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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.
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(8) ie)
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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 <eeA eee, ee ale teats CRETE 5.00
NatiiGoshee |. watneesay eek 1.00
Mary. A. Carters 3 jie, inane .50
Brittle: Feltmate=.4, .i4:. Wasco, . 25
wane: RHVNDIG saeuad ee. leet eae 1.00
waa. Dort! sac ea 1.00
Albert Williams ... ... ... 1.00
Mampelio sn ler 5 o5. tienes ctis oie. alias 1.00
Covert WUloth lances he cee eet 1.00
Chas. Jamieson 1.00
Leo Avery oh egaer hes .50 A
Ezekiel Snow ... ... ... 2 eiouite et Se kg 1.00
TMs PICOMIOR 5 alo a nets dees cous cc's « gs eee
Martin Fultz ... . 1.00 /
Mike Carter .. . 1.00
senry Greencorn . 66. .o6.) Ge Tees 1.00
Be TO sine i lacs wry. sete Spmaic ey ba Oe 1.00
John Williams 1.00
John Carey ... 1.00 t
.50
Wdward Boudrout ... 0... fav eke bc.
——— $229.75
Boats:
Capt. Thos. Hearn & Crew ..$ 15.00
Capt. Frank Lohnes and Crew ... .. 25.00
Capt. J. Manuel and Crew ... ... ... 15.00
Capt. Alonzo Feltmate and Crew... 15.00
Capt. 00
George Ryan and Crew ... ... 15.
$85.00
Steam Trawler “Rayondor” and Crew:
“RA VORUON? > 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
<A
January, 1918
Fishermen:
‘Capt.
Capt.
Capt.
Capt.
Capt.
Capt.
Capt.
Port Felix:
Thos. Boudreau and Crew .
Wm. Pelrine and Crew ..
Hubert Doroin and Crew ..
Wm. Uloth and Crew
Capt.
Capt.
Capt.
Capt.
Fred
Chas. Mosher and Crew..
Frank Hawes and Crew ..
Samuel Mason and Crew
John Boudreau and Crew ..
Geo. Harnish and Crew
David Walsh and Crew
Geo. Smith and Crew ...
eer eee
David and Employees
Portland Packing Co. and Employees:
Portland Packing Co.
SPE “Smith «+.
A. J. Keary ...
Jeff. Bourdreau
Chas. Dort
Mike Rice ... ...
Claude Rhynold . ; mt
Harold Horton
Albert Dort ...
Duffield Boudreau - j
Matthew Armsworthy ..
Meat! NOW = .6
Wm. Boyd
Edgar Boyd ..
Geo. O’Brien ...
Louis Snow ..
Howard Bond... ... ... ..
Boats: |
J. R. Lumsden and Crew ... ... ..
mene and Craw... .... s+ see
Angus Munro and Crew .. .
S. Baras and Crew ...
Whitehead, N.S.:
é
J. S. Wells, Ltd. ...
6 EE ESSEC YS a ge i eee
Wm. Wells
Samuel Duncan
Malcolm Duncan ..
see
CPeEE APOTL wt hse es es
John Whalen
Thurlow Munroe ...
Samuel Porter .
CANADIAN FISHERMAN
<n
_
Cc
—
eRe ee bP b&w oO
$32.00
$20.00
———$122.50
Mrs. Thos. Feltmate ...
Levi McDuff ...
Sydney Grover ... ... ... «.
Joseph Uloth .. ap
Sydney Grover, Jr.
Mrs. Chas. Duncan .
Mrs. Jas. Duncan
Wm. Feltmate ..
David Duncan ... ..
A Friend
Mrs. John Grover ..
A Sufferer .-. i
Joe Grover ...
J: W. Roberts :.. ... ..
Ruffus McKenzie
Thos. Feltmate
Thos. Grover ...
Ernest Grover ... ....
WS. Harris ..
Samuel Casey ..
Clifford Haynes .
John Fitzgerald
A ee “Dillon. .'.
eee
Howard McMillan ... ...
Edward Conway ..
Jas. Conway ..
Jas. Grover... ..
Valentine McDonald ... ...
Duncan McDonald... ... ..:
E. H. Munroe ... ..-
‘Matthew McDonald ..
eh. 01 616 (t.0:0. eee
eat Cte eee OF
eet et et
He
-00
———-$150.50
$264.25
553
Wealey:-MuUnnoe sc visi A swine en weet Oe .50
LUGS MUMLOS ote Asay ee eka. ees 1.00
Martha Feltmate ... .50
Bertha Feltmate .. .50
Harvey Munroe .50
$50.00
Summary:
Maritime Fish Corporation, Ltd. . $673.75
The Robinson Glue Co., Ltd. ... 64.00
BNA PEP oi ty |S AE PORN ag AUR pg S Gabe oN ate 264.25
Portiangd Packing: COc<s<0 ss ecdeaniea gear nc 150.50
WTC PROMO s cretion oar we bbe ee he bpieas 50.00
ER FEB OSG og ai aaee: Seer kha Bee 10.00
HOW LIEUT. D. N. McINTYRE DIED ON THE
FIELD OF HONOR.
Particulars of how Lieut. Douglas Neil McIntyre,
Deputy Commissioner of Fisheries, gave his life for his
country are contained in a letter received from Capt.
J. Gordon Smith. He writes:
*‘T know it must have been a great shock to you —
as it was to me — to hear that poor old Neil MeIntyre
had paid the price, and that his fine life had been
added to the great toll being paid that men may be
free. I was with some of the comrades of his old bat-
talion—who really adored him—to-day. They told
me the particulars of his death. He was with his
platoon in the line during some of the recent heavy
fighting in Belgium. They were holding a front line
trench and the Boches were putting down a heavy artil-
lery fire on it. They had to stand in their shallow
trench and take it. Neil was hit by a 5.9-inch shell
and instantly killed. The only little gleam in the sad-
ness of it all was that he didn’t suffer.
‘‘His comrades buried him at night in a little ceme-
tery about a thousand yards back of the trench in
which he died. He was to have gone on leave to Eng-
land a few days later; in fact, his leave warrant came
the day he was killed. So our good friend and splen-
did gentleman is gone. It would do your heart good
to hear the way in which all ranks in his battalion
speak of him — which shows that he was a splendid
soldier, as he was. Everyone who knew him tells of
what a fine officer and fine gentleman he was.’’
MARINE ENGINES FOR EXPORT.
Canadian manufacturers of marine engines will find
in the fishing industry of Eastern Siberia a growing
market for after-the-war export trade.
The development of the fishing industry of Eastern —
Siberia has led to an increased use of motor-propelled
boats, while sailing vessels with auxiliary motor power
have proved to be the best suited for the trade along
the coast where the population is very scattered. Mo-
tor-boats are also beginning to be used to a greater
extent on the principal rivers of Siberia for purposes
of communication and in connection with the fisheries.
Motors of Swedish manufacture are chiefly to be seen,
but it is reported that the sales of American motors
are increasing in Eastern S‘beria, where the conditions
of competition are more favorable to Canadian and
United States manufacturers. Kerosene is the prin-
cipal fuel used, gasolene being too dear for general
use. The type of marine motor required in Siberia is
one of strong enstruction and simple design. All sizes
are in demand varying according to the purposes for
which the motors are to be used. The names of some
of the principal dealers in Vladivostok may be obtain-
ed on application to the Department of Trade and
Commerce, Ottawa, ART a
554 CANADIAN
ALL CANADIAN WHOLESALE FISH DEALERS
MUST TAKE OUT LICENSE.
Advices from the Food Controller’s Office call at-
tention to the fact that on and after January Ist, 1918,
all wholesale dealers in fish of all kinds, whether home
trade or export, are required to secure licenses from
the Food Controller. Due publicity has been given
the order, and after January 20th, the Customs author-
ities will have instructions to detain fish shipments
from unlicensed dealers.
The only persons exempt from licensing are bona-
fide fishermen and retailers. Traders, producers,
commission agents, wholesale distributors, and all per-
sons handling fish in a wholesale manner, whether fresh,
frozen, salt, dried, cured, smoked, or canned—includ-
ing salmon and lobsters—must be licensed.
Prosecution will follow failure to comply with the
law. and the CANADIAN FISHERMAN advises all
dealers to apply at once to the License Bureau, Food
Controller’s Office, Ottawa, Ont.
FISH ITEMS.
The U.S. Bureau of Fisheries desires to get in touch
with all persons who ean supply raw shark hides, as
tanners report a growing demand for shark leather.
Canned whale meat has been tried by consumers in
the East and pronounced excellent. The fiber is rath-
er coarse but tender, and the flavor pleasant, with no
waste. Whale meat is being canned by the American
Pacific Whaling Co., Bay City, Wash., and the
Victoria Whaling Co., Victoria, British Columbia. The
product is packed in 1-pound -tins, with recipes for
cooking.
Menhaden is a fish caught in quantities for fertiliz-
er, but menhaden fishermen prefer the fresh fish to
other varieties, and salt it down for home use in win-
ter. Small quantities of menhaden included with mis-
cellaneous shipments of fish to eastern cities usually
find a market, the only complaint being that these fish
are very bony—a general shortcoming of the herring
family to which menhaden belong.
Greater cold-storage capacity is needed in the fish
industry. according to investigators as many thousands
of pounds of fresh fish go to waste for Jack of freezer
room. In explanation of increased retail prices for
fish, it is said that fishing boats have been taken by
both the American and Canadian Governments for
war purposes, reducing the catching plant; that fish
bait is scarce, such as herring and hake, which are now
being shipped to England for food; that nets and
twine are scarce and costly.
New England fishermen say that they now handle a
skate as carefully as a trout, for. contrary to popular
belief, there ‘s a growing market for skates as sea food.
In October last year New York City consumed 37,759
pounds of skates, valued, wholesale, at $1,113.
FISHERMAN January, 1918
CREDIT TO MR. HANNA.
For the Increased Consumption of Fish, Says’ Prof.
Professor E. E. Prince, Dominion Fish Commissioner,
speaking before the May Court Club in Ottawa re-
eently, gave the credit to Mr. Hanna for the fact that
more fish is being sold in the Dominion to-day than -
ever before. Even so, the consumption could be easily
trebled, he said.
He pointed out that the annual value of the fisheries
in Canada to-day approximated $40,000,000. The total
annual catch reached nearly 1,140,000,000 pounds and
would afford every man, woman and child 140 pounds
per year. At present from 60 to 75 per cent of our.
fish are being exported to the United States. There
was a great opening now for Canadians to handle and —
market fish so that adequate supplies might be pro-
curable. More economical methods should be adopted
to stop the present waste and to make fuller use of
fish by-products.
Forty fish are thrown away for one that is used.
Some of the most delicious varieties are treated with
contempt simply because of unfortunate prejudice, due —
to their names. He laid particular emphasis on the ~
herring supply which surpasses that of Britain or Nor-
way, yet which is not drawn upon as it should be.)
The general use of frozen fish was earnestly advocat-
ed by the commissioner, who said that scientifie ex-
periments had shown that frozen fish retained its fresh-
ness and remained in good condition for six months
and, sometimes, even for a year. It was just as good
as fresh fish for all practical purposes and frequently
better.
MORE FISH FOR THE WEST.
Mr. G. Frank Beer, of the Food Controller’s Office,
Chairman of the Fish Committee, has returned from_
the West where he was making arrangements, in con-
junction with Mr. J. D. McGregor, Western Repre-
sentative of the Food Controller, for extensive fish-
distribution at reasonable prices.
The western fisheries are now under the supervision.
of Mr. McGregor. Arrangements have been made by
which co-operative farmers’ associations will be sup-
plied with carloads of fish at one cent advance per
pound over the price paid to fishermen plus the cost of
boxes and transportation. This means that an abun-
dance of fish will be availab'e for these associations at
from 30 to 80 per cent lower cost than formerly. It is
expected that a hundred carloads of fish will be or- —
dered immediately under this arrangement and all |
dealers have been notified that Canadian requirements —
must receive first consideration.
One Winnipeg fish company has agreed to supply
any quantity of fish to consumers in the country at
the following prices, f.o.b. (no charge for boxes) :
Whitefish, 1214 cents; trout, 12144 cents; pickerel,
121% cents; jackfish, 9 cents; tulibees, 9 cents.
This will enable farmers to buy their supply of fish |
in Winnipeg at a much lower figure than the former
ruling price. ee
January, 1918 CANADIAN
FISHERMAN 555
Sea Fishes of the North Atlantic
By HON. WILLIAM E. MEEHAN.
Former Commissioner of Fisheries of the Common wealth of Pennsylvania—Su rintendent of th i
Aquarium, Philadelphia—Author of Fresh Water-Fish Culture in Ponds hoy Inland <a ggte had
of Fish, Fishing and Fisheries of Pennsylvania—In Arctic Seas, Part 2—The Battle of the Fishes, Etc,
Author’s Note. — ‘‘Fishes Of the North Atlantic
Coast”’ is not written for the ichthyologist or for a
student in that science. It is for the one who goes fish-
ing whether with nets or the rod, and for the one who
likes to know something of the life hé comes upon in
the world. Hence scientific names and technical de-
scriptions of fishes are omitted whenever possible in
this work. As only sea fishes within a certain area and
only those used for food or usually met with when
fishing are written about, no attempt is made to present
them in the regular family order as they would appear
in works of ichthyology. The gaps due to many fam-
ilies of fresh water fishes not represented in the sea,
and of sea fishes dwelling out of the area embraced
in the work, are too many to render family sequence of
any value. ~ ~W.E. MEEHAN.
INTRODUCTION.
Concerning Fishes of the Sea in General.
Fish populate all parts and probably all depths of
the Oceans, but while representatives of most of the
families are found everywhere therein, it is different
with genera and species. These have divided them-
selves into distinct groups, in environment, suited to
their structure and needs. ;
One of the groups is known as deep sea fish, and
its members dwell at greater depths than one thou-
sand feet. Another is called pelagic fish, because they
roam the seas far from land. The third group is the
shore fishes, which live in comparatively shallow water,
and with few exceptions are those with which man-
kind is best acquainted.
The deeps of the ocean have always been a subject
of great interest and speculation, undoubtedly be-
cause the unknown has a greater general attraction
than the known. The shoal waters around all civil-
ized lands have been well explored, and their flora
and faunae described and exhibited.
Science has touched and groped the bottoms of the
oceans at vast depths, but not thoroughly, owing to
the difficulties and the limited area that can be cov-
ered by apparatus devised to date. Faunae has been
found by these explorations, but no vegetation, and it
is believed that vegetation cannot exist below twelve
hundred feet because of the absence of daylight. Be-
yond that depth is stygian darkness, excepting spots of
faint light produced by the glow of myriads of phos-
phorescent life. The influence of the wind is not felt.
There is no disturbance of the water—no motion, ex-
cepting that caused by the silent currents which flow
in different directions over the floor of the ocean,
Besides the eternal night, stillness of the waters. .
and deathly silence of the abysmal depths, there is a
stationary temperature just above the freezing point.
To complete the awful conditions existing, from a hu-
man standpoint, at the bottom of the ocean, the water
pressure at some places is five tons and more to the
square inch, and at varying depths it is one ton to the
square inch for each thousand fathoms.
No animal life existing on the earth, nor fish life
near the surface of the water, could, in its present
structure, withstand this tremendous pressure. They
would be crushed into shapeless masses. Consequently
all beliefs or thoughts that survivors of prehistoric
monsters, at least in their original forms, dwell in the
bottom of the ocean, may be dismissed as without
foundation.
It naturally follows that a denizen of the deeps
could not live under the conditions that exist near the
surface. The two hundred known species of deep sea.
fishes have very light, porous bones, containing very
little calcareous matter. Their structure is so frail
that when one of them comes to the surface by chance,
or is brought to the surface, it must be handled even
more tenderly than the most fragile china, otherwise
it will break into fragments.
There are other almost marvelous characteristics of
deep sea fishes, some at variance with popular ideas of
a necessary: structure to withstand the tremendous
water pressure. Not only are the bones soft, and the
muscles thin and elastic, but the cellular tissue corre-
sponds, and these characteristics vary in family and
genera that dwell at different depths, Where there
are eyes, they are usually abnormally large. Many of
the deep sea fishes have no eyes, but instead, are furn-
556 CANADIAN
ished with barbels or tentacles with which they feel
their way about.
Fishes provided with eyes, even if large and capable
of collecting many more times the amount of light than
human eyes, would not be able to see much in the
dark depths, consequently nature has furnished them
with natural lighted. lamps that they may take in,
although dimly, their immediate surroundings.
The lamps are located eithér in the head, or near
the eyes, or along-the sides of the body.. They are oval
or elliptical lenses, pearl colored, and give out a phos-
phorescent glow. Nearly all deep sea fishes are furn-
ished with phosphorescent lights of greater or less
intensity. As the various strata of the deep sea teem
with animal life from fish to animaleulae, the silent
. gombreness of the water is speckled by glowing points
of light, and broken by luminous clouds. It is the
animalculae that furnish the cloud-like effects. They
belong chiefly in the higher or mid strata, and are
constantly falling in showers into lower where they
become the prey of fishes.
As there is no vegetation, it naturally follows that
all deep sea fishes are strictly carnivorous, and their
rapacity is abnormal. Fortunately for them, they
ean gratify their appetite, no matter how great it hap-
pens to be, when opportunity offers, for most of them
are provided with a stomach as elastic as a rubber ball.
Thus one fish can easily swallow, another three or four
times larger than itself.
An elastic stomach although both convenient and
important, sometimes has a fatal drawback. A fish
coming suddenly on another larger than itself, seizes
and attempts to swallow it. The latter struggling to
eseape, forces both into the stratum of water above
their natural habitat. Immediately the diminished pres-
sure surrounding their bodies causes zn expansion of
gasses within, and both are swiftly shot upward until
finally they reach the surface of the sea, dead or dying.
Among deep sea fishes, none are brilliant hued.
Nearly all are either black or pearl colored. A few
are a uniform pink, and it is said that albinos among
black forms are not uncommon. Some species have
crimson fin rays, or crimson tips on filaments, but this
is the only dash of color. Deep sea fishes are as som-
bre hued as their surroundings.
As temperature and other conditions in the deeps
are the same, whether in the arctics or tropics, the
range of species seems to be unlimited. The same
species may be found in the Greenland Sea or the In-
dian Ocean, or any other huge body of great depth,
into which the fish can find a way without getting
much out of its proper stretum.
Not many of the deep sea fishes reach a great size.
The greater number are medium or small; and because
of this some of them are extremely hideous in appear-
ance. In this respect no distorted vision of a man in
delirium tremens can be more startling.
One of the very repulsive forms dwells on the bottom
of the ocean between 5,000 and 10,000 feet below the
surface. By contrast a Gila monster is a thing of beau-
ty. Melanocetus is its name, and it belongs to a near
surface group called Anglers. It is only four, or at
most five inches long, and viewing its ferocious and
murderous looking head and body, ene cannot but be
thankful that nature did not build the fish on a large
seale.
The head of the Melanocetus is as large as the body
when the stomach is not distended with food, and the
whole front of the head is a cavernous mouth. Both
the fangs of a venomous snake.
FISHERMAN January, 1918
the upper and lower jaws are thickly lined by long.
incurving teeth, and the stomach is like the pouch
of a pelican.
A lazy fish, the Melanocetus, instead of seeking its
prey, beguiles it by means of a long fitament tipped
with scarlet, which is set on the top vf its head and
-close to the lip of the upper jaw. Its method of en-
ticing is that of the sportsman angler; but its mode of
capture smacks of the pot fisherman. ‘Burying its body |
in the sand-with only its head exposed, the fish lowers
its underjaw until it rests on the bottom, and waves its
filament slowly in front of its cavernous mouth. Pres-
ently another inhabitant of the great depths comes
along, and getting a glimpse of the filament rushes
forward to seize it. In the rush, its head and part of
the body enter the cavernous mouth of the Melanoce-
tus. With a snap the jaws come together, and in a few
moments the unfortunate fish, perhaps three or four
times larger than the captor, is bent up uncomfortably
within the latter’s elastic, pouch-like stomach, and |
undergoing the process of digestion.
One of the largest in point of avoirdupois, and the
most formidable of the deep sea fishes, is the Plagyodus
ferox. It grows to a length of six or more feet, and,
it is believed, never rises higher than 1,800 below the
surface. It is a long, almost eel-like fish, with a head .
The Oar Fish—A Fish Often Taken for the Sea
Serpent.
like a serpent. Its mouth is filled with sharp teeth,
many of them longer than the others. These are so
long and so sharply recurved as to be startlingly like
The Plagyodus is one
of the most rapacious of the deep sea fishes. It cap-
tures and stuffs until its rubber-like stumach is so dis-
tended that it appears as if a barrel is attached to its
body. From the stomach of one specimen was taken
several fair sized octopods, a number of crustaceans,
and fifteen fishes of good size.
Among the most remarkable of the deep sea fishes, is
the genus Regalecus, or Oar fishes. These harmless,
weak, but ferocious looking creatures, have, under the
guise of sea serpents, caused more popular excitement,
and been the subject of more fanciful records in ships’
logs, than any other fish. Creatures, existing and
imaginary, have been hailed as the monster, but the
Oar fish is the one which has the strongest basis of
realism. It may therefore be pronounced the verit-
able sea serpent.
A mature Oar fish with its long, ribbon shaped body,
horse-like head, and upstanding, flaming red, mane-
species at least are known, Regalecus glesne,
Regalecus Russellii. The name Oar fish is bestowed be-
_ cause of the oar shaped ventral fins.
January, 1918
like front dorsal, of twenty-five or more feet in length,
closely resembles some of the fabulous sea creatures
described so enthusiastically by ancient travellers and
writers, and might easily, at a distance, be taken for
a huge and dangerous serpent.
Twenty-five feet and a weight of a little more than
six hundred pounds seem to be the greatest authentic
length and weight. A specimen of that size would be
approximately twelve inches from the dorsal to the
ventral line, and about two inches through the body.
‘The body itself is jelly-like in appearance and is trans-
lucent. It is light blue with a silvery tinge, and has
a number of dark, cross stripes irregularly placed on
the sides. The snout is long and the forehead high,
suggesting the head of a horse, a fancy strengthened
by the high first dorsal, which consisty of a number
of flexible spines crowning the head. They are very
high, curving forward and backward and each tipped
with a red tuft. Attached to the rear of the first dorsal,
is the second, eel like in appearance, and extending
back to the tail.
The whole structure of the Oar fish is so fragile,
that when one is shot to the surface through some un-
fortunate circumstance, it is difficult to secure it with-
out its being broken into fragments. A specimen fast-
ened to a board and exposed to the sun will soon
evaporate and disappear.
Fishermen in Norway have a superstition that Oar
fish always escort or accompany schools of herring,
and because of this, they have named it the ‘‘King —
of Herring.’”’ The title is given recognition by
ichthyologists in the generic name Regalecus, from
the Latin of Rex,—a king, and halec,—a herring. Two
and
A majority of the deep sea fishes are degenerate
descendants of both the shore and pelagic types. Their
adventurous ancestors and their progeny travelled
gradually into deeper water, and finding an abundance
of food did not return. Their form and structure in
time became changed to suit the new environments,
until at length after the lapse of eons, the descendants
became a type of their own.
Change of structure accompanied each advance, and
both were necessarily gradual. From strong boned,
tough muscled surface fish, they became frail, porous
boned, degenerate, deep sea creatures.
It is among pelagic fishes that is found the greatest
speed and the greatest powers of endurance. They
roam the ocean far from land, and apparently can
travel uninterruptedly for weeks, faster than the speed-
iest steamships and seemingly without any desire or
need for rest. Some confine themselves within cer-
tain temperatural limits, but others seem not to be so
circumscribed, and they wander at will over wider
water expanses, regardless of differences of warmth
and cold. :
A few of the pelagic fishes approach the shore an-
nually for spawning purposes, but many perform this
function in the open sea.
All pelagic fishes do not depend on speed and en-
durance when making their way about, although they
possess both, but rely on other fish or objects for
their means of locomotion. One of these is the Echeneis,
or shark sucker, a long slender creature which fastens
itself to the body of a shark by means of a cephalic
dise on the head. In this manner it travels for days
and weeks, only dropping from the body of its carrier
CANADIAN FISHERMAN
557
long enough to capture and eat sardines and other small
fish which may come its way. They have no special
affection for the object of their attachment, and will
eut loose at the first intimation of danger.
Some of the largest, and some of the most ferocious
fishes, are found among those classed as pelagic. One
is the dread blue shark. It is a denizen of the warmer
parts of the ocean and grows to a length of fifteen to
twenty feet or more. The greater number of genera
of the sharks is harmless or comparatively so, as far
as man is concerned. There are but few that-will,
without hesitation, pursue human beings as an article
of food. These few give an undeserved evil reputation
to all. The blue shark is one of them. It is fond of
anything in the shape of flesh, and a man seems to be
a particularly delicate morsel.
The dolphin ig a conspicuous and familiar pelagic
fish. There is a cetacean which bears the same name,
and better entitled to it than the dolphin, but it has
become so firmly fixed in the popular mind that noth-
ing can change it. Dolphins grow to a length of about
six feet and travel in large schools. They seem to de-
light in accompanying and racing with vessels—the
swifter the better.
Dolphin flesh is very palatable, and there is great
sport in catching the fish with hook and line. Sailors
have a superstition that sometimes the flesh is deadly
poison, but fortunately they have a means of deter-
mining when it is deadly and when edible. When the
fish is put on the fire to cook, a piece of silver is thrown
in the pan or vessel, and if it turns black the flesh
is poisonous, but if it remains untarnished it may be
eaten with safety and enjoyment.
Many writers have attempted to describe the bril-
lianey of colors of the dolphin, and its rapid kaleido-
scopic changes when the fish is dying, but all fall far
short of the gorgeous reality. The irridescent tints and
their rapid changes can be likened only to those of the
aurora borealis as seen in its full glory at the Arctic
Cirele.
Another curious family of pelagic fishes, the Mola or
head fish, is remarkable for great weight and grotesque
form. One species, Mola mola, attains a weight of at
least 1,200 pounds on a length of eight feet. It is
nearly circular in outline, with huge but narrow wedge-
shaped dorsal and anal fins set at the extreme. pos-
terior portion of the body, and a narrow semi-circular
caudal. On account of the position of the dorsal and
anal fins, and the narrow fringe like caudal, the fish
appears to be all head, and to have had the remainder
of the body severed. It is this peculiarity which has
led to its popular name of Head Fish.
Sun fish is another common name for the Mola, but
instead of a brilliant, irridescent, tinted scaled fish,
like the active little fresh water creature of that name,
it is covered with a rough, leathery skin. It is likewise
very lazy and very fond of basking at the surface with
its dorsal projecting above the water,
A close relative of the Mola is the Ranzania or the
famous ‘‘King of the Mackerels.’’ In some respects
it is a more remarkable looking fish, as well as more
beautiful in coloring. From a-short distance, it appears
as though the rear half had been bitten off, leaving
the front half as a very graceful fish of a mackerel
outline. The bitten off appearance is made more real-
istic by the dorsal and anal fins which, shaped the same
as the Mola, are likewise placed at the extreme upper
and lower edge of the posterior. The most beautiful
and the most famous of the genus is Ranzania makua
558 CANADIAN FPISHERMAN
of the Sandwich Islands in the Pacifie Ocean. They
are of a rich brown and silver color with numerous
artistic, wave-like stripes, made up for the most.part
with darker spots on a field of silver. Ranzania makua
is called by the Hawaiians the ‘‘King of the Mack-
erels.’’ They: believe that the mackerels all yield
allegiance to the Ranzania as sovereign, and that if
it be killed, they will all disappear from the neigh-
borhood.
Of all the fishes of the open sea, the Deal fishes are
the most singular. They grow to a length of only three
or four feet, and their bodies are scarcely more than
an inch thick. Were it not for a covering of a shiny,
silvery pigment, the Deal fish would be strongly
translucent, almost transparent. On its head there is
a long streamer-like fin, instead of a mane like the
Oar fish; and in the place of an ordinary caudal fin
at the extremity of the tail, there is a long, narrow fin
like a partly opened Japanese fan, which projects up-
ward at right angles in the direction of the back bone.
No other fish has this peculiarity.
Although vicious looking, the Deal fish is entirely
harmless. Its teeth are small, and to quote Dr. Jordan,
‘‘It would not bite if it could.”’ It is elosely related
to the Oar fish, and doubtless, partly on this account,
such eminent ichthyologists as Gunther, Goode, and
Bean, classed it as a true deep sea fish. Dr. Jordan,
however, placed it among the open sea fishes, and as
one that swims close to the surface. Like its cousin
Regulecus glesne, the Deal fish is vested with sov-
ereign rights by superstition. Indians of Puget Sound
venerate it as ‘‘King of the Salmon.’’ They declare
that the runs and movements of the Salmon are goy-
erned by the will of the Deal fish, and if one be killed,
the Salmon will immediately leave the locality.
Flying fishes belong to the pelagic group, together
with pilot fishes, sword fishes, and 4 number of others,
the names and characteristics of which are familiar
through writers of marine subjects.
A majority of all species of sea water fishes, includ-
ing those of braekish water, is among the shore fishes.
Their habitat is almost exclusively in the neighborhood
of land, and in comparatively shallow water.
Unlike deep sea fishes, and to some extent the
pelagic fishes, those of the shore are arranged in ‘zones
suitable in water temperature, food supply, and the
conformation of the adjacent land. Under favorable
conditions, fishes in one zone, venture to a considerable
extent into the zones of another, making it difficult
to accurately define them. Roughly, the zones are
six in number: The Arctic Ocean, the Temperate
North Atlantic, Temperate North Pacific, Equatorial,
South Temperate, and the Antarctic Ocean.
With the exception of the Arctic and Antarctic, the
zones are sub-divided into a dozen or more, and the
straying among those contiguous is so great, that the
sub-divisions are-but little more than name only. This
is strikingly noticeable in the divisions of the North
Temperate zone. When the water temperature is right
genera belonging in the South Temperate venture far
into the North Temperate, and vice versa. Genera be-
longing to the British have ventured across the At-
lantie and established themselves permanently.
Most of the shore fishes are useful for food; some
are of great value. Indeed, with the exception of the
herring and one or two other pelagic fishes, the people
of the North American Atlantic coast depend upon
them for most of their fish food supply.
January, 1918
Some Characteristics of Fishes.
True fishes have a complete bony skeleton, scales,
complete or rudimentary, at least seven fins, namely:
one dorsal, one caudal, one anal, two ventrals and two
pectorals, and gills with movable gill covers. They
are cold-blooded or have ‘blood approximately the
same temperature as the water in which they live.
Sometimes, one or more of the seven fins are merged
like those of the eel; and sometimes the scales are
very small and deeply embedded in mucus, making
them appear sealeless.
Sharks, rays, lung fishes and spook fishes lack one or
more of the foregoing qualifications, and therefore
are not true fishes, although generally described with
them. The Lampreys lack nearly all the features, and
are entitled to consideration in ichthyology only. by
their being apparently a connecting link between a
lower form of animal life and the sharks and rays
or near fishes and a connecting link between inver-
tebrates and true bony fishes.
As a general rule the body of a fish consists of the
head, or that portion from the nose to the back of the
gills; the tail or fleshy portion from the vent to the
caudal fin, and the trunk or the portion from the rear
of the gills to the vent; and the fins.
Many who are not students, erroneously apply the :
term ‘‘tail’’ to the caudal or membraneous attachment —
of the tail. The divisions given are only the general
rule and not fixed as is the case of all other verte-
brates, because the variation and proportions are so
unlike in different groups of fishes, that sometimes
the lines are necessarily lengthened or shortened.
Fishes, with few exceptions, propel themselves by
means of undulations of a portion of the trunk, the
whole of the tail, and the caudal. The dorsal, anal,-
pectorals and ventrals are chiefly for balancing and
steering, although the pectorals and ventrals, (which
by the way are supposed to have been the precursors
of arms and legs), assist slightly in imparting motion. —
The undulations which cause propulsion are plainly
visible in the eel, and noticeable in all fishes having
long tails.
Along each side of the body of every fish is at least —
one line, extending from the tail—and occasionally
from the caudal—into the head, where it branches
off into finer lines among the bones. Sometimes- the
lines are almost straight along the middle of the sides,
and sometimes they are sharply curved upward almost
to the base of the dorsal. Often they are very plain
to the sight, but frequently they are indistinet and
could be traced only with difficulty. They are known
as lateral lines. ¢
A miscroscopie examination of a lateral line shows
that it is composed of perforated scales with ducts
containing mucus. ‘There is little doubt that one~
function of the lateral lines is to furnish much of the
mucus or slime which covers the -fish, without which ~
it could not live any more than a human being could
live without perspiration.
By many it is believed that the lateral line is also
an organ relating to the sense of hearing. This is
partly because the ear sac, located among the bones
of the head, is connected with the lateral line. Others
hold that the lateral line is also connected with the
sense of feeling. There is nothing paradoxical in hold-
ing both views. The sense of hearing, if there is such
a sense, which some doubt, is very defective in fishes
pes f(t
a ta,
mh
CANADIAN FISHERMAN
January 1918.
P. W. CONNORS, Blacks Harbour, N. B.
Director of Canadian Fisheries Association
January 1918. CANADIAN FISHERMAN 56]
N
Major HUGH A. GREEN, Ottawa,
formerly of Saskatoon, Sask. pate!
Director of Canadian Fisheries Association
*
January, 1918 CAR ADEAN
compared with that of higher forms of animal life,
and there is reason to believe that hearing and feeling
are so intimately related as to be nearly the same
sense.
No fish possesses external ears or ear drums, al-
_ though there is a labyrinth including the vestibule,
excepting in some of the lowest forms, and among some
of the so-called fishes. The ear sac is often so located
as to bring it in close connection with the air bladder,
‘therefore many believe that the latter ‘‘may form part
of the apparatus for hearing.’’
There is a reasonable certainty that fish depend
more on the senses of feeling and vision than of hear-
ing. According to some scientific men, and contrary
- to popular belief, ‘‘ vision of fishes in general is prob-
ably not very precise.’’ Dr. David Starr Jordan says:
*“They (fishes) apparently notice motion rather than
outline, changes rather than objects, while the extreme
curvature of the erystalline lense would seem to ren-
der them all nearsighted.’’ Nevertheless it is undoubt-
edly a fact that notwithstanding the limitations with
-_ respect to outline and near-sightedness as held by em-
-_ jnent scientific men, there is in some fishes a remark-
able keenness, and apparently a marvellous accuracy in
- distinction of color. It has been proven to the satis-
faction of many anglers, that a brook trout can dis-
tinguish between shades of color of the body of arti-
ficial flies offered as lures.
Se 3 Feeling is very highly developed. No matter how
heavy or hard the scales may be, the slightest touch is
felt. But the seats of greatest sensitiveness seem to be on
‘the snout and the folds around the mouth. Accepting
_ the idea that the lateral lines are a medium for the sense
of feeling, then also certain other fishes are provided
with an additional medium in the form of barbels which
are slender and delicate appendages around the mouth.
“These are found chiefly on those that live on the bot-
tom of streams and on those that dwell in muddy or
‘ very deep water, also on those that have eyesight ad-
mittedly more than ordinarily defective. me
While the sense of feeling is highly developed, it 1s
‘not in the direction of pain. This sense, if feeble, and
in the mouth, is absent. The struggles and actions of
a hooked fish are due to anger or fear, and not always
to a feeling of pain. The fact that many hungry fishes
_ will take the hook immediately after having the mouth
badly torn, and that a trout will seize an eye torn
from its head a few minutes before, is evidence that
pain is feeble, although in some parts of the body it
may be experienced. They have, nevertheless nearly all
the nerves found in warm-blooded animals.
‘The sense of taste, according to the latest discoveries,
is highly developed. Human beings have the sensation
- of taste in four substances, sweet, sour, bitter, and salt.
Fish have the sense of taste of all excepting meat. While
many fishes are without some of the appendages or
membranes used for the sense of taste by warm-blooded
animals, they have others and. more. They not only
‘have a sense of taste in the mouth and throat, but they
~ have it externally along the lateral lines particularly on
the tail. They have no sense of taste through smell,
: however, as have warm-blooded animals, for the nos-
_ trils do not communicate with the mouth.
-__-—*Pifference of opinion exist with respect to the sense
of smell in fishes. Some contend it is feeble and others
es that it is strong and valuable and in the location of
food. Experiments of Professor G. H. Parker, of
‘Harvard, with dog fish and other fishes indicate strong-
FISHERMAN 563
ly the existence of a pronounced sense of smell
and its importance to them in their search for food.
Other experimenters in the same direction point
to the considerable distance fish will travel to reach a
‘‘slick’’ of menhaden made by fishermen when chum-
ming for blue and other fish.
Fish breathe by extracting air that has been absorbed
by water, and not by extracting the oxygen that is one
of the component parts of water. The fluid is taken
through the mouth and ejected through the gill slits.
As it passes through the slits, it flows over the gills,
which are so thickly laced with blood veins that they are
red. As it does so, the oxygen is extracted and absorbed
by the impure blood there for the purpose. In most
fishes the heart is located close to the gills and contains
only one auricle and one ventricle. The impure blood
in the body flows into the auricle and then into the
ventricle, where it is forced to the gills and purified by
the absorption of oxygen. After purification it passes
direct to the arteries and from there to the veins
throughout the body.
Some fishes require more oxygen than others, but
none needs anything like the amount proportionately as
man. The majority need so little that when taken out
of the water they die in a few minutes from suffocation.
Such are usually determined by large gill openings.
Other fishes—and they are generally those which live
in very muddy water—must have more oxygen than
can be secured from the air in the water itself. These
must come periodically to the surface and breathe un-
diluted atmosphere, otherwise they would suffocate.
These are known as air breathers. .
The majority of air breathers can live a long while
out of water, sometimes for days. In such instances,
the fish possess small gill openings, with close. fitting
gill covers, so that the gills may remain moist. Certain
species, like the curious climbing pereh (Anabas scan-
dens), of India, have a specially constructed bronchial
cavity in which there are laminated organs which it is
believed assist in the oxygenation of the blood.
Broadly speaking, fishes as feeders may be divided
into four classes: the purely carnivorous, or those which
live exclusively on animal life; the semi-carnivorous, or
those which live on both animal and vegetable matter ;
the vegetarians, or those which live exclusively on veget-
able life; and earth feeders, or those living on mud that
contains both animal and vegetable life.
The existence or absence of teeth does not determine
the feeding group to which the fish belongs. Most fish-
es have teeth of some description, although there are sev-
eral important groups that have none. Nevertheless,
the pronouncedly carnivorous fishes usually have them,
and often they are long and sharply recurved, capable
of bending inward when prey is seized, and springing
back into position after the food has passed on the way
to the stomach.
Molars are generally found in fishes which live prin-
cipally on crustaceans and shell fish. Purely vegetable
feeders are apt to be without teeth or so short and
closely set, as to give a rough, velvety surface. This
last type, however, is also found among carnivorous and
semi-earnivorous fishes. The chief function of teeth, —
excepting molars, is to seize and hold struggling or
slippery food while being forced into the stomach from
the head.
As stated before, the majority of fishes swallow their
food immediately, and once in the stomach it is digested
with wonderful rapidity. It is so rapid that a carnivor-
7.
564 CANADIAN
ous fish can, without serious trouble, seize and swallow
by degrees another fish as large as itself, In such
‘instances the tail and often a part of the trunk pro-
jects from the mouth, and remains so until the head
and that part of the trunk in the stomach are dissolved
by the powerful gastric juices, after which the remainder
slips through the mouth and throat. An hour is gener-
ally ample for the whole process. A shore or pelagic
fish can swallow another equal to its size, because the
throat can be greatly distended. In some fishes, not-
ably among deep sea groups, the stomach is capable
of being abnormally distended, so that a fish three or
four times the size of the captor may be disposed of
promptly.
The Swallowers consist of a group of deep sea fishes
which do not actually swallow their prey, but pull
themselves over it by means of their long, sharp, re-
curved teeth and strong jaws. The members of this
family have a stomach that can be distended like rub-
ber, and one of these fishes has been known to engulf
another twice as long as itself and twelve times its
bulk.
While a majority swallow or engulf their food rapid-
ly, there are many which dispose of it very slowly. Many
of them are found among the vegetarians and semi-
carnivorous, as for example, the carps and other mem-
bers of the minnow family.
The gastric juices are so powerful that even metal—
a hook for instance—will become disintigrated in a short
time. There is good reason to believe that the complete
disintigration of a hook in the stomach takes less than
a month. It is this apparent fact that practically in-
sures the life of a fish, if after swallowing a hook, the
snood be cut and the fish liberated with wet hands
and without bruising.
Most fishes are incapable of uttering sound, but there
are many that can. Among the latter are the drums,
and other members of the Croaker family; also the
curious ‘‘musical’’? Dog’s Tongue of Siam, which is a
member of the Sole family; the strange Fiddler fish of
Asia, and the catfishes. It is sometimes believed that
some of these having the power to produce sound, only
do so under the stress of terror or anger, but others, like
the Drum, undoubtedly utter them as a sex call.
The manner in which the sounds are produced is not
definitely settled, but there is reason for the belief,
especially in the case of the Drum, that it is produced
through the medium of the air bladder. Some aver that
the sound is made by the clashing together of the
pharyngeal teeth.
Generally the sound made by fishes is only a primi-
tive grunt of varying intensity, according to the age or
size of the fish; but in some instances it is claimed to be
of an entirely different and more advanced type. This
is notably said to be the case with the Dog’s Tongue
Sole of Siam. According to Sir J. Bowring, the fish
‘‘which sticks itself.to the bottoms of boats, produces a
sound something like that of a jew’s harp struck slowly,
though sometimes it increases in loudness so as to resem-
ble the full tones and sound of an organ.’’ The Fiddler
of Asia, according to Dr. Day, makes a noise resembling
the buzzing of a bee.
There can be no reasonable doubt that fishes sleep
at other periods than that of hibernation, although hav-
ing no eyelids, they cannot close their eyes. Sleep is
irregular both as to interval and duration. The sleep
of fishes in captivity is easily determinable by the ex-
perienced person, but to the inexperienced it is mistaken
for death in many instances.
\
FISHERMAN January,-1918
In cat-fishes the close resemblance of sleep to death is _
very striking. In nearly every one of the many in-
stances coming under the writer’s observation, the fish
either rested entirely or partly on its side, or obliquely
with its tail on the bottom. The gill covers were tightly
closed, and the motion of the gills almost imperceptible. ,
_ Sometimes the lower jaw relaxed slowly until the mouth.
opened wide exactly the same as often happens to a
sleeping man and as with man, the fish suddenly closed
its mouth, but the jaw again relaxed and it slept with
its mouth open. Were it not for the healthy, burnished
appearance of the body, the erect dorsal, the occasional
opening and closing of the mouth, and once in a while a.
slight twitch of the eye, the fish might easily be sup-
posed to be dead or dying. :
Species cannot be determined by the ground color.
shades for they vary according to food, environment,
or both. A fish living in gloomy places will be a much
darker color than one dwelling in the full strength of
sunlight. If a fish changes from one environment to
another, the color changes to conform. Foods have a
marked effect on color, both of flesh and covering.
Many Crustaceans as crabs and shrimps, will impart a
salmon hue to the flesh, and a very brilliant tone to the
covering of the body. Dark pigmented foods will darken
the color of the fish, sometimes even taking out the color
of spots.
Color fades from fear, sickness and death. Some-
times in the case of the first two, the changes from bril-
lLancy to dullness is gradual, but in others it is almost
instantaneous. A remarkable example of quick change —
is found among the family of groupers—denizens of
southern waters. With these even the spots almost dis-
appear. Inside of a minute a grouper will change from
a thickly spotted reddish brown fish, to a nearly plain
oray. Tho eat aa a
A fear-stricken fresh water Small Mouth Bass in eap-
tivity, will change from a brilliant bronze to a dull yel-
lowish brown in a few hours, Sick fishes lose the sheen of
health and become pale and dull. Healthy fish, caught
and taken from the water, frequently have their colors’
augmented, and with kaleidoscopic changes, during the
dying moments. The Dolphin is a fine example of this
fact. It is only after death that the colors fade. Colors,
particularly with the male, become much brighter in the
breeding season. ; : :
Coloration of fishes in general is usually protective in
its design. Deep sea fishes are mostly sombre hued;
pelagic fishes are blue, or of bluish type, with metallic
lustre ; fresh water fishes almost invariably have as their
ground colors, grey, brown, olive green or silvery. Bril-
liant colored fish predominate in tropical and semi-
tropical waters; while the shore fishes of the North
temperate zone have a ground coloration of black, brown,
reddish brown, silvery shades of blue, and many with
bright metallic lustre. ee
Bottom fishes, as soles and flounders, are usually
olivaceous, with darker streaks and blotches, so as to
give a color resemblance to the bottom and surrounding
vegetation.
jority of all fishes have dark green or olive hued backs,
plain or mottled, and white bellies. These colors on the
-back, render the fish indistinct to enemies above look-
ing down, and the white underneath, shading with the
atmospheric light, makes them less visible to enemies be-
neath. icpeg
While ground coloration cannot be invariably accept- —
ed in the determination of spécies, certain color mark-
>
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
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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
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THE MAP Co. |Tororrro
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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 Ԥ 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
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locks N. of Union Stn.)
one Adelaide 3786
f Have you a good case to hold and
‘he above illustration is of the Gov-
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Write for Catalogue and Prices.
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Hamilton, Canada.
TORONTO MONTREAL
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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. ;
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sumers Cordage Co.,
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co) aa
artment of Naval spersice oie
Swogel M., and Ltd.
ppearing Pr apeler™ Boat Co., "Ltd.
minion opps Mcslgaa 4
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Cie Tid 9) e:9¢;) © 8: ee
na Cobh Co.. Tne.
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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.,
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Lipsett, ’ Gunningham ‘and. Co., ‘Ltd.
Lipsett, Edward
Lockeport Cold Storage Co. Ltd.
Loeckwood-Ash Motor Co... . Nios
Loggie, W
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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
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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
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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
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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
<i
©
good condition for any length of time in this man’s _
fifty cent package, another fifty cents per packiee
would have to be expended on pickle, hoops and coo
ering, and despite that’a proportion of the fish wou! id
be discolored or perhaps rotten.’’
‘‘How do you think the Fish Trade of this country
would take to compulsory inspection ?’’
-“T fail to see why any person running an honest
business would not receive such a proposal with open |
arms. There is no denying the fact that the consumer —
would get a better article, and that in turn wo
create a greater demand. The greater the demand oe
bigger the prices all round. The trade would cer-—
tainly have no objection to larger prices while the _
consumer would be pleased if he received better value
for his money.’
INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION RECO
TO HANDLE FRASER RIVER SALMON RUNS. ;
4
. The question of the Fraser river salmon fisheries was re
brought up on representations made by the British — :
Columbia Canners’ Organizations and by private partes:
ies of British Columbia.
The recommendation is contained in the following
resolution communicated to the Minister of Marne
-and Fisheries:
‘“The Research Council and the Biological ‘Board oe
Canada unite in recommending that the Dominion Goy-
ernment take steps to arrange a convention with the
Government of the United States looking towards the
appointment of an international Commission which —
shall have the control of the salmon fisheries of the
Fraser River and of all those waters through which _
the fish pass to reach the Fraser River, this commis-—
sion to have full power to make and enforce regula-
tions for the effective conservation and the peat ah ae
of these fisheries.’
The International Commission as suggested onl.
have powers similar to those of the International —
Waterways Commission appointed by the governments —
of Canada and Washington. This, in the opinion of |
both the Research Council and the Biological Board
is the only way in which the sockeye salmon ean be
preserved and the canning industry of British Colamn.
bia continued.
So far as British Columbia fishermen are concerned —
they are convinced that the greatest over-fishing of the
Fraser river sockeye has been in Puget Sound by traps”
and seines. Some British Columbia fishermen are firm
in the belief that fishing should cease in the Fraser for a
a four-year period if the industry is to be preserved
at all, while others blame the intensive fisting in Puget —
Sound for the failure of the Fraser to continue to be
the greatest sockeye spawning stream in the world.
wn
CANADIAN -FISHERMAN 63
Tug Helena at St. John, N.B., belonging to the
Department of Public Works, Canada
BB Hi
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CANADIAN
FISHERMAN
February, 1918.
The Cormorant and the Salmon
By A. BROOKER KLUGH.
That ‘‘things are not always what they seem,’’ is a
saying old and hoary—but true, and we in Canada
are at last coming to realize this in our dealings with
our wild life. Not so long ago laws and regulations
were made and unmade by lawyers and politicians
(which if we look up the personnel of our house of
commons and legislative assemblies we find to be
pretty much one and the same) at the instigation of
some particular class or trade. Now we have advanced
to the stage where we eall in expert testimony before
such measures are passed, and the species of animals
eoneerned get at least a fair trial before they are
penalized. The case which I now set forth is a good
example of the results attained by such expert testi-
mony.
A little while ago the attention of the authorities
at Ottawa was called to complaints of damage done
by cormorants to the salmon fisheries of the Gaspe
coast. As the charges against the cormorant seemed
serious. Mr. P. A. Taverner, one of our best ornitho-
‘logists and a thoroughly good biologist, was detailed
to investigate the charges and report upon them. Mr.
Taverner accordingly went to Perce village and Gaspe
basin and spent seven weeks in this investigation,
during which time he not only studied the habits and
food of the cormorant, but secured evidence from fish-
ermen. river guardians and others of experience on
the salmon rivers.
Mr. Taverner found that the species concerned was
the Double-crested Cormorant, a bird which shares
with its cousin the Common Cormorant the fisherman’s
name ‘‘Shag.’’ Of these two species the latter is
slightly the larger, and in adult, plumage can be
separated from the former by the occurrence of a white
_ patch on the flanks.
morant, in the highest plumage, has a crest, on either
side of the crown, of fine filamentous feathers, which
is absent in the Common Cormorant. This crest, from
which the species derives its common name is, how-
ever, not always present and as some birds never at-
tain it and others wear it for so short a time in the
breeding season, its value as a recognition mark is
much reduced. The Double-crested Cormorant is a
rather large bird, comparing favorably in this respect
with a good sized domestic duck, but slimmer in
build and more graceful in outline. ‘The adult is solid
black with green reflections over most of the plumage.
