000 pounds of fresh salmon had to be refused. This fish will therefore he lost to the market as fresh fish, and will he (nrohablv) salted. Fishing in the north shore is done with hook and line, generally two men to a boat, with two lines each, two hooks to a line. There is no net ishing done ex- eent at the estuaries of the rivers for salmon. The line fishing is done elnse to shore. or on hanks not very far ont. Fiven with this method of fishing. the cod are en plentiful. esneciallv at some voints during July. that astonishine catches are made. Dr. MeDuff of Esauimanx Point. a creditable authority, told me of two men between dawn and 2 p.m. catching 3,030 cod fish. A fisherman told me that he and his mate caught CANADIAN PIs eae October, 1918. 14 drafts (224 pounds) in 4 fours—3,1386 pounds. ; Plenty of Fish on North Shore. Bishop Chaisson of the North Shore told me of t schooners carrying a crew of 10 men each, working in watches night and day, who caught and cleaned barrels each in one day, and 50 barrels each the n day—a barrel containing 224 pounds. We, ourselve passed numbers of small boats out fishing, not o quarter mile from shore, and constantly pulling fish while in our view. Practically, only the ba and reefs close to shore are fished. They say th are bigger banks several miles out, where trawl could operate. Several large schooners from Gas Halifax, Yarmouth, Lunenburg, and some America: schooners were loading at various points on the Nort Shore, while further down schooners from Newfov land come to the North Shore every season. The marine scare on the Newfoundland banks has cha in fishing boats, and the north shore of the Gulf o St. Lawrence therefore becomes the more important at the present time, . The Gulf of St. Lawréhiée 4 is right at the front de yet for some reason fisheries there do not seem have been exploited to the same extent as those Nova Scotia. Transportation to Quebee and Montreal would be shorter, quicker and cheaper if organized. — Comparatively little fresh fish is shipped from th North Shore, and that salmon only. There is a sm brine freezer plant owned by Mr. Comeau at G@ bout, and he ships frozen salmon. If something could be done to stimulate the $eeet trade from the Gulf of St. Lawrence it would b good thing. Salt-cod and dried cod are not popu in this country. With 3 or 4 chilling plants on north shore, at points like Seven Islands, Esquim: Point and Natashquan, a cold storage warehouse some central location and a fish warehouse - Rimouski on the south shore, on the Intercolonial way, and with refrigerator boats of fair size speed, running fish across the Gulf from the No Shore, fresh fish could be delivered in Qrebee Montreal in good shape—by rail from Rimouski. — The Gulf of St. Lawrence North Shore Company seeking to buy a steamer of about the same tonn as the ‘‘Guide’’ at the present time. They have a had plans drawn for two 1,000-ton steamers fit with refrigerator holds, and have made anplication the Government for subsidies amounting to $85,000 for 10 years, and a grant of $45,000, — being the usual subsidy of 30 per cent on capital cost—for re- frigerators to be erected on shore. Their scheme em- braces the entire Gulf of St. Lawrence, including New- foundland, Cape Breton, Prince Edward Island, Mag- dalen Islands, Gaspe and the North Shore. p at as OM ec O ‘‘Remember, Thursday, October a1 ans o ada’s National Fish Day !”’ i 200000000600 BE Ea ~ October, 1918. ~ CANADIAN FISHERMAN 59 ee ee a ee ' Fish Producers and _ Distributors The Dominion Government, through the Food Controller’s Office, has inaugurated a campaign to increase the consump- tion of Fish. This is being supported by an aggressive campaign 4 of advertising — all to the one end — the increased use of Fish as a food. To the Producer--- Get behind this campaign. Lend your aid and see that the distributor gets enough fish. Be sure your fish is packed right, and that it gets to the proper market in proper condition. To the Wholesaler--- Largely upon you rests the success of this campaign. See that you have the supply necessary to support the demand. Co- operation on your part means much. The Government has provided improved boxes for the keeping and displaying of fish. See that the dealers get them. Show them how to use them. Urge the dealers to be satisfied with a reasonable profit and give their customers a satisfactory service. It all means better and bigger business for you and them. To the Retailer--- TE TD ye a ee PS iT Ree eae RT, Se in oe wert =! cee al In this campaign you will find the material on which to build ‘4 an exceedingly profitable business. Be sure you are in a posi- - tion to supply fish every day—especially Tuesdays and Fridays. ij Keep your fish right — display it right. This and the increased demand will mean bigger profits for you. DTT Sgr CR UN Me Soh 1054 European Fishing Ports How the British, Dutch and Germans Build Sale ing Ports and Administer Them. By COLIN McKAY. In European countries the development of fishing ports has been largely the result of prevision and de- sign, coupled with organized effort in adjusting par- ticular needs to common purposes. a few fishing ports whose progress in recent years has rivalled the upgrowth of boom towns in the Can- adian West. Even Grimsby is a boom town; its pro- gress as a fishing port is a romance of business en-. terprise. Although long known as a fishing port, its distinction as the greatest fishing centre in the world. dates from a comparatively recent period. Its natural advantages, due to proximity to fine fishing grounds, are obvious, but it owes its rise to its present import- ant position less to these than to the enterprise of the Great Central Railway. That company spent a large sum of money to construct docks for fishing vessels and provide - facilities for the rapid and economical handling of fish. The equipment is modern, complete, ecompact—an orderly arrangement of discharging berths with railways sidings, near-by, markets, curing © and cold storage plants, ice houses, coal pockets, dry docks. The Company’s venture has been a financial suecess, notwithstanding low dock charges and low railway freight rates. To meet the growing needs of the industry the company commenced the construc- tion of another dock in the early part of 1914. Before the war Grimsby had a fleet of over 600 trawlers, most of them superior vessels of their type. In 1912 its to- tal catch aggregated nearly 400,000,000 pounds, va- lued at over $10,000,000. On good days 300 cars were required to transport the catch to the markets of London and other cities. Inspired by the success of the enterprise of the Great Central. The Lancashire and Yorkshire Rail- way started a few years to construct a modern fishing port at Fleetwood on the West Coast. The company spent about $600,000, and the docks were completed in 1911. In 1912 Fleetwood, which a few years before was a fishing village of little importance. landed a eatch of 90,000,000 lbs, valued at about $2,500,000. Tf we turn to the continent we find a striking ex- ample of the development of a fishing port according to plan in the brief history of Ymuiden in Holland. In 1897 Ymuiden consisted of a half dozen or so fishing shacks, lost among the sand dunes near the entrance to the Amsterdam Canal. In 1898-99 the Government of Holland dredged out a harbor there, constructed quays, and provided facilities for handling a large eatch of fish. Almost immediately the fishing indus- try began to develop at an amazing rate. By 1912 Ymuiden had a fleet of 160 steam trawlers, 9 steam drifters, and 14 sailing vessels employed in the her- ring fishing. In 1902 the value of the fish catch land- ed there was 4,220,000 franes; by 1912 it had risen to 14,700,000 franes. CANADIAN FISHERMAN. And there are not_ ‘ marks. fishing plants extending along the made-land — babi ‘for the accommodation of fishermen using the’ po - portation facilities than private firms acting as “unit Geestémunde, the principal fishing port of Ger many, was literally built in No Man’s Land. Whe it stands the Weser River flowed a matter of, 25 year ago. To form the port a broad breakwater was bu into the Weser River paralleled with the left b Nearly all the installations are erected on reclai land, behind this breakwater. The dock is about 000 feet long, with a mean breadth of 250 feet, br ening towards the entrance to 360 feet to facilitate | arrival and departure of fishing craft. In 1902 this port fitted out 121 steam and 280. ing craft, and handled a catch valued at 5,125 In 1912 it fitted out 234 steam and 398 ing Bid: and handled a catch valued at LLa7en marks.:'...- a, The construction of this port with its great ar the breakwater for a distance of nearly three-quat of a mile, involved an expenditure of $3,000,000. tate of Prussia supplied the money. The state, h ever, only exercises a nominal control over the P The real: administration is in the hands of an inc porated society composed of sixty men, nearly al whom are prominently interested in the fisheries. society nominates all the officials, the state, as a ter.of course, ratifying such nominations. Connected with the port is a wireless telegraph s tion which permits of communication with the t lers at sea, most of which are equipped with wirel apparatus. As illustrating the German metho may be mentioned that the government some year ago voted 250,000 marks to encourage the equipment of fishing vessels with wireless. The administratio1 of the port maintains a school for those who wish t learn wireless telegraphy. The company also: run: a large hotel, furnished with all modern convenien In carrying on the fish business at Geestmunde, in. dividual enterprise is subordinated to mass action in q characteristic German manner, but the results spe economy of effort and time. Conducting directly rious important operations, and exercising supervisi over many matters of detail, the company represen the mass action of the port, ‘and has been able to in- duce the railway management to provide better trans. would have been likely to obtain; a consideration. of first importanee, as the suecess of the fresh fish in- dustry of any port whose markets are inland is abs lutely dependent upon the character of the railway ling factor from the time the trawler heaves in sight. glad to leave behind her the grey wastes of the Nor Soa: Its harbor master hoists a flag at the entrane which tells the trawler the number of her berth. Wh service oe ibe Bek: Sr ti becoines: — C0 atte) CANADIAN FISHERMAN 61 FISH, FISH, FISH Have you a good case to hold and display them? } The above illustration is of the Gov- ernment Standard case finished in white enamel and ash stained. Write for Catalogue and Prices. A Stock Carried; Prompt Delivery Made. With the high cost of labor can you afford to be without a Knapp Labelling and Boxing Machine? Hamilton, z TORONTO : 114 York St. (2 Blocks N. of Union Stn.) Phone Adelaide 3786 The W. A. Freeman Co., Limited, Canada. MONTREAL 16 Notre Dame St., E. DSH. A NEILL. 16 Richmond Sq. Phone Uptown 8547 Knapp Labelling Machine The Brown Boggs Co., ranted Hamilton, Ontario E. A. EARL & CO., Vancouver, B.C., Agents Ay A, Acadia Gas Engines, ca ga eee rons hh aeeerenyent Fisheries, B. 3 Bliss, E. W. ; th Wienarine Co. “of Canada, ‘Lita. wman J., and Co. - Brandram Henderson’ ‘Co., ky ie '.British Columbia Government .. .. _ British Columbia Packers’ A‘sso- MURTY) 4 cS oe vs) ee ee es ee Burnoil. Engine aah ee ae are wes ein: wie Burns, P. & Co. Piva Oh cis ele ee Canada Metal Co., Ltd. ys - Canadian-Fairbanks-Morse Co. Ltd. Canadian Fish and sa ‘Storage @anedian on Co., Ltd. Clifford, Orr oe Connors’ Trucks, “Ltda. . poh ae Consumers Cordage Co., Ltd. ; ce D. e Defiance Packing Co., Ltd. .. .. Department of Naval Service .. Dominion Fisheries, Ltd. ‘Evinrude Motor a F. us klestein, Max. .. .. -- «+ ++ «+ ie io lay Fish Co., Inc. “ish Trades Gazette Foreman Motor and “Machine Co., Forge, Peter eee e Da Pa Freeman and Cobb Co.. Inc. freeman, W. A., 2) Laan e. fas m, F. H. & Co... +. ++ + DesBrisay, M., and Co. Ltd. .. ae Index to Advertisers Northern Fish Co. .. .. «2 es a. 99 Goodrich, B. F. Go., Ltd. 65 Nova Seotia Government .. 82 Gourock Ropework Export Co., ‘Ltd. 83 oO. Gosse-Millerd Packing Co., Ltd. on 8 Gray and Prior Machine COshia ce Seeds Ontario Government .. .. .. .. 69 Guarantee Motor Co. Sh ae O’Connor’s Fish Market .. .. .. 90 Guest, W. J., Fish Co., Ltd. 71 P 96 H. Hallett, AR ik 4k fe eae ee Pitt, Fishmonger .. .. «1 «. «+ + 12 Baltett, AoW oC).i5 nal ce sstemtaetee: 1 tO Polson Iron Works .. .. «+ «- Hayward, F. J... .. ~ cdueae = 84 Process Engineers, Ltd... \.. 14 Henderson, Geo. .. «1 «+ e+ ee ee oe 70 Q. ot Hickman; As, we) wc. 6s. soc ee teens BO Quebec Government .. .. .. .. 82 Imperial Oil, Ltd.. en BR. Independent Rubber Co., " Etta aus 88 Rannoy. .Fish-Co.- 036-06 beri fe ee J. Robbins, Chas. C., dne. 18 Jacobson Gas Engine oe ati x, toe Robbins, F. R. ae 20 James, F. T., Co., Ee Gaite sige) ST Pobin Jones per ‘Whitman, Ltd. 2 Kildala Packing Co, Ltd... ...... 5 ieee che a ins 15 : % ; Leckie, John, Ltd. .. .. diste 28 Seaboard Trading Co. . ats a3 Leonard Fisheries, Ltd. "Back Cover Seattle AMOuS Tron W Works A : 13 Letson and Burpee, Ltd. .. .. .. «- Schmidt, B. ae 70 Lincoln, Willey and Co., Ine. es (83 Scythes & o:, rtd. 89 aes Canadian Refrigeration ‘Co., 8 Silver, H. R., one wie 606 ae 1 Lipsett, ‘Cunningham ‘and Co., “Ltd. 3 ae Gas" Bngine Co a Lipsett, Hdward . Stewart, B. & Co., Lt i ‘rq Lockeport Cold Storage ‘Co., "Ltd. 2 Spooner, W. R ; 46 Loggie, W. S. Co. 81 “ 4 London and Petrolia “Barrel Co. Ltd. 84 7 79 Lyons, Chas. Co., Inc. «. .. Tabor, Geo., Ltd. Per ae rT Taylor, Robt. Co., Ltd.” whale poet eee Marconi Wireless . 79 Tower Canadian ...... 94 Maritime Fish Corporation, Ltd. .. 75 McAvity, T. & Sons, Ltd. .. .. .. 94 : wie) v. Mueller, Charles, Co., 1A tS s - six ote Vhay Fisheries Co. 87 Murray & Fraser .. .. 76 w. 91 Mustad, O., and Son .. 13 Walker, Thos. and Son, Ltd, .. .. 85 Wallace Fisheries, agent ce nee oe National Refining Co. 13 Wannenwetsch & Co. hoe ds 87 New Brunswick Cold Storage “Co. Western cme vie be Ee 84 Etd>. 76 White and Co., L ess 87 New ‘England Fish Company, ‘Ltd. 15 Whitman, Arthur “.. paar x 61 Newfoundland Government .. 79 WLilliams, A. R., Machinery Co. 80 Noble, Charles, Jr., Co., Inc. .. .. .. 94 Wilson, W. C. & Co. 80 86 1056 the vessel is moored her fare is discharged with the aid of electrical cranes, and she is shifted across the dock to fill her bunkers. Employees of the company wash the fish, sort them, and pack them in wooden boxes, built to hold 110 pounds. If the packer does not strike the exact standard, he attaches a label show- ing the correct weight. A company official inspects the fish, and if they are not considered sufficiently fresh they must be sold at once to a reduction’s works where they are con- verted into pig’s feed, oil for iiduatrial purposes or fertilizers. From the quay side the packages of good fish are taken to one of the auction halls, and arranged in cir- eles around the hall. After a few minutes to give pro- spective buyers an opportunity to look over the off- -erings, the sale by auction commences. A stand con- taining the auctioneer and his staff careers around the hall like a merry-go-round, and the sale proceeds with surprising despatch. The packages are then re- moved to the establishments of the dealers near-by, and the fish are re-sorted and graded according to-the requirements of the dealer’s customers. Then the ecom- 0OVDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDN0000000 O : O O ‘‘Remember, Thursday, October 31lst—Can- O O ada’s National Fish Day!’’ O O O ODDDDDDDDDDDDDDDVDDDVOVNN0O pany’s employees transport the re-graded packages to the railway station situated on the neck of the break- water, and load them on awaiting trains. Everything is arranged to facilitate quick dispatch, and the com- pany’s officials have definite instructions not to allow any formality or technicality to cause any delay. The railway management make it a point to move trains as rapidly as possible; special cars are. provided and they are kept clean and wholesome. In hot weath- er cars with double walls are used. The great fresh fishing ports of England and Europe have two conditions in common—the concentration of the various establishments and accessories of the in- dustry in a limited area adjoining a basin specially reserved for the use of fishing vessels, and a working agreement with the. railway serving the port which practically amounts’ to a business alliance. At Grims- by and Fleetwood, the great ports on the east and west coasts of England respectively, the docks and adjoin- ing installations are the property of railway compan- ies, while in the fishing ports of Holland and Germany the railway managers co-operate with the fish mer- chants, and spare no pains to provide a system of transport designed at all points to serve the best in- terests of the port. In effect railway policy does for the fishing industry what the C.P.R. has done for agri-+ culture, mining and other industries in the west, or what the Grand Trunk Pacific is attempting to do for the fishing industry at the new port of Prince Rupert. This organization of the fish business on industrial lines has produced certain monopolistic tendencies. The larger ports with their modern equipment and un- rivalled railway facilities have absorbed the business of the smaller ports in the vicinity, or at any rate de- CANADIAN FISHERMAN the | of revenue. Canadian Forces, is still in England. October, 191 8. prived them of their former importance. Big con panies employing large fleets of steam craft, have be- come the predominant factor in production, and th big companies, too, owing to their access to economi facilities for handling and transport, practically d all the business with the great central markets. © England, it is said that before the war steam vessel landed upwards of 90 per cent of the total catch, The number of* independent fishermen using small sali boats in the shore fisheries is comparatively sma and their activities are confined to the prosecution of special fisheries or the supplying of limited lo a markets, : The imbarialidiie tendeney of the industrialized f ing ports may have been affected in recent years the introduction of the gasoline motor boat, but to any great extent. The big fish swallows the litt fish—that is a process of evolution not peculiar to tk fishing industry. Whether from the national point | view this process of port aggrandizement, accor panied by the inerease of power of the large comp: and the decline of the independence of the individ is desirable is perhaps a debatable question, In case it appears to be inevitable, and is not regard; d with much concern by the public. Since 1900 the B ish Government has been so much.impressed with importance of modernizing fishing ports, that it made large annual grants to assist the improvem of such ports, and naturally the larger ports have not been slow to press their claims to the lion’s sk of such grants. The results expressed in terms of bus ness progress have been notable. In the twenty- T years before the war, owing principally to the i trialization of the larger ports, the quantity of transported by British railways increased 90 per e while in the same period the exports of fish and : products to foreign countries increased 80 per | All this has meant, of course, a general ae O y O Do your bit to put the National Fish Day on Os O the Calendar. - 9 OOP COR OR OR aan building and allied industries,, and a great incre opportunities of employments=to say nothings important saiecs of the food sapPly a ple. Incidentally the modernized port and take sc dustry lend themselves to the effective nts uneatable positions of fish, which in many Car ports are wasted. In many European ports Ag by- products of fish are a by no means despicable source Norway, for instance, exported in 1913 nearly $3,000,000 worth of fertilizers derived from fish. In addition, Norway in the same year export 15,000,000 Ibs. of fish flour, a commodity which is use advantageously to feed cattle and Beet especially hogs. S cae Major Hugh A. Greene, Director of Fish Sopa October, 1918. CANADIAN FISHERMAN 0 63 “SCYTHES SLICKERS” Wet Weather Garments When buying Oilskins, make your selection from the following grades : “LION” BRAND “SWAN” BRAND “SAILOR” BRAND OILED CLOTHING BEST FOR THE FISHING TRADE . | Write us for price list Scythes & Company Limited MONTREAL TORONTO WINNIPEG When you buy an Imperial you are getting an engine backed by years of service so satisfactory that Imperial Motors are the standard fishing boat engines of Eastern Canada and are to be found in every fishing district in Canada and Newfoundland. They are the best that money, skill and experience can produce. General Dimensions of 5 H.P. Model ‘‘A’’ Bore. of Cylinder: .4 Shean Mites eH eeeetble ap ee eo tte) ogee eee CROs Stroke as... MANE a Ki ope Oe, Grote ahiy Reenet). Bete ears Ae poe by Weight, engine one iat bok RRR LS a Men eats). ay ol Bede : ORE 150 cans per minute For the Cannery—75 filled cans. per minute to Seattle- Astoria Iron Works Established 188] Sanitary Can Making and Canners Machinery. — --- Including --- Trimmers Slitters Automatic Body Forming and Side Seaming machines Automatic Tow- eee Downe Seamers Testers aries! Pressers ae ‘End Curlers and Stackers si Compound Applying and End Dryers — Make your cans — save freight — save see a makers’ ‘profit. . the line, Filling Machines for salnien and meat pro ducts— . 1 Ib. Tall, 1 Ib. Flat, and 1% Ib. Flat, apt Chinchers Automatic Standard Two-Spindle Doub Seamers for salmon and other noneap products. Non-slop or non-spill Clincher and Double Seamer ¢ombined for liquid or coe : fruit that is liable to slop or Speae Can Washers . Internal expanding lever ee door | torts. ¥ Write fer ca talog. : Seattle- Auntie: Iron Works 601 Myrtle Street Seattle, - - Was oye te A nn ew BUIs> 9. f BRADRLYN WX LSA odern Cannery Practice little time to clapse- between the catch and the final operations on the pack. Prompt and ‘a Nowa streams of all the elements necessary to make cans are depended upon to avert loss. § _continuous Clean cut, high quality output required of all ‘Bliss’ Automatic Can Making Machinery, but steadily continued production at high speed is likewise a feature of importance. These things have been developed in The “Bliss” lines through nearly sixty years of experience and co-operation with canners and can makers in all parts of the world. “BLISS” AUTOMATIC ROUND-CAN DOUBLE-END FLANGER, NO. 15-K. This machine flanges both ends of can bodies simultaneously and is entirely automatic and continuous in operation. It produces flanges on 100 to 150 cans per minute and can be readily adjusted from one size to another. - ; ieee a Rae kts Ea Write for Catalogue Section No. 18-A E. W. BLISS COMPANY Main Office and Works; BROOKLYN, N.Y., U.S.A. CHICAGO OFFICE DETROIT OFFICE CLEVELAND OFF ICE ; People’s Gas Bldg. Dime Bank Bldg. Union Bank Bldg. 1917 ENGLAND, Pocock Street, Blackfriars Road PARIS, FRANCE, 100 Boulevard Victor-Hugo St. Quen CANADIAN FISHERMAN. 69. 1064 ing temperature, the glaez becomes thinner, and, in three to five months, fish in cold storage require to be re-glazed by pouring upon them a spray of clean water, which forms a thin coating of ice. VIII. Other Refrigerator Methods. — There are many other methods of refrigeration, namely, Otte- sen’s Brine Method, Henderson’s Wet Method, the Kapaida Sterilized Gas Method, but these have not been very widely adopted, and are dealt with in an- other Bulletin of this series. IX. Marketing Frozen Fish.—Frozen fish should be sold within a few months after freezing; indeed, before the fresh fish supply comes again into the market. Six to eight months, at the outside, is a good time limit, but if held for twelve months there is ht- tle important change in food value. Efficient freez- ing retails the fish in practically the asme condition as when first frozen. X. Frozen Fish Retain Best Elements.—Accurate investigations by experts prove that there is no im- portant difference between frozen fish and fresh fish of the same species, and no loss of nitrogenous ele- ments, which give fish their chief value as food. A distinguished expert on food refrigeration (Profess- or Armand Gauthier) declares ‘‘that food preserved by refrigeration is in every way as nutritious as when fresh.’’ He refers to beef and mutton generally, but his observation applies to fish and other foods. XI. ~Handling Fish After Cold-Storage—Fish should reach the consumer after being taken from eold storage with all. speed, and, if possible, before the ice-glaze has altered or disappeared. The con- ‘sumer after receiving a package of frozen fish from the retail store should defrost it and cook it as soon as possible, placing the frozen fish in a covered ves- sel or in a cold outhouse, or kitchen refrigerator. It will thaw out and retain its food and table qualities. It need not be soaked in water, cold or warm, for some excellent qualities are always lost when fish are soaked in water. It is not necessary to defrost frozen fish in cold water; but if this be done, remove it from the water as soon as all the frost is out, and never use warm water, hot water or other heat or it will lose its firmness and excellence of flavour. ame menenenenenemenenenenemenememememenenemene O Do your bit to put the National Fish Day on O O the Calendar. ‘0 0ODDDDDDDVDDVDDDDD00D0000000 CANADIAN FISHERMAN -Oetober, 1918. A CASE OF MISTAKEN IDENTITY. Lone Fisherman Caused Much’ Excitement an Boos Coast. Albert Carlson, a lobster fisherman, was seated in _ his motor boat about two miles off Monmouth Beach, N.J., the other afternoon with his pots piled up around him so that the outfit looked somewhat like a sub- marine lying on the surface. oho Down the coast well within the three mile limit, came a coastwise steamer ploughing along at about twelve knots an hour. Suddenly, much to Carlson’s surprise, a shot was fired from the steamer and a shell dropped a few yards away from his craft. Two other shots immediately followed, one of which swept Carlson’s piled up-pots away, but left both him and his motor craft uninjured. a The fisherman turned and streaked for the shore — as fast as his engine could chug. It was an extremely — hazy afternoon and he figured that by the time the third shot had arrived and his pots carried away he was perhaps no longer visible to the steamer. At any rate she ceased firing and was observed by persons along the beach to turn round and head in the general — direction of New York. Then much excitement! Word spread along the nearby coast that there was a German U-boat off — shore, and from miles around automobiles raced in — with curious parties hoping to see a possible naval en- gagement. What they saw was a destroyer come plunging ~ down the coast and search the waters. Overhead 7 flocked hydro-airplanes which had been despatched — from Camp Alfred Vail at, Little Silver upon getting — a report of an enemy supmarine. On shore a badly seared lobster fisherman was protesting that it would never be safe for him to go near his pots again. —— Boston Globe. : y “4 A. E. HALLETT, BROKER FRESH AND FROZEN FISH Correspondence solicited — Ref., Corn Exchange National Bank, or any Chicago wholesale fish concern. 31 W. Lake St. CHICAGO | J. F. CLIFFORD Wholesale Producer of SMOKED FISH Fillets, Haddies, Kippers, Bloaters FRESH and SAL1 FISH of all varieties CAR LOAD LOTS A SPECIALTY LIVERPOOL, N.S. - CANADA ~ Readers of the ‘(Canadian Fisherman” desiring to know more about the “Henderson Fish Preserving Process,” which is patented in Canada and other countries, should communicate with GEORGE HENDERSO Box 2449, G. P. O. a a SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA — N- a4 Z 2 i + PeOrtober, 1918, = - °° CANADIAN FISHERMAN 71 SHARP FISH FREEZER & STORAGE ROOM NFD. ATLANTIC FISHERIES LTD. WE REFER YOU TO ALL OUR CUSTOMERS THEY ARE OUR GREATEST ASSET. 7 ; 7 ' “WE SELL AT YOUR DISPOSAL a Te YOR MACHINES CIMCO SERVICE : CANADIAN ICE MACHINE CO., LTD. WINNIPEG TORONTO MONTREAL Westem Fish from the Waters of the Prairie Provinces The coming days will find a greater demand for our Western Lake Fish. Be an advance dealer. Don't wait for the other fellow to create your market. BUY NOW --- SELL NOW | : : | | Headquarters — f = The W. J. GUEST FISH CO. . ae 3 | _ LIMITED ; - WINNIPEG, - ae a. MANY 1066 ee a i < « rvuweyt?* Tver rvwvevv.v. rwwwwwywY* “CANADIAN FISHERMAN. HOD $8 HOGOGGOHOOE OOOO OG DH FOOHOYD: (2 GQLSOS000L0HOH GOOG OHO 0 O90 OO4O 000000 04 Pn rince Edward Island Notes QGHOSHHHYHHHHOH HH GHG GH9GHGHGHGHHGHO9OG9O90H9O9OH99OHO9H 99404 4 é s 4 € < ry eV VV SY Ly, Le ba Am lr, Ln tn De, Fishing on Prince Edward Island is confined at time of writing to cod and oysters mainly. Rough weather has interfered to a considerable extent with the catch, especially in the latter part of September and the first of October. Of late some fair catches of cod have been made off Tignish Rustico and East Point. The fishermen are being paid from $3 to $4 from the Knife, an exceptionally high price for this Wits territory. About the third week in September herring fishing was in full swing all round the coast, an unusual con- dition for that time of year. Some fishermen landed ten to twelve barrels a day, averaging them $10 per barrel. Oyster fishing began on the private beds Sep- tember Ist, and on the public beds a month later. Some fair catches are being made in East and West Rivers, but few are being taken in the western part of the sland. The once famous Malpeque Bay is now practically fished-out, and the attempt to restore its former yield by artificial cultivation has met with little success, owing in a large measure to. a disease, which is supposed to have been imported there with imported American oysters used to restock the beds. This year, however, the disease is not in evidence, and the owners of a considerable area of cultivated ground reports that there has been a gratifying increase in his young stock, so that there is still hope for the in- dustry to be built up again. The cleaning of the beds and other preparations made by companies which were organized just-before the war, may yet be at- tended with beneficial results in bringing to life again areas which were in a dying condition. With the introduction of more capital and enterprise, it may not be too late to save the situation. On the public beds the fishermen are being paid about $8 per barrel for their oysters. On the 5th of October, Andrew Halkett, Nationalist of the Dominion Fisheries Department, Ottawa, con- cluded his observations -on the lobsters! conducted under authority during’the close season. He visited four points on the island, viz.,. Rustico, Kildare, ', Waterford and Canal Cove, and the lobsters, i i hi li i Mi hi i i hi Mi Li hi i hi i i hi hi a a i i hi a a re eee There were one hundred trap liftings at each ‘fro n after being thoroughly exam scientifically were liberated. The sea aid wea’ conditions increased the difficulties of observation Mr. Halkett took the percentage of the males an females as he did during his previous observ in the open season, also the percentage of the lobsters among the females. The latter he found - exceedingly low. The weights were also taken both males and females, the totals varying accor mn to localities. There was also quite a variation with respédt numbers and sizes. Mr. Halkett found that Ww the lobsters were fewer in number, the Mare 2% w was higher. The time elapsing between the dates of obser August 31st to October 5th, accounted in a mea for the difference in numbers and size, as the ments of the lobsters are affected, he said, Be lowering of the temperature. On being asked: How did the ecateh in the season compare with that in the open season, he re plied: That is a difficult question to answer, as t catch varies exceedingly at different points, and— different periods of the year, ‘‘Dried observations of the lobsters themse he said, ‘‘show that at this time of year the qua the lobsters could not be better. Sufficien has elapsed for the hatching, moulting, the har of the new shell, and the filling of the later to an excellent marketable lobster. sy During his tour throughout the island he to the educational campaign, which was condue the Biological Board, under the auspices of t partment, had aroused both packers and fish to the urgent need of conserving a very, bigs, dustry. Mr. Halkett left the island on the Mth Guysborough Country, N.S., to resume his s investigation and make a survey of pee lobster sanctuaries, Soi taandah aA we i a October, 1918. CANADIAN FISHERMAN ECONOMY AND CONSERVATION Are the watch words of to-day—True economy in fish plants can only be maintained by the installation of machinery that will conserve power and maintenance cost, yet give the most efficient results. Your requirements will be given the benefit of 25 years of careful study of the conditions in Canada. Ask at the Largest Fish Plants in Canada. Their success is due to the above facts, all of which are em- bodied in | Write for Fall Information LINDE MADE COMPLETE ‘i PLANTS CANADA DESIGNED MACHINERY AND ERECTED Uthat THE STANDARD REFRIGERATING “MACHINE THE LINDE CANADIAN REFRIGERATION CO., LIMITED 37 ST. PETER ST., MONTREAL, P.Q. WINNIPEG VANCOUVER TORONTO I 3 he AAT AS DELAYS ace expensive— - Economise by ordering from our Stock— HAND and POWER HOISTS AND PUMPS ‘BULL DOG” Stationary —=—ENGINES—— Operate on Gasoline, Kerosene or Natural Gas. (24 to 60 H.P.). As good as the best. “EVINRUDE ry detachable yasoline Motors. Just the thing for Dory or light Fishing Boats. Fur- nished in two and 35 H.P. sizes. Over 80,000 sold Web iy bah MACHINERY CD. HALIFAX, N.S. § | Rubber Boots are the best eos All Purposes Sold only by The Robert Taylor Co. Ltd. Halifax, N.S. sult of naval dispositions, of course, A ; — J ase CANADIAN FISHERMAN Billingsgate Market rey wliy ey eae Ete hae Billingsgate, September 7th, 1918. Although it is two weeks since the last report was _ despatehed conditions have been much the same throughout the fortnight. A few days after the last - review of the markets in the United Kingdom was de- signs of falling away, spatched supplies began to show This has chiefly been and have continued to do so. | prought about by boisterous weather, although the ehanging of the areas which may be worked by fish- owing to Admiralty instructions as the re-- is attributable ing vessels, to a break in the regular working of the vessels from - time to time. With the boisterous weather the temp- erature on land has fallen appreciably, and has been © much under the normal for the time of year. In fact, eompared with an average September it has been really cold this week. This has tended to quicken the > @emand for fish, and with the lighter landings, com- : aes petition has increased, tvith the inevitable result that ae _ he herring fishing off the Scottish coasts has Deen more or less a blank, and with the usual herring A) > gag? prices have firmed up generally. Especially has this been the case with ‘‘chat’’? haddocks, which have ~ steadily appreciated until to-day they are command- iig almost as much as sizeable haddocks. fishing from Grimsby not permitted this year, and very little success attending the boats operating from ‘one or two of the smaller Yorkshire stations, there has been an acute shortage in herrings, and conse- quently in kippers. required. : Billingsgate, September 14th, 1918. “Throughout the past week the markets generally have been scantily supplied, and with the landings quite insufficient to requirements. maximum prices have been the rule rather than the exception. As an indication of the competition to secure supplies it may be noted that smallest sized haddocks, ‘‘chats,’’ as ‘they are termed in this country, have commanded al- most as much as sizeable haddocks, the schedule rate for which is 12s. per stone wholesale. At this time of year in. pre-war days it was not at all uncommon for trunks of ‘‘steamer’’ chats, weighing from five stones to five and a half stones, to change hands round 4s. per trunk. With the general shortage, rationing has been re- sorted to at several of the fishing ports, and it is quite likely that this plan will be adopted generally - for allocating the landings this winter, as distribution officers have been appointed at the different ports. . The lack of fish from home waters has given a fillip to the sale of Canadian frozen fish, and this gives emphasis to what was stated in a previous report. Le. that there is little likelihood of imported frozen fish meeting any great demand in the United Kingdom The extreme diffi ; There is practically no change to report in the ee position so far as Canadian frozen fish is concerned, ~- | but well known brands of frozen salmon, are urgently _ expected in the future. thick. “‘wings,”? taking the year as a whole, but it should serve as an excellent stand-by during lean weeks. The point for Canadians to consider, of course, is whether the trade ae would warrant the expenses incurred on this basis, — especially when it is borne in mind that prices for — fish must come down appreciably once the supplies increase by the release of the boats now engaged on national service, and the reopening of groun closed by Admiralty orders. . Billingsgate, September 21st, 1918. This week’s operations in the fish trade throughout the United Kingdom can be summed up in a very few words, supplies being scanty and buyers ve at the full maximum rates. Not only have t generally been extremely light, but wit sizeable and small, predominating at t ports, the shortage in other varieties h more pronounced. Herrings have been al tainable, but an improvement in this res pected with the opening next week of at herring voyage at the East Anglian ports of Gre Yarmouth and Lowestoft. Although a fairly ar number, of herring drifters are assembled at these two important centres, the fleet in no way a in numbers that of pre-war days, when working from Great Yarmouth alone o: four figures. ; Ae d by fishm in securing anything like an ay Ss ce has given great zest to the inquiry for the - of Food Canadian frozen fish, ard it is | learn from Mr. 8. J. Williams, of the Forge, Distributing Agent to the Minis gate Market, that very few ecomplag received as to indifferent quality. As it that the Canadian fish now being haad in the main of the most recently landed \ it is to be hoped that this im ’ condition may be taken as @ P b - . pack only the choicest quality as to its sale on this side dur as long as war conditions pre ~~ { ‘ i. a of Food has proved a boon té week, especially fish friers, but 1 felt by dealers, owing to the varyir fish, the unreliable weights and th However, where this fish is in meets a ready sale, and with the ¢ season, during which prices were fe the comparative cheapness of fish fror at times, from the home grounds, ra creased slightly. For the guidance packers, it may be stated that small: * THE CANADIAN FISHERMAN j § rye - TO THE COMMERCIAL FISHERIES = OF FISH PRODUCTS - - rs The Industrial & Educational Press, Limited s 35-45 St. Alexander St. - November,*1918. A MONTHLY JOURNAL DEVOTED OF CANADA AND NEWFOUNDLAND THE SCIENCE OF THE FISH CUL- TURE AND THE USE AND VALUE 7) See om. WILLIAM WALLACE EDITOR Montreal a CANADA on ) Office - C.P.R. Building é Newfoundland Agency CANADIAN FISHERMAN SUBSCRIPTION: Canada, Newfoundland and ' Great Britain - - - - $1.00 United States and Elsewhere,. $1.50 payable in advance. ADVERTISING RATES ON APPLICATION Published on the 24th day of each month. Changes of should be in the publisher’s hands ten days before that date. Cuts should be sent by mail, not by express. Readers are cordially invited to send to the Editor items of Fishery news, alse If suitable tor publication these will be paid for at our regular rate Official Organ of the Canadian Fisheries Association MONTREAL, NOVEMBER, 1918 No. 11 Develop Our Fisheries No Time Should be Lost in Getting our Share of Export Trade. Future of Fishing Indus try Depends on our Aggressiveness. Taken. “In the reconstruction work which must necessar- ily follow the conclusion of hostilities, our natural re- sources, and the manufactures therefrom, must be de- yeloped to the maximum if we are to pay our debts and assume that place in the world’s commerce to which our bountiful inheritances of timber, minerals, agricultural lands anl fisheries entitle us. Canada’s fisheries constitute one of our greatest na- tural resources which must now be developed along economic and progressive lines. Fishery development in the past has been sporadic—certain branches being heavily prosecuted, while others, and often the most important in quantity and quality, have been neglect- ed. The work of the Canada Food Board since Septem- ber, 1917, has done wonders in stimulating the home market, and it may be safely said that conditions in this respect are satisfactory. The home consumption is still capable of considerable increase, but home con- sumption of our fish and fish products eannot, for many years to come, offer a market large enough to induce extraordinary development of our fishery re- sources. Our export trade in fish and fish products is cap- able of greater expansion, and should be looked into Opportunity Knocks Now, and Must be immediately. At present we export approximately two-thirds of our fish—the bulk of this being made up of salmon, lobsters, herring, cod, haddock, hake and pol- lock, mackerel and halibut. Salmon from British Columbia in a canned state and salt dried cod, haddock, hake and pollock from the Maritime Provinces constitute our heaviest fish exports in point of value. France, © Australia and the Pacific eountries. The dried salt cod, haddock, hake and pollock is marketed largely in © West Indies, Brazil, South Ameri-~ the United States, can countries, Italy, Portugal and Spain. Our Atlantie "herring finds a market in the United States and the — West Indies—the Pacific variety is exported to Aus- tralia, Japan and China. by the United States. Lobsters, fresh and canned, are exported to the United States in large quantities— France being our best market overseas for the canned article. For fresh fish of various kinds, the United States has always provided a ready market. During the war, a good market for Canadian frozen fish was obtained in Great Britain, but it is doubtful if this can be maintained when the British fishing fleets resume operations. If the necessary refrigera- 1069 advertisements: articles on subiects of practizal interest. Salmon finds its greatest . market in Great Britain, the United States, Mackerel is readily absorbed CANADIAN FISHERMAN November, 1918. Fairbanks - Morse ~ ) Marine Oil Engines on the Gaspe Trader The Schooner Gaspe Trader Principle Owner H. A. Ellis, Sherbrooke Lumber Co. Captain, Mr. Lebrun. Power, Two 75 H.P. Fairbanks-Morse “CO” Engine. The Gaspe Trader on her Maiden Trip went to Quebec --- then to New Foundland and back to Montreal without the slightest engine trouble. Make sure that you have an equally reliable engine on your boat. C-O Engines are made in sizes from 30 to 200 H.P. For full information apply to The Canadian Fairbanks-* orse Co., Limited 75 Prince William St., St. John, - N.B. or our nearest office Halifax, Quebec, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Hamilton, Windsor, Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Calgary, Vancouver, Victoria. , = = ee eee Pret ik ae space ( on steamships could be secured, our Cana- ‘dian frozen fish of the cheaper varieties might be sent overseas to fed the European nations now facing star- vation. Given a reasonable time to prepare, Canadian - producers could enormously increase production, and - millions of pounds of frozen fish could be exported to _ Belgium, France, Germany, Russia and Austria. The _ vital problem in ‘this is not so much the producing of _ the fish, but the provision of the transport which must be supplied frequently in order to carry off the fish -. as produced owing to the limited eold storage facili- ties of our fishing companies. Should the transportation of frozen fish to Hurope -be unsurmountable owing to lack of steamers, fish in a pickled and dried state could be ex- _ ported in enormous quantities. The production of cod, haddock, hake, pollock and herring in Canada is lim- . .ited only by the means of catching them, and if a ready market for them was available, steam trawlers ‘and drifters could soon be in operation increasing the production this winter. This is a matter which should be looked into at once as the necessary salt must be imported ; vessels and gear prepared, fishermen en- ted and shore establishments enlarged. ‘the bulk of the fish in this scheme must ne- ‘ily ocured on the Atlantic as the readiest tion, yet some of the quantity might be eifie waters—herring and _ the lower n principally. ned state could be exported overseas iate requirements of a food denuded neries abound around our coasts which lized to pack herring, certain grades of , haddock, codfish, ete., ew vailable for export. The foregoing refers to the atilization of our food ing the shortage of meats, but one of the problems which ealls for immediate attention apart from the ‘aftermath of war, is the building up of a strong and “permanent export trade in our fish products. - Canada, with her unexcelled fishery resources, hould control the West Indian and South American narket in canned, dried and pickled fish. The Scan- dinavian fishermen have long exported the same pro- ‘duets to these markets and will again just as soon as ‘normal conditions return. Our herring fisheries are -eapable of vastly increased development, but lax me- ve given our Scandinavian and British competitors hold on markets which should be ours by virtue of erly, not a barrel of European herring should be rketed in the United States or the West Indies. On the Pacific Coast, the Japanese, Chinese and stralasian markets for numerous fish products ould be ours if aggressively developed and promoted. We have the fish, but we haven’t got the proper ap- liances for catching them economically, or any stan- ards of quality in curing and packing. The haphaz- rd methods of preparing our fish products have en- endered a feeling of unreliability: among foreign im- jorters. is curious to note in all the talk of reconstruction dustrial development, which is in the air at pre- ot a word has been said regarding the develop- t of our fisheries. Mining, timber and agriculture re peen ‘prominently featured, but the fisheries CANADIAN: Mercantile Marine; refrigerated — »! and in canned: plentiful varieties of lake fish would be. fish 1 resources for immediate requirements in augment- . ods of packing and antiquated methods of fishing” wroximity. If we packed and cured our herring pro-- FISHERMAN 1071 have been ignored, and yet in this particular resource we can honestly claim to have the most prolific in the world. The opportunity is now presenting itself for Can- ada’s fisheries to get:into the fight for world trade; to establish our fish products in permanent and re- munerative markets; to build up a-powerful fishing fleet with a huge personnel of seafaring men capable of being the nucleus of a Naval Reserve and a nur- sery for the seamen required in the new: Dominion to provide remunerative occupa- tions for thousands of persons and to bring into the country the money necessary to maintain our eredit, develop our resources and pay our debts. ; During 1917, Canada’s fisheries were valued at $52,- 000,000, and gave employment to 100,000 persons. Considering the length of time they have been prose- cuted, these figures should be doubled. The oppor- tunities are open to us, but if no move is made to build ' up our export markets now, progress will be painfully slow and then only in the face of frenzied competition. ° THE SHEATHING OF THE SWORD. The war_is over. The night of horror has passed and the new dawn brings peace and illuminates with joy and thankfulness a world which now realizes that Justice and Liberty will eventually triumph in the struggle of Right against Wrong. The nations. who unsheathed the sword for Democracy endured many dark days, but faith in the righteousness of their cause. imbued them with the will to conquer. After four years of sanguinary and dreadful fighting when the. flower of the world’s manhood was. blotted out in the slaughter, the barbarian hordes of Teutonic Kultur were hurled back, beaten, ruined, abjectly assenting to paralyzing terms, and with losses pho to con- template. The Arch Hun, William Hohenzollern, is a fugitive . in a neutral land with the shadow of retribution over his head and nothing left him but painful recollec- . tions of sacrilegious boastings and the failure of forty years’ of Machiavellian scheming. He gambled his mighty Empire for world domination by the sword, . and, while he might have gained it by walking the paths of peace, yet he travelled the road of blood and lost—hurling his country into irretrievable ruin. | Those who marched in his train are now pouring back into the lands which spewed them forth—there to face anarchy, poverty and starvation. Truly, a stunning, refutation of the insidious doctrines of Nietsche, Triet- sche, and Bismarck and the ruthless warfare exam- pled by Genseric, Alaric and Atilla. Germany will live forever in the memories of all men as the most despicable nation and people cursed with. Canada has nobly done her part in the fight. for freedom and justice. She has given of her blood and treasure without stint—tributes which earn her a place among the nations who have won liberty through sacrifice. But, in all the rejoicings; in all the plans for the future, let us not forget the men who risked . all and died in order ‘‘that liberty may not. pass for-— ever from the earth.’’ We cannot do anything for the _ heroes who have ‘‘gone West’’ — they have now gained their reward, but, as the dead would have us do, let us remember the men who went through it: and came back. For you and I, these men willingly offered their lives. Let us remember that fact in charity and in business and endeavor to pay the debt. the world was ever. CANADIAN A CANADIAN NAVAL RESERVE. At the present time, it would be good policy for Hon. C. C. Ballantyne, Minister of Marine & Fisheries and Naval Service to look into the matter of form- ing a Naval Reserve from the ranks of our Canadian fishermen. This journal has strenuously advocated the establishment of a Naval Reserve for the last five years, and the present time would seem opportune. Canada is in a better position now to organize and train a Naval Reserve force than ever before. We have trained efficient officers in the R.N.C.V.R. cap- able of becoming instructors and also the necessary fleet of training ships. When demobilization of our present Naval forces occurs, the Reserve scheme might be inaugurated to keep ships and officers: employed. In training fishermen in naval work, we have preee- dents in Great Britain and Newfoundland and the worth of the fishermen-reservists of these countries in ‘the past conflict cannot be too highly praised. The war has shown the value of the small patrol and mine-sweeping vessel and fishermen make the ideal personnel for these craft. Canada has a. considerable fleet of trawlers and drifters which would make good training craft, and many of them might be retained for that purpose. There is no guarantee that war may not break out’ between nations in the future, and if we take lessons from the one just concluded, preparedness is the para- mount factor. Canada must build up her fishing fleet and merchant marine, and we will have better seamen and better fishermen if we can give them something of a naval training. WANTED—RETAIL FISH SALESMEN. Canada suffers from a dearth of good retail fish salesmen. In this country, the really first class retail fish salesman is at a premium, and the trade suffers accordingly. The best salesmen we have here comes from the Old Country, where the fish salesman is a recognized trade and serves an apprenticeship to his ~ particular work. The fish salesman of Canada is usually a butcher. He may be a good butcher, but he is not usually a good fish salesman, though he may do his best. Hand- ling fish and handling meat are two entirely different things, and the men in both lines must know ‘the game — thoroughly to make a success of the business. In Great Britain, the retail fish store is a distinct busi- ness, and is seldom, if ever, associated with the butcher. The butcher’s business is to sell meat. He handles fish only on compulsion for Friday’s trade. He doesn’t care much for the fish part of the game, and prefers to handle only those fish which don’t give much trou- ble—which explains ‘for the popularity of halibut and salmon. Canada needs more retail fish stores in the larger towns. In the smaller centres, the butcher should have a distinct fish department with a proper fish salesman in charge. Your number one fish salesman must know fish of all varieties; must know when and how they are caught and how to handle them when he géts them. He should be able to skin and fillet any kind of fish for customer’s particular needs, and also be able to talk the hesitating customer into purchas- ing. Men of this type soon build up a business when ° integrity and reliability is combined with the requi- sites of salesmanship. FISHERMAN. November, 1918. The Canadian Fisheries Association are looking into this important question, and an effort will be made by them to find positions for reliable fish salesmen from Great Britain who wish to come to Canada. It is thought that many British soldiers formerly in the a fish trade might be placed with Canadian rms. : ‘ FISH WASTE FOR CATTLE FEED AND FERTILIZERS. There exists now, and for a long time to come, a shortage of fodder for eattle and fertilizer for the farms. The foods and fertilizers which can be manu- factured from fish offal would find a ready and re- munerative market at the present time, but our peo- ple are slow to catch on to opportunities which are — ever presenting themselves. This magazine has been consistently urging the utilization of fish waste not ‘only in editorials, but by publishing the articles of a well known authority on the subject—Mr. J. B. Feild- ing. Quotations from American companies, manufactur- ing processing machinery, show that a complete plant capable of handling 20,000 Ibs. of fish offal per day of 24 hours can be bought for something like $20,000 f.o.b. U. 8. manufacturing point. Steam engine for power would be extra. This plant manufactures oil, cattle feed and fertilizer. 48 When the good market which exists for these pro- ducts, Canadian fish producers would do well to look into the matter of establishing a plant for the utiliza- tion of the fish offal common to all fishing ports. ? . THE STEAM TRAWLER—GREATEST FOOD PRO- DUCER. In a speech made recently in the British Parliament Mr. Prothero stated :— “The production of food per unit of man- power in fishing is very high. In agriculture, it is estimated at 8 tons per unit: in fishing it is estimated at 16 tons per unit, and if you take it _ on trawlers alone it would be something like 35 tons per unit.’’ Thesq figures should give Canadians flood for thought. Our sea fishery resources are enormious; and the steam trawler is the only worth-while method of producing demersal sea fish. But to develop our fisheries, it is necessary that we build up export mar- kets as the home trade will never be large enough to absorb all we can catch. The salt fish trade could largely augment their supplies by the use of steam trawlers, and as an ad- junct to this business, the canning of the smaller fish caught should prove remunerative. Both these lines are readily exportable, and the foreign market can be largely developed. With the shortage of meats which exists at present, the market for dried, pickled and canned fish should be a good one. At the: next session of Parliament it is expected that the Pickled Fish Inspection Act of 1914 will be made compulsory. It should have been made compul- sory when it was drafted. November, 1918. FISH DISPLAY IN RETAIL STORES. The neat and tasteful display of fish in retail stores cannot be too strongly emphasized. Sloppiness of dis- play tends to disgust the prospective purchaser and chases business away. Cheese, apples, vegetables and other food commodities may be shown with more or less carelessness, but fish must be attractive to stimu- late purchase. A well dressed fish window will often arrest the passer-by and induce him or her to step into the store and buy some of the fish so temptingly arrayed. It means a little work, but it is always worth it, and when once commenced, it should be kept up. John Jones and Tom Smith were butchers and fish dealers in a fair sized town. Jones had a big business and handled a lot of fish, but paid little or no attention to fish display. Occasionally, he would dress up a win- dow with fish, but as a rule he would only have a cor- ner of his window decorated with a box of haddies or kippers lying negligently among some vegetables, and A barrel of salt herring or cod exposed at the store door. Smith did not have the trade of Jones at first, but he made it a point of reserving one window for meat and another for fish and vegetables. After closing time, he dressed his fish and vegetable window at- tractively and changed it: at least twice a week, and often featured certain lines. For a time it seemed like wisted effort, as his competitor sold double the amount of fish, but gradually the passers-by took notice of Smith’s consistently attractive fish display, and when the attention of the public began to turn to- Ww ' TO DAY TN KIPPERS bicaes ee u ; : “ < xs *\ AN Or ; Tn acta 4 MAKE FISH DISPLAYS ATTRACTIVE. The akove window space in one of the Matthews-Blackwell stores in Ottawa. follows out the Canada Food Board’s sug- CANADIAN FISHERMAN at = = suc ty mS 1073 wards fish by reason of the Food Board’s campaigns, Smith’s business increased. He spread himself still more and put in sanitary display cases and stocked many varieties. Before many months had passed, he corralled practically all the fish business in the town and incidentally a goodly share of the meat trade also. On another page, we illustrate an attractive window display of fish by an up-to-date concern. The whole- sale distributors might very well preach this gospel to their customers through their price lists and bulle- tins. It helps to stimulate effort and build business. PACIFIC STEAM TRAWLING SUCCESSFUL. Figures received by the Canada Food Board indi- cate that the market for Pacific flat-fish has grown wonderfully. Since the fishery was established un- der the auspices of the Food Board in March 1918, over three and a half million pounds of flatfish were taken by British Columbia trawlers and the bulk of this amount has already been marketed in Canada. Stocks in storage are small and are moving out rapid- ly. Over a million pounds of codfish was also produced but it is noted that this fish dose not sell as easily as does the soles, brills, plaice, witches and skate. The suecess of the flatfish trade has been built up within nine months, as prior to that the fish were re- garded as unmarketable by fishermen and there was no regular demand for tham. ‘The steady propa- ganda work of the Food Board has succeeded in es- tablishing a new Pacific fishery which will prove a future god-send to the industry. TO! DAY ERAN pars Ph its § All Weei mn a, Asn ni LR ELS gestion that fish displays be made as attractive as possible. The window, cards are printed by the firm for use of its own stores. 4 # 1074 | CANADIAN CANADIAN FISHERIES ASSOCIATION IN VICTORY PARADE. One of the greatest pageant parades ever held in Canada was carried off in Montreal on Monday, No- vember llth. The parade was primarily for the Vic- tory Loan but when the news of the German surren- der came in, the procession was turned into a grand march of victory and was viewed by an immense and wildly enthusiastic crowd. President Brittain of the Canadian Fisheries Asso- ciation determined that the fishing industry would have to be represented. Capt. Fred Wallace of the Food Board, had a fishing dory in which two men of the crew of a Gloucester schooner had made their way to land after their vessel was destroyed by the form- er Halifax trawler ‘‘Triumph,’’ and this was _secur- ed and appropriately mounted on a float. Shields, giving the history of the dory, were mounted on each side of it, and large signs reading ‘‘Canadian Fisher- ies Association”’ in French and English covered the sides of the float. Other legends relating to the fish- eries were also displayed in addition to flags and de-- corations. Messrs. Wallace and Brittain, rigged out in oilskins and sou’westers, officered the dory while two Brit- ish blue-jackets who had been in the Jutland fight, constituted the crew. When the parade got under way, the dory sail was set to a fair wind and with a “band ahead, the C.F.A. exhibit made the five-mile journey in two hours and was the recipient of much applause. The roller was shipped in the dory’s bow and a pro- The roller was shipped in the dory’s. bow and a pro- per cod trawl was rigged to run through the imita- tion waves and under the boat. Every now and again Captain Brittain took a pull om his line to see. were biting’’ and the onlookers cheered his copia ism. At the oleae of the pageant, the sore was head- = ‘ed for the Windsor Hotel and the blueg-jacket_ crew were invited to lunch and latterly safely me ee — and emptied by the tides, which taxi and sent down to their ship. GERMAN FISHERIES IN THE BALTIC. The ‘‘Fish Trades Gazette,”’ of ‘London, says: ‘‘Hitherto the fisheries in the Baltic have heen in comparison with those in the North Sea, of little = - importance, and have been carried on by small eraft, ; founded at Stettin, and now two others Have been. As a consequence of the demand - for fish brought about by the war-a certain stimulus has been given to the development of the Baltic fish- thi eries, and quite a number of companies have. been Last year one was — founded at Stettin, and now other two have been _ created, one at Lubeck, with capital of 4,000 000. marks, and the other at Rostock, with a capital of 2.- | found unprofitable. formed for their exploitation. 000,000 marks. Other companies are to be formed at Danzig and Kiel. of steam vessels, especially trawlers, but, for the rea- son above stated, it is not intended to fish much in the Baltic proper. but rather in the Cattegat \and Skager- rack, where fish are said to be plentiful. war has come to an end the vessels will | be utilized also in more distant waters, as the North Sea. Teeland and the White Sea.. It is pointed out that the home ports lie near the great consuming centres. as Berlin. Stettin, Dresden and Leipzig, and the saving in rail- FISHERMAN _ Canadian coasts, unutilized. The Canadian sumption of reo “if they’- ; ‘tained. It has be ; and sodium sulphate retards All these companies will make use . When the November, 1918. : way freights will compensate for the miei expense _ of steaming to and from the fishing grounds, com-_ E: pared with the North Sea ports, as Hamburg, Altona, ” . Geestemunde, and Cuxhaven. Another point made is. that on the Baltie coast there are numerous centres of | the fish-preserving industry, which will receive direct — supplies, instead of getting more of them from th y western ports.’’ In the future Canadian fishing vessels maavkagihs 7 their trips ‘at Portland will be subject to the same cus- — toms restrictions as imposed at Boston. Pishesiren 4 from the provinces discovered some time ago that the enforcement of the customs regulations at th Maine port was not as rigid as at Boston and conse- quently they cut Boston for Portland. Va The matter was brought to the attention of Bost - fishing interests with the result that a protest made to the Treasury Department, and hereafte Canadian fishermen will be accorded the same t ment at all United Ctates ports. The Division of ( tons upheld the procedure of the Boston Custor cials with- respect to Canadian fishing _ vest at Boston, E USE CANADIAN SHELLFISH. . It would be very desirable if the Canadian so overseas could learn to appreciate the conmr mussel, which in Europe is not less esteemed, oyster. There are vast beds of this shellfish even come to know and enjoy the periwin They have periwinkles in gn occurs to-them to eat th un ‘boards ‘ntl. ae ae ae net, wipdloat shaun. ig vestigations on salting | _ {comm very rapidly and— comple ly. small. calcium chloride added to the pure brin penetration ; magnesium chloride cael ‘the time "ot I pene ratio: brine. 5 oo So These oy also hates a luenc the quality of the fish. Pure salt prot ueces a soft ar ticle, with a brownish or grayish meat; small amount of the impurities give a much firmer fish, magnesiu fi’ November, 1918. CANADIAN chloride being most active, and in addition keeping the skin bright; small amounts of calcium chloride render the fish hard, larger amounts make the skin loose and slimy. Calcium chloride produces white meat and magnesium chloride is particularly effective in this regard. It may be thus seen that once the effects of these impurities are known, it may be possible not only to bring about a more rapid and complete brining of fish, but to produce at will a salt fish possessing al- most any desired degree of hardness and whiteness. —U. S. Fisheries Bulletin. The window illustrated below won the first prize for display of fresh fish, offered by the Vancouver branch, Canadian Fisheries’ Association, on National Fish Day. The enterprising owner of the Economy Market, which is at 71 Hastings St. W., is Chris. John- son, the gentleman on the left of the picture. It was difficult to get a photograph showing the design and varieties very clearly, due to an unremovable glass front. The centre piece consists of three steelhead salmon driven by a celluloid doll, with reins of red, white and blue, sitting upon a halibut. The legend ““Vietory Fish Drive’’ was outlined with salmon on the background of cod fillets. Mr. Johnson had over thirty varieties of fresh and curde fish in this win- dow. FISHERMAN 1075 INTERNATIONAL FISH-CULTURAL CON- FERENCE. On October 4a conference was held at Buffalo, N.Y., between the superintendents of the U. 8. Fisheries Bureau’s Cape Vincent and Put in Bay stations and Canadian hatchery officials, the object being to agree upon a plan for close co-operation between the two tovernments in the propagation of the important commercial fishes of Lakes Ontario and Erie. With reference to Lake Ontario it was agreed that the Bureau of Fisheries should be permitted to collect whitefish eggs on the grounds it has heretofore cov- ered in Canadian territory, and have the privilege of extending the work into new fields near the entrance to the Bay of Quinte, if found desirable. The Cana- dian authorities will render all practical assistance, will urge upon their fishermen the necessity of secur- ing eggs, and will deny licenses to any person refus- ing to allow the Bureau’s spawn takers to operate in their boats. Judging from the entirely amicable relations that have existed between the fishermen and the Buraeu’s men in the Lake Ontario fields hereto- fore covered, it is believed there will be no necessity for any drastic regulations in this respect. It has been arranged for the superintendent of the Cape Vincent station, in company with the superin- tendent of the Dominion hatchery at Belleville, On- tario, to call on the fishermen operating near Belle- ville prior to the opening of the spawning season. It was suggested by the Canadian officials that if either the Cape Vincent or the Put in Bay station se- cured more eggs than it could handle to advantage, ECONOMY MARKET, 71 HASTINGS ST. W., VANCOU- VER, B.C Can. Fisheries’ Association. Fresh and Cured Fish Display. * 1076 after first filling the Government and other stations dependent upon them, the excess should be turned over to Dominion hatcheries operating in the same region, in preference to shipping the eggs to distant points. The Bureau has instructed its superintendents to dispose of surplus eggs under the conditions stat- ed without first securing the permission of the Wash- ington office, it being understood that it is often ne- cessary to move large numbers of green eggs in the field without delay. It-has also been ordered that any eggs supplied by the Canadian authorities under this agreement must not be shipped to applicant, but the product thereof must be planted on the local spawning grounds or as near them as possible. : The Bureau wishes to effect a general distribution of the important commercial fishes of boundary wat- ers, and it has been found advisable to supply eggs each year to certain hatcheries operated by the States. The pursuance of this policy will not interfere with the international plans as outlined. The Bureau will continue to make extensive plants of whitefish in Do- minion waters, such as those in the vicinity of North Bass and East Sister Islands, in Lake Hrie. As a result of this conference it is expected that the superintendents in the field will be able to han- dle eggs during exceptionally favorable seasons with greater facility than has heretofore been possible. FISH CULTURE SUCCESSFUL IN CANADIAN LAKES. A Naval Service Department memorandum issued recently states that evidence of the most satisfactory results from the fish cultural operations of the Depart- ment is apparent on all sides. The catch of whitefish per net in Lake Winnipeg was never better than dur- ing the current season. The whitefish fishery in Lake Erie, the greatest whitefish producing area in Canada, was more prosperous this season than it has ever been. and Lake Ontario is rapidly returning to the prosper- ous condition in which it formerly was. The salmon streams of Ontario and Quebee were never: in better. condition. The spawning areas are covered with sal- mon which are forcing their way into the highest: tri- butaries of the various streams. ae The fish cultural operations of the Department are confined almost entirely to the propogation of com- mercial f oodfishes such as Atlantic salmon in the Maritime proivnees, whitefish, lake herring, salmon trout and pickerel in Ontario and the Prairie provin- ees and Pacific salmon in British Columbia, VALUABLE BY-PRODUCTS FROM FISH. In‘ describing the activities of the chemistry com- mittee of the Advisory Council for Scientific and In- dustrial Research, Dr. Ruttan said: ‘“As you know, one of the great problems in Can- ada is obtaining fertilizer, and we are looking in every direction to obtain material which will induce more intensive farming and give a larger yield from the farms. Of all the sources of fertilizer, one which seemed to us as of outstanding importance is refuse ’ from the fisheries, popularly known as fish waste and waste fish. At a conservative estimate there is up- - wards of 300,000 tons of fish waste for use in Canada. It is not only possible to obtain a valuable fertilizer with a {tigh nitrogen and phosphate content, but quite possible and economical to produce protein food for eattle and hogs, as well as for poultry from fish CANADIAN FISHERMAN. ’ waste. ~ November, 1918. A certain amount of-data has been sent in by Dr. McIntosh, on the Pacifie coast, and Dr. Mackie has reported regarding New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and especially Cape Breton, and as a result from the in- formation obtained from the Department of Marine and Fisheries, we have sent Mr, J. B. Feilding to make a preliminary port survey of Nova Scotia and Cape Breton as well as Gaspe, with a view of finding out how much fish waste is available and whether it is within hauling distance of centres where it could be readily converted. The West coast is different. There fishing is periodical. It is continuous in parts of Nova: Seotia, Caso particularly, all year round. Jt seems to be much more feasible to establish a plant in the East than in the west. Considering that the present price of protein is $2 per unit, and ammonia is at $6.40 and oil is very high at the present time, $1.00 to $1.10 per gallon, it seems that the undertaking should prove a profitable one we hope to get started during the com- ing season.’’ ts pig - PISCATORIAL PARAGRAPHS. The Emergency Fleet Corporation of the U. S. are | going to build a fleet of fifty steam trawlers for the . U. S. Food Administration. Though the plan was mooted some months ago, it is not expected to be ean- celled, as increased production is required. ta’ : The Western Provinces will make a strong demand for control of their natural resources at the meeting of the provincial Premiers in Ottawa, Nov. 19th. The fisheries of the lakes of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta will probably come under the demand. Whe- ther it will be to the advantage of the fisheries to . * have provincial administration remains to be free from politics, the plan may be-all right, ing to be exploited as presents for political workers, God help them: 99. “2 An unusually late run of mackerel struck in along the Cape Shore of Nova Scotia, . and considerable | quantities were taken early in November. , Sardine herring also. made a late appearance in the Bay Fundy during the last week of October and earl November. The prospects which hitherto looked blac for canners and weirmen, are now reversed. - Trul the fisherman’s life is a gamble.- ~ : Stee: aa All herring packers in Newfoundland packing her- ring by the Norwegian method are to be licensed. A’ Herring Fisheries Board has been formed and. li- « censes will be issued under their auspices. All her-— ring packed in this. method must be inspected by au-— thorized inspectors, who will grant certificates if sat-_ - If it can be carried out by efficient officers and kept = and the- fisheries developed. But if the fishing waters are go- if Be ay f 2 ae a de ‘ eae rea yi is E> ka ve i 4 s $ i ts fae iN NN a ae a (es ae te aly = 4 8 has eS ee ag ge isfactory. No export will be allowed if certificate is . ae not produced at Customs when applying for ex entries. License number must be branded -on the head m of the barrel by the packer. Newfoundland is .cer- tainly alive to the value of the herring trade: They . have beaten us to it. with compulsory inspection. es ae | A recent judgment of. the District Court. of Mas fassa- 2 ‘ - chusetts. rules that fishermen - trawlers must be aboard: and ready to sail when the- captain calls. Eight men of the steam trawler “‘ Wal- rus’? held the ship up forty-eight hours by refusing on ‘American -steam November, 1918. CANADIAN mn ; a ie i k _ to sail in her. The delay cost the owners $1.250, which the defaulting fishermen will have to pay out of the wages due them. _ Canadian fishing vessels are now operating on the _ Banks. Due to the depredations of Hun submarines, _ our trawlers had to remain in port or fish in the North Bay. During September the catch of fish fel] off considerably. vA President A. H. Brittain of the Canadian Fisheries’ Association has been taking an active interest in re- _ construction problems, and has been representing the interests of the Association before the Canadian Manufacturers’ Association, and the Federal Govern- ment. Through his efforts, we understand, that the fishing industry will be represented on any commit- tee formed to look into domestic and foreign trade _ opportunities. » Pe : A _ MARGARINE FROM WHALE OIL. | * Dr. Sopp, a Norwegian professor, has succeeded in _ producing an improved and better tasting margarine _ from whale oil. There will be three different grades ’ of this margarine, of which to the best quality there "js added 10 per cent butter fat, the so-called‘‘ Govern- » ment margarine,’’ intended for sick persons. To the ' second quality is added a little milk and the third quality is made without the adding of any of these _ ingredients. In these times with the great shortage of butter and fats for food purposes, the further de- a velopment of Dr. Sopp’s method is awaited with in- _ terest, especially as Dr. Sopp’s whale margarine is said to have a better taste than the whale margarine previously introduced, 3 ITEMS OF INTEREST FROM U.S. BULLETINS. Fish wastes for feeding animals——J. M. Bartlett, - Maine Agr. Exp, Sta., Bull 266, 291-2 (1917) —The ' waste fom sardine factories contain 2.5—8.2 per cent nitrogen, normal, 15.8—51.2 per cent protein, and 8— 21 per cent fat. The H,O content varied from 10 to _ 70 per cent as discard from the factory. The air-dry ' material contains approximately 10 per cent H,0. _ The analysis shows a high food value, but the oil con- - tent is too high to feed to animals in large amounts. _ The commercial freezing and storing of fish. Ernest _ D. Clark and Lloyd H. Almy, U.S. Depart. Agr., Bull. 635, 10-pp. (1918).—The bulletin gives a description _ of the best methods of freezing and storing fish, Fish kept in the frozen condition for 27 months showed ; no changes which rendered them unsuitable for food. _ Fish meal as feed for swine. F. G. Ashbrook, U.S. ‘Dept. Agr., Bull, 610, 9 pp. (1917) .—Fish meal prov- ed superior to tankage in the feeding of pigs. No fish flavor was observed in the pork, when fed in the roper proportion. The fish meal used contained 7.3 per cent protein and 15.3 per cent fat, the tank- age contained 60 per cent protein and 8 per cent fat. _ The utilization of certain sea?weed as fodder for horses. Adrian. Compt. rend 166, 54-6 (1918).—Analy- ‘sis of sea-weed common along the coast of France, af- er proper treatment to remove the excess of salt hows 14.4 per cent water, 53 per cent carbohydrates, 17.3 per cent nitrogenous matter, 11.5 per cent eelln- , ose and 3.9 per cent mineral salts. Compared with ts this is lower in carbohydrates, but considerably FISHERMAN 1077 higher in N. Feed tests made with horses afflicted with lymphangitis resulted in the cure of those that received the sea-weed with an increase of weight while the control animals remained sick. Lockeport Cold Storage C ‘Go., “Ltd... ae Spooner, W. Woe oes ae ees of Ree ee ance Packin a ga ; Department of Naval Service .. .. Lenton and Petrolia Barrel Con. Ltd. 84 Tabor, Geo., Ltd. i dia yaa atten al ae meerieey, ces ate . Sea. ails 79 Lyons, Chas. Co., aren’ bl eeu 3 Taylor, Robt. Co. Ltd. .. .. .. .. 65 Dominion Fisheries, ge eS 79 Tower Canadian oii wiih eer ee E Marconi by ay i SE op ae os ¥. " ora 4 Bite 3 eee hte a vity, T. & Sona ad... fe s- #4 Vhay Fisheries Co... .. .. «. «. 88 F Mueller, Charles, Co., Ltd. .. .. «- 7 Ww. " 87 Murray & Fraser... .. ++ ++ ++ +» 9 Walker, Thos. and Son, Ltd. .. .. 98 Pinklestein, Max. -- -- -- +. 00: $f Mustad, O., and Son .. .. -. -- +» 18 Wallace Fisheries, Ltd, .. .. «. «+. 18 Fish ‘Tradep to oper’ tad oi Co. " National Refining oo. 13 SO ane Ne As of ‘oreman Moto ° i. e and Co., Niki. witha. SepruN oe wey ee oe New Brunswick Cold Storage Forge, Pele... af nm oe 08 of ss wee ‘England ‘Fish Company, Ltd. a3 wee Can Co., ee ipa re caps Freeman and ce a Co.. grade SR | Newfoundland Government .. .. 79 Williams, A. R., Machinery Co. ME eg oe ne cee BM Noble, Charles, Jr., Co., Inc... .. .. 94 Wilson, W. C. & Co... .. 2. «+ =s 80 1088 INTERIOR WATERS OF BRITISH COLUMBIA OPENED FOR COMMERCIAL FISHING. Food production on an extensive seale, in a new field, is assured as a result of the enterprise of Hon. William Sloan, British Columbia Commissioner of Fisheries, in securing passage of amendments to the Special Fishery regulations for the Province of Brit- ish Columbia. The orderin-counceil, opens for gill net fishing all fresh water lakes over four miles in length in the Fort ‘George and Omineea Districts. White fish, char and lake trout may be taken in them all, with an addi- tional provision for the capture of sturgeon in Ba- bine, Fraser, Stewart and Francois Lakes. | Drag- seines as well as gill nets may be used in Okanagon, Arrow and Kootenay Lakes, in the southern parts of the province. Some two years ago an order was issued opening the waters of Stewart, Fraser, Francois and Babine Lakes to gill net fishing for the capture of white fish, char and lake trout, limiting the issue of licenses to bona fide local land residents. The object was to afford every opportunity and privilege to the resi- dent land owners and pre-emptors, but the two years’. trial has demonstrated that so few of these people desired to engage in commercial fishing, that the lo- eal demand for fish could not be suplied, and not withstanding that the lakes were found to contain an abundant supply for shipment along the line of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway, as well as local market needs. , Several parties intimately acquainted with the northern country and lakes are already active, and in the near future cold storage and fishery plants may be confidently expected in the interior of British Columbia. In addition to affording winter employment to the local farmers the new developments will likely at- tract to the country a desirable elass of hardy men, most of whom will undoubtedly see the advantages of permanent residences in such a promising section of the province. The new regulations regarding clams included in the same order were also made at the instigation of Mr. Sloan. American dealers have made a practice of engaging Indians to dig clams for export, with the result that the demands of the local markets and eanneries exceeded the supply and substantially in- ereased the price. MACKEREL OFF THE BRITISH COLUMBIA COAST. In the September issue of the ‘“Canadian Fisher- ~ man,’’ reference was made to a mackerel caught with pilechard on the west coast of Vancouver Island. Many experienced fishermen recognised this as a true Atlantic mackerel, but Dr. C. McLean Fraser, of © the Pacific Coast Biological Station at Nanaimo, B.C., holds a different view. Dr. Fraser claims that it is the mackerel common off the California Coast, and not the common mackerel of the North Atlantic, al- though found in the Atlantic as far north as Maine. He also states that a similar fish is found on the Euro- pean. Coast, where it is generally called the Spanish mackerel. The question is creating considerable interest in fishing circles, and another mackerel of the same CANADIAN FISHERMAN. also going to be sent by Mr. Hager to a scientist for investigation. Mr. Kermode, Director of the Pro-- vincial Museum, Victoria, states that there is a speci- men of mackerel in the museum, taken in the nets of Nanaimo Fisheries Co., in November, 1904. While Dr. Fraser’s report is aecepted as accurate, Mr. Hager and others point out that this particular fish is not anything like the Spanish mackerel, which is caught off the Florida Coast, and sold extensively in the New York market, but of course the Spanish mackerel sold in New York and the mackerel known | as Spanish in the European waters may be, as Dr. Fraser will no doubt advise, different fish except in name. s : PACIFIC WHALE MEAT. | ce The man who ‘‘wanted some one to invent an- other meat animal,’’ has had his wish gratified by a product of the sea. A million and half pounds of Pa- cific whale beef attractively packed in one pound eans, in addition to an almost similar quantity in a frozen state, are ready to furnish the seeker after variety with a change from beef, pork and mutton. War time experience has usually been that the food controller’s substitutes have been more expen- sive than the article displaced, the only exception be- ing sea foods, and here again succulent whale steak as a substitute for the beef variety is within the reach of all, at not exceeding 20c¢ per lb. . ‘‘ All meat and no bone’’ at*the figure is almost unbelievable, in this day and age. ae The whale meat is secured on the Pacifie Coast - and placed on the market through the enterprise of the Consolidated Whaling Corporation, Ltd., and as- sociated organizations. Three varieties, viz.: hump- backs, finns and sies, furnish meat for human con- sumption. Great care is exercised in handling: the animals intended for either packing or freezing, only the youngest and those freshly killed being converted to either use. The canning plant at Naden Harbour is new and therefore completely modern in every re- spect. The plant at Kyngnot is equipped with cold storage facilities. The whaling industry is not only of value as a food provider, but is also a big producer of glycerine. Most all whale oil averages 10 per cent. of this commodity, the balance being largely used for soap making pur- poses, which in view of the shortage of fats is of great- er value than generally known.-- The season’s catch of the Consolidated will prob- io ably exceed one thousand whales. _ MUD SHARKS ARE A PROFITABLE CATCH. There is now a ready market for North Pacific mud shark hides, oil and the dried meat. Alaska fishermen have already benefited by the new condi- tions, with a considerable number of hides, and many gallons of liver oil to their credit. _Mud sharks are plentiful in the bays and.inlets of British Columbia, and their capture should prove a profitable off sea-_ son oceupation for the fishermen of this province. Word comes from Prince Rupert, of the death of Capt. Knighthall, who for the past five years has commanded a Canadian Fish & Cold Storage Co. hali- | species recently caught received many callers, and. is but boat. November, 1918. - Pe a ee a ee Mee 7 f q November, 1918. CANADIAN _ THE FRASER RIVER SALMON SITUATION. The following article from ‘‘Boggles Booster,’’ a clever little sheet issued now and then without adver- tisements in Seattle, Washington, by the Seattle Can Company, ‘‘for its friends, ’? is-a frank admission that many in the trade have been obstructionists to the constructive policies advocated by the scientific in- vestigator of the salmon fisheries of the Fraser River, in the service of the British Columbia Government, who it says “‘are optimist with the previsal that hesi- tation must not prevail against remedial measures that oy demanded.’’ Boggles states the case very well. : Let’s Look for Truth. “Certainly every fisherman, every canner and ey- ‘ery man in a business that is dependent to a consider- able extent on the salmon industry is doing some hard thinking these days about the future of the Fraser River Sockeye run. ‘The present is painful. ent failure? “The Fraser is fished out,’’ says John P. Babeock, assistant commissioner of fisheries for British Colum- bia. And everybody who knows Mr. Babcock knows that Mr. Babcock knows. Mr. Babdock reported to Sonu teehbaee IRE Sloan that there are no Sockeye in many of the ’ northern sections of the watershed, and too few in ~ all sections to produce even a small run four years hhenee. Less tthan a dozen Sockeye had reached Quesnel Lake up to September 5. The run in the Chileotin River has been the smallest ever known there. The Indians have taken less than 1,000. No Sockeyes had reached Seton-Anderson Lakes on Sep- _ “tmber 9, or Shuswap-Adams Lakes up to the 10th. Not One Good Lake. “‘Conditions this year,’’ said Mr. - even worse than they have been. None of the great lakes, like Quesnel, Chileo, Seton and Anderson, Shuswap and Adams, have any brood Sockeye. Lil- looet Lake, at the head of the Harrison Lake sec- tion, is the only one that has any number of spawn fish, and the run there will not equal those that spawned there four years ago.”’ The Pacific Fisherman, in its September issue es- timated the pack of Sockeyes on Puget Sound for this season at 40,000 cases, and recalled that the out- put in 1914 was 335,230 cases. Mr. Stedman H. Gray, editor of the Fisherman, continues : ““The Sockeye season on Puget Sound has been even more of a failure, as compared wtih corres- ponding years in the past, than that of 1917, and would seem to indicate an even more serious deple- tion of this species than anyone had realized. Many packers were prepared for a run approximating that of 1914, but all the fish that have appeared could have been handled by one cannery of moderate size. ‘“The year as a whole is a disastrous one for the - industry on Puget Sound.’’ In another place in the same issue the Fisherman ‘says, under the heading . ‘*Sockeye Season a Failure.’’ “The pack of Sockeye salmon on Puget Sound. | is a complete failure, the output being the smallest, ac- eording to the best estimates now available, since — aynen. the salmon fishery of the district first + 7) uN ads We. Is the future to be perman- Babeock, ‘‘are FISHERMAN 1089 TNVUUVTRUUARUEUEUUUUUEUEUEECUE UU == Troyer-Fox Two-Spindle Automatic Double Seamer ANIUAUOUUSAEUUEOOUEOOEEAEOU TOA: Speed, 75 cans per minute A Spiral Timing Device taking the cans from a con- tinuous running belt, feeding them into the machine with no chance of jam. A no can no top feed accurately placing the tops on the can as it passes into the turret leading up to the first seaming operation. Cans stand still during the two seaming operations. The seaming rolls are carried on two large ball bearing spindles—rolls mounted on roller bearing ad- justable to one thousandth of an inch, Seaming roll adjustments are quickly and easily made, and when set do not need constant change. Machine will run all day with no stops for oiling up. 4 DS” Weight—2,000 lbs Size cans handled— 2% to 4%” diameter 2 to 54%” high H.P.—1 — H.P.—2 Gear Ratio—11 to 1 Gear Ratio, 15 to 1 A closing machine that will give you continuous satisfactory service. Write for catalog. SEATTLE-ASTORIA IRON WORKS Builders of Troyer-Fox Sanitary Can Making and _ Cannery Machinery, Seattle, Wash., U.S.A. Seattle, Wash., U.S.A. CE LL 6 DS Weight—3,500 Ibs. Size cans handled— 4 to 6 %” diameter 39/16 to 9%” high MITT TUTTI UT ULI LU LLU ULL eae eee eee TUAUUUUELUUILULUUUUA HU = aM HUUNN UU. ~ my 1090 began to assume commercial importance. Many can- neries were closed entirely during the time the Sock- eyes were expected to run, and those that operated had only fish enough to keep them going a small part of the time. ‘‘Nothing like a real run appeared at any time during the season. The pack in 1914, the correspond- ing year in the previous cycle, was 335,230 cases, and packers felt justified in preparing for an output of somewhat similar proportions; -but it now appears unlikely that the figures for this year, when the final total is made up, will be more than ten per cent. of that amount. ‘‘There were fewer than 150 purse seines operat- ing on the salmon banks this season, against over 400 last year, yet the average catch for the Sockeye season was not over 300 fish per boat, and few if any of them made enough to cover expenses; and catches in the traps were correspondingly small. The One Thing. These appear to be facts stated about as plainly as the best master of English could put them. What are we (the Seattle Can Company counts itself a part of the salmon industry, and the ‘‘we’’ means all interested parties, including the consum- ing public) going to do about it? If we are wise we will not be much interested any more in what caused the annihilation of the run, whether it was over-fishing, or the’ blocking of the Fraser Canon, or what not, except so far as a study of the causes may help to indicate the remedies. Restoration of the run must be the sole object of our thought. Sree ies CANADIAN FISHERMAN November, 1918. © To find the truth, we must clear our eyes of the © passion for immediate gain, and look with clear vis- ion to the distant heights of abundant, econ nizel food for the multitude. Ge If we can unite upon this ideal of service, substan- tial profit in the salmon industry for capital in Jareer volume than now and labor in greater numbers than now must follow as the night the day. What iv Needed. The advertising that eanned salmon is getting: by virtue of the commandeering of nearly all supplies, among the men who are going to rule this and allied countries, throughout the quarter-century after the War is won, assures a demand in the future such as probably could not have been creat:d in fifty years by the normal methods of pre-war times. I for one fear very much that many o* us, if we ean do the almost impossible thing of admiiting the cold truth to ourselves, will confess, in the secrecy of our own souls, that we have been obstructionists :0 constructive policies. Not strange, if true. And any- thing but fatal to the future, if we will but realize its truth. Without mentioning names, of which many could be set down, it can be said with fairly inclusive ac- curacy, that the scientist, including Canadian and American governmental experts, who are working on the problem, are able and unselfish. And they are optimists, with the proviso that hesitation must not prevail against radical measures that are plainly demanded. IT suspect that the principal thing that is required of us is that we should be willing to assent to plans that pinch some. Fish curing plant of Ray N, D’Entremont, at West Pubrico, N.S. ’ x ee er a November, 1918. CANADIAN FISHERMAN 3 65 WE SELL ICE YOR MACHINES WINNIPEG SHARP FISH FREEZER & STORAGE ROOM NFD. ATLANTIC FISHERIES LTD. WE REFER YOU TO ALL OUR CUSTOMERS THEY ARE OUR GREATEST ASSET. CANADIAN ICE MACHINE CO., LTD. TORONTO AT YOUR DISPOSAL CIMCO SERVICE MONTREAL SSS LL Le f A. E. HALLETT, : BROKER FRESH AND FROZEN FISH Correspondence solicited Ref., Corn Exchange National Bank, or any Chicago wholesale fish concern. 31 W. Lake St. CHICAGO oo tiiaterieeneietteniierieniidaill Readers of the “Canadian Fisherman” desiring to know more about the “Henderson Fish Preserving Process,” ‘which is patented in Canada and other countries, should communicate with GEORGE HENDERSON Box 2449, G..P. O. SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA The Vancouver National Fish Day Fund Commit- tee had heard many glowing accounts of the hospi- tality_of Mr. A. L. Hager. They now believe all that they. heard, and then some. Deaths in fishing circles as a result of Spanish in- fluenza. VAC Rubber Boots are the best For All Purposes Sold only by The Robert Taylor Co. Ltd. Halifax, N.S. 1092 CANADIAN I. M. VINCE, Manager, International Fisheries Co., Ltd., Van- couver, B.C. “BILLY MANN,’’ Manager of original steam trawling operated from Aberdeen, Scotland and first licensed fish anchor in Great Britain. Grandfather, couver, B.C, I. M. Vince, International Fisheries, Van- FISHERMAN November, 1918. Mr. I. M. Vinee, Manager Fisheries, Ltd., Vancouver, B.C., has chosen a unique trade mark, reproduced herewith. The figure on the barrel is that of ‘‘Old Billy’’ Mann, the first licensed fish auctioneer in Great Britain, and the man who introduced the process of kippering fish into the Old Country, and what is more to the point, the grand- father of Mr. Vinee. The manager of the International Fisheries is not by any means a novice at the business of fish ecur- ing. As*long ago as 1881 he was awarded a medal for this class of work at Norwich, England, repeating this in Yarmouth the following year, and gaining still greater and higher honors” at the ~ Interna- tional Fisheries Exhibition hel dni London, England, 1883. Altogether Mr. Vince has almost fifty medals and other decorations for proficiency in fish curing, and for this reason the product of his concern, which will handle many varieties of cured fish, will no doubt prove of high grade. It is ten years since Mr. Vince has arrived on the Pacific Coast, but he absented himself from Canada for a while on a little trip to France, where he had the satisfaction of reducing the German population to some extent. One of his sons has made the su- preme sacrifice in the same cause, and another is ac- tively serving the Empire at this time. Improvements and extensions have been made to the International Fisheries’ plant on False Creek, and Mr. Vince has the best wishes of the entire trade for a long and prosperous occupancy. Consignment of six hundred barrels of green cod fish, and five hundred barrels of dry cod fish. Theatres were closed down in Vancouver on Na- tional Fish Dal, preventing Capt. Wallace’s Pacific Coast fishing film from being exhibited. Due to the enterprise and kindness of Mr. A. L. Hager, the fish- ing fraternity were given an opportunity of seeing the picture. Mr. Hager obtained a special portable machine, and a sereen was erected in the shipping room, enabling a large crowd to witness what was de- clared by all present, the most interesting moving picture ever presented. Mr. Martin, for many years purchasing agent for Wallace Fisheries Limited, died of the ‘‘flu.’’ Engineer Evans of the steamer “Canada, ’ fishing out of Vancouver. ‘ of the International Tas 4 a a a a » a ee ee i ie November, 1918. ~ CANADIAN FISHERMAN 67 W. R. SPOONER Wholesale and Commission Dealer Fish of all Kinas 1 19 Youville Square, - MONTREAL I am in the market at all times to Buy or Sell on C mmission, Fresh, Frozer, Smoked and Salt Sea and Lake Fish, in Carload Lots or Less. ; Correspondence Solicited License No. 1-017 Representing —— National Fish Company, Limited Halifax and Port Hawkesbury - N.S. “National Brand” Hadaies, . SE LT EE yey Oe a ee TT Producers Fillets, | Fresh, merers, Frozen Bloaters : | : \and Salt Scotch Cured : ie Herring. | Sea Fish STEAM TRAWLER TRIUMPH. : LAKE FISH SEA FISH .B n & Co., Port Arthur, Ont. Wakelin Fish Co., Montreal, Que. A. W. Fader, Canso, N.S. BONELESS COD FISH National Fish Co., Ltd., Halifax and Port R. E. Jamieson, Rustico, P.E.I. Hawkesbury, N.S. F License No. 1-036. iit CANADIAN 1094 FISHERMAN November, 1918. Herring at Watson Bros. Curing Plant, Port Alberni, B.C. Messrs.. James W. and John E. Watson, are the brothers in Watson Bros., fish curers, of Vancouver, B.C. Their plant, recently erected on Industrial Is- land, in the western seaport city, is depicted on this page. : The new bu lding has a floor space of 18,000 sq. ft., and is thoroughly equipped with every modern applianee for the-purpose of the business conducted, and ineludes what is claimed to be the largest smoke house in British Columbia, with a capacity of 40,000 lbs. : Both the brothers have had a life long experience in the fish curing business, starting operations on Plant, Industrial Island, Vancouver, B.C. Bros. New Watson, the Pacific Coast about ten years ago, and. have to- day in addition to the establishment already men- tioned, plants at Alberni and Nanaimo on Vancouver Island, where bulk of the Scotch curing is done, and from which nearly 12,000 barrels of this particular variety were turned out last year. This firm were among the pioneers in the Seotch curing business in British Columbia, and were responsible for bringing out to the Pacific Coast quite a number of women ‘‘born into’’ the process in the Old Country, a few of whom are shown in the accompanying picture. Confining their business almost exclusively to the treatment of herring, Messrs. Watson, Bros. eure them in practically every known marketable manner. The firm also own and operate their own cooper- age plant in Vancouver, and produce a high grade of barrels from British Columbia fir, for the Scotch cured trade, supplying other ecurers in addition to their own establishment. The ‘‘Canadian Fisherman’’ regretfully records the decease of Elles Jacob Millard, for many years connected with the Dominion Express Co., at Van- couver, B.C. The Vancouver Mar:time Exchange, with quarters in the Winch Building, is now in process of organi- zation, and’ the manager, Capt. Stewart, reports sat- isfactory progress. _ November, 1918. CANADIAN FISHERMAN 69 FALING FILLED CANS far parts of the earth where repairs or replacements would le difficult if not impossible to obtain—and has made good, . When the “speed-up” is at, its height and minutes count in the mind of the anxious manager—then is the time when he appreciates “Bliss” Automatic Dou- ble Seamers, The can supply and the operations of packing must flow smoothly and without interruption abreast of each other until the last case has been added to the “BLISS” AUTOMATIC DOUBLE-SEAMING MA- CHINE No. 31-K is illustrated, above. For sanitary cans-—the cans remaining stationary. May also be used in can shops for double seaming the ends on empty can bodies. Continuous chain feed delivers fill- pack. ed or empty can bodies to the seaming position at “Bliss” Equipment—complete—has been taken to the uniform speed. Covers fed automatically. Write for CatalogueecS tion No. 18-A E. W. BLISS COMPANY Main Office and Works; BROOKLYN, N.Y., U.S.A. : CHICAGO OFFICE DETROIT OFFICE CLEVELAND OFFICE 1857 People’s Gas Bldg. Dime Bank Bldg. Union Bank Bldg. 1917 ~ NDON, S.E., ENGLAND, Pocock Street, Blackfriars Road PARIS, FRANCE, 100 Boulevard Victor-Hugo St. Quen 1096 — CANADIAN FISHERMAN November, ‘‘Seotch Curers,’’ at Watson Bros. Plant, Port Alberni, B.C. Not so long ago, when a passenger auto had by reason of age, shamed its owner into purchasing a new one, the discard was equipped with a ‘‘commer- cial’? body and wished on a novice in the realm of motor transportation. The next purchase of the erstwhile novice in the commercial car line was an auto truck specially constructed to met his particu- lar hauling problem. In much the same way a fish- ing craft in many instances had been anything from a yacht to a ferry boat, re-modelled. The class of’ fishing boat referred to is that craft-of-all-work, which in the space of a few hours is ealled upon to ‘“‘purse’’ a seine, haul a load of fish or supplies, or tow anything from a fleet of small boats to a scow. Reasonable speed, ample carrying capacity, depend- able power, and in these days of f nicky labor, pleas- ant living quarters, are absolutely essential. Few of these re-modelled boats give the service required with an inevitable loss of time and money. Many of the concerns interested have long realized that a “business boat’’ constructed with a view to serve all the purposes outlined, was a necessity, but the boat- builders have until recently failed to grasp the op- portunity. When the men with the right idea, put them into practice, the response was both quick and gratifying to the originators, Messrs. Ferrier & Lucas of Vancouver, B.C., who in studying this problem east aside all prejudice and unhesitatingly took the best features of the existing craft and then modified or developed them in order to make a perfect purse- seine boat, which would also render the other ser- viees desired equallv well. A fleet of ten hoats of this type have been built and delivered for fishing during the past season; distributed as follows: Cana- dian Fishing Co. (6); M. DesBrisay- (2); A. B. C. Packing Co. (1); T. Ode (1). The satisfaction expressed by the foregoing own- ers is the best indication of the merit of the boats. The past season has been a busy one, and has afford- ed a severe test in every way. Messrs. Ferrier & Lueas have rendered distinet service to the fishing industry of British Columbia, and at the close of next season the ‘‘Canadian Fisherman’’ will doubt- less have the pleasure of recording a largely in- ereased fleet of this type of boat, built and powered by this enterprising firm. New Type “Purse-Seine” Boat. Canadian Fishing Co., Owners. November, 1918. CANADTAN FISHERMAN. When the Catch comes in! FROM purse-seiner to labeler, there is one best footwear— “Hi-Press”. Its superiority over other footwear is so marked— so evident—that you cannot pos- sibly go wrong withit. “Hi-Press” comfort means much when you are on your feet for long stretches and its remarkable wearing quality counts heavily in these war-days of tight purse-strings. Protect your health, ease the strain on your feet and econo- mize—with “Hi-Press.” It is the modern improved Boot; welded together under high pressure; it can't leak. 40,000 dealers recommend it. Aes The B.'F. Goodrich Rubber Co. AKRON, OHIO — The City of Goodrich ; : £ & & | = aoe With the RED LINE ‘round the top — The GOODRICH BOOT for Fishermen 1098 THE BRITISH COULMBIA FISHERIES REPORT FOR 1917. The B.C, Provincial Fisheries Report for 1917, which has just been issued by the King’s Printer, con- tains a review of the fisheries of the Province for that year, reports from the salmon spawning areas and several valuable papers, including ‘‘Contributions to the Life History of the Sockeye Salmon.’’ ‘‘The Na- tive Oyster of B.C.’’, ‘‘The Sockeye Run on the Fra- ser’’, ‘‘The Salmon Fishery of the Fraser’’, ‘‘Con- tribution to the Life History of the Edible Crab’’ and statistics of the fishery products of the Province. This report was submitted by the Hon. Wm, Sloan, Com- missioner of Fisheries at the last session of legisla- ture in April last. Its publication has been delayed owing to the demands upon the King’s Printer. The report proper deals extensively with the sal- -mon fisheries, reviews the report of the Special Fish- eries Commission that sat in the Province in 1917, and contains a digest of the reports of the scientific investigation conducted by the Commissioner. It fully maintains the high standard set by former reports of this Department. The Hon, Wm. Sloan, the Com- missioner of Fisheries, is to be congratulated on issu- ing so valuable a report. The Value of Fishery Products. The value of fishery products of the Province for the year ending March 31st, 1917, totalled $14,637,- 346, or 37.33 per cent. of the fishery products of the Dominion of Canada, which totalled $39,208,378. As in recent years the Province again leads the Prov- inces of the Dominion in the value of its fishery pro- ducts. British Columbia exceeded Nova Scotia by $4,544,444.000 and equalled the total combined fish- ery products of all the other Provinces of the Domi- nion. The total value for the year shows an increase over the previous year of 99,026, owing to an increase in prices. The salmon and halibut both show a de- crease in the salmon catch was slight, but the de- crease in halibut was 7,182,000 pounds. The number of persons engaged in the fishery to- talled 18,355, as against 17,820 in the previous year. The value of shore plants, vessels, gear, etc., totalled $10,376,303. The Salmon Catch of 1917. The Salmon eatch of the Province in the year 1917 produced a pack of 1,557,485 cases. It exceeded the pack of the previous year by 203,584 eases, notwith- ~ standing the serious shortage in the run of sockeye to the Fraser River. The gain is due to an increased pack of salmon and chum salmon in all sections save the Fraser. The failure of the sockeye to run to the Fraser as abundantly as in former big years was the most se- rious feature of the 1917 season, in both the Province and the State of Washington. The pack in Provincial waters of the District totalled but 148,164 cases, as against 736,661 cases in the previous big year, 1913; 585,434 cases in 1909 and 837,489 cases in 1905. eatch of sockeye in the State of Washington waters of the Fraser District produced a pack of 411,538 eases as against 1,664,827 cases in 1913 and 1,005,120 eases in 1909. The pack of the district in 1917 to- talled 559,702, or 1,841,789 cases less than in 1913, a decrease of 76 per cent. The total pack of sockeye in the entire District in 1917 was 176,959 cases less than the pack in Provincial waters of that district in 1913. The remarkable decline in the run of sockeye CANADIAN FISHERMAN Thes N ovember, 1918. to the District in 1917 was unquestionably due to the failure of the run of 1918 to reach the spawning area of the Fraser basin. The condition in that section described in the report for 1913 are quoted to. show that the decline was due to the blockade of the Hell’s Gate Canyon in that year. © ‘“These facts warrant the conclusion : that the num- ber of sockeye which spawned in the Fraser River. watershed this year was not sufficient to make the run four years hence even approximate tne Tun of. either 1905, 1909, or 1913.”’ Conditions in the Fraser River District are dealt with at length in the Commissioner’s report and in greater detail in the special papers in the appendix of | The importance of the matter fully war: the report. rants the details given. The case is a clear one and demands the attention which the Provincial. Depart-_ ment has always given it, and which it is now- receiv- — ing by both the Canadian and United States Govern- “ments. The Spawning Beds. oe The reports from the spawning grounds of. the’ oe cipal salmon streams of the Province indicate fa- -vourable conditions in all save that of the Fraser. In the latter basin it is shown that there were far. less fish than in 1913, and few, if any more than in some — recent ‘lean years” Mr, Babcock, the Commission- er’s Assistant, who made the investigation of the Fra- ser, concludes his report with these words: ‘‘In com. - paring conditions this year, with those of 1913, I am of the opinion that the number. of sockeye which spawned on the Fraser watershed this year was much smaller, and not sufficient to- produce a run four years — i (1921) hence, that will equal in numbers. those sled this year.’ The Appenda of the Report: The appendix of the report contains three waldable ee conditions to the life history of our salmon, oysters and crabs, as well as two véry able papers on the con- dition of the Fraser River salmon fishery, that add — Dr. Gil- materially to the literature on-this subject. bert’s fourth contribution to the life: history of the sockeye salmon, given in the appendix of the present report, adds two. additional years to the record of the salmon runs to the principal streams of the Prov- ‘The present paper contains a graphic analysis of the runs of sockeye to the Fraser, Skeena and Naas ‘nee. Rivers, and Rivers and Smith. Inletg:i in 1916 and 1917, throws many sidelights on the life of these important food fishes, adds materially to the evidence of their remarkable homing instincts, indicates the data ne- cessary to follow the question of sectional racial dif- ferences to a conclusion, deals with the significancé . = of the run of grilse to the Fraser in 1916 and adds ~~ force to the statement that the runs of salmon to the rivers of the Province have received a close and dis- criminating study, unequalled in any other state. — As a result of the Department’s study of the runs to the Fraser River the conviction seems inescapable that they consist of a number of sub-races, each bound. for its own spawning area within that basin. If this a be true, Dr. Gilbert points out, not only do sockeye return to their own river basin at maturity, they ] pre- dominately return to the particular part of the river basin in which they were reared as fingerlings, in which case their homing instinct is far more rigid in its workings, than has heretofore been accepted. Do the salmon which develop from eggs deposited in the The following concluding - paragraph in the 1913 report forecasted the decrease. ; ‘ ae Pe a ee ee Ene ae November, 1918. CANADIAN FISHERMAN 73 Ee ECONOMY AND CONSERVATION - fre the watch words of to-day—True economy in fish plants can only be maintained by the installati n of machinery that will conserve power and maintenance cost, yet give the must efficient results. Your requirements will be given the Lenefit of 25 years of careful study of the conditions in Canada. Ask at the Largest Fish Plants in Canada. Their success is due to the above facts, all of which are em- bodied in Z Tipe for : u nformation LINDE 3 | ne COMPLETE | ca PLANTS CANADA DESIGNED | MACHINERY AND ERECTED THE STANDARD REFRIGERATING MACHINE THE LINDE CANADIAN REFRIGERATION CO., LIMITED 37 ST. PETER ST., MONTREAL, P.Q. TORONTO WINNIPEG VANCOUVER ‘IMPERIAL MOTORS When you buy an Imperial you are getting an engine backed by years of service so satisfactory that Imperial Motors are the standard fishing boat engines of Eastern Canada and are to be found in every fishing district in Canada and Newfoundland. They are the best that money, skill and experience can produce. General Dimensions of 5 H.P. Model ‘‘A’’ Bore of Cylinders ce 6 eo hre vie horeie. opel a gheinne 61a rela lumen bie SELLE M6 hs es See Strokes 40 Apne: Ag akin SP tote be oh RRA Taher sky Peale Le Weight, engine ee ba eames, bose Ashe kite aie avr (a: aes 230 lbs. Complete shipping weights with outfit PU ERR eRe OTR 420 by Diameter of Propeller, 2-blade ...... 9... ses e+e eve'eee eee 18 + inches: - Diameter of Propeller, 3-Dbilade 20.0 ise ce eh eee wee coe AG 24 Shaft diameter... .. Be sa aN EEE CS ote PDE owe Ne coh eee me inch Shaft lensth vig cetera se hee Fie sO Pea ees ae: &. feet For full information regarding this or any other oat send for catalog. State size engine required. 5 H.P. Model ‘‘A”’ The Motor that Makes the Mark. BRUCE STEWART & COMPANY, LIMITED. Drawer 370, CHARLOTTETOWN, :. : 1 he ae 2000 CANADIAN gravel of the Horsefly River, a tributary of Quesnel Lake, return at maturity not only to the Quesnel, but also to the Horsefly? Data contained in Dr, Gil- bert’s present paper makes such a suggestion appear by no means improbable. This problem has such an important bearing on hatchery propagation, as well as the forecasts of future runs, that the Department will press it to a conclusion. The Crab investigations of 1916 and 1917 add ma- terially to the data already published by the Depart- ment. The present report presents facts bearing on cooking and marketing, notably the so-called “‘light’’ and ‘‘black’’ crabs that are of economic importance. -Dr, Joseph Stafford of MeGill University, contri- butes to the Appendix of the report a valuable paper on the Native Oyster of B.C. in which he treats at length of location for growth, apparatus and construc- tion work, operations of culture, planting, harvest- ing and shipping that affords the oyster grower a hand-book of great value. The appendix also contains papers by Dr, Gilbert and John P, Babcock on the salmon fishery of the | Fraser. Dr. Gilbert in dealing withthe present con- ditions and the future of the sockeye salmon run to the Fraser, traces the history of the marked. decline and submits data to show that the first serious damage was done to the sockeye run in the cycle of 1897-1900. During that period the pack in the three small years was double that of former lean years and that the in- creased catch necessary to produce it depleted the spawning reserve seriously, so seriously that in the following cycle 1902, 1903, and 1904 the pack was eut in half and the spawning beds in those years were but spareely seeded and in succeeding lean years it suffered still further reduction. The pack in the three lean years never again equalled one million cases, not- withstanding that with each succeeding year the amount of gear employed was inereased by leaps and bounds. Dealing with the run in the big year of each of the four year cycle he submits that it could not be shown prior to 1913 that there was any impariment but in that year the accidental blockading of the Fraser ¢a-_ nyon above Yale prevented a large seeding of the up- per spawning beds. The result of this blockade was -econspicuous in 1917 and demonstrated that it was a disaster of the first magnitude. It destroyed the big run for all time, unless extraordinary measures are taken to restore it. The big year, he says, must now be arranged in size and importance with the ‘‘of years’’. The facts with which we are confronted, he states, are (1) ‘‘The three off years very seriously impaired with an almost certain prospect of worse to come, and (2) the big year of which we have princi- pally relied heretofore, a thing of the past. Nothing short of héroic remedies can restore the Fraser to even a fair measure of productivity. Yetthe spawn- ing grounds are uninjureg and unsurrounded by any large population of either natives or whites, and the river channels are unpoluted. The fields are as ready as ever for the harvest. Weneed but to spare the seed.’’ Dr. Gilbert states that the one all important reme- dy for the existing situation is to permit more fish— many more fish — to escape capture and become spawners. Until adequate measures are taken to that end it is useless to discuss any minor remedy. To hope for results large quantities must be dealt with. If the Fraser were a private monopoly, to be hence- _that is of economic importance. It demonstrates in a- “Coast of Vancouver Island, was keeping up as FISHERMAN November, 1918. forth wisely handled, it would now be promptly closed to commercial fishing for a term of years, and the entire run—now so sadly dwindled—dedicated to pur- poses of propagation. He advocates that this should be done for at least one cycle of four years, and the re- sults carefully noted by a continued study of tie Spawning bed. Owing to the forethought of the Pro vincial Fishery Department there now exists adequa data for a comparison dating back to 1901. ‘‘No oth sockeye stream has received such close and discrim- inating-study.’’ In consequence there is now ample information to judge with accuracy of a remedial meas- _ ures adopted. If the river be closed to all fishing fo one eyile of four years, it would be known well in ad. vance what the result was to be, and the river and the sound could then ibe opened to restricted fishing, if conditions warranted, or if necessary closed: for a ia further period of four years. This is, Dr. Gilbert States, the only method by which the run of sockeye in the Fraser can be restored with promptness and with any certainty of success. ae Bi: The present report furnishes much additional data: practical way the value of the work the Depart 4 has pursued in dealing with the question of eonserva- tion of our fish. se e | Billingsgate, November 2nd, 1918. _ The past week has witnessed one of those great ra a ae so characteristic of the fish trade in this country. There were signs of prices.giving wa in the leading consuming eae hee gate: opened, and with generous supplies of many linds coming in day after day the downward trend i ratey soon became accentuated. Some kinds hav: continued short of requirements, but deep-sea trawlec fish, together with herrings, sprats, and to a l extent mackerel, have been almost super-abundant. A feature of the landings this week has been the heavy quantities of fine large plaice, which on some dav have changed hands in Billingsgate Anarket roun 7s. per stone, compared with a maximum figure o 18s. allowed by the Fish (Prices) Order: The gen- erous supplies this week have revealed the acute shortage of labour; in fact, the quantities receive at markets such as Billingsgate have not been in any way exceptional under normal conditions, but the have proved more than could be expeditiously hand led under present circumstances. The slack trade and — weakening values in the consuming centres speedily — became reflected on the coast. However, to-day the tone of the markets is much more buoyant, and prieé are recovering, and it would not be in the least s prising to see prices back at the other extreme with in a few days. Trade has not been improved thi week by the unseasonable weather, conditions bein: anything but conducive to the keeping qualities of fish — continual rain, together with a humid atmos phere. Naturally there has been no eall for fro: fish, although choice frozen salmon and halibut woul meet a ready sale. 2 2 The extraordinary run of pilehards on the Wes la as mid-November, with no sign of abatement. i THE CANADIAN FISHERMAN A MONTHLY JOURNAL DEVOTED TO THE COMMERCIAL FISHERIES OF CANADA AND NEWFOUNDLAND THE SCIENCE OF THE FISH CUL- TURE AND THE USE AND VALUE - OF FISH PRODUCTS - F. WILLIAM WALLACE 4 EDITOR The Industrial & Educational Press, Limited GARDEN CITY PRESS Ste. Anne de Bellevue, Que. CANADA MONTREAL OFFICE: A. S. Christie, Eastern Manager. 30-B Board of Trade Bldg,., Telephone, Main 2662. TORONTO OFFICE: H, W. Thomp-on, Western Manager. C. P. R. Building, cor. King and Yonge Sts. Telephone, Adelaide 3310. - SUBSCRIPTION: Canada, Newfoundland and Great Britain - - - = $1.00 United States and Elsewhere. ~. $3.50 payable in advance. ADVERTISING RATES — ON APPLICATION Published on the 24th day of each month. Changes of advertisements should be in the publisher’s hands ten days before that date. Cuts should be sent by mail, not by express. Readers are cordially invited to send to the Editor items of Fishery news, alse articles on subiects of practical interest If suitable tor publication these will be paid for at our regular rate Official Organ of the Canadian Fisheries Association No. 12 Vol. V. MONTREAL, DECEMBER, 1918 4 ie : THE Editors and Publishers of “The Canadian > 4 Fisherman” join in wishing their many friends . . and those engaged in the fishing industry of Canada < 3 all personal happiness and business prosperity during e : nineteen hundred and nineteen. We also desire to : 4 extend to those connected with the fisheries and the = 4 fish trade who have been fighting in the cause of . : a liberty a safe, happy and early return. . > ‘e 3 e / 20 CANADIAN FISHERMAN December, 1918. Auxiliary Motor Schooner “Samuel Courtney” 1918 Equipped with 2. 100 H.P. Fairbanks-Morse type “C.0” -Semi-Diesel Crude Oil Engines — Twin Screw 7 Knots 531 Gross Tons 441 Net tons 171’ long q 35’ beam 7 | Geo. M. Barr, Owner. if Sam’l M. Courtney, rf Master, O’Brien, Noel, N.S: Builder When Geo. M. Barr was deciding on the Power Equipment for the ‘‘Samuel Courtney’’ he chose what he considered the best money value on the market— _ Fairbanks-Morse Type “C.O” Engines. They were selected because of proven economy, using low priced fuel oils. They give perfect regulation under light, heavy, or intermediate loads. Made . in sizes from 30 to 200 H. P. The Canadian Fairbanks-Morse Co., Limited 75 Prince William St., St. John, N.B. 798 Beatty St. Vancouver, B. C. Halifax, Quebec, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, ‘Hamilton, Windsor, Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Calgary Victoria. F December, 1918. PUBLISHER’S ANNOUNCEMENT. This issue of the Canadian Fisherman has been some- what delayed owing to the removal of our plant from Montreal to St. Anne de Bellevue, Que. In future, the a Canadian Fisherman will be published from our model _ publishing plant—the Garden City Press—which, fully equipped with modern machinery and located in one of the most picturesque suburbs of Montreal, will give us an opportunity to greatly extend our work under the most favorable conditions. All mail for the Cana- dian Fisherman should be addressed ‘‘Garden City Press, St. Anne de Bellevue, Que.’’ A business office is ‘Maintained in Montreal at Room 30B, Board of Trade Building, and in Toronto, at 412 C.P.R. Building. af 2 8 1918—A RETROSPECTION. __ The year 1918 opened with the Empire still in the throes of the Great War and the end uncertain, though we all felt that the outcome would see our arms victor- ious. The fishing industry came into closer contact with war measures by the extended scope of the Food Con- _troller’s Office, which became the Canada Food Board at the beginning of the year. Under their regulations, _ all wholesale and retail dealers in fish were licensed, and the former were called upon to report their operations monthly. The license fees charged were moderate, and _ the industry received an adequate return in the great- ly stimulated consumption of fish through the Food - Board’s propaganda work in urging the public to eat more fish as a substitute for the meats required for The fishing industry were exempt from price regula- _ tions except in two instances—that of the Western lake fishery and the New Brunswick sardine fishery. The prices fixed were regarded as fair by the trade and in the former case, the regulations resulted in greatly in- ereasing the home consumption of fish from the waters of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. The busi- ness of exporters may have been cut down somewhat, but the Food Board’s object was satisfactorily obtained _ and the firms and individuals engaged in the Western lake fisheries co-operated loyally. In March, 1918, the fishery and market: for Pacific -flat-fish and cods was established by the Food Board, and the Marine and Fisheries Department, and steam trawling on the Pacific got away to a good start. A new era has begun in the British Columbia fisheries ‘which can be maintained in post bellum years. Prices on these fish were regulated by the Board, but purely for the purpose of creating a market and not as a re- _ strictive measure. As a fostering genius to the Canadian fishing indus- try, the Food Board assisted the trade in many ways - too numerous to recount here and for much of the good ‘work which has been done, the industry is indebted to a co-operated with the Food Board to the fullest extent, d also took up many important matters with the rail- road and express companies and Governmental Depart- ‘ments to the ultimate benefit of the fishing industry and sh trade. Two most important Fisheries Conventions re held during the year. One was the International isheries Commission of Canada and the United States a notable outcome of which was the remoyal of the ictions on Canadian fishing vessels running their CANADIAN FISHERMAN the officers of the Canadian Fisheries Association, who. 2003 fish direct into U.S. ports. The basis was also laid by the Commission for eradicating much of the misunder- standing and friction hitherto existing between Canada and the United States on fishery matters. The second convention was that of the Canadian Fisheries Associa- tion at Halifax in August, 1918, at which many import- ant matters affecting the industry were discussed and resolutions passed. Several of these will be acted upon this year, and good will result. The Association Con- vention was the largest fisheries gathering ever held in Canada and was a further evidence of the growing ¢co- hesion of the industry from coast to coast in matters affecting the progress and development of the fisher- ies., The Association added two important branches to its membership—one in Vancouver and another in Win- nipeg. It also, in conjunction with the Food Board and the Ontario Government Fisheries, maintained an ex- cellent Fisheries Exhibit at the Canadian National Ex- hibition, Toronto, from August 26th to Sept. 7th, 1918. The war was brought home to the fishing industry on the Atlantic Coast by the operations of German sub- marines from August to October: © Several fishing schooners were sunk and the Halifax steam trawler ‘““Triumph’’ was captured and ‘used as a raider and ulti- mately destroyed. A new trawler was added to the Nova Scotia fleet in 1918 when the Leonard Fisheries, . Ltd., purchased the ‘‘Baleine.’’ The Maritime Fish Cor- poration, Ltd., chartered the Icelandic trawler ‘‘Ran’’ and operated her during the year. Six trawlers are now fishing in Canada—four on the Atlantic and two on the Pacific. During 1919, this fleet will be increased. . Hotels and home throughout Canada are using double the quantity of fish consumed prior to the war. Mar- kets have been made for the commoner and_ cheaper grades of fish and the trade in frozen fish has received a.considerable impetus. There is a noticeable improve- ment in the retail handling and display of fish and evi- dences of aggressive advertising in pushing the sale are -becoming commoner every day. Three valuable reports were issued during the year: The Canadian Plaice by Dr. Huntsman; the Report of the B.C. Salmon Fisheries Commission, and the Report of the Special Trade Commission to Great Britain, France and Italy. The two first named were issued by | the Department of Fisheries—the latter by the Depart- — ment of Trade and Commerce. These were in addition to the Provincial and Federal Fisheries Departmental blue books. National Fish Day—an annual event inaugurated by © the Canadian Fisheries Association—was held on Octo- ber 31st, 1918, and was a phenomenal success—no less than 2,500,000 lbs. of fish being consumed on that day alone. The industry is indebted to the Food Board for their co-operation with the C.F.A. in making the annual ‘Fish Day of 1918 a record breaker. The exports of frozen fish to Great Britain which was a feature of 1917, fell off considerably during the past year— Newfoundland securing the bulk of the orders. The whole of the sockeye salmon pack and a large pro- portion of the higher grade canned salmon was comman- deered by the British Ministry of Food in November and caused some confusion on the coast and disturbed the existing channels of trade. The canning of pil- chards received some impetus through this condition, 7~ 2004 and a considerable pack was put up to take the place of the commandeered salmon in the market. Fish re- mained prominently on the soldiers’ rations during the year, both in Canada and overseas. The past year has been a prosperous one for the fish- ing industry as a whole, and in the salt bank and dried fish trade, prices have been unusually high. In other lines of fresh and frozen fish for the home market, the price to the fisherman has been good, but to the con- sumer, there is but little advance over pre-war prices —the intermediate handlers being content with the in- creased volume of sales and small profits. In the outlook for the future, the industry is hoping that the Overseas Trade Commission will be able to secure a good share of fish orders for export for Can- adian producers. The propaganda for increasing home consumption should be carried on as aggressively as during the past year, if not by the Canada Food Board, then by the Canadian Fisheries Association working in conjunction with the Department of Marine and Fish- eries. The victorious conclusion of the war. finds Canada’s fishing industry in good shape and there is every reason to believe that 1919 will bring further progress, develop- ment and prosperity. It has been our pleasant duty to prophesy thus during the five years of the Canadian _ Fisherman’s establishment, and each of. these years has seen an advance in the value and prosperity of the Can- adian Fish Trade and Fishing Industry. NEXT ANNUAL CONVENTION, C.F.A. From answers received by the Secretary, it seems to be the general desire of the Association’s members that the next Convention be held in Vancouver, and mene have signified their intention of attending. The Pacific Coast deserves the Association’s ghten: tion—not alone from the importance of its fishing in- dustry and the many members located in British Colum- bia, but also from the fact that very few of our middle West and Eastern members have crossed the Rockies and beheld the wonders of the West Coast: Most fish men are too busy to take the time off for a mere pleas- ure tour to the Coast, but the combination of pleasure and essential business as afforded by the Convention makes an ideal scheme in which the two can be combined. The Vancouver members, the Mayor and the Board of Trade have extended cordial invitations, and will see that the Association is accorded a hearty welcome dur- ing their Convention. The programme will be a most important one, as many after-war problems will be dis- cussed and new lines of action recommended and acted upon. Let all the C.F.A. members keep the Victory Conven- tion in mind and begin now to arrange their affairs in order to attend the meeting. The date will be decided upon later and sufficient warning will be given. CHARGE FOR PACKAGES. Supplementing discussions upon the above subject at the Halifax Convention, a meeting of the Executive Council held in Montreal on December 4th passed the following resolution :— RESOLVED that the Canadian Fisheries Association goes on record that fish packages (boxes, barrels, kegs, drums, ete.) should be charged for separately instead of being incor- porated in the cost of the fish. This, to our mind, is a step in the right direction, and should be adopted by all producers and wholesale dis- CANADIAN FISHERMAN ~ December, 1918. tributors during 1919. The trade is well aware that the boxes are incorporated in the cost of the fish and the © charge runs from half a cent to one cent per pound, but the general public has, of late, been stampeded into making accusations of excessive profiteering through ig- norance of this fact. They hear of the prices paid the fishermen and of the prices charged by the wholesale and retail handlers who have to bear the package costs, and being ignorant of the custom, they write the Food Board or Cost of Living Commissioner and complain of the excessive spread between fishermen and retailer. The fish trade in Canada is about the only one mak- ing no separate charge for packages. Dry goods, boot and shoe, grocery and other trades all make a charge for packages separately and their doing so affords a good precedent. In future, we would like to see the As- sociation’s sdanroaiendation adopted by the fish trade throughout Canada. CANADIAN FISH CONSUMPTION INCREASED. — That there has been a considerable increase in the consumption of fish by Canadians during 1918 is an un- doubted fact, and we hope in a later issue to give fig- ures illustrating the increase. The propaganda work of the Canada Food Board and the Canadian Fisheries Association has been wonderfully effective, and the stimulus given to the home consumption of fish through war time exigencies, will, we feel sure, continue for all . time. — 4 z Figures received by the Fish Section of the Canada Food Board from some of the retailers and distributors show gratifying increases—one Ontario firm selling a million pounds over the sales of 1917. Practically every wholesaler and retailer of fish in Canada has increased their sales and quite a number of new concerns have been established during the year. % The eating of fish has been effectively separated. from Friday and we must strive to keep it away from the one day a week business. Fish should be just as much of an every-day food as meat and all our dealers” should endeavour to make it so. The Fish Day, so- called, should be banished from the calendar, and any — day or every day be a Fish Day. The meat trade have no orthodox restrictions in the way of Beef Days, Pork — Days, Mutton Days, ete. To our mind, the relegation of fish consumption to certain calendar dates has done more to restrict the trade than anything else. INCREASE IN EXPRESS RATES. The Express Traffic Association of Canada sprung a mine under the front line trenches of the Canadian Fish Trade when they issued their recent application — ‘ag to the Board of Railway Commissioners for an increase in express rates. The increases asked are on a par with the demands of the Brest-Litovsk Treaty and if granted would wipe the Canadian home trade in fish compare’ : off the map. ri Needless to state, the application aroused a storm oft protest from the trade concerned and both the Canada = Food Board and the Marine and Fisheries Department = __ being ‘ag have protested strongly against any increase granted insofar as fish is concerned. The President of the Canadian Fisheries “Association, Mr. A. H. Brittain, and Mr. Spooner, Chairman of the : . C.F.A. Transportation Committee, took the matter in hand immediately and communicated with both the Food ss Board and the Fisheries Department. The Association — intends to fight any increase whatsoever on express rates for fish, and all the members are solid in their protest — / 4 ; a i a vil Ap". 3 Ss m3 “a v # . aa ' holding of an International Fisheries Exhibition. > December, 1918. as it would practically ruin the business. In our opinion, the express rates on fish at present are as high as the traffic can stand and one only need point to the fact that it has been necessary for the Govy- ernment to bear one-third of the express charges, and two-thirds of all transportation charges on Atlantic and Pacific fish respectively in order to build up a market. Any increase in rates means an increase in the price to the consumer and as fish is holding its market at pre- sent by extensive propaganda work on the part of the Government and the Association who have pointed out its relative cheapness as compared with meat, a rise in price will divert the consumer to buying meat thus de- feating the objects of both the Canada Food Board in saving meat, and the Fisheries Department and the C. F. A. in developing the fishing industry. We must emphasize the seriousness of this matter to the fish trade and urge all concerned to communicate with either the President or Chairman of the Trans- . portation Committee of the Canadian Fisheries Associ- ation in order that their hands might be strengthened in fighting these increases when the matter comes before the Railway Commissioners at Ottawa, January 7th; To- ronto, January 13th; Montreal, January 16th. INTERNATIONAL FISHERIES EXHIBITION. _ The Fishing News of Aberdeen, Scotland, suggests the We reprint herewith part of the suggestion:— > “Such a gathering would bring, as it brought before, all the wise men interested in fishery matters to a great ‘round table’’; it would give the great manufacturers, engineering, shipbuilding, etc., the opportunity of show- ing what they are prepared to do in the way of produc- ing the latest in trawler, smack, drifter, or fishing boat, and it would give the industry the added energy and newer spirit which even the fishing industry requires. But it would do still more. It would focus the atten- tion of our legislators. There would be an opportunity for settling forever many vexed questions, for at such an exhibition there would be papers on every subject of interest to the industry, and these would be given by men whose opinion carried weight.”’ While we cannot just see how much benefit the North ~ American countries would get from an exhibit of such ‘a broad scope, yet we think that an International Fish- ing Exhibition confined to the United States, Canada ‘and Newfoundland, and possibly the West Indies, might be productive of great good to our particular fisheries, and would ensure many of the beneficial tendencies de- -seribed in the British scheme. The opinions of our readers would be appreciated by the editor. : - STEAM TRAWLING OUT OF LUNENBURG. Three steam trawlers are now being fitted out for next season’s bank fishery. These craft are of wood con- structed in Shelburne and LaHave, N.S., and are around 150 feet in length. It is reported that other similar eraft are building. They will probably engage ex- elusively in the salt bank fishery. Lunenburg skippers are at present sailing in Boston trawlers to become acquainted with the method of steam trawl fishing. “The Maritime Fish Corporation, Ltd., will exhibit samples of their fish products at the coming Lyons Fair in France. BS) CANADIAN FISHERMAN 2005 PISCATORIAL PARAGRAPHS. ‘*Boston will build no more sailing fishing eraft,’’ said a witness at the recent Fish Trust investigation there. ‘‘Steam trawlers and power boats are being built in plage of the Bank schooner.’’ In a few years the handsome ‘‘ Banker’’ with her lofty spars and nested dories will disappear from the fresh fish trade. Major Hugh Greene is expected back in Canada some time in January. Leonard Fisheries, Ltd., have a fine new depot at North Sydney, C.B., and will handle a great deal of fresh fish from the prolific fishing grounds of the Gulf and Cape Breton. On December 9th, fresh hake was sold for $17.00 a hundred pounds and large cod at $15.00, at the Boston Fish Pier. And to think that in Canada, fresh hake is hardly saleable in our inland markets! During 1918, Canadian fish exports were valued at $33,290,126. The fish imports were valued at. $2,741,- 161. The exports show a substantial increase in values. Capt. Chas. Colson, of the Boston fresh fishing schoon- er ‘‘Natalie Hammond,’’ stocked $85,329 during 1918. The crew shared $2,425 clear of expenses. There’s money in fishing with a high liner. Capt. Colson doesn’t need to change jobs with the skipper of an At- lantic greyhound as far as remuneration is concerned. The British fishermen are agitating for a Minister of Fisheries. We in Canada are more modest in our desires, but we do want a Deputy Minister of Fisheries who will attend to the fisheries and nothing else. The Lunenburg fishing fleet earned $3,500,000— nearly a million dollars more than last year. The am- ount of fish landed was 247,395 quintals and 103 ves- sels engaged in the fishery. The catch was slightly less than in 1917, but prices were high, averaging $14.75 per quintal. Nine schooners were sunk by German sub- marines on the Banks during August and September, 1918. UTILIZATION OF FISH WASTE. Ottawa, January 3. The problem of securing the commercial utilization of the enormous quantities of fish waste on both the Atlantic and the Pacifie Coasts has been engaging the attention of the Council for Scientific and Indus- trial Research for some months past, and, as a result of investigations conducted under the auspices of a com- mittee headed by Dr. R. F. Rutton, of McGill Uni- versity, indications now point to the creation this year of important new industries for the recovery of fish waste on both coasts. The data secured by the research council as to the extent of this fish waste would indicate that at present there are annually about 240,000 tons of fish offal and non-marketed fish allowed to go to waste on the At- lantie coast, and about 60,000 tons on the Pacific coast. The fish oil thus wasted is estimated to be worth about six million dollars at current market prices, while the value of the other potential by-products of. the fishing industry, such as fertilizer and stock and 2006 CANADIAN poultry foods amounts to hundreds of thousands of dollars more. In the Canso fishing district of Nova Scotia, for in- stance, an investigation conducted by the research council shows that the fish waste, if converted into oils. would have a marketable value of about $424,000 per year. Similarly at other centres such as Prince Rupert, Grand River, on the Gaspe Coast, and Clark’s Harbor, N.S., this great economic waste has been going on for years, without any enterprise to commercially exploit this waste food material. It is estimated that about fifteen per cent of the fishermen’s catch on the Atlantic Coast now consists of non-marketable or non- edible fish, while in the ease of trawlers the percent- age runs as high as thirty per cent. In the United States reduction works have been established at several fishing centres where oils, fish meal, fertilizer and various forms of stock foods are manufactured from fish waste. The industry has un- doubtedly great possibilities of successful commercial development in Canada provided proper methods are adopted. The research council has urged upon the Re- construction and Development Committee of the Cabi- net the importance of encouraging commercial ex- ploitation of this undeveloped branch of Canada’s fish- ing industry, and plans are now understood to be under wav whereby private enternrise will establish plans this year for the conversion of fish waste into its vari- ous commercial uses. A WORD OF ADVICE TO PRODUCERS OF ATLANTIC FISH. . Ottawa, Jan. 4 1919. To the Editor of The Canadian Fisherman: Dear Sir—Your editorial in the November issue of the ‘‘Canadian Fisherman,”’ entitled ‘‘Develon our - 29 Fisheries.’? was very timely. You refer to both the overseas trade and also to the domestic requirements. In connection with the idea of stimulating the home market, it is very true that the Canada Food Board has been of very great assistance. both to the pro- ducers and also to the retailers. Viewing the situation from the retailers viewpoint, I see one measure at least by which the producer can do considerable to make the selling of Atlantic fish more popular among the retailer. Speaking from actual experience gained by many vears of handling fish. from the Pacifie and from the Lakes as well as from the Atlantic, I state emphati- ’ eally. that the producers of Atlantic fish have imposed certain conditions. which do not eonduce so satis- factory understanding, as should be between producer the retailers. I refer to short weights. Now. at the outset allow me to state that I admit that fresh fish must consider- ably shrink in transit. and the longer the fish is on the way, the greater the shrinkage. Again, fresh fish from the Great Lakes, also fresh fish from the Pacific also shrink. but the shippers of lake fish and of Pacifie fish, have been generous enough to allow at least to some extent, for this shrinkage, and it'is very usual to see shipping tags specially endorsed ‘fallow 3 to 5 pounds per hundred for shrinkage.’’ Out Atlantic producers, or cal least many of them have absolutely refused to make any provision for this shrinkage, which results in inland dealers pay- ~reasonable margin of profit. ‘ing the past 10 months increased 3714 per cent ov - exporting fish to New York and realizing a hands FISHERMAN ing for what they do not receive and also paying express charges on the same. 2) My contention is, that if the producers of Atlantic. fish are not too independent to cater to the great con-— suming public in the inland centres of this Dominion they must be as generous in their treatment as th producers of Lake and. Pacifie fish. : There are so many varieties of exceptionally fresh fish that it is not absolutely necessary for retailers to confine their activities to the sale of any particular variety, but I feel sure they will do business where — treatment is fair and sell those goods which allow a- I know of one firm whose sales of Atlantic fish a the corresponding period of 1917, while the sales fresh water fish increased 74 per cent in the si period. To those retailers’ who do not ok their f when received from the shipper, I would suegeeel it will at least be worth while to weigh all your fi Wishing the “Canadian Fisherman’’ and also Canadian fishermen a Prosperous New Year, I rem Yours respectfully, ey T. W. A. BINNS. GOVERNMENT FISH. a ap When the Ontario Government undertook to sw the people of the Province with fish from the nort lakes it was announced that this undertaking ° purely for the public benefit, the fish being suppliec to the vendors at cost and the retail price regulated. It transpires. however, that the Government has been profit on the business. That would be all right if t were a surplus which would not be disposed o: Ontario. But such is not the case. For all the that the Government can supply there is a s demand in this Provinee—and for more, ote ton Herald. ‘geie EXPERIMENTAL FISH CURING ON THE PA or COAST. : The investigations and experiments in’ curing on the Pacifie coast, which the U. S. Bureau of F eries undertook through the medium of August Klie in the latter part of September, have been tinued. The experiments in salting the Pacific. mackerel did not yield promising results as the were lacking in flavor and off color as compared the eastern mackerel. Experiments in canning fish give more promise. In the latter part of October Mr. Klie went to S tle in connection with this work, but he has s been instructed to confer with Mr. O’Malley and commercial interests concerned in regard to the spection of Alaska herring. The Scotch-cured Alas herring packed under the supervision of the Bure instructors is of high quality and in demand, eertain other packers. through indifference or ig ance, are placing an inferior pack on the market vy the probable result of injuring the reputation of Alaska herring of that cure. It is honed that ean be devised a plan for inspecting these fish o rival in Seattle, thus assuring a standard of q pe Ce PX EPO 2 Pee 7” RET eee hee ee _ Pickerell .. EEA Se gia u:, MAGRTING «6 6. ee ee 10 16 December, 1918. CANADIAN FISHERMAN CANADA FOOD BOARD’S FISH SECTION BULLETIN © “Fish is the only readily available substitute for the meats so urgently required for export to the starving a millions of friendly allies overseas.’’ = LICENSES ISSUED. The number of wholesale fish dealers licensed in ‘Canada during the year amounted to 1,733. Quite a number of new concerns went into the wholesale fish ‘business during the year. ‘TO INCREASE CONSUMPTION OF FISH IN ONTARIO. _ Mr. E. O. Sawyer, Jr., Assistant Superintendent of the Fish Section has completed a tour of Ontario towns __ where he investigated the local fish trade, conferred with dealers and municipal authorities, local food eon- _ Servation workers and women’s organizations. From _ the information which he obtained, an intensive effort to stimulate the consumption of fish in Ontario will be earried on by the Board’s Fish Section. CODFISH CAMPAIGNS. - A eampaign to popularize Atlantic codfish will be conducted in the Province of Quebee during January. During ‘‘Codfish Week’’ in Toronto recently, over 114,000 pounds of fresh and frozen codfish was sold. ‘The Board is arranging to start campaigns in favor of Atlantic and Pacific codfish from coast to coast with the hope of popularizing these prolific and reason- ably priced fish. PACIFIC TRAWLING GOOD BUSINESS. The market for Pacific flat-fish under the Board’s auspices is absorbing the catches of the two trawlers '. now operating. It is expected that two more trawlers will be put into operation shortly. The Canadian Fish _& Cold Storage Co., of Prince Rupert, will probably put the steamer ‘‘Geo. E. Foster’’ into trawling, while the Canadian Fishing Co., Vancouver, will fit out the steamer ‘‘Canada’’ for the work. TORONTO AND BUFFALO FISH PRICES. The following comparison between Toronto and Buf- falo retail fish prices is interesting and shows that ' Ganadians are favored. Toronto. Buffalo. cents. cents SS a pa rie 11 16-18 Ce ae ee, LT 20 Meminadock .. .. 2.5... ee ee 12 14 SS a eee mC 20 35 CS ee 30 30 a 18 30 ES ee 19 28 Me Whites......... 17-19 28 J 17-19 28 CERTIFICATES FOR RETAILERS. The Board’s certificates of commendation for sani- tary handling and attractive display of fish in retail stores has already been awarded to some thirty stores. All the recipients have expressed their pleasure at re- civing certificates and readily appreciate the value of them in building up their business. FOOD BOARD CHAIRMAN APPOINTED ON TRADE COMMISSION, Mr. H. B. Thomson, Chairman of the Canada Food Board has been appointed as one of the three mem- bers of the Overseas Trade Commission. Mr. Thom- son will retain the Chairmanship of the Canada Food Board until such time as the Board is abolished or merged into the Trade Commission. It is expected that fish will play an important part in the overseas export trade. FOOD BOARD PROTESTS EXPRESS INCREASES IN FISH RATES. The Canada Food Board has gone on: record as strongly protesting against any increase in the express rates on fish of all kinds from any point of production to consuming centres in Canada. ATLANTIC FISH FILM CIRCULATING. Owing to the influenza epidemic, the Food Board’s Atlantic fish film has been delayed from cireulation. The film has now been booked at the various motion picture houses from Winnipeg east and will be shown early in January. FOOD BOARD LICENSES FOR 1919. The Canada Food Board licenses for 1919 will be issued shortly. The fees will be charged unon a new system—the same rate applying to all wholesale busi- nesses. The scale is $10 for the first $50.000 and #10 » for each additional $50.000 of business turnover. The seale of fees for retail fish dealers licenses remains as heretofore. All regulations regarding beef and the use of fish as a substitute are still in effect. An im- portant exception in wholesale fish licenses is that no additional charge for branch is made as fee is based on total turnover for the year. CAN PRICES LOWER. New York, Jan. 2—American Can Co. announces new prices for packers cans effective to-dav, running 214 to 6 per cent lower than the prices established July 1st, 1918.2: 2008 Curing in Pickle. - . .First-salting—The fish should be thoroughly salted into perfectly tight clean receptacles—usually punch- eons—immediately after being caught. One method of salting, which is most common, especi- ally where space is limited, is to fill a tub or basket of one and a half bushels capacity, with fish, and empty it into a puncheon, while as much salt as a snow shovel will hold is scattered evenly amongst the fish as they drop into the eask. As much more salt is then thrown on top of the fish in the eask, and the whole stirred with a pole until fish and salt are well mixed. Each tub or basketful is treated in this way until the puncheon is full. Another method, which perhaps is the best for the salting of alewives, as well as herring in bulk, is to dump the fish on a clean floor, turn them over with shovels, and as they are being turned over to throw salt amongst them; using the same quantity as in the other method, namely two snow shovels full to a basket of fish. This insures an even distribution of salt. It would be well to further slightly sprinkle the fish as they are being shovelled into the puncheon. After the first basketful, or its equivalent, is placed in the puncheon, half a pailful of pickle should be pour- ed in gently in order that the fish may start making pickle quickly. A eask of the size of an ordinary hogshead filled with alewives, should take at least a sack and a quarter of Salt, about 210 lbs., to effectively cure the fish. . Length of Time for Curing—At the end of 12 or 15° days, according to whether the fish are small or large, the fish may be drawn from the puncheons, and packed into barrels. A barrel of the same type and capacity (200 Ibs.) as that described for split herring in a preceding article, is ‘used for packing and marketing alewives in. | Grading.—While the fish are being drawn from the puncheons to be packed, they should be separated into oe ee re CANADIAN FISHERMAN FISH CURING By J. J. COWIE. IV._ALEWIVES. . kippers and bloaters by exactly the same methods as December, 1918, two grades adit packed separately. The larger grade pS should consist of fish not less than ten inches, and the — smaller grade of fish not less than eight inches as meas- ured from the extremity of the head to where the flesh ; and tail-fin meet. Both grades should be bright in — colour, and free from rust. Packing. —Before packing is begun, the barrel cheat’ 4 be thoroughly rinsed with clean water inside. This tightens it up, and prevents the pickle from leaking — e away as it forms after the fish are packed, . 4g In packing, the fish should be laid side by side in tiers | a back up. Each tier should be completed by placing two | fish across the heads of those in the tier, and then’ salt-— a ed evenly by scattering over it as much salt asaman’s — two hands placed together will hold. Each successive — tier should be packed transversely to ve one under. neath. When the barrel is half full, and again when it is ‘full the fish should be’ pressed down. To do this proper!) there should be placed on top of the fish a cireular piece of wood on which the packer should stand for two or > three seconds. A cireular press may be readily made by nailing two barrel heads together, and reducing its’ circumference sufficiently to allow it to slip easily into | the barrel. The filled barrels should stand for a week, in order | that the fish may settle down, after which as more tiers as are required to completely fill the barrel i are added, and the head put in and made tight. _ Pickling. —As much pickle as the filled barrel vill take should be poured in through a bung hole. This pickle may be either the original pickle taken from Phi puncheons, provided it is not sour or too weak; mixture of half original pickle and half freshly mad pickle. The latter is to be preferred. Smoking of Alewives——Alewives may be made into have been described in the preceding article for beri: smoking of herring. . ONE ON HUGHIE. Major Hughie Greene, Director of Fish Supplies for the Overseas Forces, was the victim of a rather odori- ferous incident in England recently. A case of fish had gone bad at one of the camps near London and orders were given for it to be sent to Major Greene’s warehouse for examination. The orderly interpreted his instructions as being to forward the box to the Major’s ‘‘house’”’ and the fish was sent to Hughie’s apartments and placed therein by the janitor. Hughie was out of town at the time—it was the month of August—and after reposing in his rooms for three days it did not require any sign-board to direct one to the Fish-monger General’s quarters. Hughie ad- mitted that it took a week’s airing and a few gallons of disinfectant to remove the odor. while it took months to convince British staff officers and his friends that it was an accident and not a_ secret penchant for antiques in the fish line. _H. B. Short, of Digby, N.S. ° NEW ENGLAND FISH COMMISSION IN CANADA. The following members of the Massachusetts Le lature, Senators G. F. Hart and C. D. Brown, Rep sentatives J. Weston Allan, J. D. Bentley, F. A. Mai ing, A. L. Whitman, C. Bootman, Sergt.-at-Arms J Beatty, and Clerk oF the Commonwealth G. A. Hoy visited Canada early in December to investigate conditions in inland centres. The delegation visit Toronto first and were given an insight into the ope tions of the Ontario Government Fisheries by Mr. L. Squires and Hon. Finley McDiarmid. In Montreal, the Commission were the guests of City Council and the Canadian Fisheries Associati represented by President Brittain, and Directors Byn Paulhaus, O’Connor and Spooner of the city and 1 Much information regarding the Canadian fish t was given the Commissioners and Representative All stated that he had discovered that Canadians were § ing sea fish at lower prices than in Massachuseteel December, 1918. CANADIAN FISHERMAN 2009 — Report of Canadian Trade Commission to Great Britain, France and Italy, 1916 Canadian Fish Markets Abroad. Canada produces the following fish:—Cod, pollock, hake, haddock, halibut, causk, skate, flounders, lob- ‘Sters, salmon (five kinds, known as sockeye, spring, coho- pinks, dog salmon, or chum), mackerel, herring, alewives and sardines. Canada also has the Great Lake fish known as white fish trout, lake herring, pickerel, pike. The value of the fisheries of Canada annually be- fore the war was from $33,000,000 to $35,000,000. ' The fish chiefly exported from Canada to Europe on either salted and dried (mainly codfish), or can- ned. _ For a number of years quantities of salmon from the Atlantic Coast, and salmon and halibut from the Pacific Coast have been sent to Great Britain in a frozen condition. This trade will develop more in . the future, though it is not likely to spead to any great extent to other kinds of fish. Salmon and hali- but are comparatively scarce in Europe. There is, however, in Great Britain, some prejudice against frozen fish. Since the war broke out transportation facilities have militated against the development of -the frozen fish trade. At the present time, if transportation facilities and rates were reasonable, it would appear feasible to ship large quantities of fresh fish in frozen condition from the Atlantic Coast to Europe. There is room for great expansion of trade with Great Britain and other European countries in can- ned fish. There is every prospect that this form of food will enjoy greater favor in the future. This in- dustry could be developed in Canada to any extent, as the production could keep pace with any demands made upon it. At the present time, canning of fish is largely confined to salmon, lobsters, sardines, and to a small extent, large herrings, cod and haddock. The demand for canned salmon in Great Britain and France is growing rapidly. Up to a year or two ago there was very little inquiry for other than sockeye salmon, but now there is a good demand for cohoes and pinks. ’ The following is a statement of the exports from Canada to Great Britain, Italy and France for the _figeal year 1915:— ERE F OhGai, cols Atos ng bo ia gels - Sreeen salted Cod, te. 650 3d eee ec ee Beetle: Herring 05 eg ee ee ea Smoked ‘‘ Sey Canned ‘“ bot Lobster, canned ... Salmon, fresh ....... ... ; Re ee HCUDNOG. .<’ +». cs bane ere OID OWOO +:. . o in ahs oer ee Halibut, fresh frozen ... ... ore e868 It must not be forgotten that Newfoundland is a great competitor with Canada, in the supplying of ee. European markets with dried fish. “e e888 The Commission has noted that every dealer iri Can- ned Goods who gave evidence expressed the strongest desire to give Canada a preference. All were in favor of tins and cases being stamped ‘‘Canada.”’ The imports of all kinds of fish into Great Britain are roughly $20,000,000 a year. Until recently no at- tempt was made by Canada to export fish other than canned. Codfish and Other .Dried and Salted Fish. The outlook for Canada’s trade with the United Kingdom is not encouraging. The hundreds of British eraft, their ports only a few miles off the fishing grounds, and the cutting off of the enormous German demand for pickled herring, will make it most dif- ficult for Canada to sell dried cod, pickled and smoked herrings in the British market. Before the war, selected salt cod sold at £16 to £20 per ton, and in 1916 they were £25 to £30 per ton— less than seven cents per pound. Herrings are sup- plied so cheaply along the Scottish coast that it seems useless for Canada to try the British market. Even in the fine qualities of boned salt cod in small boxes, we could not hope to do much trade except by a costly advertising campaign. It might be possible to place the boneless cod, small boxes, and the 100-lb. boxes of skinless cod, as described on page 90, but it would be an experiment. Canada might help to supply cargoes of cod for Britain’s export trade to the Mediterranean. These fish cargoes are from 300 to 500 tons. The fish are packed in casks of about 448 lbs., sizes of fish are from 12 to 18 inches long; large sizes are 18 to 30 inches long, packed each size in separate casks. Digby Chickens.—These are a fine quality Bay of Fundy smoked herring. They are known in Glasgow, Liverpool and a few other places, but are slow sellers. These fish are packed in small boxes. of 4 lbs. net, about 30 fish to a box. St. John, N.B., and Halifax, N.S., are the principal points of origin. Frozen Fish. As has already been reported by the Canadian Trade Commissioners in England, the demand for Canadian frozen salmon and halibut is steadily increasing. Un- fortunately it has not been generally known that this Italy. 52,055 ewts. eeeeee Great Britain. 12,411 ewts. 13,360 ‘* 30,651 bbls. 4,950 lbs. TS yA a as GRR S Peaa AG od Aa eae Pees 590 ewts. 5,500 ewts. 2,815,158 Ibs. 1,396,909 Ibs. 854,429 “* Tre RBE Ct, OE REP Ma ty as gtd 25,385,101 ‘‘ 1 ewt. 1,940 ewt. Bae 'O) @. e160 SLY ET eeu ee 6 see eee see eee eee ee 6 CORO Ye ed et es Det fet ea ede ae elass of Canadian fish is procurable during the winter months. This is due chiefly to the fact that English dealers have sold the Canadian fish as ‘‘English,’’ * 2010 CANADIAN FISHERMAN with the result that the consumers’ demand eases as soon as the English fresh fish season is over. Certain difficulties stand in the way of launching a general advertising campaign in the interests of Canad.an fish. Some means, however, would appear to. be necessary to secure to Canadian producers the market which the taste of the British publie naturally affords. Vancouver and Prince Rupert ship halibut in 300 lb. cases and salmon in 260 lb. cases. Dealers in Hull, Glasgow, and other cities speak highly of the quality and style of packing of- Can- adian salmon. An inspection custom prevails which presses unduly on imports of frozen salmon into the United Kingdom. The Board of Fisheries decreed that all cases of Can- adian fresh salmon landing in Britain between Sep- tember Ist and February lst must be opened and examined by the officers of the Fishmongers’ Board. An officer must go to Glasgow or any entry port, open the cases, examine the fish and place a seal on each individual fish, as a proof that it is of Canadian origin. The Glasgow Fish Dealers’ Association complained of eost, ete., of this inspection, as follows :— ‘‘Apart from the financial cost, the handling of frozen fish while in’cold storage in the way of opening the boxes, unpacking the fish for seal- ing, and again wrapping up and packing the fish, tends to a rapid deterioration of the goods, and on this account alone is open to grave objection and should be avoided if at all possible.’ The London Fisheries Board replied May 25th, 1916: ‘‘The suggestion made by the Glasgow Wholesale Fish Dealers’ Association, that the packages and not each individual fish be sealed, would not protect the retail fishmonger when the packages are broken at the market and the fish sold separate- ly. A whole case of fish is very seldom bought of one fishmonger and in practice he prefers to have the proof of origin and the protection afforded by the seal affixed to each fish. ‘‘These conditions do not apply to fish entered for re-exportation to the Continent. It is then sufficient if the case itself be sealed. ou - “The opening of the cases and the separate sealing of each fish necessarily involves some ad- dition to working expenses, but the total cost, including the low charge for sealing of one penny per fish, cannot appreciably affect the profits of the consignment, nor is it to be anticipated that the handling of the fish would affect its quality or lower its market value.’’ It has been suggested that fish paekers in Can- ada have a small metal shield 4% inch long, marked ‘“Canada’’ attached to each salmon when packed. These shields, made in 50,000 lots, would cost very little.. This would save the penny paid in the United Kingdom, and would avoid the opening of cases in Britain. The following extract from a letter received by this Commission is of interest :— ‘‘We think the suggestion made, namely, that a metal disc might be affixed to the salmon by the packer in British Columbia, might meet all the needs of the case, and we trust you will be able to have the matter put on a satisfactory foot- ing with the British authorities so that these seal- ing restrictions may be done away with.’’ The Commission thinks it wise to remove all restric- tions that are vexatious, and hopes the British Colum- December, 1918. bia Government will consider the suggestion made in the above letter. There is a great future for the trade in caned and finch salmon with Great Britain, France and Italy, and every effort should be made to facilitate trade. While the Commission was in London, the question of supplying frozen fish to the British Army was under consideration. One of the Commissioners, who is well informed in the subject, took steps to help remove the objection of the military medical authorities. It is gratifying to note that since the return of the Commission, a farge contract has been placed by the British War Office for a supply of Canadian frozen fish. It is to be hoped that a very large trade may be developed after the war in Great Britain and else- where. Canned Fish. _English dealers expressed a definite favorable opin- ion as to the good quality of Canadian canned salmon. One firm, which may be taken as representative of the English trade, stated that they ‘‘only buy Can- adian packed salmon and have had no complain . ‘“We generally buy fifty per cent sockeye, fifty per “cent pinks.’’ es Sardines.—The same firm said ‘‘We cannot sell the kind in mustard. We buy the other kind in oil.’”’ ‘‘Must not be over four inches long, and have key tin, ” This. firm complained that ‘‘some Eastern Canadian kinds of sardines are inferior in quality and style.’’ Another firm said ‘‘We prefer the key sardines. Can- adian fish are not small enough. They are not clean and the oil is poor... We prefer 8 oz. tins, not 16 oz.’’ Canadian exporters of sardines should get full in- formation on the legal definition of ‘‘sardines.’’ There is a good market, as the imports are $3,500,000 per annum, the countries of origin being Norway, France and Portugal. Much money is spent on advertising, and competition is keen. Canned Herring—A dealer in Birmingham said that his city could distribute 30,000 to 40,000 cases per annum. The tins should be oval, the fish six to seven ‘inches long. This dealer now buys in Norway. The eases should be 100 tins of half-pound size. Canned Lobsters——A dealer in Liverpool, who is prominent in the trade, stated that he ‘‘buys lobsters from Prince Edward Island, one-quarter pound, one- half pound, and a few three- quarter pound. The quality does not improve and is not equal to the Nova Scotian.’’ He complained about the ‘‘blue shade’? in Prince Edward Island lobsters, claiming to have ha‘ » some in late arrivals. From him and others the Com- mission learned that large quantities of canned lobsters were imported from Eastern.Canada and reshipped to France. One Liverpool firm stated that ‘‘lobsters are all right, no blackness in tins.’’ Japanese crabs, neatly canned, are selling freely in England. They are cheap- er than Canadian lobsters. It should be especially noted. that all tins containing fish should bear the word ‘‘Canada.’ Fish Oil. Notwithstanding her large fishing fleet, Canada is behind Norway, Newfoundland and even Japan in supplying the United Kingdom with fish oil. Since 1913 Norway and Japan have very much increased their exports of fish oil to the United Kingdom, but Canadian exports have decreased. - The Board of Trade returns indicate that large quan- — tities of fish oils are received from Newfoundland than * A . S me whe ’ a . 7) trade, should pack this boned codfish, aa a ee ~~ Anee D5 ry ¥ ‘ 5 December, 1918. from Canada, due probably to the former’s exports of seal oil. Several buyers of cod liver oil were recently intro- duced to a firm in Nova Scotia. Prior to the war supplies were obtained largely from Norway, but a great shortage has accompanied the conditions of war. Newfoundland has exported large quantities during the last eighteen months to the United States and Great Britain. It is a trade worth the attention . of Canadian producers, but it would have to be organ- ized on a proper basis so as to ensure a product ac- ceptable to the medical profession. - FRENCH MARKETS. Lack of ocean transportation facilities has doubtless caused a decrease in Canada’s exports of fish to France. There have been in the past few years some fluctuations which demand attention. The decrease in our fresh salmon sales to France since 1911 has been considerable. During 1914 our sales of canned lob- sters to the United Kingdom increased slightly. Fresh Salmon exports from Canada to the United Kingdom -Iinereased 60% over 1913 exports, and those of canned salmon were more than double what they were in 1911, 1912 and 1913. This proves that the United Kingdom importers were getting the trade that Can- ada was losing in France. Cod Fish.—As shown by trade returns, Canada does not sell any cod fish to France. The supply of this fish comes almost entirely from the French fishing fleet, one-third of which seeks the shores of Iceland, and the other two-thirds the Newfoundland and St. Pierre shores. © Boneless Fish.—Eastern Canada has, during the last twenty years, developed an industry in boneless cod- fish for which we might find a market in France. This commodity is packed in small wooden boxes. Canadian fish dealers, in order to secure the French and other boned fish, in small wooden. boxes of 1 kilo (equal to 2.20 lbs.) 3 kilos, and 5 kilos. The Commission found that dealers in France ap- parently know nothing about these elean white boned codfish. | : Skinless Codfish—These are packed in wooden cases of 100 Ibs. net. The fish are well cured by the usual pickle curing, and sun-dried afterwards. The coarse, - dark skin is removed from the napes and the fish look bright and clean, lying flat in the wide boxes. If these fish were cured a little more dry, and shipped by quick steamers, they should find a market in France from October to April. Haddock, Hake, Pollock.—If seeking a market for these fish in France, Canadian packers should not try to sell them as ‘‘Codfish,’’ but as a second quality fish. They should be boned and put up in boxes of one kilo, three kilos and five kilos. On all sizes of boxes the word ‘‘Canada’’ should be prominent. The boxes must not be marked ‘‘Codfish’’ but ‘‘Pure Fish.’’ The ‘weight and packer’s name should be carefully stated. Samples should be sent first to responsible agents in the larger cities. Skate, Flounders.—These fish are to be found for sale in French markets and are often served in the higher class restaurants, etc. : _ Pickled Herring —The market for Canadian Pickled | Herring in France is not likely to be large. France CANADIAN. FISHERMAN 2011 does not buy fish to any great extent, and further, large quantities are obtainable in the English Chan- nel and the North Sea. It might be, however, that if Canadian dealers would pack good Eastern Number 1 Herring in sound barrels, bound with iron hoops, and would forward samples to French agents, a market might be developed. One of the difficulties so far has been that the Canadian barrels and half-barrels made from spruce wood have not been proof against leakage. Kippered Herring in tins might also be sold. Smoked Fish-We doubt if fish that are smoked in the ordinary way could stand the summer weather of France, but for shipment in the months of Novem- ber and December it is possible that smoked fish, kip- pers, bloaters, ete., and even smoked salmon, might find a sale in the French market. ‘Smoked Herring.—Eastern Canada has been putting up for many years large quantities of small herring im’ ‘thin board boxes. These fish count from 20 to 25 to the box, and weigh net about one kilo—2.20 lbs. They are dried. hard, and in ordinary climates will keep for three to six months. We would suggest that dealers place these on the French market. October or No- vember would be a good time for shipment. The small boxes of one kilo might sell; the larger ones of 10 kilos would be difficult of sale. They should be smoked fairly dry and hard, so as to require very little cooking. Boxes should be stamped ‘‘Canada’’; the letters ‘‘Canada’’ about one inch long. It is best to have the packer’s name on each box. Salmon, Lobsters.—France has always bought enor- mous quantities of canned lobsters, and while canned salmon are sold only in very limited quantities, the sale has greatly developed of late, the article having found favor in the taste of the consuming public, since meats and other commodities have become so dear. Lobsters sell mainly in flats 14, 14, 34 and 1 Ib. tins. Before the war a good market was found for lobsters in Russia, Belgium and Germany, which countries bought mainly the choicest grades. The better grades come from the south shore of Nova Scotia and also from Newfoundland, but lobsters of Newfoundland origin do not interest the French market. That col- ony has no special treaty with France, therefore the lobsters of Newfoundland origin pay the maximum duty while Canadian fish enter at the minimum duty. It is claimed that these south shore Nova Scotia lobsters are a little larger than those coming from Prince Edward Island, and the New Brunswick coast on the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The tin plate should be of the best quality and well coated, so as to prevent its being tarnished by sulphate of iron, or so ealled ‘‘smut’’ which sometimes develops within the ean. Agents in France state that all cases of lobsters and salmon must be marked in four-inch letters ‘‘Can- ada.’’ Hach can of tinned fish must also be stamped **Canada’’ on the cover of each tin, letters to be not less than 7 millimetres (of 14 inch) long. This stamp- ing of ‘‘Canada’’ on tins is required for fish only and not for lobsters, the latter being considered as ‘‘Crus- taceae’’ to which the stamping law does not apply. Cases are sometimes broken. It is advisable to have them bound with iron stripping rather than nails. Some dealers use a machine which draws the iron stripping carefully over the box, setting it down into the wood. This makes a perfect box and prevents pilfering and breaking. Dealers complain that sometimes certain .lines. of ~ 2012 CANADIAN lobsters contain too much liquid. Lobsters should be packed, whole tail at bottom of tin, whole claws on the top, and some of the small meat in the centre. The duty on Canadian lobster and salmon is 25 franes per 100 kilos, if the goods come direct to France. If they come to France via an English or other Euro- pean port, the duty is 28.60 franes per 100 kilos. In 1915 and 1916 large quantities of salmon and lobster were shipped via New York to France. The Gov- ‘ernment, owing to the suspension of direct steamship services between the Dominion and the French ports, does not charge the duty at the rate of Frs. 28.60 via New York, as the law is construed to apply only to a second European port. But the shipment via New York being contrary to the provisions of the French tariff law regarding direct imports and minimum tariff a special permit has to be obtained by the French im- porter for each individual consignment. In shipping via New York, dealers have to supply, besides the usual certificate of Canadian origin, legalized and vised by the French Consul at the point of shipment in Can- ada, a special certificate made out at New York, at- testing that the goods, as set out with full particulars as to marks, quantities, name of steamer, etc., have been transhipped at New York ‘‘in transit’’ under Customs’ supérvision and without having sustained any other handling at New York. This declaration has to be legalized by the French Consul at New York. The certificates must also indicate the name of the shipper, and of the buyer or consignee in France. Cases of 48 1 lb. tins of salmon or lobsters weigh about 32 kilos gross, or 28 kilos net, including weight of tins. The paper lining of tins of lobsters is most. essential. It should be good, pure, vegetable parchment paper, so as to prevent acid from affecting the tins. Except in two towns in France, there is an ‘‘octroi’’ duty in each city. This ‘‘octroi’’ on fish in Paris is nearly as much as the original duty of 25 francs per 100 kilos. As all these duties are specific and not ‘‘ad valorem’’ the tendency is for buyers in France to take the best goods and not the poor stock, as the duty is the same on each. The dealers in Paris who sell out to the small stores make many losses by ‘‘swells’’ and by ‘‘black meat.’’ A wholesaler in France has to guarantee the quality of his canned goods, sometimes from July to September, when he receives them, until the following February or March. The importance, therefore, of having -the goods put up in the best way possible as to paper lin- ing, quality, strength and condition of boxes, ete., is obvious. All dealers prefer buying e. i. deaux. Of the five kinds of salmon, not many of the high grade ‘‘Sockeye’’ have been used since the war, as the original cost is too high. ‘‘Cohoes”’ and ‘‘ Pinks’’ are the largest sellers. Just now, on account of the war, the ‘‘Pinks’’ are selling well. It is thought that when peace is arranged, a large demand will spring up for ‘‘Cohoes.’’ Dealers report that Cana- dian salmon are usually good stock. The half and one lb. ‘‘Pinks’’ sell the best. There is considerable demand for ‘‘Cohoes’’ in ordinary years. A Paris dealer bought in July, 1916, 10,000 cases ‘‘Pinks’’ and 5,000 cases of ‘‘Cohoes’’ for autumn delivery. Canadian dealers must remember that there are no salmon at all canned in France, and with ordinary care and consideration for French needs, trade should rapidly increase. f. Havre or Bor-. FISHERMAN December, 1918. The French trade prefers a firm salmon; any that are at all soft tend to lower Canada’s reputation among the dealers in canned goods. Sardines, Sprats.—Sardines are, of course, canned in Franee, but best quality only, while large quantities of sardines of medium and cheap grades come from Spain and Portugal. Sprats come from Norway, the latter being slightly smoked and going by the name of ‘‘Brislings.”’ If the Canadian canners desire to offer true sar- dines, they should print on the label the words: ‘‘Sar- dines, Poisons a 1’Huile.’’ sardines, but some other kind of fish, then they should be marked simply ‘‘Poissons a 1’Huile’’; omitting the word ‘‘Sardines.’’ Otherwise, the goods will be stopped by the Customs authorities and heavy fines may be imposed on the importers for fraudulent trade description. All canned sardines, sprats or fish in oil must be stamped in the lids or bottoms of cans in at least 4 millimeter characters: ‘‘Importe due Canada.’ The ‘‘key’’ especially that kind of which key rolls up the top or cover of the box and leaves the fish completely exposed. The key needs to be laid in a groove on the tin, and then it will come in with the weight and ae pay a special duty. Smoked Salmon.—There is a special wont grade, sliced, which sells at a good price in Y and \% Ib. tins. - These must be put up in first class olive oil. They - are also sold in small tinplate drums that will hold about 8 kilos (6 3/5 lbs.) It is perhaps not advisable — to make consignments of smoked salmon, but it would be worth while to send samples to responsible agents. Shippers of canned goods should be careful to familiar- ize themselves with the French laws concerning dut- ies, stamping tins, certificates of origin, ete., before putting their goods on the French market. For this purpose we append extracts from the law: ‘‘Stamping Regulations of Canned Goods. The Act July 11th, 1906, prescribes that all foreign canned sar- dines, vegetables and plums coming into France, should bear. the name of their country of origin stamped or embossed on the cover or bottom of the tin in letters of at least 4 m/m long.”’ A bill in amendment of above was adopted by the . Chamber of Deputies and the Senate on May 138th, 1913. This amendment makes applicable to all foreign can- ned fish coming into France, the stipulations of the Act of July, 1906. During the discussion, it was pointed out that canned molluses or crustaceans (such as oysters, lobsters, langoustes and crabs) would not be subject to the terms of the Act, as they were not fish and were classified differently in the French Customs tariff. At the request of the Dominion: Government, Can- adian canned salmon was exempted from the applica- tion of the Act until June 29th, 1914. Canned lobsters — and other crustaceans have never come under the oper- ation of the Act. FRENCH TARIFF ON FISH: General Minimum ; per . per Section— 100 kilos. 100 kilos. No. —Fresh Salmon Trout. .. .. 40 fes. 25 fes. 45 —Pike, Carp, Eel . 12 fes. 8 fes. No. —Dried.Cod.. . 60 fes. 48 fes. 46 —Salted or Smoked Herring. 20 fes. If the fish are not true sardine tin is much liked in France, 15 fes. December, 1918 No. —Canned, Pickled or other- 47 — wise prepared .. .. .. 50 fes: 25 fes, No. —Lobsters, fresh. . . 40 fes. 15 fes. 49 —LLobsters .. .. 40 fes. 25 fes. Canada has the benefit of the minimum tariff. The Commission recommends that the French Government be asked to make the duty on canned lobsters the same as that on fresh lobsters. ITALIAN MARKET. Codfish constitutes the bulk of Italy’s fish imports of about seven million dollars per annum. Norway is the principal source of supply, furnishing over one- third of the total. Canada sends somewhat more than one-quarter. Denmark, Great Britain, France and the United States make up the balance. Canada has an excellent chance to compete with Norway, since while the shortness of the ocean haul is in Norway’s favor, the transatlantic cod keeps six or eight months, whereas the Norwegian cod is said to deteriorate rapidly. Again, while it may be that - a part of the imports of cod credited to Canada origin- ate in Newfoundland, the Italian market does not favor the dark Newfoundland pack, but prefers the Copen- ae hagen style, which is much like Eastern Canadian pickle-cured medium, cod, i.e., pickle-cured, then press- ed and dried slightly. : The dealers in Northern Italy are accustomed to buy haddock and cod, soft-cured, in bundles of 100 kilos, wrapped. in sacking and firmly corded. The fish are 14-16 inches long. The southern market, as represented by Naples, prefers the stiff, board-like curing. Canada’s exports of fish to Italy may be developed .to include other varieties than cod. Britain brings in many cargoes of Western Hemisphere fish, which are at once shipped out to Italy. Britain sent Italy in 1913 some 5,000 tons of dried herring, valued at nearly $2,300,000. Given direct steamship communication with Italian ‘ports, such as Naples or Genoa, Canada’s exports should rapidly increase. This would be the case par- ticularly if other Mediterranean ports are visited. Spain and Portugal both import considerable quan- tities of codfish, the former bringing in, in 1913, 54,000 tons. OTTAWA END OF CANADIAN TRADE MISSION IN LONDON ORGANIZED. : To co-operate in Canada with the Canadian Trade Mission in London, which was created with a view to securing orders for Canadian products for reconstruc- tion purposes in the devastated areas of Europe, a body designated as the ‘‘Canadian Trade Commission’’ has been created. The commission consists of three members: Sir Charles Gordon, of Montreal; Mr. Charles B. Me- Naught, of Toronto; and Mr. H. B. Thompson, of Vic- toria, B.C. Sir Chas. Gordon was formerly vice-chair- man, Imperial Munitions Board with an office in New York; C. B. McNaught is chairman, Canadian War Trade Board, and H. B. Thomson, is chairman, Can- ada Food Board. CANADIAN FISHERMAN 2013 NOTES ON SEA FISHING RESULTS FOR NOVEMBER. Rough weather greatly interrupted fishing opera- tions on the Atlantic during November. A heavy easterly gale about the 14th wrecked or damaged many boats, wharves, and much fishing gear, especial- ly in the eastern districts of Nova Scotia. The quantity of cod, haddock, hake, and pollock landed was 87,311 ewts., against 100,694 ewts. for November, 1917. The catch of cod was 328 ewts. greater, but that of haddock, hake, and pollock was 13,711 ewts. less. Most of the shortage was in had- dock. There was an increase of over 12,000 ewts. in the herring catch, and a similar increase in the mackerel catch all over the Atlantie coast. The sardine fishery in the Bay of Fundy was exceptionally good, and amounted to 65,025 barrels for the month, against 23,965 barrels for the same month last year. The new lobster fishing season opened in Charlotte and St. John counties, New Brunswick, on the 15th of the month. The catch amounted to 1,268 ewts., against 1,080 for the same period in the preceding year. Seallops to the extent of 2,000 barrels were taken in the Chester bay district of Nova Scotia, against 1,000 barrels for November, 1917. The catch ,of oysters amounted to 3,979 barrels, against 4,311 barrels. There was an increase of 269 barrels in New Brunswick, but a decrease of 601 in Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. Stormy weather on the Pacific, and the effects of influenza amongst the crews caused most of the hali- but boats to be tied up at Prince Rupert during the month. Consequently, the British Columbia halibut catch only amounted to 7,084 ewts. against 13,030 for November last year. ‘The herring catch in British Columbia was about 60,000 cwts. short, while the catches of salmon and black cod was somewhat less. Of flat fish there was an increase amounting to 2,771. ewts. The total catch of sea fish in the whole of Canada during the month realized a value of $2,284,163 at the point of landing. In November last year the value was $2,145,760. One man on the coast of Victoria county, N. S., and fifteen men on the west coast of Vancouver Island lost their lives during the month,*in connection with the. fisheries. BRITISH MINISTRY OF FOOD CANNED SALMON PRICES. : The prices fixed by the British Ministry of Food for the British Columbia salmon pack commandeered by them is as follows: Half Half Talls. Flats. flats. Ovals. flats. Sockeyes .. .. $14.50 $15.00 $16.00 $16.00 $17.50 Red Springs... 13.00 13.50 14.00 14.00 Cohoes.. .. 11.50 12.00 13.00 ae Pines tps: 8.00 8.25 9.50 The above prices are for labeled cans. Unlabelled cans are subject to a reduction of 15 cents per case for one pound and twenty cents for half pound cans. All prices are subject to the usual trade discount of 214 per cent and one half of one per cent in lieu of the usual ten per cent examination. ; 2014 CANADTAN Sea Fisheries of Europe---Norway No European country has succeeded so weil as Nor- way in developing its sea fisheries in the last genera- tion. It has many natural advantages, the coast line is of great extent, measuring, without taking account of fjords, bays, indentations or islands, about 1,600 miles, from the Russian frontier in the north to the Swedish frontier in the south; it extends through near- ly 14 degrees of latitude and 27 degrees of longitude; it is everywhere, except in the south, washed by the warm water of the ‘‘Gulf Stream’’ (the Norwegian Branch of the Atlantie Drift) which pours northwards and eastwards along its coast, carrying some of the warmth of the tropics into the Arctic regions, so that ~ no part of the sea is frozen in winter; the coast is pene- trated by innumerable fjords and girdled with a chain of islands, large and small (‘‘skjaergaard’’) and is washed in its northern part by the Arctic Ocean, in the south by the North Sea and the Skaggerack, and in the west by the North Atlantic. The natural conditions are thus very favourable for the development of fish- eries. Moreover, the land is comparatively sterile, and a large proportion of the population has been ecom- pelled by the force of stern necessity to seek their livelihood in the sea, either throughout the year, or, more commonly, only during part of it, the majority following agricultural pursuits as peasant-farmers dur- ing the rest of the time. One might expect from the natural features and the economic conditions to find the fisheries rather differ- ent from those in the countries farther south, and such is the case. There is very little deep-sea fishing, and but a small steam fleet; there is no trawling, except for a deep-water prawn; there is no great drift-net fish- ing, though the herring fisheries are of much import- ance. Nevertheless, and notwithstanding the small population, the Norwegian catch is the second largest in Europe (exeluding the Mediterranean) and third in value. The Bulletin Statistique gives the following as the catch in thousands of ewts. and thousands of pounds: 1907. 1908. 1909. 1910. 1911. 1912, Cwts. £’s 2,430 2,258 2,429 2,758 3,133 3,096 In the period the quantity increased by 74.8 per cent, and the value by 27.4 per cent, the increase in quantity being more than in any other country, except Russia, where the figures are undoubtedly wrong. The development of the Norwegian fisheries-has been due Decked Vessels Year Steamers. Motor. Sail. ' Total. FOOGE. scars 176 647 3,753 4,576 OTe ee Hehe ea Bois TOORUE ao. 195 1,483 3,861 5,539 1909.35. 180 1,736 4,255 6,171 1S10- 183 2,407 3,779 6,369 LSB rk. 182 3,296 3,033 6,511 WI eon 184 3,925 2,612 6,721 POTS ES: 205 4,405 2,417 7,027 SAE oa cix « 210 4,937 1,986 7,133 WTS8e 5 ae 206 5,475 1,228 6,909 9,162 9,907. 12,030 11,450 13,641 16,019 FISHERMAN ‘December, 1918. to (1) thorough and detailed assistance, directly and indirectly, by the State; (2) the application of scien- tific and technical knowledge and a close study of for- eign fisheries; (38) the introduction and general use of the internal- combustion engine in the fishing boats — —specially adapted for the nature of the Norwegian f'sheries; (4) the introduction of new, and the im- provement of old, methods of cure, notably the crea- tion of the ‘‘sardine’? industry, and» (5) the exception- al energy and capacity of the Director of Fisheries, Dr. Johann Hjort, who is a scientific man with a business head. The chief fisheries are (1) those for cod and members of. the cod famiiy; (2) those for herring, mackerel ‘and sprats; (3) a ‘‘bank’’ fishery of much less importance; (4) whaling and sealing; (5) lately developed, a fishery, especially for herrings at Iceland. — The two first are of overwhelming importance ; in 1915, — the cod fisheries provided 50.01 per cent of the total : value, the herring, mackerel and sprat fisheries 44.88 per cent (herrings, 35.67 per cent), and all the others. ’ 5.11 per cent. NBR ‘The Fisheries as & Whale, 88,298, of which 21,349 were fishermen pure ae sim- ple, 34, 370 pursued fishing as their chief See and 32, 579 as a subsidiary occupation ; in addition ay — 538 persons were employed in the curing and tr eat- ment of the fish, 6,609 in the tinning, fish-oil and guanc factories, and 1, 930 in the whaling industry. The men, of course, engage in different fisheries at different — seasons, and the following figures show the ene so employed for a number of years: e: - Spring haben Cod Fat Year Fisheries. Herring. Herring. 1G. 2 ey 62,757 48,831 ne Th ae 80,441 35, 130 2 1896 205, ic 89,283 29 304 q 3} LOOM Ean, 82,098 20,705 2c le Oe FOGS vues? G.. 83,286 8,492 Bays TORO! ieee 88,144 27,024 22,560. LOB Reins 99,659 17,693 — 17,015 _ 19BG AE. eas 92,865 20,870 11,955 __ The fishing fleet is large in numbers, but few of th vessels are of any size, being adapted for the fjor fishings and those within. the ‘‘skjaergaard,’’ or is- land belt.. The following shows the figures for some years :— oS fcdhed Open Boats. Motor. §Dories. Others. Total. Grand T 153 5,484 apie ey 238 5,883 44,399 50,520 505 «7,066 45,158 52,729 © 872 7,711 50,082 58,665 1,451 7,339 49,195 56,985 2,092 7,390 51,981. . 61,863 2,471 8,238 - 54,683 . 65,392 2,871: 8,116 41,328 - §2,3815 a oe ~ December, 1918. -and the North Sea. CANADIAN The table shows the common changes which have taken place in most European fisheries, but the sail- ing boats have been replaced by motor-boats, and not by steamers. The number of motor-boats in 1908 was 1,686, while in 1915 they numbered 8,346, and they continue to increase. The steamers are small, mostly under 100 feet, of steel or wood, principally engaged in the ‘‘bank”? fishery or at Iceland, usually ekeing out a more or less precarious existence by towing ves- sels or fishing boats, or carrying cargoes, as herrings to Stettin. They belong mostly ‘to fishermen—and, Norwegian Waters. Foreign Waters. Tons. Kr. Tons. Kr. 1906 328,550 34,872 24,919 2,663 1910 496,750 43,577 18,771 2,172 1913 © 562,757 50,959 19,472 - 2,809 1914 577,124 59,272 21,208 2,977 1915 544,720 84,878 12,774 2,416 The ‘‘foreign’’ waters comprise Iceland, the Faroes The aggregate value advanced from £2,354,000 to £5,064,000 in 1913 (before the war) and to £6,576,000 in 1915. In 1915, and partly in 1914 values were much higher owing to the war-demand in _ Germany; this influence was still greater in 1916, for the official estimate of the total value of the fish land- ed in that year was no less than 180,000,000 kroner, or £10,000,000. Last year, however, and still more in ‘the present year, there has been a sad decline, owing part- _ly to the measures taken to restrict exportation to Ger- _ and partly to the risks at sea. The Cod Fisheries. This fishery is carried on mainly in the northern part of the coast, north of about 67 degrees latitude in the early months of the year—in the Arctic winter, tem- pered by the Gulf Stream. Two fisheries are distin- guished, that for full-sized spawning fish (‘‘skrei’’) and that for smaller cod (‘‘torsk’’). The fishery for “*skrei’’ goes on from. about the ist of January to the end of April, from the neighbourhood of Bergen, in- creasing in importance as one goes north, and being chiefly concentrated at the Lofoten Isles; but there is - an important ‘‘skrei’’ fishing on the Romsdal banks, which in recent years almost rivals the Lofoten fishery. No. of Fish Year. Tons. (1,000’s) ME oc ck cae orto es = oe 126,500 46,848 MY 3, a. Om ett ees. ais 149,200 55,336 ME.) «eer ee ones ee 204,600 75,794 MS cas. ces tare pg nsne's 218,227 79,844 ME So a vs REM ho ee are 183,075 67,481 The influence of the war is seen in the diminished eatch in 1915 and the higher values; since then the fish- ing has materially declined and it reached its lowest point in history this year (1918). Norwegian dried -eod are, or were, sent all over te world, mainly to the Catholic Latin peoples—Spain, Portugal, Italy, South America, ete. In 1915 the export of klipfish was 43,- 552 tons and of stockfish 16,374 tons, the value being £2;900,000. The other fish of the codfish family are _ the following, showing quantities, in tons, for 1915: _ Coalfish, 24,304; haddock, 10,074; torsk (Brosme) 4,- 598; ling, 2,945; pollack, 100. These are also largely dried; but large quantities (as well as of cod) are ex- FISHERMAN 2015 indeed companies are scarce in Norway. ‘The fish- eries are individualistic. The value of the boats rose from £1,507,000 in 1908 to £2,915,000 in 1915; in the latter year the value of the gear was £1,430,000, while the value of the curing houses, tinning and other fae- tories, ete., was £1,467,000, the capital sunk thus total- ling about £5,812,000. The aggregate y-eld of the fisheries is shown in the following table, quantities in thousands of metric tons (of 1,000 kilogrammes) and values in thousands of kroner (pre-war exchange equal to 18 kr. to £1 stg.) : Value of Total . Total. Whale and Seal Catch. Value. Tons. Kr. Kr. Kr. 353,466 37,537 4,833 42,368 515,521 45,749 17,915 63,664 582,229 53, 768 37,386 91,154 598,588 61,849 36,168 98,017 557,494 87,294 31,066 118,360 The latter is a very old fishing, mentioned in the Sagas and later exploited by the Hansards, who had a sta- tion at Bergen (still preserved). It is frequented by fishermen from almost all parts of Norway, accom- panied by various vessels and steamers to minister to their needs and carry away the produce. The methods used are long-lines (chiefly) set-nets, and hand- lines; the lines are tending to displace the nets. The fishery for the smaller cod (torsk) is chiefly at Finmarken, the most northern province. It is a spring fishing, from about the end of April to the end of ° June, and is called the ‘‘lodde’’ fishery from the cape- lan bait (‘‘rodde’’) used. There is also a ‘‘skrei’’ fishery at Finmarken, from the New Year till the opening of the ‘‘lodde’’ fishing, and also one in summer and autumn for ‘‘torsk.’’ The fish are almost all dried for export, either as stock fish (‘‘torfisk’’) for which no salt is used— and they may be split but are generally round—and split-fish (‘‘klipfisk’’), which are split and salted. The heads and offal are utilised at the fish-meal and guano factories. Besides the fish, the livers and roes are im- portant, the former for oil and the latter for bait in the French and Spanish sardine fishing. Here are the figures for all Norway of the ‘‘skrei’’ fishery :— Livers. Roe. Total Value Value per 100 Hectolitres. (1,000 kr.) ungutted fish. 107,013 46,580 16,426 35.06 Kr. 120,911 46,900 19,203 34.70 144,459 35,608 25,677 33.88 144,527 65,481 31,775 39.80 134,838 55,380 33,079 49.02 ‘ ported in ice, or salted in barrels, or in bulk, much go- ing to north Russia, and, in the early years of the war, to Germany. The Herring Fisheries. There are four chief herring fisheries (1) for fat herrings (‘‘fetsild’’), carried on in summer and au- tumn close inshore from the neighbourhood of Aales- und to Finmarken, drift-nets (‘‘garn’’), often fixed as set-nets, being used and also seines (‘‘not’’) hauled ashore; (2), for spring herring (‘‘vaarsild’’), from January or February: to March or April, between Lin- desnaes and Stat, on the southwest coast; it is not so close inshore and drift-nets are mostly used; (3) for 2016 CANADIAN the ‘‘great’’ herring (‘‘storsild’’), from November to February, from half-a-mile to five or even ten miles off- shore, prine:pally off the Romsdal district, (4) for small herrings (‘‘smaasild’’) along the whole coast throughout the year, but most pronounced in autumn and on the northern stretch of the west coast. To these may be added the fishery for North Sea herring and for herring at Iceland. The following shows the total catch and value of .the herrings: 1906, 1,504,000 hectolitres, valued at 10,124,000 kr.; 1910, 2,594,000 hl., valued at 11,678,000 kr. ; 1913, 2,899,388 hl., valued at 13, 377,000 kr. ; 1915, 2, 820, 571 hl., valued at 31,118,- 000 kr. In 1915 the figures for the various classes were as follows:—Spring, 1,091,321 hl., and 6,915,000 kr.; ‘‘great,’’? 742,070 hl., and 7,173,000 kr.; ‘‘fat,”’ 418,211 hl. and 10,464,000 kr.; small, 447,554 hl. and 4,499,000 kr.; North Sea, 6,050 hl. and 151,750 kr.; Iceland, 115,365 hl. and 1,914,786 kr. The herrings are exported in ice, to Germany and Great Britain espec- ially, also pickled, to Germany and Sweden, ete.; a large quantity, particularly of the small herrings are tinned, and often much of the ‘‘fat’’ herrings go to the herring-oil and guano factories. In 1915 the quan- tity of fresh herrings exported was 58,047 tons,: va- lued at 9,288,000 kr., Germany getting 23 ,087 tons and Great Britain 28, 760 tons ; the quantity of salted was 165,450 tons, valued at 57, 820,000 kr., Germany get- ting 79,895 tons. The Tinning (“‘Hermetic’’) Industry. This has grown to be one of the principal industries in Norway, and great credit is due to the Norwegians for their enterprise and skill in turning to such valu- - able account the smallest fish in their waters, the sprat or ‘‘brisling.’” There are now about 200 tinning factories in Norway, mostly at Stavanger, and so suc- cessful has the industry become that the supplies’ of sprats are no longer sufficient, and have to be sup- plemented by quantities of very small herrings, as in the New Brunswick and Maine industries. The fish lacks the particular flavour of the true sardine, which is absent from Norwegian waters, but it is usually smoked and has thus a flavour of its own; the ‘‘sar- dines’’ are packed in olive oil and cottonseed oil. The sprat is fished for in the fjords and’ coastal waters on the southwest coast, from about Aalesund south, with fine-meshed nets of many types (including purse- seines), from May to the following February. The quantity of ‘‘sardines’’ exported in 1915 was 17,659 . tons, valued at 22,074,000 kroner; most go to the United States, Great Britain and British Overseas Pos- sessions. Other fish are tinned, especially herrings, and notably kippers, of which 2,921 tons, valued at 2,629,- 000 kr. were exported in 1915. Norway is a great fish-exporting country, the quan- tity, including oils, fish-meals and guano, ete., export- ed in 1915 being 465,708 tons, valued at no less than £16,317,000, a figure swollen through the German war demand; in 1913 the value was £7,860,000. A word must be said about the development of the export business in fresh (iced) fish, especially herrings to Germany and Great Britain. Great care and attention have been given to this, by subsidised refrigerator steamers and railway-cars, and in other ways. The following figures are impressive, showing the exports to Germany and Great Britain: FISHERMAN Fresh Herrings. Fresh Fish. Great Great Germany. Britain. Germany. Britain. Tons. Tons. Tons. ’ Tons. 1896}: sen803 107 5,674 137 397 POON, i ea 1,712 9,954 619 609 L920). host's ake 39,346 42,922 2,008 38 1913. et one 31,673 43,956 2,746 93 1915). aanneran 23,087 28,760 10,112 621 | Anyone ‘wishful of studying up-to-date methods in fishery industries and organizations ought not to neg- lect Norway! FISHERIES OF THE NORTH SEA. There is a noticeable dearth of literature in book form on the commercial fisheries of the world. Writings on the subject are numerous, but mostly in government blue books, and small pamphlets are they found, and usually in technical language not understood by the layman. Green, is a welcome addition to piscatorial bibliography. The writer shows a distinct grasp of the subject and an unusual knowledge of the fisheries of Scandinavia, — United France, Germany, Russia, Canada and _ the States. It is a little book, but its chapters are well bal- anced and show evidences of some clear thinking. Mr. Green gives a light and comprehensive sketch of the his- tory and the natural advantages of the North Sea fish- eries, and, while dealing particularly with that prolific fish-producing area, he introduces several interesting features on fish migrations, methods of fishing) vane of catches in other waters. The principle back of the book is the need for wigdine development of the North Sea fisheries after the war. He complains of the lack of interest in the fisheries on the part of the public and their apathy to the import- ance and economy of fish as a food. A note of warning is sounded as to continental competition in the exploita- — tion of the North Sea fisheries after peace is declared, and he advises British fishermen to be prepared to main- tain supremacy in an industry which means mach to — Britain in export trade and in the manning of naval. and merchant ships. ' Ail that Mr. Neal says can be applied to Canada in the development of our own fisheries, and we heartily recommend this book to Canadians—not only those di- rectly interested in the fishing industry, but also those means for the economic development of our nathan re- sources as a medium for paying our debts and adding “a to the wealth of the Dominion. A number of copies of ‘‘The Rinkovdel of the North Sea’’ has been imported by the ‘‘Canadian Fisherman’’ and ean be procured from this office for $1.25 post free. ‘ a ms INSPECT HERRING PACK. The department of the naval service has appointed William Wilson, of Prince Rupert, B.C., to advise and instruct western packers of herrings and inspect. and | brand their cured product during the ensuing herring season. The new inspector, who has had a thorough train- ‘ a ing in barrel-making and herring curing, will have his headquarters at Nanaimo. Mr. Wilson is a returned soldier. hie December, 1918, ‘‘The Fisheries of the North Sea,’’ by Neal 4 : : 4 sa ieee . Rec’ December, 1918. y-wwveuwy?* i rYuVYT*" i a ee ie Sb bbGbb os & b> & & & 4 be bo bn by be bn bn bn CANADIAN FISHERMAN POP > LGDIDD LPOG GHD OH H9HO OD 09OOO90 99H 69 99 09G9999OG900 99S 009004904 900000 04 Prince Edward Island Notes rwwwrvrerwrweeeewvewyw.erewwfrefekwewwrwrrreeewrvervevrvwvrevwvrevwegy,*™ 20: | BK rwwuevrvvy* Lah Ge & al Vwevrrvy Rl i i i hi hi hi hi Me Li Mi Li hi hi Mi hi Mi hi hi hi i a hi hi hs a hi i Mi i hi During the past month fishing in Prince Edward Island has been confined mainly to smelts, the ma- jority of these being caught through the ice in gill and bag nets. There are about, 400 men engaged in handling the former and about’ 250 the bag nets. The fishing has been carried on mainly in the Clyde, Vernon and‘ East Rivers in Queens County, around Alberton, Richmond Bay and other waters of Prince and at Murray Harbor, Little Harbor and in various sections of Kings. The catch so far has been an advance, of that of last year and as the season does not close until Feb- ruary the 15th, it is expected that the total market value will be considerably in excess of $54,000, which were the figures -for 1917. Quite a number of the ‘fishermen this season will net over $1,000 each. In one night for instance, two men landed a ton and a half at Vernon River which selling at 9% cents a pound realized $285.00. Another feature in the fishery situation last month was the organizing of a company to be known as the VvyvyvvvVvVvVvVVVvV YY le i i hi i hi Li Mi hi hi Mi Min i Mi Mi hi hi Mi hi hi Ma hi i hi hi hi Mi hn Georgetown Fish Company. Its main object being 1 eure and market small herring commercially known bloaters. The Company will also handle all kin of fish. The smoked herring industry was carried o in Georgetown some years ago, but it was disco: tinued in 1912. The buildings are still standing ar these have been put in shape in readiness for tl spring fishing. An expert from Grand Manan, wl has had a long experience in handling smoked herrir in different parts of Maine, New Brunswick and tl Magdalenes, will be placed in charge. Georgetown Harbor has always been a favorite fee ing ground for spring herring; and the smoker located by a comparatively short distance from tl grounds. The lack of facilities, however, has hand capped enterprise in the past. The new company purchasing traps and expect to have no difficulty - filling the smoker twice each season. It has a capacit of 1,500 barrels. In the event of fish not striking - around Georgetown, the Magdalene Islands will 1] available as a source of supply. Eaton Company’s Model Fish Department The Canadian Fisherman is indebted to the T. Eaton Company of Toronto, for the enclosed photograph of the fish display case used in that company’s store in Winnipeg which has enabled the concern to con- duct a fish department right in the midst of the meat and grocery section, without the undesirable odor often attendant to retail fish stores. The secret of the suc- cess of this display and absence of odor lies, of cours in the display case. The cases were designed according to plans laid dov by the managers of their fish department at Wi nipeg. The object they had in mind was to avoid t! necessity of building a glass partition all around t! fish department. It is possible that other counte Fish Department of T. Eaton Company, Winnipeg. * 2018 CANADIAN of a similar type have already been constructed, but these counters built to order by the company are the first of the kind to come to our attention. The tank is practically air-tight when the doors are closed. The only opportunity for odors to eseape be- ing through the outlet drain. The inside of the ice and fish tray is covered with galvanized iron, enamel- led white, and on this is placed an oiled tray raised above the bottom sufficiently to allow some six inches of air space. The ice and fish rest on the wooden slats of this tray, all liquid being drained below and strained through into the outlet. There is sufficient air space all around, between the inside linings of the tray to provide sufficient refrigeration, while the plate glass top and sides give a clearer view of the fish and, at the same time, keep it entirely covered. The doors with spring hinghes are similar to ice box doors, being of double thickness and the springs guarantee their be- \ ing closed at all times, except when fish are being put in or taken out. It is interesting to note that thousands of pounds of Pacific flatfish and cod are retailed across these counters every week. These fish arrive frozen and conditions within the eases are so perfect as regards refrigeration, that the fish can be kept two days, or longer, before thawing out. Of course the salesmen do not make a practice of placing on display more ° than enough fish to supply the day’s demands, the reserve being kept in refrigerators near at hand. CANADA—GET BUSY! Since the war the exports from the United States to Australia have shown a considerable expansion, and the quantity of fish and fishery products has. -in- _ereased. An official American report states that while the value of the exports of preserved fish in tins in 1913 was $951,232, the value in the fiscal year 1917- 1918 amounted to $1,204,744. The increase in other fish was from a value of $29,658 in 1913 to $79,736 in 1917-1918. Hitherto Australia has been a very good market for British-cured fish, especially perhaps tin- ned herrings and other tinned fish, and it is to be hoped that now the war is over we shall be able to send larger quantities than ever.—Fish Trades Gazette. SAVED BY GASOLINE AUXILIARY ENGINE. Fredericton, N. B., Dee. 11. A letter, received to-day by a relative in this city, contained the distressing information that Captain Joseph A. Read, of: Fredericton, understood to be the oldest active navigator of Canada, had the misfortune to lose his vessel, the tern schooner Silver Leaf which ran aground while en route to Barbadoes from equa- torial waters for repairs.. Her cargo of lumber, con- signed to Cape Town (S. A.), was salvaged. The Silver Leaf sailed from St. John, September 11. She was to have sailed a week previously, but the captain, while looking over the vessel preparatory to sailing, discovered that the gasoline engine, a very necessary. adjunct to a sailing craft these days, was not in working order. An expert who was called in condemned the machine, and the ‘‘Silver Leaf’’ did not put to sea until a Fairbanks-Morse, 10 h.p. Type Z engine, operating a 6 inch F-M centrifugal pump was installed. It was the intention of her owners, New York parties, that the schooner after discharg- ing at Cape Town should load hides at a West African port for New York. Before reaching Bridgetown bar, McLean of Souris. of spoiled products, ete. FISHERMAN December, 1918. she encountered heavy gales and made water. rapidly, being kept afloat only by her gasoline pumps. Later she was becalmed and her bottom was fouled with barnacles, Unable to make headway, Captain Read decided to return to Bridgetown, but in the attempt the Silver Leaf went ashore. Captain Read is an Albert county man. Prior to taking the Silver Leaf he had been ashore for two years. Early in the war he commanded a schooner which sailed through submarine zones without accident and on his last command took chances with Hun U- boats operating along the Atlantic coast. LOBSTER CANNERS FORM RESEARCH GUILD. The actual formation of the First Canadian trade guild for scientific and industrial research purposes IS now in process. As a result of a conference at Amherst last week of the Maritime Province Canners Association with Dr. A. B. Macallum, administrative chairman of the council of Scientific and Industrial research, the association decided to form a federally incorporated research guild. Some twenty-five can- ning firms were represented at the meeting which was held under the chairmanship of Hon. Senator John A committee headed by Mr. R. O’Leary, of Richibucto, was appointed to arrange for the organization of the guild and $5,000 was voted to- wards research work in co-operation with the research council at Ottawa. Immediate problems of research include investiga- tions as to reasons for discoloration of products and cans in lobster and sardine canning, the bacteriology It is estimated that from five to ten per cent of the lobster and sardine output of the Maritime Provinces now goes to waste through spoiling, involving a loss of tens of thousands of dol- lars. It is believed that this waste can be prevented by the application of new scientific knowledge to can- ning processes. The combination of all the canners into one guild for research in solving their common problems of deterioration, production, ete., will, it is believed, have far-reaching result on the whole fishing ~ industry of Canada. The maritime canners have taken the lead in Can- ada in actually going ahead with the trade guilds for research scheme which is being urged by the re- search council. Other groups such as the textile in- dustry, the rubber manufacturers, etc., are also pre- paring to adopt the research idea as now being rapidly developed in the United States and Great Britain. In Great Britain over thirty such guilds are in existence. LAKE ERIE FISHERMEN .WILL PLY TRADE THROUGH WINTER. St. Thomas, Dee. 16. Port Stanley fishermen have been advised by the Government that the closed fishing season, which means the expiration of the annual license on December 15, and forbids fishing from then until March 15, has been abolished. The reason for this change in the rules gov- erning fishermen, it is said, is the effect ‘which the recent epidemic of influenza had on the fishing indus- try. The Government having lifted all restrictions in — this way, several tugs have started on further fishing _ Port Maitland is said to be the best field at the present time, and those who recently lifted their expeditions. nets will again begin work. December, 1918. CANADIAN FISHERMAN 61 SELL FISH A Most Profitable Line When Displayed FREEMAN FISH BOX’ An attractive and efficient ‘fixture. Displays your wares yet still keeps fish clean and fresh. Finished in either. mission wool or white enamel — plate glass dis- play top. Built just as good as all the Freeman fix- tures, Write for full descriptive catalogue. Manufactured by The W. A. Freeman Co., Limited Hamilton, - Ont. Toronto Branch: 114 York Street With the high cost of labor can you afford to be without a Knapp Labelling sctiel Boxing Machine? a ee Knapp Labelling Machine The Brown Boggs Co., Limited Hamilton, Ontario E. A. EARL & CO.,*Vancouver, B.C., Agents Index to Advertisers :: e e & e oe ie pe A, Tse 99 G. mble, sags es ties Ces INGE GS by Acadia Gas Engines, Bikes we 4 | Bie drich, B. F. 1 orthern Fis Oo. hs ak Armstrong Independent Fisheries, me en ‘gee Mecnort.; Go. ‘Ltd. fe Nova Scotia Government .. .. .. 86 Ltd. ef “ef ** of *e ef * oe . te ea ycdee ih ~inpe A he Ltd. ey ps oO. = ray an rior c We ereterh sw i Bliss, E. W. Co. ret gamma MERCER: oe carierct te GBR: PGounenta ak Mawtiet) <2 st ty 4 Booth Fisheries Co. “of Canada, ut eatin a hie a Bowman J., and C ‘ 96 x. o ’ Ltd. = Pallett, AL Bees ie 65 Poison ..Iron. “Works .. sis cc. es) 0s: 8 Grandram Henderson’ Co. 1 ete gs bs Hatton Co., D. .. 17 Process Engineers, Ltd. .. .. . .. 89 Atel econ wings kers’ Asso Hayward, F. J 89 Britis olumbia ackers is dd idee; 3 ‘ ciation .. oc tees ee Af pe on eta pe aes ‘aimee Quebec Government .. .. .. .. .. 93 Brown Boggs Co., bs PR ae ts ickman, A. BE... .. Pape sr im Burnoil Engine Co. Maar dees 2 ene Sr He Texpirtad OL Aaa: ae EO oaks cs, a A Cc. Independent Rubber Co., “Ltd. oa Gree Robbins, Chas. CG, ee oe ve a e Ris 91 Canada Metal Co., Ltd. 78 Robbins, F. R. & Co. ve OE Saudia eatcnacke Morse, Co. Ltd. 20 Pagteioe eget 9 = Engine Co. Hen Sa e- S* ———— UL Drege : —————S_—Ss—- or Newfoundland F' a Development By JOHN S. SCOTT. St. John’s, Nfld. In considering the development of Newfoundland’ S resources it is necessary to deal with a factor which inaugurates a new era in the country’s immense fish business, and which promises to add appreciably to the wealth of the colony. Practically, heretofore, ‘‘fish’’ in Newfoundland, has meant salt cod. Other kinds of marine food products have been traded in to some extent, it is true, and in small quantities have found their way into world mar- kets, but the great bulk of the country’s exports of fish have consisted of salt cured dried cod fish. This has . been the staple product upon which the trade and pros- perity of the country has been chiefly based notwith- standing the fact that the coastal waters abound in a great variety of fish, some of which held out com- mercial possibilities. Newfoundland salmon, for instance, possesses a peculiarly delicious flavor, which according to a well- known Scotch fish expert is the equal of the famed Seotch salmon; and haddock, halibut, herring and flounders are easily saleable in foreign markets. Then there is the smelt-like caplin; the turbot, resembling in flavor and appearance, the small halibut: the codfish, wolffish, skate, pollock; and the cod’s particular tit-bit. the ink-squirting squid; which is in great demand for bait, and which in Broadway restaurants has been eaten with relish, albeit. unconsciously perhaps, as a con- stituent part of lobster salad. Yet none of these fish have cut any considerable figure in the colony’s fish trade, and as articles of food some have been entirely ignored. Caplin, for example, a most tasty little fish, has been considered useful only:as a land fertilizer, and other varieties of proven food value have been looked upon bv’ the Newfoundlander as worthless. All of: this: seems likely to be greatly changed bv the use of refrigeration for preserving fish of all kinds in its fresh state. Alreadv what appears to be a success- ful experiment in refrigeration has been made with a plant that is said: to be one of the most modern and efficient on the North American continent. This nlant has been built in St. John’s by the Newfoundland At- Jantie Fisheries, Limited; a subsidiary to the Reid’ New- foundland Comnanv, in which the two sons of the Jate. Sir Robert Reid. who are now in control of that con- eern’s country-wide entervrise, H. D. Reid, and’ R. G. Reid, have been the moving spirits. The refrigerating plant of the Newfoundland Atlan- tic Fisheries has a storage capacity of 6,000,000 pounds, a eargo for a 12,000 ton vessel, and enough to fill 120 average refrigerator railroad cars. The building which is 90 x 300 ft. is three storeys in height, of brick shell ‘construction, with walls and floods two feet in thick- ness embodying the latest ideas of insulation. The structure contains eight cold storage rooms in which the fish is held, after freezing. The freezing equip- ment consists of five sharp-freezers having a total hold- ing capacity of 350,000 pounds. Through these rooms thirty-five miles of 214 inch pipe is distributed, carry- ing the circulating. ammonia which extracts the heat from the ‘‘warm’’ fish, and within a few hours con- verts it into an object as hard, and apparently as dry as a stick of wood. The refrigerating machinery consists of two dupli- cate machines of 200 ton ice-making capacity, driven by electric motors, the current for. which comes from the Reids’ hydro-electric plant a short distance from the city.. Only one machine is used at a time, the duplicate having been installed for safety in case of trouble. In addition to this precaution, an emergency steam-driven machine of 75 ton ice-making capacity has also been installed, to ‘‘hold’’ the refrigeration in case both big machines are put out of commission. The refrigerating machinery also serves an ice-making plant with a daily capacity of fifty tons, the product of which is utilized in packing the cars and vessels in which the fish is transported to and from the. plant. Much of the fish handled by the Newfoundland At- lantic Fisheries is caught within a short distance of St. John’s, and comes to the plant by water in small fish- ing vessels: Some are taken from the outport waters and sent in by rail. In every ease the fish reaches the refrigerating plant within less than twenty-four hours after having been taken from the water, and im- mediately upon its arrival is thoroughly cleaned and rushed into the cooling room, or a sharp-freezer, in metal pans each holding forty or eighty pounds. After being solidly frozen into a mass at a temperature of from 15 to 380 degrees below zero, the fish is hoisted by elevators to the storage rooms, where a dipping in clean fresh water releases the frozen mass-from its container and at the same time gives it a fresh ice coating, or elaze, which has the effect of hermetically sealing up the whole block. In due course the fish is packed in wooden’ cases in forty, eighty and*two hundred pound quantities, and is then ready -for shipment. jee December, 1918. ; : CANADIAN FISHERMAN 65 WE SELL YOR | SA CHINGS -_ SHARP FISH FREEZER & STORAGE ROOM NFD. ATLANTIC FISHERIES LTD. WE REFER YOU TO ALL OUR CUSTOMERS THEY ARE OUR = GREATEST _ ASSET. CANADIAN ICE MACHINE CO., LTD. WINNIPEG TORONTO MONTREAL AT YOUR DISPOSAL CIMCO SERVICE A. E. HALLETT, BROKER FRESH AND FROZEN FISH Correspondence solicited Ref., Corn Exchange National Bank, or any Chicago wholesale fish concern. 31 W. Lake St. ae 2s CHICAGO Readers of the ‘(Canadian Fisherman” desiring to know more about the “Henderson Fish Preserving Process,” which is patented in Canada and other countries, should communicate with GEORGE HENDERSON Box 2449, G. P. O. SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA The influenza stopped the salmon fishing about ten days earlier than would otherwise have been the case, ‘as a great many of the fishermen were laid up. Wal- lace Fisheries plant at Uchucklesit ,was closed for a considerable length of time. The steamer ‘‘Imbricaria’’ has been tied up at Rupert for several weeks on ac- count of the malady, and the steamer ‘‘ New England’”’ has been tied up at Ketchikan as nearly every man has been ill. VA Rubber Boots are the best For All Purposes Sold only by The Robert . Taylor Co. Ltd. Halifax, N.S. 24 CANADIAN FISHERMAN Good judges of fish assert that ‘the Newfoundland d storage product which is now beginning to find its y onto the market, is as good in every respect as fresh h. It is said that after being properly prepared for > table, it cannot, im fact, be told from the strictly sh article. Refrigerated fish, of various kinds, which ve been treated by the St. John’s concern have been en by epicures in the belief that they were fresh- ught, and no one, it is claimed, has yet found any ult with the flavor and quality of the frozen product. In its probable effects upon the country, the enter-_ ise of the Newfoundland Atlantic Fisheries is un- estionably a highly important matter. st season’s operation of the St. John’s plant has had appreciable effect upon the fish trade of the colony a whole, it has nevertheless introduced new methods handling the fish catch, and has created new con- ions and opened up new opportunities for Newfound- id fishermen. The time honored system of salting and - ying fish, which placed a period of several months ween the catching of the fish and the monetary re- rd for his efforts, remains no longer as a necessary 1 with every fisherman. Already many local fisher- n have experienced the satisfaction of making their y’s haul and disposing of it before bedtime at a good ee for cash. One perhaps unexpected result the new tem has had, has been to encourage fishing, and actually create new fishermen. Clerks in stores, and ers who had found nothing to attract them in the | slow process of realizing money from the products the salty deep, have during the past season spent ood deal of their spare time in fishing, and have been e to make more in fishing a few hours a day than ‘y could earn at their regular occupations. Some of ‘se men, it is expected, will give more-attention to hing next: year and in the future, if the good pros- sts promised by this year’s operation of the cold stor- 2 plant are realized. Another effect, gratifying alike to the fishermen and the food conservator or economist is the elimination m the fishing industry of the deplorable waste that ; existed in the long established system in which the 1 has attained a degree of importance which amounts nost to glorification. ‘‘Theé glorified cod,’’ in fact, not a great exaggeration. Heretofore, the cod has on fished in Newfoundland, and other varieties which struded themselves onto fishermen’s hooks, or into hermen’s nets or traps, have as a rule, when dis- vered, been promptly and contemptuously returned their briny homes—often in lots of hanes of unds at a time. The Newfoundland Atlantic Fisheries have been id to receive practically every kind of fish which * ild be caught during the past season, and thousands pounds of salmon, halibut and haddock which: pre- us to this year represented waste effort, are now red in the company’s refrigerating plant. This means ira money to the fishermen and extra food to a hun- y world. From this new develonasane ea is predicted the total tput of fish from the island will be greatly increased ar by. year, and that as a matter of necessity the ‘m in which the country’s products will reach the irkets, will be materially changed. This will mean, vitably, a general readjustment of business methods da change in plans by some, at least, of the concerns the fish business. To what extent the salt fish industry will be affected While the . Decembar, 1916)" “by the refrigerating business 1 no one can say. - There seems to be no good reason to anticipate any marked decline in salt fish trading, within the near future, at least; and that eventually. there will be any consider- able lessening of business in that line does not appear as a necessary consequence. For salt fish, it may safely — be assumed, there will alway be a strong demand, and Newfoundland is favorably situated to cater to that demand. In South American and European countries the Newfoundland article is highly favored because of © its quality, and will undoubtedly continue to be asked © for indefinitely. There is, therefore, no reason to fear — that the Newfoundland refrigerated fish will displace the salt dried article in foreign markets to any great extent, if at all. The only contingency that might ad- versely affect the salt fish trading is the possibility that the requirements the refrigerating industry might di- vert a portion of the country’s catch from its custom- ary channel, but this is a condition to be feared only on the assumption that there is only a certain quantity of fish obtainable from Newfoundland waters, or that there are, and will be, only a limited number of men to engage in the fishing industry. Neither assumption can be soundly based. Fish in practically unlimited quan-. tities is, and, presumably will always be procurable in the waters that have unfailingly supplied the colony for four hundred years, and getting men to catch them is obviously only a question of offering sufficient in- ducements. , | The net results in prospect for the colony, therefore, seem to be that the refrigerating industry will, if as suc- cessful as it promises to be, stimulate fishing as an in-. dustry, and ultimately add much to the wealth of Bri- tain’s oldest colonial possession. The first big shipment from the Newfoundland At- lantie Fisheries went out from St, John’s last week to England in the ‘‘Bayano’’ which carried some 3,250,000 pounds. Other shipments will follow, and smaller con- signments are now being sent to the American markets. WHALE MEAT. Welcome, O whale from frigid zones! This season’s greeting I am giving Because your girth and meaty bones Will greatly ease the cost of living! When turkeys fetch six dimes a pound And porterhouse is out of sight, I’ll stake my all upon a round : Of whale meat, wholesome, cheap and light! They tell me that your breast and taile To say naught of your fins and blubber— Are sweet and tender, gentle whale, “4 To suit the most fastidious grubber! My New Year’s turkey I will can And try a plate of whale and chips; The papers say that any man Who does the same will smack his lips! There’s just one danger I can see As o’er my tempting meal I gloat; ~ ’T would be a trifle awkward, Gee! . To get a whale rib in my throat! i = J. L. Love, December, 1918. CANADIAN Shee AN 67 LW. ‘R. SPOONER Wholesale and Commission Dealer Fish of all Kinas 119 Youville Square, - _ MON TREAL I am in the market at all times to Buy or Sell on C’ mmission, Fresh, Frozen, Smoked and Salt Sea and Lake Fish, in Carload Lots or Less. Correspondence Solicited License No. 1 AL. ——<—— = —=——————._ Representing =— National Fish Company, Limited until | - Halifax and Port Hawkesbury - N.S. ! | | 66 ° ye National Brand Hadaies, | oS : | ey 2 . . Producers Fillets, Fresh, poet’ Frozen Bloaters, | and Salt Scotch Cured |; < Herring. | Sea Fish . STEAM TRAWLER TRIUMPH. LAKE FISH SEA FISH : B & Co., Port Arthur, Ont. J, Bowman & Co., Montreal, Que. A. W. Fader, Canso, N.S. BONELESS COD FISH National Fish Co., Ltd., Halifax and Port R. E. Jamieson, Rustico, P.E.I. Hawkesbury, N.S. License No. 1-036. * 2026 CANADIAN FISHERMAN December, 1918. Prince Rupert Fishermen had a Good Season Publicity Campaign of Canadian Food Control Board Very Largely Increased the Consumption of Fish all Over the Dominion. How pleasant and satisfactory it is, at this, festal sea- son, to reflect upon the immense growth of Prince Ru- pert’s chief industry, fishing, during the past year, says an article in ‘Resources.’’ It has done more than any one thing to place Prince Rupert on the map to stay. Prince Rupert is now well-known as a fishing port, and it will take but a few years at the present rate to make it rank among the world’s greatest fishing ports. Now much of this prosperity in the industry is due to one thing, the advertising on a large scale of fish as nutritious and economical food by the Canadian Food Board. Before it began its. propaganda advertising fish, very little fish. was consumed by Canadians, ex- cept in coast towns. It is only in recent years, since the perfection of cold storage, that fish was to be obtained in a fresh state at interior points, and therefore eating fish was not a habit. By constant advertising, by point- ing out the nutritive qualities of fish and the many, many dainty ways in which it could be prepared for the ~ table, and by harping on the subject all the time, the Food Board succeeded in converting Canadians into fish-eaters to such an extent that the Board had. next to take steps to obtain a sufficient supply of fish for the consumers it had created by its fish campaign. The Pacifie Coast has long been famous for its sal- mon and halibut and the ready market for these fish resulted.in depletion and the climbing of both into the luxury class. Yet there was plenty of other fish, if people were educated up to them and their uses. This the board did. Then started a hunt for cheap sea fish for the citizens of the inland provinees, and found here unutilized brills, soles, red, grey and ling cod and other varieties in enormous quantities. - The Board, by its extensive and attractive advertising made the people’s mouth water for halibut and salmon in the hope of decreasing the consumption of beef, which was needed for the army. When salmon and. halibut got too high in price for the working man’s family, ¢ a oe ~ SS P r they sought and produced fish of a cheaper class to appease the appetite created. Before this campaign of advertising fish begun last year our fishermen used to toss back into the ocean all fish taken except salmon and halibut. Now there is a market for every kind of fish they can bring into port. It can be safely said, therefore, that the consumption — of fish in Canada has increased one hundred per cent since the start of the Board’s operations in this direction. This. has been accomplished by its own advertising, and by the advertising’ of those in the fish business follow- ing their lead, and by the sympathetic co- ope ete of the public generally. To accomplish this the publicity activities of the Board have been of the most varied and attractive char- | acter. Illustrations galore, printed circulars and huge posters everywhere. An accomplished writer who knows all about fish—a combination rarely met with and hard to beat—went out from Prince Rupert accompanied by a motion picture camera man in the trawler Carruthers, and described orally and pictorially how the fish were caught, how they were treated in the boat, landed, dress- ed, packed in ice and started on their way east. All this has been seen by the people far away from the ocean who were just beginning to find out that fish is good eating, in the movies, and seeing is believing to minds just bursting the bonds of slothful ignorance. And to eap all this, diverse advertising the Board proclaimed a national fish day, October 31st, and for that day there went from this new fishing port no less than twenty ear- t loads of frozen flat fish, so that the fish-hungry folk of . Calgary, Edmonton, Saskatoon, Regina, Moosejaw, Winnipeg, Toronto and Montreal might properly cele- © brate the day. The outstanding feature of the fish industry during 1918, therefore, has been. the tremendously increased production and consumption, both on the Pacifie and At- lantic, of those varieties of fish which up to recently Spring Salmon Caught in Skeena River, B.C., district. December, 1918. CANADIAN FISHERMAN 69 Modern Cannery Practice | Allows little time to clapse between the catch and the final operations on the pack. Prompt and continuous streams of all the elements necessary to make cans are depended upon to avert loss. Clean cut, high quality output required of all ‘Bliss’ Automatic Can Making Machinery, but steadily continued production at high speed is likewise a feature of importance. These things have been developed in The “Bliss” lines through nearly sixty years of experience and co-operation with canners ‘and can makers in all parts of the world. “BLISS” AUTOMATIC ROUND-CAN DOUBLE-END FLANGER, NO. 15-K. This machine flanges both ends of can bodies simultaneously and is entirely automatic and continuous in operation. It produces flanges on 100 to 150 cars per minute and can be readily adjusted from one size to another. f Write for Catalogue Section No. 18-A E. W. BLISS COMPANY Main Office and Works; BROOKLYN, N.Y., U.S.A. CHICAGO OFFICE DETROIT OFFICE CLEVELAND OFFICE 1857 People’s Gas Bldg. Dime Bank Bldg. Union Bank Bldg. LYNDON, S.E., ENGLAND, Pocock Street, Blackfriars Road PARIS, FRANCE, 100 Boulevard Victor-Hugo St. Quen 8 CANADIAN FISHERMAN i not been popular. They were always eatable but s was not generally known. More particularly was s the case in regard to those varieties of fish produced the Pacific coast almost exclusively. The different ds of cod are produced on the Atlantic as well as . Pacific, and haddock and pollock only on the former. [he increased consumption has produced - another ture of the year in the largely inereased. number of am trawlers in operation... There are now three here 1 five on the Atlantic. This is a remarkable develop- nt because it brings the fish industry up to date with 1t of the old country. And next year will see a still ‘ther increase of the trawlers, as there are quite.a mber under construction. The future success of the fish industry, in this or any er part of the world, depends on the facilities pro- led to produce and take eare of the commodity in the ickest possible way, so that it gets into the hands of » consumer in the best possible condition. In the | country millions of dollars have been spent in pro- ling facilities to this end, and now that the Dominion vernment has done so much to create a national ap- tite for fish food, it may go one step further and aid providing quiek transportation facilities. It has been ing something already in the way of a subsidy by ying a goodly part of the freight rate from this port eastern cities. But this was no doubt a war measure increase the rations of the _trenchermen in the nches. In this connection there is another feature in the owth of the industry for which credit must be given the Food Control Board. This lies in the fact that sre was a much greater percentage of frozen fish ,eon- med during the year than ever before. Well known entists and physicians have recommended the public eat frozen fish in preference to the unfrozen article, rticularly in those cities that are a number of miles mm the souree of production. ; The industry has also gone ‘‘over the top’’ in anoth- direction which is worth calling attention to. Which in the number of new canneries established on this ast during the year; particularly on the Queen Char- te Islands and the west coast of Vancouver Island. veral new canneries» have been built and ha acre ere since the year opened. In one feature of the industry there has been a fall- or -off in‘ the production, to be made up in another. 1ere has been less halibut produced than for several evious years. The first reason for this lies in the de- etion of the species, and the se¢ond reason in the cost production. This has grown to be so high that in any cities dealers have refused to buy the product at e high price asked, and have been giving their atten- yn: to the cheaper varieties of fish, such as flat fish id: cod. The expenses of operating vessels owned by rge companies has been so high in halibut production, at many of the vessels have been diverted to other ‘anches of the industry. During the year the Americans tried to fix the mar- + price of fish, but the Canadian government declined do this and the American government then withdrew s proposition, and. at the present there is no control ‘fresh or frozen halibut, salmon and black cod on either de of the line. There is one other feature of the year particularly ratifying to the small fishermen, and that is to be found . the large quantity of pilehard and herring that have en canned this year for the first time. These canneries _ December, 1918. are for the most part on the west coast of Vancouver © : Island, and report is that they have been most successful in marketing the new product. Altogether it has been a great and glorious year, for the fishing industry, thousands of people on the prairies, hundreds of thousands in the trenches, having been ‘brought. to a knowledge of how good a. food fish is per- The wholesale use - haps for the first time in their lives. of fish food in Europe during the war cannot fail t¢ have made Prince Rupert fish famous, and have created — a huge new market for it in these piping times of peace. sieht OF CURED BERRING IN BRITISH COLUMBIA. ‘The Fish Inspection Act of 1914 does not souisbel packers te submit their product for inspection, conse- quently, inspectors are appointed in parts of the coun- i try only, where their services are likely to be. ealled for. _ Up to the present time, ‘it was 7% considered neces-— sary to maintain an Inspecting Officer on the Pacific coast, because herring curing has been carried on in a small way by people having a sufficient. knowledge > of the business to enable them to sell their’ output i readily on the strength of their own. trade mark, Conditions arising from the war have since greatly. ' stimulated this branch of the fishing industry. in Brit-' ish Columbia, and a number of packers who lack the — necessary knowledge and experience are being drawn into it. f In order, therefore, to prevent, as far ‘as possible, é the reputation of all British Columbia cured herring from being injured by the packing and marketing of badly cured fish, the Department of the Naval Ser- vice has apopinted William ‘Wilson of Prince Rupert: to advise and instruct packers, and inspect and. brand — their cured product during the ensuing herring sea- son, in accordance with the Drereiony, of the Fish In- spection Act. .« The inspector has had a thorough training in barrel making and herring curing in Scotland, and those concerned may rest assured as to his practical fitness for the work he is called-upon to do. His headquarters will be at Nanaimo, and packers and buyers who may desire to make use of his services should address communications to him in eare of the Inspector of Fisheries there. HUGE OVERSEAS. SHIPMENT OF FROZEN FISH. The steamer Bayano, taking 3,250,000 pounds of fresh frozen fish from the Newfoundland Atlantic Fish- eries, Ltd., arrived recently in England. Sir Edgar R. Bowring took passage by her en route to London, where he takes up the duties of High Commissioner for Newfoundland. The whaling steamer, Haleyon went adrift at Akutan, ‘3 Aleutian Islands in a big storm, November 11th, while her captain and crew were ashore. This is the. vessel which furnished the inspiration for Jack London’s story of the ‘‘Sea Wolf.’’ The Haleyon was built in San Fran- cisco in 1887 and purchased about two years ago by the | North Pacific Sea Products Co. of Seattle, one of the companies forming part of the Consolidated idee ad Corporation. { 5 a eo aT i m2 2 : ae SS - ROR Re 2 scree or stones, ALM ER RO : +. - ; ~ racsial = ca: et : Peis ade ES December, 1918. CANADIAN FISHERMAN When the Catch comes in! ROM purse-seiner to labeler, there is one best footwear— “Hi-Press”. Its superiority over other footwear is so marked— so evident—that you cannot pos- sibly go wrong withit. “Hi-Press” comfort means much when you are on your feet forlong stretches and its remarkable wearing quality counts heavily in these war-days of tight purse-strings. Protect your health, ease the strain on your feet and econo- mize—with “Hi-Press.” It is the modern improved Boot; welded together under high pressure; it can’t leak. 40,000 dealers recommend it. The B. F. Goodrich Rubber Co. AKRON, OHIO — The City of Goodrich Ea yy yori | HI-PRES With.the RED LINE ‘round the top 4 MARK The GOODRICH BOOT for Fishermen * 2030 CANADIAN FISHERMAN December, 1918. ALBERTA AND SASKATCHEWAN FISHERIES. The northern fishing industry has been pushed out into new fields, or, rather lakes, this winter owing to the closing of Lesser Slave lake and Lae la Biche to winter fishing. Buffalo lake, in Saskatchewan, about 75 miles east of the Waterways railway, is being fished commercially for the first time by the Alberta Fish Company and the MeInnis Fish Company. It is a large lake, and is on the old Long Portage canal route between Cumberland and MeMurray. Fish will be shipped from a point on the Waterways railway, about 100 miles north of Lac la Biche. Trout lake, about 110 miles northeast of Grouard, is also being fished commercially for the first time this season. The Western Canada Fish and Produce Com- pany are operating there on a large scale. The fish are hauled to Enilda siding on the Dunvegan railway, a distance of about 110 miles.. The route is by way of Whitefish lake and Grouard. Whitefish lake, about fifty miles northeast of Grou- ard, is being fished this season by the Arctic Fish Co. The fish are teamed through Grouard to Enida siding. At Little Whitefish lake, lying southeast of White- The vessel weighed off 80,000 pounds of fish and struck fish lake, Mr. Feset is fishing for shipment at Enilda. a lucky market, when fish were scarce and prices were At Christina lake, on the Waterways railway, about high. ; iW OE: | STATEMENT SHOWING THE QUANTITY AND VALUE OF FISH EXPORTED THROUGH THE PORTS IN THE PROVINCE OF BRITISH COLUMBIA, DURING THE FISCAL YEARS ENDED MARCH 31st, 1916, 1917, and 1918, RESPECTIVELY. | 75 miles north of Lac la Biche, the Athabasca Fish Com- pany is operating. Lake Mistahae, south of the Wabiskaw lakes, is be- ing fished commercially this winter. Fish are teamed about 50 miles to the railway at Sawridge. Calling lake, north of Athabasca, is also being fished. The fish are teamed to the railway at Athabasca. The fish industry of North Alberta has developed to be of great importance. Several hundred men are em- ployed in actual fishing. There are possibly 100 teams or more employed in hauling fish to the railway, and _ there is besides a large staff emphoyed in the work of —~ shipping, accounting, ete. The fish are shipped chiefly to the large cities of the United States. They are of es- pecially fine quality, and are almost solely whitefish. SOME TRIP! What is claimed to be the largest stock ever realized by a sailing vessel on a 10-days’ fresh haddocking trip was made by sch. Ruth and Margaret, Capt. Val. O’Neill, at Boston recently, when the vessel took down a check of $8,715 as the result of a 10 days’ trip on Western Banks. Each of the crew shared the fine sum of $234 clear. = tie wd maRyoys are 1916. HEY i 1917. 1918. Quantity. Value. Quantity. Value. Quantity. Value. Fresh codfish including: Haddock, Ling and Pollock, Cwt. 836 $2,903 1,184 $4,957 1,382 $6,636 Dry salted codfish........ Cwt. 547 3,582 17 206 50 750 Wet salted codfish........ Cwt. 41 184 gt Ag 8 52° Pickled codfish. . ........ Cwt. uF a 200 1,000 245 1,440 - Smoked codfish. . ........ Cwt. 519 3,830 728 6.448 602 7,726 Pickled Mackerel . . ......Brls. vs 49 922 225 5,025 Fresh Halibut. 0:47.43 4.5 Cwt. 7,250 46 007 2,039 16,726 791 7,689 Pickled Halibut .......... Bris. 6 45 725 faites se avaias vi Fresh Herring .)..2.:...:. Cwt. 2,700 2; 387 5,079 7,289 96,639 109,415 Pickled Herring .......... Bris. 100,889 299,147 133,560 312,015 18,003 227,843 Canned Herring. ......... Lbs. 289,314 22.341 1,829,382 _ 163,774 2,255,880 268,716 Smoked Herring. ......... Cwt. 829 4,693 993 6,128 1,306 12,884 Eels) .°: 2 tie aes $ ie se ae 68 eee his Smelts .... ....Cwt. 1,150 4,269 672 3,978 o¢ 129 1,076 Other fresh fish yea) ae Cwt. 73 853 368 4,494 8,970 » 15,999 Pickled.’ séa fishy. rae ees Brls. ea ef Frat, Pow 132 1,551 | Preserved sea fish......... Lbs. 82,520 5,188 40,664 2,804 4,386,398 42,697 | Fresh, Oysters. 