Spaces about the eyes, and at the base of the bill, and
a small throat pouch, are bare of feathers and are
eolored bright orange.
At Peree Mr. Taverner found that the cormorants
nested only on the top of Perce rock, and he places
the number breeding there at about 1,300. At Gaspe
Basin he found two colonies, of 180 and 540 re-
spectively.
Throughout the day all the cormorants which are
not incubating or brooding young are found on the
estuaries of the rivers, and their feeding-grounds are
the wide tidal areas which are just awash at low tide
and covered by two or three feet of water at. high
tide.
The adult Double-crested Cor-,
The food of the cormorant consists practically en- |
tirely of fish and Mr. Taverner found that one of these
birds requires about three pounds of fish per day. He
says, ‘‘ Assuming two full meals per day per individual
would give for the Gaspe Basin 600 pounds of fish
per day consumed by cormorants, or 45 tons per sea-
son. Should the cormorants of Gaspe turn their atten-
tion to fish of economie importance their possibility
of damage would be considerable.”’
In the vicinity of Gaspe and at various other places
on the coast the salmon is an economically important
fish and furnishes livelihood to a large number of in-
habitants.
lined with their full legal quota of nets which supply —
fish to the general market. The streams themselves —
are owned by, or leased to, private individuals and
angling clubs, and are, therefore, not open to public
fishing. The law allows only fly fishing upon them,
the catch therefore is limited and cannot be looked
upon as an economically important food supply. How-
ever, the owners of the streams are necessarily men
or clubs of wealth and distribute considerable money
in the immediate neighborhood. besides paying a com-
paratively high rental to the Provincial Government
for the privilege. 3
The live-history of the Atlantic Salmon is as follows:
The eggs are laid in the sand at the headwaters of
the streams in the autumn, being fertilized by the male
who then covers them with sand. In the spring they — 2
hatch and the young, still with a large sac of yolk at-
tached, seek safety in the crevices in the rocks until —
the sae is absorbed, when they begin feeding and
gradually spread down stream, here they remain for
two years growing into fingerlings, or as they are
technically termed, parr. At this stage they are about
four inches long and proceed to deep water as smolts. | ;
Just how long they spend in the sea at this stage
has not yet been definitely ascertained, but when they
again ascend the streams they are grilse with a weight — a
of from two to five pounds. They descend to the sea —
at the end of the season to come back the following ~
year as mature salmon, weighing from twenty to forty
pounds. The adult salmon does not feed in fresh —
water until after the deposition of the eggs. The trip
to the breeding-grounds at the headwaters is often
long and arduous and when the period of reproduction
is over both sexes are thin worn and unfit for use as
food. In this condition they pass down stream under
the name of kelts to be rejuvenated in salt water and
made ready for suecessive breeding migrations.
It is evident then that the salmon have to run the
gauntlet of their enemies in the estuaries once as
smolts, twice as grilse, and again annually as long
as they breed as salmon and kelt.
morants are concerned the grilse, salmon and kelt are
obviously beyond danger on account of their large size.
There remains then only the parr and smolts that have
anything to fear from cormorants and these only as i
they are making the passage from fresh to salt water. oe
Mr. Taverner found that the cormorants in the
estuaries were not catching salmon. He ascertained
The mouths of the salmon streams are
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this in a manner which admits of no doubt as to his
eonelusions, that is by shooting birds which had been
actively engaged in fishing and examining the con-
tents of their stomachs. He found that their food
consisted mainly of seulpins, with an occasional her-
ring, capelin, eel, flounder or tomcod. Some birds
which he shot on the reaches of the river beyond tidal
influence, that is in the portions in which the parr
were more abundant and in which there were no scul-
pins, he found to have empty stomachs.
In his report Mr. Taverner mentions the fact that
complaints as to the depredations of cormorants came
from the members of the angling clubs and not from
‘the commercial fishermen. His investigation proved
that the complaints were groundless and he thinks,
indeed that the commercial fisherman has a more real
grievance against the cormorant than the angler. He
says, ‘‘On the coast, about Perce, the cormorants cer-
tainly do the fishermen a certain amount of injury.
It is not the salmon industries that are here affected
but the cod-fishing. During a large part of the season
the cod fishers rely altogether upon herring for bait
and for this purpose the herrings nets are set nightly.
When these fish are abundant the toll taken by the
cormorants is not noticeable, but when, as regularly
oceurs, herrings are searce, the birds go to the nets
and help themselves to the contents.
they take are on the whole a mere bagatelle, but when
half a dozen small fish are all that can be expected
from a net to serve for a day’s fishing, and half or
more are taken by cormorants, the fishermen can
hardly be criticized for giving vent to some evidences
of discontent at the loss of a day’s work and profit.
However, though the fishermen do look upon the cor-
morant as one of their natural enemies, they do not
seem to be bitter against them, not nearly so much
as the salmon anglers who have only a sporting inter-
est in their fish and are not dependent upon them for
a livelihood. The best protection for the herring in
the nets against the cormorants appears to be to lift
the nets early in the morning before the cormorants
begin fishing.’’
The result of this investigation by an expert proves
then that any laws which would make for the exter-
mination or great reduction in numbers of the cor-
‘ morants would be entirely useless as far as the pro-
tection of the salmon is concerned, that they would
ineur a needless expense in the payment of bounties,
and that they would be unfair to the cormorants.
The conclusion which Mr. Taverner reached in re-
gard to the cormorant leads Mr. Taverner to add to his
report some general considerations of wide applica-
tion in our dealings with wild life. He says, ‘‘ Leaving
out the practical economic questions altogether, com-
mon humanity prompts us to destroy life only when
necessary. Man having great power for good or evil
has consequently. great responsibilities. It
enough to prove that a species is ‘‘useless’’ to justify its
persecution; it must be proven actively harmful be-
fore such a course is justified, not in a ‘slight de-
gree, but in a manner which. seriously threatens our
welfare.’’? Speaking of bounties he remarks, ‘‘The
placing of shot guns in the hands of irresponsible per-
sons at all seasons tends to nullify our game laws, valu-
able species suffer, and protective measures are made
more difficult of enforcement.’’
The fact of the matter is that the inter relations of
the various forms of wild life are so complicated. so
inextricably interwoven, that the general public has
FISHERMAN
The few herring .
is not:
February, 1918 i 2
no idea of them, and it often taxes the knowledge — ia
and trained powers of observation of the biological
expert to unravel them. A species may seem to be
useless or even harmful to man, but if it is extermin-
ated or much reduced in numbers, we find, sometimes
too late, that it had a definite function in the economy
of nature and that it kept in check some other species
more injurious than itself. Thus the birds of prey,
and some mammals such as foxes and weasels are
usually regarded as ‘‘vermin,’’ as forms of life to be
eliminatéd as far as possible. Yet when this was done,
as it was done in parts of Scotland and in parts of
Austria, a ‘‘vole plague,’’ that is a tremendous in-
crease in the numbers of meadow mice, oceurred. To |
such an extent did these little rodents increase that
the crops of whole districts were entirely destroyed,
Further the effect upon the game-birds, in whose in-
terest the killing of vermin was undertaken, was not —
what was expected. Instead of increasing in numbers
the game-birds became a prey to disease, for the rea-
son that the diseased and weakly individuals were no
longer eliminated by predaceous birds and pee Es
and thus spread disease far and wide. The balance
of nature is in reality a very fine one and when man
interferes with it the results gh ycay recoil upon pe Hing
own head. |
BOOST THE SALT AND SMOKED FISH. — as .
Salt fish—salt green cod, dried cod, stripped soar 3
pickled herrings, alewives, smoked cod, bloaters, Hoe ,
pers, red herrings, ete., are sea foods that will stand — A
pushing in the Canadian market—especially during —
the summer and in centres remote from eee trans-
portation facilities,
There are centres in Canada where fresh fish. is” d
not to be had. These are the places where the pre-
served fish should be introduced. It is easily kept by”
the general store and will stand long transportation
hauls, Apart from that advantage, the fish mentioned.
are palatable dishes if properly cooked. Millions of tag
pounds of our salt dried cod go to South America, —
the West Indies, and Europe. Nova Scotia or New- 4
foundland salt cod cooked by an Italian or Portu- —
guese chef is an epicurean delight and is absolutely dis-
guised by the cooking. If it can be appreciated there, — Ma
why not here? Ha:
Take the bloater! England’ s national fish, and the Fee
supper delight of the poorer classes. Canada can cure
bloaters just aS good as they can in England, but Can-
adians do not appreciate them. So it is with the
others. The tastes which run to halibut, salmon, fin-
nan haddies, trout and mackerel are too exotic for Re.
the humbler herrings and cod. Ser
The C. P. R. Dining Car Service will simplify the a
railway meals and a freer use will be made of fish,
especially in the salt and smoked forms. Fish dishes
will be used at all meals. Hotels and restaurants
should follow suit and make an effort to introduce salt
and smoked fish to their patrons. It is only a matter —
of education. The supply can be had and the poet
are right. s
President S. Y. Wilson, Vice-President A. HL Brie: Re
tain, and Directors H. B. Short and W. Leonard, re-
presented the Canadian Fisheries Association at the s
St. John session of the International nena iso
mission,
v5.2
Me ee eee ee ee ee ee Oe fe ee
February, 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.S.
| “National Brand”
Haddies, : : : : Producers
Fillets, : Fresh,
Kippers,
__| 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. ie A. W. Fader, Canso, N.S.
| BONELESS COD FISH National Fish Co., Ltd., Halifax and Port
| RE Jamieson, Rustico, P.E.I. Hawkesbury, N.S.
-A Little More Enthusiasm,
P lease.
By M. MeLAREN, Lunenburg.
Now that the campaign is under way to increase the
consumption of fish in Canada, the apathy of the re-
tail dealers in setting the virtues of fish as a food be-
fore the publie seems rather strange. In Halifax, which
of course is a seaport. the daily papers combined do
not earry half a dozen fish advertisements, while almost
every column displays the advantages of using other
“*Meat Substitutes,’’ being patriotic thereby, thus help-
ing to ‘‘Win the War.’’ Many of the things adver-
tised are said to contain nearly the same food value
as meat. However, the plain fact is, that there is
no comparison between any meat substitute now on the
market, as compared with fish, which is really nature’s
food and healthful brain builder.
Arrangements have been made for the prompt distri-
bution of fish in central and eastern Canada, thus bring-
ing the bountiful products of our great waters to the
door of any Canadian who wishes to partake of this
food, which has been taken from the waters amid
the winter storms by our quiet ‘‘Brethren of the Sea,’’
who daily are risking perils unthought of by those
**Ashore,’’ that they may contribute their share, and
help to win the war. Therefore the dealers should
awaken and Advertise. Restaurants, on meatless days
might advocate special sea foods, and house keepers to
whom the proper cooking of fish is a novelty, might
be induced to try fish courses oftener, if a dainty book-
_ let were prepared setting forth (as in the booklets giv-
en to the consumer by the grocers who sell baking
powder, ete.), some. good receipes and also some little
talks re the fishing industry, as well as a computation
of the time and fuel saved during the year by fre-
quent serving of fish courses.
Looking over the historical literature of the fishing
industry, we note that in the time of Queen Elizabeth,
it was compulsory (by the rules of the realm) that
all those resident within Her Majesty’s dominions
should consume fish twice a week. The good and fru-
gal Queen doubtless was interested in the fishing in-
dustry of that day and regarded the SER CIEY meas-
ure as necessary.
No Canadian will deny the needs-of the present for
the conservation of meat, that it may be sent abroad
for the use of our gallant soldiers whose hardships
call for a stronger diet than does the routine of life
followed by we who are at home, within reach
of other things.
The soldiers must use the rations meted out to them,
and it would be justice if the Canadian Government
' would make it law that upon each day fish in some
form be served in every Canadian household.
The real thing for the fish business, is for the retail
dealers to display a little energy, and advertise. The
fishermen can’t do this. Their business is to get the
fish. They could get a larger quantity were it need-
ed. The writer has visited inland homes where the
housekeeper was eternally wailing for a chance to
get some fish, fresh, as a change from the eanned
sorts. which, in their way good, never bring to the
palate that ‘‘tang’’ of the sea, so indescribably pleas-
ant. Whose fault is it that those inland housewives
cannot serve fresh fish when they want to? Wet them
CANADIAN FISHERMAN
Spine ae =
- February, 1918
know where to get it by paciatiias: and their joy
will give quite a boost to the consumption of fish.
Lecturing i in London some years ago, a world famous
physician stated that if the epicure knew the value of —
the humble herring as compared to some of the ter-
rific concoetions served to tickle the palate and an- —
nihilate the stomach by expert chefs, that the epicure —
would embrace the opportunity of consuming herring — :
whenever possible. Herring and potatoes supply na- —
ture’s food, the necessity is upon us of winning the
war. The point is obvious. Transportation facilities —
have made it possible for all Canadians to enjoy the —
products of the ocean, yet upon few days other than —
those due to a religious consideration, and in some |
homes on what is supposed to be the National fish day,
fish is never served. Could the average man be made —
to understand that the fisheries of Canada are half —
of our National life, and that any increase in the con-
sumption of fish, increases the volume of industry in
the trades dependent upon the activities of the fish-
eries, thus making prosperity all round, the proper at-
titude of the people toward a greater fish consumption —
would be attained. There is strong need for .an able
lecturer in all places, to tell the story of how the peo-
ple can help by using more fish. This matter should
be attended to at once. Those whose knowledge of
the fisheries of Canada have made them capable, might —
prepare thoughtful statements for the press and edu- —
eate the publie toward the greater use ‘of fish a8 ‘* i
food. |
The following table will give the value of fish as ie
compared with other foods from a scientific stand: ;
point :— |
Grains of strength yielded by one pound of 7,000
grains—
Fresh Fish—129 grains. | : :
Corn meal—125 grains. Sri OR
Fresh pork—108 grains. .
New milk—35 grains. ' Bete oR
Bread—90 grains. eas i st
Bacon—78 grains. ; eave x
Beer or Porter—1 grain. oo,
Grains of warmth yielded by one pound of 7000
grains— u
Fresh Fish—980 grains. Sie
New milk—389 grains.
Beer and Porter—315 grains. “4
Potatoes—770 grains.
From this scientific table, which is pertectly. eor-
rect, it may be seen that fish compares as a bodily —
nourishment; very favorably with other staple foods, ,
and the retail dealers in advocating its further use are —
not only inducing the increase of their own interests, —
but benefitting their compatriots as well. The es
is, ‘‘Help to win the war.’’
nthavetiies; Gentlemen in the retail fish seis Py lit.
tle more enthusiasm! Please.
rire, fed Petia SP es
NEW LUNENBURG CRAFTS,
During 1917 the following schooners were bailey ath :
Lunenburg, N. S., for the fishing fleet: The Alicante,
Capt. Milton Romkey ; G. A. Rhuland, Capt. Clarence —
Myra; Frances Louise, Capt. Lorraine Backman; Ber- —
nice Zinek, Capt. Dan Finck: Irene Corkum, Capt. Leo ©
Corkum ; and there is one for Capt. Freeman Corkum, © "8
and one for Capt. Emiel Mack, a knockabout, to bei:
completed this month, ue
“Mareh, 1918,
_ TURE AND THE USE AND VALUE
: _- OF FISH PRODUCTS - -
F. WILLIAM WALLACE
‘ EDITOR
he Industrial & Educational
Press, Limited
» St. Alexander St. -
me CANADA
mto Office - C.P.R. Building
Newfoundland Agency
nd’s Book Store, St. Johns, N.F.
Montreal
CANADIAN FISHERMAN
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HE CANADIAN FISHERMAN
SUBSCRIPTION:
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Great Britain - - - - $1.00
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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, 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 '
2M “MONTREAL, MARCH, 1918
No. 3
LAKE ERIE FISHERMEN’S ASSOCIATION
ae MEETING.
is issue of the CANADIAN FISHERMAN is large-
‘devoted to the proceedigs at the Annual Convention
z he Lake Erie Fishermen’s Association: This As-
ciation, which is an affiliation of the Canadian Fish-
es’ Association, deserves the highest praise for the
sressiveness and development shown in its organi-
ion, and a perusal of the proceedings will reflect
st ereditably upon the class of men who comprise
membership. .
The Convention clearly shows the advantages of co-
neration among our fishermen and fish dealers, and
1ould be a shining example to other bodies of men
engaged in the fishing industry of the Dominion to
organize themselves into a similar association—either
distinct, or as a branch of the Canadian Fisheries As-
sociation.
- To the Lake Erie fishermen we wish every success
and a continuation of their progress.
_- WANTED—A DEPUTY MINISTER OF FISHERIES.
~The time has come when our fisheries administration
should have a Deputy Minister devoting his whole
‘time to fishery matters. Under Colonel Ballantyne,
the present Minister of Marine and Fisheries and Naval
Service, there is a Deputy for marine affairs, but Mr.
Desbarats acts as Deputy for both Fisheries and Naval
‘and undoubtedly it does.
The administration of the Naval Service is of suf-
ficient importance to take all of Mr. Desbarats’ time
The fisheries cannot pos-
sibly receive the attention it might from a Deputy
who is saddled with two important administrations.
Mr. Desbarats is a most capable ‘gentleman and has
handled fishery matters exceedingly well considering
that he is a civil and naval engineer and not an icthy-
ologist nor trained in technical fisheries work. In
advocating a separate Deputy for fisheries we are
making no reflections upon Mr. Desbarats’ administra-
tion of the work. ;
Within the last year or two, Canada’s fishing in-
dustry has developed enormously, and from now on it
must be fostered and taken care of by a Departmental
head who is thoroughly acquainted with our fishery
resources and who is au fait with all branches of its
administration. To our mind, the right man for the
position of Deputy Minister of Fisheries is William A.
Found—at present Superintendent of Fisheries.
-Mr. Found is a comparatively young man who has
grown up in the Department and is as well acquainted
with our fisheries as it is possible for any man to be.
He has the executive ability and the necessary train-
ing for the position, and logically, he is in line for the
promotion. Resolutions have been made from time to
time by various bodies advocating the appointment of
a Deputy Minister of Fisheries. The CANADIAN
FISHERMAN endorses all their resolutions, but: we
want to see no political appointee placed in the job,
630
or a gentleman who has devoted his life to fisheries
work placed under some ex-M.P. with a mortgage on
his farm and the pressing need of a Government salary
to help pay it .
We hold no brief for Mr. Found, but we hold a
mighty big brief for the fisheries of Canada, and we
want to see them administered properly and by a man
who knows something about them.
AN INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC FISHERIES
' COMMISSION.
The time is ripe for Canada, the United States and
Newfoundland to gét together and unite in supporting
and appointing an International Scientific Fisheries
Commission. There is much to be done in the develop-
ment of the fisheries of the Pacific, Great Lakes and
Atlantic, and only an International Commission com-
posed of the best authorities available can do the work.
The fisheries of North America are enormous in ex-
tent, but exceedingly poor in both industrial and scien-
tifie development.
scientific research or standardization of any kind.
Cohesion is lacking, and all scientific work done to
date has been individual and local and of but little
benefit to those who actually require enlightenment.
Among the many subjects which might be taken up
by a Commission are comprehensive classification of
our fishery resources; a complete survey of the various
fishing grounds, and the information gathered supplied
to the fishermen. Text books on various technical
fishery. subjects require to be written. Salting, cur-
ing, packing, and canning of fish; utilization of fish
waste; modern fishery methods; navigation and boat
building; undeveloped fisheries; artificial propagation
and conservation—all are subjects which require in-
vestigation and publication in forms readily under-
standable by those connected with the industry.
The possibilities of such a Commission are enormous.
~The agenda of the work it might do would fill this
magazine, and its benefit to the North American fish-
eries would be as vast as its possible scope.
Let all those interested in the fisheries of the three -
countries mentioned give heed to the idea and work for
its consummation. Now is the time to commence its
establishment. ;
ACTION FOLLOWS INTERNATIONAL ~ :
CONFERENCE.
Quick action has followed the sessions of the Inter-
national Fisheries Commission which were reported in
our last issue. The United States has now agreed to
allow Canadian fishing vessels to run their catches di-
rect to U. S. ports and dispose of their fish without
restraint of laws or tariffs.
This is certainly a great concession to our fishermen,
but at the same time, it is a boon to the United States
who. are badly in need of all, the fish they ean get.
Apart from that aspect, the action is only logical, as
Canada will invariably play the part of producer while
the United States will ever be a consumer. Greater
development of our fishery resources is Canada’s best
policy and this can only be adequately done by steam.
trawling in our salt water fisheries.
There is only one fear which arises in our minds
regarding the new ruling, and that is: ‘‘ Will the home
CANADIAN FISHERMAN
There is no international policy,.
HB ard ye
market be neglected by our fishermen, and will the
The —
prices in Canada rise to U. S. market levels?’’
demand for fish in Canada at the present time has
reached the hightest tide in the history of the trade,
and it certainly wants to be kept well supplied. How-
ever, the producers in Canada have not, as yet, voiced
this fear, and it is probably groundless. A large quan-
tity of fish from the ‘‘broken trips’’ of American ves-
sels will be sold in Canadian ports now that reciprocal
privileges are extended; our largest producers have
their own trawlers to take care of their trade, and
when the huge fleet of Boston steam trawlers tow
building is delivered there ought to be plenty of fish
coming in for the U. 8S. market.
March, 1918. . :
It is a good thing to have the privilege of wide mar- ;
kets for our fish and we can see nothing but good in
the move.
DEVELOPMENT AND CONSERVATION.
' The Marine and Fisheries Department has shown 4
considerable activity in the right direction of late and
are to be highly commended for it. Now and .again, é
‘soporific influences seem to impregnate the Depart- ;
ment, as it does all Government Departments oceasion-
ally, and we, as an independent journal with the best
interests of the fisheries at heart, have been carpingly
eritical of these periods of somnolence.
we are fair enough to give credit when eredit is due.
One good move to increase production is the ruling
that purse seines will be allowed for the seining of
polloek on the Atlantic coast. In the Bay of Fundy
and on the Cape Shore pollock school in vast numbers
similar to the mackerel, and the only way to catch
them when schooling is by seining. Herring fishing
around the prohibited areas at Grand Manan, N. B.,
will now be permitted.
However,
Conservation of the lobster is mentioned elsswhéee ;
in this issue, and shad fishing in the Bay of Fundy —
and tributary waters is now prohibited for a period
of four years from March Ist. Our shad fishery will
thus get a chance for rehabilitation.
The Government has forbidden the netting of pike ©
perch at the spawning grounds in the Canadian part of —
Lake Champlain, making the Canadian practice con-
form to the laws of New York and Vermont.
Halibut heads from the Pacific coast will be allow-
ed the privilege of the two-thirds transportation re-
bate now obtaining on all fish other than halibut and ~—
salmon to British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and
Manitoba points.
up already in the marketing of halibut heads and the
transportation assistance will help to prevent a tre-
mendous annual waste.
The Fisheries Department officials have our beta
wishes for continued progressive developments dur- —
ing 1918.
CANADIAN FISHERIES ASSOCIATION ANNUAL —
CONVENTION.
The Annual Convention of the Canadian Fisheries —
Association will be held in Halifax, N.S., on the 6th, —
7th and 8th of August. Previously the Annual Meeting —
was held in February—a bad time of the year for most —
members—and lasted only a day. Members felt that it —
Quite a little trade has been built —
hardly worth while to travel any distance to at-
tend a one day session. The winter season had its dis-
eomforts in travelling, and business usually called for
unremitting attention. Then again, the ladies strenuous-
y objected to hubby’s pilgrimages to conventions—the
ery name seeming to suggest a plausible excuse for in-
dulgences in all the forbidden delights. The latter rea-
n is suggested lightly, but a close analysis might re-
1 that it is of paramount importance, and the draw-
k to larger attendances.
he Association, as it gets older, becomes wiser. This
r the Convention will be held in the good old sum-
-time. It will be staged in a pleasant country and
ospitable city, and will last for at least three days.
important of all, the ladies of the members’ fam-
will be invited to come along. The 1918 Conven-
will be the best ever—a get-together gathering of
dustry from coast to coast—and a vacation trip
business and pleasure combined.
ifax is one of the oldest cities in Canada. It
is the pioneer fishing port of the Dominion, and con-.
large number of those engaged in the industry.
excellent vacation centre, and our convening
will also be something of a tribute to a city which
ne from the devastation of a frightful calamity.
sociation has shown its good-will towards Hali-
the generous subscription made for the aid of
linded by the disaster. Our Convention in August
nstitute a further tribute to a city which has been
dle of our fisheries.
ans are being drawn up by the C. F. A. Executive
make the Convention the most momentous gathering
history of our fisheries. World-wide authorities
ery matters will be invited, and subjects dis-
which will have most important bearings on the
development of the industry. Delegates from
fishery associations and local C. F. A. branches
st to Coast will be in attendance, and in ad-
to becoming acquainted with the Alantic fisher-
e gentlemen will be able to give their views on
eral policy to be adopted in the development of
heries as a whole.
Apart from business, it is the aim of the Executive to
ide entertainment enough for the members and their
es that the Convention might prove a pleasant vaca-
1 trip to all present. Railroad transportation will be
ved for members travelling from distant centres,
alifax will undoubtedly afford a welcome to the
sentatives of an industry which is destined to be-
one of Canada’s greatest national and economic
ery person interested in the fisheries, whether a
ber or not, is invited to Halifax for the Convention.
MBER THE DATES—AUGUST 6th, 7th and
AND MAKE YOUR PLANS TO ATTEND.
A NEW STAR ON THE HORIZON.
The three essentials to ‘the development of the
fisheries are man power, brain power and capital.
Brain power, which finds its best expression in cap-
5 e administration and direction, whether in the
yernment, corporation or firm, is the connecting
yetween the other two. Without it man power Is
ipl ss and inefficient, and capital, if attracted at all,
3 and lost. —
mt
CANADIAN FISHERMAN
Strength of their administration.
It is therefore a source of much satisfaction when —
a new force appears on the horizon of our fisheries,
and those of us who had an opportunity of observing
how Mr. Samuel Squires handled a difficult situa-
tion at the annual meeting of the Lake Erie Fisheries
Association, recognized at once that a new force had
entered the Fisheries Department of the Province of
Ontario.
For years the fisheries of Ontario lay dormant un-
der the supervision of men who were liked for their
good fellowship more than they were admired for the
During recent years
made by the late
But failing health for a
much substantial progress was
Deputy Minister Sheriff.
while limited his efforts, and finally about a year ago’
deprived the Province altogether of his capable ser-
vices. One of the first acts of his successor was to
advise a policy, which while it may be thoroughly
sound, has sent a shiver through the capital and labor
engaged in the industry, thus creating a condition
that is not in the best interests:of a maximum pro-
duction of fish and a healthy development of the fish-
ery resources of the Province.
Mr, Squires has already demonstrated his ability to
straighten things out in the right way and swing the
fisheries of the Province of Ontario in line with the
big developments that are taking place in this indus-
try from the Atlantic to the Pacific. With the vig-
orous and well-advised policy of the Food Controller
at Ottawa, working in close co-operation with the
Federal Department and the departments in each of
the Provinees, the fisheries of Canada, during the com-
.ing year, will give the Allies a contribution of food
fishes beyond expectations. But to do this every
Government Department requires the guiding hand of
its strongest men. Mr. Squires is a new man in the
Department of Fisheries at Toronto, and hence is a
junior. But it will be a great mistake if his advance-
ment is hindered by an adherence to promotion by suc-
cession.
THE NEW SECRETARY OF THE CANADIAN
FISHERIES ASSOCIATION AND DIRECTOR
OF THE HALIFAX CONVENTION,
Early in 1917 the British Navy claimed and read-
ily received the services of Captain F. W. Wallace,
who, up to that time had, as Editor of the Canadian
Fisherman and Secretary of the Canadian Fisheries
Association, guided the new movement in the develop-
ment of Canada’s fisheries, which was inaugurated in
January, 1914, when the value of increased fish pro-
duction to the conservation of beef and bacon was
recognized by the Canadian Food Controller, and he
_
631 |)
~
required the services of the most capable and experi- —
enced person in fishery matters, the British Govern-
ment, at the request of the Food Controller, released
Captain Wallace to take charge of this new and im-
portant work.
The C. F. A. and the Canadian Fisherman con-
sider Captain Wallace as being simply loaned for
temporary work, and look forward to the time when
he will return to the helm of his own ship.
In the meantime there is much important work to
be done, particularly in preparing for the annual
meeting of the Canadian Fisheries Association, which |
632 GANADIAN
will be held in Halifax on August 6th, 7th and 8th.
Between now and then there should be a full and free
discussion of all phases of Canada’s fisheries—scien-
tific, educational and economical, and as regards their
provineial, federal and international aspects, in the
hope that the reports and recommendations which will
come out of that meeting will form a valuable guide
to the future development of Canada’s fish resources.
Every section of the industry from the Atlantic to
the Pacific should be represented at that meeting, and
there also should be representatives from the industry
in the United States and Newfoundland, who are in-
terested with Canada in the deep sea fisheries off the
eoast of North America, and in the inland waters along
the boundary between the United States and Canada.
To prepare for and get together such a convention
will require the services of a staff under the direction
of a person possessing a special knowledge of the in-
dustry, and having a wide acquaintance among the
men engaged in it. Captain Wallace’s present duties
preclude him from undertaking this work, and Mr. J.
J. Harpell, President and Managing Director of the
Industrial & Educational Press, Limited, has been
asked and has consented to do it. Until August 15th
Mr. Harpell will be Secretary of the Canadian Fisheries
Association and the Director of the Halifax Conven-
tion. Mr, Harpell will begin at once to organize for
this important event, which can be made an epoch in
the history of Canada.
- MR. O’CONNOR—PLEASE NOTE!
High cost of Living Commissioner W. F. O’Connor,
in a recent statement to the Press, states “‘that he
notes a disposition to accumulate large stores of fish.
He does not yet pronounce this unjustifiable, but re-
quests suspension of judgment while he develops cer-
tain facts. It would be improper to suppress the fig-
ures meanwhile. If the circumstances justify it, he
will refer to the matter again.’’ The figures are :—
Fish, all varieties (in storage) on March Ist, 1917,
7,895,083 lbs.; March Ist, 1918, 12,819,598 lbs.—an in-
crease of 62.3 per cent.
The fishing industry of Canada is not afraid of the
‘“suppression’’ of figures meanwhile. Mr. O’Connor’s
statement carries an inuendo which is misleading,
and before making any remarks whatever on the in-
creased fish stores, he should make enquiries into the
reason first, instead of giving out a statement which
will be taken by the public to mean that there is ‘‘some-
thing rotten in the state of Denmark’ ’—or in the fish
trade.
In our last issue we published an editorial on the
necessity and advantages of cold storage in the fish
business, and nothing more need be said on that point;
but for Mr. O’Connor’s and the public’s information,
we would point out the following facts which fully
justify any increased accumulation of fish in storage.
Since May, 1917, the Government has been urging in-
creased production of fish by our fishermen. Our fish-
ermen have responded to the limit. Since July 1917,
when the. Food Controller urged Canadians to use
more fish and release beef and pork for overseas, the
demand for fish in Canada has increased from 75 to
100 per cent. This unusual demand would justify in-
creased stocks of fish in storage, for if the demand
for certain varieties—winter caught fish for nstance—
is to be supplied, the cold storage is the only place
from which to procure these fish during the period
ISHERMAN March, 1918. —
oh eee
they are not fished for. mi
The fish trade in Canada cannot use wold storage | Y
for holding fish for profiteering purposes. There is —
no money ‘in frozen fish, The bulk of the accumula- .
tions referred to are for the purpose of taking care
of the Lenten trade, and storage stocks will be pretty | :
well cleaned out by the end of the Fast season. :
Summer fishing is coming on now with huge catches ©
of fish in sight. All the storages in Canada could —
not hold the productions, and only the Overseas, and |
export trade will prevent a glut. 4
The public are prone to imagine that large stocks |
of fish held in storage are for the purpose of keep-_
ing up the prices. In so far as the fish business is —
concerned, this is erroneous. There is no money in
storage fish as investigation will readily prove. There
are better profits to be made on strictly fresh fish.
Then again, the great production may be cited as a
reason for cheaper fish. Fish is but little dearer to-
day than it was prior to the war, but the cost of
gear, labor, ice, ete., has gone up enormously, and
greater production has not lessened the cost. es
Statements from a public official like Mr. O’Connor ?
should be carefully made. The public is easily stam-—
peded by inuendos and half-truths, and an unwarrant-
ed prejudice against the fish trade by reason of such
statements will simply mean that our producers will
cater to the export market rather than be led into a
controversy started by the erroneous statements of
Government officials, — :
The demand for fish in Canada has only back: Gide
lated by careful nursing on the part of the trade, the
Department of Marine & Fisheries and the Canada
Food Board, The High Cost of Living Commissioner |
ean wreck the whole home market by making public a
few such statements as the one quoted.
LAKE ERIE FISHERMEN’S ASSOCIATION _ e
DELEGATION. ee
A delegation of the Lake Erie Fishermen’s ‘Kos
tion, composed of Messrs. Ponsford, Short, Van Order,
Crewe, Westcott, Brown and Hoover. journeyed to Ot-
tawa on March 6th, and waited upon the Marine and.
Fisheries Department and the Canada Food Board.
At the Food Board, the delegation signified {heist
willingness to co-operate with the Government in every
way to increase the production of fish. The need for
additional labor to operate the Erie fisheries was
strongly urged and the exemption of fishermen from
military service recommended. Improved transporta-
tion facilities by the Pere Marquette Railway was one
of the points brought up as tending to aid production.
The Chairman of the Board premnee to give all he
assistance in his power. a
‘A plan to utilize the Lake Erie fish tugs in the J At-
lantic fisheries during the winter season was also dis-
cussed and the matter will be carefully investigated as.
to its feasibility. Some twenty tugs, it was estimated,
could be brought down to the sea-board in the fall @ Y
gill-netting out of Atlantic ports. |
TO FIX HALIBUT PRICES. Ee.
A meeting will be held at the Lasalle Hotel, Chicag 0, »
on March 21st, between representatives of the United
States Food Administration, the Canada Food oleentd
handlers of Pacific Coast halibut. The object of 2
conference is to fix maximum wholesales Prices for
ee
fixed periodically.
oe. change in the method of purchasing halibut car-
‘oes will also be made and the custom of bidding on
the medium fish and taking the chickens and overs at
per cent less than the highest bid revised.
Preliminary regulations were drafted in Seattle re-
atly by Canadian and American producers in con-
tion with the U. 8. Food Administration and Can-
Food Board officials. The regulations, which have
international to be effective, will be finally rati-
at the Chicago conference.
ETAIL FISH DEALERS TO BE LICENSED.
retail dealers in fish, must, on and after May
perate under license from the Canada Food
Neglect to conform with the law incurs severe
The regulations are as follows:
t the licensee shall not buy, contract for, sell,
or otherwise handle or deal in any food or food
ets for the purpose of unreasonably increasing
ce, or of restricting the supply, or of monopoliz-
ee to ee: either locally or gen-
pct are fit for human consumption, and
owingly commit waste, or wilfully permit
any food commodities from, or sell any such
ies to, any person required to obtain a license
Canada Food Board, and who has not ob-
eh license.
the licensee shall place on every letterhead, con-
‘der, acceptance of order, invoice, price list and
n issued, the words ‘‘Canada Food Board
Number’’ followed by the number of the
e, and shall show the name. of the license or
Ses’ under which business is carried on.
ut all licensees may be required to make reports
ily, and as often and at such times and in such
“ihay be in writing directed by the Canada
oard, showing the stock on hand or in transit
r of licensee, and such other information as
required by the Canada Food Board from time
every licensee shall keep such books, invoices,
s and other papers and records as will enable
anada Food Board, or any person by them there-
thorized, to verify any report or statement that
licensee is required to make to the Canada Food
Halowite shall be the fees to be paid for licenses
ed under this order:
en the value sold does not exceed $20,000 per
annum, $2.00.
en the value sold does not exceed $40,000 per
annum, $4.00.
Vhen the value sold does not exceed $60,000 per
annum, $6.00
the value sold does not exceed $80,000 per
- exceed $100,000 per
num, $10. 00.
additional $9.00 for each $20,000, or fraction
e value sold in excess of above figures.
licenses shall expire on the fourteenth day
CANADIAN FISHERMAN
; ut ay possibly retail prices also—the prices to be-
633
of May in each year.
That licenses are not assignable or transferable
without the assent of the Canada Food Board.
That licensee shall give notice in writing to the Can-
ada Food Board of any change of address, or of any
change of the management or control, or of any change
in the character of the business licensed, within ten
days of such change or changes made.
THE LOBSTER FISHERY.
We have it upon good authority that lobster can-
ning will not be suspended this season. The suspen-
sion was suggested by the Canada Food Board to save
tin-plate and divert the lobster fishermen into other,
and more essential branches of the fishing industry
or into agricultural labor, but enquiries elicited the
fact that all preparations had been made by the ean-
neries for the coming season and great financial loss
would ensue were the fishery prohibited at this time.
However, the Marine and Fisheries Department have
made a change in the lobster fishing regulations, ef-
fective at the end of this season, whereby a size limit
of nine inches is placed on lobsters taken on the coasts
of the Maritime Provinces west of Halifax. The an-
nouncement states that, while the regulation may have
the effect of closing the canneries, it will, in a few
years, put more money in the pockets of the fisher-
men, as well as conserve and build up the industry.
In the past the practice has been to ship lobsters nine
inches long and over to the United States live lobster
markets, and send the small ones to the canneries.
This practice, however, has been telling on the supply
of lobsters, which has been declining from year to year.
Lobsters do not lay eggs until they are about nine
inches long, and the number of eggs produced in-
creased rapidly with the size of the lobster,
DEVELOPMENTS IN THE WHALING INDUSTRY.
Canada is forging ahead in developing the whaling
industry of the North Pacific not only from the stand-
point of oil and fertilizer, but also as a desirable food.
The Victoria Whaling Company has absorbed the
North Pacific Sea Products Company of Seattle, and
the American Pacifie Whaling Company, thus bring-
ing under one ownership a fleet of eighteen vessels
and six whaling stations. The President of the new
amalgamation is William Schunp, of Toronto. and W.
A. Lawson. of Vancouver, is Vice-President
This revival of the whale fishery is a -ast back to
the days of the Greenland fleet of Dendee, and the |
South Seamen of New Bedford ané Nantucket, but —
-steam vessels and bomb guns have replaced the dar-
ing and hazardous ventures of the old-time ships and
barks with their whale-boats and hand-driven har-
poons. The old-timers ‘‘flersed’’ and ‘‘tryed out’’
their captives at sea—cutting the carcases adrift for
the sharks and gooneys tz feast upon, but the modern
whaling outfit tows the whale to a station where noth-
ing is wasted—not even the meat.
Whale-meat has received a lot of publicity of late,
and it is destined to become a staple article of diet,
fresh, frozen or canned. The flesh of the whale is not
»alike coarse beef and is decidedly palatable. We have
sampled it and have no hesitation in saying that it will
obtain a good market.
Progress in whaling and the utilization of whale
products might yery well be extended to the Atlantic,
634
_TECHNICAL BOOKS FOR THE FISHERIES.
It is a most surprising statement to make, but there
has not been one text book or manual of any kind
relating to the Fishing Industry published in Canada.
Here we have an industry with an annual value of
$40,000,000 and engaging the services of 100,000. per-
sons, and outside of this magazine, nothing has been
published to stimulate interest in the fisheries or to
act as a guide to the proper utilization of Fishery
products.
There is a erying need at the present time for reli-
able text books relating to the fisheries. Books, writ-
ten by men who know, on Fish Curing, Smoking, Pack-
ing, Canning, Freezing, Natural History of Fish, Guide
to Fishing Grounds, Methods of Fishing, Utilization of
Edible Fish, Utilization of Fish Waste, Manufacture
of Fish Oils. Navigation for Fishermen, Training of
Fishermen, Operation of Fishermen’s Engines, ete.
There is a multiplicity of subjects, but, so far, no one
has been encouraged to write upon any and publish
in book form.
No writer on any of the subjects ieattlancd eould
make a pecuniary success of a text book on fishery
technicalities without aid ‘from outside sources, but
the need for text books is there and the Marine and
Fisheries Department could do splendid work by the_
compilation and publication of such books for the fish-
ermen.
Simplicity in narration and a thorough knowledge
of the subject and the class of readers is essential.
and now is the time to have the work commenced.
_ A START IN TECHNICAL EDUCATION.
Apropos of the preceding editorials. if text books
on Fishery subiects could be secured, a good start in
technical edueation of fishermen might be made in
the following manner. Let every vost office in fishing
localities be furnished with a set of books in dunli-
eate comprising text books on Navigation. Fish Cur-
ing. Packing. Canning. Smokine. Boatbuilding, ete.—
all subiects of vital interest to fishermen.
Fishermen could seeure the loan of any of the books
from the Post Master similar to the method in vooue
in town libraries. .There is no need to dilate on the
heneficial results which would ensue. Anv librarian
in. manufacturing towns possessing a technical library
will testify as to the eagerness with which such books
are soucht. The scheme is well worthy of a trial and
plans should be made right away for its consum-
mation.
THE LAKE HURON AND GEORGIAN BAY FISH-.
ERMEN’S ASSOCIATION.
At a meeting of Lake Huron and Georgian Bay fish-
ermen. held at Wiarton on Februarv 28th, 1918, a fish-
ermen’s association was formed under the name of the
Lake Huron and Georgian Bay F’shermen’s Associa-
tion, with the following officers: President. W. J. Simp-
son, Tobermorav: Vice-Pres'dent. Thos. Jones, Owen
Sound: Seeretarv-Treasnrer Brock MecAulay. South-
amnton: Freentive GCammittee:—CGeorce MeGaw: Kin-
eardine: Kenneth Camnhell. Goderich: John Walsh.
Wnhant: EW. Darrach. Owen Sound: Georee Smith.
Ravenswood: W. W. Ransbury. Tobermorav: Alex.
Purvis. Gore Bav: Seth Chapman. Midtstotan iii. Al-
hert Lowe, Killarnev; Dan. MeDonald. Wiarton: P.
Menary, Lions Heady Max Pilgrim, Meaford; C. 8,
CANADIAN FISHERMAN
March, 1918.
Wright, Collingwood; William Oldfield, Thornbury;
Robert Reid, Oliphant; Robert Golden, Stokes Bay, J.
Moulton, Balaclava; C. H. Gauthier, Walkerville; Rob-
ert Saunders, South Bay. Grievance Committee: —
“sf *< Add 7;
OF 5S ee
N. S. Cornell, Port Stanley; John Macaulay, Wiarton; —
MR, BROCK MeAULEY, Southampton, Ont.
Sec.-Treas:, Lake Huron and Georgian Bay
Fisheries Association.
'
W. J. Simpson, Tobermoray ; Alex Clark, Coll ngwood
Alex Purvis, Gore Bay.
On account of the meeting being called on short no-
tice, it was impossible to notify all the fishermen in
the different distr’ets to attend. As there has been no
organization in this district heretofore it is the in-
‘
tention to make this a permanent organ’zation, and we
trust you will give your hearty co-operation in this
matter. It is the intention of the Association to deal
with all matters perta nine te the welfare of the fish-
ermen, and it is very essential to make the organization
as strong as possible.
Mr. N. 8. Cornel] of Port Stanlev was present and gave
a very able address, which was very much appreciated.
A resolution was passed, making the membership fee
line Boats, $2.000; Sailing Boats, $1. 00.
00000000000000000000000000000000000 4
If you are not a Member of the C. F. A.,
send your name in now and get the bene-
fits of all the inducements in attending
‘the Annual Convention at Halifax in
August, :
Oo
0
0
0
O
0
0
The meeting was well attended.
0
0
03
ONS
O° 4
0
r)
10000000000000000000000000000000000 ~
CANADIAN
PISCATORIAL PARS.
e Canada Food Board has been interesting itself
rocuring supplies of line nets and twine from Great
tain for use in the fisheries. Priority is only given
hipments of fishing gear on the recommendation
the Fish Section of the Board. It is reported that
he Board will not interest itself in gear for sporting
ples of sole, brill, witches, and skate from the
? were received by the Canada Food Board. in
} recently. Quantities: were distributed to the
r’s household, several newspaper’ men, and
on the menu of the Laurentian Club. Those
ted the. fish avowed they were excellent and
of a permanent and ready market. These fish
on sale throughout the West at the uniform
9 and 10 cents per pound under arrangements
the Canada Food Board.
fe sampled Atlantic Grayfish put up in cans
rton Pew Company, Gloucester. Knowing our
yuflaged friend by experience and reputation,
rather prejudiced. The first taste, however,
all illusions.
eanned salmon. If you haven’t tried it,
a W. Wallace, of the Fish Section of the
Food Board will visit the Pacifie Coast shortly
¢ over various aspects of the fisheries there. An
; motion picture camera man from the Pathe-
ompany, Toronto, will accompany him to sea on
ce Rupert trawler and it_is hoped that a good
picture film will be produced for circulation
oughout the West as part of the Food Board’s cam-
en to popularize Pacific flat-fish and cods.
J. B. Feilding, F.Z.S., is at present in Prince
looking into the possibilities of utilizing fish
and waste and manufacturing fertilizers, cattle
nd oils.
"THE LATE MRS. F. W. WALLACE.
he readers of the Canadian Fisherman, who have
already been advised, will. we are sure, learn with
ere regret of the death of Mrs. Wallace. wife of
ptain F. W. Wallace, who passed away on February
2nd, after a brief illness.
Ts. Wallace belonged to that comparatively small
all too-rapidly diminishing school of strong.
htful women, whose true worth is not so well
red in terms of their own deeds as by the influ-
and inspiration which find expression in the do-
others.. The influence of her life will therefore
r her and grow ‘‘as it rolls from soul to soul.”’
ehalf of its many readers the Fisherman ex-
faptain Wallace their deepest sympathy in his
nt,
It is an excellent product and
t that it will eventually rank with the best
FISHBRMAN 635
SHOULD WE HAVE COMPULSORY FISH
INSPECTION? We
To the Editor of The Canadian Fisherman:
Dear Sir,—Under the headlines ‘‘Should we have
Compulsory Fish Inspection,’’ I may say there is only
one answer a fair-minded fisherman can give and that
is give us compulsory inspection and give it quick.
Under the present conditions a large amount of fish
is wasted; a large amount of money is thrown away
and coopers spend their time and labor to make a bar-
rel hardly fit to pack apples in, let alone sali and
pickle, man’s food. How ean we praise and blow about
our fish if this state of affairs continues? —
Let us take a look, Mr. Editor, at two grades of
fish. One man will come to his store with his catch
of fish, and perhaps it will take 4 or 5 hours to get
these herring ready for salting, and all this time the
sun is doing its work to make these an inferior qual-
ity. Then the salting begins and they are thrown into
old tubs and barrels, and as the man thinks he has
gone through the process of salting, an old oiljacket,
salt bag, or board, goes on the head to protect them
from weather. Then they go to the dealer who gets
his barrels with a hole in them big enough to put your
finger through which he will plug with anything he
ean get his hands on. Then the seams are more apt.
to get a piece of his old condemned shirt than a piece
of flag. If a hoop breaks, he will smash up a flour or’
other barrel and make a hoop of these and then will
have the face to say his herring is good. But let us
go along further and we find another man who has
spent hundreds of dollars to make his place fit to ac-
commodate a barrel of herring, and from the time his
fish is in his boat till they, are paid for by the buyer
his sole aim is to make them as good as. possible—
salted and packed with the greatest of care, barrels
re-hooped and eaulked, soaked and he satisfies him-
self that they will hold the pickle until they reach his
market which is all you can expect from the class of
barrels in use now. But let us send them to the dealer
to ship, and the man with rusty, oily herring in a bar-
rel with old flour barrel hoops, broken head, leaky
seams, and enough rags to stuff a rag doll will get
as fancy a price as the man that looks after his fish
‘and does his best to give his fellow-man a decent fish
to eat. Here lies an affair that can only be remedied
by Compulsory Inspection. By this we can then put .
them to the front of other countries’ fish stuffs and.
make the herring a success. ,
T am sir, yours respectfully,
WILFRID BAKER,
Liseomb, Guysboro Co., N.S.
The sittings of the International Fisheries Commis- |
sion will be resumed in Seattle early in April when
Pacifie Coast questions will be taken up.
The T. Eaton Coy., Toronto, are selling fish retail
by the ton. Almost every week they feature fish in
‘huge quantities at low. prices. Recent daily sales were
10 tons frozen haddock at 10 cents lb. |
Schr. ‘‘Bay State.’’ of Gloucester, stocked $7,600
in a week’s haddocking trip recently. The crew
shared $183 clear to a man. These fishermen have no
Union and sell their fish by auction,
636
CANADIAN
FISHERMAN March, 1918..
The Fishes of Lake Enie
By PROFESSOR EDWARD E. PRINCE, LL.D.,
M.A., D.Se., F.R.S.C.} Commissioner of Fisheries
for Canada, Ottawa.
Lake Erie forms a middle link in the chain of the
Great Lakes system and differs from all the others
in its shallow character, its warmer average tempera-
ture, its abundance of fish-food, and above all, its
amazing productiveness in fish. Its level is 13 feet
lower than Lake Huron, and its outlet is down the
swift Niagara river, which bounds over the world-
famous falls, 150 feet high, at its eastern end, and
thus it presents all the conditions for a constant flow
of water from west to east embracing practically the
whole body of the lake. Although it is supplied by
no Canadian rivers of large size, apart from the
Grand River, the whole out-flow of Lake Superior,
Lake Huron and Georgian Bay, may be said to find
its way into Lake Erie by the St. Clair and Detroit
rivers. Its shallowness and moderate temperature are
favorable for spawning, and for feeding, and for
abundance of fish generally. ;
About twenty kinds of fish occur in Lake Erie, leav-
ing out of account numerous minnows and small spec-
ies, and of these twenty kinds, ten species may be
said to rank amongst the best and most valuable in
the market.
Whitefish.
The whitefish of Lake Erie are quite distinct from
those of Lake Ontario, Lake Huron, and Georgian Bay,
and are the highly esteemed species called scientifically
Coregonus albus, which are of great importance com-
mercially. By the smaller head, more angular form,
COMMON WHITEFISH.
higher shoulder, anda more marked white-olive color,
it.is distinguished from the whitefish of other lakes.
These latter whitefish, called Coregonus clupeaformis,
have a small elliptical, compressed form of body, a
very slight shoulder hump, excepting in large speci-
mens, and the back is always dusky, with more or less
distinet streaks along the scaly sides. Both species
_ occur in Lake Erie, but the latter is less abundant. The
Lake Erie whitefish range from 1144 pounds, or 2
pounds, to 4 pounds or 5 pounds, and very rarely
9 pounds or 10 pounds, although 20-pound specimens
have been reported, and they rank first in quality and
market value, and owing to their moderate average
size, 2 pounds to 214 pounds, they are much in public
favor. genre ah
Lake-Herring. Soa }
Closely related to the whitefish is the important
lake-herring, really a lesser whitefish, of which sev-
eral species occur in Lake Erie. The smaller lake her-
LAKE HERRING OR LESSER WHITEFISH.
ring, Argyrosomus, or Leucicththys, artedi, as scien-
tists call it, is 12 inches to 14 inches long and about 8
to 12 ounces or more in weight, and until the “jumbo
herring’’ began to be plentiful, about 20 years ago, 1%
-was the staple fish caught in Lake Erie, especially —
in the United States’ portions of the Lake.
- Jumbo Herring. . Be
This large lake-herring was at first regarded as a
mongrel fish, a hybrid between the whitefish and the
lake-herring, but scientists have decided that it is a
distinet species, L. eriensis. It may reach a length of
18 inches, but 13 inches to 14 inches is a common size,
ans
~
r a -
ee ee ee ee
JUMBO HERRING,
CANADIAN
ht of 14 to 2% or 3 pounds is general.
“some reasons for the belief that it was
because at some United States hatcheries,
| eggs have at times been fertilized by using
rring milt, and oceasionally the reverse method
en adopted, as at Put-in-Bay Hatchery, Ohio,
about 600,000 eggs of herring were fertilized
vhitefish milt, in 1892, and 200,000 of the fry
re planted in Lake Erie. Some of these fry, placed
about three months. Although the ‘‘Jumbo
*have been marketed very frequently as white-
can easily be distinguished by the sharper
ause in the whitefish the nose is very blunt.
Lake Erie Blueback.
d kind of herring is the common blueback,
huronius, really the Lake Huron species, al-
t oceurs in Lake Erie: It has a pointed head
der tail, but the body is rounder than the
pecies, while the small finger-like, fatty fin
back, a little in front of the tail, is compara-
large. The fish is inferior in flavor and more
the Lake Erie herring. The Lake Ontario
LAKE ERIE WHITEFISH.
‘or Cisco, does not occur in Lake Erie and is
by the laterally compressed long body and
atures, and must be taken with a small-meshed
ike the lake-herring. The typicat Lake On-
cies is the Bloater or Long Jaw, the dark color-
rognathus, found mainly in deep water, 300
more. There has been a common saying that
ie was once a whitefish lake and then de-
d into a herring lake, though at one time the
pike or yellow pickerel was a most important
it is now very much scarcer than formerly.
_ Walleye and Blue Pickerel.
alleye or yellow pickerel ranges from 2 pounds
pike or pickerel, is much smaller, rarely exceed-
‘pound or 2 pounds. The blue pike became much
ntiful than the yellow pickerel, and there was
al desire amongst the fishermen to decrease
umbers by unrestricted fishing so that better fish
have more favorable chances of increase. At
sent time the catches of the smaller (blue)
xceed the highly esteemed yellow pickerel.
00 pounds in 1916-17, valued at $25,300 were
1e former, as compared with about 600,000
ellow pickerel, valued at $60,000.
es have white, flaky, flesh of good flavor,
the hard skin and thick scales, they keep
distant markets in much better con-
» delicate species of fish.
1’)
te ponds in Indiana, reached a length of 2
pounds in weight, while the related species, the
FISHERMAN 637
‘Sauger.
The sauger or sand pickerel, known by its grey or
sand color, and by the distinet dark patch at the root
of the breast fin, is inferior in importance, though con-
siderable quantities are annually caught. Like the
other species, its flesh is white and has good keeping
qualities, making it a desirable commercial fish. All
the pickerel family are perch-like in shape, the mouth
well armed with teeth, and the two erect fins on the
back provided with spines. They are spring spawn-
ers, whereas the whitefish and lake herring are fall
spawners. Being known as pickerel, or in Quebec as
dore, some confusion has arisen because the name pick-
erel in the United States is very commonly used for
the long nosed pike or jackfish.
Lake Trout.
The lake trout may almost be omitted, although in
the adjacent lake, Lake Ontario, they were at one time |
a highly important fish, and are still of considerable
value in Lake Huron, Georgian Bay and Lake Superior.
A few tons only each year are captured in Lake Erie.
Sturgeon.
The sturgeon, which is called Acipenser rubincundus,
is according to English law a ‘‘Royal fish,’’ and has
long been one of the most valuable of Canadian food
fishes, It was once quite plentiful on the United States
side, especially off Erie County, New York State, and
later it was found abundantly in the vicinity of Point
Pelee and Pelee Islands at the west end, and they have
always been taken in the Detroit River and Lake St.
Clair, possibly having migrated up from Lake Erie
to their spawning grounds. Sturgeon 120 pounds to
150 pounds were not uncommon years ago, and later
90 pounds to 100 pounds became the average weight,
whereas now a 40-pound or 60-pound sturgeon is con-
sidered a good fish, and brings a high price for its
flesh, fresh or smoked, caviar or eggs, and the bladder
and internal membranes, which are used in the manu-
facture of isinglass. It is a common thing for fisher-
men to say that a good sturgeon is as valuable to them
as a cow. we
Yellow Perch.
The yellow perch was at one time regarded with
contempt in Canada, and efforts have been made, and
are still made, to exterminate it, but it has become com-
mercially important in Lake Erie and is abundant in
shallow waters. Great quantities are taken, nearly
800,000 pounds being the annual take on the Canadian
side. It is one of the sweetest of pan-fish, though rath- .
er full of bones, and its never failing ‘‘ biting qualities’’
render it welcome to the angler. A large perch may
reach 14% to 2 pounds, although the main catches are
638
smaller. Its shapely form, yellow color with black
cross stripes, and its exceedingly prolific character,
have made it an economie fish of importance.
White Bass.
This species, Roeeus chrysops, is now included in.
the commercial catches of Lake Erie, and is by some
regarded as a good table fish, though it has never
been esteemed in Canada. Its bright silvery scales
and 6 to 8 dark longitudinal stripes, along each side
of the body, give it an attractive appearance and to
the angling novice, it is quite an ésteemed species.
Black Bass.
The two species of black bass, Micropterus, are not,
properly speaking, commercial fish; but are, never-
theless, excellent fish on the table, and in spite of fish-
ery regulations, have always been handled in the past,
and probably still reach some markets. They range
from 2 pounds to 8 pounds, although Dr. Henshall tells
of a 10-pound fish caught in New York State, which
measured 2514 inches long and 19 inches in girth.
Famous bass fishing grounds are in Long Point Bay, —
and in the Pelee waters at the west end, but they are
very generally distributed.
| $Sheepshead.
The sheephead or drum fish, Aplodinotus grunniens,
received very little attention until recently, but it now
ranks as an edible fish of importance. The high back,
coarse scales and large size, 4 pounds to 5 pounds, or
even 15 pounds to 30 pounds, in weight, renders it
conspicuous in the catches shipped to the - United
States’ markets. It was formerly wasted and received
_ no attention from Canadian fishermen, excepting when
’ they extracted from its head, the pretty white ear-
stones like ivory, which were made into ornaments,
such as cuff links, ete. Its flesh is of somewhat in-
ferior quality.
The Burbot or Ling.
Another despised fish is the Burbot, lake eel-pout,
or ling, Lota maculosa, usually weighing 1 pound or 2
pounds, though sometimes 30 pounds to 40 pounds, or
more. The somewhat slimy skin with small scales,
deeply imbedded, the large mouth and ponderous head,
and the snake-like dark markings on the side, with a
small barb on the chin, make this fish unattractive,
and account for its unpopularity. No doubt to show
FRESH-WATER LING.
their contempt for it, the fishermen often call it the ©
‘‘lawyer,’’? a name given also to the Bowfin. The ling
belongs to the cod family, and the flesh is white and
palatable. Indeed, it is a fresh-water cod, and should
rank high amongst our food fishes, and is rapidly
becoming recognized. At my suggestion, the Ontario
Fish Commissioner, Mr. Kelly Evans, had some pre-
pared and placed on the market at 5¢ per pound,
seven years ago, and it sold so well that repeat orders
were received for it. The United States’ Fisheries
Bureau has recently issued display ecards for fish-
dealers, urging its utilization, ‘‘Its flesh is white,
CANADIAN FISHERMAN
March, 1918. _
and flaky, and firm, and in Europe it has been highly -
regarded’’ the placard affirms, and according to re-
cent reports, the sales of burbot: in the United States’
fish markets have greatly increased: There is no rea-
son why this. fish should be rejected, thrown on the -
land as fertilizer, or fed to pigs, when its edible quali-—
ties are once recownized. ' 7a
Catfish.
The bull-head and catfish family are related. They
are all good food fish, but the best. of all, for the
table, is the large channel catfish, with its firm, white
flesh, excellent flavor, and few bones. The smaller
species are rich in flavor, and when fresh Miia red
CATFISH.
in eolor, owing to abundant. blood, but. they, are aed
only to a limited degree in Canada, while they sell
at a good price in United States markets “headed,
skinned and cleaned.’’ Ontario exports nearly $50,000
_ worth of catfish to the United States each season.
Pike and Maskinonge.
The long-nosed pike or jackfish, and the eee
nonge, are the ‘‘sharks’’ of our fresh-water lakes, and —
over 45,000 pounds are caught in Lake Erie annually.
The wolf- head, formidable teeth, and long. small-_
sealed body, with powerful tail and single back-fin, all
combine to make the long-nosed pike a terror in our
lakes and rivers, and detested by the fishermen. When
the weather is cool, it is a well-flavored fish, having ~
PIKE OR JACKFISH.
plenty of meat, and the bones are no trouble, but in —
warm weather and on muddy, weedy ground, it is
far from appetizing. The related maskinonge is not
only an excellent food fish, but is a fine game’ fish, t
and a forty- pounder gives great sport.
_ Carp. ;
The German carp must now be included in Lake —
Erie food fishes of importance. Though, years ago, —
fishermen complained bitterly on account of its intro- —
duction into United States’ waters, it has now spread —
over the Canadian parts of the Great Lakes, especially —
Lake Erie, and a regular carp fishery has now been~
established. A number of varieties occur, but all alike —
are characterized by the deep body, massive build, -
sucking mouth, and pig-like habits. They breed ae
grow quickly, and reach 10 pounds, 15 pounds, or even: :
30 pounds weight, much more quickly than other fish.
The bones are very numerous, though clothed with a—
mass of flaky flesh, which can be prepared for the
ay
i “4
fi Gid ;
ee
sak we
many attractive ways. Smoked, salt carp are
ry g00 It belongs to the sucker family, in which
ire ir Iuded a vast variety of species.
22 Buffalo Fish,
nee Buffalo fish, Ictiobus, has recently come into
mand, especially amongst poreign communities in
Mixed Fish.
‘earps, suckers, ete., just referred to, are in-
in what are Calied the ‘ ‘mixed fish,’’ which
ae formerly lost, when these fish were ‘not
but merely thrown on the dump.
‘use as food, though by most fishermen it was re-
the last fish likely to appear on the table.
its Dinattractive features have prevailed, thus
‘it to be thrown away by fishermen, or left to
lingering death on wet, shallow shores, or wher-
has been cast, for it is tenacious of life, owing
: z-like swimming bladder pea by it, which
"Billfish.
ne Biiesred reputation of the bowfin was recent-
ed owing t6 the great demand for fish of all
but it is not likely to extend to the billfish,
eus, which looks more like a small erocodile
fish. Its body is long, cylindrical, and covered
a coat of hard mail. The lengthened jaws, pro-
4
COMMON SUCKER.
th teeth, gives it a yabiiban appearance, and
‘said to resemble solidified sand in flavor
To naturalists, both the bowfin and
most interesting species. They belong
ie b order of fishes, Both appeared in
rious fish with a dog-like head, large coarse
CANADIAN FISHERMAN
639
the waters of our planet long before any other kinds
of fish now living came into existence, excepting the
sturgeon. Their record goes back to geological times
long passed away, and though we may not eat them,
we can regard them with interest owing to their curi-
ous structure and their ancient lineage.
Conclusion.
It is curious to gompare the relative commercial im-
portance of various species of Lake Erie fish over a
period of years. Out of the series of fishes described
in this article, ten principal kinds rank as follows,
according to the amount of the catches: by Canadian
fishermen :
Pounds.
.1. Lake Herring... ... . 5,210,500
2. Bluepike or Piekerel . ... 2,538,900
3. Whitefish .. ST ON at ee et NG. DOO ULLOD
Bas ARRRORD 9 RESET eMart
Se ern. so 782,300.
6. Vallow Perel j 769,200
7. Walleye or Yellow Pickerel Toa Meats 599,200
8. Pike or Jackfish . it Leese, SOT Oe
ig OL esa.) Bae 67,600
10. Catfish. . | 22,900
In 1895, win the tibiasecual Commission re- —
ported to the United States’ and Dominion Govern- -
ments, the herring and blue pickerel occupied the first
and second places respectively; but the whitefish was
seventh, though it is now third, (1,086,100 pounds in
1916 ; 359,100 pounds in 1906 ; 126.300 pounds in 1896) ;
but carp was eleventh instead of fifth; yellow perch
were fourth instead of sixth, walleyed pike were third
instead of seventh, pike were fifteenth instead of
eighth, sturgeon and éatfish were ninth and_ tenth
as they are now, apparently holding their own. For
a really accurate estimate, however. of the relative
inerease or decrease over a period of twenty years,
the total catches of both United States and Canadian
parts of Lake Erie would have to be compared. One
of the most interesting facts is the marked increase in
the whitefish ‘‘takes’’ each season: the maintenance -
of the sunnly of lake-herring. and blue pickerel, and
the rising into importance of the kinds of fish men-
tioned ahove, which were formerly despised and wholly
neglected.
OUICK FOOD PRODUCTION.
Paste this fact in your hat when talking about Food
Production. It takes six months to produce a car of
wheat; a vear to produce a ear of pork: two vears for
a ear of beef, but it only takes TWENTY- FOUR.
HOURS to produce a car-load of fish. ' In seven days.
under ordinary conditions, a steam trawler could land
140.000 Ibs. of fish. "Within a day or two. the whole
shipment could be frozen, packed and ready for ship-
ment overseas — seven carloads of 20,000 lbs. —
If present conditions could have been foreseen a
year ago, cold storages and trawlers could have been
secured and frozen Canadian fish ponred into Great
Britain at prices cheaper than meat. Fish is the onlv
quickly procurable food-stuff in the world to-day
which is ineluded in the diet of civilized peoples.
That’s an undeniable fact,
640
CANADIAN FISHERMAN
Annual ‘(Gonvention’ ot the Lake Ene Fisheries Association!
Se
The third annual convention of the Lake Erie Fisk
ermen’s Association was held in St. Thomas, on Feb-
ruary 18th, 19th, 20th and 21st, and in point of attend-
ance, and every other way, was by far the most suc-
cessful convention since the association was formed in
1916. The Lake Erie fishermen were splendidly repre-
sented there, and, in addition, a number of leading
men connected with the fishing industry of Canada
and the United States. The convention headquarters
were at the Grand Central Hotel, while the City Hall
was placed at the disposal of the Convention for the
different sessions.
The Convention was opened officially on the after-
noon of the 18th instant, by an address of welcome
from Mayor E. Horton, who turned over to President
A. E. Ponsford the keys of the city.
Mr. President and Gentlemen of the Lake Erie
Fishermen’s Association: It is a pleasure for me this
afternoon to welcome to our city the members of the
Fishermen’s Association, and you are to-day, and have
been for the past two years, taking your proper place
in the world of production from the natural resources
of this Provinee. I greet you as kings along the line
of production.
I am pleased to note that our Provincial Govern-
ment has already taken steps to assist you in your en-
deavours, and I note by this morning’s press that an
appropriation has been made of $123,000 for this Pro-
vince to aid the fishermen in a still greater produc-
tion in building and equipping cold storage plants
in different parts of the Province. I also note that
they are asking for 20 per cent. of the catch from all
the fishermen in the Province to assist the people of ~
the Province in keeping down the high cost of living.
You will also have to face competition in the way of
shipments by the Government into different parts of
the Province, fresh fish from Northern Ontario. This
is being done in order to conserve food so that the
Allied nations may receive from Canada a larger pro-
portion of food that ean be exported than they have
done before. 2
have asked for 500,000,000 bushels of wheat by Sep-
tember 1st, 1918, and so far Canada has only been
able to release 10,000,000, and the U. S. 90,000,000, it
will give you some idea of the shortage that exists in
the world to-day.
“You have come here no doubt to discuss the many
questions that affect your interests as fishermen,
and I hope that your deliberations will be harmonious,
and that your Convention of 1918 will go down into
history as being one of the best Conventions that this
Association has ever held.
Gentlemen of this Convention, we are delighted to
have you with us as guests of our city, we trust that
your stay will be a pleasant and a profitable one, and
onee more on behalf of the city I extend to you a
most cordial weléome, and have no hesitancy in saying
that you have the keys, and the city is yours. We
trust that we may have the pleasure of having you
with us on future occasions.
Mr. President, I thank you for the opportunity and
the privilege of saying these few ipl to this Asso*
ciation,
When I tell you that the Allied nations
-was next attended to.
In opening the business of the Convention, the Presi- i
dent, Mr, A, E. Ponsford, of St. Thomas, weleomed
the delegates ; in the following well chosen words:
Gentlemen,—It is certainly an inspiration to see _
such a large assembly of members of the Lake Erie
Fishermén’s Association at the opening session of our
third annual convention.
I see before me many who have come ivoie regions
other than Lake Erie, and who have not been mem-
bers of the Association before, to them, on behalf of
the Association I extend a most cordial welcome, and
we hope before the close of this convention that we
will be fortunate enough to include them in our mem-—
bership. We are pleased also to see so many visitors
from the United States, and others interested in the
fishing industry, and we assure them that they are Bs
most welcome.
The Association has made rapid dines since its in- sae
ception in 1916:' Every year its membership has in- —
creased substantially, until to-day it ineludes prac
tically all the producers along the north shore of Lake e :
Erie.
From the large turnout at this early stage of ‘ted p
Convention we believe that it will surpass any yet
held. We have not only been successful in increasing
our membership, but we have to a large extent caer vag E
ed the object for which we organized.
Prior to the organization of the ‘Association: the yor
The Asso- —
ciation has united these factions, and you now find
yourselves working harmoniously, enabling aot a
fishermen were divided into two factions.
to reap a benefit.
Through being members of an Association it ee
you in a position at all times to take up any grievance
with the Government at Ottawa or Toronto. which
so far has proven very satisfactory to this “Associa- F
You liave a lot to be thankful for in the man- —
ner that the Government at Ottawa and Toronto are
tion.
assisting in the way of hatcheries, and it stands you
one and all in hand to see that there is more care? 3
taken with the handling of your spawn at the proper — Bt
time,
Now we have many important .matters to bring ai
“im-)-
portant speakers who. will address you on various
before the convention, we also have a number ¢
subjects of interest outlined on the programme whieh
we mailed to the members, so that we can assure all me
Before proceeding
a busy. and instructive session.
further. I understand his Worshiv Mavor Horton
wishes to address you and welcome you to our city,
and we will now be pleased to hear from him,
The reading of the minutes and communications
Letters of regret over their in-
ability to attend the meeting of the association were
read from Lieut. Ballantyne. the Deputy Minister of
Naval Service at Ottawa, and Hon. T. W. Crothers.
A letter from the Canada Food Board. Toronto, was
-to hand stating that they were engaged in an extensive
campaign to encourage the eousumption of a- pound
of fish per week per person for the Dominion as a
substitute for beef, pork and’ other meat needed for
Mareh, 1918.
Pet
of Je ae Rete
et Te es ee
j aa
oe Teh ah
a:
OS ee a SOR ne Stat oes inca me TT en Aig | nese
iy
Se
0 en SD al Salad
: av)
5
Fs ‘
——. hee |
be had.
ment this does not seem right.
Mareh, 1918. CANADIAN
the armies overseas. In order to attain this goal, they
stated that it was essential that the fishermen co-
operate with them and that increased production must
They urged the association to attend to the
matter of proper spawning, as a first step toward
greater production. - A communication was also read
from the Food Controller at Ottawa, Henry W. Thom-
son, urging upon the association the necessity of greater .
production in order that fish might be substituted for
meat diets. He stated that it is imperative that the
present supply be maintained and even enlarged, and in
order to co-operate in every way he asked the fisher-
men themselves to use as little beef, bacon, and white
flour as possible on their tugs, in the fish houses and
also in their homes.
Mr. Cornell Objects.
Following the reading of this communication, Reeve
N.S. Cornell, of Port Stanley, took the floor and stated
that referring to the food controller’s letter, he did
‘not think that there were any fishermen of Lake Erie
. H. A, SHORT, Port Stanley,
Sec.-Treas. of Lake Erie Fishermen’s Association.
but who are willing to conserve and strive for greater
production if it is in their power to do so. “Tt strikes
us, however,’ declared Mr. Cornell, ‘‘that though the
government is urging us to conserve our meat and thus
encourage the use of fish, they-are not encouraging us
in so doing by fining us $5 a ton for every ton we
catch over eighty. It is a well-known fact that three
years previous to last year we went astern financially.
There was hardly a tug or pound net fishery that paid
expenses and yet we are encouraged to conserve food
by being taxed. Although these men who sit mm the
high and mighty seats of the government have no doubt
a superior intellect to ours, according ta our weak judg-
As far as white fish
are concerned, every time one pound is turned into
FISHERMAN 641
the government, we lose the difference between 8 and
12 cents per pound. The average tug’s actual cost
of production of white fish is 12 cents. Yet we are
asked to take eight cents for them, and not counting
the depreciation in nets and other material, we furnish
our own boxes which is 50 cents per 100 pounds and
do our own packing, which is another 50 cents and then
deliver them to the station for seven cents per pound.
I am just as anxious that food should be produced in
Ontario as any member of that government. They
have encouraged farming by bringing in 1,000 tractors
and have offered these machines to the farmers with
the duty removed. We fishermen, with our limited
knowledge, can see that this is the way to encourage
farming. But we can’t see how the government is en-
couraging fishing by setting a maximum price of seven
cents per pound for white fish.
Election of Officers.
The election of officers for 1918 took place in the
afternoon of the first day’s session, and resulted in the
re-election of, the following:
Hon. President; Hon. F. G. MacDiarmid; President,
A. KE. Ponsford, St. Thomas; Vice-President, A. E.
Crewe, Merlin; Seecretary-Treasurer, H. A. Short, Port
Stanley.
Executive Committee.
A. E. Crewe, Merlin; J. Pastorius, Kingsville; B.
G. Westcott, Kingsville; W, D. Bates, Ridgetown;
Herbert H. Hales, Port Bruce; Hy. Drumgole, Rodney ;
N.S. Cornell, Port Stanley; A. B. Hoover, Nanticoke;
W. Goodchild, Amherstburg; Hy. Goodison, Cedar
Springs; Chas. Ross, Port Maitland; Ed. Kochler,
Dutton; A. 8. Brown, Kingsville; A. MeDonald, Port
Stanley; W. F. Kolbe, Port Dover; E. Moss, Port Mait-
land; George VanOrder, Port Burwell; N. Olmstead,
Wheatley; B. Clay, Wallacetown; N. McAulay, Ron-
deau; F. Harris, Pelee Island; Milton Campbell, Leam-
ington.
On Tuesday morning the St. Thomas board of trade
conducted the delegates and guests ou an inspection
tour of the manufacturing plants of the city, com-
mencing with the cold storage plants, and including the
M. C. R. shops, munition plant, Nobility. Chocolate
Co., Just Wright Sho Co., and St. Thomas Packing
Co. The guests and delegates were conveyed in auto-
mobiles. Following this enjoyable trip, there was a
short executive and committee meeting in the Grand
Central Hotel. A full description of the splendid cold
‘storage plant, specially adapted for fish storage, will
be found in another column.
Following their tour of the city, the Convention in
the afternoon was addressed by S. L. Squires, super-
intendent of the sales department of the provincial
government fisheries; H. Hinrichs, of Erie, Pa., presi-
dent of the South Shore Fishermen’s Association, and
J. J. Harpell, president of the Industrial and Eduea-
tional Press, Montreal.
Live Questions For Fishermen.
On Tuesday evening, Professor E. E. Prince, Do-
minion Commissioner of Fisheries, Ottawa, lectured
before the representatives on the ‘National and Inter-
national Questions of Importance for Fishermen.’’ At
the conclusion of his interesting address Professor -
Prince described a tour of the fisheries from coast
to coast, using nearly 200 splendid limelight views in
his tour. The pictures included scenes from the lakes
642
and rivers, and also exact reproductions, many of
them photographical, of the different fish inhabiting
the several waters and also different modes of fishing.
Fish Culture in Canada.
J. A. Rodd, Dominion Superintendent of Hatcher-
ies, delivered an interesting address on the ‘‘Fish Cul-
ture of Canada,’’ comparing the inereased produc-
tion of 1916 with years previous. He told of the great
strides that had been accomplished since the govern-
ment ‘had taken over the matter of spawning and build-
ing hatcheries. He told the association that they must
not kick if eggs are taken out of Lake Erie and placed
in other waters as the Dominion had been shipping
eggs from Manitoba to Lake Erie for some time.
CANADIAN FISHERMAN
Mareh, 1918.
Will Wait on Government;
Following Mr. Squire’s address on Tuesday, the
executive committee appointed a sub-commitee to deal
with Mr. Squires in connection with the blanket. clause
in the license this year.
The committee was composed of ten leading repre-
sentative fishermen, and all expressed their views in
connection with the matter. In all the committee
brought out a very strong case, and on account of Mr.
Squires not having power to deal with the several
matters involved the sub-committee decided the best
thing to do would be to send a committee to Toronto
to wait on the Government. The committee appoint-
ed consists of A. E. Crewe, A. S. Brown, A. B.
/
U
OFFICERS, EXECUTIVE AND A FEW OF THE GUESTS OF LAKE ERIE FISHERMEN’S ASSOCIATION, TAKEN
DURING THE ANNUAL MEETING, ST. THOMAS, FEBRUARY,
1918.
Bottom Row (reading from left to right): A. K. Brown; A. B. Hoover, Nanticoke; J. J. Harpell, Montreal, President
Industrial and Educational Press; H, H. Hinrichs, Erie, Pa.,President South Short Association;
H.,-Hales, Pt. Bruce;
Supt. Sales Department, Provincial Government Fisheries;
Stanley, Sec.-Treas., Lake Erie Fishermen’s Association.
S. L. Squires, Toronto,
Harry Dromgole and H. A, Short, Pt.
Second Row (sitting): E. W. Moss, Pt. Maitland, Ont.; B. W. Westcott, Kingsville; A, E, Ponsford, St. Thomas, Presi-
dent Lake Erie Fishermen’s Association; A. S. Brown, Kingsville; N. S. Cornell, Pt. Stanley; William Goodchild, Am-
herstburg; Charles Ross, Pt. Maitland,
Back Row (sitting): Edward Koehler, Dutton; W. D. Bates, Ridgetown; A. E. Crewe, Merlin, Ont., vice-president
Lake Erie Fishermen’s Association; George Van Order, Pt. Burwell; Norman McAuley, Rondeau; J, E. Pastorious,
Kingsville; E. Olmstead, Wheatley, and J. A. McDonald, Pt. Stanley.
CANADIAN
Wednesday, following the reading of the motion
ippointing the committee to go to Toronto, N. S. Cor-
ll spoke to the convention on the advisability of
noving that the committee be delegated to visit the
Jominion Government at Ottawa to take up the ques-
of dealing with the drydock built without the
ance of anybody in Port Stanley. Mr. Cornell
mt on to state that the drydock was a great bene-
as previously it had been necessary to take a boat
Cleveland and have it docked at considerable ex-
e. The drydock was unavoidably partially
ed in a storm last year, and he thought the com-
should be empowered to ask the Government
ke a grant for reconstruction of the drydock.
le said they did not ask the Government to stand all
ie expense. A motion was adopted to this effect.
Would Exempt Fishermen.
- motion of importance that was discussed
ed was that the Militia Department be asked
m military service all persons engaged
tion of fish on the grounds that as pro-
d, they are already engaged in work of
nportance, and that instructions be given’ to
dges and exemption tribunals to grant ex-
1 experienced fishermen legitimately en-
fishing industry. | ee
stated that he believed fishermen were
ant as farmers, if not more so, because
much longer to train an experienced
han it does a farmer.
Co-Operation in Spawning.
* motion that was discussed, and when put
-earried unanimously, was that the Gov-
quested to enforce such regulations that
eense holders to gather spawn in the fall
yproper. ,
Dominion superintendent of hatcheries,
the matter of fishermen not co-operating to
extent of their abilities. ‘‘Last year was
who did not co-operate.’’ He suggested
a penalty to the river license, making
ry to gather spawn, with the option of
e for three months. He believed that this
bring the delinquent fishermen to order and
keep up the spawning to the highest notch of
It is important to the country at large
put back in eggs all that you take out.”’
pointed out that a single individual hatchery in
e, privately owned, Was kept in successful op-
on for 60 years, because they put back sufficient
wn and protected the fish and restricted the fish-
season to a reasonable time. ©
oe: Advocates Common Sense.
tespecting the penalizing of fishermen who did not
¢ spawn, many of the delegates present believed
fine of $100 or $200 would be preferred to los-
e license for two or three months.
S. Cornell stated that spawning and hatcheries
right, but he believed that there should be a
mmon sense used by the Government along
their science in the conducting of hatcher-
told of visiting Ottawa, and seeing all their
heries filled with trout, but there was a
‘oved,’’ he declared, ‘‘but there were still
FISHERMAN 643
paucity of white fish, yet. white fish were far more
essential than the trout. ‘‘It would take about 25
pounds of white fish to make one pound of trout,”
declared Mr. Cornell. ‘‘It is about like feeding sheep
to wolves, yet which is the more valuable, wolf meat
or lamb? Science is all very well, but for God’s sake
let’s mix it. We must have more white fish hatcher-
ies and less trout.’’
Many Noteworthy Moves.
The several other noteworthy resolutions that were
diséussed and adopted in every case, almost unani-
1ously, by the association, were as follows:
‘That Bert Westcott and A. S. Brown, of Kings-
ville, be appointed as instructors to visit. the ports
along the shore to show fishermen the proper methods
of taking care of spawn and that the association pay -
all expenses.’’ “‘If we do this,’’ said N. 8. Cornell,
the mover, ‘‘we will put the situation in a shape that
the Government have got to give us the hatcheries.’’
Mr. Rodd congratulated the association on the
stand they had taken in appointing their own men,
and in spending their own money in this way, and
said that it showed the association were interested in
their own welfare, and were not relying -on the Gov-
ernment to do everything for them.
“That the Provincial Government be asked for a
grant of $500 in aid of the Lake Erie Fishermen’s As-
sociation.’’ ; i
‘That all township limits under gill net gas-boat
licenses be done away with east of Point Pelee.’’
Elect Grievance Committee.
“That a grievance committee of five be appointed
for 1918, one from each county as follows: Elgin, N. |
S. Cornell; Essex, B. W. Westeott; Norfolk, George
Van Order; Kent, A. E. Crewe; Haldimand, Charles
Ross; A. E. Crewe being appointed echairman.’’
Mr. Crewe, speaking about the duties of the griev-
ance committee, stated that last season their princi-
pal trouble that had to be dealt with was transporta-
tion grievance, and the committee had been instru- .
mental in bettering many conditions.
Another splendid motion that carried unanimously
was “‘that any member having trouble. with dealers
in regard to payment of accounts, unfair deductions
or any other matter which might tend to warrant
credit being refused to dealers be reported to the
secretary of the Association, and that the secretary
send copy of this report to all members.’’
Want to Enlarge.
Another resolution of importance that was passed,
read: ‘‘That the association have a proper register
for registration of all members in attendance at the
convention and, that the secretary endeavor to ar-
range for reduction of transporatation rates for mem-
bers attending the convention. That secretary com-
municate with all license holders who are not now
members of the association inviting them to become
members.”’ é
A motion was also adopted ‘‘that secretary pre-
pare and have printed a report of the convention,
and that a copy be sent to all license holders on the
lake.’’ ° :
Another read, ‘‘that the Dominion Government be
requested to place two eapable tugs on Lake Erie for
the purpose of protecting Canadian fishermen.’’ It
was mentioned that the Government was asked for
three tugs last year, but had beén unable to supply
644 CANADIAN
any. The association believed that the matter of get-
ting two should be brought before their notice again
as being one of great necessity.
The final motion read, “‘That delegates to Toronto
call upon the Canada Food Board and take up with
them the letter of February 16, dealing with increas-
ed production.’’
The business session was followed by a number of
excellent addresses.
The Duties of Fishermen.
Mr. A. 8. Brown, of Kingsville, the second speaker
of the afternoon, told in his forceful style, ‘‘why fish-
ermen should be interested in hatcheries.’’
Why Fishermen Should be Interested in Hatcheries.
Gentlemen,— Not being a fish culturist, but as a
inember of this association I will try and explain,
from a fisherman’s point of view, why fishermen
should be interested in hatcheries.
My own opinion is that the hatcheries are the only
salvation of the fishing industry in Lake Erie.
We are told by our best fish culturists, that for every
fish egg hatched naturally, seventy-four are hatched
at the hatchery, and the fry produced at the hatch-
ery are just as strong and vigorous, and their chances
for reaching maturity are just as great as are those
hatched naturally, this being the case, the artificial
MESSRS. WM. LOGIE, B. G. WESTCOTT and
A. S. RBOWN, Kingsville, Ont,
propagation is 74 per cent. above nature, why should
not only fishermen, but every citizen of Canada be
interested in hatcheries.
The federal hatchery at Put-in-Bay, O., claims to
have planted in one season, 265 million fry, all done
at a total cost of $14,591.
It is estimated that ten per cent. of the fry reach
maturity, but we will put it lower, and say that one
per cent. reach the size of 21% lb., the output of this
hatchery alone would be 6,625,00 lb., at 15 cents per
pound would amount to $993,750, which is a little
more than 6,810 times the cost of production, why
gentlemen, this is paying us better returns, than the
best gold mine in this country, why not invest.
From reliable information I find, that on the south
shore of Lake Erie, the commercial fishermen pay in
license fees a sum more than equal to the total cost of
propagation and protection, I might mention that on
the north shore of Lake Erie, the fishermen are paying
a license fee, which is from two to three hundred per
cent. higher than our American cousins, so why should
we not be interested in hatcheries, and why should we
not have more hatcheries to be interested in. —
One Government official has told us that as soon
FISHERMAN
as we can fill the hatchery at Kingsville, and ond
that we can fill an additional hatchery, we will get
it. Now, neighbour fishermen, listen; for once in our
lives be serious, get interested ; let us make up our
cggs to fill the jars for the sake of filling them, but
with enough good eggs, properly taken, and proper, y
taken care of, so that when the eggs are placed in the
hatehery, that there will be little or none to be sorted
out and thrown away. Remember, it costs more to
handle eggs that have been improperly taken, than if
does to handle those that have been properly taken;
Now, just a few remarks as to our hatchery ai
Kingsville, Ont. It was finished in the fall of 1916;
there were several mistakes made in the construction,
especially in the length of the intake pipe, and all the
fault of not having a successful hatch that season was
placed on the Department of Naval Service, for hay
ing chosen Kingsville as a location for the hatchery.
It will be remembered that the hatchery at Kingsville
was built to replace the one moved from Sandwich
A. S. BROWN,
Pres., Northern Fish Co., Kingsville, Ont.
Ont., which is in the north riding of this county, so
is plain to be seen where the knocks came from, Dut
ing the summer of 1917 the mistakes made in 191
were rectified at the Kingsville hatchery, and I al
pleased to report to this association that the Kingsy
hatchery will hatch 70 per cent. this spring, which
help in no small way to replenish the supply of whi
fish and herring in Lake Erie. }
Mr. Adamson, the superintendent, and his staff
had up-hill work in getting this hatchery in operati
but as he remarked to me on one of my visits to_
hatchery, it is a pleasure to labor at the work we lo
646
CANADIAN FISHERMAN
E. MecLEAN, Wheatley, Ont.
Mr. McLean is a pioneer of the Lake Hrie fisheries, having entered
the business in that district over fifty years ago. He takes an active
interest in the Lake Erie Fishermen’s Association and was in attend-
ance at its annual Convention at St. Thomas in February, 1918.
CANADIAN FISHERMAN
647
A. W. STAMMERS, Morpeth, Ont.
Mr. Stammers enjoys the distinction of being one of the oldest
fishermen in the Lake Erie district. For forty-four years he has
fished out of the Port: of Morpeth. Mr. Stammers.-is still hale and
hearty and is looking forward to a big catch during the coming season.
He was present at the annual meeting of the Lake Erie Fisherman’s
Association, ‘of which he is a member. ‘
CANADIAN
It is very interesting at this season of the year to pay
‘a visit to the hatchery any day, for every day is calling
day there, and have one of the staff take 3 or 4 eggs
ut of a jar, and place them in your hand, then as soon
the heat from your hand warms the egg you can see
e little fislt begin to move inside the shell; then look-
ing at the hundreds of jars, with almost countless thous-
s of the little fellows almost ready to leave the shell
ad start on their journey back to the waters from which
ley were taken, again I ask you, why should we not
be interested in hatcheries.
oved by A. B. Hoover, seconded by N. 8S. Cornell:
itary service all persons engaged in .the production
‘ish on the grounds that, as producers of food, they
already engaged in work of * national importance,
that instructions be given to Appeal Judges and
ption Tribunals to grant exemption to all experi-
eebermen legitimately engaged in the fishing in-
ed by N. 8. Cornell, seconded by Ed. Koehler:
A. E. Crewe, A. S. Brown, Geo. Van Order, B. G.
ott, and A. B. Hoover be appointed a committee
to Toronto and interview the Government on the
ion of Government contract for 20 per cent. of the
ved by Thos. Morgan, seconded by W. H. Me-
son: That N. S. Cornell be added to above commit-
oved by A. 8. Brown, seconded by Geo. Van Order:
the Dominion Government be requested to place
capable tugs on Lake Erie for the purpose of pro-
eting Canadian fishermen.
ved by N. 8. Cornell, seconded by Chas. Ross:
lis Convention recommend the Government mak-
grant to assist in the rebuilding of the Port Stan-
y Dock, which was wrecked in a severe storm in
ly part of December, and that the committee
ted to go to Toronto, go to Ottawa to take up
itter and the patrolling of the Lake.
ved by A. E. Crewe, seconded by N. S. Cornell:
e Government be requested to enforce such regu-
s that will compel license holders to gather spawn
e fall of the year.
ved by H. Dromgole, seconded by N. McAulay:
the Provincial Government be asked for a grant
00, in aid of the Association.
ved by N. 8. Cornell, seconded by Geo. Van Order:
B. Westcott and A. 8. Brown be appointed in-
structors to visit the ports along the shore to show fish-
ermen the proper methods of taking and taking care
of spawn, and that the Association pay all expenses.
Moved by W. Goodchild; seconded by A. E. Crewe:
at the Association have a proper register for regis-
tion of all members in attendance at Conventions,
nd that the secretary endeavor to arrange for reduced
transportation for members attending the Conventions.
That secretary communicate with license holders who
_are not now members of the Association, and invite them
to become members.
_ Moved by A. E. Crewe, seconded by B. Westcott:
That the ‘secretary prepare and have printed a report
of the Convention, and that « eopy be sent to all license
holders on the Lake.
_ Moved by W. D. Bates, seconded by H. Hales: That
any member having trouble with dealers in regard to
yment. of accounts, unfair deductions or any other
whieh might tend to warrant credit being re-
eois | be reported to the secretary, and that
at the Militia Department be asked to exempt from:
FISHERMAN 649
secretary send a copy of this report to eaeh member.
Moved by W. Goodchild, seconded by W. D. Bates:
That a Grievance Committee of five be appointed for
the year 1918, one member from each county as fol-
lows: Essex, B. G. Westcott; Kent, A. E. Crewe; Elgin,
N. S. Cornell ; Norfolk, Geo. Van Order ; Haldimand,
Chas.. Ross, and that A. EK. Crewe be chairman of the
Committee.
Moved by A. S. Brown, seconded by H. Dromgale:
That the delegation to Toronto call upon the Canada
Food Board and take up with them their letter of 16th
inst., dealing with increased production.
Moved by N. 8. Cornell, seconded by Geo. Van Order:
That all Township limits under gill net gas boat li-
censes be done away with east of Point Pellee.
Moved by W. Goodchild, seconded by Chas. Ross:
That all fishermen holding carp licenses be permitted
to catch suckers, mullets, catfish, grass pike, dogfish
and bullheads on account of scarcity of food during the
period of war, and that the Government allow this
permit to take effect as soon as possible.
The Lake Erie Fishermen’s Association finished up
its third and busiest convention Wednesday night with
many radical motions, adopted unanimously, and a vig-
orous protest under way against the government’s dras-
tie rider in connection with the 1918 license. A. H.
Brittain, vice-president of the Canadian Fisheries As-
sociation, intfoduced the subject in his spirited address
at the conclusion of the meeting.
Mr. Brittain’s address came really as a message from
The Canadian Fisheries Association tothe Lake Erie
Association. ‘‘From the Atlantic to the Pacifiec,’’ de-
elared Mr. Brittain emphatically, ‘‘our association has
felt it their duty to protest this drastic measure the
Provincial Government is trying to shoulder on the pro-
ducers and the dealers in fish. This protest that was
drawn up at the last executive meeting virtually speaks
for every fisherman and dealer, either retail or whole-
sale,,in the Dominion. It not only comes from those
engaged in the fishing industry on the sea, bat also to
the Great. Lakes of Canada..
Mr. Brittain placed a copy of the protest in the
hands of the secretary of the Lake Erie Association,
with the request that they adopt it. As the Associa-
tion had already protested against the judicious rider,
they resolved that they would place their complaints
before the Provincial Government on the widely repre-
sented document when their special committee went to
Toronto for that purpose. The protest of the Canadian
Fisheries Association, ‘‘whereas the Ontario Provincial
Government has been given publicity by the press as
contemplating engaging in the production, handling
and distribution of fish in direct competition with legi-
timate producers and dealers having capital invested
in the industry, and whereas it is manifestly unfair to
subject dealers to such competition in view of the fact |
that fishermen will not be issued their licenses except
under certain binding conditions, including an under-
taking to deliver a portion of their catch to the Govern-
ment of the Province of Ontario at prices fixed arbi-
trarily by the Provincial Government which are Jess
than the actual cost of producing said fish, which will
result in restricting production.
‘‘And, whereas, the Board of Canadian Food Con-
trol appointed by the Federal Government has enter-
ed on a propaganda for the substitution of fish for meat
diet with the ultimate object of using the fish obtained
from the dealers at these exceptionally low prices, the
Canadian Fisheries Association protested and demand-
650 CANADIAN
ed that a thorough investigation of conditions be made
in the interests of the public and all concerned and that
a copy of the protest be sent to the Hon. F. G. Mac-
diarmid.
This in part was the contents of the protest, which
went further to state that the investigating committee
should consist of producers and dealers, and those most
directly affected by the measure proposed by the Goy-
ernment.
Must Discuss Matter.
‘‘The Government must discuss the matter with the
fishermen,’’ declared Mr. Brittain, ‘‘I do not know
of anyone in the Ontario Government who is specially
qualified to carry on the fish business. They must
deal fairly with us. The men who go out into every kind
of weather at all times, those are the men who are en-
titled to a fair remuneration for their catch, and they
are not getting it according to this deal. It is to your
own interests that you appeal to the Ontario Govern-
ment, and show them that they should first. talk this
thing over with those who are most deeply affected and
work out ways and means. What we want is increased
production. It is not only a question of eight cents
per pound, it is a question of producing more. There-
fore to encourage the fishermen, the distributors and
retailers to produce more, they must be given their mar-
ginal profit.’’
In conelusion Mr. Brittain spoke on the pleasure it
FISHERMAN
March, 1918.
gave him to address one of the best conventions of fish-
ermen he had seen, and he extended a cordial invitation
for the Lake Erie Association to affiliate with the Cana-
dian Fisheries Association, pointing out the advan-
tages they would receive. He was assured that the Lake
Erie Association were planning on doing so.
Fish Statistics,
Dr. G. A. Huntsman, of the biological department,
Toronto University, gave a most interesting lecture
last evening on the fish found around the Government
research bureau at St. Croix River, and around the
Nova Scotian waters, near the Magellan Islands. Dr.
Huntsman’s lecture, which was illustrated. with several
limelight views, was based on scientific facts and told in
language that all could understand.
Increase Rights.
Another resolution was adopted: by the Convention
Wednesday evening, it being that all fishermen holding
carp fishing licenses for 1918 be allowed to catch other
soft fish, sueh as suckers, dogfish, catfish, ete., as well.
A Formidable Showing.
In coneluding the third annual Convention President
Ponsford stated that he was proud of the convention
this year, as the attendance was fully 90 per cent. bet-
ter than last year, and it made a formidable showing
of earnest, deep-thinking men, who had shown their
‘business acumen ina number of noteworthy moves to-
ward a closer federation during the coming year.
A group of Lake Erie Fishermen and their guests, taken
Association, St. Thomas, February, 1918.
during the Annual Meeting of the Lake Erie Fishermen’s
i ia Ti ai
en ee ee ee
RT Ee ee ee a ee a see
Ae ee a ae ae
woe
eee ee ee < ee
a ha Ee, ee ee ee
_ Mr. Squires addressed the Lake Erie Fisheries Asso-
tion on the first day of the Annual Convention as
are: —~
In considering the subject which has been alloted to
iy may wander from the usual and consider the
ject from an unusual standpoint.
en co-operation is considered it usually takes the
of combination; and no matter how presented, or
ed, there is a gue aicad objective, a question of
terest.
peration—or combination of interest—is not
t its advantages. It has enabled the gathering
er a single management of immense sums of money
have made possible the undertaking of great
enterprises to the advantage of the community
e nation, and usually to the profit of those in-
ual effort marked the last century. Men in
lines of business were in opposition. Business
S were jealously protected and advantage was
_ The spirit of co-operation was uncommon, and
ny classes was looked upon with suspicion.
bers of this association have learned some
pees and now in a larger sense than we
sration is the need of the hour and a con-
Pot world conditions will help to bring home
ir understanding of world war 1s very vague,
‘seriousness of the hour and the sacrifice made
cely appreciated.
| know something of the world conditions, of
00,000 men in arms, of every great world pow-
» at war, that every continent is suffering from
‘rors of war.
e know something of Britain’s far flung battle
her armies fighting on the battle fields of three
of the immense expenditure of the best
f the Empire; and the raising of unheard of
he treasure for the carrying on of the war.
war clouds will lift.
. world struggle Canadians have done nobly.
. colony we have become a nation, and our sol-
have blazened the word ‘Canada’? on pages of
hat time will never efface. The war has over-
hrones; destroyed kingdoms and peoples, has
systems and governments, has shown strength
ness. Our ideas and ideals have changed ; so-
‘ders have tottered and fallen, and the end is not
All this, as far as Canada is concerned, has been
CANADIAN FIS
HERMAN 651
Co-operation the Need of the Hour
By S. L. SQUIRES.
Supt. Sales Department Ont. Govt. Fisheries.
Bolshevikaism is rampant in Russia—that country,
which such a short time ago we had looked upon, if
. this was to be a war of attrition, as having man power
enough alone to defeat the armies of the Central
Powers.
I shall not try to describe the conditions in Russia.
It is enough to say that a Government which does not
recognize property rights, which repudiates debt, which
divides the people in two classes — the class which has
and the class which has not—taking from those which
have at the point of the bayonet and killing many who
have done no greater ‘crime than to be the possessor of
wealth is not a safe government to emulate. These
things are happening, and law and order are not ‘re-
cognized. What has all this to do with us and the
question of co-operation? :
The world is hungry to-day. France has but a three
day food supply and depends upon British ships to
ward off starvation. Italy has been served from
France’s scarcity. Great Britain is on rations, and
since the beginning‘of war the world’s live stoek has
been depleted by 29,080,000 cattle, 54,500,000 sheep,
32,425,000 hogs—total 115, 005,000 ; while the shortage
of grain is almost as serious.
We in Canada are living in a Fool’s Paradise—hav-
ing squandered our resources, faring sumptuously
every day, telling ourselves that we have plenty for
years to come. Nevertheless, we should read the hand
writing on the wall. We, too, may hear the ‘‘thou fool.’’
Sentiment knows no international: boundary line.
The British fleet cannot stop thought, and the social
conditions in Russia may be in a measure the social
conditions in Canada unless: we adopt national co-
operation.
What are the present economic conditions in Can-
ada? Increased revenues, growing bank accounts,
mushroom millionaires. Ontario alone spent last year
in automobiles over $30,000,00,0 and the cost of living
was 50 per cent higher than the years before.