2s0.oseoee. - Brls 218 2,274 170 2,325 878 9,714 ] Canned Lobster. . ........ Lbs. 357 115 96 32 2,400 1,120 Fish for- Baits 4.c94er. . »- Brls. 414 898 2,551 6,058 | Claman: 2’ . 00 Vueeer aie Brls. ‘ “3 : 28 76. 30 93 é Fresh Salmon (3. caine: Cwt. 12,519 45,682 19,884 84,534 39,779 208,662 as Smoked Salmon. ......... Lbs. 283 30 829 106 3,858 708 Canned Salmon. ......... Lbs. 31,598,976 4,044,660 17,982,223 2057 ,277 22,194,449 4,045,961 Pickled Salmon . .......:. Brls. 7,605 47,148 4,549 74,628 1,123 _ 28,772 i Dog Salmon \ 2. sae Cwt. 205,956 224,893 187,213 263,758 ~ 100,544 349,221 | Salmon or Lake Trout..... Cwt. ie eo) 25 Satya wea edae All other Fresh Fish....... $ 1,490 2,774 6,691 4,761,676 3,017,967 5,366,499 December, 1918. CANADIAN FISHERMAN 73 ECONOMY AND CONSERVATION Are the watch words of to-day—True economy in fish plants can only be maintained by the installation of machinery that will conserve power and maintenance cost, yet give the most efficient results. Your requirements will be given the benefit of 25 years of careful study of the NT S\seaea| conditions in Canada. Ask at the Largest : Fish Plants in Canada. Their success is due ’ to the above facts, all of which are em- bodied in Write for Full Information we COMPLETE MADE = PLANTS CANADA DESIGNED MACHINERY _ AND ERECTED THE STANDARD REFRIGERATING MACHINE THE LINDE CANADIAN REFRIGERATION CO., LIMITED 37 ST. PETER ST., MONTREAL, P.Q. TORONTO | WINNIPEG VANCOUVER When you buy an Imperial you are getting an engine backed by years of service so satisfactory that Imperial Motors are the standard fishing boat engines. of Eastern Canada and are to be found in every fishing district in Canada and Newfoundland. They are the best that money, skill and experience can produce. General Dimensions of 5 H.P. Model ‘‘A’’ BOvresToCyiaaer! sts ee ale. aR cod MAb vie uo pW ot 4agvinGghes Strokes. es. oO Mae” bit ea eb e Mobi Bee gig Mitel aca ats tat ees ae Weight, engine ma. ig 3 Date Een as nice cbhes tee ee lbs. Complete shipping weight, eth” outfit 5 Ea PE NO Mme pe Uy fo 420 a .. Diameter Of: Propeller; Z-blade v5. oh oie t a Si a8 inches Diameter of: Propeller; :S-bladel(.305 a5. ee be. a Sak eis ee LE sx SESH el AOD ig tat fe 6a eaiee a4 Bese bo kA hed dass ib: slated dadsesle pus, Bale tagkreate inch PREG JOMEN CAT ee) oho | dase were tse biaieie, Vale 5 ash ie aaa Me feet - For full information regarding this or any other Model send for catalog. State size engine required. 5 H.P. Model ‘‘A”’ The Motor that Makes the Mark. BRUCE STEWART & COMPANY, LIMITED. Drawer 370, CHARLOTTETOWN, : : P. Es f. , 2032 CANADIAN ONTARIO GOVERNMENT FISHERIES, During the first year of its sales of fresh water fish, which ended on October 31 last, the Ontario Govern- ment distributed in the Province approximately 3,000,- 000 pounds of this lake food, according to the annual report of the sales branch made to the Minister of Public Works, Hon. F. G. Macdiarmid. The total amount of money received for the, fish during that period was $234,594.65. After all expenditures and allowances had been made, including about $25,000 for docks, sheds, ete., at Lake Nepigon, there was a profit of $14,000. : One result of the Government opening up fishing operations in Lake Nepigon is that the Indians in the northern part of the Province have been able to get on the market fish which they caught in the streams. Approximately $12,000 was paid to them by the Government. Heretofore but a small proportion of the fish caught by the Indians in that part of the Province has been marketed. Hon. Mr. Macdiarmid is well pleased with the show- ing made by the sales branch in the first year. ‘*'We have had a few small losses, but that was to,be ex- pected in the handling of perishable food,’’ the Minis- ter stated. The government is now devoting its at- tention to the securing of cold storage accommodation in which to place fish next summer for sale during the winter of 1919-20. About 200 tons is being placed in storage this fall by the department and it is hoped . that this amount, with the fish caught during the win- ter months, will meet the demands of the consumers. This year the Government secured the fish it re- quired, in addition to that taken from Lakes Nipis- sing and Nepigon, by requisitioning 20 per cent of the fish caught by the fishermen throughout the Pro- vinee, under the license system. It was hinted a few weeks ago that it might be necessary to increase the percentage of fish taken from the fishermen to meet the demand next year. Howover, Mr. Macdiarmid said that this would not be necessary. He felt that 20 per cent of the fishermen’s catch would be ample to meet all demands. CHINOOK SALMON FOR ST. LAWRENCE BASIN. After consultation with the fishery authorities of New York, the Bureau has begun an experiment looking to the acclimatization of the chinook or quinnat salmon in Lake Ontario and St. Lawrence River. Chinook eggs to the number of 820,000 have been received at the Cape Vincent (N.Y.) hatchery from the Little White Sal- mon station on the Columbia River. The resulting young will be planted under favorable conditions at points to be determined later. In co-operation with this plan, the fishery authorities of the Dominion of Canada have forwarded from the Fraser River for incubation in the Government hatchery at Belleville, Ontario, 500,000 chinook salmon eggs, the young from which will be planted in international wa- ters of the St. Lawrence basin. CAN KEEP FISH INDEFINITELY BY NEW INVENTION. A new drying process by which meats and fish can be kept indefinitely and then restored to their former state of freshness by the application of water, and which, it is believed, will increase the world’s meat shipping capacity more than twelve times by doing away with the need for refrigeration, has been perfected in the chemi- cal engineering laboratories at Columbia University. FISHERMAN JAPANESE AND SIBERIAN SALMON FISHING. (United States Consul General George H. Scidmorg Yokohama, September 28, in United States Commerce Reports. ) a The total catch of Kamtechatka salmon for this season is estimated at 400,000 boxes, including 300,000 boxes of red salmon, 50,000 boxes of other salmon, and 40,00( boxes of kind silvers, but the takes in Karafuto and th Kurile islands are very small. The quantity of red sal mon is nearly equal to the original estimate, but th others are much less, trout being only one-fifth of th usual quantity. The reason for this is thought to be tl unusually large arrival of red salmon, to which the fis ermen have devoted most of their attention. a. English and French demands are fairly active, b the high freight rates and shortage of space are restric ing transactions. The producers of canned salmon stant very strong and are asking high prices, partly because of the increase in the cost of production. Probably in consequence of this, England and France are officially restricting the price of salmon, and no red salmon can imported into England at £5 or more. . Moreover, the English Government has just.opened negotiations with the American Government for the importation of sal- mon direct, and a certain firm in England is said to have been prohibited from importing Canadian and Am- erican salmon. In America recent official prices for red and pink salmon were $9.40 and $6.40 respectively, per case of 48 No. 1 tall cans. These officially fixed rates are much lower than the prices in Japan. _ U.S. NOT TO BUILD FISHING VESSELS. — The U.S. Government is not to take any part in the building of fishing vessels on the Atlantie or other coasts. The information was contained in a telegram from Kenneth Fowler, in charge of the fish division of the United States Food Administration, to the New York Federal Food Board. The telegram says: ‘‘Food Administration program of building fifty stee trawlers on the Atlantic coast to enter the fish industry has been definitely abandoned and that no trawlers ot fishing vessels of any kind will be built as part of any program of the Federal Government. bike ; CANNED SALMON FROM THE YUKON. The U.S. Bureau of Fisheries has received from th packers a sample of the chinook salmon canned on the Yukon River this year by the Carlisle Packing Co. Th is the first season that salmon canning has been done o the Yukon. This stream is reported to have a large ru of fish, but difficulties connected with transportation ice, and labor are so serious as to greatly retard or em barrass both commercial fishing and canning. The Yukon River chinook ranks high as to color, oi! ness, and flavor. The pack is regarded as the equal December, 1918, oc ~ that from any other stream. | ; ; J MAINE SARDINE PACK IS WORTH $17,000,00 For the season ending December 1, Maine factori packed 2,500,000 cases of sardines. Hach ease ec tained 100 cans, making a total of 250,000,000 ; dividual cans. It had not been expected this figu would be reached, but a big run of herring the’ three weeks sent the totals climbing. aa The gross value of the pack is between $16,000 and $17,000,000. The net profits to packers, howev will not be so great as usual. This is due to the | treme high price for fish and labor, combined by government price-fixing. é a THE CANADIAN FISHERMAN A MONTHLY JOURNAL DEVOTED TO THE COMMERCIAL FISHERIES OF CANADA AND NEWFOUNDLAND THE SCIENCE OF THE FISH CUL- TURE AND THE USE AND VALUE - OF FISH PRODUCTS - F. WILLIAM WALLACE EDITOR The Industrial & Educational Press, Limited GARDEN CITY PRESS Ste. Anne de Bellevue, Que. CANADA MONTREAL OFFICE: A. S. Christie, Eastern Manager. 30-B Board of Trade Bldg., ’ Telephone, Main 2662. TORONTO OFFICE: H. W. Thomp-on, Western Manager. C. P. R. Building, cor. King and Yonge Sts. Telephone, Adelaide 3310. SUBSCRIPTION: Canada, Newfoundland and Great Britain - - - - $1.00 United States and Elsewhere... $1.50 payable in advance. ADVERTISING RATES ON APPLICATION _ Published on the 24th day of each month. Changes of advertisements should be in the publisher’s hands ten days before that date. Cuts should be sent by mail, not by express. Readers are cordially invited to send to the Editor items of Fishery news, also articles on subjects of practical interest If suitable tor publication these will be paid for at our regular rate Official Organ of the Canadian Fisheries Association Vol. V. MONTREAL, DECEMBER, 1918 No. 12 "THE Editors and Publishers of “The Canadian Fisherman” join in wishing their many friends and those engaged in the fishing industry of Canada all personal happiness and business prosperity during nineteen hundred and nineteen. We also desire to extend to those connected with the fisheries and the fish trade who have been fighting in the cause of liberty a safe, happy and early return. ’ ERR R RR RR EEK SR RRR RE REA K ERK ESR EEK EE SRK KA 20 CANADIAN FISHERMAN December, 1918. ~ Twin Screw Auxiliary Motor Schooner “Samuel Courtney” 1918 Equipped with 2-100 H.P. Fairbanks-Morse type “C.0” Semi-Diesel Crude Oil Engines 7 Knots 531 Gross Tons 441 Net tons 171’ long 35’ beam Geo. M. Barr, Owner. Sam’l M. Courtney, Master. O’Brien, Noel, NS. Builder When Geo. M. Barr was deciding on the Power Equipment for the ‘‘Samuel Courtney’’ he chose what he considered the best money value on the market— _ Fairbanks-Morse Type “C.O” Engines. They were s2lected because of proven economy, using low priced fuel oils. They give perfect regulation under light, heavy, or intermediate loads. Made in sizes from 30 to 200 H. P. The Canadian Fairbanks-Morse Co., | Limited 75 Prince William St., St. John, N.B. Halifax, Quebec, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Hamilton, Windsor, Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Calgary Victoria. 798 Beatty St. Vancouver, B. C. December, 1918. PUBLISHER’S ANNOUNCEMENT. This issue of the Canadian Fisherman has been some- what delayed owing to the removal of our plant from Montreal to St. Anne de Bellevue, Que. In future, the Canadian Fisherman will be published from our model publishing plant—the Garden City Préss—which, fully equipped with modern machinery and located in one of the most picturesque suburbs of Montreal, will give us an opportunity to greatly extend our work under the most favorable conditions. All mail for the Cana- dian Fisherman should be addressed ‘‘Garden City. Press, St. Anne de Bellevue, Que.’’ A business office is . maintained in Montreal at Room 30B, Board of Trade Building, and in Toronto, at 412 C.P.R. Building. 1918—A RETROSPECTION. The year 1918 opened with the Empire still in the throes of the Great War and the end uncertain, though we.all felt that the outcome would see our arms victor- ious. The fishing industry came into closer contact with war measures by the extended scope of the Food Con- troller’s Office, which became the Canada Food Board at the beginning of the year. Under their regulations, all wholesale and retail dealers in fish were licensed, and _the former were called upon to report their operations monthly. Tthe license fees charged were moderate, and the industry received an adequate return in the great- ly stimulated consumption of. fish through the Food | Board’s propaganda work in urging the public to eat ‘more fish as a substitute for the meats required for ~ export. The fishing industry were exempt from price regula- tions except in two instances—that of the Western lake fishery and the New Brunswick sardine fishery. The prices fixed were regarded as fair by the trade and in the former case, the regulations resulted in greatly in- creasing the home consumption of fish from the waters of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. The busi- ness of exporters may have been cut down somewhat, - but the Food Board’s object was satisfactorily obtained and the firms and individuals engaged in the Western lake fisheries co-operated loyally. In March, 1918, the fishery and market for Pacific flat-fish and cods was established by the Food Board, and the Marine and Fisheries Department, and steam trawling on the Pacific got away to a good start. A new era has begun in the British Columbia fisheries which can be maintained in post bellum years. Prices on these fish were regulated by the Board, but purely for the purpose of creating a market and not as a re- strictive measure. As a fostering genius to the Canadian fishing indus- try, the Food Board assisted the trade in many ways too numerous to recount here and for much of the good work which has been done, the industry is indebted to the officers of the Canadian Fisheries Association, who co-operated with the Food Board to the fullest extent, and also took up many important matters with the rail- road and express companies and Governmental Depart- ments to the ultimate benefit of the fishing industry and fish trade. Two most important Fisheries Conventions were held during the year. One was the International Fisheries Commission of Canada and the United States a notable outcome of which was the removal of the restrictions on Canadian fishing vessels running their CANADIAN FISHERMAN. 2008 fish direct into U.S. ports. The basis was also laid by the Commission for eradicating much of the misunder- standing and friction hitherto existing between Canada and the United States on fishery matters. The second convention was that of the Canadian Fisheries Associa- tion at Halifax in August, 1918, at which many import- ant matters affecting the industry were discussed and resolutions passed. Several of these will be acted upon this year, and good will result. The Association Con- vention was the largest fisheries gathering ever held in Canada and was a further evidence of the growing co- hesion of the industry from coast to coast in matters affecting the progress and development of the fisher- ies. , The Association added two important branches to its membership—one in Vancouver and another in Win- nipeg. It also, in conjunction with the Food Board and the Ontario Government Fisheries, maintained an ex- cellent Fisheries Exhibit at the Canadian National Ex- hibition, Toronto, from August 26th to Sept. 7th, 1918. The war was brought home to the fishing industry on the Atlantic Coast by the operations of German sub- marines from August to October. Several fishing schooners were sunk and the Halifax steam trawler ‘““Triumph’’ was captured and used as a raider and ulti- mately destroyed. A new trawler was added to the Nova Seotia fleet in 1918 when the Leonard Fisheries, Ltd., purchased the ‘‘Baleine.’’ The Maritime Fish Cor- poration, Ltd., chartered the Icelandic trawler ‘‘Ran’’ and operated her during the year. Six trawlers are now fishing in Canada—four on the Atlantic and two on the Pacific. During 1919, this fleet will be increased. ‘Hotels and home throughout Canada are using double the quantity of fish consumed prior to the war. Mar- kets have been made for the commoner and _ cheaper grades of fish and the trade in frozen fish has received a considerable impetus. There is a noticeable improve- ~ ment in the retail handling and display of fish and evi- dences of aggressive advertising in pushing the sale are becoming commoner every day. ; -Three valuable reports were issued during the year: The:Canadian Plaice by Dr. Huntsman; the Report of the B.C. Salmon Fisheries Commission, and the Report of the Special Trade Commission to Great Britain, France and Italy. The two first named were issued by the Department of Fisheries—the latter by the Depart- ment of Trade and Commerce. These were in addition to the Provincial and Federal Fisheries Departmental blue books. National Fish Day—an annual event inaugurated by the Canadian Fisheries Association—was held on Octo- ber 31st, 1918, and was a phenomenal sueccess—no less than 2,500,000 lbs. of fish being consumed on that day alone. The industry is indebted to the Food Board for their co-operation with the C.F.A. in making the annual ‘Fish Day of 1918 a record breaker. — The exports of frozen fish to Great Britain which was a feature of 1917, fell off considerably during the past. year— Newfoundland securing the bulk of the orders. The whole of the soekeye salmon pack and a large pro- portion of the higher grade canned salmon was comman- deered by the British Ministry of Food in November and caused some confusion on the coast and disturbed the existing channels of trade. The canning of pil- echards received some impetus through this condition, * 2004 CANADIAN FISHERMAN and a considerable pack was put up to take the place of the commandeered salmon in the market. Fish re- mained prominently on. the soldiers’ rations during the year, both in Canada and overseas. ’ The past year has been a prosperous one for the fish- ing industry as a whole, and in the salt bank and dried fish trade, prices have been unusually high. In other lines of fresh and frozen fish for the home market, the price to the fisherman has been good, but to the con- sumer, there is but little advance over pre-war prices —the intermediate handlers being content with the in- creased volume of sales and small profits. In the outlook for the future, the industry is hoping that the Overseas Trade Commission will be able to secure a good share of fish orders for export for Can- adian producers. consumption should be earried on as aggressively as during the past year, if not by the Canada Food Board, then by the Canadian Fisheries Association working in conjunction with the Department of Marine and Fish- eries. The victorious conclusion of the war finds Canada’s. fishing industry in good shape and there is every reason to believe that 1919 will bring further progress, develop- ment and prosperity. It has been our pleasant duty to prophesy thus during the five years of the Canadian Fisherman’s establishment, and each of these years has seen an advance in the value and prosperity of the Can- adian Fish Trade and Fishing Industry. NEXT ANNUAL CONVENTION, C.F.A. From answers received by the Secretary, it seems to be the general desire of the Association’s members that the next Convention be held in Vancouver, and many have signified their intention of attending. The Pacific Coast deserves the Association’s atten- tion—not alone from the importance of its fishing in- dustry and the many members located in British Colum- bia, but also from the fact that very few of our middle West and Eastern members have crossed the Rockies and beheld the wonders of the West Coast. Most fish men are too busy to take the time off for a mere pleas- ure tour to the Coast, but the combination of pleasure and essential business as afforded by the Convention makes an ideal scheme in which the two can be combined. The Vancouver members, the Mayor and the Board of Trade have extended cordial invitations, and will see that the Association is accorded a hearty welcome dur- ing their Convention. The programme will be a most important one, as many after-war problems will be dis- cussed and new lines of action recommended and acted upon. Let all the C.F.A. members keep the Victory Conven- tion in mind and begin now to arrange their affairs in order to attend the meeting. The date will be decided upon later and sufficient warning will be given. CHARGE FOR PACKAGES. Supplementing discussions upon the above subject at the Halifax Convention, a meeting of the Executive Council held in Montreal on December 4th passed the following resolution :— RESOLVED that the Canadian Fisheries Association goes on record that fish packages (boxes, barrels, kegs, drums, etc.) should be charged for separately instead of being incor- porated in the cost of the fish. _ This, to our mind, is a step in the right divcolion and should be adopted by. all producers and wholesale dis- The propaganda for increasing home | tributors during 1919, The trade is well aware that the boxes are incorporated in the cost of the fish and the charge runs from half a cent to one cent per pound, but the general public has, of late, been stampeded into - making accusations of excessive profiteering through ig-— norance of this fact. They hear of the prices paid the fishermen and of the prices charged by the wholesale and retail handlers who have to bear the package costs, and being ignorant of the custom, they write the Food Board or Cost of Living Commissioner and complain of the excessive spread between fishermen and retailer. The fish trade in Canada is about the only one mak- ing no separate charge for packages. Dry goods, boot and shoe, grocery and other trades all make a charge for packages separately and their doing so affords a good precedent. In future, we would like to see the As- sociation’s recommendation adopted by the fish trade throughout Canada. CANADIAN FISH CONSUMPTION INCREASED. That there has been a considerable increase in the consumption of fish by Canadians during 1918 is an un- doubted fact, and, we hope in a later issue to give fig- ures illustrating the increase. The propaganda work of the Canada Food Board and the Canadian Fisheries Association has been wonderfully effective, and the stimulus given to the home consumption of fish through war time exigencies, will, we feel sure, continue for all time. Figures received by the Fish Section of the Canada Food Board from some of the retailers and distributors show gratifying increases—one Ontario firm selling a million pounds over the sales of 1917. Practically every wholesaler and retailer of fish in Canada has increased their sales and quite a number of new concerns have been established during the year. The eating of fish has been effectively separated . from Friday and we must strive to keep it away from the one day a week business. much of an every-day food as meat and all our dealers should endeavour to make it so. The Fish Day, so- called, should be banished from the calendar, and any day or every day be a Fish Day. The meat trade have no orthodox restrictions in the way of Beef Days, Pork’ — Days, Mutton Days, ete. To our mind, the relegation of fish consumption to certain calendar dates has done more to restrict the trade than anything else. INCREASE IN EXPRESS RATES. The Express Traffic Association of Canada sprung a mine under the front line trenches of the Canadian Fish Trade when they issued their recent application to the Board of Railway Commissioners for an increase in express rates. The increases asked are on a par with the demands of the Brest-Litovsk Treaty and if granted would wipe the Canadian home trade in fish completely off the map. Needless to state, the application aroused a storm of protest from the trade concerned and both the Canada Food Board and the Marine and Fisheries Department have protested strongly against any inerease being ‘ granted insofar as fish is concerned. The President of the Canadian Fisheries Association, Mr. A. H. Brittain, and Mr. Spooner, Chairman of the C.F.A. Transportation Committee, took the matter in hand immediately and communicated with both the Food Board and the Fisheries Department. The Asseciation intends to fight any increase whatsoever on express rates for fish, and all the members are solid in their protest — December, 1918, ee ee a os Fish should be just as s 355 fe “ PSO RS ee I RPE ere To ete ua a. a 2 a, ey "une We OO ie oe eye ee a ; December, 1918. as it would practically ruin the business. In our opinion, the express rates on fish at present are as high as the traffic can stand and one only need point to the fact that it has been necessary for the Gov- ernment to bear one-third of the express charges, and two-thirds of all transportation charges on Atlantic and Pacific fish respectively in order to build up a market. Any increase in rates means an increase in the price to the consumer and as fish is holding its market at pre- sent by extensive propaganda work on the part of the Government and the Association who have pointed out its relative cheapness as compared with meat, a rise in price will divert the consumer to buying meat thus de- feating the objects of both the Canada Food Board in Saving meat, and the Fisheries Department and the C. F. A. in developing the fishing industry. We must emphasize the seriousness of this matter to the fish trade and urge all concerned to communicate with either the President or Chairman of the Trans- portation Committee of the Canadian Fisheries Associ- ation in order that their hands might be strengthened in fighting these increases when the matter comes before the Railway Commissioners at Ottawa, January 7th; To- ronto, January 13th; Montreal, January 16th. INTERNATIONAL FISHERIES EXHIBITION. The Fishing News of Aberdeen, Scotland, suggests the holding of an International Fisheries Exhibition. We reprint herewith part of the suggestion :— **Such a gathering would bring, as it brought before, all the wise men interested in fishery matters to a great *‘round table’’; it would give the great manufacturers, engineering, shipbuilding, ete., the opportunity of show- - ing what they are prepared to do in the way of produc- ing the latest in trawler, smack, drifter, or fishing boat, and it would give the industry the added energy and newer spirit which even the fishing industry requires. ‘But it would do still more. It would focus the atten- tion of our legislators. There would be an opportunity for settling forever many vexed questions, for at such an exhibition there would be papers on every subject of interest to the industry, and these would be given by men whose opinion carried weight.’’ ‘While we cannot just see how much benefit the North American countries would get from an exhibit of such a broad scope, yet we think that an International Fish- ing Exhibition confined to the United States, Canada and Newfoundland, and possibly the West Indies, might be productive of great good to our particular fisheries, and would ensure many of the beneficial tendencies de- seribed in the British scheme. The opinions of our readers would be appreciated by the editor. STEAM TRAWLING OUT OF LUNENBURG. Three steam trawlers are now being fitted out for next season’s bank fishery. These craft are of wood con- structed in Shelburne and LaHave, N.S., and are around 150 feet in length. It is reported that other similar eraft are building. They will probably engage ex- elusively in the salt bank fishery. Lunenburg skippers are at present sailing in Boston trawlers to become acquainted with the method of steam trawl fishing. The Maritime Fish Corporation, Ltd., will exhibit — _ samples of their fish products at the coming Lyons Fair in France. CANADIAN FISHERMAN : 2005 . PISCATORIAL PARAGRAPHS. “Boston will build no more sailing fishing craft,’’ said a witness at the recent Fish Trust.-investigation there. ‘‘Steam trawlers and power boats are being built in place of the Bank schooner.’’ In a few years the handsome ‘‘ Banker’’ with her lofty spars and nested dories will disappear from the fresh fish trade. Major Hugh Greene is expected back in Canada some time in January. Leonard Fisheries, Ltd., have a fine new depot at North Sydney, C.B., and will handle a great deal of fresh fish from the prolific fishing grounds of the Gulf and Cape Breton. ° On December 9th, fresh hake was sold for $17.00 a hundred pounds and large cod at $15.00, at the Boston Fish Pier. And to think that in Canada, fresh hake is hardly saleable in our inland markets! During 1918, Canadian fish exports were valued at $33,290,126. The fish imports were valued at $2,741,- 161. The exports show a substantial increase in values. Capt. Chas. Colson, of the Boston fresh fishing schoon- er ‘‘Natalie Hammond,’’ stocked $85,329 during 1918. The crew shared $2,425 clear of expenses. There’s. money in fishing with a high liner. Capt. Colson doesn’t need to change jobs with the skipper of an At- lantic greyhound as far as remuneration is concerned. The British fishermen are agitating for a Minister of Fisheries. We in Canada are more modest in our desires, but we do want a Deputy Minister of Fisheries who will attend to the fisheries and nothing else. The Lunenburg fishing fleet earned $3,500,000— nearly a million dollars more than last year. The am- ount of fish landed was 247,395 quintals and 103 ves- sels engaged in the fishery. The catch was slightly less than in 1917, but prices were high, averaging $14.75 per quintal. Nine schooners were sunk by German sub- marines on the Banks during August and September, 1918. UTILIZATION OF FISH WASTE. Ottawa, January 3. The problem of securing the commercial utilization of the enormous quantities of fish waste on both the Atlantic and the Pacifie Coasts has been engaging the attention of the Council for Scientific and Indus- trial Research for some months past, and, as a result of investigations conducted under the auspices of a com- mittee headed by Dr. R. F. Rutton; of McGill Uni- versity, indications now point to the creation this year of important new industries for the recovery of fish waste on both coasts. The data secured by the research council as to the extent of this fish waste would indicate that at present there are annually about 240,000 tons of fish offal and non-marketed fish allowed to go to waste on the At- lantie coast, and about 60,000 tons on .the Pacific coast. The fish oil thus wasted is estimated to be worth about six million dollars at current market prices, while the value of the other potential by-products of the fishing industry, such as fertilizer and stock and. * 2006 CANADIAN poultry foods amounts to hundreds of thousands of dollars more. In the Canso fishing district of Nova Scotia, for in- stance, an investigation conducted by the research council shows that the fish waste, if converted into oils would have a marketable value of about $424,000 per year. Similarly at other centres such as Prince Rupert, Grand River, on the Gaspe Coast, and Clark’s Harbor, N.S., this great economic waste has been going on for years, without any enterprise to commercially exploit. this waste food material. It is estimated that about fifteen per cent of the fishermen’s catch on the Atlantic Coast now consists of non-marketable or non- edible fish, while in the case of trawlers the percent- age runs as high as thirty per cent. In the United States reduction works have been established at several fishing centres where oils, fish meal, fertilizer and various forms of stock foods are manufactured from fish waste. The industry has un- doubtedly great possibilities of suecessful commercial development in Canada provided proper methods are adopted. The research council has urged upon the Re- construction and Development Committee of the Cabi- net the importance of encouraging commercial ex- ploitation of this undeveloped branch of Canada’s fish- ing industry, and plans are now understood to be under way whereby private enterprise will establish plans this year for the conversion of fish waste into its vari- ous commercial uses. A WORD OF ADVICE TO PRODUCERS OF ATLANTIC FISH. Ottawa, Jan. 4, 1919. To the Editor of The Canadian Fisherman: Dear Sir,—Your editorial in the November issue of the ‘‘Canadian Fisherman,”’ entitled ‘‘Develop our Fisheries,’? was very timely. You refer to both the overseas trade and also to the domestic requirements. In connection with the idea of stimulating the home market, it is very true that the Canada Food Board has been-of very great assistance, both to the, pro- ducers and also to the retailers. Viewing the situation from the retailers viewpoint, I see one measure at least by which the producer can do considerable to make the selling of Atlantic fish more popular among the retailer. i: Speaking from actual experience gained by many vears of handling fish, from the Pacifie and from the Lakes as well as from the Atlantic, I state emphati- eally. that the producers of Atlantie fish have imposed certain conditions. which do not conduce so satis- factory understanding, as should be between producer the retailers. I refer to short weights. Now, at the outset allow me to state that I admit that fresh fish must consider- ably shrink in transit. and the longer the fish is on the way, the greater the shrinkage. Again, fresh fish from the Great Lakes, also fresh fish from the Pacifie also shrink, but the shippers of lake fish and of Pacifie fish, have been generous enough to allow at least to some extent, for this shrinkage, and it is very usual to see shipping tags specially endorsed ‘‘allow 3 to 5 pounds per hundred for shrinkage.’’ Out Atlantic producers, or at least many of them have absolutely refused to make any provision for this shrinkage, which results in inland dealers pay- FISHERMAN December, 1918. ing for what they do not receive and also paying express charges on the same. My contention is, that if the producers of Atlantic fish are not too independent to cater to the great con- suming public in the inland centres of this Dominion they must be as generous in their treatment as the producers of Lake and Pacifie fish. There are so many varieties of exceptionally fresh fish that it is not absolutely necessary for retailers to confine their activities to the sale of any particular variety, but I feel sure they will do business where treatment is fair and sell those goods which allow a reasonable margin of profit. © I know of one firm whose sales of Atlantic-fish dur- ing the past 10 months increased 374% per cent over 4} the corresponding period of. 1917, while the sales of | fresh water fish increased 74 per cent in the same period. | To those retailers who do not weigh their fish when received from the shipper, I would suggest that it will at least be worth while to weigh all your fish. Wishing the ‘‘Canadian Fisherman’’ and also thej Canadian fishermen a Prosperous New Year, I remain Yours respectfully, eee + T. W. A. BINNS. GOVERNMENT FISH. When the Ontario Government undertook to supply the people of the Province with fish from the northern lakes it was announced that this undertaking was purely for the public benefit, the fish being supplied to the vendors at cost and the retail price regulated. It transpires, however, that the Government has been exporting fish to New York and realizing a handsome ~ profit on the business. That would be all right if there — were a surplus: which would not be disposed of in Ontario. But such is not the ease. For all the fish — that the Gioovernment can supply there is a steady -demand in this Province—and for more, too.—Hamil- ton Herald. . ‘>, EXPERIMENTAL FISH CURING ON THE PACIFIC — COAST. The investigations and experiments in curing fish ‘on the Pacifie coast, which the U. 8, Bureau of F*sh- ~ eries undertook through the medium of August H. D. Klie in the latter part of September, have been con- tinued. The experiments in salting the Pacifie coast mackerel did not yield promising results as the fish were lacking in flavor and off color as compared to the eastern mackerel. Experiments in eanning the fish give more promise. In the latter part of October Mr. Klie went to Seat- tle in connection with this work, but he has since been instructed to confer with Mr. O’Malley and the commercial interests concerned in regard to the in- spection of Alaska herring. The Scotch-cured Alaska herring packed under the supervision of the Bureau’s instructors is of high quality and in demand, but ~ certain other packers, through indifference or ignor- ance, are placing an inferior pack on the market with = the probable result of injuring the reputation of all ane It is hoped that there — cah be devised a plan for inspecting these fish on ar- ~ ‘yival in Seattle, thus assuring a standard of quality. Alaska herring of that cure. ‘ £ es. a eee See —_—— pean DTG al kd a aie ok tee od lah Ae Gace ated i oe December, 1918. CANADIAN FISHERMAN CANADA FOOD BOARD’S FISH SECTION BULLETIN 2007 ee . s . ° 4 Fish is the only readily available substitute for the meats so urgently required for export to the starving millions of friendly allies overseas.’’ LICENSES ISSUED. The number of wholesale fish dealers licensed in Canada during the year amounted to 1,733. Quite a ‘number of new concerns went into the wholesale fish business during the year. ~ TO INCREASE CONSUMPTION OF FISH IN ONTARIO. Mr. KE. O. Sawyer, Jr., Assistant Superintendent of the Fish Section has completed a tour of Ontario towns where he investigated the local fish trade, conferred with dealers and municipal authorities, local food con- - servation workers and women’s organizations. From the information which he obtained, an intensive effort to stimulate the consumption of fish in Ontario will be earried on by the Board’s Fish Section. ; CODFISH CAMPAIGNS. _ A campaign to popularize Atlantic codfish will be conducted in the Province of Quebec during January. During ‘‘Codfish Week’’ in Toronto recently, over 114,000 pounds of fresh and frozen codfish was sold. The Board is arranging to start campaigns in favor of Atlantic and Pacific codfish from coast to coast with the hope of popularizing these prolific and reason- ably priced fish. PACIFIC TRAWLING GOOD BUSINESS. The market for Pacifie flat-fish under the Board’s auspices is absorb'ng the catches of the two trawlers now operating. It is expected that two more trawlers will be put into operation shortly. The Canadian Fish & Cold Storage Co., of Prince Rupert, will probably put the steamer ‘‘Geo. E. Foster’’ into trawling, while the Canadian Fishing Co., Vancouver, will fit out the ‘steamer ‘‘Canada’’ for the work. TORONTO AND BUFFALO FISH PRICES. The following compar son between Toronto and Buf- - falo retail fish prices is interesting and shows that Canadians are favored. Toronto. Buffalo. eents. eents. EES, Se aaa eee ie oe ane ac 11 16-18 ES, BE aE RSs Sa Bi eee 17% 20 MT 68a GR ah tela 12 14 ME EP ana ryt yn td ee 20 35 US" ne 5 il ter ar 30 30 PINPRT 0k eS als ote Aw 18 30 UES PM yen Oot Te 19 28 Whites . iF 1719, 28 Pickerell .. 17-19 28 10 16 L. Herring . CERTIFICATES FOR RETAILERS. The Board’s certificates of commendation for sani- tary handling and attractive display of fish in retail stores has already been awarded to some thirty stores. All the ree'pients have expressed their pleasure at re- civing certificates and readily appreciate the value of them in building up their business. FOOD BOARD CHAIRMAN APPOINTED ON TRADE COMMISSION. Mr. H. B. Thomson, Chairman of the Canada Food Board has been appointed as one of the three mem- bers of the Overseas Trade Commission. Mr. Thom- son will retain the Chairmanship of the Canada Food Board until such time as the Board is abolished or merged: into the Trade Commission. It is expected that fish will play an important part in the overseas export trade. FOOD BOARD PROTESTS EXPRESS INCREASES IN FISH RATES. The Canada Food Board has gone on record as strongly protesting against any increase in the express rates on fish of all kinds from any point of production - to consuming centres in Canada. ATLANTIC FISH FILM CIRCULATING. Owing to the influenza epidemic, the Food Board’s Atlantic fish film has been delayed from circulation. The film has now been booked at the various motion picture houses from Winnipeg east and will be shown early in January. FOOD BOARD LICENSES FOR 1919. The Canada Food Board licenses ‘for 1919 will be issued shortly. The fees will be charged upon a new system—the same rate applying to all wholesale busi- — nesses. The scale is $10 for the first $50,000 and $10 for each additional $50,000 of business turnover. The seale of fees for retail fish dealers licenses remains as heretofore. All regulations regarding beef and the use of fish as a substitute are still in effect. An im- portant exception in wholesale fish licenses is that no additional charge for branch is made as fee is based on total turnover for the year. CAN PRICES LOWER. New York, Jan. 2.—American Can Co. announces new prices for packers cans effective to-day, running 214 to 6 per cent lower than the prices established July Ist, 1918, 2008 CANADIAN FISH CURING By J. J. COWIE. IV.—ALEWIVES. Curing in Pickle. . .First-salting—The fish should be thoroughly salted into perfectly tight clean receptacles—usually punch- - eons—immediately after being caught. One method of salting, which is most common, especi- ally where space is limited, is to fill a tub or basket of one and a half bushels capacity, with fish, and empty it into a puncheon, while as much salt as a snow shovel will hold is seattered evenly amongst the fish as they drop into the cask. As much more salt is then thrown on top of the fish in the cask, and the whole stirred with a pole until fish and salt are well mixed. Each tub or basketful is treated in this way until the puncheon is full. Another method, which perhaps is the best for the salting of alewives, as well as herring in bulk, is to dump. the fish on a clean floor, turn them over with shovels, and as they are being turned over to throw salt amongst them; using the same quantity as in the other method, namely two snow shovels full to a basket of fish. This insures an even distribution of salt. It would be well to further slightly sprinkle the fish as they are being shovelled into the puncheon. After the first basketful, or its equivalent, is placed. ' in the puncheon, half a pailful of pickle should be pour- ed in gently in order that the fish may start making pickle quickly. A eask of the size of an ordinary hogshead filled ‘with alewives, should take at least a sack and a quarter of salt, about 210 Ibs., to effectively cure the fish. Length of Time for Curing.—At the end of 12 or 15 days, according to whether the fish are small or large, _ the fish may be drawn from the puncheons, and packed into barrels. A barrel of the same type and capacity (200 lbs.) as that deseribed for split herring in a preceding article, is used for packing and marketing alewives in. Grading.—While the fish are being drawn from the puncheons to be packed, they should be separated into ‘be thoroughly rinsed with clean water inside. _ are added, and the head put in and made tight. FISHERMAN December, 1918: a - two grades and packed separately. The larger grade should consist of fish not less than ten inches, and the smaller grade of fish not less than eight inches as meas- __ ured from the extremity of the head to where the flesh and tail-fin meet. Both grades should be bright in colour, and free from rust. , Packing.—Before packing is begun, the barrel should This 30 tightens it up, and prevents the pickle from leaking away as it forms after the fish are packed. P. In packing, the fish should be laid side by side in tiers 6 back up. Each tier should be completed by placing two fish across the heads of those in the tier, and then salt- __ ed evenly by scattering over it as much salt asa man’s two hands placed together will hold. Each successive tier should be packed transversely to the one under- neath. When the barrel is half full, and again when it is full, the fish should be pressed down. To do this properly there should be placed on top of the fish a cireular piece — of wood on which the packer should stand for two or — three seconds. A circular press may be readily made _ by nailing two barrel heads together, and reducing ia g circumference sufficiently to allow it to slip easily into id the barrel. a The filled barrels should stand for a week, i in order that the fish may settle down, after which as many more tiers as are required to completely fill the barrel Pickling.—As much pickle as the filled » barrel will — take should be poured in through a bung hole. This pickle may be either the original pickle taken from the puncheons, provided it is not sour or too weak; ora _ mixture of half original pickle and half freshly made pickle. The latter is to be preferred. a Smoking of Alewives.—Alewives may be maide into kippers and bloaters by exactly the same methods as have been described in the preceding. article for the c smoking of herring. teem ONE ON HUGHIE. Major Hughie Greene, Director of Fish Supplies for the Overseas Forces, was the victim of a rather odori- ferous incident in England recently. A case of fish had gone bad at one of the camps near London and orders were given for it to be sent to Major Greene’s warehouse for examination. The orderly interpreted his instructions as being to forward the box to the Major’s ‘‘house’’ and the fish was sent to Hughie’s apartments and placed therein by the janitor. Hughie was out of town at the time—it was the month of August—and after reposing in his rooms for three days it did not require any sign-board to direct one to the Fish-monger General’s quarters. Hughie ad- mitted that it took a week’s airing and a few gallons of disinfectant to remove the odor. while it took months to convinee British staff officers and his friends that it was an accident and not a_ secret penchant for antiques in the fish line. ing sea fish at lower prices than in Massachusetts. NEW ENGLAND FISH COMMISSION IN CANADA. The following members df the Massachusetts Legis- s lature, Senators G. F. Hart dnd C. D. Brown, Repre- sentatives J. Weston Allan, J. D. Bentley, F. A. Mann- — ing, A. L. Whitman, C. Bootman, Sergt.-at-Arms J. Beatty, and Clerk of the Commonwealth G. A. Hoyt, visited Canada early in December to investigate fish conditions in inland centres. The delegation visited Toronto first and were given an insight into the opera- | tions of the Ontario Government Fisheries by Mr. = L, Squires and Hon. Finley McDiarmid. is In Montreal, the Commission were the guests of the ; City Council and the Canadian Fisheries Association represented by President Brittain, and Directors Byrne, Paulhaus, O’Connor and Spooner of the city and Mr be Bg 5B Short, of Digby, N.S. 3 Much information regarding the Cosiadian fish trade — was given the Commissioners and Representative Allan — stated that he had discovered that Canadians were sell- 4 si December, 1918. Canada produces the following fish:—Cod, pollock, hake, haddock, halibut, causk, skate, flounders, lob- sters, salmon (five kinds, known as sockeye, spring, coho- ' pinks, dog salmon, or chum), mackerel, herring, alewives and sardines. j _ Canada also has the Great Lake fish known as white fish trout, lake herring, pickerel, pike. The value of the fisheries of Canada annually be- fore the war was from $33,000,000 to $35,000,000. The fish chiefly exported from Canada to Europe i either salted and dried (mainly codfish), or can- ned. For a number of years quantities of salmon from the Atlantic Coast, and salmon and halibut from the Pacific Coast have been sent to’ Great Britain in’ a frozen condition. This trade will develop more in the ‘future, though it is not likely to spead to any / great extent to other kinds of fish. Salmon and hali- but are comparatively scarce in Europe. There is, _ however, in Great Britain, some prejudiice against ' frozen fish. Since the war broke out transportation facilities have militated against the development of the frozen fish trade. | At the present time, if transportation facilities and rates were reasonable, it would appear feasible to ship large quantities of fresh fish in frozen condition from the Atlantic Coast to Europe. There is room for great expansion of trade with Great Britain’ and other European countries in can- ned fish. There is every prospect that this form of food will enjoy greater favor in the future. This in- dustry could be developed in’Canada to any extent, as the production could keep pace with any demands made upon it. At the present time, canning of fish is largely confined to salmon, lobsters, sardines, and to a small extent, large herrings, cod and haddock. The demand for canned salmon in Great Britain and France is growing rapidly. Up to a year or two ago theré was very little inquiry for other than sockeye salmon, but now there is a good demand for cohoes and pinks. The following is a statement of the exports from Canada to Great Britain, Italy and France for the fiscal year 1915:— a j= ae ae oe gee) " BS We ee ST sh) ee es ei Dried. Cod, ete.’ ss. s 5. suede os SO ee ey +" Green Salted Cod; ete. 000. ee ne See pe ede oe a Pickled Herring ... ..: ... «. fe. Smoked ‘“‘ LBD Lah Es Canned i: Lobster, canned Salmon, fresh... ... ree Canneay. <:.. ‘< smoked ... _' ~~ Halibut, fresh froten Ae tes see It must not be forgotten that Newfoundland is a great competitor with Canada, in the supplying of European markets with dried fish. CANADIAN FISHERMAN V 2009 ~ Report of Canadian Trade Commission to Great Britain, France and Italy, 1916 Canadian Fish Markets Abroad. The Commission has noted that every dealer in Can- ned: Goods who gave evidence expressed the strongest desire to give Canada a preference. All were in favor of tins and cases being stamped ‘‘Canada.’’ The imports of all kinds of fish into Great Britain are roughly $20,000,000 a year. Until recently no at- tempt was made by Canada to export fish other than canned. Codfish and Other Dried and Salted Fish. The outlook for Canada’s trade with the United Kingdom is not encouraging. The hundreds of British craft, their ports only a few miles off the fishing grounds, and the cutting off of the enormous German demand for pickled herring, will make ,it most dif- ficult for Canada to sell dried cod, pickled and smoked herrings in the British market. Before the war, selected salt cod sold at £16 to £20 per ton, and in 1916 they were £25 to £30 per ton— less than seven cents per pound. Herrings are sup- plied so cheaply along the Scottish coast that it seems useless for Canada to try the British market. Even in the fine qualities of boned salt cod in small boxes, we could not hope to do much trade except by a costly advertising campaign. It might be possible to place the boneless cod, small boxes, and the 100-lb. boxes of skinless cod, as described on page 90, but it would be an experiment. Canada might help to supply cargoes of cod for Britain’s export trade to the Mediterranean. These fish cargoes are from 300 to 500 tons. The fish are packed in casks of about 448 lbs., sizes of fish are from 12 to 18 inches long; large sizes are 18 to 30 inches long, packed each size in separate casks. Digby Chickens.—These are a fine quality Bay of Fundy smoked herring. They are known in Glasgow, Liverpool and a few other places, but are slow sellers. These fish are packed in small boxes of 4 lbs. net, about 30 fish to a box. St. John, N.B., and Halifax, N.S., are the principal points of origin. Frozen Fish. As has already been reported by the Canadian Trade Commissioners in England, the demand for Canadian frozen salmon and halibut is steadily increasing. Un- fortunately it has not been generally known that this Great Britain. Italy. 12,411 ewts. 52,055 ewts. BR OOO: Ue pas ote a Bl os pak ee ; 30,651 bbls. 4,950 lbs. 590 ewts. 2,815,158 Ibs. 854,429 ‘* 25,385,101 ‘‘ 1 ewt. 1,940 ewt. eeeene Diemer ee Ae! PEt eh ee Te eee eae 5,500 ewts. 1,396,909 Ibs. ee eens eee eee eee eee ee eee Wie Meo O06 aie ras aee a) OS ie ih nee. we aie Di@ BER OST Rad Con LD SOSA OE Oe elass of Canadian fish is procurable during the winter months. This is due chiefly to the fact that English dealers have sold the Canadian fish as ‘‘English,’’ * 2010 CANADIAN with the result that the consumers’ demand ceases as soon as the English fresh fish season is over. Certain difficulties stand in the way of launching a general advertising campaign in the interests of Canad.an fish. Some means, however, would appear to be necessary to secure to Canadian producers the market which the taste of the British public naturally affords. Vancouver and Prince Rupert ship halibut -in 300 lb. cases and salmon in 260 lb. eases. Dealers in Hull, Glasgow, and other cities speak highly of the quality and style of packing of Can- adian. salmon. An inspection custom prevails which presses unduly on imports of frozen salmon into the United Kingdom. The Board of Fisheries decreed that all cases of Can- adian fresh salmon landing in Britain between Sep- tember Ist and February Ist must be opened and examined by the officers of the Fishmongers’ Board. An officer must go to Glasgow or any entry port, open the ‘cases, examine the fish and place a seal on each individual f.sh, as a proof that it is of Canadian origin. The Glasgow Fish Dealers’ Association complained of cost, etc., of this inspection, as follows :— ‘‘Apart from the financial cost, the handling of frozen fish while in cold storage in the way of opening the boxes, unpacking the fish for seal- ing, and again wrapping up and packing the fish, tends to a rapid deterioration of the goods, and on this account alone is open to grave objection and should be avoided if at all possible.’’ The London Fisheries Board replied, May 25th, 1916: ‘“The suggestion made by the Glasgow Wholesale Fish Dealers’ Association, that the packages and not each individual fish be sealed, would not protect the retail fishmonger when the packages. are broken at the market and the fish sold separate- ly. A whole case of fish is very seldom bought of one fishmonger and in practice he prefers to have the proof of origin and the protection afforded by the seal affixed to each fish. ‘‘These conditions do not apply to fish entered for re-exportation to the Continent. It is then sufficient if the ease itself be sealed. ““The opening of the eases and the separate sealing of each fish necessarily involves some ad- dition to working expenses, but the total cost, including the low charge for sealing of one penny per fish, cannot appreciably affect the profits of the consignment, nor is it to be anticipated that the handling of the fish would affect its quality or lower its market value.’’ It has been suggested that fish packers in Can- ada have a small metal shield % inch long, marked ‘‘Canada’’ attached to each salmon when packed. These shields, made in 50,000 lots, would cost very little. Britain. The following extract from a letter received by this Commiss on is of interest :— ‘“We think the suggestion made, namely, that a metal dise might be affixed to the salmon by the packer in British Columbia, might meet all the needs of the case, and we trust you will be able to have the matter put on a satisfactory foot- ing with the British authorities so that these seal- ing restrictions may be done away with.’’ The Commission thinks it wise to remove all restric- tions that are vexatious, and hopes the British Colum- This would save the penny paid in the United | Kingdom, and would avoid the opening of cases in ~ FISHERMAN December, 1918. bia Government will consider the suggestion made in the above letter. There is a great future for the trade in caned and fresh — salmon with Great Britain, Franee and Italy, and every effort should be made to facilitate trade. While the Commission was in London, the question of supplying frozen fish to the British Army was under consideration. One of the Commissioners, who is well informed in the subject, took steps to help remove the objection of the military medical authorities. It is gratifying to note that since the return of the Commiss.o1i, a targe contract has been placed by the British War Office for a supply of Canadian frozen fish. It is to be hoped that a very large trade may be developed after the war in Great Britain and else- where. Canned Fish. English dealers expressed a definite favorable opin- | ion as to the good quality of Canadian canned salmon. One firm, which may be taken as representative of the English trade, stated that they ‘‘only buy Can- adian packed salmon and have had no complaints.’’ . ‘We generally ‘it fifty per cent sockeye, ity per cent pinks.’’ Sardines.—The same firm said ‘‘ We cannot sell the kind in mustard. We buy the other kind in oil.’’ ‘‘Must not be over four inches long, and have key tin, ” | This firm complained that-‘‘some Eastern Canadian kinds of sardines are inferior in quality and style.’’ Another firm said ‘‘We prefer the key sardines. Can- adian fish are not small enough. They are not clean and the oil is poor. .. We prefer 8 oz. tins, not 16 0z.”’ Canadian exporters of sardines should get full in- formation on the legal definition of ‘‘sardines.’’ There is a good market, as the imports are $8,500,000 per annum, the countries of origin being Norway, France and Portugal. and competition is keen. Much money is spent on- advertising, Canned Herring—A dealer in Birodnghaes aia that his city could distribute 30,000 to 40,000 cases per annum. The tins should be oval, the fish six to seven inches long. This dealer now buys in Norway. aoe cases should be 100 tins of half-pound size. Canned Lobsters.—A dealer in Liverpool, who is prominent in the trade, stated that he ‘‘buys lobsters from Prince Edward Island, one-quarter pound, one- half pound, and a few three-quarter pound. The quality does not improve and is not equal to the wo Scotian.’? He complained about the ‘‘blue shade”’ Prince Edward Island lobsters, claiming to have her some in late arrivals. From him and others the Com- mission learned that large quantities of canned lobsters were imported from Eastern Canada and reshipped to France. all right, no blackness in tins.’’ Japanese crabs, neatly canned, are selling freely in England. They are cheap- It should be especially — er than Canadian lobsters. noted that all tins containing fish should bear the word ‘‘Canada.’’ Fish Oil. Notwithstanding her large fishing fleet, Canada is_ behind Norway, Newfoundland and even Japan in supplying the United Kingdom with fish oil. Since 1913 Norway and Japan have very much _ increased their exports of fish oil to the United Kingdom, but Canadian exports have decreased. The Board of Trade returns indicate that large quan- tities of fish oils are received from Newfoundland than One Liverpool firm stated that ‘lobsters are December, 1918. CANADIAN from Canada, due probably to the former’s exports of seal oil. ; ___ Several buyers of cod liver oil were recently intro- _ duced to a firm in Nova.Scotia. Prior- to the war supplies were obtained largely from Norway, but a great skortage has accompanied the conditions of "war. Newfoundland has exported large quantities - during the last eighteen months to the United States and Great Britain. It is a trade worth the attention _ of Canadian producers, but it would have to be organ- _ ized on a proper basis so as to ensure a product ac- ceptable to the medical profession. FRENCH MARKETS. Lack of ocean transportation facilities has doubtless caused a decrease in Canada’s exports of fish to France. There have been in the past few years some fluctuations which demand attention. The decrease in our fresh salmon sales to France since 1911 has been _ considerable. During 1914 our sales of canned lob- ~ sters to the United Kingdom increased slightly. Fresh salmon exports from Canada to the United Kingdom _ increased 60% over 1913 exports, and those of canned salmon were more than double what they were in 1911, 1912 and 1913. This proves that the United _ Kingdom importers were getting the trade that Can- ada was losing in France. _ Cod Fish.—As shown by trade returns, Canada does not sell any cod fish to France. The supply of this fish comes almost entirely from the French fishing fleet, one-third of which seeks the shores of Iceland, and the other two-thirds the Newfoundland and St. _ Pierre shores. _ Boneless Fish—Eastern Canada has, during the last twenty years, developed an industry in boneless cod- fish for which we might find a market in France. _ This commodity is packed in small wooden boxes. - Ganadian fish dealers, in order-to secure the French trade, should pack this boned codfish, and _ other boned fish, in small wooden boxes of 1 kilo (equal to 2.20 Ibs.) 3 kilos, and 5 kilos. -. The Commission found that dealers in France ap- -parently know nothing about these clean white boned codfish. . ; __ §Skinless Codfish——These are packed in wooden cases of 100 Ibs. net. The fish are well cured by the usual pickle curing, and sun-dried afterwards. The coarse, - dark skin is removed from the napes and the fish look bright and clean, lying flat in the wide boxes. If these fish were cured a little more dry, and shipped _ by quick steamers, they should find a market in France - from October to April. Haddock, Hake, Pollock.—If seeking a market for to sell them as ‘‘Codfish,’’ but as a second quality fish. - Thev should be boned and put up in boxes of one : kilo, three kilos and five kilos. On all sizes of boxes the word ‘‘Canada’’ should be prominent. The boxes ~~ must not be marked ‘‘Codfish’’ but “‘Pure Fish.’’ The _ weight and packer’s name should be carefully stated. Samples should be sent first to responsible agents in the larger cities. : Skate, Flounders.—These fish are to be found for sale in French markets and are often. served in the higher class restaurants, etc. : Pickled Herring.—The market for Canadian Pickled Herring in France is not likely to be large. France FISHERMAN bought mainly the choicest grades. : these fish in France, Canadian packers should not try - 2011 does not buy fish to any great extent, and further, large quantities are obtainable in the English Chan- nel and the North Sea. It might be, however, that if Canadian dealers would pack good Eastern Number 1 Herring in sound barrels, bound with iron hoops, and would forward samples to French agents, a market might be developed. One of the difficulties so far has been that the Canadian barrels and half-barrels made from spruce wood have not been proof against leakage.. Kippered Herring in tins might also be sold. | Smoked Fish. We doubt if fish that are smoked in the ordinary way could stand the summer weather of France, but for shipment in the months of Novem- ber and December it is poss ble that smoked fish, kip- pers, bloaters, etc., and even smoked salmon, might find a sale in the-French market. Smoked Herring.—Eastern Canada has been putting yp for many years large quantities of small herring in thin board boxes. These fish count from 20 to 25 to the box, and we'gh net about one kilo—2.20 lbs. They are dried hard, and in ordinary climates will keep for three to six months. We would suggest that dealers place these on the French market. October or No- vember would be a good time for shipment. The sinall boxes of one kilo might sell; the larger ones of 10 kilos would be difficult of sale. They should be smoked fairly dry and hard, so as to require very little cooking. Boxes should be stamped ‘‘Canada’’; the letters ‘‘Canada’’ about one inch long. It is best to have the packer’s name on each box. Salmon, Lobsters.—France has always bought enor- mous quantities of canned lobsters, and while canned salmon are sold only in very limited quantities, the sale has greatly developed of late, the article having found favor in the taste of the consuming public, since meats and other commodities have become so dear. Lobsters sell mainly in flats 14, %, 84 and 1 Ib. tins. Before the war a good market was found for lobsters in Russia, Belgium and Germany, which countr es The better grades come from the south shore of Nova Scotia and also from Newfoundland, but lobsters of Newfoundland origin do not interest the French market. That col- ony has no special treaty with France, therefore the lobsters of Newfoundland origin pay the maximum duty while Canadian fish enter at the minimum duty. It is claimed that these south shore Nova Scotia lobsters are a little larger than those coming from Prince Edward Island, and the New Brunswick coast on the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The tn plate should be of the best quality and well coated, so as to prevent its being tarnished by sulphate of iron, or so called ‘‘smut’’? which sometimes develops within the can. Agents in France state that all cases of lobsters and salmon must be marked in four-inch letters ‘‘Can- ada.’’ Each can of tinned f'sh must also be stamped ‘‘Canada’’ on the cover of each tin, letters to be not less than 7 millimetres (of 44 inch) long. This stamp- ing of ‘‘Canada’’ on tins is required for fish only and not for lobsters, the latter being considered as ‘‘Crus- taceae’’ to which the stamping law does not apply. Cases are sometimes broken. It is advisable to have them bound with iron stripping rather than nails. Some dealers use a machine which draws the iron ‘stripping carefully over the box, setting it down into the wood. This makes a perfect box and prevents pilfering and breaking. Dealers complain that sometimes certain lines of 2012 CANADIAN lobsters contain too much liquid. Lobsters should be packed, whole tail at bottom of tin, whole claws on the top, and some of the small meat in the centre. The duty on Canadian lobster and salmon is 25 franes per 100 kilos, if the goods come direct to France. If they come to France via an English or other Euro- pean port, the duty is 28.60 franes per 100 kilos. In 1915 and 1916 large quantities of salmon and lobster were shipped via New York to France. The Gov- ernment, owing to the suspension of direct steamship services between the Dominion and the French ports, does not charge the duty at the rate of Frs. 28.60 via New York, as the law is construed to apply only to a second European port. But the shipment via New York being contrary to the provisions of the French tariff law regarding direct imports and minimum tariff a special permit has to be obtained by the French im- porter for each individual consignment. In shipping via New York, dealers have to supply, besides the usual certificate of Canadian origin, legalized and vised by the French Consul at the point of shipment in Can- _ada, a special certificate made out at New York, at- testing that the goods, as set out with full particulars as to marks, quantities, name of steamer, etc., have been transhipped at New York ‘‘in transit’’ under Customs’ supervision and without having sustained any other handling at New York. -This declaration has to be legalized by the French Consul at New York. The certificates must also indicate the name of the shipper, and of the buyer or consignee in France. Cases of 48 1 lb. tins of salmon or lobsters weigh about 32 kilos gross, or 28 kilos net, including weight -of tins. The paper lining of tins of lobsters is most essential. It should be good, pure, vegetable parchment paper, so as to prevent acid from affecting the tins. Except in two towns in France, there is an ‘‘octroi’’ duty in each city. This ‘‘octroi’’ on fish in Paris is nearly as much as the original duty of 25 franes per 100 kilos. As all these duties are specific and not ‘“‘ad valorem’’ the tendency is for buyers in France to take the best goods and not the poor stock, as the duty is the same on each. The dealers in Paris who sell out to the small stores make many losses by ‘‘swells’’ and by ‘‘black meat.”’ A wholesaler in France has to guarantee the quality of his canned goods, sometimes from July to September, when he receives them, until the following February or March. The importance, therefore, of having the goods put up in the best way possible as to paper lin- ing, quality, strength and condition of boxes, ete., is obvious. All dealers prefer buying ec. i. f. Havre or Bor- deaux. Of the five kinds of salmon, not.many of the high grade ‘‘Sockeye’’ have been used since the war, as the original cost is too high. ‘‘Cohoes’”’ and ‘‘Pinks’’ . are the largest sellers. Just now, on account of the war, the ‘‘Pinks’’ are selling well. It is thought that when peace is arranged, a large demand will spring up for ‘‘Cohoes.’’ Dealers report that Cana- dian salmon are usually good stock. The half and one lb. ‘‘Pinks’’ sell the best. There is considerable demand for ‘‘Cohoes’’ in ordinary years. A Paris dealer bought in July, 1916, 10,000 cases ‘‘Pinks’’ and 5,000 cases of *‘Cohoes’’ for autumn delivery. Canadian dealers must remember that there are no salmon at all canned in France, and with ordinary care and consideration for French needs, trade should ) rapidly increase. FISHERMAN The French trade prefers.a firm salmon; any that are at all soft tend to lower Canada’s reputation among the dealers in canned goods. & Sardines, Sprats.—Sardines are, of course, canned in France, but best quality only, while large quantities - of sardines of medium and cheap grades come from Spain and Portugal. Sprats come from Norway, the latter being slightly smoked and going by the name of ‘‘Brislings.’’ If the Canadian canners desire to offer true. s dines, they should print on the label the words: ‘‘ dines, Poissons a l|’Huile.’’ If the fish are not ti sardines, but some other kind of fish, then they shoul be marked simply ‘*Poissons a VHuile”’ ; omitting the word ‘‘Sardines.’’ Otherwise, the goods will be stopped by the Customs authorities and heavy fine may be imposed on the importers for fraudulent trade description. All canned sardines, sprats or fish im oil must be stamped in the lids or bottoms of ¢ in at least 4 millimeter characters: ‘“Importe- +4 Canada.’ . The ‘*key”’ 16 sardine tin, is much itked in cover of the box and leaves the fish completely expos The key needs to be laid in a groove on the in, then it will come in with whe weight a8 not p special duty. sliced, which sells me a ens price in + and ei Ib. These must be put up in first class olive oil, are also sold in small tinplate drums that about 3 kilos (6 3/5 lbs.) It-is perhaps not avi to make consignments of smoked salmon, but it we be worth while to send samples to responsible agents. Shippers of canned goods should be careful to famili ize themselves with the French laws concerning d ies, stamping tins, certificates of origin, ete., bef putting their goods on the French market. For purpose we append extracts from the law: ‘Stamping Regulations of Canned Goods. The Act July 11th, 1906, prescribes that all foreign canned dines, vegetables and plums coming into Franee, shor bear the name of their country of drigin stamped embossed on the cover or bottom of the tin in le of at least 4 m/m long.’’ x A bill in amendment of above was adopted by Chamber of Deputies and the Senate on May 13th, 1913 This amendment makes applicable to all foreign Act of July, 1906. During "the discussion, it pointed out that canned molluses or crustaceans (such as opeters lobsters, langoustes and crabs) would 1 fish and were classified differently in the Customs tariff. adian canned salmon was Semaiad from the pall tion of the Act until June 29th, 1914. Canned lobst and other crustaceans have never come under the 0 ) ation of the Act. FRENCH TARIFF ON FISH. General Mini 7 per ne Section— 100 kilos. i No. —Fresh Salmon Trout. .. .. 40 fes. 45 —Pike, Carp, Hel . 12 fes. Ne. —Dried Cod .. .. . 60 fes. 46 —Salted or Smoked Herring. 20 fes. December, 1918 No. —Canned, Pickled or other- 47 — wise prepared .. ++ +. 50 fes. 25. fes. No. —Lobsters, fresh. . . 40 fes. 15 fes. 49 —Lobsters .. feces 40. fesi 25 fes. Canada has the benefit of the minimum tariff. The - Commission recommends that the French Government _ be asked to make the duty on canned lobsters the same as that on fresh lobsters, ITALIAN MARKET. Codfish constitutes the bulk of Italy’s fish imports of about seven million dollars per annum. Norway is the principal source of supply, furnishing over one- third of the total. Canada sends somewhat more than one-quarter. Denmark, Great Britain, France and the United States make up the balance. _ Canada has an excellent chance to compete. with Norway, since while the shortness of the ocean haul is in Norway’s favor, the transatlantic cod keeps six or eight months, whereas the Norwegian cod is said to deteriorate rapidly. Again, while it may be that a part of the imports of cod credited to Canada origin- ate in Newfoundland, the Italian market does not favor the dark Newfoundland pack, but prefers the Copen- hagen style, which is much like Eastern Canadian ' pickle-cured medium, cod, i.e., pickle-cured, then press- ed and dried slightly. - The dealers in Northern Italy are accustomed to buy - haddock and cod, soft-cured, in bundles of 100 kilos, wrapped in sacking and firmly corded. The fish are 14-16 inches long. The southern market, as represented by Naples, prefers the stiff, board-like curing. Canada’s exports of fish to Italy may be developed to include other varieties than cod. Britain brings in many cargoes of Western Hemisphere fish, which are at once shipped out to Italy. Britain sent Italy in 1913 some 5,000 tons of dried herring, valued at nearly $2,300,000. Given direct steamship communication with Italian ports, such as Naples or Genoa, Canada’s exports should rapidly increase. This would be the case par- ticularly if other Mediterranean ports are visited. - Spain and Portugal both import considerable quan- tities of codfish, the former bringing in, in 1913, 54,000 tons. OTTAWA END OF CANADIAN TRADE MISSION IN LONDON ORGANIZED. To co-operate in Canada with the Canadian Trade Mission in London, which was ¢reated with a view to securing orders for Canadian products for reconstruc- tion purposes in the devastated areas of Europe, a body designated as the ‘‘Canadian Trade Commission’’ has | been created: The commission consists of three members: Sir Charles Gordon, of Montreal; Mr. Charles B. Me- . Naught, of Toronto; and Mr. H. B. Thompson, of Vic- ‘toria, B.C. Sir Chas. Gordon was formerly vice-chair- bi man, Imperial Munitions Board with an office in New _ York; C. B. MeNaught is chairman, Canadian War - Trade Board, and H. B. Thomson, is chairman, Can- ada Food Board. CANADIAN FISHERMAN 20138 NOTES ON SEA FISHING RESULTS FOR NOVEMBER. Rough weather greatly interrupted fishing opera- tions on the Atlantic during November. A heavy easterly gale about the 14th wrecked or damaged many boats, wharves, and much fishing gear, especial- ly in the eastern districts of Nova Scotia. The quantity of cod, haddock, hake, and pollock landed was 87,311 cwts., against 100,694 ewts. for November, 1917. The catch of cod was 328 ewts. greater, but that of haddock, hake, and pollock was Pitta ewts. less. Most of the shortage was in had- ock. There was an increase of over 12,000 ewts. in the herring catch, and a similar increase in the mackerel catch all over the Atlantic coast. The sardine fishery in the Bay of Fundy was exceptionally good, and. amounted to 65,025 barrels for the month, agajnst 23,965 barrels for the same month last year. The new lobster fishing season opened in Charlotte and St. John counties, New Brunswick, on the 15th of the month. The catch amounted to 1,268 ewts., against 1,080 for the same period in the preceding year. : Seallops to the extent of 2,000 barrels were taken in the Chester bay district of Nova Scotia, against 1,000 barrels for November, 1917. The catch of oysters amounted to 3,979 barrels, against 4,311 barrels. There was an increase of 269 barrels in New Brunswick, but a decrease of 601 in Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. Stormy weather on the Pacific, and the effects of influenza amongst the crews caused most of the hali- but boats to be tied up at Prince Rupert during the month. Consequently, the British Columbia halibut catch only amounted to 7;084 ewts. against 13,030 for November last year. The herring catch in British Columbia was about 60,000 ewts. short, while the catches of salmon and black cod was somewhat less. Of flat fish there was an increase amounting to 2,771 ewts. The total, catch of sea fish in the whole of Canada during the month realized a value of $2,284,163 at the point of landing. In November last year the value was $2,145,760. One man on the coast of Victoria county, N. S., and fifteen men on the west coast of Vancouver Island lost their lives during the month, in connection with the fisheries. BRITISH MINISTRY OF FOOD CANNED SALMON PRICES. ; The prices fixed by the British Ministry of Food — for the British Columbia salmon pack commandeered by them is as follows: ‘Half Half Talls. Flats. flats. Ovals. flats. Sockeyes .. *.. $14.50 $15.00 $16.00 $16.00 $17.50 Red Springs... 13.00 13.50 14,00 14.00 Cohoes.. . 11.50 12.00 18.00 ye Pinks. .. 8.00 8.25 9.50 The above prices are for labeled cans. Unlabelled cans are subject to a reduction of 15 cents per case for one pound and twenty eents for half pound cans. ‘All priees are subject to the usual trade discount of 214 per cent and one half of one per cent in lieu of the usual ten per cent examination. 2014 Sea Fisheries of Europe---Norway No European country has succeeded so weil as Nor- way in developing its sea fisheries in the last genera- tion. It has many natnral advantages, the coast line is of great extent, measuring, without taking account of fjords, bays, indentations or islands, about 1,600 miles, from the Russian frontier in the north to the Swedish front er in the south; it extends through near- ly 14 degrees of latitude and 27 degrees of longitude ; it is everywhere, except in the south, washed by the warm water of the ‘‘Gulf Stream’’ (the Norwegian Branch of the Atlantic Drift) which pours northwards and eastwards along its coast, carrying some of the warmth of the tropics into the Arctic regions, so that no part of the sea is frozen in winter; the coast is pene- trated by innumerable fjords and girdled with a chain of islands, large and small (‘‘skjaergaard’’) and is washed in its northern part by the Arete Ocean, in the south by the North Sea and the Skaggerack, and in the west by the North Atlantic. The natural conditions are thus very favourable for the development of. fish- eries. Moreover, the land is comparatively sterile, and a large proportion of the population has been com- pelled by the foree of stern necess ty to seek their livelihood in the sea, either throughout the year, or, more commonly, only during part of it, the majority following agricultural pursuits as peasant- farmers dur- ing the rest of the time. One might expect from the natural features and the econom.¢ conditions to find the fisheries rather differ- ent from those in the countries farther south, and such is the case. There is very little deep-sea fishing, and but a small steam fleet; there is no trawling, except for a deep-water prawn; there is no great drift-net fish- ing, though the herr-ng fisheries are of much import- ance. Nevertheless, and notwithstanding the small population, the Norwegian catch is the second largest in Europe (excluding the Mediterranean) and third in value. The Bulletin Statist'que gives the following as the catch in thousands of ewts. and thousands of pounds: 1907, *-1908:>- 1909: ' 1920. 1911, > Te12: Cwts. 9,162 9,907 12,030 11,450 13,641 16,019 5's 2,429 2,758 3,183 3,096 2.430 2,258 In the period the quantity increased by 74.8 per cent, and the value by 27.4 per cent, the increase in quantity being more than in any other country, except Russia, where the figures are undoubtedly wrong. The development of the Norwegian fisheries has been due Decked Vessels Year. Steamers. Motor. Sail. Total. TONGS e535 176 647 3,753 4,576 1907 BR af eae ns eee. Wo ee 195 1,483 3,861 5,539 TSOG eas 180 1,736 4,255 6,171 LOB Sines 183 2,407 3,779 6,369 | ISIS ac: 182 33296 3,033 6,511 W9T ES. ats 184 3,925 2,612 6,721 1324 fs See 205 4,405 2,417 7,027 Wore? i 210 4,937 1,986 7,133 6) bs Seo 206 5,475 1,228 6,909 CANADIAN FISHERMAN to (1) thorough and detailed assistance, directly a indirectly, by the State; (2) the application of s tific and technical knowledge and a close study of ‘for eign fisheries; (3) the introduction and general u S¢ of the internal-combustion engine in the fishing be —specially adapted for the nature of the Norwe f'sheries; (4) the introduction of new, and the | provemént of old, methods of cure, notably the tion of the ‘‘sardine’’ industry, and (5) the excep al energy and capacity of the Director of Fisheries, Dr Johann Hjort, who is a scientific man with a bus nes head. The chief fisheries are (1) those for co members of the cod family; (2) those for herr mackerel and sprats; (3) a ‘‘bank’’ fishery of m less importance; (4) whaling and sealing; (5) developed, a fishery, especially for herrings at Te ele the cod fisheries provided 50.01 per cent of th to value, the herring, mackerel and sprat fisheries per cent (herrings, 35.67 per cent), and all 5.11 per cent. : The Fisheries as a Whole. . The total number of fishermen engaged in 9. 88,298, of which 21,349 were fishermen pure ai ple, 34, 370 pursued fishing as their chief oce and 32, 579 as a subsidiary occupation ; in ad di 538 persons were employed in the curing a1 ment of the fish, 6,609 in the tinning, fish-oil factories, and 1 930 j in the whaling industry. ‘ of course, engage in different fisheries at | seasons, and the following figures show the So employed for a number of years: Cod Fat Year Fisheries. Herring. Hering POTB case Ret 62,757 48,831 = ISBO0S > Ses 80,441 35, "130 PISO, fo 89.283 29, "804 TOOD Fe Bik 82,098 20,705 L908 Sees tay 83,286 8,492 TOROE 7 ee 88,144 27,024 IWS ae ea 99,659 . 17,693 LOTR eee! 92, 865 . 20,870 The fish’ ng Nnbee te large in numbers, but few vessels are of any. size, being adapted for the— fishings and those within the ‘ ‘skjaergaard,’” land belt. The following shows the figures for $01 years :-— : 1 £3 Open Boats. Motor. Dories. Others. Total 158 45,484 ake ee 238 5,883 44,399 50,520 505 — 7,066 45,158 52,729 872 7,711 50,082 58,665 1,451 7,339 49,195 56,985 2,092 7,390 51,981 61,363 2,471 8238 54,688 65,392 2,871 8,116 41,328 52,315 December, 1918. CANADIAN The table shows the common changes which have ‘taken place in most European fisheries, but the sail- ing boats have been replaced by motor-boats, and not by steamers. The number of motor-boats in 1908 was 1,636, while in 1915 they numbered 8,346, and they continue to increase. The steamers are small, mostly under 100 feet, of steel or wood, principally engaged in the “‘bank’’ fishery or at Iceland, usually ekeing out a more or less precarious existence by towing ves- sels or fishing boats, or carrying cargoes, as herrings FISHERMAN 2015 indeed companies are searee- in Norway. The fish- eries are indiv dualistic. The value of the boats rose from £1,507,000 in 1908 to £2,915,000 in 1915; in the latter year the value of the gear was £1,430,000, while the value of the curing houses, tinning and other fae- tories, ete., was £1,467,000, the capital sunk thus total- ling about £5,812,000. The aggregate y eld of the fisheries is shown in the following table, quantities in thousands of metric tons (of 1,000 kilogrammes) and values in thousands of to Stettin. They belong mostly to fishermen—and, kroner (pre-war exchange equal to 18 kr. to £1 stg.) : Value of Total Norwegian Waters. Foreign Waters. Total. Whale and Seal Catch. Value : Tons. Kr. Tons. Kr. Tons. Kr. Kr. Kr. 1906 328,550 34,872 24,919 . 2,663 353,466 37,537 4,833 42,368 1910 496,750 43,577 18,771 2,172 515,521 45,749 17,915 63,664 1913 562,757 50,959 19,472 2,809 582,229 53,768 37,386 91,154 1914 577,124 59,272 21,208 2,577 598,588 61,849 36,168 98,017 1915 544,720 84,878 12,774 2,416 87,294 31,066 118,360 557,494 The ‘‘foreign’’ waters comprise Iceland, the Faroes and the North Sea. The aggregate value advanced from £2,354,000 to £5,064,000 in 1913 (before the war) and to £6,576,000 in 1915. In 1915, and partly in 1914 values were much higher ow:ng to the war-demand in Germany; this influence was still greater in 1916, for the official estimate of the total value of the f sh land- ed in that year was no less than 180,000,000 kroner, or £ £10,000,000. Last year, however, and still more in the present year, there has been a sad decline, owing part- ly to the measures taken to restrict exportation to Ger- many, and partly to the risks at sea. The Cod Fisheries. This fishery is carried on mainly in the northern part of the coast, north of about 67 degrees latitude in the early months of the year—in the Arctic winter, tem- _ pered by the Gulf Stream. Two fisheries are distin-. guished, that for full-sized spawning fish (‘‘skrei’’) and that for smaller cod (‘‘torsk’’). The fishery for **skrei’’ goes on from about the Ist of January to the end of April, from the neighbourhood of Bergen, in- creasing in importance as one goes north, and being chiefly concentrated at the Lofoten Isles; but there is an important ‘‘skrei’’ fishing on the Romsdal banks, which in recent years almost rivals the Lofoten fishery. The latter is a very old fishing, mentioned in the Sagas and later exploited by the Hansards, who had a sta- tion at Bergen (still preserved). It is frequented by fishermen from almost all parts of Norway, accom- panied by various vessels and steamers to min ster to their needs and carry away the produce. The methods used, are long-lines (chiefly) set-nets, and hand- lines; the lines are tending to displace the , nets. The fishery for the smaller cod (torsk) is ch’ efly , at Finmarken, the most northern provinee. It is a spring fishing, from about the end of April to the end of June, and is called the ‘‘lodde’’ fishery from the cape- lan bait (‘‘rodde’’) used. There is also a ‘‘skrei’’ fishery at Finmarken, from the New Year tll the opening of the ‘‘lodde”’ fishing, and also one in summer and autumn for ‘*torsk.’’ The fish are almost all dried for export, either as stock fish (‘‘torfisk’’) for which no salt is used— and they may be split but are generally round—and split-f:sh (‘‘klipfisk’’), which are split and salted. The heads and offal are utilised at the fish-meal and guano factories. Besides the fish, the livers and roes are im- portant, the former for oil and the latter for bait in the French and Spanish sardine fishing. - Here are the figures for all Norway of the ‘‘skrei’’ fishery :— No. of Fish Livers. Roe. ‘Total Value Value per 100 Year. Tons. (1,000’s) Hectolitres. (1,000 kr.) ungutted fish. ne eR aD pie Ri ie 126,500 46,848 107,013 46,580 16,426 35.06 Kr. MBL os ess s chek bee 149,200 55,336 120,911 —. * 46,900 19,203 34.70 EY Rae pe AACS Co Ae 204,600 75,794 144,459 35,608 25,677 33.88 — Dooce ele co oe 218,227 79,844 144,527 65,481 31,775 39.80 BR Teele. CBP tie Sead sane 183,075 67,481 134,838 55,380 33,079 49.02 The influence of the war is seen in the diminished - eatch in 1915 and the higher values; since then the fish- ing has materially declined and it reached its lowest point in history this year (1918). Norwegian dried cod are, or were, sent all over te world, mainly to the Catholic Latin peoples—Spain, Portugal, Italy, South America, ete. In 1915 the export of klipfish was 43,- 552 tons and of stockfish 16,374 tons, the value being £2,900,000. The other fish of the-codfish family are the following, showing quantities, in tons, for 1915: Coalfish, 24,304; haddock, 10,074; torsk (Brosme) 4,- 598; ling, 2,945; pollack, 100. These are also largely dried, but large quantities (as well as of cod) are ex- ported in ice, or salted in barrels, or in bulk, much go- ing to north Russia, and, in the early years of the war, to Germany. The Herring Fisheries. There are four chief herring fisheries (1) for fat herrings (‘‘fetsild’’), carried on in summer and au- tumn close inshore from the neighbourhood of Aales- und to Finmarken, drift-nets (‘‘garn’’), often fixed as set-nets, being used and also seines (‘‘not’’) hauled ashore; (2), for spring herring (‘‘vaarsild’’), from January or February to March or April, between Lin- desnaes and Stat, on the southwest coast; it is not so close inshore and drift-nets are mostly used; (3) for . 2016 CANADIAN the ‘‘great’’ herring (‘‘storsild’’), from November to Februar y, from half-a-mile to five or even ten miles off- shore, prine!pally off the Romsdal district, (4) for small herrings (‘‘smaasild’’) along the whole coast throughout the year, but most pronounced in autumn and on the northern stretch of the west coast. To these may be added the fishery for North Sea herring and for herring at Iceland. The following shows the total catch and value of the herrings: 1906, 1,504,000 heetolitres, valued at 10,124,000 kr.; 1910, 2,594,000 hl., valued at 11,678,000 kr. ; 1913, 2,899,388 hl., valued at 13, 377,000 kr. ; 1915, 2, 820, 571 hl., valued at a 118,- 000 kr. In 1915 the figures for the various classes were as follows:—Spring, 1,091,321 hl., and 6,915,000 kr.; ‘‘great,’’ 742,070 hl., and 7,173,000 kr.; ‘‘fat,’’ 418,211 hl. and 10,464,000 kr.; small, 447,554 hl. and 4,499,000 kr.; North Sea, 6,050 hl. and 151,750 kr. ; Iceland, 115,365 hl. and 1,914,786 kr. The herrings are exported in ice, to Germany and Great Britain espec- ially, also pickled, to. Germany and Sweden, etc.; a large quantity, particularly of the small herrings are tinned, and often much of the ‘‘fat’’ herrings go to the herring-oil and guano factories. In 1915 the quan- tity of fresh herrings exported was 58,047 tons, va- lued at 9,288,000 kr., Germany getting 23,087 tons and Great Britain 28,760 tons; the quantity of salted was 165,450 tons, valued at 57,820,000 kr., Germany get- ting 79,895 tons. The Tinning (‘‘Hermetic’’) Industry. This has grown to be one of the principal industries in Norway, and great credit is due to the Norwegians for their enterprise and skill in turning to such valu- able account the smallest fish in their waters, the sprat or ‘‘brisling.’’ There are now about 200 tinning factories in Norway, mostly at Stavanger, and so suc- cessful has the industry become that the supplies of sprats are no longer sufficient, and have-to be sup- plemented by quantities of very small herrings, as in the New Brunswick and Maine industries. The fish lacks the particular flavour of the true sardine, which is absent from Norwegian waters, but it is usually smoked and has thus a flavour of its own; the ‘‘sar- dines’’ are packed in olive oil and cottonseed oil. The sprat is fished for in the fjords and coastal waters on the southwest coast, from about Aalesund south, with fine-meshed nets of many types (including purse- seines), from May to the following February. The quantity of ‘‘sardines’’ exported in, 1915 was 17,659 tons, valued at 22,074,000 kroner; most go to the United States, Great Britain and British Overseas Pos- sessions. notably kippers, of which 2,921 tons, valued at 2,629,- 000 kr. were exported in 1915. Norway is a great fish-exporting country, the quan- tity, including oils, fish-meals and guano, etc., export- ed-in 1915 being 465,708 tons, valued at no less than £16,317,000, a figure swollen through the German war demand; in 1913 the value was £7,860,000. A word must be said about the development of the export business in fresh (iced) fish, especially herrings to Germany and Great Britain. Great eare and attention have been given to this, by subsidised refrigerator steamers and railway cars, and in other ways. The following figures are impressive, showing the exports to Germany and Great Britain: Other fish are tinned, especially herrings, and | FISHERMAN December, 1918. Fresh Herrings. Fresh, Fish. Great Great Germany. Britain. Germany. Britain. Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons. 1890), 3a ’ 107 5,674 137 397 1900... steian 1,712 9,954 619 — 609 499085 crouas 39,346 42,922 2,008 38 JOLS ia: a lien 31,673 43,956 2,746 93 1915. 5 tics 23,087 28,760 10,112 621 Anyone. wishful of studying up-to-date methods in fishery industries and organizations ought not to neg- lect Norway! FISHERIES OF THE NORTH SEA. There is a noticeable dearth of literature in book form on the commercial fisheries of the world. Writings on the subject are numerous, but mostly in government blue books, and small pamphlets are they found, and usually in technical language not understood by the layman. ‘‘The Fisheries of the North Sea,’’ by Neal Green, is a welcome addition to piscatorial bibliography. The writer shows a distinct grasp of the subject and an unusual knowledge of the fisheries of Scandinavia, France, Germany, Russia, Canada and the United States. It is a little book, but its chapters are well bal- anced and show evidences of some clear thinking.. Mr.” Green gives a light and comprehensive sketch of the his- tory and the natural advantages of the North Sea fish- eries, and, while dealing particularly with that prolific fish- producing area, he introduces several interesting features on fish migrations, methods of fishing, value of catches in other waters. The principle back of the book is the need for gepaiben development of the North Sea fisheries after the war. He complains of the lack of interest in the fisheries on the part of the public and their apathy to the import- ance and economy of fish as a food. A note of warning ~ is sounded as to continental competition in the exploita-._ , tion of the North Sea fisheries after peace is declared, and he advises British fishermen to be prepared to main- tain supremacy in an industry which means much to Britain in export trade and in the manning of naval and merchant ships. Ail that Mr. Neal says can be applied to Canada in the development of our own fisheries, and we heartily recommend this book to Canadians—not only those di- sources as a medium for paying our debts Mee adding to the wealth of the Dominion. A number of copies of ‘The Fisheries of the North Sea’’ has been imported by the ‘‘Canadian Fisherman’’ and can be procured from this office for $1.25 post free. INSPECT HERRING PACK. The department of the naval service has appointed William Wilson, of Prince Rupert, B.C., to advise and instruct western packers of herrings and inspect and brand their cured product during the ensuing herring season. The new inspector, who has had a thorough train- ing in barrel-making and herring curing, will have his headquarters at Nanaimo. Mr. Wilson is a returned soldier, —— bb& 4 44 i i he i > I « rvvryVY-Y?* i i i December, 1918. pweww* www © O 9090096090000 CANADIAN FISHERMAN 2017: '-wTwwrwewewwry? YT" rwwuvy* a ae OOOO rVvvwyvwewewrwevrvwevwewerevrwvevwrw°rtf£sttwT?* D 99099996099) 9909999 G9999HO9S9H9H9OSOSE i he wvwevvevvVY = By mce < Fae Island Notes > bp bn bn be bn bn im ‘-~wrrreftfeefefe'''TvTvr"rrrrev-* ox hHAGedaod Veer IVy r-wweYyTY* ee ee a i hi hi hi hi hh i a hh During the past month fishing in Prince Edward Island has been confined mainly to smelts, the ma- jority of these being caught through the ice in gill and bag nets. There are about 400 mien engaged in handling the former and about 250 the bag nets. The fishing has been carried on mainly in the Clyde, Vernon and East Rivers in Queens County, around Alberton, Richmond Bay and other waters of Prince and at Murray Harbor, Little Harbor and in various sections of Kings. The catch so far has been an advance of that of last year and as the season does not close until Feb- ruary the 15th, it is expected that the total market value will be considerably in excess of $54,000, which were the figures for 1917. Quite a number of the fishermen this season will net over $1,000 each. In one night for instance, two men landed a ton and a half at Vernon River which selling at 914 cents a pound realized $285.00. Another feature in the fishery situation last month was the organizing of a company to be known as the i Me hi hi hi hi hi hi i Mi hi hi te hi Mi Mi hi Mi i i Mi Mi a hi hi hi hi hi hi hi hi hi hi i hi hi hi hi hi hi hi hi i hi hn -wrrrrrrerererregrevwrwfneeevwew+regerrt’§;vrerevw7ye.T?* r-~wrrreyTYTY i i i i hi hi hi hi hi hr ha ha hi hi hi hn Georgetown Fish Company. Its main object being to cure and market small herring commercially known as bloaters. The Company will also handle all kinds of fish. The smoked herring industry was carried on in Georgetown some years ago, but it was discon- tinued in 1912. The buildings are still standing and these have been put in shape in readiness for the spring fishing. An expert from Grand Manan, who has had a long experience in handling smoked herring in different parts of Maine, New Brunswick and the Magdalenes, will be placed in charge. - Georgetown Harbor has always been a favorite feed- ing ground for spring herring; and the smoker is located by a comparatively short distance from the grounds. The lack of facilities, however, has handi- capped enterprise in the past. The new company is purchasing traps and expect. to have no difficulty in filling the smoker twice each season. It has a capacity of 1,500 barrels. In the event of fish not striking in around Georgetown, the Magdalene Islands will be available as a source of supply. Eaton Company’s Model Fish Department The Canadian Fisherman is indebted to the T. Eaton Company of Toronto, for the enclosed photograph of the fish display case used in that company’s store in Winnipeg which has enabled the concern to con- duct a fish department right in the midst of the meat and grocery section, without the undesirable odor often attendant to retail fish stores. The secret of the suc- ee igh aer * Pe hb cess of this display and absence of odor lies, of course, in the display case. The cases were designed according to plans laid down by the managers of their fish department at Win- gH, The object they had in mind was to avoid the necessity of building a glass partition all around the fish department. It is possible that other counters Fish Department of T. Eaton Company, Winnipeg. * 2018 CANADIAN of a similar type have already been constructed, but these counters built to order by the company are the first of the’ kind to come to our attention. - The tank is practically air-tight when the doors are ‘elosed. The only opportunity for odors to escape be- ing through the outlet drain. The inside of the ice and fish tray is covered with galvanized iron, enamel- led white, and on this is placed an oiled tray raised above the bottom sufficiently to allow some six inches of air space. The ice and fish rest on the wooden slats of this tray, all liquid being drained below and strained through into the outlet. There is sufficient air space all around, between the inside linings of the tray to provide sufficient refrigeration, while the plate glass top and sides give a clearer view of the fish and, at the same time, keep it entirely covered. The doors with spring hinghes are similar to ice box doors, being of double thickness and the springs guarantee their be- ing closed at all times, except when fish are being put in or taken out. It is interesting to note that thousands of pounds of Pacific flatfish and cod are retailed across these counters, every week. These fish arrive frozen and conditions within the cases are so perfect as regards refrigeration, that the fish can be kept two days, or longer, before ‘thawing out. Of course the salesmen do not make a practice of placing on display more than enough fish to supply the day’s demands, the reserve being kept in refrigerators near at hand. CANADA—GET: BUSY! 5 aioe Since the war the exports from the United States to Australia have shown a considerable expansion, and the quantity of fish and fishery products has in- ereased. An official American report states that-while the value of the exports of preserved fish in tins in 1913 was $951,232, the value in the fiscal year 1917- 1918 amounted to $1,204,744. The increase in other fish was from a value of $29,658 in 1913 to $79,736 in 1917-1918. Hitherto Australia has been a very good market for British-eured fish, especially perhaps tin- ned herrings and other tinned fish, and it is to be hoped that now the war is over we shall be able to send larger quantities than ever.