High cost of living is only comparative; if wages
are high and work plentiful the higher cost of living
being relative, there is no hardship. Three years after
the close of the war will be the earliest we can expect
the production to be sufficient to have supply equal to
demand. The old law of supply and demand teaches
that prices are regulated thereby. How about labor,
again the law of supply and demand. The most optim.
istic anticipate a surplus of labor during the period of
reorganization. Labor will be cheaper — living no
cheaper, and then ‘‘having felt our power’’ (as was
stated by a president of a labor union in Montreal)
what will be the result? ve
If men continue to build up fortunes unmindful of
their fellows, there will be a serious reaction. For-
tunes! I hear the fishermen say, we are not in that
class.
Wealth is illusive and mysterious, and if sought, is
always considered by its possessor to be the measure
of the other fellow. The money made by some fisher-
men last year would look to the average laboring man
as an immense fortune. You have been prosperous;
652
prices have been high; demand has been created for
your product which demand was not created by you.
We trust you may continue in your prosperity.
Now for co-operation! The fishermen in the coun-
try are a national necessity. The farmer was never as
important as to-day. The laboring man is recognized
as absolutely indispensable. The manufacturer cannot
be disposed of. The need of the hour is the recognition
of every other man’s usefulness and sincerity, and
the crucifixion of our own selfishness. Jealousy which
exists between city and country, between rich and
poor, between the Government and the governed, must :
be discouraged, while a period of national co-operation
is established. The sacrifice and suffering of this war
is but the travail of the world giving birth to the new
democracy.
Sir Robert Borden says, ‘‘The Government, anxious
to save beef and bacon, turned’to fish. Fish is the
only flesh substitute for meat which we have available
in large quantity ; and even if it costs as much or more
than meat, every Canadian who, so far as he is able,
eats fish and thus releases beef and bacon, is perform.
ing a patriotic duty and will be helping the men at the
front.’’
When investigating the possibility of placing fish
on the market at popular prices,
that men were getting rich out of fish, and they were
not all fishermen either. The spread in price seemed
unfair. Average price paid fishermen 1917 at four
points on Lake Huron, Georgian Bay and Lake Su-
perior was: whitefish 7. 99; trout 7.06; pickerel 7.14;
herring 2.41. And still the consumer was paying from
20e to 30c for these same fish.
Do you think the consumer should have some con-
sideration? Do you not think it was time for the
Government to do something?
‘ England uses 56 pounds of fish per capita annually.
Scotland uses 110 pounds of fish per capita annually.
The entire catch of fresh water fish in provincial
waters as reported in 1916 was 34,892,108 pounds, 80
per cent. of which is estimated as having been export-
ed. If these statements are correct, basing Ontario’s
population at 2,750,000, we only used 2144 pounds per
CANADIAN FISHERMAN
it was discovered
cause of this he thought it would be well i
“March, 1918. —
capita of our fresh water fish that year, and to reach
England’s average, if our only source of supply was
our own waters, one would require 41% times the e
tire catch of 1916. The Government have a sympa:
thetic appreciation of the work of the fisherman. The
Honorable F. G. MacDiarmid is the fishermen’s frien
He knows the hazard of your occupation and wishes
place you in a position where you may be able to obt
a fair remuneration for your services. He recogniz
your rights and champions them. But a Govern
to-day who are unmindful of the rights of the peo
has forefited its right to rule. The people in st
times must be considered, and cannot be expected
make sacrifice out of proportion to others.
The demand for fresh. water fish is increasing.
Government want to co-operate with the fishermen
with the consumer, having a due appreciation of
rights of each, obtaining for.the consumer a fair
of the fish which the citizen looks upon as a p
his heritage, at a price which seems just and equ
20 per cent. of your fish, if required, and at
which are fair average, should not seem a he
If you were asked to give that amount of_ y
your sacrifice could not be considered in the el f
those who have given their lives to retain for
the liberties which you enjoy. If our Hbeee is
away, what else matters?
Your hearty co-operation is expected, and any
ingness to do our bit without coercion is the st
of democracy. Assurances are coming to us fro
ferent parts of the province indicating the fishe
desire to do their share in this world cris
expect the fishermen of this association to lea
President Ponsford said that despite Mr. Squ
assuring words, he believed that a doubt still _
in the minds of many of the fishermen re
wisdom of the government’s move, many of
haps thinking that it would have been just,
have consulted them before setting the price,
men got together with Mr. Squires and La
come to some understanding.
The South Shore Ambon
Address of Mr. H. Hinrichs of Erie, Pa., president of
the South Shore Association, of Lake Erie Fishermen
in the United States, at the Annual Meeting of the
Lake Erie Fishermen’s Association, St. Thomas, Ont.,
February 22nd, 1918 :—
I desire first to express my pleasure at being able
to renew the many acquaintances formed a year since,
and to say that I appreciate greatly the opportunity
afforded me to listen to the experiences of the prac-
tical men, as well as to hear the reports from the labors
and studies of the scientists, of which I note from the
program, several are to be with you on this occasion.
I have listened with more than ordinary interest to the
masterpiece of eloquence and logic by Mr. Squires.
Only too well do I realize the tasks. that confront him
in the prosecution of his manifold duties.
When I was here a year ago I could not help but
conclude that, for the time being at least, the fighting
had been temporarily transferred from Flanders to
St. Thomas. It appeared as if a battle royal was being
staged between the pound-netters on one side ¢
gill-netters on the other. Since my return to
Tt have been agreeably surprised to find no
would indicate a renewal of these old hos
am sincere when I say, I hope that the old fee
been overcome for all times, and that each side r
that it must and should have the good will an
operation of the othér in order to accomplish the
results, especially at this present most eritical
when so much depends upon the services rendered
government by_ the individual as well as by orga
industry.
Since your last convention, we on the oes $s
have entered into the world war. You had alrea
been active participants for more than two yee
whereas we had been affected only indirectly, —
that mainly through deriving pecuniary benefits fr
the same. Now conditions over across the lake. ha
become very similar to yours. We are both fightin
to attain the same goal in as quick a time ag possibl
_ burden to carry.
“March, 1918.
and we both are called upon, in consequence thereof,
_to contribute with blood as well as with wealth, to
-.make this a possibility.
These burdens will not grow
any less, but it is certain that as the war continues
they will become greater. The fishermen,.along with
all others, have their sacrifices to make and their
The extent of this burden will be de-
termined to some degree by your own voluntary co-
operation. I know from personal experience that it
_ is not only desired, but requested by the government
officials, that the men of experience and judgment
in the various lines of professional and commercial
activities, give to these officials the benefit of their
advice, in order to aid them in distributing the bur-
dens as equitably as possible, and to adopt such rules
|
MR. H. HINRICKS,
and regulations which will insure the greatest degree
_ Of efficiency with the least amount of hardships.
No
doubt there are among the fishermen those that feel
‘the burden ought to be placed on to others and not
_ posed so far.
themselves. I have no patience with these, but would
_ advise them strongly to chose other fields for their ac-
- tivities, as they will soon realize that the burden upon
them will become materially greater than those im-
They must bear in mind that they are
not fishermen by compulsion, but that they have of
_ their own free will chosen this particular line of in-
: ustry from many others,
CANADIAN FISHERMAN
653
When I was with you a year ago, I believe I told
you of the efforts that were being put forth on the
South Shore to form an Association. This has come
about. Nearly all dealers from Buffalo to Toledo have
joined themselves into what is termed the Fresh Water
Fish Producers’ Association. The aim of this associa-
tion is to better the general conditions surrounding
commercial fishing.
Everyone interested in this line of industry has from
experience learned that abuses have crept in, which
have resulted in heavy losses. One of the most ex-
tensively practised abuses has been with the credits.
This has been taken up by our association first, with
the result, that every member is in a position to avail
himself of information, which will enable him to
avoid the pitfalls which had been set for his competi-
tors. Every unsatisfactory experience of one mem-
ber, be it refusal to accept shipment, of refusal to pay
for the same, or deduction or slow pay or many other
that may be mentioned, is reported to me as president
of the association, and by me transmitted immediately
to all members. Specially prepared cards are used for
imparting this information. These cards kept in alpha-
betic order will furnish a ready reference to all
members.
A uniform plan for handling all shipments that go
forward C. O. D. has been adopted with eminently |
successful results.
In order to be in a position to conduct the affairs
of one’s business in the most successful manner, it is
essential that one knows what is being done in the
same line of business elsewhere. In the fishing busi-
ness we find it is of great value to one dealer to know
what the production of fish is at other points along -
the shore. We have a plan which will enable each
member to know accurately the quantities of fish
produced by the members in the other ports. While
this exchange of information has been practised be-
fore the formation of our association, it is found, never-
theless, to be more reliable now. It is needless for me
to lay special dined on the importance of this par-
ticular service.
All of us are fully aware of the fact that the con-
stant removal of fish from the waters will in time re-
sult in a depletion. This can be avoided by aiding
and encouraging artificial propagation. Each pro-
ducer can be of wonderfully effective service in this
particular work. Our members realized this, and in
consequence voluntarily bound themselves to aid in
every way possible to insure the greatest possible
amount of spawn being saved, and at the same time,
fearing that the increased cost of labor would prevent
the hatcheries from operating to their ordinary capac-
ities, the association voted to defray such expenses
connected with the artificial propagation as could not
be met by the various hatchery appropriations. The
very favorable weather, coupled with the bountiful sup-
ply, made it possible for the hatcheries to fill up to
capacity, and keep the expenses within the amounts
available for that purpose.
When the hatcheries were filled, and it was still pos-
sible to procure good ripe spawn, the employees were
instructed to strip as many female and male fish as
possible, fertilize the eggs, and then re-deposit the
fertilized eggs in the waters. No doubt this will aid
to some extent in increasing the future supply.
The conservation of the fish resources is not limited
alone to the artificial propagating of fish, but it must
654 CANADIAN
be carried out also in the taking of the fish. =I make
reference to the small and immature fish, of which so
many are needlessly destroyed each year. The import-
ance of this was realized by our association as is evi-
denced by the unanimous vote, authorizing the ap-
pointment of a committee of five of its members, which
committee is instructed to make a very complete in-
vestigation of all fishing operations, suggest changes
that would tend to eliminate the taking of the imma-
ture fish, and report such to the association, which
in turn will be submitted to the various Legislatures
as well as to Congress with the recommendation that
the same be enacted into law. This investigation, in
order to meet with success, must be absolutely fair’
and impartial, otherwise more harm than good will
result therefrom. Everybody realizes that something
will: be done which will result in correcting unneces-
sary abuses along these lines. The pecuniarily in-
terested ones can solve this problem themselves and
with better all-round satisfaction, than those that are
not familiar with the industry. I believe they have the
opportunity now to do this, and if they fail to avail
themselves of this opportunity they will find condi-
tions in the future to be harder than would be abso-
lutely necessary. It is easier to enact legislation to
repeal or modify existing legislation, at least such has
been our experience.
Individually all of us have some influence with our
law making bodies, and can through extraordinary
efforts prevent the enactment of absolutely ruinous
legislation, but the law-makers persist in keeping at
it, and the individual will soon capitulate. Collect-
ively, through an association, we can hold out as long
as the law-maker, particularly the one that has for
his aim solely the muleting of the business interests,
without regard to merit or demerit of his proposals.
We know that we have been successful whenever we
have jointly undertaken the curbing of iniquitous
legislation proposed.
taking care of all legislation directly affecting the in-
dustry.
Collectively we have been able to impress upon the
proper authorities the importance of giving the fishing
industry proper facilities for the transporting of the
fish. While the result has not been entirely success-
ful, nevertheless, we must admit, that compared with
the experiences of the others, we have fared much
better. The efforts of the association have had some-
thing to do with this condition.
After the United States had entered the war one of
the first war measures to be framed was the Food Con-
trol Bill. The provisions of this bill directly concerned
every producer and dealer in fish. Our association,
at its Cedar Point, Ohio, meeting in July, realizing
that we may possibly, as an association, be of service
to Mr. Hoover, the proposed Food Administrator,
voted to offer our co-operation, which was readily ac-
cepted. We have been in constant touch with the Food
Administration since then, and have been asked to
suggest ways and methods whereby this important fresh —
water fish industry can become of greatest value, not
only as a food producer, but also as a food distributor.
Every member pledged himself to exert every pos-
sible effort to make use of every bit of available. net-
ting and to operate every boat it was possible to oper-
ate, with the result that the production last year was
the greatest, at least in ciscoes, than what has been
experienced for many years back. Considering the
Our association contemplates |
FISHERMAN
Mareh, 1918. :
high prices that were being paid for these fish to the ia
fishermen, it required more than ordinary nerve to —
pile this production up into the freezers. Everybody —
realized his obligation to the Food Administration and —
continued to produce, whereas in normal times the eur- —
tailing of the production would of necessity have been —
resorted to. This resulted in a very large supply of —
frozen ciseoes. Accordingly it was reported to Wash
ington. We were then asked to propose a metho
whereby the consuming public could be induced t "
make liberal use of fish as‘food, and thereby, consery-— 4
ing the more concentrated flesh foods, such as beef and 4
pork, which it was desired to export to our allies an ,
our soldiers across the sea.
The Food Administration assured us of their fullest | .
co-operation, which included the free and almost un- —
limited publicity by the public press, including the —
dailies of the cities as well as the weeklies from ess
settled communities. Subsequent events have proven —
conclusively that this assurance has been fully carried —
out. The aid of the officials of the State of Ponsa
vania was next solicited and I am glad to say that —
these efforts likewise met with full success. ter< 3
that we selected those cities in the State with popu- —
lations of 20,000 and over, arranged for meetings with —
the Federal Food Administrator for the county and
the established fish dealers in the town. The aims and —
purposes of the U. S. Food Administration were ex-— :
plained, and the plans, so far considered, were detailed, —
and all present ‘were urged to participate’ in the sailing 4
of a car of the fish, which would be sent in by freight —
in bulk, in that way receiving the advantage of the — 4
lowest transportation costs as well as eliminating the —
cost of the package. The fish were offered by the local
fish dealers direct to the consumer from the car, with- |
out any service, such as thawing, cleaning, boning or a
delivering, at a price which, in comparison with | ‘the 9
theretofore customary retail prices, meant a saving of © a
from 40 to 60 per cent. to the consumer. The press put it
up to the people of that community to patronize this car
of fish, and called attention to Mr. Hoover’s slogan, —
that every pound of fish consumed here meant another —
pound of meat to spare for across the water. The re- —
sult was astonishing. People of all stations of life, —
from the occupant of the Pierce-Arrow limousine down
to the foreign laborer with his basket on his arm, were
gathered around the car and patiently waited their
turn to be served. The consumption of fish was in-
creased tenfold in these localities through these cam-
paigns. It not only meant an increase for the lake
fish, but the salt water fish shipments into these —
towns increased proportionately. Through these ef 4
forts has it been made possible to dispose of the vast —
quantities of frozen fish held in storage at the be
ginning of the winter season. ei
It must be admitted that the success could only have —
been attained through the publicity so freely furnished —
by the press, and it must be also admitted that this a
publicity cannot be expected for all future time. Thy
we desire to continue producing in maximum quantities
we have to devise some methods of publicity whieh
will have the same result as what the campaigns of a
this winter have had. Front pages of the papers are —
not for sale as advertising space. Paid for advertise-
ments are very good success-producers, but the best —
and most substantial way is to augment these paid for —
advertisements with practical demonstrations on how —
to prepare and cook the fish in many different ways E 4
CANADIAN
possible to cook them. Have the time, taken up
h the actual process of cooking, taken up with
ch interesting: diversions as display of moving pic-
es which will depict the operation of the industry,
amencing with the ice harvest, and include the set-
x and lifting of all kinds of nets, the packing, salt-
ence has had a complete view of the entire opera-
By the time the movies are over, and the accom-
mg explanatory lecture has been concluded, the
will have been fully cooked, and are ready to be
stributed among the audience for sampling: If at
that same time a car or two, varying according
of the city, has been placed at a convenient
contents of the same will find a ready de-
Such campaigns involve the expenditure of con-
2 monies, more than one concern, no matter
ve, could undertake to defray, but as an as-
1, it will be possible to undertake it without
reat expense upon anyone of the individual mem-
of. I believe that through it, it will be pos-
bring the average consumption of fish per
» to the amount which Mr. Squires mentioned as
ng the per person consumption of fish in
At least, I do not believe there is anyone
0 will have the hardihood to dispute the
+ that there must be a considerably greater
on than what is now, to supply the extra de-
ted by such a campaign. :
- to make any campaign ou food, one re-
and freezing of the fish, and so forth, until the: -
FISHERMAN 655
ways considered. It is to be regretted that mot every-
one engaged in producing fish realizes the importance -
of quality. If you induce a person to buy fish, and
such purchaser is unfortunate in getting possession
of a poor fish, it will be a very long interval between
that purchase and the time when he may be in a mood
to purchase fish again. It is one of the most deplor-
able conditions confronting the whole industry. When
in New York a week or so ago, I was somewhat sur-
prised to learn from two sources, both intimate friends
of mine, that they returned to a certain producer on
the North Shore more money for his fish, than what
they realized from the sale thereof. They did this in
order to insure a share of this man’s production to
themselves regularly, simply to be in a position to
use these high quality fish as an aid in selling other
fish of poorer quality. Such a condition should not
exist. All fish produced out of pound nets should be
of same quality, and all gill net fish should be alike,
as far as quality goes. The trouble lies in how the fish
are handled. I merely bring this out to impress upon
all that it is ultra important that great stress be laid
upon the handling and icing of the fish. With a supply
of high quality fish on hand one needs not worry of:
what to do with them. They will sell themselves. An
improvement in the average quality of the fish will
increase automatically the demand for fish. So with
the plans of bringing fish to the attention of the con-
_ suming public, the producing of a high quality article
success, it is essential that quality be al-
of food is of like importance.
ouisider to attempt to tell fishermen of the
may have the appearance of a fool treading
angel fears to enter; it must be borne in
ever, that in doing so, I have the advantage
se quantiti:s of North Shore fish are sold in a fresh
uring the season of production, and where dur-
winter months frozen fish finds an active mar-
. outset one thing to emphasize is the import-
North Shore fish in our market. You know as
not better than I do, that there is always a de-
for it, regardless of variety or the amount pro-
_ other points. There is probably no time in the
en it will not command as high, and frequently
er price than fish produced at other points. The
m for this is, that the fish of the North Shore has
name for itself, whether offered fresh or
ing pound net fish there’ is little to be said
that it is to be regretted that conditions
that the supply is not greater. If poundnet
en produced twice as much as they do at pres-
ore of Lake Erie anything concerning their.
New York City as a Market for North Shore F ish
By FRANK J. LYONS.
An address delivered at the Annual Meeting of the
Lake Erie Fisheries Association, St. Thomas, Ont., 1918.
ent, there is but little doubt but that it would continue
to stand high in favor with discriminating buyers.
To the average fisherman a market is a market re-
gardless of conditions either at the point of production
or where the fish is sold.. In former years, before con-
ditions and packing of fish were looked upon as im-.
portant factors in the disposition of the catch, the pro-
ducer took his fish, packed it as his conscience or facili-
ties permitted, shipped it to the nearest point where
he thought he could find a market, and then waited for
_his returns.
expectations, it was a good market, if not something
was wrong, and the commission man or wholesale
er was viewed with suspicion.
Since then times have changed greatly ; the fisherman
has learned that the dealer is not always to blame
when the returns are not large. The fisherman ‘has
learned that there are innumerable factors connected
with the sale of fish, which in the past he was not fa- .
miliar with, and which are of great importance in dis-
posing of fish to the best advantage, be it fresh water
or salt water. The fisherman now understands that
quality goes a long way in determining the price of
fish, that the man who produces the best stock, gets it
If the check received in payment met his
deal-.
4
to market in the best condition, will receive the highest
pay for his work in the shape of returns.
fishermen, like those engaged in other lines of industry,
are keeping pace with the march of progress, i.e., that
those who best serve the interests of the wholesalers,
commission men and consumers, are best helping them-
selves by so doing,
In that respect fishermen of the North Shore of Lake
Erie have not been behind the times. They have been
alert to recognize the importance of furnishing the best,
not only as to quality of fish, but also in the pack-
ing and handling, and as a result they now occupy an
enviable position in the freshwater fish industry of
North America.
North Shore fish has been coming to the New York
City market for probably thirty years. At that time
the demand for fish was not as great as it is now, the
population of the city was smaller by many millions of
people, while the supply for this market was received
from points much nearer home than now, when the Con-
tinent is being combed to secure a supply sufficiently
large to meet the requirements of our constantly grow-
ing population.
When the needs of our city became such that the de-
mand could not be met from nearby points, wholesale
dealers began to look for other sources of supply—that
was probably thirty years ago, at which time fish from
the North Shore of Lake Erie, first made their appear-
ance in our market.
New York City dealers were handling North Shore
fish long before direct connections were established
between fishermen ‘of that section and our market. Fish
was being received in the New York market for at least
ten years prior to direct shipments being made from
the North Shore.
of Buffalo or through fishermen in Ohio is unknown
to me. Some of the old time New York city dealers
say that a Sandusky fisherman was the first to recog-
nize the importance of the North Shore of Lake Erie,
as a feeder for American markets. This far seeing
* fisherman, it is said, used to run a boat across the Lake
and for years brought the fish to his own town from
which it was shipped to other markets. Then a Buf-
falo concern entered the field as a competitor of the
Sandusky fisherman, bringing the fish to that city,
shipping to the New York market by express or freight
as the demand warranted.
If competition was as great then as it is now, it is not
likely that the practice would have continued for ten
years without New York dealers try’ng to play in the
game. As it was, when the demand for fish began to
increase and the number of dealers began to grow, the
more enterprising began to talk of getting fish direct
from the producers, still no great activity was shown
until one enterpr'sing dealer, who has since drifted out.
of the business, established direct connections with
the North Shore fishermen and from that time on,
New York city became a popular market, our con-.
tinually inereasing demand being met by larger catch-
“es, unt'l the North Shore is looked upon as one of the
regular sources of supply by the New York freshwater
fish trade.
From the North Shore of Lake Erie we receive Cis-
coes or herring, Blue Pike, Hard Pike. Whitefish, Yel-
low Perch and sometimes Carp, the bulk of the pro-
duction being ciscoes which are taken in the pound
and gillnets, The impression prevails that the catch-
CANADIAN FISHERMAN
As a rule -
Whether the fish came first by way |
es of the former are the most desirable; there have
been occasions however, when fish produced by the —
gillnet fishermen have not only been the equal but
sometimes the superior to those taken by the pound
nets. Such occasions have been rare. | ~
It is to the great cred‘t of the gillnet fishermen to ee
testify to the wonderful strides they have made in the —
last six or seven years, in taking care of their catches,
in order to ‘nsure delivery in the New York market, in
If the gillnet fishermen continue to —
prime condition. -
advance in the future as they have in the past, the
time is not far distant when their gillnet fish will eom-
pare favorably with other fish.
Fishermen of the North Shore should continually bear q
in mind, as do many fishermen at. other points of pro-
duction, furn‘shing the New York market, that our
kind in the world. With them it is not only good fish,
variety of food. It must be borne in mind that these
people are consumers of immense quantities of fish at
all seasons of the year.
pectations, Where they cannot afford tie higher prie-
ed var'eties. they cheerfully accept some other kin,
the main point in their mind be‘ng that the quality is _
the best. As these people are increasing in population
rapidly, there is a bright outlook for fish producers cn
who can furn’sh the kind of fish they require and de-
mand.
It is likely that there will never be any more NaN
ed cheap fish, our population has been growing so fast — :
that the demand has’ kept up with the production. Com-
petition among dealers to secure what fish does reach an
the market, will regulate prices to the sat’sfaction of a
the fisherman.
The most essential thing i in the prodnaiiea of gilinet
fish of prime quality, is the taking of a suff cient
quantity of ice.out into the Lake, for the proper pre- e
servation of the fish up to the time that it is brought _
ashore for select'on, packing and shipping to market. —
Tt is necessary, too, that when pulling the nets, ice be _
immediately thrown over the fish as soon as possible, or
the fish are backed out of the nets.
Another thing that ‘t is always well to bear in mind
is, the sooner fish are on their way to the market after
being caught, the better it is for the fisherman, the —
commission or wholesale dealer ; for again we come _
back to ‘‘quality counting’’, ‘n the way of rapid sales
and ready money for the fisherman.
During warm weather, it should be the aim of the aa
a one night’s eatch only, —
otherwise the fish will not be in good condition. They —
may appear good when there are many delays in tran-—
sportation, when fish shipped one day may not reach |
its destination for a week or more, it is a good thing to a
know that at that t'me of shipment, the fish were fresh —
Then if they do not reach the mar- —
ket in prime condition, it cannot be attributed to negli- a
gillnet fisherman to fish
from the water.
eence or oversight on the part of the fisherman.
Eat fish and help win the war, we are told. The bet- :
ter the quality of the fish, the more of it will be eaten, a
Mareh, 1918 —
buyers of freshwater fish are the most critical of their
‘it is absolutely fresh fish, as far as it is possible to se-
cure it; it is part of: their religion and where they ean- _
not get what they think they ought to have, they will —
not make a purchase of fish but w'll turn to some other —
Those of them wh» ean afford
Yellow Pike, Whitefish, or Blue Pink will’ngly pay —
the highest prices, if the quality comes up to their ex.
pea hes Ss
o
ie plant, which is fully equipped to handle large
mtities of fish from the lake, located at St. Thom-
and known as the St. Thomas Packing Co., Ltd.
s enlarged to over double its former size, and the
ld storage end of the business added. It now has
pacity of 2,000,000 pounds, and 75 per cent of the
is devoted entirely to fish. It is equipped with
y 50-ton compressors of the Linde Canadian sys-
of refrigeration, which operates under direct ex-
The plant itself is constructed of brick and
decork. It has its own ice-making plant, cap-
5 tons a day, The company’s private switches
it direct with the Pere Marquette, New York
Wabash, C.P.R., G.T.R., and London and
anley Railways.
Hi. Moody, the manager of the plant, and the
of the business, is a practical cold storage
many years’ experience, and is well known to
‘ishing industry, particularly on Lake Erie. The
t is specially equipped and adapted to handle
Erie fish, and, being located right in the heart
district, insures the product being handled un-
e best of conditions.
St. Thomas Packing Co.,-Litd., also are distri-
of fresh and salt-water fish. i
D. Bates, of the firm of Bates Bros., Ridgetown,
, gave a very interesting comparison of the way
md net fishing industry has grown on Lake
1884 to 1917.
90 miles of the Lake, from Port Pellee to Port
y, in 1884, only 20 pound nets were in opera-
CANADIAN FISHERMAN
The St. Thomas Packing Co. Limited
‘tion, employing about 20 men for five months of the
“Plant of St. Thomas Packing Co., Limited.
657
year. In the last fishing season over 270 nets were
in operation, employing over 270 men, operating for
about nine months of the year.
Conditions have changed materially since 1884 In
those years it was no trouble to catch fish, but the
difficulty. was to find a ready market for them. Now
the reverse is the situation. It is no trouble to find
_a market for the fish, but the difficulty lies in seeur-
ing them from the lake in paying quantities. The gaso-
line engine was an unknown feature in the early days. -
Row and sail-boats were used entirely, and the stake
driving on the lake was all done by hand. These stakes
were never pulled at the end of the season, as they
are now, as new ones could be readily secured in any
quantity for 25ce. each; whereas, at the present time
from $3.00 to $5.00 each is the prevailing price. This
is only one instance of the increased overhead cost
in this industry, Marketing the product in the eighties
was a very different proposition, with which the fish-
erman had to contend, No cold storage plants were |
in existence, and the fish were either sold fresh, or
salted as soon as caught, Now the fishermen have
up-to-date cold storage facilities whereby the surplus
catch may be put in the packing house and left for an
‘indefinite period. The market'for the fish, in the old -
days, was confined principally to the nearby towns,
. such as Buffalo and Detroit. At the present time, the
surplus catch, after the Canadian consumption has
_ been supplied, is shipped as far west as St. Paul;
Boston and New York in the east, and Cincinnati in the
south. This shows the great changes that take place
in a short interval in the fishing industry on this one
section of this great lake.
658 CANADIAN FISHERMAN
March, 1918.
The Utilization of Fish Waste
A New Industry for Port Stanley,
Port Stanley, on Lake Erie, has always been recog-
nized as the most important fishing centre on that
noted lake. It possibly produces over 50 per cent of
the entire catch in that district.
Very few of our readers also are aware that this
town is the home of the only fish fertilizer plant im
Canada, and, as the utilization of fish waste, particu-
larly at the present time, is one of the mos; import-
ant phases of the fishing industry, a deser:ption of
this plant should prove of great interest to the whole
industry.
Fertilizer Plant, Port Stanley Supply Co.,
Port Stanley, Ont.
In 1914 the fishermen of Port Stanley realized that
something must be done in that section to clean up the
lake, and got together, forming the Port Stanley Sup-
ply Co., Limited, with the object of putting in a fer-
tilizer plant, the object being at that time to rid the
lake of the offal, which was found in large quantities
there. A modern fertilizer plant, at a cost of $10,000,
was installed, with a capacity of 16 tons per day.
For several years the company have been producing
fertilizer and fish oil, the former finding a ready
market in the vicinity of the plant among the farming ~
industry, and the latter being shipped to different
parts of the country. In 1917, 100 tons of fertilizer
and 12,000 gallons of oil were produced in this plant.
This year an addition is being made to the plant, and ;
a new process of manufacture is to be started in the
making of stock food, which is proving so popular on
the American side, and which should find a ready
sale throughout the country here, owimg to its high
protein value.
In the manufacture of fish meal the non-edible fish
and fish offal are taken from the boat on to the dock,
which is located right near the plant, and from there
dumped into a receiving hopper located directly under
the building. From there it is drawn through a 6’’ iron
pipe by a vacuum pump into the evaporator. This’
makes a very complete sanitary method for conveying
the raw material from the storage hopper into the evap-
orator. ae?
The evaporator holds 444 tons of raw material per
charge, and after same has been placed in the evap-
orator, the heat is applied for evaporating the moistures
out of the raw material by jackets on the sides and bot-
tom, and all the vapors and disagreeable gases coming
from the raw material, during the time of evaporating
and cooking are drawn out under vacuum and through
a jet condenser, and the condensable gases are con-
densed and the non-condensable gases are conveyed un-
derneath the boiler grates and consumed. This is the
sanitary feature of the above apparatus.
As the raw material contains about 65 to 70% of mois-
ture, a sufficient amount of moisture is already in the -
material which will assure a thorough cook, by the time
the moisture is evaporated out down to 15 to 18% of
moisture left in, the fibrous matter has been thoroughly
cooked, and all the oil liberated from the oil cellicules, —
which leave the oil in a very fine grade, and free from
the usually strong odors coming from fish oils. This
is due to the moistures and gases being drawn out un-
der vacuum, likewise the fish meal having been dried
under vacuum is of a very high percentage of protein,
due to the moisture being drawn out under low tem-
perature. This assures the retaining of all the nitrogen
on which the value of fish meal is based, likewise all of
the ingredients contained in the raw material are re-
tained in the finished meal as no direct steam cook-
ing is done whereby any of the glutenous matter would
become diluted and drawn off in the usual stock water —
4
After the material has been evaporated, which usual- —
manner, -
ly takes about 444 hours, the same is taken from the
- evaporator and placed on an inclined floor and al-
lowed to cool about 12 hours. The floor being inelined
to trap such oils that might run off freely, and after —
same has been cooled it is placed into a hydraulic press
and the oils pressed out, until there is about 14 to 16%
of oil left in the fish meal. -This is a very suitable.
percentage for feeding purposes. | yo
After the meal has been taken from the press, same is
run through a mill and put into a fine powdered con-
dition. The value of this high grade of stock food has
been recognized in the last two years, by the Pacific
March, 1918. CANADIAN
Coast dairymen, where same has been fed as being one
of the best butter fats and milk producing feeds to be
had.
An analysis of this meal has shown that for chick-
en feed, and feed for hogs, cows, sheep and horsés,
the protein it contains is far ahead of other stock food.
This will be seen by the following table:
Protein Av’gs.
Food. Per Cent.
SL iy 18
IEE ge 20
SR SEIS SL ea a 21
SE UCGLITIOS oe ek ce ee ees 22
i cree es eisic semis sees 26
eh bs ew wc apediccgn adn eas 52
is eet ieee s pe eee ees 59
Port Stanley High Grade Fish Meal.......... 75
As a milk producing food for dairy cows fish meal
is unexcelled. Two pounds of fish meal per ration
per thousand pounds in live weight, will increase the
milk production considerably. It also makes ideal
FISHERMAN
659
feed for a growing calf, the milk furnishing the neces-
sary protein, and the skim milk the carbohydrates.
There is no question that a big future is ahead of
this important by-product of the fishing industry, and
the fishermen of Port Stanley are to be congratulated
on their enterprise in being practically the pioneers in
Canada along this line. The Mariaging Director of the
company, W. H. McPherson, is a man who sees a big
future ahead of this particular branch of the industry,
and is meeting it by equipping the plant with all the
up-to-date facilities to take care of the work.
In addition to this important by-product, the Port
Stanley Supply Co., Limited, also handle a large am-
ount of coal, which is used by the fishermen of the
Port, and in 1917 6,000 tons were supplied by them to
local interests there.
We have been informed by Mr. McPherson that the
equipment in the plant was manufactured and installed
by C. H. A. Wannenwetsch & Co., of Buffalo, N.Y., who
operate a similar plant of six times the capacity on Puget
Sound, in which they utilize the waste from the sal-
mon canneries.
A group of Lake Erie Fishermen and their guests, taken
Association, St. Thomas, February, 1918,
during the Annual Meeting of the Lake Erie Fishermen's
660.
CANADIAN FISHERMAN
March, 1918. |
Pound Net Fishing in Lake Erie Between Point Pelee and Rondeau —
An address delivered at the Annual Meeting of the Lake Erie Fisheries Association, St.
By A. E.
This subject, Pound Net Fishing between Points
Pelee and Rondeau, is one that it is impossible for me
to do justice, a whole volume could be written on
its past, present and its future prospects. It is well
known that Lake Erie is the finest body of fresh wa-
ter in the world for rapid fish progagation, due no
doubt to its shallow nature and so little barren
wastes, as we would eall the deep waters of the other
great lakes. As a choice location, this cannot be im-
proved on, the Points jutting out in such a manner
as to keep the endless lines of freighters many miles
off shore with their pollutions constantly going into
the waters. The lake bottom is composed of sand and
clay throughout with a fine slope outward for lead-
ing fish properly into the traps, and stakes driven
Thomas Ont., 1918.
CREWE.
herring for a few cents a bushel. A large potash
kettle was set up at the shore for rendering out the
oil, principally from the sturgeon. A few more nets
were gradually added, the principal market being —
the south shore, mostly Sandusky, the long hazardous —
trip of the loaded fishing boats being made mainly _
during the night, the fishermen having Httle idea of ©
how long the trip would last, if they would’ get to
market before the cargo spoilt, or if it would be dis--
posed of if landed fresh. Wagon loads of the bet-
ter kinds were hauled to Detroit, a distance of some
fifty miles, and over very different roads from what
the tourist enjoys now. During this period much
whitefish, to save it for the markets, was dressed and
heavily salted before being offered. Of the pioneer
Sorting and Cleaning Fish on Lake Erie. ; ? -
into this lake.bed to a depth of five or six feet with-
stand well the: heavy storms throughout the season.
The. early settlers at certain seasons could from the
beaeh with a gaff, secure all the sturgeon they could °
make use of, but our first record of nets was about
1855. when Jacob Julian, an enterprising settler on a”
farm where the flourishing village of Wheatley now
stands, operated a draw seine. Plenty of whitefish
could be secured in this way, and they were about all
that any market could be found for, and that. very
limited, the balance being thrown away or rendered
for. the oilce:
In 1866 Wm. MeLean secured a Pound Net from the
south shore, where they were freely used and set it
off the Two Creeks. It would catch more fish than
could be marketed. Sturgeon were peddled far and
near over the country at twenty-five cents each, and
families in this work namely, McLean, Moody, Bick-
ford, Lamarsh, Loop, Shaw and others. - McLean is —
about. the only one represented in the present fish-
eries. Enoch, a son of the pioneer, still operates a
very prosperous fishery. The Post Fish Co. was fin-
ally formed in Sandusky to exploit the north shore,
making season’s contracts with the owners, and send-
ing small steamers for their catch. ‘They also secured
holdings and operated many fisheries on a share
basis. This has been discontinued by them but a very
few years, and the Post Fish Co. is still a very re-
liable concern. but confines its fishing to Ameriena:
waters.
When it was realized that Pound Nets would be
the ideal way to fish these waters, the Canadian Gov-
ernment brought in legislation dividing the fisheries
into limits, fronting ten lots on the shore, each oper-
“March, 1918.
- ator was confined strictly to his limit, and was pro-
teeted on it.
net, but was gradually advanced to fifty, making a
very substantial revenue at the present time. There
' is much to applaud in this far-seeing action, for it
' assured the fishermen that if he paid his license
| promptly and obeyed the fish laws he would be pro-
" tected in his holdings and could plan accordingly. I
' am assured that as late as 1888 there were still only
- thirteen pound nets fishing in this district, but shortly
after the Fisheries took a boom, two of the principal
factors of which were, the building of what is now
e Pere Marquette Railway parelling the shore in
92, and the Buffalo Fish Co. building extensive
reezers and storage at Two Creeks. The fishing limits
_ were all soon taken up, this freezer being quickly fill-
ed with herring each year, and car loads weekly
3% ipped via the railroad. So many herring were tak-
an for this few years that large quantities had to
_ turned loose, the markets absolutely refusing to
ndle them all. Sorry to say, the freezer venture at
vo Creeks proyed a failure, and the outfit that cost
some head thousand dollars was sold for two hun-
‘dred.
Fish House
s sturgeon thaf for a few years had been slaugh-
keep their contract prices down, and all together the
Py got to a low ebb, many "of the operators went
out of the business feeling that its palmy days were
over, little dreaming they were not yet commenced.
The business was brightening somewhat when in
1904 the writer entered actively into it. By this time
the fisheries had.been split up from their original
limits by purchase with the consent of the Fisheries
Department, into much smaller limits, where the banks
ere low and plenty of beach on which to land the
boats, leaving the limits of the high banks of eastern
Fr Romney, Tilbury. and Raleigh Townships their orig-
7 nal size, and very little fished. We realized these diffi-
ulties could be overcome by building substantial
; and peas hoists at suitable points on the fish-
CANADIAN FISHERMAN
At first the fee was ten dollars per
and Twine House of Crewe Bros.,
oe the whitefish and porting eatches got very light,
661
eries, with a tramway up the bank to suitable build
ings for taking care of the twines and fish. ‘This pro-
gramme has since been earried out on all fisheries so
located to a much more pleasing and satisfactory ex-
tent than at first conceived. In 1904 there was not
one fishery in the whole district not under contract
to some dealer for the whole catch during the season,
the suecess of the fishery depending on this contract,
but in 1905 and 1906 more prosperous times com-
menced, the telephone arrived to the fisherman by way
of party lines. As soon as the catch was landed he
got in touch with his markets and their agents, con-
tracts were tabood, and we realized at the end of the
season our receipts were doubled. Simultaneous with
the telephone came the gasoline motor. This made
way more slowly, and really the first makes were
cranky, balky affairs, and to make matters worse, the
operators needed experience, but for all. the lands-
man gives the fisherman credit. for being willing to
take long chances in his business, few wished to -be
placed at the mercy of only a motor in their boat in its
early stages But with the advent of the telephone
and the motor came stability for the industry. With
inereased prices came the advantage of fishing actively
Merlin, Ont.
the season through in place of laying up while the wa-
ter was warm as formerly. Two sets of twine were
provided to make this possible, and now the nets
are scarcely off the stakes over night. The motor
makes this work possible, moving direct and quickly
where necessary. For all of the enormous increase in
nets, there being now in this district about one hun-
dred and forty, there are more of the better kinds
of fish than fifteen years ago, namely, whitefish and
herring. This must be credited to the hatcheries,
which for several years have been placing millions
of young fish in the lake each year. More interest is
being taken to secure all spawn possible by the fish-
ermen for this purpose, for they now realize the un-
limited good that can be done to their business in
this way.
A comparison of changes from 1904 to the present
may be of interest even to many actively engaged in
the industry during the whole of. this time. As soon
as danger of ice is past the scows are put to work
driving the long slender stakes, many of them up to
662
sixty-five feet in length, as there is no protection
along nearly all of this district, these must be built
very strong and as light as possible, for each night
they must be pulled from the water to a safe place on
the beach. About the most serviceable size is found
to be thirty-three by fourteen feet. In 1904 all stakes
were driven by hand, a one hundred and fifty pound
iron hammer being worked in the guides with ropes
Crewe Bros. Fishery in 1904, showing the sail boats, fish
house, ice house, and living house attached, the tram -
way up the high bank, also the horse stable at the
top, the only building above the beach at
that time.
by eight or ten men, the scow was towed with horses
or men along the shore to opposite the work, then
propelled with oars to the work. If a current was
on, a dinghy would run anchors ahead for the men
to haul on and in case of storms this had always to
be done to return. Setting in the stakes was a slow
and very laborious job in those days to now, when we
have a stationary gasoline engine to do the heavy
work, a much heavier hammer is used, a propeller
connected at will, while spools are attached to the
Crewe Bros. Fishery’s dock, showing how the boats are cared
for and the scow going away under her own power.
machinery for doing the heavy work and quickly
landing the secow on shore. Where the sail boat had to
be left ashore while at this work, the motor boat, the
standard size of which is thirty feet long with nine
feet beam, flat or half round bottom and open save
for an ingenious little take down house over the en-
gine, strongly built and very sea-worthy, now is a
tender for the seow. Where the stakes had to be load-
CANADIAN FISHERMAN
‘per month, and other necessary expenses in the same 4
March, 1918. —
ed on the scow to get them to the driving ground, the —
boat now quickly tows them, the same difference ap-
plies in getting them ashore when the season is over. —
There is really no difference in the shape or make-up —
of the Pound Net from the early days, but the setting —
of it has been much improved—from the time it is —
ready for the tar vat to the appliances holding it in —
place on the stakes. Pound nets are now set in lenial ~
order of from five to seven, commencing near shore —
in about fifteen feet of water and running out to a
depth of around fifty feet, averaging about five feet —
of depth to each net, and these strings are only from —
one to two miles apart along the whole district, em-
ploying a large number of men, as each string has to —
be eared for by at least one boat, and five or
six men, with extra men at certain seasons, Last year
the catch of this forty-five miles of shore fisheries was —
nearly four million pounds. ae
In 1904 twine cost us less than thirty cents per
pound, it is now seventy-five cents, Manilla rope eleven
to twelve cents, it is now thirty-five to thirty-six.
Poles were dear at one dollar each, they are cheap now
at five dollars each. The best experienced fisherman
could be secured at forty dollars per month, they are
now getting from seventy-five to one hundred dollars
Crewe Bros. Fishery dock, showing the boats in their hoists _
with a loaded car being dr¥wn up the bill by a natural
gas engine in the fish house at the top.
ratio, from the operators’ viewpoint, -much faster than —
the prices of fish have advanced, but altogether, the
outlook is good for the fisheries here, outside of pos- —
sible interference by the Government of price fixing, —
if this is done even to a limited extent, it behoves the _
fishermen with so much to eontend with to be very
conservative, and if he is it must curtail much adver- —
tised and necessary increase of production. ee
The success of the fisheries located as they are, short
distances apart, means much to the prosperity of the —
surrounding country and as well to the whole Pro- —
vinee. . 4
Some 35,000 tons of fishery salt from the Mediter- —
ranean is required by the Atlantic coast fishermen this _
season. The Canada Food Board has communicated
with the British authorities to allocate the necessary —
tonnage for the transport of salt — the first cargo
to be delivered in Halifax early in March. Just wha
the prospects are for delivery is indefinite, but hopes —
are entertained that it will be satisfactorily arranged. —
A salt famine would have disastrous consequences. _
Mareh, 1918. CANADIAN
dow the Hatcheries have Benefited
the Commercial Fishing
Interview with Messrs. A. Hoover & Son.
: In 1880 when my father started fishing with two
pound nets in Lake Superior, off the County of Haldi-
mand, he found fish of all kinds to be in aot
A, HOOVER, of Nanticoke, Ont.,
and a fair specimen of Lake Erie fish.
FISHERMAN 663
came thicker and thicker, and as there were no means
at that time of. restocking the lake artificially the
tish became scarcer, and particularly during the years
from 1900 to 1907, the herring seemed to be almost
gone in this locality. We depended solely on blues,
whitefish and sturgeon, but the whitefish were get-
ting scarcer when all of a sudden in 1908 the herring
came again and the whitefish began to increase, and
in 1909 we had the largest catch of whitefish we ever
had. Our eatech of whitefish was good ever since
until last fall when weather conditions were very bad,
but the herring last year were more abundant than
ever.
Plant of Hoover & Son, Nanticoke, Ont.
At just what date the States of Pennsylvania and
Ohie began putting whitefish and herring fry back
in the lake I do not know exactly, but by our ‘n-
creased catches they must have been well under way
by 1909. Now at the present we have two hatcheries
on the Canadian side of Lake Erie, and with the co-
operation of the American hatcheries we should have
abundance of fish in Lake Erie for all time to come
if the fishermen co-operate in helping the Department
to secure all eggs possible to keep the hatcheries full
to capacity.
the evening of the first day of the Lake Erie
ermen’s Association Convention, Prof. Edward E.
1¢e, Dominion Commissioner of Fisheries, Ottawa,
re an illustrated talk, as follows :—
The war has aroused Canadians to appreciate the
ue and importance of the Dominion’s Natural Re-
rees, none more so than our fisheries. Vast num-
rs of: our people now take an interest in fish and
hery matters, who never gave them a thought be-
fore. Our fishermen, even though they number close
_ they were a forgotten and neglected part of the com-
| munity. May not this inattention be a good sign; a
sign that ‘all is well. Emphatically, no!
Some Aspects of the Fish Supply.
From Atlantic to Pacifie the people complain of an
aS supply of fish, of its frequent poor quality
_ or condition, and of the high. prices, which tends to
still higher. Moreover, some fishing grounds are de-
on to one hundred thousand, must have often felt that-
Some Live Questions for Fishermen, National and International
pleted, and catches of kinds are made _ constantly
which.are not marketable, but involve time and labor
handling, most of it a loss to the fishermen, Such wast-
ed fish said Dr. Barton Evermann (referring to the
Pacifie halibut fishery), ‘‘is enormous in the aggre-
gate, in weight it is probably at least one-half of the
halibut catch itself.’’ Of course, if the truth be told,
there is almost no species which is worthless, and
there should be no waste by throwing fish back into
the water, or piling them up on shore to rot. It ought
to be possible to turn every fish caught to account
were the industry properly encouraged, and conduct-
ed rationally and wisely. By-products, as science has
shown, are often more valuable than the original staple
product, as the varied commodities made from eoal-
tar'and sawdust waste by chemical methods have de-
monstrated. Fish-roes, for example, are usually not
turned to account, though a food of the highest
value, and Siberia exports annually over 250 tons of
salted salmon-roes, worth several million dollars, and
marketed as a kind of caviare. In the Pacific salmon
664 CANADIAN
industry from one-third to one-fifth of the total weight
of fish handled is waste, yet it could yield most valu-
able materials. Australia not long ago regarded rab-
bits as a curse and spent millions of dollars in efforts
to clean them out, but their food value is now appre-
ciated, and as much as $3,000,000 to $4,000,000 per an-
num is paid to rabbit catchers, about $200,000 for
boxes and erates, and over $500,000a year for freight
by steamer to London, nearly a million crates being
shipped there annually.
| The People Must Have Cheap Fish. iy
The publie feel that they ought to have cheap fish.
Is the fisherman to blame for the. prices now prevail-
ing? I declare that he is not. I was told when ad-
dressing a meeting of ladies in Ottawa recently, that
the fisherman demanded double his former price, or
more than double, No one grudges the fishermen a few
more cents per pound; but for every such 4¢ or 5e ‘in-
crease there should not be 10¢ or 12e increase to the
consumer. Ihave seen regularly the lists of prices
paid at the boat to the fishermen, and the retail prices
have been increased inordinately in my opinion. The
highest prices to the fishermen, have, indeed, been
paid on the Pacifie coast, where the main mass of
men are really alien by birth, not real Canadians at
all, but Austrians, Greeks, Japanese, and even Ger-
mans. Premier Matheson said in Ottawa that a few
years ago he had to pay in Charlottetown, P.E.. Is-
land, 8¢ per pound for cod which the fishermen sold on
the shore not many miles away for 144c¢ per pound.
Such conditions are unfair to the consuming public.
The fisherman in the long run suffers. It is there-
fore for the fishermen.to see that fair retail prices
are charged, and that no means are resorted to, by
_ any class in the business, to curtail the supply in order
to inflate prices. Did time allow, I could give. facts
and dates to prove inflation and curtailment of sup-
ply. There is‘no real shortage. Last week two schoon-
ers landed in Boston 20,000 lbs. of fish, mainly had-
dock, and got $10.50 per 100 Ibs., but in the retail
stores close by, they were sold to the public at 23¢
per pound. The catches, of course, vary, but there
is no real shortage, and -a good supply and a good
demand should imply cheap fish,
Improved and Speedier Methods of Handling Fish.
More rapid and efficaceous methods of handling
the fishermen’s catches are imperative. Delay in
placing the fish after capture in cool conditions means
deterioration. Fish in poor condition in the market
should be unknown in Canada, yet a well-known au-
thority said in my hearing in Ottawa the other day,
“‘T dread to eat fish, because its condition is so un- -
certain—it is so rarely perfectly fresh and sweet.
I want to have fish as often as possible, but I am
‘nearly always ill after a meal of fish.’’ He was a
man who knew what he was talking about, being a
scientist, a bacteriologist, and somewhat of a food
expert. Poor fish in our large Ontario cities is inde-
fensible: there is no excuse for it. Exeellent whole-
some fish should be universally obtainable. Mere dis-
tance is no difficulty. I tasted some whitefish lately,
which had been shipped 1,800 miles, and nothing could
have been sweeter or better; while some cod placed on
my table a week or two ago, shipped 750 miles, was
the firmest and most appetising cod which I have.
ever tasted. Some steelhead salmon sent on ice from
Victoria, B.C.. reached me in Ottawa in perfect con-
dition. All depends upon proper’ handling — after
eatching. Our fishermen should never rest until there
fectly cool storage, and rapid transit, tl
importance to’ the fishermen.
FISHERMAN
is a system, in operation, such that their fish ean be
placed under chilled conditions immediately, before
any great deterioration ean take place, followed by
rapid shipping, and their delivery to customers, in re-
tail stores, almost in as good condition as when taken
from the nets. Modes of handling and transportation
are not up to date if fish are in poor condition, ¢
bad condition, when offered to the consumer in o
large cities. If a fisherman is eareless, bruises his fis
and handles them roughly, and without care, the harm
is done at the outset. If exposed to the blazing sun,
the bacteria of decay get their best chance, if blood
cakes upon them after gutting, if knocked about and
trampled on, and especially if they are delayed in ]
ing brought into cold store-rooms, ‘no eare o
transit can make good fish of. them. Malt
the boat, or on the fish-wharf, allowed to beeor
ed at the start, and the fish are ruined for
poses. There cannot be too great speed in a
catches from the nets into cold conditions,
and placing thereafter in cooled fish ears
cool conditions must be maintained at the
tion, when in the hands of the wholesale
er. Apples, and other fruit, do not demand
than fish, yet no one would bruise or parch
such fruit in transit from the orchard
retail store. . ‘aa
The fruit trade has secured care in h
ah
aes
good condition of fruit when finally sold +
sumer, and these conditions are no less
the handling of fish. ‘‘Oh, its only. some bc
throw them down there, till we get through
sacks of potatoes.’’? That is the kind of thin
occasionally at the depots. I know how much
ment has taken place in recent years, t
fluence and efforts of the Canadian Fisheri
tion; but much remains to be done, I took
steps for improving fish transportation n
years ago from Grimsby, Hull, and other ere
lish ports, and I know what can be aceon
if fishermen and fish traders are in earnest. Britaii
has the most efficient and cheap fish transportat
in the world, and some fish travel 800 miles,
would be rare to find fish in retail stores tha
not the condition and wholesomeness of the
caught article—a state of things due in no sma
ure to the various Fishery Associations, helped lar
by my good friend, the late Lord Tweedmou
known as Mr. Edward Majoribanks, who did her-
culean work for the British fisheries, The Georgian Bay
Fishery Commission, of which I was chairman, si
gested cold storage houses at central points on all
Great Lakes, under Government auspices, for ree
the catches from the fishermen, to ensure fre
and avoidance of decay; but the details are eas
work out for widespread system of fish-transpor
and cold-storage. — be
Popularize Fish Food, Especially Frozen Fish. _
Increasing the Canadian demand for fish is of f rs
Advertising fish pre
ducts, and stimulating inereased sales are necess
and a vast amount has been done by the Fishe
Association, the Food Controller’s Department, —
as well as by the Fisheries’ Departments, in Ott.
and Toronto. so that I need do little more than
attention to the matter. Fish have become more p
lar, and the consumption has recently trebled;
Fas P By
a cae
all, under the strained conditions of living dur-
the war, the best advertisement is cheapness. If
price be low and the supply plentiful, the fish)
ade will expand beyond our imagination, but no
ie fish are not always in prime condition, and if
are high-priced. The feeling is widespread that
are not as low-priced as they should be.
he use of frozen fish should be immensely increased.
any people still regard frozen fish as inferior. The
udice, which is really an English one, must be re-
ed. In England the people are beginning to real-
hat frozen fish*are just as good food as fresh fish.
Hanna declared in a recent Food Controller’s
: “In the past, poor methods of handling, care-
frigeration, and the mis-use of cold storage,
en responsible for the antipathy against frozen
‘he housewife through ignorance of the proper
in thawing and cooking chilled fish, has been
.’ He was well justified in declaring that,
people of Canada would make more use of
n fish, prices and supply would be more regular,
hole fishing industry would be revolutionized.
h, chilled soon after leaving the water
good eating as any fish that ever came out
as or lakes.”’ ;
egard to our fisheries and our demand for fish,
is no reason why we should import any fish
yer. Canada’s imports of fish and fish products
2.476.279 in 1916-17. In my opinion our export
is of less moment to us as a nation than ex-
ur domestic demand. We ought to be self-
g. The time has come for it. ‘‘Canada first,’’
the fisherman’s motto, and the merchant’s
\There is no need to scour the earth to find
markets. Once Canada was a poor market, but
A. B. Short, of Digby, a leading Maritime Pro-
h-merchant, told the International Commission,
day at St. John, the best market is here
da. The impression is an erroneous one that
- market is across the line. Those engaged in
ies who have done best are the Maritime
firms who shipped fish to the Mediterranean,
Burope generally, and the West Indian and more
y markets; or the Pacifie firms whose market
_in England or France. No one can estimate the
usiness losses of those who have cultivated fish
only with the States immediately to the south.
d story and too well known to need any further
p here.
‘Fishery Conservation is Imperative.
‘become searce the body of fishermen are the
mity it is to destroy a permanent resource to
dollars quickly. I visit at times a Martitime
ee town, which fifty or sixty years ago was busy
osperous. Great forests were close by. Lumber
busy wharves, fleets of large vessels, fine stores,
rising businesses, all characterized the place;
a few years the timber was cut, nothing but bogs
cky wastes were left, and the town became a
own. The streets were completely deserted as I
hen I was there a month ago. The stores are
, even the hotels have all shut down, and the men
e money have gone to live in California or
States.. There was no conservation, only
nd devastation and, in the end, death.
ws the destruction of any valuable
CANADIAN FISHERMAN
amount of Advertising will maintain a great demand
665
natural resource. We must conserve our fisheries, and
how can we do it. Plenty of fish can be secured for
our use, but there should be no waste. Over-fishing
must be guarded against, destruction of small immature
fish avoided, spawning fish protected, pollutions pro-
hibited, and other measures adopted which we call
‘Fishery Regulation.’ Some fishermen there are who
favor no regulation. Free, unrestricted fishing is their
motto. That was precisely the ery ten years ago in
Puget Sound, and now when the Fraser River salmon
schools have been exterminated these same Washington
State canners and trap-men call loudly for closure of
fishing over a period of years. They can now oper-
ate only at a loss, and the fishermen who relied upon
sockeye netting operations each summer face a seri-
ous crisis. I remember years ago urging free fishing
upon a meeting of Lake Erie fishermen, in order to
put them on an equality with U. 8. fishermen, who had
no restrictions practically ; but there was a loud reply,
No! No! Now, fishermen generally realize that fish
should have protection, and the fisheries be conserved.
Some regard hatcheries as a sufficient safeguard. I
shall refer to this in a few moments. Of course, in the
Great Lakes and all places where we share the fish-
eries with our U. 8. friends, uniform regulations on -
both sides alone can ‘be fully effective. My U.S. eol-
league, Dr. Starr Jordan, and I did our best, under
the Fishery Treaty, of April, 1908, to start a system of
uniform fishery regulation, and the fishermen on both
sides of the international boundary would have bene-
fited by the results. We must have co-operation in
this vital matter; but I am no believer in conceding
everything to our American friends, merely for the
empty satisfaction of boasting that international agree-
ment has been accomplished. Many of you 09 re-
member the ‘‘ Palmer Bill,’’ prepared by the lake fisher-
men of Ohio for the protection of themselves and the
fish, and discussed years ago at Columbus. It included
many wise provisions, some establishing a close season
in winter, and a prohibition of taking under-sized fish,
and so on, clear evidence of the foresight and wisdom
of the fishermen when not under the influence of self-
ish and shortsighted ‘‘fish trusts’? and ‘‘combines.’’
There need be no fear of the future of our fisheries in
the boundary waters, if the United States and Canada
can join in a common policy of fish conservation.
The Place of Hatcheries in Fisheries’ Development. _
Fishery conservation involves, as I have said, regu-
lation; but what about fish hatching? Fish culture is—
a great aid, even though some eritics may doubt it. I
have always maintained, and publicly asserted on
numberless occasions, that hatcheries are not a sub-
stitute for preservative regulations. Critics unkindly
refer to the vast increase of fish, not hatched in our |
hatching establishments. How is it, they also say, that
sea-salmon were once numerous in Lake Ontario,
but declined as soon as salmon hatching began in On-
tario, and are now extinet in spite of stocking. Where
is the increase in lobsters in spite of the hatching and
planting of hundreds of millions, year after year, along
the Atlantic coast. Fish culture is an aid, a help, not
a substitute for conservation, I have consistently main-
tained. Close seasons are necessary for two reasons:
1st., spawning fish swollen with spawn are not suit-
able for food, and their capture should be prevented
by law. 2nd., Unless parent fish are saved from ex-
termination, hatcheries cannot get supplies of spawn.
Hatcheries have many times had to close down because
666
of lack of spawn. Parent fish could not be procured,
being apparently practically depleted. ‘When the sup-
ply of fish depended upon nature alone, there was
abundance of fish, indeed, the early settlers on this
continent found fish plentiful everywhere. Man’s un-
restricted inroads have diminished the total supply,
and many persons talk glibly about restoring waters
by planting fry as though it were a very easy, simple
matter. For successful fish culture special knowledge
and training are needful, and great harm has been done
-by the claim that hatcheries alone will restore depleted
fishing grounds, and keep up great fishing industries.
I observe that some of those supposed authorities who
for long made that claim, are now coolly adopting my
view, and emphasizing the necessity of protecting par-
ent fish at the spawning time. You cannot disturb
the balance of nature by removing vast quantities of
the breeding fish of valuable kinds, and restore the
_ balance by a single remedy. Other fish have got ahead,
and been replacing the declining schools. These
usurping kinds are, as a rule inferior, and often worth-
less species. Like. a garden from which the valued
CANADIAN FI!
SHERMAN N Mareh, “191:
vegetables have been kakane weeds soon n thiely oceupy
the depleted areas.
Vast fishing operations, year after year, on bai ;
sides of a lake like Lake Erie, must tell on the supplies :
of the most esteemed fish. The balance of Nature i
disturbed, and Nature’s arrangements are too comple;
to admit of one remedy putting all right again. Ma
remedies must be brought to bear.
Let us be wise. Let us not be blind to facts.
increased production go hand in hand with utilization
of wasted fish products, let wise conservation accom
pany artificial aids in restoration, above all let scien
give all the help she can to the fisheries,:. _ The farm
the miner, and other exploiters of our Dominion’
sources, have sought the aid of science, and it
been of infinite benefit. The biologist can, help -
fisherman, and can’ give guidance in developing,
out ruining, our harvest of the waters. Let us ne
impoverish and destroy our fisheries merely to meet §
temporary need, or reap pecuniary benefit out of |
normal food conditions, national and international,
fully utilize them under wise Sipe ene and mt
be well for the future. nics
“Fish Culture in Canada”
Paper read by Mr. J. A. Rodd, Dominion Superintendent of a nee
Hatcheries at Lake Erie Fishermen’s Association. real
After stich an interesting and instructive lecture
I hope you will not find what I have to tell you re-
garding the Dominion Fish Cultural Service too un-
' interesting.
Inception.
Fish Culture as a Dominion Government Service had
its inception in 1867 when the Department of Marine
and Fisheries assisted the late Samuel Wilmot in Fish
Cultural operations previously conducted by him at °
Wilmot’s Creek, near Neweastle, Ont., as a private
enterprise.
First North American Fish Culturist.
From all the reports that I have been able to find,
‘the first successful hatcher of artificial impregnated
fish eggs was Mr. Theodotus Garlick, of Cleveland,
Ohio. I mention Mr. Garlick in connection with Cana-
dian Fish Culture, as according to a paper read by
him before the Cleveland Atademy of Natural Science
in February, 1854, (Fisheries of Quebee by E. T. D.
Chambers) some of the first eggs with which he ex-
perimented were obtained by him in 1853 at Port
Stanley, Ont. These were the eggs of the speckled or
brook trout.
- First Canadian Fish Culturist.
The first Canadian Fish Culturist was the late Rich-
_ard Nettle, of Quebec and Ottawa, who died in Ottawa
in 1905. He wasappointed Superintendent of Fish-
eries for Lower Canada in 1857, and that year in
answer to a written application therefor, (The Fish-
eries of the Province of Quebec, by Chambers) he was
. given permission to resort to artificial propagation as
a means of restoring the salmon fisheries to their for-
mer value. His plant was naturally not large, and his
official report for 1857 states that ‘‘the spawn boxes
undertaking. In 1859 when collecting salinon eggs
would contain about 8,000 ova ‘a bene mig
be made to contain about 6,000 more within the |
or pond), and the large pond will contain about 10,0
young fish.’’ The eggs were hatched on gravel
wooden boxes lined with lead or zine. His first
periments were with trout eggs obtained in the
ques Cartier River, and Lake Beauport, and the re:
ing fry were reared and fed on hard boiled liver (p a
_ verized), and small worms from the tan pits, until.
fall of 1858 when ‘‘some of them were from 314”
4” in length, and almost as broad as they we:
long.’’ (Fisheries of the Provinee of Quebec,
Chambers. )
In 1858 the Ovarium was stooked with salmon eg
(from 7,000 to 8,000) from two pairs of salmon ta
in the Jacques Cartier River, which seems to-
been his principal source of supply He states, ( 1]
all that could be hoped for, and at least 70 per ro
of the eggs became young fish. Mr. Nettle must ive ;
operation on some salmon eggs, the shells of which ha
hardened, ‘‘by piercing the outer shell with a shar]
pointed needle taking care not to puncture any vi
spot.’? Under present conditions when fry are hatch
by hundreds of millions this would be a rather tedio
the Jacques Cartier River, he caught and opened
trout that was following the salmon and feeding on —
their eggs. The trout was opened and the eggs (300 .
to 400) were carefully turned into a tub containin
salmon milt. A large portion of the eggs were ma
jured and were removed, and the remainder were —
placed in a separate box in the ovarium, and in du
course hatched and the fry were placed in the St
Charles River. Mr. Nettle’s operalings, were continue é
into the early ’sixties. ak
CANADIAN
Fish Cultural Operations Under the ;
Dominion Government.
} ltural operations as a Dominion Government
is as old as Confederation, as in that year—
-the Department of Marine and Fisheries as-
the late Samuel Wilmot in collecting and hatch-
the eggs of the salmon of Lake Ontario, which at
time resorted to the streams flowing into Lake
io in countless numbers, but were at that time
vm owing to destructive methods of fishing, rapidly
pearing.
‘ding to his report for 1868, Mr. Wilmot com-
hatching of Lake Ontario salmon eggs taken in
it’s Creek in spring water in his cellar at New-
t., in 1865. In 1866 this creek, at Wilmot’s
was ‘set apart for the natural and artificial
of fish and that year he secured about 15,-
_ The next year he was given some Govern-
ssistanee and secured a larger number of eggs
866, but had a larger percentage of loss. In
‘was appointed a Fishery Officer with instruc-
apply himself more particularly to Fish Cul-
the Neweastle Hatchery was built by the
n Government.
Jing to all the reports that I have been able.
is was the first hatchery on the Western
pari by any Government.
U. S. Activities.
b nave interest was taken in Fish Culture
time. Several of the. States were looking
ibilities, and some of their officials visited
stle hatchery, and examined the apparatus
‘the methods followed there. It was not, how-
1871 that the U. S. Congress took the initial
ards a National. Fishery Service by creating
»f Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries and
ration of fish (Dr. Hugh M. Smith’s paper
e Fourth International Fishery ‘Congress,
undertaken by the Commission in 1872, at
tion of the American Fish Cultural ’As-
which was organized two years. previously.
the States had propagated fish previous
ut Canada led the United States by four years
ature as a Federal Government Service, and
*s operations in Lower Canada appear to
ded State-aided operations in any of the
several years, as Mr. Livingston Stone is
; for the statement that Seth Green was the
‘at American Fish Culture, and it is a matter of
yr that he was the first successful hatcher of shad
ich feat he accomplished for the first time
2 Private Hatcheries.
e early days of Fish Culture, fertilized eggs
oung fish brought good prices, and several priv-
tcheries were started. In 1871 33,000 salmon
‘om. the Newcastle hatchery were sold to the
; Commission of Connecticut, and others, at the
“$40.00 a thousand. Such prices induced priv-
rsons to go into the production of fertilized eggs
fish as a business.
66 Mr. Fletcher, of New Hampshire, collected
eggs in the Miramichi River, N.B., for stocking
1ac River, New Hampshire. His method of
rent fish-—spearing them on the spawn-
‘most destructive, and his operations
med after the first year. A hatchery
i BPS at North Esk, on the N. W.
FISHERMAN
*
Miramichi by the Rev. Livingston Stone, of Boston,
and Mr. John Goodfellow, of North Esk, on the under-
standing that half of the fish produced would be turn-
ed alive into the river, and the balance would be their
property. Their operations were little more satisfac-
tory than Mr. Fletcher’s and were soon discontinued.
A private salmon hatchery was erected by the late
John Holiday on the Moise River, Que., in 1869, and
was continued by the Holiday family as -long as. it
held the fishing rights in the estuary. Their hafech-
ery was operated for over sixty years, and was dis-
continued in 1912.
David Brown and others operated a trout hatchery
667
at Galt, Ont., and in 1870 had as many as 10,000 par- |
ent trout in the main pond, besides fry and finger-
lings. This early boom, like all other booms, notably
the black fox boom, came to an end although two or
three fish farms still operate in Ontario, and there
are quite a considerable number in the different
States.
Early Expansion.
Mr. Wilmot was not only enthusiastic but was most _
ingenious, and with the skill and enterprise which,
was characteristic of him, he rapidly extended his
experiments to the hatehing of the other food fishes
of the eastern rivers and lakes; namely, the Atlantic
salmon, salmon trout, whitefish, and pickerel. He was
at least one of the first, and he claims to have beed
the first (Official Report, 1875) to have successfully
hatehed whitefish eggs in 1867-68. Salmon trout eggs
were collected in 1869 and were successfully hatched ©
‘in 1871-72. Bass were hatched in ponds at Neweastle _
in 1872, speckled or sea-trout in 1876-77, pickerel in.) es
1881, Pacific salmon in 1884, and lobster in F609) ss ras
In 1876 there were seven hateheries in active opera-
tion, with a year output of over 9,500,000 fry, and Mr. |
Wilmot was appointed Superintendent. of Fish Cul- he
ture, and was the first to hold that position, which
he held until 1895 when there were 15 hatcheries in ~~
operation with an output of 254,000,000 fry.
Early Apparatus.
As is usual with all new ventures or undertakings,
the apparatus used and methods followed by the pion-
eers are changed as greater experience is gained. This . i
rule has held good with fish culture as it has mith fp
other undertakings.
In his earliest experiments Mr. Wilmot onacwied nf
to follow nature as closely as possible in taking and
fertilizing the eggs, and I have been told by one of we
his assistants, the late Mr. Walker, that one of their
methods was to strip the fish under water.
the female were stripped into a pan of water, to which
the milt was afterwards added. After following this
- method for several years, in 1870 Mr. Wilmot en-
deavored to get still closer to nature and arranged in ~
the creek a spawning bed of gravel, where he hoped
that the fish would spawn and the eggs be fertilized
in the natural way.
The wet - .
method of fertilization was followed and the eggs of |
The spawning bed was made of |
gravel placed on a grating, and it was hoped that in —
the work of spawning the gravel would be more or. oe
less displaced, and the fertilized eggs would drop —
through the gravel and the grating on to a canvas on —
rollers, from which by turning a crank the eggs could
be deposited in a pan or trough as desired. This plan
appears to have been followed for only one. season.
The eggs of both salmon and whitefish were carried,
668
during the hatching season, on grills made of double
rows of glass rods in a small wooden frame sufficiently
close together for the eggs to rest on the rods with-
out falling through. For the heavier eggs of the trouts
and salmons, trays made with a wooden frame and
bottom of wire screen soon replaced the glass grills,
and the aforementioned trays were subsequently re-
placed by the trays—made out of one piece of per-
forated tin or zine,—and the wire trays and baskets
that are now used.
For the whitefish and other semi-buoyant eggs, the
glass grills were replaced by an invention of Mr. Wil-
mot’s which in 1876 he patented in Canada and the
United States and called ‘‘a combined fish egg in-
eubator and self picker of eggs.’’ As first patented
the eggs were retained in tin or metal receptacles,
but in 1881 these receptacles were replaced in the
Sandwich Hatchery by glass jars, which in various
forms are now in general use everywhere for hatching
semi-buoyant eggs.
In 1883 a complete working section of the system
of hatching in Canada at the time was put in operation
at the Great International Fisheries Exhibition in
London, where.it carried off the highest award, name-
ly, the Gold Medal and Diploma for the best and most
complete fish breeding establishment in the Ex-
hibition.
As was previously stated, during his earlier experi-
ments, Mr. Wilmot endeavored to follow nature as
closely as possible, and placed the eggs of the fish
as they were stripped in as large a body of pure water
as could be conveniently arranged, and afterwards add-
ed the milt of the male fish. In later experiments he
found that by using a smaller quantity of water with
the eggs a large number were fertilized, and in 1871
he dispensed with the water almost, entirely-and fol-
lowed what is known as the dry method of fertilization,
_. which has been since followed, and about that time -
_ was adopted by most, if not all, fish culturists.
As above stated, there were seven hatcheries in
operation when the first Superintendent of Fish Cul-
ture was appointed in 1876. The following statement
shows the expansion of the Service since then.
No. of Hatcheries
Year.
Distributing fry. Distribution
TOAD: yt oe ee v3 9,655,000
FOGG oh yee ee 12 76,724,000
WO Fe 202,959,500
MINIT os, eet ae (a) 209,000,000
BUG 3 5S, as 0 OG 657,925,400
C2 APRS: a area 36 682,594,525
ROA rhs ee 39 1,084,933,000.
| Ne aie tat ies Blan 44 1,390,376,257
SOR hia. Gis. 51 860,983,831
Es gs ie ies Apa ret 52 1,073,699,999
oc HAR se ase Orr ee 59 1,227,976,589
Beek is iA iy 65 1,643,765,212
Sees: Soo eee) BO 1,624,924,254
1917. ue (a), OL (e) 1,500,000,000
(a) Estimated for Granite Creek.
(b) Sydney burnt in 1897 and not rebuilt.
Gaspe discontinued four years, 1898 to 1901.
Fraser not in operation in 1901.
Margaree opened in 1902.
(ec) Four hatcheries transferred to Quebec in 1915.
Granite Creek closed in 1915.
CANADIAN FISHERMAN
“March, 1918,
(d) Sandwich and Stuart closed in 1916.
Spray Lakes opened in 1917.
Cultus and Pitt Lakes opened in 1916 and s :
respectively.
(e) Subject to revision.
From 1905 to 1915 the following new Fish Bisedae
establishments were built :—
Maritime Provinces. (0-4. (.oUG hore en Ot):
Quebee jek me sie es he ee en
Ontario .. .. io, ee
Manitoba and Prairie Prowinen iatighe Noah eae
British Columbia. .. 0 v.53 pS ie 10
In the three years immediately preceding the war,
17 new Fish Breeding establishments made their first
distribution, viz., 6 in 1912, 4 in 1913, 7 in 1914, «
in addition three large whitefish hatcheries ¢
menced operations, and made their first distribution —
in the spring of 1915. During the ten years period
above-mentioned 2 hatcheries on the Fraser Rit
B.C., were closed as no eggs could be collected (
them; 1 in Manitoba, which was poorly located, 1
closed and when the Provinces of Ontario and Quebec
undertook to attend to the propagation of the sporting
fish—8 sport fish hatcheries in Ontario were closed,
and 4 were transferred: to the Province of Queb
but after allowing for all transfers, etc., there we
38 more hatcheries in operation in 1905 than a B:
were in 1915.
A notable increase has also been made in the ath
tion of eggs in many districts, as is shown by the fo
lowing table of collections of eggs made in suee !
sive years: :
1914.
Whitetah sc... .. 90,000,000
1916.
fi ht elas lta «op ok a
The distribution of whitefish fry in Lake Wiksh g
and the Prairie Provinces was increased by 650 per
cent in the last five years. The distriiiale was 1s
follows: :
Whitefish Distribution in Lake Winnipeg and Prairie
Provinces in Millions.
A912) 1918 ae 1915, 1916. 1917.
50 BT. 10% 211% 266% 320
In the Bay of Quinte and in Manitoba the parent.
fish are taken in pound nets operated by the Depart
ment. There is also a close season for whitefish i
Manitoba, and the areas in that Province, as well. as 1
the Bay of Quinte, where the Department’ s nets ar
operated are reserved and closed to commerce!
fishing. .
The distribution of fry of the different sodden
or food fishes shows a steady i increase. For instance,
the distribution of whitefish in Ontario was increased’
from 64,000,000 in 1912 to 238,000,000 in 1916. Th
total whitefish distribution in Canada increased fro
114,000,000 in 1912 to over 500, 000,000 in 1916. .
Distribution ar Atlantic salmon increased fbi 9
000,000 in 1905 to 25,000,000 in 1917. :
Distribution of salmon. trout went aroma 3, 500,000 i
1907 to 32,500,000 in 1917,
Pickerel distribution was increased from 42,-
0 in 1912 to 180,000,000 in 1917.
The Pacifie salmon distribution was increased from
[6,000,000 in 1904 to 117,000,000 in 1914.
expected big run of Sockeye in the Fraser River
d to make its appearance in 1917, and the hatch-
on that watershed are only partially filled, and
ss more salmon are allowed to reach the spawn-
eds so that larger numbers of eggs may be hatch-
her in the natural way or in hatcheries, the
re fishery of the Fraser River will soon be a thing
e past, = 3
Methods of Collecting Eggs.
A e extent and success of the hatcheries is so
gely governed by the quantity and the quality of
‘ggs collected, I would like to outline in a general
different methods followed in collecting eggs.
‘om fish that are put on the market, such as
h, salmon trout, lake herring and pickerel,
in the Great Lakes are not protected by a
on, and they are taken in largest numbers
and during the spawning season. Differ-
s of collecting eggs are followed with the
| species. With the lobsters, for which there
cheries in operation, the eggs are taken from
sial catch, and after the eggs are procured
go on the market either alive or canned.
@ anadromous species, such as the Atlantic and
t fish are taken in the rivers or estuaries on
to the spawning beds. The Atlantic salmon
John and Restigouche rivers are purchased
mmercial fishermen during June and July,
in tidal ponds until they are ripe. After
obtained, the parent salmon are liberated,
e instances the same fish have been taken
essive years. At Tadousac the parent fish
en in nets operated by the Department, and
fargaree and Miramichi rivers the late run of
eh ascends the.rivers after the beginning
e*season are taken in nets authorized for
ter part of the speckled trout eggs are
ained from fish captured by careful and reliable
at. e rate of 10¢e each. These fish are liberated
are stripped, and 25 per cent of the fry is
d to the waters in which the parent fish are
t other places the fish are captured and all
is done by Departmental employees.
Great Lakes where there is no close season,
of the whitefish and salmon trout eggs are
from the commercial catch of fish. In some
e eggs are taken and fertilized by the fisher-
0 are paid by the quart for them. Quite a
mber are taken in nets operated by the De-
t, namely, in the Bay of Quinte, and The
of the Woods. Salmon trout eggs are obtained
commercial catch. Spawn takers are placed
hing tugs who collect and fertilize the eggs.
‘s Bay pound nets are operated for hatch-
ses, and those who operate the nets receive
remuneration the fish after they are strip-
CANADIAN FISHERMAN
st of the eggs handled in our hatcheries are
mon, which are protected by a close season, .
669
eggs are obtained from the commercial catch of fish,
but in areas where there are close seasons the pickerel
eggs are obtained by the Department’s officers, or by
men working under their direction.
In Lake Winnipeg and Winnipegosis all the white-
fish eggs are obtained in closed areas, and in nets
operated by the Department’s officers. At Dauphin
River, Lake Winnipeg, the annual collection of white-
fish eggs from fish taken in one pound net is now:
about 400,000,000. In the Waterhen River, Lake Win-
nipegosis, the collection, which is made in the same
way, is in a normal. season upwards of 100,000,000
eggs.
Most of the eggs of the Pacific salmons are obtained
from fish taken on their way to, or after they have,
reached the spawning grounds. The salmon are inter-
cepted as they ascend the river by fencing the streams.
These salmon do not survive spawning, and those that
are in the best condition are distributed amongst the
Indians for food.
Co-operation of the Fishermen Essential.
Fish Culture can do a great deal in keeping up
the supply of fish in our lakes and rivers, but like
everything else it’s possibilities have a limit, and un-
less the hatcheries receive sufficient eggs to enable
them to liberate sufficient fry to make up for the toll
taken by the fishermen, there is only one result, name-
ly, a decreasing fishery and in time utter depletion.
The Department has been urged to build more hatch-
eries, but what is the use of hatcheries if the eggs
to fill them are not supplied, and in this connection
TI am sorry ‘to say that a large number of ‘fishermen
do not appear to appreciate the work that the hatcher-
ies are doing, and do not afford that measure of co-
operation and assistance that in their own interests,
anyone would expect of them. I am glad to be able
to say that in some individual cases, and in certain
areas they appreciate the work of the hatcheries, and
have given every reasonable assistance in collecting
eggs, but asageneral rule there is room for a vast
improvement. In one case during the season just
closed a fisherman, after he had given detailed direc-
tions in taking and handling the eggs, and was sup-
plied with the necessary pans, collected no eggs what-
ever and did not even move the pans, ete., from where
they were placed for him.
' So long as there are no close seasons and hatcheries
are depended upon to maintain the fisheries, their
prosperity, particularly in waters where the eggs are
obtained from the commercial catch depends to a very
large extent upon the fishermen themselves and the
number of eggs that they save, and the assistance they
give in procuring for the hatcheries the eggs of every.
fish that is ripe when it is caught. If the required
number of eggs is not supplied and hatched, and the
required number of fry is not distributed, the only
alternative is to enact restrictive and protective legis-
lation, and to establish close seasons sufficient to
maintain the supply of fish by natural and artificial
propagation, and I am sure that the fishermen of Lake
Erie do not wish to have close seasons again enforced.
The Department’s Policy.
For several years preceding the outbreak of the
War, the Fish Breeding Service was extended and new
hatcheries were built as it was demonstrated that
670
\ é
more eggs were available than the existing hatcheries
could accommodate, and the hatcheries could always
have carried more eggs than were collected.
Efficacy of Hatcheries and Protection.
The efficacy of artificial propagation, joined with
judicious protection, as a means of maintaining and
increasing the prosperity of the fisheries has been
long established beyond all doubt, but ‘I would like
to refer to what the Restigouche hatchery and the en-
forcement of the regulations has done for the angling
and the commercial fishery of the Restigouche River.
Forty-five years ago the salmon rivers of the Atlan-
tic coast were in a depleted condition, and in speak-
ing of the angling in the Restigouche, the fishery of-
ficer in 1871 says that, ‘‘I do not consider the main
Restigouche River capable of affording good fishing
to more than four rods.”’
Forty-five years later the present hatchery officer
reports that ‘“‘the yield of the commercial salmon fish-
ery in the bay (Chaleur) last season, 1916, far exceeded
that of anything ever known in the history of the dis-
trict. The majority of the stands made immense
catches, so great in fact that the freezers became fill-
ed before the close of the fishery, and the dealers abso-
lutely refused to buy the fish. I heard of some netters
having as many as 50 fish when they raised their traps
for the season. Some good scores were made and on
the whole, hear that the anglers are well satisfied,
and that the rivers are now well filled with stocked
fish. The fish were even larger than usual. Two
gentlemen holding water on the lower Matapedia made
a score of some 30 fish in ten days with an average of:
This is the largest ever known on the
I heard from one buy-
27 pounds.
Restigouche or its tributaries.
er that the first 12,000 pounds he purchased, the fish
averaged over 25 pounds. This is something unusual.
‘*T have heard of large numbers of adult fish going
up the small brooks to spawn, something unheard of
a few years ago, but as the fish increase in the main
streams a large percentage will ascend the small
brooks to spawn.
“There has not been a poor year on the Resti-
gouche now for ten or twelve years, and I am ‘quite
sure that with the protection and hatchery work
- there will not be a return of any more off years. The
salmon fishery is certainly a mine of wealth to this
section of the country.
““The eatch of salmon last year will probably ex-
ceed a million pounds in the bay of Chaleur, and at
10c. per pound, amounts to $100,000.00.
‘““The New Brunswick Government angling waters
on the Restigouche were sold at public auction at
Fredericton for the first time in 1883, the Restigouche
waters realizing $2,045.00, and the Upsalquitech $210.
The value of these Government waters gradually in-
ereased from year to year, and in 1903, twenty years
later, the same waters were netting the Provincial
Government the handsome return of $10,820.00.
‘‘It is eertainly interesting to compare the above
figures with the present conditions and prices now
heing asked and paid.
““T notice the Government waters on the Resti-
souche were offered for sale at public auction at
Fredericton on March 21, 1917. The total upset price
on the various sections was $17,750. This does not
include the Quebec side of the river, neither does it in-
‘elude the Upsalquiteh river, which is now under rental
at $3,000 per annum, as against $1,000 in 1903, The
~™
CANADIAN FISHERMAN
_ also donble that of 1911. and in 1917 conditions
the fishing in the Bay of Quinte last fall was
- per week.
lose the eggs out of Lake Erie than have eggs
x
upset price of $17,750, for the sections that will be pu:
up at auction, and the rental of $3,000 that is pe
for the Upsalquitch, amounts to $20,750, as agai
the rentals amounting to $10,820 that were paid
1903. These figures are evidence of the present val
of the salmon fishery and the conditions of the rive
What is true of the Restigouche is to a more or |
extent true of all the salmon rivers on the Atlantic
Coast. As a result of the hatchery at Kelly’s Pong
near Charlottetown, salmon are again found in larg
numbers in all the larger streams of Prince Edwar
Island, where they were seldom. seen ten years ago,
The same condition obtains in many streams in N:
Brunswick and Nova Scotia, and last season (1
salmon and grilse were taken with the fly in the N.
waak River, N.B.. where they have seldom been
for fifty years. ae
The hatcheries are also credited with the p
condition of the whitefish fishery of Lake O:
and Lake Erie, which was seldom better than it
last season. gene
I have not been able to compare statisties for
last five years. but in 1912 the total average cat
whitefish in Take Erie and the Detroit River b
ericans and Canadians was nearly four times as g
as it was twenty years previously, (Whitefish 0
Great Lakes. M. J. Patton). and in Lake Onta
was a little less than twice as great. In Lake O
on the Canadian side, the whitefish catch of 1916
ne
still hetter. end I was told by several fishermen
th
in their experiecne.
Conclusion.
Canada has always held a leading place in
ture, and I think that I am safe in saying th:
her Fish Breeding Service is second only t
the United States. She has 49 hatcheries,
hatcheries, 6 salmon ponds, and 1 lobster poi
eration. Her annual fish breeding approp
$400.000, but since the outbreak of the war
hatcheries have been built, and the full appropriatio
has not been spent. perigee
- Warden N. S. Cornell here asked the questi
how he accounted for the fact that the producti
eggs in Port Stanley last year was the worst for
eral years. He stated that they had done their
to get the eggs, but had been unable to do so.
result. he stated, we had to pay men as high >
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’’
‘<Choctaw’’
‘Donald Maec’”’
‘‘Douglas H.’’
‘‘Hdward 8.’ .
‘‘Bast Side’’..
‘RW A. Stanley”’
‘Gordon Brown”’
‘‘Hfattie Berry”’ ..
‘©J. R. Moore’’ ..
“Tulu May’’ .
‘‘McAuley”’
“Morgan Bros."’
cfg fit) RRR Bele le eta
‘Stanley Foster”? :
4 Wilma?’ ..
et PG od
‘‘Morrison’’
Total 8 sf 1g Tee ih eu
Erie.
7
’
if}
en
¥ 3
~
— March, 1918. CANADIAN FISHERMAN
ATTENTION!!
_ | Lake Erie Fishermen.
_ The F inlay Fish Company
Port Stanley, Ontario
PLANTS AT
Port Maitland, Ontario.
Port Dover, Ontario.
Port Burwell, Ontario.
Port Stanley, Ontario.
REPRESENTING
FR. Robbins Co., Buffalo, N.Y.
Finlay Fish Inc., New York, N. Y.
C. C. Robbins Inc., Chicago, Ill.
Unexcelled facilities for packing and
marketing your catch, no need to
worry about accomodation at any of
above ports, we will take care of your
fish and procure high prices.
Write or telephone Chas. Finlay, Port Stanley, Ontario, for further
- information. :
FINLAY FISH COMPANY
(
a
680 CANADIAN
Industrial Items
SIXTH ANNUAL CONVENTION,
“The Canada Metal Co., Ltd., held the sixth Annual
Convention of their sales staff at the head office in
Toronto, commencing the week February 4th, and
when one considers that representatives of the firm
from all parts of the Dominion were present, and that
trade conditions were discussed on all territories from
the Atlantie to the Pacific coasts, it is no wonder that —
a most interesting and successful convention was the
result. One salesman stated, ‘‘T have been selling met-
W. G. HARRIS, Sen.
als all my life, and the first year we met I thought
there was nothing more for me to learn, yet when I
hear the views and knowledge of our other salesmen,
I decide that as long as I live it will be necessary to
come to these conventions with an open mind ready
to digest ‘and benefit all that is possible by the know-
ledge of others. The exchange of ideas and experi-
ences gives a wider viewpoint and educates one for
all emergencies.
Mr. W. G. Harris, Sr., President of the company,
gave an address of weleome, and expressed his great
pleasure in once more meeting the staff.
Only once a year, he said, is it possible for us
all to meet; and year by year the family grows, and-to-
day we have here managers and their: salesmen, not
only from head office, but also from our factories in
Hamilton, Montreal, Winnipeg, and Vancouver. ‘‘In
1911,’’ he further added, ‘‘we moved to our new fae-
tory on Fraser Avenue, and to illustrate the growth
of our business, may state that not ‘only is our staff
increased by more than twenty salesmen, but this
factory has been enlarged five times in the period to
cope with the great demand for our goods. We have
also built factories and are manufacturing most of our
lines in Montreal and Winnipeg. Our progress,’’ he
continued, ‘‘ has been remarkable and our success has
been built on a sure foundation. The motto we stand
by is service and dependability. Give excellent ser-
vice, manufacture and sell puede of dependable quality
28s is he to yen
FISHERMAN
~ Mareh, 1918, ae
Mr. Harris also gave some good sound advice on
square dealings. ‘‘Know your business,’’ said he,
‘‘Jearn all there is to know about metals. Ask ques-
tions; teach and be taught, and thus ensure closer
co-operation,’’ and told how during the’ convention ~
they would have the opportunity of seeing many lines ~
manufactured, so that they could gain an accurate
knowledge of what they were selling, and how and
under what conditions various goods were manufac-
tured, . :
Mr. Harris, Jr., Vice-President, Sante at the Con-.
vention and opened by going through the Annual Re- oyna
port and he gave some interesting figures. All sales
have increased, and 1917 was the best year to date
He further pointed out that no firm ean stand still.
It must either go ahead or go behind and to go ahead
after a successful year required greater efforts, mé
concentrated efforts, and more carefully organ
efforts. Particularly is it necessary to take into
sideration that some day the war will end, and ¢
every business a tremendous jolt during the re-o
ation which is bound to follow. Only those Heme seh
prepare for after the war conditions can hope to reap
the benefit when normal times arrive and this is ov
reason why the organization must be kept to the
est pitch of efficiency.
Thirty- four items were on the Agenda and followin
prizes for the various sales competitions. Then ca
a visit to the lead rolls and samples of ae
W. G. HARRIS, Jr.
Then following. the melting of the lead into lbs
and sheets were rolled in various thicknesses from.
1-16” to 14” and in widths up to 7’ 6” and any length
Next a at was made to the fine rolls where the pro
cess of rolling fine lead or tin foils was witnessed,
thus illustrating the faet that atone, cou.
7
2 p
ene P
3
March, 1918
CANADIAN FISHERMAN
GET READY
with
Lion Brand Cordage
MEER be : . Ta wt PRR NARS CSAS PSI SES NOE BS fade RPO ote is OEE NVR ye YH ERS
; a A AY : j )
. Ue Pee e teed
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8 4 i
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- -
Fitting out at Lunenburg, N.S.
Manila, Sisal, Italian, Hemp, Jute
Cordage and Twines of Every Description
MADE IN CANADA SINCE 1825.
Consumers Cordage Company, ten
Limited.
Mills: MONTREAL, QUE., and HALIFAX, N.S.
Branches: St. John and Toronto
Agents: Jas. Bisset and Co., Quebec. Tees & Persse, Limited, Winnipeg,
; - Regina, Saskatoon, Moose Jaw, Calgary, Edmonton.
McGowan & Company, Vancouver.
4uvV’
61
684 ) CANADIAN - FISHERMAN
no matter what the requirements in sheet lead it could.
be supplied on the shortest notice,
Another session was taken up in reviewing the sales
of babbitt metals for 1917, which far exceeded any
previous year. Mr. Harris, Jr., gave a very interest-
ing address on this subject, illustrating the real mean-
ing of specifie gravity of babbitt metals.
An exhibition of how to pour babbitt metals to give
best results was made most instructive.
The question was asked by one of the salesmen,
‘“Why do we guarantee our babbitt metals to give ex-
cellent service?’’. This opened a subject full of dis-
cussion, and to illustrate and give a. practical demon-
stration ofits manufacture, first, a visit was made to
_the laboratory where tin, antimony, lead, zinc, copper,
ete., were tested by the metallurgical chemist. Then
the melting pots were visited where three of the lar-
gest were being operated. Each of them have a cap-
acity of 35 tons. One of Imperial Genuine Babbitt
Metal for large shipbuilders, one of Harris . Heavy
Pressure and one of low grade for stock. During the
melting process more laboratory tests were made to
prove the accuracy of the alloy, and later in the day
after the metal was poured, another test was:made on
the friction testing machine. Comparisons were made
showing how in Imperial Genuine the tenacity of the
tin and copper mixture combined with ductility ren-
ders it best for high speed and special hard service.
At the conclusion of the babbitt metal discussion
came one of the most interesting events of the con-
vention, when Mr. Fred Harris, manager of the Win-
nipeg branch, presented a gold watch and chain to
Messrs. D. L. "Scott and E. Parkin, who had been suc-
cessful in the Harris Heavy Pressure competition.
Another session was given over to Ingot Metals, so
that salesmen would thoroughly understand what they
were selling. Samples of copper ore, zine ore, lead ore,
phosphor tin, antimony, and phosphor copper were
thoroughly dealt with.
_ Metal conditions for 1917 were thoroughly reviewed
and prospects for 1918 discussed and the effect the
war had upon the metal industry brought out some
most interesting details.
Following this came the manufacture of solder of
various grades. The salesmen after going minutely
into all the points of solder, as to quality, ete., were
taken through the factory to see the manufacture of
bar solder, slab solder, wiping solder, wire solder and
ribbon solder.
_ Hach day lunch was served at the Sunnyside Pavil-
ion and with the exception of this break every day was
full of business.
The salesmen were encouraged to give addresses
and to illustrate the practical and interesting subjects
the folowing might be noted:
Humanity in Business—E, Parkin.
Contracts—F. Harris.
What we are doing in Winnipeg—W. G. Garrett.
Sales assistance from the office—M. Matthews.
Regular production of business, Co-operation, Trade
and its prospects in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick
ete,
Then followed a visit to the lead pipe presses and
lead pipe of all sizes were made.
One evening was given over to a smoking concert,
held in the large showroom at the head office and at -
which, in addition to the salesmen, the whole office
staff and the foremen of the various departments were
invited, This was certainly a great success and the
fun was fast and furious, and when the Convention a
Song was sung it made the rafters ring, and was only
second to the hearty way in which the National An-
them brought the concert to a close.
At the conclusion of the convention votes of thanks
were given to Mr, W. G. Harris, Sr., Mr. W. G. Harris,
Jr., and Mr, H. C. Crow; and Mr. Harris, Sr., in re-—
sponse, stated that even though it meant such a tre-
mendous amount of thought and eare to prepare and
carry a convention to such a successful issue, it was
labor well. worth while when every one took such in-
tense interest in it, and he hoped that each one would
go away feeling that a greater knowledge of the goods
manufactured by the Canada Metal Co., Ltd: had been
gained, and that they would. feel satisfied that the
aim to give service and maintain the reputation for:.>
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. =
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April, 1918.
CANADIAN FISHERMAN
673
Steam I tawling off the Nova Scotia Coast in Winter
*“If most of the people who eat fish, especially in
winter time, had to catch them,’’ remarked Gjert
Myhre, captain of the steam trawler *Triumph,’ the
word would soon disappear from menu cards.’’
The captain had just made his ship fast to her
wharf in Halifax one of those zero days recently so
usual in Nova Scotia. The ‘‘Triumph,’’ coated with
gleaming ice from the tip of her masts to the water
line, suggested a Viking Ship. The trawler’s cap-
tain and crew—descendants: of the Norsemen every
one—had indeed returned from a grim battle, not with
their fellow-men, but with all the genii of the ocean.
Winter fishing on the Grand Banks means long
hours of hard work and under about the most difficult
conditions one can conceive. The ‘‘Triumph’’ leaves
Halifax the minute her cargo is landed.. Only the fish-
.
ARTHUR BOUTILIER.
President, National Fish Co., Ltd., Halifax, N.S,
owner s.s. Triumph.
erman’s most treacherous foe, foggy weather, can de-
ter Capt. Myhre from setting out.
There is no telling beforehand just where fish will
be found, but the fishing grounds from December to
April are the Western Banks around Sable Island.
When the steamer reaches a point some hundred and
twenty-five miles off the Nova Seotia coast, and al-
most directly east of Halifax, the trawl is let out.
The depth here is one hundred to one hundred and
fifty fathoms. It doesn’t make any difference whether
it is day or night; almost calm or a driving gale. The
~*Triumph’’ is fitted. with electric lights and the crew
often are obliged to work fifty to seventy hours with-
out sleep. Thinking of stowing away fish in a zero
temperature, a sleet storm, and a thirty mile gale!
If the sea is rough, it is not unusualto have a whole
deckload washed away and a long night’s work gone
for nothing. Often, too, the trawl comes up empty.
In very cold weather the trawl] freezes stiff the mo-
ment it comes above water. The lower temperature of
the air, as compared with the water, kills the fish al-
most instantly.. With good luck the men make a fair
wage, but working under such conditions, often with
clothing wet through, fishermen aré peculiarly liable
to rheumatic diseases. A trawler fisherman is an old
man at forty. Every one of the ‘‘Triumph’’ crew of
twenty is under thirty-five.
Another danger to which winter trawlers are ex-
posed is that of icing-up. The steel hull is frequently
if
CAPT. GJERT MYHRE,
s.s. Triumph.
so heavily coated with ice as to give the ship a danger-
ous list and if she should happen to encounter a storm
while in this condition, the ‘‘Triumph’’ would never
make Halifax again.
It is not always fish the trawl brings up from the
depths of the Western Banks. Sometimes there are
bits of wrecked ships or, again, a slime covered skull
—silent messenger from the unknown past—rolls to
the icy deck.
Only three steam trawlers fish out of Halifax. The
‘‘Triumph,’’ purchased by Arthur Boutilier from Eng-
lish parties in 1916, was the first ship to engage in
the business from that port. She has a carrying
674
capacity of 300,000 pounds and, in favorable condi-
tions, frequently brings in a full cargo, mostly had-
dock, but also halibut, cod and a small quantity of
flat fish. The ‘‘Triumph’’ makes trips like a train
on schedule time and her catch finds its way to fam-
ily tables all the way from Nova Scotia to Vancouver.
The fish are shipped fresh or cured and this ship, di-
rectly and indirectly, gives employment to upwards
of a hundred men, thus in every respect has more
than fulfilled her present owner’s most optimistic
hopes.
Steamship “‘Triumph’’ vast for Halifax in winter
—Note ice-coated shrouds and decks.
Captain Gjert Myhre commanded steam trawlers out
of Grimsby, the famous English fishing port, in the
days before the war. He has fished in the White Sea,
around Iceland and on the Western Banks for years.
As many generations of Myhres as can be counted,
almost, have been sailors who went down to the sea
from Norway, which, probably, accounts for the safe
trips the Halifax boat has made through all the dangers
of hurricane and storm that beset fishermen on the
Western Atlantic.
Mr. A. lL. Sherman, of the Defiance Packing Com-
pany, Vancouver, °B. C., has been visiting Ottawa,
Montreal and eastern cities,
CANADIAN FISHERMAN
5
April, 1918.
FLAT FISH SUPPLIES. :
Arrangements have been made by the Fish Section F
of the Canada Food Board in conjunction with firms
producing sea fish on the Atlantic Coast to supply flat —
fish—flounders, soles, witches, skate, ete., at a price
f.o.b. the coast, which would cost the retailer in Onem
tario and Quebee approximately 7e. a pound Mie
allowing a spread of 3c. per pound for the retai
can be purchased by the consumer at 10e. per. pow,
These, excellent sea fish are highly esteemed in Eng-
land and on the continent and should be taken advan-—
tage of in Canada. F
_ Your retail fish dealer can secure shipments of these
fish from the following firms:
Maritime Fish Corporation, Ltd., Montreal.
Leonard Fisheries, Limited, Montreal.
W. R. Spooner, 119 Youville Square, Montreal. x
D. Hatton Company, Montreal. ae
White & Company, Toronto. .
F. T. James & Company, Toronto.
The Board has made similar arrangements for th
marketing of flat fish throughout the Western Pro-
vinees and the distribution of these splendid food fish —
is now being completed to cover Canada from Coast to
Coast at the uniform price of 10¢. per a to the:
consumer.
LOBSTER HATCHERIES CLOSED.