—F ish Trades Gazette. SAVED BY GASOLINE AUXILIARY ENGINE. Fredericton, N. B., Dee. 11. A letter, received to-day by a relative in this city, contained the distressing information that Captain Joseph A. Read, of Fredericton, understood to be the oldest active navigator of Canada, had the misfortune to lose his vessel, the tern schooner Silver Leaf which ran aground while en route.to Barbadoes from equa- torial waters for repairs. Her cargo of lumber, con- signed to Cape Town (S. A.), was salvaged. . The Silver Leaf sailed from St. John, September 11. She was to have sailed a week previously, but the captain, while looking over the vessel preparatory to sailing, discovered that the gasoline engine, a very necessary adjunct to a sailing craft these days, was not in working order. An expert who was called in condemned the machine, and the ‘‘Silver Leaf’’ did not put to sea until a Fairbanks-Morse, 10 h.p. Type Z engine, operating a 6 inch F-M centrifugal pump was installed. It was the intention of her owners, New York parties, that the schooner after discharg- ing at Cape Town should load hides at a West African port for New York. Before reaching Bridgetown bar, ~seareh council. FISHERMAN she encountered heavy gales and made water rapidly, being kept afloat only by her gasoline pumps. Later she was becalmed and her bottom was fouled with barnacles. Unable to make headway, Captain Read decided to return to Bridgetown, but in the attempt the Silver Leaf went ashore. . Captain Read is an Albert county man. Prior to taking the Silver Leaf he had been ashore for two years. Early in the war he commanded a schooner which sailed through submarine zones without accident and on his last command took chances with Hun U- boats operating along the Atlantic coast. LOBSTER CANNERS FORM RESEARCH GUILD. The actual formation of the First Canadian trade guild for scientific and industrial research purposes 1S now in process. As a result of a conference at Amherst last. week of the Maritime Province Canners Association with Dr. A. B. Macallum, administrative chairman of the council of Scientific and Industrial research, the association decided to form a federally incorporated research guild. Some twenty-five can. ning firms were represented’ at the meeting which was held under the chairmanship of Hon. Senator John McLean of Souris. A committee headed by Mr. R. O’Leary, of Richibucto, was appointed to arrange for the organization of the guild and $5,000 was voted to- wards research work in co-operation with the research council at Ottawa. _Immediate problems of research include investiga-— tions as to reasons for discoloration of products and cans in lobster and sardine canning, the bacteriology of spoiled products, ete. It is estimated that from five to ten per cent of the lobster and sardine output of the Maritime Provinces now goes to waste through spoiling, involving a loss of tens of thousands of dol- lars. It is believed that this waste can be prevented by the application of new scientific knowledge to can- ning processes. The combination of all the canners into one guild for research in solving their common problems of deterioration, production, ete., will, it is believed, have far-reaching result on the whole fishing industry of Canada. The maritime canners have taken the lead in Can- ada in actually going ahead with the trade guilds for research scheme which is being urged by the re- Other groups such as the textile in- dustry, the rubber manufacturers, etc., are also pre- paring to adopt the research idea as now being rapidly | developed in the United States and Great Britain. In Great Britain over thirty such guilds are in existence. LAKE ERIE FISHERMEN WILL PLY TRADE THROUGH WINTER. St. Thomas, Dee. 16. Port Stanley fishermen have been advised by the Government that the closed fishing season, which means the expiration of the annual license on December 15, and forbids fishing from then until March 15, has been abolished. The reason for this change in the rules gov- erning fishermen, it is said, is the effect which the recent epidemic of influenza had on the fishing indus- try. The Government having lifted all restrictions in _ this way, several tugs have started on further fishing expeditions. Port Maitland is said to be the best field at the present time, and those who recently lifted their nets will again begin work. December, 1918. December, 1918. SELL FISH _A Most Profitable Line When Displayed in a FREEMAN FISH BOX An attractive and efficient fixture. wares yet still keeps fish ‘clean and fresh. Finished ' in either. mission wool or white enamel — plate glass dis- play top. Built just as good as all the Freeman fix- tures, Write for full Manufactured by The W. A. Freeman (o., Limited Hamilton, - Toronto Branch: 114 York Street descriptive catalogue. CANADIAN FISHERMAN Displays your Ont. The With the high cost of labor can you afford to be without a Knapp Labelling and Boxing Machine? Knapp echalitna Machine Brown Boggs Co., Limited | Hamilton, Ontario E. A. EARL & CO., Vancouver, B.C., Agents, A, Acadia Gas Engines, Ltd. sn sey 3 ill ee, Fisheries, B. Bliss, E. W. Co. Booth Fisheries Co. of Canada, “Lta. Bowman J., and Co. ig Brandram Henderson Co., ej Ltd. a British Columbia Government British Columbia . Packers’ Asso- ciation .. . Sy Pate fs Brown Boggs Go., “Lta. ihn g Uh: saan a @ Burnoil Engine Co. CB eee ae ee Cc. Canada Metal Co., Ltd. Ganadian-Fairbanks-Morse Co., Ltd. Sane Fish and Cold atone Ltd. timation Fishing Co., Ltd. ee ke Canadian Ice Machine Co.. NP Ta Canadian Milk Products, Ltd. Canadian Oil Co., Ltd. . Clifford, J. F. Connors’ Brothers, Ltd. 4 Consumers Cordage Co., Ltd. D. Defiance Packing Co., Ltd. Department of Naval Service .. .. DesBrisay, M., and Co. Ltd. .. .. Dominion Fisheries, AE. Aged Sete Ez. Evinrude Motor Co. .. Finklestein, Max. .. .. «+ «+ ++ «* . Finlay co ren Inc. ace sik te Fish Trades Gazette .. ..- oi Foreman Motor and Machine’ Co. Forge, Peter a 7. ee #©8 ef Freeman and Cobb Co.. Ine. re 5 ate Freeman, W. A., Co. 4 Fromm, F. H. & Co. Index to Advertisers 4. Goodrich, B. F. Co., Ltd. Gourock Ropework Export Co., ‘Ltd. Gosse-Millerd Packing Co., Ltd. o% Gray and Prior Machine Co. .. .. .. Guarantee Motor Co. .. . Guest, W. J: Fish Co., Ltd. H. Hallett, Ai Mines oooh Hatton Cola ine. nae Hayward, F. J. rae Henderson, Geo. . Gal) nike Seem patAE Spe HickMany, GAs eee eile sae e sb Imperial Oil, Ltd Independent Rubber Co., “Ltd. Jacobson Gas Engine aes NES James, F. T., Co., Ltd Pr ehiaroe die Kildala Packing Co., Ltd. pied eidaceie es Leckie, John, Ltd. .. .. Leonard Fisheries, Ltd. Letson and Burpee, Ltd... ..... Lincoln, Willey and Co., “Ine. S cig oe Canadian Refrigeration Co., Lipsett, ‘Cunningham ‘and Co., “Ltd. Lipsett, Lockeport Cold Storage Co. “Ltd. Loggie, W. S. Co. London and Pet ‘Barrel Co, Ltd. ne. - Lyons, Chas. Co Marconi Wireless .. Maritime Fish Corporation, Ltd.” McAvity, T. & Sons, Ltd. SP Mueller, Charles, Co., SAMS aces Murray & Fraser .. .. .». Fe Mustad, O., and Son .. mn. National Refining Co. Nee Cold Storage Co.” New England Fish ‘Company, ‘ta. Newfoundland Government . Sieh ite et EB Back Cover Noble, Charles, Jr., Co., eg Se eek Northern Fish Co. ise Nova Scotia Government - oO. Ontario Government .. .. athe O’Connor’s Fish Market .. .. .. «-» P. Polson Iron Works .. .. os o+ oe Process Engineers, Ltd. .. .. . .. Q. Quebec Government .. .. .. «+ «- Ranney Fish Co. .. Robbins, Chas. is oe @6 ©8 #@8 #0: #8 Pe PRP ee Raa em Robbins, A pee « Robin, Jones and “Whitman, Lta. .. Robinson, Thom pF tas agetes s. Seaboard Trading Co. .. .. «+. «+ o- Seattle-Astoria Iron Works . wmchniat; Bo Tis Established 1830 Stamford, Conn. ‘ 2022 CANADIAN FISHERMAN December, 1918. a P stones aia hinge { : Ae tT i" ahi Myf, i iia nu y i kt li, al 9 CLP a LT y Ptr Fit Newfoundland F Fishery Development By JOHN 8S. SCOTT. St. John’s, Nfld. In considering the development of Newfoundland’s resources it is necessary to deal with a factor which inaugurates a hew era in the country’s.immense fish business, and which promises to add appreciably to the wealth of the colony. Practically, heretofore, ‘‘fish’’ in Newfoundland has meant salt cod. Other kinds of marine food products have been traded in to some extent, it is true, and in small quantities have found their way into world mar- kets, but the great bulk of the country’s exports of fish have consisted of salt cured dried cod fish. This has been the staple product upon which the trade and pros- perity of the country has been chiefly based notwith- standing the fact that the coastal waters abound in a great variety of fish, some of which held out com- mercial possibilities. Newfoundland salmon, for instance, possesses a peculiarly delicious flavor, which according to a well- known Scotch fish expert is the equal of the famed Seotch salmon; and haddock, halibut, herring and flounders are easily saleable in foreign markets. Then there is the smelt-like caplin; the turbot, resembling in flavor and appearance, the small halibut: the codfish, wolffish, skate, pollock; and the cod’s particular tit-bit, the ink-squirting squid; which is in great demand for bait, and which in Broadway restaurants has been eaten with relish, albeit unconsciously perhaps, as a con- stituent part of lobster salad. ‘Yet none of these fish have cut any considerable figure in the colony’s fish trade, and as articles of food some have been entirely ignored. Caplin, for example, a most tasty little fish, has been considered useful only as a land fertilizer, avd other varieties of proven food value have been looked upon by the Newfoundlander as worthless. All of this seems likely to be greatly changed bv the use of refrigeration for preserving fish of all kinds in its fresh state. Alreadv what appears to be a success- ful experiment in refrigeration has been made with a plant that is. said to be one of the most modern and efficient on the North American continent. This nlant has heen built in St. John’s by the Newfoundland At- lantie Fisheries, Limited, a subsidiary to the Reid New- foundland Comnany. in which the two sons of the late Sir Robert Reid. who are now in eontrol of that con- cern’s country-wide enterprise, H. D. Reid, and R. G. Reid, have been the moving. spirits. The refrigerating plant of the Newfoundland Atlan- tic Fisheries has a storage capacity of 6,000,000 pounds, a cargo for a 12,000 ton vessel, and enough to fill 120- average refrigerator railroad cars. The building which is 90 x 30@ ft. is three storeys in height, of brick shell construction, with walls and floods two feet in thick- ness embodying the latest ideas of insulation. The structure contains eight cold storage rooms in which the fish is held, after freezing. The freezing equip- ment consists of five sharp-freezers having a total hold- ing capacity of 350,000 pounds. Through these rooms thirty-five miles of 21% inch pipe is distributed, carry- ing the cireulating ammonia which extracts the heat from the ‘‘warm’’ fish, and within a few hours con- verts it into an object as hard, and apparently as dry as a stick of wood. The refrigerating machinery consists of two dupli- cate machines of 200 ton ice-making capacity, driven by electric motors, the current for which comes from the Reids’ hydro-electric plant a short distance from the city. Only one machine is used at a time, the duplicate having been installed for safety in case of trouble. In addition to this precaution, an emergency steam-driven machine of 75 ton ice-making capacity has also been installed, to ‘‘hold’’ the refrigeration in case both big machines are put out of commission. The refrigerating machinery also serves an ice-making plant with a daily capacity of fifty tons, the product of which is utilized in packing the cars and vessels in which the fish is transported to and from the plant. Much of the fish handled by the Newfoundland At- lantie Fisheries is caught within a short distance of St. John’s, and comes to the plant by water in small fish- ing vessels. Some are taken from the outport waters and sent in by rail. In every case the fish reaches the refrigerating plant within less than twenty-four hours after having been taken from the water, and im- mediately upon its arrival is thoroughly cleaned and rushed into the cooling room, or a sharp-freezer, in metal pans each holding forty or eighty pounds. After being solidly frozen into a mass at a temperature of from 15 to 30 degrees below zero, the fish is hoisted by elevators to the storage rooms, where a dipping in clean fresh water releases the frozen mass from its container and at the same time gives it a fresh ice coating, or glaze, which has the effect of hermetically sealing up the whole block. In due course the fish is packed in wooden cases in forty, eighty and two hundred pound quantities, and is then ready for shipment. ._ Ta aah a a ee ee een et a a lia: be. Po December, 1918. CANADIAN FISHERMAN 65 ape ie oll? ~ SHARP FISH FREEZER & STORAGE ROOM NFD. ATLANTIC FISHERIES LTD. WE REFER YOU TO ALL OUR CUSTOMERS THEY ARE OUR GREATEST . ASSET. WE SELL AT YOUR DISPOSAL YOR i MACHINES CIMCO service CANADIAN ICE MACHINE CO., LTD. WINNIPEG TORONTO MONTREAL A. E. HALLETT, a BROKER FRESH AND FROZEN FISH ig Correspondence solicited Ref., Corn Exchange National Bank, or any Chicago wholesale fish concern. 31 W. Lake St. :: :: CHICAGO R bb Readers of the “Canadian Fisherman” Boots desiring to know more about the “Henderson Fish Preserving Process,” are the best which is patented in Canada and other For countries, should communicate with GEORGE. HENDERSON || | All Purposes Box 2449, G. P. 0. aiid Gale by SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA The Robert The influenza stopped the salmon fishing about ten days earlier than would otherwise have been the case, EF | C . d as a great many of the fishermen were laid up. Wal- . ay oro. t . lace Fisheries plant at Uchucklesit was closed for a ; considerable length of time. The steamer ‘‘Imbricaria’’ Halifax, has been tied up at Rupert for several weeks on ac- count of the malady, and the steamer ‘‘New England’’ N.S. has been tied up at Ketchikan as nearly every man has been ill. * 2024 CANADIAN FISHERMAN Good judges of fish assert that the Newfoundland cold storage product which is now beginning to find its way onto the market, is as good in every respect as fresh fish. It is said that after being properly prepared for the table, it cannot, in fact, be told from the strictly fresh article. Refrigerated fish, of various kinds, which have been treated by the St. John’s.concern have been eaten by epicures in the belief that they were fresh- caught, and no one, it is claimed, has yet found any fault with the flavor and quality of the frozen product. In its probable effects upon the country, the enter- prise of the Newfoundland Atlantic Fisheries is un- questionably a highly important matter. While the past season’s operation of the St. John’s plant has had no appreciable effect upon the fish trade of the colony as a whole, it has nevertheless introduced new methods in handling the fish catch, and has created new con- ditions and opened up new opportunities for Newfound- land fishermen. The time honored system of salting and drying fish, which placed a period of several months between the catching of the fish and the monetary re- ward for his efforts, remains no longer as a necessary evil with every fisherman. Already many local fisher- men have experienced the satisfaction ‘of making their day’s haul and disposing of it before bedtime at a good price for cash. One perhaps unexpected result the new system has had, has been to encourage fishing, and to actually create new fishermen. Clerks in stores, and others who had found nothing to attract them in the old slow process of realizing money from the products of the salty deep, have during the past season spent a good deal of their spare time in fishing, and have been able to make more in fishing a few hours ‘a day than they could earn at their regular occupations. Some of these men, it is expected, will give more attention to fishing next year and in the future, if the good pros- pects promised by this year’s operation of the cold stor- age plant are realized. Another effect, gratifying alike to the fishermen and to the food conservator or economist is the elimination from the fishing industry of the deplorable waste that has existed in the long established system in which the cod has attained a degree of importance which amounts almost to glorification. ‘‘The glorified cod,’’ in fact, is not a great exaggeration, Heretofore, the cod has been fished in Newfoundland, and other varieties which obstruded themselves onto fishermen’s hooks, or into fishermen’s nets or traps, have as a rule, when dis- covered, been promptly and contemptuously returned to their briny homes—often in lots of hundreds of pounds at a time. The Newfoundland Atlantic Fisheries have been glad to’ receive practically every kind of fish which could be caught during the past season, and thousands of pounds of salmon, halibut and haddock which pre- vious to this year represented waste effort, are now stored in the company’s refrigerating plant. This means extra money to the fishermen and extra food to a hun- gry world. From this new development it is predicted the total output of fish from the island will be greatly increased year by year, and that as a matter of necessity the form in which the country’s products will reach the markets, will be materially changed. This will mean, inevitably, a general readjustment of business methods and a change in plans by some, at least, of the concerns in the fish business. To what extent the salt fish industry will be affected December, 1918. by the refrigerating business no one can say. There seems to be no good reason to anticipate any marked decline in salt fish trading, within the near future, at least; and that eventually there will be any consider- able lessening of business in that line does not appear aS a necessary consequence. For salt fish, it may safely be assumed, there will alway be a strong demand, and Newfoundland is favorably situated to cater to that demand. In South American and European countries the Newfoundland article is highly favored because of its quality,.and will undoubtedly continue to be asked for indefinitely. There is, therefore, no reason to fear that the Newfoundland refrigerated fish will displace the salt dried article in foreign markets to any great extent, if at all. The only contingency that might ad: versely affect the salt fish trading is the possibility that the requirements the refrigerating industry might di- vert a portion of the country’s catch from its custom- ary channel, but this is a condition to be feared only on the assumption that there is only a certain quantity of fish obtainable from Newfoundland waters, or that there are, and will be, only a limited number of men to engage in the fishing industry. Neither assumption can be soundly based. Fish in practically unlimited quan- ‘tities is, and, presumably will always be procurable in the waters that have unfailingly supplied the colony ~ for four hundred years, and getting men to catch them is obviously only a question of offering suffichens in- ducements. The net results in ‘prospect for the colony, therefore, seem to be that the refrigerating industry will, if as suc- cessful as it promises to be, stimulate fishing as an in- dustry, and ultimately add much to the wealth of sia tain’s oldest colonial possession. The first big shipment from the Newfoundland At lantic Fisheries went out from St. John’s last week to England in the ‘‘Bayano’’ which carried some 3,250,000 pounds. Other shipments will follow, and smaller con- signments are now being sent to the American markets. H WHALE MEAT. sheet Welcome, O whale from frigid zones! ii This season’s greeting I am giving ‘i Because your girth. and meaty bones ~ | Will greatly ease the cost of living! When turkeys fetch six dimes a pound an And porterhouse is out of sight, : T’ll stake my all upon a round Of whale meat, wholesome, cheap and bepet _ They tell me that your breast and tail— To say naught of your fins and blubber— Are sweet and tender, gentle whale, To suit the most fastidious erubber! My New Year’s turkey I will can And try a plate of whale and chips; The papers say that any man Who does the same will smack his lips! There’s just one danger I can see As o’er my tempting meal I gloat; ’T would be a trifle awkward, Gee! To get a whale rib in my throat! J. L. Love. be a aa a, eg aw en wh December, 1918. CANADIAN FISHERMAN 67 Se W. R. SPOONER Wholesale and Commission Dealer jam of all Kinas (119 Youville Square, - MONTREAL I am in the market at all times to Buy or Sell on C mmission, Fresh, Frozen, Smoked and Salt Sea and Lake Fish, in Carload Lots or Less. Correspondence Solicited ‘ License No. 1-017 == Representing | National Fish Company, Limited Halifax and Port Hawkesbury - N.S. “National Brand” Hadaies _ : a Producers Fillets, F; resh, pores, Frozen Bloaters, : and Sali Scotch Cured | Herring. Sea Fish : STEAM TRAWLER TRIUMPH. LAKE FISH SEA FISH er & Co., Port Arthur, Ont. Bice Fh Co., Montreal, Que. A. W. Fader, Canso, N.S. BONELESS COD FISH National Fish Co., Ltd., Halifax and Port R. E. Jamieson, Rustico, P.E.I. Hawkesbury, N.S. License No. 1-036. . 2026 CANADIAN FISHERMAN December, 1918. Prince Rupert Fishermen had a Good Season Publicity Campaign of Canadian Food Control Board . Very Largely Increased the Consumption of Fish all Over the Dominion. How pleasant and satisfactory it is, at this festal sea- son, to reflect upon the immense growth of Prince Ru- pert’s chief industry, fishing, during the past year, says an article in ‘Resoureces.’’ It has done more than any one thing to place Prince Rupert on*the map to stay. Prince Rupert is now well-known as a fishing port, and it will take but a few years at the present rate to make . it rank among the world’s greatest fishing ports. Now much of this prosperity in the industry is due to one thing, the advertising on a large scale of fish as nutritious and economical food by the Canadian Food Board. Before it began its propaganda advertising fish, very little fish was consumed by Canadians, ex- eept in coast towns, It is only in recent years, since the perfection of cold storage, that fish was to be obtained in a fresh state at interior points, and. therefore eating fish was not a habit. By constant advertising, by point- ing out the nutritive: qualities of fish and the many, many dainty ways in which it could be prepared for the table, and by harping on the subjéct all the time, the Food Board succeeded in converting Canadians into fish-eaters to such an extent that the Board had_next to take steps to obtain a sufficient supply of fish for the consumers it had created by its fish campaign: The Pacifie Coast has long been famous for its sal- mon and halibut and the ready market for these fish resulted in depletion and the climbing of both into the luxury class. Yet there was plenty of other fish, if people were educated up to them and their uses. This the board did. Then started a hunt for cheap sea fish for the citizens of the inland provinces, and found here* unutilized brills, soles, red, grey and ling cod and other varieties in enormous quantities. The Board, by its extensive and attractive advertising made the people’s mouth water for halibut and salmon in the hope of decreasing the consumption of beef, which was needed for the army. When salmon and halibut got too high in price for the working man’s family, they sought and produced fish of a cheaper class toy appease the appetite created. Before this campaign of advértising fish begun last” year our fishermen used to toss back into the ocean all fish taken éxcept salmon and halibut. Now there is a market for every kind of fish they can bring into port. It can be safely said, therefore, that the consumption of fish in Canada has increased one hundred per cent since the start of the Board’s operations in this direction. This has been accomplished by its own advertising, and. by the advertising of those in the fish business follow-. ing their lead, and by the sympathetic co-operation of the public generally. ‘To accomplish this the publicity activities of the? eel have been of the most varied and attractive char- acter. Illustrations galore, printed circulars and huge posters everywhere. An accomplished writer who knows all about fish—a combination rarely. met with and hard to beat—went out from Prince Rupert accompanied by a motion picture camera man in the trawler Carruthers, and described orally and pictorially how the fish were caught, how they were treated in the boat, landed, dress- ed, packet in ice and started on their way east. All this has been seen by the people far away from the ocean who were just beginning to find out that fish is good eating, in the movies, and seeing is believing to minds just And to cap all this diverse advertising the Board proclaimed a_ national fish day, October 31st, and for that day there went from this new fishing port no less than twenty car-— loads of frozen flat fish, so that the fish-hungry folk of bursting the bonds of slothful ignorance. Calgary, Edmonton, Saskatoon, Regina, Moosejaw, Winnipeg, Toronto and Montreal might properly cele-s brate the day. The outstanding feature of the fish industry during 1915, therefore, has been the tremendously increased production and consumption, both on the Pacifie and At- lantic, of those varieties of fish which up to recently masenters a Spring Salmon Caught in Skeena River, B.C., diptrict. ee a December, 1918. CANADIAN FISHERMAN 69 INN RR EE SP 9 ee ee i art. We Jot, ) ee Reece Modern Cannery Practice Allows little time to clapse between the catch and the final operations on the pack. Prompt and continuous streams of all the elements necessary to make cans are depended upon to avert loss. Clean cut, high quality output required of all “Bliss” Automatic Can Making Machinery, but steadily continued production at high speed is likewise a feature of importance. These things have been developed in The “Bliss” lines through nearly sixty years of experience and co-operation with canners and can makers in all parts of the world. “BLISS” AUTOMATIC ROUND-CAN DOUBLE-END FLANGER, NO. 15-K. This machine flanges both ends of can bodies simultaneously and is entirely automatic and continuous in operation. It produces flanges on 100 to 150 cans per minute and can be readily adjusted from one size to another. Write for Catalogue Section No. 18-A E. W. BLISS COMPANY Main Office and Works; BROOKLYN, N.Y., U.S.A. CHICAGO OFFICE DETROIT OFFICE CLEVELAND OFFICE ~~, 1857 People’s Gas Bldg. Dime Bank Bldg. Union Bank Bldg. 1917 LONDON, S.E., ENGLAND, Pocock Street, Blackfriars Road PARIS, FRANCE, 100 Boulevard Victor-Hugo St. Quen Aa eae TG, 2028 CANADIAN had not been popular. They were always eatable but this was not generally known. More particularly was this the case in regard to those varieties of fish produced on the Pacific coast almost exclusively. The different kinds of cod are produced on the Atlantic as well as the Pacific, and haddock and pollock only on the former. The increased consumption has produced another feature of the year in the largely increased number of _ steam trawlers in operation. There are now three here and five on the Atlantie. This is a remarkable develop- - ment because it brings the fish industry up to date with that of the old country.. And next year will see a still . further increase of the trawlers, as there are“quite a number under construction. The future success of the fish industry, in this*er any other part of the world, depends on the facilities pro- vided to produce and take. care of the commodity i in the’ quickest possible way, so that it gets into the hands of» 5 6 \ quently, inspectors are appointed in parts of the In the try only, where their moa ne are likely to be calle¢ the consumer in the best possible, condition. old country millions of dollars have been spent in pro- viding facilities to this end, and now that the Dominion i ' government has done so much to create a nationa ap: petite for fish food, it may go one step further and: aid in providing quick transportation facilities. It has been ‘doing something already in the way of a subsidy by paying a goodly part of the freight rate from this port to eastern cities. But this was no doubt a war measure to increase the rations of ie trenchermen in the trenches. ieee - In this connection there is another feature. in the * growth of the industry for which eredit must be given ‘to the Food Control Board. This lies in the fact that ‘there was a much greater percentage of frozen fish con- sumed during the year than ever before. Well known scientists and physicians have recommended the public to eat frozen fish in preference. to the unfrozen article, particularly in those cities that are a number of, miles from the source of production. The industry has also gone ‘‘over the top”? er direction which is worth calling attention to. is in the number of new canneries established on this coast during the year, particularly on the Queen Char- lotte Islands and the west coast of Vancouver Island. Several new canneries have been ieee and operated there since the year opened. In one feature of the industry there has been a fall- in anoth: ing-off in the production, to be made up in another.. There has been less halibut produced than for several previous years. The first reason for this lies in the de- pletion of the species, and the second reason in the cost of production. This has grown to be so. high that in Many cities dealers have refused to buy. the product at. . the high price asked, and have been giving their atten- tion to the cheaper varieties of fish, such as flat fish and cod., The expenses of operating vessels owned by | large companies has been so high in halibut production, that many of the vessels have been diverted to other branches of the industry. During the year the Americans tried to fix the mar- ket price of fish, but the Canadian government declined to do this and the American government then withdrew its proposition, and at the present there is no control of fresh or frozen halibut, salmon.and black cod on either side of the line. There is one other feature of the year particularly gratifying to the small fishermen, and that is to be found in the large quantity of pilchard and herring that have been.canned this year‘for the first time, Which: These canneries _ FISHERMAN December, 1918. are for the most part on the west coast of Vancouver Island, and report is that they have been most successful in marketing the new product. Altogether it has been a great and glorious year for the fishing industry, thousands of people on the prairies, hundreds of thousands in the trenches, having been brought to a knowledge of how good a food fish is per- haps for the first time-in their lives. The wholesale use of fish food in-Kurope during the war cannot fail te have made. Prince Rupert fish famous, and have created a huge’ new market for it in these piping Hines of Ses INSPECTION OF CURED HERRING IN. BR. TISH COLUMBIA. Ton ».The Fish Inspection! ‘Act of 1914 ‘ache ‘not compel packers to submit: their product for. inspection, conse-— for. Up to the present ime, ‘it was not ednsidered neces- ‘sary to maintain an Inspecting Officer on the prone on coast, because herring ‘curing has been carried a small way by people having a. sufficient knowledge of the business to enable them. to sell their ‘ou ‘pu : readily on the strength of their’ own trade mark, — P ~ Conditions arising from the war have since greatly stimulated this, branch of the fishing industry in Brit ; ish Columbia, and a number of packers who lack the necessary knowledge: and experience are. ‘being: drawr nf into it. In order, therefore, to prevent, as far. as possible 5 the reputation of all British Columbia cured herring from being injured by the packing and marketing of badly cured fish, the Department of the Naval Ser- vice has apopinted William Wilson of Prince Rupert to advise and instruct packers, and inspect and brand their cured product during the ensuing | herring sea- son, in accordance with the provisions of the Fish In- spection Act. / * The inspector has had a thorough training it in barrel making and herring curing in Seotland, and: those concerned may rest assured as to his practical fitness for the work he is called upon to do. ~ His ‘headquarters will be at Nanaimo, and packers and. buyers who may desire to make use of his, services should address communications to him in care of the pe screr of Fisheries there. — ae x ‘HUGE OVERSEAS SHIPMENT OF FROZEN FISH. The steamer Bayano, taking 3,250,000 pounds of fresh frozen fish from the Newfoundland Atlantic Fish- | eries, Ltd., arrived. recently in England. Sir Edgar R. Bowring took passage by her en route to London, where he takes up the duties of High Commissioner . for Newfoundland. — The whaling stdainer, Haleyon went advift s at aon Aleutian Islands in a big storm, November 11th, while -her captain and crew were ashore. This is the vessel which furnished the inspiration for Jack London’s story of the ‘‘Sea Wolf.’’ The Haleyon was built in'San Fran- cisco in 1887 and purchased about two years ago by the North Pacifie Sea Products Co. of Seattle, one of the companies forming part the Consolidated co Coppora tion! iii sis es ie ass oe ae December, 1918. CANADIAN FISHERMAN When the Catch comes in! ROM purse-seiner to labeler, there is one best footwear— “Hi-Press”. Its superiority over other footwear is so marked— so evident—that you cannot pos- — sibly go wrong withit. “Hi-Press” comfort means much when you are on your feet forlong stretches and its remarkable wearing quality counts heavily in these war-days of tight purse-strings. Protect your health, ease the strain on your feet and econo- mize— with “Hi-Press.” It is the modern improved Boot; welded together under high pressure; it. can’t leak. 40, ono dealers recommend . it. The B. 'F: Goodrich Rubber Co. _. AKRON, OHIO — The City of Goodrich 4 eR : ak 1 uarlied} : S > £ Bs z iJ , 4 * | Epis: a z , ; ait TRACE MARK “With: the RED LINE ‘round the top The GOODRICH BOOT ea Fishermen 7 5030 CANADIAN ALBERTA AND SASKATCHEWAN FISHERIES. The northern fishing industry has been pushed out into new fields, or rather lakes, this winter -owing to the closing of Lesser Slave lake and Lae la Biche to winter fishing. Buffalo lake, in Saskatchewan, about 75 miles east of the Waterways railway, is being fished commercially for the first time by the Alberta Fish Company and the MeInnis Fish Company. It is a large lake, and is on the old Long Portage canal route between Cumberland and MeMurray. Fish will be shipped from a point on the Waterways railway, about 100 miles north of Lae la Biche. Trout lake, about 110 miles northeast of Grouard, is also being fished commertially for the first time this season. The Western Canada Fish and-Produce Com- pany are operating there on a large scale. The fish are hauled to Enilda siding on the Dunvegan railway, a distance of about 110 miles. “The route is by way of Whitefish lake and Grouard. Whitefish lake, about fifty miles ime hbaai of Grou- ard, is being fished this season by the Arctic Fish Co. The fish are teamed through Grouard to Enida siding. At Little Whitefish lake, lying southeast of White- fish lake, Mr. Feset is fishing for shipment at Enilda. At Christina lake, on the Waterways railway, about FISHERMAN December, 1918. . 75 miles north of Lac la Biche, the Athabasca Fish. Cas: pany is operating. Lake Mistahae, south of the Wabiskaw lakes, is be- ing fished commercially this winter. Fish are teamed about 50 miles to the railway. at Sawridge. : Calling lake, north of Athabasca, is also being fished. The fish are teamed to the railway ‘at Athabasea. The fish industry of North Alberta has developed to be of great importance. Several hundred men are em- ployed in actual fishing. There are possibly 100 teams or more employed in hauling fish to the railway, and there is besides a large staff emphoyed in the work of shipping, accounting, ete. \ to the large cities of the United States. They are of es- pecially fine quality, and are almost solely whitefish. SOME TRIP! : What is claimed to be the largest stock ever poatiuan by a sailing vessel on a 10-days’ fresh haddocking trip was made by sch, Ruth and: Margaret, Capt. Val. O’Neill, at Boston recently, when the vessel took down a check of $8,715 as the result of a 10 days’ trip on Western Banks. Each of the crew shared the fine sum of $234 oleae The vessel weighed off 80,000 pounds of fish and struck a lucky market, when fish. were scarce and prices were high. 5 Pda Mh fe 1 oa oak fy as [vw pt % aan} wd moezo.s sre STATEMENT SHOWING THE QUANTITY AND VALUE OF FISH EXPORTED THROUGH THE PORTS IN THE PROVINCE OF BRITISH ENDED MARCH 3i1st, 1916, 1917, COLUMBIA, DURING THE FISCAL YEARS and 1918, RESPECTIVELY. The fish are shipped chiefly .. 1916. 1917. 1918. = Quantity. Value. Quantity. Value. Quantity. ‘Value. : Fresh codfish including : : Haddock, Ling and Pollock, Cwt. 836 $2,903 1,184 $4,957 1832 4 5% $6,636 , Dry salted codfish........ Cwt. . 547 3,582 17 206 50 750 Wet salted. eodfish........ Cwt. 41 184 < ss 8 52 Pickled codfish. . ........ Cwt. fy 7p 200 1,000 ae 1,440 | Smoked codfish. . ........ Cwt. 519 3,830 728. 6.448 602 7,726 Pickled Mackerel . . ......Brls. ne ¥ 49 922 G26 5,025, Fresh Halibut ©: 2. sae: Cwt. 7,250 46,007 2,039 16,7202 on) be 7,689 Pickled Halibut .......... Brls. a. se 45 Taba! Bee | Fresh Herfing .:.. foc. 2-48 Cwt. 2,700 2,387 5,079 7,289: 96,639 109,415 Pickled Herring .......... Bris. 100,889 299,147 133,560 312,015 18,003 227,843 Canned Herring. ......... Lbs. 289,314 22,341 1,829,382 163,774 2,255,880 . 268,716 Smoked Herring. ......... Cwt. 829 4,693 993 » 6,128 . 1,306 12,884 Hels... ... (ee ee $ SS i es 68 og On Pees Simei... So eee et Cwt. 1,150 4,269 672 3,978. 129°-% 1,076 Other fresh fish (sea)..... Cwt. 73 853 368 4,494 8,970 5 15,999 Pickled sea fish.......... Brls. ie us Ee eh we sD es ae pe *T,551 Preserved sea fish......... Lbs. 82,520 5,188 40,664 2,804 4,386,398 42,697 Fresh. Oysters). focean 3 Brls. 218 2,274 170 233825 878 714 Canned Lobster. . ........ Lbs. 357 115 96 by fk ” 2,400 — 1,120 Fish ‘for. Bait: 7-3 Se ae, Bris. ae ; 414 898 2,551 6,058 - Clad [3 22s iy eee Brls. zs st 23 76 30 a Fresh ‘Salnjion . .. 2.222 a8e Cwt. 12,519 45,682 19,884 84,534 39,779 208,662 Smoked Salmon. ......... Lbs. 283 30 829 106 3,858 708° Canned Salmon. ......... Lbs. 31,598,976 4,044,660 17,982,223 2,057,277 22,194,449 4,045,961 Pickled Salmon . ......... Brls. 7,605 — 47,148 4,549 74,628 1,123 28,772 Dog Saluionh.. ; ... eee. Cwt. 205,956 224,893 187,213 263,758 100,544 349,221 Salmon or Lake Trout..... Cwt. Sa i 5 «26 ee All other Fresh Fish....... $ i 1,490 ‘ 2,774 6,691 . 4,761,676 3,017,967 5,366,499 s ee Liem ‘December, 1918. CANADIAN FISHERMAN : : 43 ECONOMY AND CONSERVATION | Are the watch words of to-day—True economy in fish plants can only be maintained by the installation of machinery that will conserve power and maintenance cost, yet give the most efficient results. Ask at the Largest Fish Plants in Canada. Your requirements will be given the benefit of 25 years of careful study of the conditions in Canada. The success is due to the above facts, all of which are em- bodied in i? Rides for u nformation LINDE . MADE _ COMPLETE we PLANTS canDd DESIGNED MACHINERY AND ERECTED THE STANDARD REFRIGERATING MACHINE THE LINDE CANADIAN REFRIGERATION CO., LIMITED 37 ST. PETER ST., MONTREAL, P.Q. TORONTO WINNIPEG VANCOUVER IMPERIAL MOTORS When you buy an Imperial you are getting an engine backed by years of service so satisfactory that Imperial Motors are the standard fishing boat engines of Eastern Canada and are to be found in every fishing district in Canada and Newfoundland. They are the best that money, skill and experience can produce. General Dimensions of 5 H.P. Model ‘‘A’’: BOre Mee Gy. lier. ys rere tasty. ee a See dale e Siae cs alta etek, eee Ms inches . Stroke ..... SE, PRT She UPD ae gt INE re ce Mie etn “f Weight, engine Binds. 9 a Pe a eae ct" eaeeg eta Cass lbs. Complete shipping welwnt, with outfit Sn RN gis > 420 gs Diameter .of: Propeller; -2-blade’ #000) ies ie ee hoe Bee i ee ES inches Diameter .of : Propeller; S+blade* oss FH ahs ae eek ee RS ye SOTEUTL. CITI OCOD iho 26- haces. ele, DA eae De os He aw Slsteica vo etea aha) & inch Bale ere CEe 6d. aca hake, Cele occa. Cia: ae eae och caitatinelate Musa feet For full information regarding this or any other Model send for catalog. State size engine required. 5 H.P. Model “A” The Motor that Makes the Mark. BRUCE STEWART & COMPANY, LIMITED. Drawer 370, CHARLOTTETOWN, ‘ : PE 2. 2032 CANADIAN ONTARIO GOVERNMENT FISHERIES. During the first year of its sales of fresh water fish, which ended on October 31 last, the Ontario Govern- ment distributed in the Province approximately 3,000,- 000 pounds of this lake food, according to the annual report of the sales branch made to the Minister of Publie Works, Hon. F. G. Macdiarmid. The total amount of money received for the fish during that period was $234,594.65. After all expenditures and allowances had been made, including about $25,000 for docks, sheds, ete., at Lake Nepigon, there was a profit of $14,000. One result of the Government opening up fishing operations in Lake Nepigon is that the Indians in the northern part of the Province have been able to get on the market fish which they eaught in the streams. Approximately $12,000 was paid to them by the Government. Heretofore but a small proportion of the fish eaught by the Indians in that part of the Province’ has been marketed. Hon. Mr. Maediarmid is well pleased with the show- ing made by the sales branch in the first year. “We have had a few small losses, but that was to be ex- pected in the handling of perishable food,’’ the Minis- ter stated. The government is now devoting its at- tention to the securing of cold storage accommodation in which to place fish next summer for sale during the winter of 1919-20. About 200 tons is being placed in storage this fall by the department and it is hoped that this amount, with the fish caught during the win- ter months, will meet the demands of the consumers. This year the Government secured the fish it re- quired, in addition to that taken from Lakes Nipis- sing and Nepigon, by requisitioning 20 per cent of the fish caught by the fishermen throughout the Pro- vinee, under the license system. It was hinted a few weeks ago that it might be necessary to increase the percentage of fish taken from the fishermen to meet the demand next year. Howover, Mr. Macdiarmid said that this would not be necessary. He felt that 20 per cent of the fishermen’s catch would be ample to meet all demands. CHINOOK SALMON FOR ST. LAWRENCE BASIN. After consultation with the fishery authorities of New York, the Bureau has begun an experiment looking to the acclimatization of the chinook or quinnat salmon in Lake Ontario and St. Lawrence River. Chinook eggs to the number of 820,000 have been received at the Cape. Vineent (N.Y.) hatchery from the Little White Sal- mon: station on the Columbia River. The resulting young will be planted under favorable conditions at points to be determined later. In co-operation with this plan, the fishery authorities of the Dominion of Canada have forwarded from the Fraser River for incubation in the Government hatchery at Belleville, Ontario, 500,000 chinook salmon eggs, the young from which will be planted in international wa- ters of the St. Lawrence basin. CAN KEEP FISH INDEFINITELY BY NEW INVENTION. A new drying process by which meats and fish can be kept indefinitely and then restored to their former state of freshness by the application of water, and which, it is believed, will increase the world’s meat shipping _ fapacity more than twelve times by doing away with the ‘need for refrigeration, has been perfected in the chemi- eal engineering laboratories at Columbia University. _of the increase in the cost of production. packed 2,500,000 cases of sardines. FISHERMAN December, 1918. ; JAPANESE AND SIBERIAN SALMON FISHING. — (United States Consul General George H. Seidmore, Yokohama, September 28, in United States ¥ Commerce Reports. ) 7 The total catch of Kamtchatka salmon for this season is estimated at 400,000 boxes, including 300,000 boxes of red salmon,-50,000 boxes of other salmon, and 7 the boxes of kind silvers, but the takes in Karafuto and Kurile islands are very small. The quantity of red sal- mon is nearly equal to the original estimate, but t others are much less, trout being only one-fifth of tl usual quantity. The reason for this is thought to be the” unusually large arrival of red salmen, to which the fish-— ermen have devoted most of their attention, 7 English and French demands are fairly active, the high freight rates and shortage of space are restri¢ ing transactions. The producers of canned salmon stan very strong and are asking high prices, partly beeau Probably in — consequence of this, England and France are officially — restricting the price of salmon, and no red salmon can be imported into England at £5 or more. Moreover, the — English Government has just opened negotiations with — the American Government for the importation of sal- — mon direct, and a certain firm in England is said to : have been prohibited from importing Canadian and Am- erican salmon. In America recent official prices for red and pink salmon were $9.40 and $6.40. respectively, — per case of 48 No. 1 tall cans. These officially fixed — rates are much lower than the prices in Japan. Hi . US. NOT TO BUILD FISHING VESSELS. The U.S. Government is not to take any part in the building of fishing vessels on the Atlantic or other — coasts. The information was contained in a telegram from Kenneth Fowler, in charge of the fish division of — the United States Food Administration, to the New York Federal Food Board. The telegram says: ‘‘Food Administration program of building fifty steel trawlers on the Atlantic coast to enter the fish industry has been definitely abandoned and that no trawlers or fishing vessels of any kind will be built as part of any program of the Federal Government. CANNED SALMON FROM THE YUKON, | The U.S. Bureau of Fisheries has received from the packers a sample of the chinook salmon canned on the Yukon River this year by the Carlisle Packing Co. This is the first season that salmon canning has been done on — the Yukon. This stream is reported to have a large run of fish, but difficulties connected with transportation, ice, and labor are so serious as to greatly retard or em- barrass both commercial fishing and canning. a The Yukon River chinook ranks high as to color, oili- ness, and flavor. The pack is regarded as the equal of that from any other stream. f MAINE SARDINE PACK IS WORTH $17,000,000. For the season ending December 1, Maine factories - Each case con- | tained 100 cans, making a total of 250,000,000 in- dividual cans. It had not been expected this figure would be reached, but a big run of herring the last ae weeks sent the totals climbing. e gross value of the pack is between $16,000,000 and $17,000,000. The net profits to Bice eee will not be so great as usual. This is due to the ex- treme high price for fish and labor, combined by the government price-fixing. pa ae re) i SH Canadian fishermen PLEASE DO NOT REMOVE SLIPS FROM THIS POCKET STORAGE UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO LIBRARY oe ey Sas ain et ag ae si Sate ad ere nk Pec aueinane spat SS tp sre ter trp beet ke Sey, oo RA