Honorable Mr. Ballantyne, Minister of the Naval —
Service, announces that he has decided to permanently —
close the fourteen lobster hatcheries scattered about —
the coasts of the Maritime Provinees.
The wisdom of lobster hatching has been a subject.
of investigation by Doctor A. P. Knight, of Queen’
University, in his capacity as a member of the Biologi-
cal Board, for four years past. He has found that
lobster hatching is wrong in principle, and that in-
stead of building up, under the conditions that they
must be operated along our coasts, they are really de-
structive.
Unlike fish, the eggs of the lobster are fertilized
when they are extruded, and the mother lobster retains
them attached to her body until they are hatched out.
If, therefore, the mother lobster is left in the sea she
will hatch every hatchable egg, and under natural con-
ditions, so that even under the most favorable condi- —
tions a hatchery could not compare with her in ef- —
ficiency. But the hatcheries could not be operated —
under anything like ideal conditions. As the fishery —
is scattered all along the coast, arrangements had to
be made with the fishermen to bring their berried
lobsters to the canneries they were fishing for. The
lobsters wef held in erates there until the collecting
boat from the hatchery would come along, when the
eggs were scraped off, and taken to the hatchery
and the mother lobster was then handed over to the —
eannery. If left to hatch naturally, she would also
have a chance of producing another crop of eggs.
The Department of the Naval Service is arranging —
to start an educational campaign amongst the fisher-
men to induce them to protect all berried lobsters and —
to co-operate with the Department in protecting the —
fishery, and thus save the industry for them. Doctor
Knight is being placed in charge of this campaign. —
He will have five or six undergraduates from Mari-—
time Universities assisting him. :
Ottawa, April 6th, 1918,
1918.
ing to the importance of the fish question and
reat difficulties encountered in arriving at a solu-
on of all the various problems involved, from the At-
antic to the Pacific, I have had this memorandum writ-
unusual length in order that the subject might
e fully understood.—W. J. H. Hanna.)
fish food is by far the most important avail-
titute for beef and bacon, the greater produc-
fish is a prerequisite to the maximum export
nd bacon. The supplies of mutton, veal, poul-
s, ete., are limited. The limit of fish produc-
as not been even approximately reached.
h endowed with magnificent fishery resources
is far behind other nations in the development
sheries. Out of a population of 8,000,000 peo-
95,000 are engaged in the fishing industry.
all of these constantly employed; with many
fishing is~but a desultory and seasonal oc-
‘salmon fisheries of the Pacific, the fisheries of
Lakes, those of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and
fisheries of the Atlantic Banks, are operative
ng the summer months. Those of the northern
the prairie provinces are conducted only dur-
winter, as snow is essential to the transporta-
he catch to the nearest railway line.
ethods employed, notably on the Atlantic
off-shore banks, are crude and primitive.
adequate transportation facilities to points
t to prolific fishing grounds militates against
ng the Canadian market regularly with fresh
caught in these remote areas must be pre-
means of salt, and the product reaches the
1 consumer takes but a small proportion, the
ng exported to Europe, the West Indies, and
ica. Roughly, 120,000,000 pounds of such
da market abroad. Salmon and lobsters caught
as distant from railways have to be canned.
a great proportion of the world’s supply of
salmon and lobsters is produced in Canada,
te is tremendous.
pply of fresh fish from the Atlantic and
ust come through the ports served by ade-
sportation facilities. As the greatest con-
market is included in the area between Quebec
| Winnipeg, with long stretches of sparsely-
rritory between, the rail hauls of from 800 to
es add to the difficulties of marketing sea-
fresh condition. Express service has had to
to the maximum in order to get fish to the
‘in prime condition. As heat is maintained in
ears for at least seven months in the year,
ked in ice suffers considerable deterioration in
Freight service in winter is used to a con-
extent; but transit by this means is slow,
dden thaws cause losses and deterioration.
ch Canada is a large fish producing country,
July, 1917, it never featured as a large
The Canadian public has been apathetic
fish as a food. The retail trade remains
Report of the Canada F boll Roard’s F ish, Committes
4 for 1917
ods vary in almost every instance.
dried, salted, or pickled fish. Of these the
rely in the hands of butchers and ,
675
grocers who carry fish as a side-line. The care of fish
in most of the retail stores has received but scant
attention, and the public has been repelled by the un-
sanitary methods of handling and displaying. For this
and other reasons the ready market and good price of-
Dy in the United States draw the bulk of our fresh
ish.
Seattered over an area 4,000 miles wide, Canada’s
fish industry represents a huge unorganized activity
where striking variations are met with in every 10° of
longitude traversed. No particular fishery is conduct-
ed along lines similar to others. Conditions and meth-
The only efforts.
made to standardize and organize the industry are
attributable to the Canadian Fisheries Association,
which was formed in the year 1915.
When the Fish Committee of the Food Controller’s
Office was appointed, it was entrusted with the task
of increasing fish consumption throughout the Do-
minion. The members took office in July, 1917, and
set to work to acquaint themselves with existing con-
ditions. ; :
The first condition requiring .remedy was the not-
able lack of transportation facilities in marketing At-
lantie fish: The Committee, after many negotiations,
was successful in having a fast freight train placed in
service on the Canadian Government Railways. This
started from Mulgrave, N.S., picking up fish there
from Canso, Hawkesbury and Cape Breton points, and
collecting further shipments at Truro, N.S. The train,
known as the Sea Food Special, runs whenever ship-
ments can be collected, making the trip from Mulgrave
to Montreal in forty-eight hours. Shipments for On-
tario points are carried to Toronto and there dis-
tributed.
The problem of better retail handling was next taken
up. It was found that the lack of proper refrigeration
and display kept the public from buying more fish.
The Fish Committee experimented with the Fish Dis-
play Case designed by the Marine and Fisheries De-
partment, and decided: to supply these cases to. butch-
ers and the smaller retailers of fish at half the cost —
the Government bearing the other half—ten dollars.
In this way 300 cases were distributed to butchers and
fish dealers throughout the cities and towns east of
Winnipeg.
Ignorance of the proper methods of preparation and
cooking on the part of the housewife constituted an-
other problem. ‘The Fish Committee, therefore, com-
piled a Cook Book containing simple recipes and ad-
vocating the introduction of fish not commonly used,
but in themselves most desirable and easily obtainable.
100,000 copies of this book in English, and 50,000 in
French, were printed and distributed throughout
Canada.
A comprehensive advertising campaign throughout
the Provinee of Quebee so Stimulated the use of fish
as very materially to increase the per capita consump-
tion. The Union of Canadian Municipalities gave the
Fish Committee very material assistance in every pro- .@
vince. The result has been a very widespread moygs
ment in the substitution of fish for beef and bacon.
676 CANADIAN
In the course of further work the Fish Committee
arranged conferences of both Canadian and United
States lake fish dealers. After sifting down the evi-
dence it was decided to fix the maximum scale of
prices to be paid the fisherman at various lakes for the
different species of fish and also to fix the profits
of wholesale handlers. Under the scale fixed the
Canadian market is to receive primary consideration,
and the highest priced fish — whitefish and trout —
cannot be retailed for more than 16¢ per pound.
Previously these fish retailed at from 18e to 22e per
pound.
This particular problem involved a large amount
of work. It called for expert technical knowledge of
the fisheries, and determination of the costs of opera-
tions, of transportation charges, of railway shipping
charges, and of freight charges from shipping point
to markets, and a fair graduation of prices to the fish-
erman on the various scattered lakes, in order to avoid
discrimination. In this work the Committee secured
the co-operation of the United States Food Adminis-
tration.
To enforee the regulations made, and to provide for
the prompt punishment of infractions, it became ne-
cessary to deal with the licensing of all wholesale
handlers of fish. Such a system, therefore, was estab-
lished. By this means it is practicable to regulate ex-
ports, maintain supplies for the whole market, control
profits, prevent hoarding and waste, discourage
speculators, and to administer the industry sanely and
efficiently.
Orders-in-Council were passed requiring all whole-
sale dealers in fish to register and secure licenses.
They were required, amongst other things, to submit
monthly sworn statements of the quantities of fish
bought and sold and on hand, and the price, high and
low, of each particular species.
To defray the expenses of the License Bureau, a
nominal fee is charged — $10 for every $100,000 of
sales up to and aggregating $500,000, and $5 for each
$100,000 over that amount. A fee of ‘$5 i is charged for
each branch of all wholesale houses. The fees were
fixed at a low figure in order that the industry should
not be penalized. Since the license regulations went
into effect on January 1st, 1918, the wholesalers have
cheerfully conformed to the regulations. Under the
regulations the license number must be stamped on
every box or barrel of fish shipped; and exports by
non-licensed dealers can be stopped by the customs
authorities at any time.
_ The Fish Committee of the Food Controller’s Office
has been able in many ways constructively to assist
the fishing industry. For instance, in the month of
September, 1917, an unforeseen shortage of gasoline
threatened to tie-up the shore fishery of the Maritime
Provinces. Through the efforts of the Committee, a
trainload of gasoline tank cars was rushed to the coast
and a serious stoppage was averted. Similar action
was taken in the case of a shortage of gasoline at Prince
Rupert, B.C. Both of these instances might have meant
a serious diminution of the fish supply.
The Committee was also instrumental, with the aid
of the Deputy Minister of Naval Service, in securing
the release of the steam trawler ‘‘Baleine’’ from Ad-
miralty Service for service in the Atlantic coast fisher-
ies. The addition of this trawler to the Canadian
Fishing Fleet means an increase of some 300,000 pounds
of fish monthly.
Fishing restrictions have been raised, and the limit
\
FISHERMAN April,
of time and eatech extended, in the lakes of B
Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manite
through the representations of the Committee to
Department of Marine and Fisheries. Hundreds of
quirers have been put in touch with supplies of f
many retailers have been started in business, and «
ers have been induced to enlarge existing busin
through the activities of the Committee.
Transportation of fish has been greatly facili
and any condition tending to hinder the moveme
production of fish has been promptly corrected
The Committee succeeded in securing prompt
plies of coal for-large fish plants in Nova Scotia 4
otherwise would have had to close down, and
plete suspension of fishing operations was pre
Coal was also procured to bunker a Canadian ste
trawler, which otherwise would have been bs » for
considerable period. 4
The Fish Committee is in constant touch ‘wit
phase of the industry. Shortage of bait for the
men has been relieved; coal, gasoline, gear, sé
other necessary supplies for tire fishermen: hay
procured. Transportation facilities and larger
markets have been developed—primarily, to
beef and bacon for export overseas, vr, secor
with the object of erecting the Canadian Fishin
dustry into a strong organic entity. oA
The following figures, received from a Pees
wholesale and retail Canadian fish merchants
to the effectiveness of the Committee’s work: —
No. 1—Retail Stores, eG
October, November, December, 1916, Fish —
Sales eo eS
October, November, December, 1917, Fish
Sales ine We
No. a
October, November, December, 1916, Lake =.
Fish Sales .
October, November, “December, 1917, Lake
Sales. |
October, November; December, 1916, sea”
Fish Sales... .. . “107,
October, November, December. 1917, ‘Goa (died
Fish Males; a: t Ly
No. 3.
October, November, December, 1916, had- Meee:
dies and herring . ; ;
October, November, December, 1917, had
dies and herring . ‘
No. 4 Wholesalers.
October, November, December, 1916, Fish
Sales he See
October, November, December, 1917, ‘Fish
salen:
No. 5.—Wholesalers.
October, November, December, 1916, Fish
Sales.” a
October, November, “December, “1917, Fish
Sales: yids
No. 6.—Wholesalers.
1916
lbs.
588,473
218,070
July to Dee., Fish Sales, Quebec...
July to Dec., Fish Sales, Ontario. .
July to Dee., Fish Sales, Manitoba,
Saskatchewan, Alberta and
British Columbia .. 306,135
Total Fish-Sales:. .. .:.. +. Alte ae
April, 1918.
No. 7.—Wholesalers.
uly to December, 1916, Fish Sales .. . .4,865,997 lbs.
y to December, 1917, Fish Sales .. . .8,972,642 ‘‘
A Toronto wholesaler states that the inerease is 80
cent.
In conelusion, reference to a matter vitally affeet-
the fishing industry as a whole must not be omitted.
he effect of special political interests, local and
rwise, has been most disastrous. A sweeping re-
| of existing laws, both restriction and permis-
is patently necessary.
entirely new survey should be made of Canada’s
*y resources, and regulation formed to encourage
imum of production and development with due
to necessary conservation, to arrest depletion.
esent laws are in many cases inadequate and
be entirely revised.
» lobster fisheries will be utterly exhausted in
10 to 15 years unless the ever-relaxing regula-
be replaced by stringent measures of conserva-
_ All lobster fisheries and all export trade in lob-
should either be restricted to the large (9 inches
er) crustaceans, or better, prohibited entirely
ven period, and the fishermen turned to other
oductive fisheries.
Tf the restrictions that now prevent the seining of
lock were removed wholly or in part, the annual
of Atlantic fish would be largely augmented.
ticular attention should be paid to the herring
ies of both the Pacific and the Atlantic. The
and packing of herring in Canada should be
ught to a high standard in order that Canadian
ring may compete equally with the high class her-
yf Great Britain and Seandinavia in the world’s
nical education for our fishermen isa erying
y. Though exploiting a fishery unrivalled for
of edible species and inexhaustible supply, our
en are extremely deficient in training abso-
essential to the successful prosecution of their
ig and far behind the fishermen of Great Britain,
linavia and Japan. : :
lization of fish waste should receive immediate
_ Fertilizers, cattle and poultry feed, oils of
kinds, can be manufactured from the unmarket-
ish and fish offal at present thrown away to
ent of thousands of tons annually.
ities adjacent to prolific fishing grounds should
ipped with material necessary for the encour-
t of local fisheries. Break-waters and harbors
be provided for fishing craft, with aids to navi-
to’ assist their ingress and egress, bait freezers
all cold storages erected under subsidy; tanks
ke care of fish offal.
tances could be multiplied. It must suffice to
‘that not only are there numerous abuses to be
eted, but there is a crying need of constructive
ation.
rticular attention is called to the conditions which
on the Pacific Coast. Both demand serious in-
tional consideration and regulation.
e Fraser river, in respect of the salmon which
their natural home-coming fresh water, the loss
ed last year was from six to eight million
n fish intercepted by American fishermen,
situation which means early abandonment
at : by both Canadian and American fisher-
or an iternationgl agreement for a period of en-
CANADIAN FISHERMAN
677
tire cessation of fishing and uniform regulation of
- fishing operations thereafter. This is imperative.
In the north, as reference to the reports of Mr. J.
rR Babeoek, the Deputy Commissioner of Fisheries for
British Columbia and the acknowledged chief authority
on the fishery industry on the Pacific Coast, will show,
the depletion of the halibut beds has proceeded to an
extent which meays extinction of the industry. If
conjoint efforts are not taken to conserve the halibut
this important food fish will soon disappear from the
market. The problem must be dealt with internation-
ally in regard to a large area in the waters contiguous
to the northern British Columbia Coast and Alaska.
*
NOTES ON THE SEA FISHING RESULTS FOR
MARCH.
The total value of the sea fish in first hands landed
during March was $671,700 against $686,650 for
March, last year.
The month was an extremely stormy one, and fish-
ing in small boats was most difficult. The quantity
of lobsters taken was therefore 4,500 ewts. less and
their value $76,000 less than’ in the same month last
year. .
It is gratifying to find, however, in spite of the
stormy weather that the quantity of cod and haddock
landed on the Atlantic coast is 25% greater than in
the previous March. This is due to the work of the
four steam trawlers now operating from Nova Scotia.
The current lobster season opened on the 15th of
November, last. Up to the end of the month of March,
the total pack was 3,216 cases while 8,133 ewts. were
shipped fresh in shell to market.
During the corresponding period, in the previous
year, the pack was 5,759 cases, while 17,552 ewts. were
shipped in shell.
ONTARIO FALLS BEHIND ON FISH CATCH..
Canada’s Total for Year is $39,208,378, Increase of |
4a _ $3,347,670.
Canada’s production of fish for the last fiscal year,
according to the annual report of the fisheries branch
of the Department of Marine and Fisheries just issued
was valued at $39,208,378, an increase of $3,347,670 as
compared with the previous year.
There was an increase in the value of the catch in
all the provinces with the exception of Ontario, where
smaller catches of trout, white fish, pike and pickerel
resulted in a decrease of over $500,000. a": te
As usual salmon heads the list in value with a total
of $10,882,431.
DISTRIBUTING CALENDARS.
The Consumers Cordage Co., Limited, Montreal, are
distributing to buyers of Cordage some very neat
Calendars, starting April 1st, 1918, to April 1st, 1919.
Any Cordage user can obtain one by writing to their
head office, Montreal, or branches.
Mr. A. li: Hager, of the Canadian Fishing Co., Van-
eouver, is at present in the Kast.
(1) Their Magnitude and Value.
It is intended in the series of articles of which this
is the first, to give a brief account of the sea fisheries
of the principal maritime countries of Europe, to
deseribe their nature, extent and value, and to point
out the chief factors which have led to their develop-
ment in recent years. The conditions. arisimg from
the war, partly connected with fishing operations In
European waters, and more particularly in relation to
the general food shortage throughout the world, have
brought the sea fisheries into greater prominence than
ever before. The profound disturbance of trade and
the dislocation of markets have raised new problems
for the future to solve. When peace comes, and the
reconstruction so much talked about, the fishing in-
dustry and the fish trade will not simply slip into the
old grooves, and be as they were. There will be
changes in various directions affecting | the fish sup-
ply, and one may note already a quickening of thought
on many subjects connected with it. It may be of some
use at this time to understand how the European fish-
eries are conducted and how the fish are disposed of.
We naturally begin with the fisheries of the United
Kingdom, not only because they are those of the Home-
land, but because they are by far the most valuable in
Europe, if not indeed the most valuable in the world.
In describing them it is necessary to go to the year
which preceded the outbreak of war, for since the war
began the greater part of the effective fishing fleet
and the crews who man them have been engaged in
the naval service, and the dwindled fleet which re-
mains to carry on fishing is restricted to certain areas.
In this article an account will be given of the yield of
the sea fisheries generally, of the extent of fishing op-
erations, the disposal of the fish and other general fea-
tures. In the next and succeeding articles the devel-
opment of the fisheries will be traced and the chief
methods of fishing described.
The Yield of the Fisheries.
The predominance of the British fisheries amongst
those of northern and_ north-western Europe is well
brought out in the Bulletin Statistique, published at
Copenhagen last year by the International Couneil for
the Exploration of the Sea. The figures refer to the
year 1912%and are as follows:
Quantity Percent- Value Percent- .
1,000 ewts. age. eo pe
Britain ... 24,073 43.28 3, :
Neees A 16,019 28.80 3,096 11.02
France .. 3437 6.18 4,794 17.06
Germany .. 3,293 5.92 2,012 7.16
Sweden 2,373 4.27 812 2.89
Holland .. 2,302 4.14 1,915 6.81
Teeland 1,708 3.07 417 1.48
Denmark 1,213 219>:, 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. <A sprig of parsley and probably a
bit of lemon adds to the attractiveness of the dish.
It looks good to eat, and you attack it in the right
frame of mind. And, if you don’t have that frame
of mind, no matter what you eat, you won’t enjoy it.
““Now, on the other hand, when the average house-
wife serves fried fish, you are presented with a crum-
bled mass of greasy flakes. Probably the fish served
by the housewife is as fresh, if not fresher than that
of the restaurant, and certainly there’s three times as
much of it, but it’s been spoiled in the cooking.
‘‘There are mighty few housewives who have learned
the knack of frying a fillet of fish so that it can be
served without falling apart; and few of them who
can fry a bit of fish without getting it soaked in fat.
And the occasions on which I have had the pleasure
of having an attraetively:cooked and served piece of
fish set before me, even in the best regulated house-
holds, are-so few that-it. wouldn’t take more than the
thumbs of both hands to count them.
‘*Properly fried fish is not a mass of greasy flakes;
it’s a solid mass of delicious white meat hidden be-
neath a thick frosting of delicious brown crumbs.
‘Tf the housewife of this country would only learn
what the French woman and the Italian woman seems
to have acquired by instinct, that a few minutes spent
in improving the appearance of a dish of food is time
well spent, she would be the greatest cook in the
world. And, also, she could save a great deal of
“money.’’
How Does Refrigeration Alter Fish P
The changes in the meat or muscle-substance of fish,
such as cod or haddock, during refrigeration, are a
most important matter. Little has really, hitherto,
been known about it. About twenty years ago, Pro-
fessor Prince studied, in Ottawa, sections of the frozen
meat of boiled lobsters, in connection with an experi-
mental shipment from Halifax to London, under the
auspices of the Fisheries Department. He found that
very minute crystals of ice appeared between the mus-
‘cle fibres resulting in loss of firmness, and a slight
loss of flavor, on thawing out, especially if the cold
storage was prolonged.
Some recent scientific studies, published in England
(‘*Frozen Fish and Alterations in Taste,’’ ete., by Pro-
fessors Stanley Gardiner and Nuttall, Cambridge Uni-
versity, England, Journal of Hygiene, XVII, Number 1,
1898), confirm Professor Prince’s results, and show in
an interesting manner, the changes undergone in fish
subjected to refrigeration.
Fish muscles, it may be pointed out, consist of min-
ute fibres or cylinders of soft substance, semi-fluid,
and contractile (called sarcoplasm), each fibre en-
closed in a thin sheath (called the sarcolemma), like
a sausage skin enclosing its soft contents.
Seven very important changes oceur during ordin-
ary freezing :—
(1) The red constituent (haemoglobin) of the blood
dissolves and suffuses.the clear serum or blood-liquid,
so that the museles near’the great arteries and veins
are stained a reddish-color. This red discoloration,
due to freezing, is confined mainly to the under-side
FISHERMAN April, 1918, —
of the backbone as far back as the tail-museles. It is
not due to the bursting of the arteries or veins under _
the backbone, but to diffusion, following the process
of haemolysis.
(2) The plump glossy appearance seen in the fresh
fish diminishes, and the skin looks somewhat dried and —
shrivelled, and there is a loss of weight. . a
(3) The most important change is of a microscopi
nature, and affects the minute fibres, or cylinders, o:
the soft contractile muscle substance. The water i
each small fibre separates from the albumin and forms
a central core or rod of ice, or it may burst throug
the delicate sheath of each fibre and congeal outside
or, in very slow freezing, the cylindrical fibres become
flattened in various ways, as a lead-pipe flattens, and
may show long sharp edges or flutings. a
(4) The fibres assume a condition resembling
coagulation, and: cannot, when thawed out, suck in or —
re-absorb the exuded fluid, which as thawing proceeds,
escapes from the fish, especially if subjected to any
pressure. This does not seem to apply to frozen her-
ring however. | Mt.
(5) The ice crystals produce spaces in the midst
of the fibres, which are empty when the crystals are
thawed, so that the flesh of the fish becomes looser
and its digestibility is really increased. — na bees
(6) There is a loss of volatile substances to which
fresh fish owe their peculiar, rather agreeable, aroma,
and a loss of fluid and other nutritive elements, bu
this small loss is counter-balanced by stoppage of de-
cay, and absence of the accompanying unpleasant odor,
(7) There is no doubt a certain amount of drying
or dessication in the freezing process, also some oxids
tion, involving not only loss of agreeable aroma, but |
even a slight loss of flavor, and any fatty materials
(as in mackerel and herring) tend to become rancid
The red haemoglobin of the blood becomes oxyhaeme
globin, so that the blood appears brighter in frozen
fish than in ordinary dead fish. bs pee.
It only remains to add that many of the aboy
changes, which take place during the usual process of
refrigeration in air, do not take place in the same de-
gree when fish are frozen in brine (as in the Danish —
method.) In such more rapid freezing processes the —
water fluid separates in each fibre, but remains there
as a central minute column of ice. Each fibre become
a hollow albumin cylinder, as it were, enclosing an ice-
pith or central column of ice, although the sheath may
rupture and the fluid escape on thawing. The more
rapidly the freezing is accomplished, the less are the
changes just described. The main difference is, how-—
ever, due to the far smaller ice-crystals formed in ~
rapid freezing, as compared with ordinary slow freez-
ing. There is less drying, less loss of juice, avoidance
of rancidity and of mouldiness, if the frozen fish are
wrapped in air-tight wrappings excluding the air.
If freezing is completed in one or two seconds, the
fibres undergo no essential change, and have the ap-
pearance of the fibres in fresh unfrozen fish, and no —
ice crystals appear, that is practically no separation
of water cecurs; but when five or ten minutes elapse
during refrigeration, minute columns of ice crystals are
formed, and the fibres may'rupture, or may remain in-
tact. It appears that various species of food fish dif.
fer in their resistanee to the changes described, while
the size, the thickness of the skin, the presence of
dense fatty layers, or of large spaces, such as the swim
ming bladder, and even the shape of the fish, are ‘fac-
tors, which affect the results of the freezing process.
ia
CANADIAN
- Report of Fishery Commission
Fisheries
he supply of salmon in B, C. waters is tending to
ase,” according to the weight of evidence sub-
d to the Fishery Commission that investigated
in phases of the salmon industry last summer.
Commission was composed of W. Sanford Evans,
man; H. B. Thomson, and F. T. James. It took
mee in B. C. for two months under oath, and ex-
ed an intivation to all interested to express their
3. The final report of the Commission has been
ed to Colonel the Honourable C. C, Ballantyne,
Jinister of the Naval Service, and is now on its
‘the King’s Printer.
jals of the Department freely state that the re-
r tains a mine of accurate information, and that
clusions are exceedingly valuable, and present-
tesmanlike form. Already the Department has
many of its findings, which were communi-
it, prior to the final drafting of the report, It
likely that it will materially aid the Minister
udable constructive and reconstructive pfo-
the B. C. fisheries, now well launched to the
on of all concerned.
e of the pessimistic evidence the commission-
the situation with optimism, for they report,
er may be the conclusion as to the present
of the supply, it would appear to be beyond
that the existing quantity of salmon is small
rison with the production of which the rivers
ns in B. C. are easily capable. With adequate
é measures, with a few more fish hatcheries
nels kept free from obstructions, the supply
materially inerease.’
by what is obviously possible that the pres-
ply should be measured, The potential national
of the Pacific salmon fisheries would seem
et to have caught the practical imagination of
adian people, or of Canadian administrations.’
‘h rivers and streams, for the most part un-
ble for navigation, are the natural spawning bed
ve species of salmon which require of man nothing
the chance to multiply, which go out to feed in
par and when mature, return on their fixed
Commissioners a iweached the problem of the
almon fisheries with a knowledge that the right
in the tidal waters of the Pacific Coast, belongs
yy B. C. citizen, and that only the Dominion
iene: ean limit that right, and it only in the
public interest. They lay down the funda-
principle that the supply of salmon should be
ed, the public provided with adequate sup-
t reasonable prices, an expert trade encour-
the tax-payer asked to pay only a fair share
Cost of administration and conservation, those
d in the industry protected and waste and un-
table employment of labor and capital avoided.
le nature and habits of Pacific salmon are de-
ribed in detail. The sock-eye is the salmon of the
n, While the four other varieties are especially in
in the fresh and frozen state. The canning
ts only two months in the year, and the catch
The continuance of the supply of sal-
ds absolutely on the new generation hatch-
ISHERMAN 683
of 1917, Investigating Salmon
of B.C.
ed each year. It is justifiable to catch all fish beyond
the number necessary to maintain natural reproduc-
tion. Salmon should not be killed too near spawning
time. All streams should be kept free from obstruc-
tion, and the fish allowed to get to the spawning
beds and remain unmolested where they of course die.
Hatcheries are important.
While the supply of salmon is decreasing, yet the
total pack of B. C. has shown an increase, owing to
other varieties than sockeye being canned. The sock-
eye pack has decreased. From*1902 to 1910, sockeye
was 78 per cent. of the total pack, but from 1911 to
1917 it was less than 42 per cent. The Commissioners
state ‘‘The sockeye figures for 1916 and 1917 are dis-
tinetly disquieting, and indeed the small catch on the
Fraser River in 1917, if it means the end of the cycle
of big runs on that river, is of the gravest conse-
quences.’’ Besides that, the average supply of sock-
eye in northern B.C. is not being maintained, while
spring salmon and ecohoes are decreasing.
In 1917, the money value of the salmon pack of B.C.
was over $12,000,000. Caleulated on the opening _—
prices, the average money value of the pack from 1911
to 1916 was over $7,125,000. To these figures must be
added the value of salmon marketed fresh, frozen or
eured, which in 1916 was $2,880,515, representing the
value of 34,908,500 lbs. of salmon. B. C. canning
plants can salmon exclusively, though modest begin-
nings have been made in canning herring and pilch--
ard. The industry therefore, must combat the pecu-
liar condition of salmon fishery. Salmon runs vary
from year to year, with one big year expected in ev-
ery four. But the industry must measure up to the
big year, while it carries on through the lesser years.
In 1876 B. C. had only three canneries; in 1901, 73; in:
1916, 72; though except in 1905, 1909, 1913. and 1916,
nothing like the full number of plants existing were
operated in any year since 1901. If the supply were
stabilized at its economic maximum, all the plants
could operate every season.
The irregularity of the runs of salmon necessitates
that a eannery be equipped to handle an extreme 24
hours peak load, which may not materialize, for the
plant will not be put in use except at its peak load.
The season is short. Canneries operate an average of
only 55 days out of 365, though the fixed investment
must be earried for the whole year. The canneries
on the Fraser working at full capacity could have
put up the whole Fraser River pack in 1916 in one
and two-third days of 12 hours each, though it did
take them forty-eight days. In the northern waters
the pack in 1916 could have been put in nine days of
twelve hours each, but in reality it took 62 days.
Fixed charges in the salmon canning industries are
heavy. Thirty-three canneries in Northern B.C, in
1916 show a fixed investment of $3,492,423.73, and
the value of the pack was $4,193,306.45. If all bor-
rowings were taken into account, the turnover was
less than the capital invested. In 1916 the profit of
the canners was above the average, but in 1913, be-
cause of a poor catch and low prices, the fixed invest-
ment of 28 canneries was $2,979,514.56, and the value
of the pack $1,770,318.32, showing a loss of $1,209,-
684
106.24, while the turnover was less than half the
capital employed. Before the canning season opens
large commitments must be made for materials and
labor. In one cannery in a recent year, when only
5,897 cases were packed, the manufacturing costs, ex-
clusive of tin-plate, fish and handling fish, were $4.05
per case. If the pack had been what it was four years
before, these costs would have been only $1.31 per case.
Whenever the supply of fish decreases the manufac-
turing costs rise,
The United States salmon canners are the dominat-
ing factor in making export prices for canned salmon,
which set at least the minimum for domestic prices
in Canada. From 1910 to 1916 the United States
packed 81.8 per cent., or 38,791,470 cases of the
world’s pack, and B.C., that is Canada, only 15.3 per
cent., or 7,299,757 cases. The United States consumed
locally 72.5 per cent. of its pack, for which it has a
protected market, exporting only 27.5 per cent. B. C.
exported 72.8 per cent. of its pack, while the domestic
demand absorbed only 27.2 per cent. The 27.5 per
cent. of the United States pack is twice as many cases
of 48 pounds each as the 72.8 per cent, of the B. C.
pack. It is evident then, that the B. C. eanners do
not control the market. If district No. 2, the north-
ern district, is to be considered by itself, it is certain
that price control does not rest with it. In 1913, its
pack was small, being 245,915 cases less than the year
before, with costs per case higher. But the pack could
not be sold on the basis of these higher costs, the rul-
ing price obtained being $1.80 per case lower than in
the previous year, a decline of over 23 per cent. The
district lost over $354,000 that year, without making
allowance for depreciation. The year previously the
profit for the district had been over $879,000, so that
the fluctuation in the profit and loss statement with-
in one year was no less than $1,233,000.
Price is sensitive to quantity in the canned salmon
market, particularly with sockeye, that leads and goy-
erns the other varieties in price. Since 1903, however,
although canned sockeye prices had increased, yet they
have not on the whole increased faster than general
prices, while they have fluctuated more violently than
general average prices. Supply and demand act nor-
mally in the canned salmon market, and this forms
an important general condition of the salmon ecan-
ming industry.
Referring to profits from the industry, the Com-
missioners say, ‘‘From the fact that in the industry
there is only one turnover in the year, and the in-
vestment is productive for so small a proportion of
the year, it is clear that the margin on the turn-over
must be greater than in most other industries for the
business to have survived at all.’’ From 1911 to 1916,
in district No. 2, 17.7 per cent. of the money realized
from the pack was profit, subject to certain reduc-
tions. Leaving out the lean year of 1913, the average
profit was 20.9 per cent. This exceeds the usual pro-
fit on an industrial output which is produced in quan-
tity and depends upon a wide general market, and
the salmon canning industry under perfect conditions
should prove highly profitable. But ‘‘the history of
B. ©. cannery establishes that to a majority who en-
tered upon the business it has been the reverse of pro-
fitable. We have not been able to reach any sat-
isfactory conclusions as to the profits taken out of
the business by those who have been successful, but _
the possibilities under ideal conditions are good.
CANADIAN FISHERMAN
April, 1918.
But conditions are very far from satisfactory. The
industry is over-equipped, and the supply of raw ma-
terial is too irregular and uncertain.’
In the opinion of the Commissioners, all the con-
ditions surrounding the industry should be stabilized,
and the inefficient use of capital and-labor obviated |
or prevented. The solution of possible excessive’ pro-
fits to individuals is not to be found in permitting
more capital or labor than can efficiently perform —
the work to engage in the industry, for that might
destréy all profit, but rather, in return for the es- :
tablishment of conditions that are stable and economic- .
ally sound, the industry should contribute to the pub-
lic treasury through graduated license fees that pro-
portion of its profits which is in excess of a reason-
able return for capital and enterprise.
be practicable until the extent of special war taxation
is developed, but the restrictions reconimended on the
number of canneries in district No. 2 should be in-
stituted only upon the conditions’’ that excessive pro-
This may not —
fits if any, should go to the public, and that exploi- ,
tation as a fact and a motive should be eliminated —
from the industry.’’
_ «Governmental administration is in more direct. and
intimate touch with the fisheries than is the case with —
any other important national industry. The Fisher-
ies Department is most parental in its relationship —
to the B. C. fisheries.
industrial business, and moulds its principal econdi-
tion. The Commissioners declare that the fisheries -
Its hand is daily on this great —
ie
need not only to be regulated and inspected, but also
to be made to yield the greatest possible amount of ©
national wealth. They suggest the importance of es- —
tablishing a clear understanding of the position of the ©
administration, in order that only dealings direct with —
itself on business principles may’ avail.
All appoint- —
‘ments to the fishery inspection staff should be placed —
under the Civil Service Commission, and political se |
ronage eliminated.
Dealing with the duplication of. organization, by the
B, C. Government and the Dominion Government, and —
the fact that the accomplishment of both have fallen
short of the requirements of the situation, the Com-
missioners suggest that the Dominion Government
should invite a conference with the B. C. Government
for the consideration of the unsatisfactory position.
The commissioners answer specifically seven ques- —
tions submitted to them by the Minister of the Naval —
Service, and in answering made _ recommendations. —
They report that the number of cannery licenses in dis- |
trict No. 2 should not be increased for five years and
that the license duties should be greatly inereased and
be graduated according to the number of fish taken —
for canning and the profits realized, s» that while —
enjoying adequate return for capital and enterprise; —
the canneries may contribute to the publie treasury —
due compensation for the privileges conferred. New
fishing areas may warrant a new cannery or canneries. —
The minimum cannery license fee should be not less —
Yearly returns should be made —
by the canneries showing the main items of cost, the
The com-—
missioners think that free trade in cannery licenses —
than $1,000 a year.
business done and the profits or the losses. |
would only open the way toward inefficiency and loss.
The commissioners recommend that the prohibition —
of motor boats in gill-net areas in district No. 2 be con-—
tinued for another five years, when the question ne
be reconsidered.
f
ity Oe
HANG
z
he
os Saye epee, donde agg ea pre eA
686
CANADIAN FISHERMAN
ARTHUR BOUTILIER, Halifax, N.S.
Director of the Canadian Fisheries Association.
CANADIAN FISHERMAN
W. M. HODGE, Lockport, N.S.
Director of the Canadian Fisheries Association,
CANADIAN
#3
The number of fishing boats in any area should be
sht there without danger to the permanence of the
pply. Government policy should have reference to
he necessary restrictions on the fishing rather than
‘that fishing restrictions should conform to government
liey. The report declares that there should be no
rease in the boat-rating in district No. 2 and even
suggests that certain reductions might be desirable.
= eginning with 1919 the commissioners recommend
at attached licenses be done away with, that only
‘orm of gill-net license be issued without refer-
to any cannery, and that competence as a fisher-
be established as:a qualification for the license.
consider that agricultural settlement is a poor
is of qualification for a fishing license. British
aship should be insisted on, and competence as
erman acknowledged as the strongest claim to
Local boards should be appointed to test fish-
| and issue certificates of competency and all
ations for licenses should be in on or before
Ist each year.
» admitting that the prohibition of the export
on other than sockeye for manufacturing pur-
a policy that it may be found wise at some time
opt, yet the commissioners think that that time
come. They base their conclusion on the gen-
and that the greater the number of competitors
keener the competition, the higher tends to be
ce per fish paid to the fisherman. At the same
ey intimate that the more or less irregular
ns of American buyers cannot give the Cana-
hermen anything comparable in value to the
ady demands of a fairly conducted and successful
adian industry. ei
e commissioners find that it is impossible to as-
he actual amount of money in cash originally
present invested in B. C. canneries, for only
meries operating at the time of the boat-rating
effective were in the hands of the original
ers, having changed hands many times and lost the
records. Replacement value, however, could be
obtained by appraisal. In a financial statement
y prepared by a firm of ‘chartered accountants,
¢ the years 1911 to 1916 inclusive, and giving
of 27 canneries, the average yearly investment
5,116.01; the cost of the pack $2,430,897.70;
ue of the pack $3,245,631.37; the gross profit
.66; the head office expenses $256,023.24; the
profit without depreciation $558,710.42; the aver-
“depreciation $57,307.33; ‘the average total net
1501 403.09. Thus the money realized from the
pack, viz., $19,473,788.22 in six years, consisted
o: ‘per cent. costs and 15.45 per cent. net profits.
‘is important. to remember that to investment in
must be added other items, for instance, the aver-
e yearly cost of financing, namely, $2,430,897.70.
ise of the systems of accounting gross profits may
own to be smaller than under other and more
\dieal systems. Much larger depreciation than
per cent. should be allowed, thus’ reducing the
fits.
commissioners suggest a reconsideration of the
‘inistrative system so as to make it more effective
aling with the Pacific fisheries and to establish
ination and avoid overlapping activities. Be-
Pacific committee of the advisory board does
‘a local organ it is futile to fit the need.
Jed is a readjustment to operate directly,
i
stermined by the number of salmon that may be ~
FISHERMAN 689
comprehensively and effectively on the spot, for from
day to day the system of administration must deter-
mine the condition under which the industry may
operate. The commissioners do not decide whether an
individual or a commission would better function:
Throughout the report emphasis is placed on the need
of increased provision for scientific investigation. The
officials of the department, both at Ottawa and in B.
C., are highly recommended and it is suggested that
the inspecting staff should be increased and reason-
able superannuation allowances provided.
Spawning areas should be carefully surveyed. Ade-
quate measures should be taken to maintain the sup-
ply of salmon other than sockeye. Scientific evidence
should govern close seasons. The weekly close time is
a more effective instrument of conservation than the
annual close season. Close time should go by the moon
not by the cloek.
Special terms and considerations should govern the
granting of drag seine licenses. Fishing boundaries
should be shortened in all the northern districts. All
net areas should be hydrographically surveyed.
The economic value of trap-fishing is admitted
though the department is advised to make no radical
change in its policy but to consider each application for
a trap on its merits. Fish mergers should be licensed.
Salmon far advanced to spawning should not be taken
from the water and sanitary regulations applicable to
the condition of all fish should be enforced. -
Indians should be provided with fish from waters
near the sea and prevented from destroying spawning
salmon. Trout, the deadly enemy of young salmon,
should be fished intensively.
Immediate provision is urged to afford protection
to the halibut in Pacifie waters, by close seasons, closed
areas or otherwise as international agreement may
suggest.
ALASKA SALMON CO. PLANS EXPANSION.
The annual meeting of the Alaska Salmon company
was held at the office of the company in San Francisco
on Monday, January 2. The following officers were
elected to serve for the ensuing year: Cress P. Halli,
president; Irving 8. Rosenblatt, vice-president; Ralph
E. Cotter, secretary ; Louis Getz, treasurer. The R. EH.
- Cotter Company, with offices in San Francisco and
Seattle has been appointed sole selling agent.
The Alaska Salmon Company is preparing to in-
crease its capital from $200,000 to $300,000 and the
capacity of each of the Alaska plants on the Kvichak
and the Nushagak rivers, will be considerably in-
creased.—Pacific Fishermen.
Within a few weeks, mackerel will be schooling
just south of Cape Cod, and the seiners will be bring-
ing ‘their catches into Boston. :
00000000000000000000000
e) 0
0. All who are really interested in the develop. O
O ment of the Fishing Industry of Canada will O
O be present at the C. F. A. Convention, Halifax, O
O August 6th, 7th, 8th. Are you interested? O
oO (0)
8) @)
000000000000000000000
690
Delivered at the Annual Meeting of the Lake Erie Fisheries Association, February, 1918.
Mr. Chairman and Gentleman: It gives me great
pleasure to be with you again and witness the very
successful convention that you are now bringing to a
close, for it is most inspiring to anyone having to do
with our fisheries to see with what earnest efforts
your representative association is striving for the im-
provement of the conditions in your district.
My subject—‘‘The History of a Fish’’—may require
a slight explanation, for the -word ‘‘history’’ is sus-
ceptible of several interpretations. It has been said,
Skate on Biological Station Wharf.
‘‘Happy is the nation that has no history,’’ and in
this sense history denotes famine, plague, and war, such
as accompany all great changes and involve much
suffering, so that in the present critical times we say
that history is being made. With somewhat similar
reason we might say, ‘‘Happy is the fish that has no
history,’’ for ordinarily the history of a fish would
mean an account of its exploitation by man. In this
sense our fish can scarcely be said to have a history,
CANADIAN FISHERMAN
The History of a Fish -
An Address
By PROF. A. G. HUNTSMAN,
Biologist to the Biological. Board of ‘Canada.
April, 1918,
for it is one of those fishes that have been little q
up to the present time, and, although we expect 1
it will have such a history i in the future, it is not ¢
prophet that we come before you: How then ea a
write its history at this time? We can do it by tel
where it is, what it eats, how it breeds and grows, .
in short all that we can find out about its life. ”
The sum of our knowledge of such a living thing
call its ‘‘biology,’’ or we may call it the science of |
fish. This word ‘‘science’’ is by some glorified, ;
by others disparaged, but its only merit is the thoror
ness it should show, and it deserves to be dispara
only when it is false. You are all to some degree
logists and scientists, for science can be nothing m¢
and certainly should be nothing less than thoroy
systematized knowledge.
It is our misfortune to have been pares. aa
that lives in the sea along our Atlantic coast inst
of one of those that abound in your wonderful |
and for that reason it may hot appeal to you, but w
it loses in attraction from strangeness it may ¢
from novelty. We do not propose to weary you ¥
many details concerning this fish, but we shall re
merely to some outstanding things in connection w
its life. But before doing. so we desire to give }
some idea of the way in which we obtain our infor
tion concerning the fishes of the sea and also to
you something of the condition of the fishing and
the people in the places where our work is being dt
Under the Department of the Naval Service the
logical Board of Canada, which consists of represe!
tives from the principal universities of the Domin
and of which the chairman is Professor Prince,
undertaken the task of obtaining information |
cerning the conditions that are to be found in on
waters, particularly as they affect the fisheries. ©
accomplishing this purpose on the Atlantic coast t
have established a Biological Station at St. Andre
New Brunswick, on a branch of the Bay of Fu
the St. Croix river, which happens to be the bound
line between the State of Maine and the Provines
New Brunswick. To this station voluntary worker
from the universities and colleges of eastern, Canad
go every summer during ‘the time they can spare fi
their teaching duties, and carry on investiga amas
cerning the fishes. On the site of the station the
have been erected buildings for the work, the principi
one being the laboratory, which contains a museum ¢
fishes and other marine animals, tanks for keeping
fishes alive while being studied, and the many
tific instruments and apparatus that are so neces
as well as a long series of working desks with ¢
heating purposes and with running fresh and |
water.
The St. Croix River, on the shore of which the ste
is situated, is not a river in the ordinary sense, fc 4
contains salt water and is nearly a mile wide and
hundred feet deep, and, most unusual of all fe
river, the current does not flow one way only, but
April, 1918.
ways, for a little more than six hours in one direction
and for about the same length of time in the other,
and this current is so strong, in spite of the depth of
- the river, that when it flows out into the Bay of Fundy
it is able to lower the surface of the water by as much
as twenty-five feet or even more. This, of course, is
the tide, whose currents make navigation so difficult,
‘and which causes such changes in the level of the water
that landing from a boat even when a wharf is avail-
able may be no easy matter. At the end of our wharf
a landing float, which rises and falls with the tide, en-
ables us to land easily at any time, and a swinging
gan@way, which leads from the float to the top of the
Herring Weir at St. Andrews, N.B.
wharf is four times the height of a man above one.
When the tide falls, much of the bottom in the shallow-
er water is exposed and reveals masses of green, brown,
and red seaweed clinging to the rocks, as well as in-
numerable kinds of queer animals.
We have three motor-boats for getting about, two
small ones between twenty and thirty feet in length,
and a larger one sixty feet long, which is used for the
- outside work, seeing that it is completely decked in
to stand rough weather. This larger one is called the
‘‘Prince,’’ being named after Professor Prince, and it
is well fitted out for our work of fishing, dredging
and trawling. Six men can eat, sleep, and work aboard
it with fair comfort, and therefore we use it for trips
of considerable length.
The fishes, which are to be caught in the salt water,
are for the most part decidedly different from those
to which you are accustomed, sharks (chiefly small)
and skates being quite common. The latter with their
slender tails and broad flattened bodies, without a very
distinct head, are indeed curious creatures. One eaught
beside our wharf, of which we show you a photograph,
was as long as a man, and that kind is appropriately
ealled the barndoor skate. Although until recently
they were thrown away as useless, they are now being
sold upon our markets, for I have repeatedly seen them
exposed for sale in Toronto during this last winter.
The principal fishery in the waters near the Station
is for young herring or sardines, as they are called.
The salt water herring, though somewhat similar in
appearance to the herring of the lakes, is in reality a
very different fish, being more closely related to the
Gold Shad or Sawbelly, which is found in Lake Erie.
Enormous schools of young herring enter Passama-
quoddy bay and the St. Croix river during the summer
ron
CANADIAN FISHERMAN
‘large dip-nets.
691
and fall, and are caught in permanent traps, called
weirs. The latter, which are somewhat similar to your |
pound-nets, are built near shore, just far enough out —
to have a fathom or so of water at low tide, and each —
one consists of a circular wall of piles driven into the —
bottom close against each other and topped either by
brush or by a series of poles on which a net is stretch-
ed, the whole wall being high enough (over thirty
feet) to reach from the bottom to the surface at high
tide. The funnel-like entrance to the enclosure is on
the shore side, and from its centre a fence or leader,
constructed similarly to the wall of the weir, runs
shoreward nearly to high tide mark. The sardines
that enter the weir during the night are taken out at
low tide. They are brought together by a purse-seine,
from which they are dipped into boats by means of
They are then measured in half-bar-
rels or tubs, and loaded into the larger sardine boats,
which are equipped with both sails and gasoline en-
gines, and which carry the fish to the factories where
they are canned. The young herring, although only
from three to six inches long, are so abundant. that
from sixty to eighty thousand barrels are taken an-
nually along a coast of only about twenty miles long.
Our work last year took us far afield, for we spent
the entire summer in the Gulf of St. Lawrence over
five hundred miles by water from our headquarters at
the Station. .The ‘‘Prinee’’ in charge of two capable
men, Captain Rigby and Engineer Calder, made the
trip in the middle of May. We voyaged only by day,
encountered both fair weather and foul, experienced a
gale just before reaching Halifax and a snowstorm on
leaving it, and entered the Gulf of St. Lawrence
through the long narrow strait, or gut, of Canso to find
on cruising along the straight, unbroken, inner coast
of Cape Breton island that the high land was still cov-
ered with a mantle of snow and that spring had not
yet arrived.
Fishermen’s Huts, Eastern Harbor, NS.
Our base for the summer’s work was Cheticamp or
Eastern Harbor, a place situated on the inner coast
of Cape Breton island not far from its northern ex-
tremity at Sabot strait, and more than thirty miles in
a straight line from the nearest railway. It is a thriv-
ing fishing village with an exceedingly good harbor
for small eraft. There is a strip of rolling, arable
country about two miles wide running along the coast,
back of which the land rises rather abruptly to a height
of about a thousand feet to a barren tableland,
traversed by deep, narrow valleys or gorges. The wind,
692 GANADIAN FISHERMAN
when blowing off shore from the southeast, drops from
this high tableland down to the coast, giving rise to
such powerful gusts that we were informed our boat
was not safe when in the harbor and made fast to the
wharf if a southeast wind should come up. Indeed,
it was not unusual to see buildings and beacons fast-
ened with southeast stays to prevent their being over-
turned or carried away when the wind was from that
quarter.
The conditions in the water were likewise very dif-
ferent from those to which we had been accustomed at
St. Andrews, for the rise and fall of the tide at Cheti-
camp is only three or four feet and the water is so
little mixed that it becomes decidedly warm at the
surface in the summer and, yet remains icecold at fif-
teen fathoms down. The result is that the temperature
of the air-in summer is rather high and fogs are very
Weeding punelads Eastern Harbour, N:S.
infrequent as compared with the Bay of Fundy. For « tex,
the fishes the differences are just as great, since warm-
water fishes unknown or rare in the Bay of Fundy, ».,...
such‘as the mackerel and cunner, as well as the oys-..; ...:
ter, abound in the warm surface water, while cold-
water fishes like the cod, which at St. Andrews is taken , -....
for the most part only during the cold season, may be .:*.., .
got in abundance throughout the summer in the deep .
cold water.
The people of the district are almost entirely French ;
Acadians, and still retain their old language, a peeuliar
type of French, as well as some of their old customs
and dress. It was not an unusual sight to see the _
women with picturesque white, black, or red shawls
tied around their heads working in the fields with
the men. Many of their farming implements are far
from modern, since the short summer season and the
early frosts greatly limit the number of crops (chiefly
hay, oats, and potatoes) that ean be successfully raised
and make agriculture much less lucrative than it is in
southwestern Ontario. A very diminutive corn, not
unlike popcorn and growing little higher than the bean,
is the only kind with which they have any success.
However, there is some compensation in the rapidity
with which crops grow and mature during their short
summer. Although their spring arrived so late we had
ripe blackberries some time before our departure, and
yet, when we reached St. Andrews we were unable to
find any that were even beginning to ripen.
The fisheries of Eastern Harbor are carried on by
farmer-fishermen and whether they are more farmers
than fishermen, or the reverse, we do not know, but,
as few of them own their own boats and gear, and as
they depend chiefly upon sails, motor-boats being few
in number, the fishery is not very effectively prose- ;
euted, It was indeed the exception to see all the boats —
away from the harbor and trying for fish. When fish-—
ing the men live in little huts which are closely crowd-—
ed together on either side of the narrow, principal —
street of the village, which skirts the water ‘front. On
Sunday evenings the fishermen are to be seen trudg- —
ing from their farm home a mile or more away, down —
to the village so as to be ready for the trip on Monday —
morning, and each of them carries, slung over his —
shoulder, a white cotton sack, in which are his bread —
and other provisions for the week or half-week. “=
The principal fisheries are for lobsters and eod. The
former are caught in shallow water with a small trap
called a lobster pot, made usually in the form of a
half-cylinder, the sides of lath spaced about an ineh —
apart ‘and each end with a net-funnel or ‘‘head”’ point- —
ing inward, which permits the lobster to enter and —
reach the bait inside, but prevents him from escaping —
very easily. These pots are weighted with stones and
lowered to bottom with a buoy attached to the lin
and are visited daily. Another type of lobster po
which has been introduced by fishermen from Ne
foundland, was found in use near Cape North som
miles away. It is smaller than the usual type and
triangular in shape with a head on each of the three
sides. Those using it claim that it is more effective
than the ordinary one. The lobsters are all canned
local factories, whose operation is Limited to the short —
open season, which lasts from the middle of April ton
the middle of July.
The cod are caught in deepwater ou set lines, ca
ed trawls, which are baited with herring, clams,
squid, whichever can be got most easily. The cod a
lee
Types of Lobster Pots and primitive anchor, |
cleaned, split, scrubbed and washed thoroughly, and ~
finally salted in brine. Afterwards they are drained ~
in a press pile and then dried in the open in the fields —
on long trestles covered with chicken wire, called the —
flakes. A very fine quality of fish is prepared i in this
locality. a
Our work consisted in getting information concerning —
the fishes in the water and the conditions under which ~
they were living. We used most of the usual gear of —
the fishermen, such as seines, gillnets, traps, hand lines, ~
set lines or trawls, and the otter trawl, as well as other
gear of a special nature. Among the latter were the —
usual naturalists’ dredge, a small otter trawl of sack-
ing for taking the fry of fishes, numerous fine nets for
April, 1918. a
‘‘hillock,’’ Cape North, N.S.
‘
eine, made of silk bolting cloth of various grades for
tehing the microscopic plants and animals in the
ater as well as the floating eggs of fishes, special bot-
depth, and special thermometers, which registered the
a emperature at any required depth. By these means
were able to follow the changes from spring through
mmer to fall, both from the fresh water in the river
the head of the harbor out to the open gulf, and also
om the surface to the bottom in the deepest part of
water. - We obtained, therefore, very complete
wledge concerning the occurrence, food, movements,
yning and development of the important fishes of
region. It is one of these whose history we pro-
to relate to you in very brief form.
is fish, which we eall the plaice, is one of those
4 flatfishes — are Loerie familiar with one
side, white in color or nearly so, down. The
is smaller than the halibut, its maximum weight
about seven pounds, but it is very abundant
the whole coast from. Cape Cod. Massachusetts,
. Strait of Belle Isle at the north of Newfound-
t seeks the coldest water it can find, which
ly between twenty and one hundred fathoms in
nd it remains near the bottom.
area of the bottom between these levels is very
amounting to more than 70,000 square miles off
nadian coast alone, and not ineluding thai
foundland and the New England States, which
more extensive. This vast area has resulted
sinking of the land in past ages, the former
the continent being now beneath water and
i. or more from: shore ide ane the coast.
‘fos coast of Nova Scotia.
sn no wonder that of the cod. which also in-
part. of the bottom of the sea. a quantity
to about two million hundredweight is taken
y by our fishermen. The plaice is not so abund-
cod, but should furnish us with at least from
‘million pounds each year, that is, practical-
-as the most productive of the fishes of the
Ontario ; and yet not more than a few eos
i
wn away, so far as we know hpaye the steam
‘s making any use of them.
he Gulf of St. Lawrence we found the plaice
rature even in the middle oe Ritiatier was ‘telow
eezing-point of fresh water amy water does
eggs about one-tenth of an tae in diameter,
vated up into the warmer surface water, where de-
age are tin They became oa te heavier
Fay i EB The small fry, which on hatching
- only one-fifth of an inch long, remained during
‘ the same depth at which floated the eggs
ge hatched, but each night they moved
CANADIAN FISHERMAN
tles for collecting samples of the water at any required .
693
to the surface. They grew very slowly, reaching a
length of one inch only by the end of August. The
larger they became the deeper they went into the
water, until when an inch long they never came above
twenty fathoms in depth even at night.
During all this time they are quite transparent with
only a few spots of pigment, and though flat they
swim upright in the water as there is an eye on each
side of the head. But at this stage part of the head
twists, bringing the left eye-over to the right side be-
side the right eye, pigment appears all over the right
side, and the young fish goes to the bottom to live,
lying on its left side.
By means of the scales the age of the fish can be
determined, and even the amount that each fish grew
during each year of its life ean be ealeulated. On the
scale can be seen many fine lines which are close to-
gether when the growth is slow and far apart when
the growth is rapid, so that we can trace on the seale
the succession of spring, summer, fall, and winter for
each year of the life of the fish. In the spring and
early summer it grows rapidly, in the late summer and
fall more and more slowly, and in the winter growth’
practically ceases. By this means we have found most
extraordinary differences in growth—a ‘fish in the
cold waters of the Bay of Islands, Newfoundland,
reaching after. six i | growth a size not as great
—
Canadian Plaice.
*.
as that attaitied by one from Passamaquoddy Bay, near
St. Andrews, in two years. The amount of growth is
seen to depend to a large extent upon the temperature,
and each place shows a characteristic rate.
An analysis as to age of lots of plaice from different
regions showed surprising differences in the propor-
tions of the various ages and in the number of ages
represented. It was possible from this information to
calculate the probable death rate of the plaice in each
region. The fish in Passamaquoddy Bay in spite of .
their rapid growth die off so rapidly (50 per cent. per
year) that individuals more than six years old are ex-
tremely’ rare and no very large fish are. found. In —
the Gulf of St. Lawrence on the contrary, although
growing slowly, they do not die very rapidly (only
1214 per cent. per year), so that individuals twenty-
four years or more in age are found and very large
fish are quite common.
We have considered the effect that fishing will have
on the proportionate numbers of the various ages. If
25 per cent. of the fish present are caught each vear
—and this is not an improbable percentage—the effect
will be to change the condition in the Gulf of St. Law-:
rence almost to that in Passamaquoddy Bay, that is,
the members of the older and larger fish will be
*
694
greatly diminished, and as years go by the average
size of the fish caught will become smaller and small-
er, until finally large fish will be extremely rare and
the catches will consist almost wholly of fish of the
first two or three of the years of age that are market-
able, and this is inevitable because of their very slow
growth.
It is probably quite apparent to you that, in the
sense in which we have used the word, the histories
of the fishes in which you are directly interested have
not yet been written. That this should be done you
will all agree, and already we have heard questions
that have been troubling you and that might be settled
in this way. Why have herring been so abundant re-
cently at one end of the lake? Are the small herring
that are taken in a certain part of the lake merely a
variety that grows no larger, or are they the young
of the common herring? The investigations necessary
to answer these questions appear to present no special
difficulties.
We are confident that by the use of methods similar
to those that we have employed for the plaice it will
be possible to determine for your whitefishes and her-
ring, why they are to be found in certain localities
only, what places are most suitable for the develop-
ment and growth of the young, how fast they grow,
when they become marketable, and what their rate
of death is. Until these and si questions are
answered you will be working in ark, not know-
ing what becomes of the millions of fry that are plant-
ed yearly, not knowing at what ages the various fishes
ean most profitably be caught, and not knowing what
prospects there are for increasing the stock of fish.
GILL NETTING IN SALT WATER.
~The Canada Food Board has been making enquiries
as to the feasibility of gill netting through the win-
ter season with lake tugs and gear, out of Atlantic
ports.
It was thought by the Fish Section of the Board
that profitable employment could be found for lake
fishermen through the winter months and the produc-
tions of fish materially increased by bringing the lake
tugs down from the inland waters to Atlantic ports.
In answer to enquiries made by the Food Board
from the Gloucester Board of Trade, Gloucester,
_Mass., a port where a considerable fleet of gill net
tugs are employed we have elicited the following in-
formation :-—
1—Average size and horse-power of tugs em-
ployed? :
Our smallest tugs are about 20 tons, the largest
about 883 tons, and the average of the 26 tugs
now engaged in that fishery being something
larger than 50 tons. ;
2—Size of mesh and. length of-gill nets used?
‘‘Practically all of the nets have a 6’’ mesh,
while the length is 60 fathom, and the height
from leads to floats 714 to 9’’.
3-—Whether twine or cotton is used, and weight
of leads?
Linen thread is used and the leads weigh from
714 to 8 ounces,
4.—Variety and average quantity of fish
caught and duration of voyage? 1
CANADIAN FISHERMAN
April, 1918.
This depends entirely upon the season of the
year. During the fall the catch is largely pol-
lock. During the winter few codfish, and in the
spring it is haddock. Very few of the tugs en-
gage in the gill netting industry during the sum-
mer. If the weather permits daily voyages are
made, the tugs going out early in the morning,
pulling the nets, setting others and returning
during the evening. The catch of course, varies
largely with the number of nets set by each tug,
and the ‘jlentifulness of the fish. In former
years, tugs have landed 15 to 20,000 lbs. in a day,
but this last season has been very poor, and 7,000
Ibs. was about the largest trip landed this win-
ter. Owing to the severe weather the receipts
have not been in large quantity during the past
winter, and high prices alone have prevented a
general failure in this line.’’
5.—Number of hands carried and system of
remuneration, whether shares or wages? :
The number of hands carried varies according
to the size of the tug, but is usually not less than
five (5), nor more than ten (10). Practically all
of the fishermen fish on shares, with the excep-
tion of. the engineer and fireman, who are on
wages. :
6.—Are these vessels housed in forwink ‘for
winter fishing?
Yes.
7—Is gill nettimg in salt water a successful
method of fishing? a dae
In this connection I believe it fair to say that
on the average it has not been a large success.
This fishery started here first about nine years
ago, and at the first was quite successful. About
the third year there being more than forty (40)
tugs engaged, this number being reduced to twen- _
ty-six (26) at the present time. Of course, the
success depends upon the prices, the size of the
schools of fish running, the weather and mattefs
of that nature. Some have made good money,
while others have made very little, or nothing,
but on the average I believe it can be truthfully .
said that gill netting has not been a large success
financially. ’’
While it appears that gill netting in salt water has :
not been a. financial success, yet conditions may be—
such by the fall of this year that increased production
of fish will be necessary and the market may be remn- __
nerative enough to offer good inducements for the |
lake tugs to enter the fishery for the winter.
This bulletin is for the purpose of giving the fisher-
men the information obtained, and also to give an op-
portunity of preparing for salt water fishing should
the necessity arise, and the market call for a greater
production than at present. zs
Fresh mackerel will soon be in the market. The
Southern seining fleet is busy combing the waters off.
the Virginia Capes for specimens of this valued food
_ fish, and the landing of the first mackerel of the sea- a
son is to be expected at Fulton Market, New York, al.
most any day now, Bre
‘annual drama is being enacted on the water-
il ey menbure, with the personnel of the cast
same as last year. There are, of course,
langes, some of the men going overseas, some
ne for one reason or another. The. “men,
who comprise the crews of the fleet as a
ek pretty closely to the calling, ever bearing
‘the day when they will be masters of trim
add their names to the list of fish
he fleet have baited and sailed, the Gen-
pt. Emil Mack; M, M. Gardner, Captain
an, and the Clintonia, Captain Abra-
ney baited with squid from Province-
Three carloads having arrived for W.
Co., and also for Zwicker and Company.
tl eels ‘ready for baiting with the lat-
| re s the Elsie Hart, Corkum; Uda A. Corkum,
lian Corkum, Corkum ; Laurétta Frances,
ia Westhaver, Westhaver; Doris Corkum,
1 Hermada, Diehl.
. _knockabout schooner, General Haig, the
type ever built here, launched from Smith
ard for Captain Emil Mack.
membered that Captain Mack was the
luce the semi-knockabout type here,
universally approved, that the style has
merally adopted for the fishing fleet.
sions of the Haig are, 136 feet over all,
, and 11 ft. 6 in. depth of hold.
will have the last word in modern im-
CANADIAN FISHERMAN
t thing in Lunenburg fishing cireles is:
696
Lunenburg Activities
By AGNES G. McGUIRE.
provements and conveniences, and will no doubt give
as good an account of herself as her predecessors, un-
der Captain Mack’s skilful guidance,
Judging from the samples handed out by the weath-
er clerk to landsmen it seems, on the face of it to be
sheer folly, for vessels to sail for the Banks this early
in the season, especially when they come home in the
early fall and are moored in port through weeks of
beautiful summer weather. The Nova Scotia summer,
and particularly the Lunenburg summer, often runs
to October. But it is not given to the land lubber to
understand the psychology of the matter and eriticism
appears entirely superfluous, as incidents of a similar
nature occur each year.
There is, however, one thing the land lubber can
estimate, and that is the loss of gear and dories, and
what is far more serious, sometimes the loss of a life,
when men try to pit their puny strength against the
fury of the March gales, but knowing all this, they are
willing to take a chance. As the wife of a successful
captain says of her husband, ‘‘When the days get a
little longer, and the March sun shines bright, he seems
to be like one possessed.’’ No doubt many wives can
endorse that remark, it seems to express the matter
in a nutshell.
I do not remember of telling the Canadian Fisher-
man of one of the very best organizations for the bene-
fit of our fishermen, that known as The Lunenburg
Fishermen’s Relief Association, which has been in op
eration since the year 1913.
During the winter of that year, discussions were
held along the water front, as to the possibility of
JADIES HOSIERY BEP'T.
THIS 1S FOR
THE WIFE
HARPELL WALLACE
WHAT DO-
YOU THINK
OF THIS
vias
EE
PARK ER.
> Halibut Delegates at Marshall Fields— They all shopped at the same counter,
696
giving a moderate protection to the crews of the fish-
ing fleet, at a nominal cost.
Possibly, the man who interested himself most in
this connection, and who might properly be called the
Father of the Association, was the Rev. J..H. Cope-
land, who was pastor of the Lunenburg Baptist Church
at that period.
A meeting was ealled on March 1, 1913, at which a
stong committee was appointed for the purpose of
getting information from similar organizations, and
to get statistics as to the average yearly loss in the
fleet, the probable revenue, and also for the purpose
of ascertaining whether the county of Lunenburg as a
whole, would participate should such an organization
materialize.
The committee, with H, H. MacIntosh as perman-
ent secretary, carried out their instructions faithfully,
and found that the majority of the fishermen were
greatly interested, and that the scheme was perfectly
practicable, and at once two enthusiastic mass meet-
ings were held, one at Rose Bay, and one at Lunen-
burg.
It was found that a payment of one dollar from
each fisherman and ten dollars from each vessel would
enable the association to afford protection to the ex-
tent of $500 to the dependents of every fisherman
drowned during the fishing season.
This was amended by adding the clause, ‘‘or to the
dependents of fishermen who died of natural causes
while engaged in the fisheries.’’
Those who had given the matter serious considera-
tion, were, strongly of the opinion,
should be confined solely to accidental drownings, or
accidents on board ship, but were willing to give the
amended regulations a fair trial,
Application was made for incorporation, and J. W.
Margeson, M.P., poloted the bill through the Lower -
House.
The Association was open for business for the fish-
ing season of 1913, and 42 vessels and 580 men were
enrolled as members.
In that year there were two losses from the fleet,
Frank Morash, of the schooner Clintonia, and EHd-
ward Hisnor of the schooner Araminta, who was land-
ed-and died in hospital.
Both claims were paid in full, which took practical-
ly all the funds of the association.
The next season, 1914, there were 95 vessels and
1,719 men represented in the membership, and the
losses that year numbered eight—five drowned and
three died of natural causes, viz., Arthur Young and
William Morash, lost from the schooner Allison H.
Maxner; Harvey Rafuse, David Cleveland and Hib-
bert Cleveland, lost from the schooner Associate;
George Beohner, of the schooner Minnie Louise, died;
Dean Cleveland, of the schooner Evelyn Miller, died;
Rufus Ritcey, of the schooner Itaska, died.
Thus it is seen that during the seasons of 1913-1914,
out of the ten losses, four had died from natural
causes, which convinced the board of management,
that the element of life insurance had to be eliminated.
Accordingly at the annual meeting in January, 1915,
the by-laws were amended, so that only deaths from
drowning and accidents on board ship were covered
by the protection afforded by the Association.
In the year 1915, there were but three losses, Blma
CANADIAN FISHERMAN
that protection
00000000000000000000000
April, 1918. | ‘
Corkum and. William Miller, -from=the sathieumeg a
nie L. Spindler, and George Strickland, from the
schooner Marjorie Backman. -
The season of 1916 promised to be equally free i
losses when the fleet left the banks for home,
Up to that time, only three had lost their lives,
Harold Ritcey, of ‘the schooner Annie Ll. Spindler;
John Beck, drowned when the-schooner Lucile Schnare
was run down by the transport Wartenfeldt, —
Charles Feener, drowned while fishing from: .
schooner Ada Westhaver. Then came the tragedy o
the schooner Leta J. Schwartz, when five men were
swept overboard when the schooner had almost rea
ed home. The names of these men were Josiah Wi
neff, Artemas Zinck, Joseph Zinek, Maurice Schwe ¥:
and ‘Harry Heckman.
Of all the years, 1917 was pe most isvanial y:
for the association, only two claims. being presente
for conditions, both of which deaths were due
natural. causes. .
This favorable season put the olganiantanil in isn
rs financially, there iis now some. $3,000
unds
During its five years of existence the associat 01
has paid 21 claims. some in full, some pro rata,
cording to the state of the funds, amounting. in
to about $7,500.
_The management is gratis, the eost of admin
tion outside of incidental expenses. nil. ‘
The enrolment since the inception of the assoc ia-
tion is according to the following tabulated statemen
Vessels. Men Enroll
Year.
1913 .. 42 580
1914 *" 95 1,719
1915 .. 88 1,800
1916... 75 1,367
1947 2: 72 1,307
Although the number of vessels and men oneal
is less in-1917 than in previous years, vet in propo
tion to the fleet. the year 1917 shows fully as la
a percentage.
The present Board of Management: is a strone o
with Richard Silver as President: Benjamin ©. Sm
Vice-President: H. H. MacIntosh. Secretary: J.
Kinley. M P.P.. Treasurer, and Alexander Knickle,
A. Smith, William Shupe, W. H, Hebb and. Alex
der Emeno, Associates. .
From the foregoing it will be seen that this organi-
zation is one that no fisherman can afford to pass
bv. and .those who have neglected this opportunity
should avail themselves of it at the earliest poss bl
moment.
0000000000000000000000
0
0
0 Make your plans now to attend the Annual
O Convention of the Canadian Fisheries Associa-
O tion at Halifax, August 6th, 7th, 8th.
1)
C
Preparations for the packing of salmon for 1918
are well under way on this coast, and much activity
p and down the coast is being displayed. With the
cception of a few canneries on the Fraser River,
1 the salmon canneries in British Columbia will be
erated this season. Some of those on the Fraser,
usual, will close down this year, because the big
r was last year, and three lean years follow.
¢ eel Jack MeMillan, back from the front with
honors thick upon him, will take charge of the
ar Cannery this year.
‘M-P., once bookkeeper at the Cassiar, is now a
edged Brigadier General, and fighting the Huns
‘ance. He is the British Columbia canner who
achieved most prominence since 1914, and his
is highly popular on the Skeena River.
imates of the salmon.pack for 1918 will varv
different canners: ro one can tell what the pack
be. Tiast vear. 1917, was what was ealled a big
on the Fraser River, but the big vear did not
terialize. but bv packing all kinds of salmon. the
n vers: prt un the biggest nack in the historv of the
rv. 1500000 eases of 48 Ths. each, having a
value of twelve and «4 half million dallars. Tn
y pack was a little less than 1.000.000 cases.
/ Seems no reason. with nrices ruling hich and
fairly normal. that a naelk of a million anda half
‘should not be put un in 1918. but the nereentage
Kkeve will he Jower than in 1917. The great pack
was the result of inereased effort on the part
anners to meet the demand for inereased
tion. The eanners in British Columbia are pre-
‘o put forth similar efforts in 1918. |
.
7 onening prices for canned salmon
s follows:—
Pound Flats .. . $12.00 per case.
Half Flats .. .. .. .. .. ..' $14.00 per case.
o.oo $1.00 per case.
. $ 8.25 per case.
were
rst sales of 1918 (before the pack is put up)
e at the following prices:
Pound Flats .. ..
Half Flats ..
. $13.00 per ease.
hake _ $16. 00 per case.
$8, 00 to $8.50 per case.
. $9.50 ua a 00 per casé.
ve gone above the opening price of 1917 very
apt this will result in this stimulation of pro-
me difficulty in getting nets even at increased
The fishermen were paid extreme prices for
1 Ibe a high price for the finished product.
is now arriving on the Pacifie Coast, and
n route. Nearly all the salmon canners are
His friend, Cyrus W.°
CANADIAN FISHERMAN
697
Conditions in Salmon Canning Industry of British Columbia
buying their tin plate through the agents of United
States Steel Products Co. of Pittsburg, and have been
definitely assured that all their requirements will be
met this year. The canners are paying $8.50 per base
box of 200 lbs., plus 32e. for extra cost of labor and
pig-tin. An Order in Council was passed on March
23rd, by the Canadian Government whereby the War
Trade Board was authorized to buy the tin plate for
all Canadian canners at the price approximating to
the price at which it is sold to the United States ean-
ners, viz., $7.75, and to distribute it among the ean-
ners. Most of the British Columbia canners are bound
by contracts, and this action of the Canadian Gov-
ernment may not benefit them now nor until their
contracts expire unless the United States Steel Pro-
ducts Co., see fit to rebate their customers in view
of the Government’s action. At any” rate, canned
salmon being a perfect package of wholesome food,
cavable of easy, sure and long transportation is view-
ed as an essential war provision for which govern-
ments, both Canadian and the United States, are a
unit in agreeing that every effort should be made to
vrovide tin plate for the container. When any other
food stuffs using tin plate as a container must be
eliminated, it seems evident that eanned salmon will
he provided for. Tin plate will not be fortheoming in
time and in needed auantities to take care of the can-
ned salmon pack of 1918.
Many of the salmon canners already have their
supplv of tin plate, and are now making their own ~
eans for the 1918 nack. The salmon canning industrv
of British Columbia is hiehlv organized. heavily eapi-
talized with monev and brains and directed by’ keen
husiness men whose success is due to their foresight.
Tn vlant and eaninoment. nearlv $25.00N NNN ON are in-
vested in the salmon eanning industrv in British Col-
umbia. Several companies expend more than $1.-
0.000.00 everv season before a single fish is caught.
Thev mav be depended upon to see that an adeauate
nack is pnt wy. and that every essential material to
its nroduetion i isin hand.
Tt is a maneniniad incident of the salmon eanning in-
dustry that labor is short. vet large paeks. are put
vo. There was a shortage of labor in 1916. it was
eveater in 1917. vet half a million more cases were
put up in J917 than in 1916. The alleged labor short-
ace need not bother the eanning industrv. At the
nrire received by the salmon fishermen last vear..which
will likely he arain demanded by them tltis vear. there
will he nlenty. of fishermen to eateh the fish,
thoneh not all of them will he exverts. Wahor short-
ave in the salmon eanning industry is overcome bv
giving the fishermen high prices for their fish, and
that can onlv be done, if the canners are satisfied that
thev themselves will be able to get a good price in the
markets of the world for their finished product. Ex-
emptions were given to salmon fishermen in British
Columbia under the operation of the Military Service
Act. and though some grievances were registered by
individual eanners, yet on the whole the scarcity of
labor has not been augmented by the administration
of the Act. It;may be that the war situation, as it
affects Japan, may keep some of the Jap fishermen
*
698
who compose more than 60 per cent. of salmon fisher-
men of British Columbia, from returning for the fish-
ing season. The average salmon fishermen may earn
$1,500 to $3,000 for three months’ work, as this is
not to be sneezed at even by the Jap, in spite of
the fact that his country may be prepared to Mani-
churize Siberia,
There is some anxiety among canners over the non-
arrival of nets from Seotland, ordered some months
ago, but a shipment is now on the way for their re-
lief. Of course, without nets and equipment, the fish
cannot be caught.
So far as domestic prices for canned salmon in
1918 are concerned the farmer who grows wheat for
the artisan in munition factories and ship yards, needs
no protection in the price he pays for his canned sal-
mon. He has more money than he ever had before,
and no one limits his prices except to raise the limit.
As a general rule he is paid high wages for his la-
bor, or high prices for his wheat and produce, in or-
der that he may produce the more greatly. A simi-
lar rule might reasonably be expected to be applied
to the salmon fisherman and the salmon canner.
But if prices of all foodstuffs are to be fixed: the
salmon eanners cannot put up any plea, nor at any
time do the salmon ecanners desire special treatment.
They, however, are of the opinion that perhaps domes-
tie prices might be fixed, but the export price should
be controlled by the law of supply and demand.
The argument: has been advanced that the sale price
of Canadian salmon in the United Kingdom, has not
hitherto been regulated, and therefore, it does not ap-
pear to be logical to limit the profit which the canner
can make in Canada, yet, leave the distributor in the
market of consumption a free hand to charge what
he likes.
As a fundamental principle, the price of raw salmon
paid to the fishermen by the canners should be fixed
if the price of the canned article is to be fixed. Some
canners have expressed the opinion that it is prema-
ture till after the pack is put up to attempt to fix
the price of canned salmon, because no one knows
what the cost of materials and manufacture is till.
after the season is over; no one can tell if a strike will
ensue; a fire destroy a cannery; or other accident re-
tard production or enhance costs.
If the proposed prices for. raw fish to the fisher-.
men are made lower or even held stationary, dicker-
ing with prices may be a dangerous thing, and it would
appear to me to be a simple matter to insist that a
fishermen should sell his fish to the canner at a cer-
tain price, or he will have his license taken away.
Many of the fishermen are ranchers with incomes,
who fish for both fun and profit. Such fishermen, if
they do not like. the price or if the regulating of
prices does not suit their temperament will quit and
vo back to their ranches. The psychology of the
fishermen should not be lost. sight of.
Again, fishing for salmon in British Columbia is
done in many ways; by traps; by seines; by gill nets,
by trawl. Each method varies in cost, so salmon
caught by each method will vary in price. to the can-
ner.
Again, by custom and tradition, the different fish-
ing areas in British Columbia have different prices.
for salmon caught by the fishermen, and paid for by
the canners. To fix prices for raw salmon to the
fishermen, one would have to conform to these tradi-
CANADIAN FISHERMAN
- Canada.
April, 1918.
tions, and if one did, a few fishermen in one area
where the price was lower than in another, might
engineer a strike, as was done in the season of 1917.
The prices of canned salmon in the markets of the
world are controlled by the pack of the United States.
The pack of the United States is nearly 80 per cent.
of the. world’s pack; the United States pack in 1917
was eight and a half million eases of 48 lbs. each; Can-
ada’s pack was only one million and a half cases. Sev-
-enty-five per cent. of Canada’s pack is exported; twen-
ty-five per.cent. of the United States pack is exported,
but the 25 per cent. of the United States pack is much
greater in number of cases than is the 75 per cent. of
Canada’s pack.
The costs of producing canned salmon in the United —
States are lower than in Canada. The bulk of the
United States pack is from raw salmon caught in
traps and seines, a vastly more economic way of catch —
ing salmon than by gill nets, which catch most of the
Canadian salmon. The cost of tin plate, twine and
other essentials of manufacture are less in the United
States than in Canada, therefore, any price fixed for
export United States canned salmon would not be a
price that might be considered fair to the Canadian
canners.
Twenty-five per cent. of the Canadian pack is con-
sumed at home by the 8,000,000 people of Canada; sev-
enty-five per cent, of the United States pack is con-
sumed by the 110,000,000 people of the United States.
With the demand better in the United States than Fel!
in Canada for canned salmon, better prices may be ob-
tained in the U. S. than in Canada, whilst costs of
production are less, hence the domestic price in the
United States for canned salmon might not be a pine:
that would be fair to the Canadian canner. vr
Already, considerable business has been done in the.
1918 canned salmon pack of British Columbia, being”
confined to one or two United Kingdom importing —
firms, and at least one canner in British Columbia has”
*
sold his whole output for 1918 for consumption in — eae
Several of the bigger Liverpool people who —
‘usually handle a large proportion of the trade are,
holding off, not being prepared to do business on the
terms required by the canners who now require that ‘
‘delivery be taken in warehouse or f.o.b. dock Van-
couver. English buyers want the old form of contract,
which provides f.o.b. steamer or railway cars. They
will not take the responsibility of paying for salmon if —
shipping facilities are not available. They usually —
arrange letter of credit in Vancouver against shipping __
documents.
It is considered doubtful if sufficient — matt:
money, is available from British banks against ware- igs
house receipts for salmon ~ in Vancouver. Most of”
the contracts for canned salmon of 1918 pack, which —
thas been sold have contained the following clause,
viz: ‘‘Subject to rules of Dominion Food Controller
as affecting export prices.’
.* The idea seems to be that the Canada Food Beard
may fix prices for domestic trade, and possibly for
export.
were fixed to govern all salmon from the,raw PPTs
to the canned article.
In the past there have been two different forms an
contract used by the canned salmon trade, an export
coutraect for salmon unlabelled less 244 per cent. com-
mission, and a contract for domestic trade for salmon
labelled less 5 per cent. commission. These contracts
ary
It is believed in some ‘quarters that no regu- -
lations would work. out satisfactorily - unless prices
ae
vil, 1918. CANADIAN
ply to export firms when dealing with the canners
yme of the big canners maintain their own ine
wanizations for the Canadian trade and carry labels.
‘ase canners operate through brokers in the various
lies of Canada, allowing them, generally speaking,
joo 21% per cent. commission.
wever, some of the larger companies, and all of
“smaller ones, have no organization for domestic
s and do not carry labels. It is here that export
fers step in and provide labels and organization
‘ handling this trade, getting in return a total of
per cent. commission, of which they have to allow
sir representatives in Montreal, Toronto, and else-
21% per cent. commission,
tf the Allied Provisions Export Commission deals
ly with the salmon canners, these middlemen
ll probably have to readjust their businesses. No
it will be necessary for the Commission to in-
Set their own purchases. It would be a good plan
larrange with the export brokerage men to do this
wk.
ation at prices for «ae salmon for the year
The overruling argument for the fixation of
FISHERMAN
699
prices will be the vital need of the Allies, and in the
face of that all other considerations must go by the
Board. The immediate need is to increase the produc-
tion of canned salmon for food. Anything that acceler-
ates that production will meet with the approval of the
salmon canning industry in British Columbia. At
the same time, anything that may tend to retard pro-
duetion will be viewed with alarm.
Dealing with the salmon fishermen of British Col-
umbia must be done fairly. If the fishermen are
well contented and working to the limit, it might be
advisable to let them and the prices of raw salmon
alone, because any change in their conditions, no mat-
ter how beneficial, may be construed by some into an
injury.
When the pack is put up and costs of packing es-
tablished, it would not be diffieult to fix a fair price
to the canners for the finished product, but that price
might appear high to the purehaser who will be the
Allied buyers, for there is only one buyer for ex-
port in the market. He would be consoled, however.
by the fact that the greatest possible production. was
made during the season which is the objective aimed
at.
700
The Consumers in Western Canada Should Arise to the Occasion
The consumers of Canada resident in the four West-
ern Provinces, from Victoria to Winnipeg, have an op-
portunity of getting the best deep-sea fish in the world
at about 10ce. a pound, IF THEY WANT THEM.
THEY MUST WANT THEM, DEMAND THEM OF
THEIR DEALERS, GET THEM, PAY FOR THEM
AND: EAT THEM.
For if the demand is not insistent from the con-
sumers in the four Western Provinces, the supply ean-
not be-made continuous without loss to the fish pro-
ducers. The demand must be persistent and not spas-
modic. The consumers must make up their mimds to
eat more Flat Fish and eat it more frequently. If they
do this they ean get Flat Fish at about 10e. a pound,
and later if they keep up their consumption of Flat
_ Fish they will get it at much lower rates. °
\
The Canada Food Board by its regulations in re-
gard to Flat Fish caught in Pacific waters has in-
augurated one of the most important economic de-
velopments growing out of war conditions. It has been
done in the interest of the consuming public in the four
Western Provinces. Its objective is to make easy the
substitution of fish for beef and pork and release the
latter for larger shipments to. the Allies who need
them more than we do who are at home.
From a national standpoint the action of the Can-
ada Food Board is epoch-making for it aims to de-
velop a new and practically inexhaustible source of
food supply in the suecessful prosecution of which
large additions will be made to,the economic wealth
of Canada and wider fields surveyed for the profit-
able employment of capital and labor.
For all these reasons then and especially because it
will help to win the war the consumers of the four
Western Provinces should become supporters of the
Canada Food Board Flat Fish regulations and EAT
MORE FISH. AT LEAST ONE POUND A WEEK.
FOR EACH ADULT, FROM NOW UNTIL THE WAR
IS OVER.
If the demand for. Flat Fish from the consumers
of the four Western Provinces does not rapidly inerease
now and later, the Canadian Fish and Cold Storage
Company at Prinee Runert may find it imperative to
take off their trawler because its economie operation
depends wholly on the marketing of a maximum eatch.
The market is to be found only among the consumers
of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Man-
itoba, Transportation charges preclude the shipping
CANADIAN FISHERMAN
“whereby the consumers may get a wholesome sea
‘ were to co-operate and try out the effect of the E
Fish regulations for a month or two, at the same ¢:
April, 1918. -
of Flat Fish from Pacific waters to any markets f
ther east. But if the consumer in these four Provine
respond to their opportunity then Flat Fish ean ¢oi
tinue to be bought by them at about 10e. a pound.
One would suppose that the consumers of the Pr
ince of British Columbia would appreciate the pos:
bilities of further development of their fisheries r
sources’ consequent upon the Flat Fish industry e
couraged by the Canada Food Board. More than
other Province British Columbia stands to gain by
growth of this new deep-sea industry. If subst
progress is made with it as is possible while th
is on, then the markets created will still be ava
to capital and labor in British Columbia poten th
is over.
In Vancouver the smaller wholesale fish de
complain that under the Canada Food Board reg
tions relative to the marketing of Flat Fish the spr
to them is about 100 per cent. greater than they e
got before. But they maintain that the fishermen ~
are given 314¢. per pound by the wholesale dealers
not get enough for their labor. It is evident that it
only a question of turnover, for while 334¢. for
pound is not a large sum of money it may be a lars
sum of money when calculated in terms of thousa
of pounds. The fishermen must expect to get paid
the consumers of fish and the more consumers ther
the better will he be paid, not per pound, but in tl
aggregate. The’ Canada Food Board cannot produ
the consumers but it can and does create a situ
at a low price. It is up to the consumers to take
vantage of these conditions and do their share in |
ing a market for the catches of the fishermen.
wholesale fish dealers of Vancouver should compl. ]
to the consumers that they are not doing their du
in eating more fish. That is the solution 6f- tl
problem for with the increased consumption of
the fishermen will find that they will be fairly well p
for their labor if they get 334¢. a lb. for flat fish. Bot
the fishermen and wholesale dealers would be prais
by the consumers of Flat Fish iPBritish Columbi
instead of railing against the Canada Food Board the
doing all in their power to induce the consumers of
fish to consume it more largely and frequently. Tf al @
the expiration of a month or two they found that haa
not sufficient. consumption of Flat Fish to justify
ontinuing in the business then the whole matter
be brought up for review. '
e rules re prices for Flat Fish of the Canada
‘Board have reference only to a certain class of
known in the vernacular as Ground Fish, or Flat
or Serap Fish. These fishes have had no ap-
jable market in British Columbia. Hitherto they
been caught on the hook and then cast off again
1é sea, many of them to die, and the whole
m exhibiting wastefulness, not only in energy,
foodstuffs. These fish consist of Flounders,
‘ills, Whiting, Red Cod, Ling Cod, Grey Cod
es, all excellent and edible fish, but in appear-
her repugnant to the ordinary Canadian, and
other fishes were popular, these flat fishes
egarded.
nada Food Board realized that in the North-
fie there was an inexhaustible supply of ex-
od fish that needed only to be caught, brought
and marketed to enable the people of Canada
St as Winnipeg, to make a wholesome and a
® substitution of fish for beef and pork, in
t the two latter might be released for greater
on to the Allies.
it is true that these fishes were not popular
eat extent yet it is also true that in Victoria,
and Vancouver, centres of the greatest popu-
British Columbia, there were many British
any fish restaurants are to. be found in Van-
hat serve an excellent fish lunch from early
till late at night for about 40c. a head. These
ts have increased by good service and have
‘small one man or two man trawlers running
Vancouver and elsewhere a few miles from the
d dragging up in their nets these Ground Fish,
or Serap Fish. These trawlers have sold
to the restaurants for from 7, 8 and 9c. a
0 to 2,000 lbs. with this trawl attached to
gasoline launch.. [ know~ one man who
s launeh and trawl net single handed, and
n told that selling his fish from 7, 8 to Qe.
these restaurant men in Vancouver, he has
» to clear as high at $600 or $700 a month,
ing all expenses.
; is from men such as these trawlers, and
not many of them in the lower mainland
British Columbia, that the objection is urged
. a pound as fixed by the Canada Food Board
ugh. If the demand is great enough it will
. It is for the consumers to make the de-
ong these trawlers until they have learned to
themselves to the new ruling which has been
ed first to stimulate the exploitation of a prac-
new field of food supply. In order to get these
the consumer and create a market that will be
ent, it is necessary that they be put on his table
to be considered above the interest of
ders from the Pacific to Winnipeg and
CANADIAN FISHERMAN
ens who knew that these fish were excellent
sed. A good trawler in two days will catch.
701
perform. Discontent among and refusal to fish by the
fishermen of Vancouver are playing the game of those
who would hamper the successful proseeution of Can-
ada’s part in helping to win this war with food.
I was instrumental in a great measure in formulat- .
ing this policy relative to Ground Fish, and I had in
view at the time that they could be got most economic-
ally by means of the Otter Trawl. I spent some weeks
in investigating this Otter .Tiawl at Prince Rupert.
I was impressed with the fact that the deep-sea fisher-
ies of Great Britain were revolutionized when the steam
trawler put the schooner fishing vessel out of busi-
ness. Similar conditions are ripe in the Northern
Pacific. The Otter Trawl will catch with luck from
400,000 to 600,000 Ibs. of these Ground Fish in a month
at a cost to the producer of approximately 2¢. or 8¢e.
a lb.
If these fish can be transported to the Prairie Pro-
vinces with the Government paying two-thirds of the
transportation charges, as they do now, the house-
holders in the West will be able to get as good fish as
there are in the sea. for about 10e. a lb., and a new
source of food supply in Canada will have been dis-
covered and used to help to win the war.
I have information from British Columbia that tells
me that the British Columbia Packers’ Association
without any experience with a trawler is putting a
steam boat properly equipped on the fishing banks off
Vancouver Island in order, even though this company
may lose money, that it may show the people of Can-
ada that it desires to co-operate with the great national
undertaking fathered by the Canada Food Board.
The Canada Fish Cold Storage Company at Prince
Rupert has one trawler in operation called the James
Carruthers, and though the first trip was not hugely
successful owing to bad weather, still the trawler got
20,000 lbs. of fish in a few days, as much as all the
smaller trawlers would get in a week.
The shortage of fishermen in British Columbia is
not greater than it has even been, and the draft has
not taken many from the ranks of the fishermen be-
cause the exemption tribunals have ruled that fishing
as an essential occupation. Otter Trawling does not
require expert fishermen. Two men who understand
the Otter Trawl are needed, and the rest of the men
on the boat are men who have hands and ean clean
fish, the simplest form of manual labor going. This
is work returned soldiers could do handily and that
interned alien enemies should be made to do, and as
each fisherman on board a trawler will make from
$150 to $200 a month with board, it is an occupation
that will not go begging for men to engage in it.
The consumers of the four Western Provinces can
have cheap fish if they want it under the regulations
of the Canada Food Board re Flat Fish. BUT THEY
MUST WANT IT. If the present plan does not sue-
ceed.the consumers have themselves to blame.
Ingonish, C.B.,
February 11th, 1918.
To the Editor of Canadian Fisherman,—
Dear Sir—I enclose $1.00 as one year’s subscription
to ‘‘The Canadian Fisherman’’—a journal that is well
worth the money — interesting, instructive, scientific
also practical. Every fisherman, fish merchant, and
fish dealer should take it. Pee
Yours, SYDNEY S. BURKE.
702 . CANADIAN
FULL REPORT OF SUBSCRIPTIONS TO THE
HALIFAX FUND MADE THROUGH THE
SECRETARY OF THE CANADIAN
FISHERIES ASSOCIATION.
Montreal, February 20, 1918.
To the Editor of Canadian Fisherman,—
Dear Sir,—I attach herewith report of the Committee on the
Halifax Relief, and at a meeting of the executive held here
to-day, | have been instructed to forward this report to you,
and as you very kindly offered to have the report published
in detail in the Canadian Fisherman, would appreciate it if
you would have this report appear in full as per the attached.
It is possible that it may be too late now for this report
to be published in the Fisherman, if such is the case, I
would ask you to kindly have the full report printed, and a
separate report mailed to each contributor whose name ap-
pears on the attached list, and before sending out the satan
I would like to see it,
Yours truly,
W. R. SPOONER,
Secretary-Treasurer.
REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON HALIFAX RELIEF.
At a meeting of the executive of the Canadian Fisheries As-
sociation held at Freeman’s Hotel, Montreal, on December
10th, 1917, it was decided that the Association should do some-
thing as an Association towards alleviation of sufferers from —
Halifax disaster which occurred December 6th, 1917.
A committee composed of Messrs. Paulhus, Conners, Har-
pell, Stanford, O’Connor and Spooner was formed, and-it was
decided to forward a telegram. to Members of the Association
in twenty districts as well as to prominent dealers in two dis-
tricts where the Association did not have members. :
Result being that an amount of $3,000.00 has been subscribed
as per attached detailed list,
In addition to above, replies were received from the follow-
ing :-——
Canadian Fishing Company, Vancouver, B.C.
W.S. Loggie, Chatham, N.B.
R. O’Leary, Richibucto, N.B.
_I, Montreuil, Quebec, P.Q.
Chas. Finley, Port Stanley, Ont. -
W. F. Leonard, St. John, N.B.
W. M. Hodge, Lockeport, N.S.
C, H. Earle, Charlottetown, P.E.1.
F. W. Bowan, Port Arthur, Ont.
stating that previous to receiving our wire, they, and those
interested in the Fishing Industry, in their district had already
subscribed through other channels, such as local Boards of
Trade, or other local associations.
Upon recommendation of the Committee the amount col-
lected, $3,000.00, was forwarded to Sir Frederick Fraser,
Chairman Halifax Blind Relief Committee, Halifax, who had
made an appeal for funds to provide accommodation and
suitable training for those made blind through the disaster of
December sixth,
The following letter dated January 7, 1918, acknowledging
receipt of the amount has been received:
January 7th, 1918.
W. R. Spooner, Esq.,
Sec’y 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 contri-
bution of $3,000.00 from 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 Committee are deeply grateful
for your timely and generous help.
Jt is impossible at this date to give absolutely accurate de-
tails as to the loss of sight due to the terrible explosion of
December 6th. It is known that at 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 affect the sight. Four hundred others lost the sight
of one eye, and in many cases enucleation followed. About
two hundred have been made totally blind or have had their
sight so far impaired that they will be practically 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 Committee, and I think I can assure you that this
FISHERMAN
RROVOA: WAS COE Se ve erase wine Oe pate ae tetas
ae
problem will be dealt with in a satisfactory and _ pri
way. “¢e
Will you kindly, through your official organ, convey —
donors of your contribution the very hart thanks
Halifax Blind Relief Committee. :
Very gratefully yours,
(Signed) C. F, FRASER,
_ Chairman Halifax Blind Relief Cc
The Committee sincerely appreciate the generous 1
to this appeal by members of the fishing industry
Canada, and recommend that this report be trans
full in the minutes of the Association, and that all
Pondence in connection therewith be kept under sep
The Committee further recommend that a full copy
report in detail be printed and forward to each sub:
once. sg
(Signed) W. R. SPOONER,
Secretary for the
LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS TO HALIFAX RELIE F.
Montreal District:
PD) Siatign OG.) -S kis 08s cu deen nes one % $130.
Maritime Fish Corporation ,. .<.......... . 180.6!
W.. Ree Spooneris Vso ie, Hoe sgt Sys Ve 130.6
Leonard Fisheries Limited . oie eticn's dee dale en
Hy. Gatehouse & Son ,. ....... aa. toes - 100.0
Stanford: “Limited: o.0°5 5.7.4. soo eee eee (25.
JOR DS OP COnNOY JA tek. comer ee MBs oo. ee
ds Bg. ee ee Pe saat terWclote wiesd oie a Ripe Oe .00-
J. Dik Eieepely io. cr7 stags oan area do Deore heals we jis: ae OO
M. sRerdimsn: joy eee ee Ree ee
Bs Wa Wee es bt ad «os eee pg
Portland Wish Cn. 55 5445..755 es ieee ;
JOR: EDR EOE i Cada hel aie ates Ae SP ee
A, Charbonneau... sive. Fines a Datel waded ray
Lalumiere & Beaudry . .2.4,0.s.ec00%0 Be
Toronts District: Pe
Bop James’ Co; imited: hotel och A ee
White & Co., Limited ........... ig taavane - 100.00
J. Bowman & Company . . ...s..eeceesen ee
Winnipeg District: tee
W. J. Guest Fish Co., Ltd.......... Metre?
Northern Fish Col, Ltd, . ....... Vata ee wate 100.
Armstrong Independent Pisherien:; a ike et Wa SO
Digby District: -
Maritime Fish ne canreranes pen Cee reek 3s — «60. 0
nD oy RW Se os fie Sais Re oie Cate SG re ee PE
Dit Sproles sas ib see esas aie oa ne See ee oy
Nova Scotia Fish, Co. . prt cape were a eee 10.
FE Bi SRORG Ses Gis Es ace alg he ase eee ergs
Hy Anderson 756 20 Gini, scsi. «ee “10.00
Prince Rupert District: 5 ce
Canadian Fish & Cold Storage ..... Sahoo «. . 200.0
Ottawa District: j ms
ROW, SO Binney ci tee ules sadar; ace Gasla ed 5 a eae 10.00
Canso District: RN
Maritime Fish Corporation and Employees. 229.75
Maritime Fish Corporation, 5 Boat Crews.. 85.
Maritime Fish Corporation, Rayondor and — a
OPOW Stata oe ae el oe eee 359.00
Robinson Glue Co., Ltd. and employees.... 64.
A. W. Fader and employees .. ...........-+ 137.3
A. W. Fader, 7 Canso Boat Crews.......... 75.
A, W. Fader, 4 Port Felix Boat Crews...... 32.00
Fred David.and Employees ............... 20.00
—_—_——_
Portland Packing Co, and Employees...... 122.50
Portland Packing Co. 4 Boats............. 28.
ee —
RR. Fendsheei oj scare setae ues aoe 10.00
: g Be.
Whitehead, No 80.2 hodte a ae ae
> “April, 1918.
CANSO DETAILED LIST.
Maritime Fish Corporation & Employees:
Maritime Fish Corporation, Ltd.... $100.00
Peer We EEO GONE ola cin als 6X Sie 6 aces 25.00
Pie OOWIO. oF eas ea ccces are wus ity aes 5.00
ae Al (RBIIOR ORE (Meg Meira, G oixg we ae tee cent 2.00
Geo. T. Hendsbee .. ...... SCE we Ge 10.00
Capt. John McDonald. ............. 5.00
RE CROO. WURIBD oh ie o.k lees, ba ies eb ee a 5.00
DUP MMRCUR A en tam a eng 5 ss aig aie 6 ct 3.00
mpanamM GEOTree 65. ene ca ese 1.00
UM POC ORL ie Ede yo ae fea hop ase bls 1.00
UUM ERO I s iho din. wikis occ alps @ 050020 « 1.00
TIS TOES heathens tt Sa naa 2.00
es OO aE Ae ORI aes hire scene 2.00
MMI OL UTEN EE) ong Ea ele o's aig arere'w due 2.00
MEME SPCEOOUROT fo es oe vid seis Sees ae 5.00
INT 20 NOTRE hae Sieve a Sabha nie 6 overs 5.00
SUMMMEEMERMLOR OS ee ocr ig Vt a t's, a 0 SAPS ee 5.00
ES hee i Se ae 2.00
EMER EMITIPOG 6 cic cis eis cies see er cece 3.00
NN NN 1 got ides 3 Vigha g's 2 ob itts cose 3.00
UR MEPL TOL a ee gba a 0's vie e's 1.00
, ROEM SPU 0a 5 acd al'e.» ase's 0 0 soeve 6 .50
DREN ERG PRORING ofe ste cre bao 5 oe 1.50
BONE PEUEUITIOL Dr tui eivie ss sole coe es 2.00
ON SIE 9 (0 SUS 1.00
EE TATU oe ag oo siirsis cfu es ps8 1.00
wins Pembroke. 2%... ees 1.00
RP OeERTRLOMCOT 662) (fo catdidiaiy sia ee cus toe 1.00
IME PERE EL OED 3 oo 55 Gta bg veWed Jas Bi oe 8 1.00
oN RUEROURU REIL 5900 oor oie athe Space ge cjelee s 25
Paeeoldio. WeltMate., 2... .scicc. sae ccs .25
=f OM eC atin. cos 40 a's 1.00
PRN RRVOCNCOPN 9, aici ce ccc e Sees .50
Momeeerie MaPGCNCOIMN << biases s 6 ss bes 1.00
: SALAS IS ahs Gy cl Ory 1.00
Beets MEE TORING E oc he hse hele uw see .50
Bs GRC ARN 3.230 gy ie eae a 1.00
# Ree CUENOY Oy Saas a ene ee 1.00
os UO OOOE, ECR TY (oi Be oie eel csc oe owes .50
G Joseph Armsworthy .. ............ 3.00
: MEO ete ho act eer oho Pe 00
2 SUNT ig 2 5s SR <a aa OR co 5.00
nnn GMD F5 ar dan ui Yo Wi airas a8, Ste wi 0 of ee 1.00
MES RATE OT oC oo gc is ac ks 6, ato ace.e 6 .50
ORIG CICA LO oak ce ler tees 25
TD GO a go A 1.00
DAMN OMEIOINE S588 Sale Gt cinleeleieth sé Seale és 1.00
ret STNG VU AITIORNES No einis ekix'e'e os eves 1.00
: NN RO nee ga Hae oes wve.tse he 1.00
an MeWOPE SOC 6 2s. oc ek sch ec vee 1.00
; See SIaNHEGON 922552 eee eis ve 1.00
s L@O AVETY, 6 oo cee eee cee e ee cence eens .50
ENED EESTI, 0 gts, Wo. e 6: dine we evaie: We Soy 1.00
NM URNA <= Hae aide, Sve locale 'ecahs on 00.08 1.00
y MREIPCUNEN IED LT ek sie see odes es cee 1.00
OMTMMLOU © ooo Vateiee cen ceo oe oeiels 2 1.00
eemnte GIT OONCOPID) 5. =. Vo. 9/6 a0er0 oc Sida 1.00
RR RO a se cc eis ore ge eipinnwnce 1.00
ee LS EAS oS ain aS ae mE 1.00
RRS TIE Oe aoe as Sas ed bic cha bs 1.00
MMT Or OUGTOUL) Ui. (hi odd sis one's eee .50
F $229.75
Boats:
Capt. Thos. Hearn and Crew. ...... $15.00
Capt. Frank Lohnes and crew ..... 25.00
Capt. J. Manuel and crew ......... 15.00
Capt. Alonzo Feltmate and crew.... 15.00
Capt. George Ryan and crew .. 15.00
85.00
Steam Trawler “Rayondor” and Crew:
3 REPRE oS 5 ight ere hoe ae Ot wack ... $150.00
pisy Peat ReNUGHON fhe. Bee wk oe a's 100.00
re MPEMEISODY Gf Oro ot ga ee ies eelacc etd es 10.00
= ite PRA DNOT S36 ia os, shite Ge le vont 10.00
Ze Per PINOT oo )n ack aks SRILA eat tan Lr, 00
- f ET LOBOSS pho! easy x one Pe Bie Nae 10.00
memtor miricson= 7 iff oSoehad. Settee less 10.00
Ra PMR ROT 91 5 act aS poet el se viel BaD a oe 15.00
“ REAMEIM. OOLBON 6, OF pn ew 6 clon 0's 0's wla'e.t 5.00
r¥ NMI RROD 2 ay Sag cy hee. a> 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
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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
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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
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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.
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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
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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)
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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:
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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
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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-
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sf Write for Catalogue and Prices.
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: amilton, Canada.
TORONTO MONTREAL
114 York St. 16 Notre Dame St., E.
D. H. H. NEILL,
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Phone Uptown 8547
With the high cost of labor can
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E. A. EARL & CO., Vancouver, B.c.., Agents
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_ Acadia Gas Engines, Ltd
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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.
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Caille booed os Motor Co. .. .+ «-
— Canada tal Co., Ltd. es
; Datesinnciaitbanke- Morse ‘Co, L Ltd.
oso agg Fish ane baat paroreae
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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
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Edwards, W. C. & és, Ltd. .
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Evinrude Motor Cs ts es
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aniny Metete CO, ATIC. 56 co soe e,
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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.
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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. .. ..
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James, F. 7) Gis
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Kildala Packing cg Ltd. Sa ey
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Leonard Fisheries, Ltd.
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Lincoln, Willey and Co., Ine. .
canes? none Refrigeration Co.,
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Mueller, Charles, Co., Ltd. vk ame
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Northern Fish Co. ng 80
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Process Engineers, Ltd. 89
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Smith “~annery Machines Co., Ltd. 2
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Standard Gas Wieine Co | ap Doce rary © *
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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—
”?
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Better Goods for Harder Work
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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
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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.
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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
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buretor, 1% in. Spark plug; Priming
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ROBERTS
THE FISHERMAN’SS ENGINE
"OPERATES ON KEROSENE, GASOLINE OR DISTILLATE
Roberts Heavy Duty Motor for Fishermen is strong, sturdy
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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-
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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.
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_ ‘TO THE COMMERCIAL FISHERIES -
_ OF CANADA AND NEWFOUNDLAND
__ THE SCIENCE OF THE FISH CUL-
“a
in
x
>
i
ot
ah
=
aA
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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
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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
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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.
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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
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CANADIAN FISHERMAN
00000 *2000d 5900000000000 300004 200000 600000000000000000 0000040000000000
Prince Edward Island Notes
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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
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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
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\
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 ™—,
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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
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5 oe woure
ARCHED Ling
*
856
the same genus as the Halibut, and is a favorite fish
among New England and more northern anglers, who
fish for them during the winter months, and in much
the same manner as those along the New York and
New Jersey coast do for winter flounders,
From October to April, Sand Dabs frequent the bays
and inlets, but with the first rise in temperature they
scurry to where the water is one hundred and fifty
feet deep and more. In outline the Sand Dab is simi-
lar to Winter Flounder, and its eyes are on the right
side of its head; but its mouth, instead of being small,
like that fish, is quite large and fitted with a single
row of sharp teeth. The color of the top is a uniform
reddish brown,
Although its chief foods are crustaceans, the Sand
Dab is a voracious feeder on small fish, which they
chase with some activity. Hence a piece of fish with
the flesh side up is a favorite bait among anglers.
The Sand Dab grows to be about two feet long, and
reaches a weight of from three to five pounds. Its
flesh is delicate and highly esteemed both in this coun-
try and abroad where the same fish is found in abund-
ance on the English coast and in Scandinavia.
Rusty Dab.
The Rusty Dab, is a small species found in abund-
ance from New York to Labrador and beyond. It av-
erages a trifle smaller than the Winter Flounder, but
it is nevertheless highly prized for its delicate food
qualities. It is often seen in the New York and Bos-
ton markets mixed with the Winter Flounder from
which it can easily be distinguished. Its color is
brownish, plentifully sprinkled with rusty spots on the
upper Side, hence its name Rusty Dab. The eyes, which
are on the right side, are close together, and the snout
projects abruptly upwards. The lateral line is straight
from the tail to the extremity of the upper pectoral
fin, where it sweeps upward in nearly a perfect curve
to the medial line of the eyes. The mouth is large
and furnished with small teeth.
SSI;
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SCALES BETWEEY
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——
Flounder.
Eel-Back Flounder,
There is very little literature on the subject of the
Kel-Back Flounder, although it is often seen in north-
ern markets, and is esteemed as a delicacy for the table.
There is only one other member of the genus and it is
an inhabitant of the arctics exclusively. The Kel-Back
itself is not found below Cape Cod and is one of the
smallest of the Flounders, rarely exceeding a foot
in length. It is distinguished by a rough ridge above
the gill cover, is dark grey with numerous dark mot-
tles on the upper side, and with black spots on the
fins. The eyes are on the left side, the head is not
much twisted, and the lateral line, plainly visible, is
CANADIAN FISHERMAN
almost straight from the tail to the medial line of
~
- July, 1918
the eyes. The scales are very small and so closely
set that the back feels soft and smooth, eomewnnt like
the skin of an eel.
Pale Flounder or Craig Fluke.
The Pale Flounder or Craig Fluke is another far
northern species having Cape, Cod as its southern limit.
Smooth Flounder.
Being a lover of cold, it rarely ventures into haa for
very long, but remains almost constantly in deeper
. water.
Like the Rusty Dab, it is a small fish, rarely attain-
ing a length of eighteen inches, usually not more than
a foot. By many it is considered equal in flavor to
the famous English Sole. It is grayish brown in color,
with numerous dark spots on the fins, and with dusky ;
tipped pectorals.
‘Window-Pane Turbot,
For a time it was thought there was a possibility :
‘that the famous European Turbot existed’ in North —
American waters, and there were some who insisted
that they were present and blamed American methods ~
of fishing for not locating them. But the most per-
sistent search with every known appliance failed, and —
scientific men are emphatic in their conviction that the —
European Turbot is not found among the American
flatfishes. Their conviction is strengthened by the —
fact, that on several occasions the United State’s
Government deposited specimens of European Turbot
along the coast, but nothing was ever seen of them >
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.
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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 — <
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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.
“
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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-
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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
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August, 1918
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_ 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
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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 <Asso-
ciation and Guests:
I wish to thank you very much for the opportunity
you have given me _ of attending such meetings
of the Association. As I found my programme
allowed me to attend I welcomed the opportunity to
come and I regret exceedingly that I have not been
able to attend all the meetings or to go on your after-
noon trips and share your pleasures as well as your
labors. I have attempted to attend as many of the
meetings and as much of them as I could, but I am here
in a double role, I am in Halifax not only as chairman
of the Research Council, but also as secretary-treasurer
of the Biological Board of Canada,,and it is in the lat-
ter capacity that perhaps I feel my most complete jus-
tification for appearing before you to-night. I ought
to say that the Biological Board of Canada has been
one of my pet projects, and I am therefore going to
emphasize its position here in
When the _ British Association
met in Toronto in
speaking to you.
1897, it recommended by formal resolution that there |
should be instituted in Canada a biological station for
the study of the problems connected with the fisher-
ies and marine life. The British Association on that
occasion appointed Professor Prince, Professor Pen-
hallow and myself as a committee to initiate the meas-
ures leading to the establishment of such a biological
station. We found it necessary to add to our num-
bers; we brought in and added to the committee
several prominent biologists from all over the country:
Professor Ramsay Wright, Professor MacBride, Pro-
fessor Knight and Dr. MacKay and Dr. Bailey, the lat-
ter of the University of Fredericton, N.B.
We approached the Government and asked for a
grant to establish such a station. We were accorded
one, but it was so modest that our schemes had to be
cut down to a microscopic degree. $5,000 was the sum
that was alloted; that really measured the apprecia-
tion of the government authorities of the day, of the
magnitude of the proposal as it appeared to them. I
must confess I was greatly discouraged. I was much
more enthusiastic, and I had larger hopes then than
I have now.
To-day, if I received such a set-back my depression
would be somewhat greater, I think, than it ought to
have been then, but certainly the set-back that our
hopes got was very great. However, we proceeded to
work and gradually recovered our courage and our
enthusiasm. But we met with many reverses, we did
not find the fish industry responsive nor the govern-
ment appreciative, and when you are criticising the
government or the government is criticising you,
please leave out of the question the Biological Board.
The Biological Board has been doing the best it was
able to do with the means placed at its disposal. Our
people worked without any remuneration for years.
Members of the staff—biologists—went to the stations
annually, and worked assiduously all the summer
*. .
§60
through on problems concerned with the fisheries and
with the fisheries alone. Had they confined themselves
to the purely scientific problems which they might
have undertaken their reputation would have stood
higher to-day, because work in pure science brings
greater reward and appreciation in the scientific world
than work for the practical world. This is a fact
and you must understand it, You may think that when
we have done our work we have achieved something
amongst you—if you appreciate it; but let me tell you
frankly that the one who works merely for the prac-
tical side is limiting himself in his world of appreci-
ation. There is a wider world, a world extending out-
side of all your interests, which the scientific man
if he applies himself to it can conquer, and conquer
without any doubt whatever about the result.
Well now, all these gentlemen worked, and _ they
worked against difficulties that discouraged them at
times, Things would have gone on still in the same way
but for an accident; a pure accident, possibly, but it was
ordered by Providence, I think sometimes, nevertheless.
We had great difficulty in getting the money that was
allotted, we had great difficulty in getting any money
at all. The amount was increased from $5,000 to $6,-
000 and to $7,000 and $8,000 and $9,000 and $11,000
and $12,000, but it was only in 1911, I think, that it
‘was $15,000 or $17,000. But it did not matter what
was voted—we were not allowed to spend it. The
maximum amount we could spend in one year was
$7,000 or $8,000 out of that $15,000, and all because
of the machinery that blocked the way. Every gov-
ernment servant seemed to stand in the way. I will
give you the instance which brought things to a crisis
at last. In the winter of 1911, I think it was in Janu-
ary, the Board of Trustees of the Biological Station
met and’ resolved that they should have a consider-
able quantity of reference literature at the station.
They listed a number of books, estimated to cost
$800, and they thought that by sending this list in ear-
ly they could have them ready for the first of May,
when the station opened. Well, when the station open-
ed the books were not there. Summer passed and not
a sign of them. In November of that year Professor
Wright got a letter from an official of the Depart-
ment stating that he had consulted some underlings
in the Department and he had learned that these books
were in French and German and Italian, and the
workers at the station and the professors there could
not read these books, and that therefore he refused to
order them. It was about the time that Professor Ram-
say Wright was shedding the mantle of the Director-
ship, which then fell on my shoulders. This incident,
more annoying than many others of a similar kind, typi-
fied the difficulties we had to contend with. We never
could do our work, because we never got the money to
spend; we were attacked and criticized by the fisher-
men because we did not do certain things, and we were
hindered by the officials of the Department. In speak-
ing of the latter, in the presence of Messrs. Desbarats
and Found, I must absolve these gentlemen from blame
on this score, because they were not concerned at the
time, but I must explain to the members of the Associa-
tion the difficulties that we had to encounter in reach-
ing our present stage of effectiveness.
_ I saw that, if we were to get along at all, we must
not be suspended, like Mohammed’s coffin, between
heaven and earth, unable to get up or down, and I re-
CANADIAN FISHERMAN
_ progress in that direction. We hope now to make
solved to have the Biological Stations put under as
arate Board, with power to spend, untramelled by offi.
cials, the amount of our annual appropriation, —
We had to get that Board created under a Statu
Then I determined that its work should be wh ol
practical, that whenever anybody came to the sta-
tion to do purely scientific work he must do it at hi
own expense. We have been only five or six year
operation now, but we have two stations, we have
trained a number of workers, we have put at the
vice of your industry three of the most efficient
in science, Professor Knight, Professor Huntsman
Dr. Fraser, —I do not think there are more comp
or effective experts than these—we strove to train ot
but unfortunately the war came and stopped all
Biological Stations more effective, more at th
vice of the industry, and I believe that with your
sistance and with your appreciation we may some day
reach a stage of effeotivencss ei ‘ics be pa nd
criticism.
In the meantime, I would nisle that you ey
sist us to a certain degree. I am with you a
the purpose of discussing the ‘formation of a |
your industry. Let me explain: what I mean |
The British Government has made a strong €
get the British industries to join together for:
pose of | assisting themselves ee _ fonentsh e
pose of Seca what is called a trade. assoc
research. Quite a number of. such’ trade aS
have been formed in England, the govei
ing them by grants. Sometimes they
of the money, all the expenses involved, in s
they pay pound for pound, in other cases the
assist by guiding the association itself ¢
path. In this country, the Research C
cided to encourage the industries to f
research—we are not using the word ‘‘é
The members of the guild will pool their fw
purpose of advancing the productivity o
tries by research. I have brought before a
your Association to-day the question of forr
a guild. The Research Council will endeavo
face you now. I spoke to-day to a portion of. ‘the A
sociation, which responded most enthusiastically.
I am to meet in a few minutes another section to
cuss the formation of a guild, having the obje
assisting the development of the industry by res
Now I must leave in a moment or two, so Ix
speak briefly. All my remarks - this evening
been of a desultory character. I should very ail
the opportunity of placing my whole pragran
before you, and on another occasion this may be }
sented. For the present, my work here has been
ereate a favourable atmosphere for our proposal —
form a guild in the fishing industry, which guild
assist research by every means in its power anc
August. 1918.
select the problems and bring them forward for ‘re-
search.
I thank you, gentlemen, for the opportunity of
speaking in this fashion. When I came into the room
I did not know I was to speak, otherwise I might have
boiled my observations down to a degree consistent
with the situation. (Applause.)
‘‘OUR GUESTS.”’
Proposed by Mr. Arthur Boutilier.
Mr. Chairman, Your Honor, Gentlemen :—On behalf
of the Canadian Fisheries Association I may say that
we feel very much honored at having with us to-night
a number of gentlemen who have come from a great
distance to attend this meeting. Coupled with this
toast to “‘Our Guests’’ I would like to make special
mention of the Hon. Mr. Stone and Hon. Mr. Hickman,
members of the Newfoundland Government, R. E.
Coker, representative of the Department of Trade and
Commerce of the United States Government; Mr. Mil-
lett, representative of the American Fisheries Society ;
Mr. Askeroft, of New York; and Dr. Adam Short,
chairman of the Historical Document Commission;
Hon, KH, H. Armstrong, representative of the Nova
Scotia Government; Mr. W. L. Hall, leader of the
Opposition in the same government, and Mr. Squires,
representative of the Ontario Government. Mr. Stone
is Minister of Marine and Fisheries in Newfoundland,
- and it gives me much pleasure to say that he has asked
to become a member of our Association, and when he
goes back he is going to further suggest that each suc-
ceeding Minister of Fisheries become a member of this
Association. (Applause.) It would ask that you arise
and drink to the health of ‘‘Our Guests.’”’
HONORABLE MR, STONE.—
Mr. President, Your Honor, and Gentlemen:
I am very pleased indeed to be afforded the oppor-
tunity of being with you to-night, and very grateful
for the privilege extended to me by the Canadian Fish-
eries Association of attending this Convention, it has
been an education to me. I am also glad to have this
opportunity of congratulating Mr. Brittain on the
high office which he has been called upon to fill as
president of the Association; I have only had a short
acquaintance with him, but judging from it, I do
not know that they could have made a better selection.
(Hear, hear.)
Newfoundland, as you know, is the oldest British
colony. It received its first responsible government,
I think, in the year 1855. The island has been divided
up into electoral districts to the number of eighteen,
with a representation of thirty-six members, who con-
stitute the House of Parliament. In the year 1914,
the year of this great world war’s commencement, New-
foundland, with a population of about two hundred
and forty thousand people, was ‘practically unknown
to the outside world; but by promising to the mother
- country 1,000 naval reserves and to the army a bat-
talion of an equal number and through a thorough
training received by them at Gallipoli, in France and
upon the high seass, she has been brought into a prom-
inence rightfully hers; she is no longer a colony, as
it were, she is now classed as a Dominion of no small
importance . (Hear, hear.) While we claim the privi-
lege of being perhaps the oldest colony, I think we can
- also claim the privilege or the credit of being the
youngest dominion.
CANADIAN FISHERMAN
961
The fisheries of Newfoundland have been in opera-
tion for about four hundred years. Up to the pre-
sent time, to my mind, they are only just in their
initial stages and must be further developed, and to
develop the fisheries still further you must, I think,
work along Fe ae We have quantity, quality
and variety in our vfoundland waters, as good as
you will find in or around any of the coast lines of
the world. Newfoundland, as I said, has been brought
into prominence by the heroie deeds of her sons, and
we are better known owing to this world-wide war,
and it is my belief that through the heroism of our
boys capitalists will be encouraged to come into the
country and our fisheries, our lumber and our min-
erals will be further developed. Newfoundland de-
rives her existence from her fisheries. The total am-
ount of revenue, I think, speaking from memory, is
SENET RTE - SOUR TET SARC TUE TENS ee rs EN Tae LEI MEMS BRS SAY OEE
ERS ba &: het ae ee ee Carin wry a8, ]
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Hon. J, G. STONE,
Minister of Marine & Fisheries, Newfoundland.
Hon. A. E. HICKMAN,
Member of the Executive Council, Newfoundland.
something like $22,000,000 and the fisheries contri-
bute to that over $17,000,000, so that when I say that
she is wholly and, solely dependent upon her fisher-
ies you can understand what I mean.
I thank you, gentlemen, for the kind hearing that
you have given me. This Convention has been an edu-
cation in itself, and I am certainly glad that I had the
opportunity of attending meetings of this nature. I
shall go back to Newfoundland with happy memories
of the Canadian Fisheries Association and of the pleas-
ant events with which I have been connected in Halifax.
Mr. Stone also spoke regarding the importance
and necessity of further development of the turbot
*
962 CANADIAN
fishery, which is a splendid article of food.
MONORABLE MR, HICKMAN,—
Mr. President, Your Honor, Gentlemen:—When I
return to Newfoundland and tell the people of the in-
formation and knowledge we have gleaned from your
deliberations, of the great enterprise and determina-
tion of your Association, I feel sure they will be glad
we came and will always endeavour to send a repre-
sentative if you will be kind enough to extend us an
invitation,
I take this opportunity of congratulating the newly-
elected president on the important office he has been
called upon to fill as president of such an association
as the Canadian Fisheries Association. I only wish
that we could extend the Association to ineude New-
foundland, but at the present time I suppose we can-
not do it.
There is not much I ean tell you concerning the fish-
eries, we are here simply to-listen. The members of
your Association are interested particularly in fresh
fish, it seems. Newfoundland is a large fishing coun-
try, as you know, and much of our fish is salted and
dried and exported to European markets; our prin-
cipal markets are Spain, Italy, Portugal, and—prior to
the war—Greece. Since the war, we have had some
difficulty in obtaining tonnage to convey our produce
to market, but we overcame this last year by purchas-
ing some sailing vessels, which did the work. Dur-
ing the early part of last year the British Government,
through the Allied Chartering Committee, asked us to
pass a minute of council to prevent sailing vessels from
going into the war zone, and at the same time made
the same request to the Governments of the United
States and Canada. The latter complied, but we could
not do so. They could not give us steamers and we
had to use-our sailing vessels. I mention this to ex-
plain the reason why Newfoundland sailing vessels
are permitted to go into the war zone, while those
of the United States and Canada are not.
The value of our fresh fish exports up to the pre-
sent time is not very great, about $100,000, I think,
principally ‘herrings. Some years ago the United
States people came to Newfoundland (as they do now,
in fact) and bought a large quantity of our herrings,
whieh they froze and took to the United States for
food. purposes. Sinee the cold storage has been in
use, however, we find that they do not take as many
fresh herrings, they take mostly salt herrings; the
cold storage houses on the New England coast take
eare of the fish caught there in the early season and
freeze their requirements. However, we would like
to see the fresh fish industry started in our country,
because we have a great many fish there which are of
no commercial value to us at the the present time, and
which could be utilized if we had cold storage facilities.
We have a little fish there called the caper, which
comes to us in the month of June. It is a small fish
about the size of a smelt, and it comes in teeming mil-
lions, the waters. are simply full of them. They are
only used for fertilizing purposes, and they disappear
in the month of July and we never see them until the
next year in June. Then there is a very delicious fish
which is always sought after by the people of New-
foundland; some have been frozen and sent to the
United States where they found a ready market at
good prices. Besides this, there is the skate and the
flat fish and the dog fish which are at present of
no commercial value whatever. I have seen boatloads
FISHFRMAN
of skate fish, flat fish, dog fish, and grey fish, thrown
away or used for fertilizer. We should like to get the
cold storage business introduced so that we could
make our fish of some commercial value. I am hoping’
perhaps that this will interest some of our members
who have some money to invest. They should come
and visit us and see what can be done.
Then there are other articles which should be made
of some commercial value. There is the carease of
the seal. -Each year two or three thousand seals are
caught off the coast of Newfoundland. The fisher-
men take off the pelts with the layer of fat between
the skin and the body, leaving that attached to the
skin. They bring the pelts in and leave the carcase on
the ice. Now, the men engaged in the seal fisheries
say that seal flesh is as delicious a morsel as one could
W. A. FOUND,
Superintendent of Fisheries, Dominion of Canada.
wish to eat. No doubt, if we had some means of freez-
ing this valuable fish we could feed half the province
of Ontario. The seal is a wonderful fish. The seal
fishery commences about the 13th of March, the seal
herd comes down from Labrador and gets on the ice
around the Newfoundland coast. The young, which
are only about, 5 or 10 lbs. weight when born, in two
or three weeks weigh fifty to sixty pounds, and are a
dark color. The seal exists on snow and ice. St.
Peter’s Day is usually the time for finding the seal and
then they kill the herd in a very short time and bring
them in.
I must again thank the Association for their kind -
invitation. I have very much enjoyed my visit and I
ai now looking forward to the next Convention, to
which I hope I will get an invitation. I understand
it is to be held in the West, but wherever it is decided : “
August. 1918°
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August, 1918.
to hold it, I should certainly like to attend.
MR. R. E, COKER.—
Mr. President, Your Honor, Gentlemen:—I have
been very greatly impressed with the meetings which I
have had the privilege of attending. I do not think
it would be fair to me to occupy your time to-night at
any great length, but I would like to call attention
to one feature of your Association which has greatly
impressed me. This is well expressed in the name.
I have observed that the name is not the Canadian
Fishermen’s Association, not the Canadian Fish Pro-
ducers’ Association, not the Canadian Fish Whole-
salers’ Association, but the Canadian Fisheries Asso-
ciation, by which you bring together all phases of the
one industry upon which the success of all the differ-
ent branches is dependent. I think that when we get
together the different branches of any industry and
talk over our conflicting interests we soon begin to
realize that the points of difference are very insigni-
_ ficant compared with the importance of the main ob-
_ jects upon which all are dependent.
It is in recent
years particularly that we have had such a remarkable
illustration of the value and the success of co-opera-
__ tive effort, pulling together, and we are learning that
there are a great many ways in which we can render
service.
I only want to add, speaking for myself and for Dr.
Hugh N. Smith, Commissioner of Fisheries, as well as
the Secretary of Commerce, William C, Redfield, that
we greatly appreciate not only the hospitality and
- courtesies which you have so freely offered me as their
_ tween your country and our country.
representative, but the general. goodwill which has
been made manifest and which I believe characterizes
now and always the relations which will prevail be-
(Applause. )
ARTHUR L. MILLETT—
_ Mr. Chairman, Your Honor, Gentlemen :—I suppose
that I am one of those ‘‘ Yankees’’ to whom His Honor
the lLieut.-Governor referred in his opening re-
matks. I might say in passing that I am very proud
of it . (Hear, hear.) When I received the invitation,
as treasurer of the American Fisheries Society, to at-
«
McCall and tell him how you felt about it.
~ hear.)
to the honorable gentleman from Shelburne
tend this Convention, I was delighted, because it open-
ed to me an opportunity for the first time in eight
years of participating in anything of an international
nature, and I rather dote on international affairs. It
became necessary for me, in accepting the invitation,
to ask my Governor for permission to travel to a
foreign country. When my authorization was return-
ed it was with a written notice to represent the State,
so you can imagine that I was doubly gratified to
come,
It touched me deeply to hear His Honor speak in
such a feeling way of the work Massachusetts did in
your late calamity. One of my first duties on return
to the State House will be to go and see Governor
(Hear,
Now, Mr. President, speaking as one from Massa-
chusetts, I feel that there is a great community of
interest as far as the fisheries and the fishing busi-
ness goes, between Massachusetts and Nova Scotia.
We are most closely allied in our fishing interests; ves-
sels ply back and forth between our ports, and the lar-
ger part of our fishermen in Gloucester and Boston are
men, as you all know, coming from Newfoundland and
Nova Scotia. When I first came here I was introduced
and
CANADIAN FISHERMAN
963
Queens; and in-the course of conversation he said to
me, ‘‘There is an expression that if you scratch a Rus-
sian you get a Tartar, but,’’ he said, ‘‘I once stated in
a speech that if you scratched a Gloucester Fisherman
you would find one of my constituents,’’ and I really
think that was so. (Laughter.)
Now I do not know what more I ean say, gentle-
men. I might say a few words on the passing, on
what I hope is the passing, of the ancient and worn-
out treaty of 1818. I think it out-grew its usefulness
many years ago, and I don’t think anybody will dis-
pute that statement, it is a wonder to me something
newer did not take its place long ago. I have very
great hopes of the good that will come when the re-
port of the American-Canadian Commission is made
public. I believe and hope that it will be satisfactory
to both sides. In fact, I may say that I hope the re-
sult will be something like a story that I heard once
of two old farmers coming together on the main road
from different towns. They stopped their horses to
chat. Said the first one, ‘‘Any news down your way ?”’
““No,’’ says the other, ‘‘nothing particular, what’s
yours?’’ ‘‘Oh, nothing much. Old Widow Jones is
dead.’’ ‘‘Dead?”’ “*Yes.’’ ‘‘What complaint ?’’
‘What complaint? Oh, no complaint, everybody satis-
fied.’’ (Laughter and applause.)
I would like to make a few remarks as to the part
that the fishermen are playing in this war. As you
know and as I said before, the backbone of our fish-
eries are the Newfoundland and Nova Scotian hearts
of the men that man the vessels. Many of these men
have not heeded the injunction and the invitation
given to go home and go to war. They have got
until a certain date and then they must be registered
with us. I anticipate, however, that most of our draft
boards will put them in a preferred class, believing
that their services are as actually necessary on the
high seas as they are in the trenches. We certainly
must have fish to fill up the gap caused by sending
over so much meat, and the fishermen are the only
men that can supply us, because you can’t make a
fisherman in a day or a week or a year; he has got
to have part of it born in him. Now in connection
with that I may say that the Boston and Gloucester
fishing fleets are trying their utmost to increase their
eatch of fish, trying to live up to the minute of Mr,
Hoover’s injunction to speed up the fisheries. This
year, gentlemen, in Gloucester alone we exceeded
previous figures up to date by 15,000,000 lbs., and this
is also true of Boston in practically the same amount.
If all our fishing ports along the Atlantic did the same
in proportion, there would be no question about how
much beef and wheat we could send over.
Speaking of the community of interest between New
England and Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, I may
say that Gloucester alone last year took in thirty mil-
lion pounds of cod fish from Nova Scotia and New-
foundland. That is just one item, salted cod fish, so
you can see to what extent we are interwoven, es-
pecially in the fish business.
In closing I will speak of a little incident that I ex-
perienced personally to-day, which gave me visions of
the brick wall and the firing squad and so forth. This
morning’s Halifax papers came out with an item about
people crowding up on the hill here and looking for
the submarine which was supposed to be coming up
the harbor in tow of some naval vessels. At the close
of the article it stated that unfortunately such was
*
964
not the case. I happen to be unfortunate enough
to be city editor of the Gloucester Times, so this
aroused my newspaper instinct right away. Since |
left home four of our vessels have been torpedoed. At
about 1.30 I was going to lunch when a friend of mine
handed me a telegram with the remark that he did not
know it was for me so he had opened it. I looked at
it and found it was from our marine man whom I had
left in charge of the paper. It read ‘‘Excitement here
and in Boston, stories of captured submarine towed
into Halifax. Is this so, rush reply.’’ Well, I hustled
out to the desk in. Halifax Hotel and wrote my reply,
winding up that unfortunately it was not so. After
lunch I went to get my key to go into my room, and
the clerk handed me a telegram. ‘‘ Why,’’ I said, ‘‘that
is the telegram I sent two hours ago to Gloucester.*’
“Yes, but they would not accept it.’’ Well, I was a
stranger in a strange land and immediately went up
to my room to think. I had found the telegram open.
Well, I could not think what it meant. Did they think
I was a German spy? I tell you, my heart stopped
beating for a few moments, but finally I made up my
mind to take the bull by the horns. I went over to
- the telegraph office and at once sought an explana-
tion. As I requested it in kindly terms,.a young man
stepped up and said he would look the matter up,
and I explained the position, the anxiety of our fleet
and how I did not want to take any chances of the
vessels going out thinking it was true that the sub-
marine had been caught. So after I had justified my-
self, and had my reply accepted by the censor, I went
across the street with a great deal lighter heart.
In closing I would like to tender my personal con- .
gratulations, Mr. President, upon your election, and
also an official one on behalf of the American Fish-
eries Society.
sociation in having such an able president. I came
here anticipating that I would learn something by
hearing these papers read, and I am not disappointed, .
I am going home very much satisfied in that respect,
and I am sorry that I cannot stay longer.
MR. ASHCROFT.
Mr. President and Gentlemen:
express my pleasure at the very kind reception you
have accorded me, and to congratulate the Associa-
tion on the fine body of men that you have. gathered
about you. My one wish is that. we people in the
United States could have an association similar to this,
so that we might some time in the future co-operate _
with your Association. (Hear, hear.) The Company
that I represent buy a good many millions of pounds
of fish in Canada during the season, and I hope that
we will continue to do so.
HONORABLE E. H. ARMSTRONG.—
Mr. President, Your Honor, Gentlemen: I assume
that this is the last but not intended for the least of
the toasts presented to-night and I am_ exceedingly
obliged to the Association as. well as to His Honor
the Lieutenant-Governor for suggesting that I should
speak at this late hour. His Honor, in his address,
called you Brother Fishermen, but I do not know
that I can say Brother Fishermen, and I am not sure
that all these gentlemen before us are of the same
_ elass of brother fishermen as His Honor the Lieutenant-
Governor. I am afraid that most of his fishing, like
my own, has been done with a rod or fly or other in-
strument of torture, or the simple thing that produces
equally good results as the fly or worm. My earliest
CANADIAN FISHERMAN
I also want to congratulate your As-:
I would just like to —
experience in fishing was in the nik fisheries many,
many years ago, but as they became extinct I had to
seek other occupations, so I cannot speak to you from
the standpoint of an actual fisherman. are
I thank you for the courtesy extended to me as the a
representative of the Premier of Nova Seotia. If he
were here, and I regret his absence as I know you all
do, he would have been delighted to have recognized
or responded to this toast. We have deep-sea fisheries
and coastal fisheries on our Nova Scotia coast and-it
is most natural that we should all be interested in the
question of the fisheries — I suppose there are in Nova
Scotia between thirty and forty thousand people ‘en-
gaged in this industry. I have been very, very pleased
indeed to learn more of the Canadian Fisheries’ As-
sociation and all that it stands for, as the representa-
} é ¥ }
Si Oke ARTHUR L. MILLETT, ais
Treasurer, American Fisheries Society: Member of
Massachusetts Fish & Game Commission. —
tive of the United States government said a momen ;
ago. The Pehing anda is a. great industry. i ptocc "=
very feiiniati attitude whink has keen anetineate st
the Association of those well-known and memora
words of that great Nova Scotian, Joseph Howe,
that great speech of his in 1854: “cy am not a prop
nor the son of a prophet, but I know that the d@
must come when Nova Scotia, small as she is,
_maintain half a million men upon the seas.’’ The Hi
orable Joseph Howe, in his day and time, made
prophecies which then seemed fanciful but which
been since fulfilled, and I believe he was not far w
here. There are great possibilities and opportun
in this industry, and I think we should ie dow
can to encourage and help it. rotate :
Be ap
August, 1918. CANADIAN FISHERMAN 53
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oT Ee ERY
966 @ANADIAN FISHERMAN, Aneuti ae
That patriot who returned the other day from the
German prison camp, the Honorable Dr, Beland, said
that the only polities for civilized countries to adopt
was—‘‘ Win the war.’’ As a politician, of course, I
might be entitled to indulge in polities, but I do think
the sentiment expressed by the Honorable Mr. Beland
is the one sentiment that should concern us all at the
present time. (Applause.) Therefore, any observa-
tion I might make in so far as our Province is con-
cerned, of a political character, would be entirely out
of place.
I am impressed and I think the fishermen and the
fish interests of Canada should be impressed with the
sentiments expressed by Dr. McCallum. There is a
tendency towards the conservation of our natural re-
sources which is steadily growing in Nova Scotia and
the sister provinces all over Canada. If there is one
thing more than another, perhaps, that we as public
men have been too neglectful of in the past, it is the
conservation of these resources: we must conserve
and develop them for the benefit of future generations.
I like that tone, it is along the right lines and should be
encouraged. This scientific study should not be study
alone, it should be followed up by you, you ean dis-
seminate this campaign of education. It applies not
only to the fisheries but to every other great resource
in this great country of ours.
I thank you again for the kindness and courtesy
extended to us, and I am very sorry that I have had to
make my remarks somewhat at random. As far as the
Government of the Province of Nova Scotia is con-
cerned, and I am sure that if the leader were here
we would assure you of it, the position of the gov-
ernment on this question: is one of vital interest, and
whatever can be done to develop this matter along
the lines outlined by Dr. McCallum will receive the
earnest consideration and hearty co-operation of the
Nova Scotia government, every member of which is or
should be interested in the development of the fish-
eries. (Loud applause.)
MR. W. L. HALL, MPP. —
Mr, President and Gentlemen: It is very good of you
to give me an opportunity at this late hour of ad-
dressing this representation of the Fisheries Associa-
tion. I feel that the hour is very late and that I can
say so little that would be instructive to an audience
of experts such as we have here, that it would be hard-
ly fair to take up your time.
I concur in all that was said by my honorable friend
the Commissioner, that for the present there is not
very much politics down here, we are mostly concern-
ed in winning the war. While as members of the
Provincial Legislature we are not directly interested in
commercial fisheries (we have had our little difference
about other sorts of fisheries) yet as Nova Scotians and
as citizens we are all vitally interested in this indus-
try. I believe that ultimately the fisheries will be
the primary industry of Nova Seotia, and from an
economic standpoint it is the best industry for us. I
am sure that a meeting of this sort here in our capital
city will be an incentive to the future development
of the fisheries of Nova Scotia, and for that reason I
am glad to meet you ‘here and hope you will be in
Halifax again. In Nova Scotia interest in the fisher-
ies is growing, as elsewhere throughout Canada, and
“up your time; but I am personally very much inte
“sentation of the actual facts as ‘illustrate a
I believe that in the course of a few years the indus
will have increased enormously.
I wish to congratulate you, sir, as the other spee
ers have done, upon your promotion to the Preston
of the Association, and I also congratulate the As
sociation upon your election. I know you are a “‘ iv
wire’’ by reputation, and I believe that the interes st
of the na industry of Canada will be safe i in you
hands. (Applause.)
DR ADAM coten (of Ottawa).—
Mr. Chairman, Your Honor, gentlemen of the |
vention: It would require indeed something vy
interesting to keep your flagging attention oy
late hour, and I must confess I have not anything
justify keeping you. I feel particularly that inasm +
as I am not technically a fisherman and did not :
pen to be here simply to attend the Convention, b bi
more or less by coincidental accident, I should not : fa a
ested in the fishery question in. ‘connection with a
work of taking up documents and so on, and there
no single industry of the country, as most of -
know, which is of such importance to the nasi
the fisheries, Two hundred years ago Canada
not amount to a great deal, her industries did n
amount to a great deal, but there was one indu t
that had been in operation for two hundred yee
before that, and that was the fisheries. The fishi
industry was quite a live affair many years
Columbus dreamed of coming across the Atlant:
Columbus was a newspaper man in the ordinary, sen
of the word, he was out as an adventurer and was vel
much advertised because he was operating under. Ps
tical auspices and bringing fame to the crowned he:
and these other people were lining their bags y
money drawn from the fisheries, and the fishe
this continent, of this northern section of it at
rate, have been famous for producing money an
ever since. | a
The representative of the Massachusetts gove rnme?
will agree with me, as already remarked, that th
is the closest kind of connection between Massach t
and these Atlantic coasts that are now part of
Dominion of Canada and the oldest colony, Newfou
land. The history of that is very interesting.
history of Nova Scotia itself is very interest
think if I had the time I could tell you something abo
your own history and its importance which perha
has been passed over, because, if I may say so, t
study of history for its own sake, that is, for the
stances of human development and interest, is’
neglected in Canada, it is more understood outs
Canada than it is in Canada at the present tim
that will not continue. It is the intention of o
Board to see that it shall develop more fully in Cai
ada; and as I say, my mission down here is exactly
connection with that, because you have some
most interesting record of history that laid the :
ation of political as well as commercial interest
country, and it is my duty and intention to loo
that. I hope that we will produce results fror
observations later on as we have done for the
Such things as we have published already, hov
have been taken advantage in nine-tenths of cases
side of Canada. These volumes are used as text
_ August, 1918. CANADIAN FISHERMAN 55
eee en ne
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.
968
in Oxford and Cambridge and in the American Uni-
versities and they are clamouring for more.
I thank you, gentlemen, for your kind attention.
MR. SQUIRES, representing the Minister of Public
Works from Ontario.—
Mr. Chairman, and members of the Canadian Fish-
eries Association : IT am sure that I would be ungrate-
ful to you if even at this late hour I did not. thank
you and the members of your Association for the splen-
did time that I have had during my stay in. Halifax.
I, however, would be just as ungrateful to those pres-
ent should I detain them at any great length with a
speech. I will say, Mr. President, that I am very
glad to have an opportunity of extending to’you my
congratulations on your election, and to your associa-
tion the kind feelings of the Prime Minister of the
Province of Ontario and of the Minister of Publie
Works, and I ean say that your Association have al-
H. P. ROBERTSON,
St. John, N.B.
ready expressed your appreciation of the work that
they have done in a resolution that was unanimously
passed to-day, however, we will not dwell upon that.
‘There are three things that I have learned in con-
nection with the work of your Association,
the cobwebs are cleared away there are three - ‘great
and fundamental branches of the fisheries question—
that of production. that of distribution, and that of
reproduction. Production could well be called a trade
or an art, I faney that perhaps, from all I have heard,
it is more of an art than a trade. Distribution is a
business proposition pure and simple; but in connec-
tion with reproduction, T came to the conclusion that
that was a science and should be dealt with in a
scientific manner. After you have had all the differ-
ences cleared away there are those three fundamental
things that have to be-considered-in connection with
the work of-your-association; the differences..between
CANADIAN FISHERMAN
~water area, we have a shore line in the province of On=
possibilities, according to the statisties given to us by
there. But 19% is exported, so you will see that y
been reached.
- ble way in the conservation of those foods whieh ar
‘that the province is eating twice as much fresh wate’
after all -
Stantly. changing, we use a variety to-day and ask
_ another variety to-morrow;
‘performing a great national service.
-imagine.from that that there were very few ‘fish, ed
-ed an- Ontario yesterday. -Toronto. is sometimes spc
fresh water fisheries and salt water fisheries are mor 7
imaginary than real. >
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
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Your requirements
will be given
the benefit of 25 years
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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.
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“COMPLETE PROTECTION FOR
EVERY MAN AT EVERY JOB.”
BEST. FOR FISHERMAN |
COAST TO COAST SERVICE.
Tower Canadian Limited
Vancouver Toronto Halifax
70 CANADIAN FISHERMAN
August, 1918.
required.
EUREKA ODORLESS FISH GABINET
(SCIENTIFIC IN CONSTRUCTION AND OPERATION)
All odors are absorbed in the cold water held under the ice.
No permanent drain connection is required. The water need
only be drawn off when necessary. ie
It is well insulated, economical on ice and being equipped *
with ball-bearing castors can be moved from place to pines as
.Made in different sizes.
Eureka Refrigerator Co., Limited,
Write for Chicolans:
d TORONTO, ONTARIO
11 Colborne Street
excess of the demand and with corresponding increase
in the quantity of kippers available values have weak-
ened appreciably, and it has been possible most days to
purchase kippers well below the maximum rate fixed
by the Fish (Prices) Order.
Although the supplies of trawled fish have been com-
paratively limited, demand has not been really fast.
Very heavy rain day after day has spoilt the retail
trade, whilst the close thunder weather prevailing,
combined with transit delays, has not tended to im-
prove the quality of the fish. Best qualities of most
kinds have readily found purchasers at schedule fig-
ures, but salesmen have needed all their eloquence to
effect sales of second grades.
With supplies of native caught salmon rapidly short-
ening with the approach of the close season for salmon
fishing there has been much more enquiry for frozen
salmon, and rates have ruled firm at the maximum
wholesale figure of 25¢ per stone. Exporters should
make every effort to secure freight for frozen salmon
during the next few weeks. All things considered
there is still a very fair sale for other varieties of Can-
adian frozen fish.
Billingsgate, London,
August 3rd, 1918.
Liberal supplies have been available throughout the
past week, but much of the fish has been of secondary
quality only by the time it has reached the markets in
the distributing centres. As an indication of the quan-
tities available it may be stated that the daily return
at Billingsgate this week has been well over 600 tons;
of course, this is the aggregate delivery of all kinds.
Fish from Iceland and other deep- sea areas has been
much in evidence and the greater part of this class has
gone out at very low prices; in fact, small haddocks
(‘‘chats’’) and undersized whiting have changed hands
at almost every figure offered, while most kinds, ex-
cept one or two of the choicest varieties in demand for
holiday requirements, have been obtainable below sche-
dule rates.
A combination of factors has tended to depress the
markets this week, in the first place, August is usually
an unsatisfactory trading month, owing to the great
holiday exodus from the cities and towns, and this
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
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
year there appears to be a greater number of folk s
ing rest and change at this season of the year than In
previous corresponding periods of the war-time s
mers. Then the weather has been very unfavorabl
fish, heavy rain and thunderstorms alternating wi
sultry, thundery weather. On top of this the dela:
while the fish has been in transit on the railways have
been exceptional, and drastic action is called for t
speed-up transport. Finally, there is little doubt: tha
the maximum prices, which tend to become the m
um with ‘‘all controlled’’ articles, have been scheduled 4
and too high a level fo rthe summer months. To sum up, —
trading has been carried on at unrenumerative rates,
and with great difficulty. The labor shortage is now ~
acute, delaying the despatch of supplies, and for the
same reason much difficulty has been experienced it
securing the necessary ice for preserving purposes.
Herrings are now abundant, and kippers correspond- —
ingly so. This week, also, comparatively good sUp> 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
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2
ne art
Bey,
E;
s
F
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markets filled with fresh fish. :
September, 1918.
marketed. Swordfish, $33,178. Trout and pickerel,
next to whitefish, came highest in value of our fresh
water fish, being $699,950 and $650,632 respectively.
A large number of the fish scarcely marketed at
present will undoubtedly come to the fore as years go
by while others, such as halibut, will decrease. Fifty-
two millions is a respectable figure, but now we want.
to see it valued at one hundred millions. How long
will it take us to reach that figure? If we utilize our
fishery resources as we should and endeavor to build
up a big export market that figure should not be far
off. The expenses of the War has got to be paid for
out of our natural resources and our fisheries is one
that is capable of enormous development.
UNITED STATES TO INCREASE FISH
PRODUCTION.
A huge effort to increase the production of fish in
the United States will be made through the efforts of
the U. 8. Food Administration. Plans are being made
to construct, through the Emergency Fleet Corpora-
tion of the U.S. Shipping Board, some fifty to seventy-
five steam trawlers for use on the Atlantic, Pacific
and Gulf Coasts.
- The catch of these vessels is primarily to supply
the markets of the middle and western states with
sea-fish which they cannot secure in sufficient quan-
a tities at the present time. It is expected that the first
trawlers will be ready by March and April of 1919.
Though built by Government appropriation, it is ex-
‘pected that arrangements will be made with fish pro-
ducers to operate and handle the catches, and the
railroads will co-operate with the Food Administra-
tion’ in providing the necessary transportation facili-
ties to inland centres.. Surplus catches will be salted
rather than placed in cold storage as it is expected
that sufficient fish will be coming in to keep the
- With such an ambitious programme, this side of the
CANADIAN
FISHERMAN 989
by private firms who built their own docks, warehous-
es, storages, etc. The most the railroads-have done
is to provide sidings, furnish cars when requested and
improve transportation to inland centres only when
implored to do so, if
It should not be thus. We should not have to run
after the railroad officials with our hats in our hands
asking for service which they should provide without
abject solicitations on our part. A live organization
should be “a to tap and develop every source of
transportation revenue and should do their part to
build up the industry—in fact, the railroads can do
more to develop our fisheries than any other factor.
All the big roads in this country tap important fish-
ing centres and carry fish, but what have they done
on their own initiative to develop the industry? It
would pay our railroads to send officials around our
fishing ports to see what they could do to assist the
fisheries. When this is done, we too, may have our
Grimsbys and Fleetwoods.
VANCOUVER READY TO WELCOME THE C. F. A.
. Acting-Secretary J. J. Harpell has returned from
Vancouver and reports great interest in the suggestion
that the next C.F.A. Convention be held there. A full
record of the Pacific Coast meeting is published in this
issue.
Editorially, we hope the Convention will be held in
Vancouver next week. The time is ripe when East and
West should meet, and we venture to predict that
much good to the industry will result—not alone from
a social standpoint, but from the fact that we will be
able to get together on matters which vitally affect
the fisheries as a whole,
There is no doubt but what we will receive a royal
welcome from our Pacific Coast friends. A good many
of our eastern fishmen have never visited the Pacific
Coast and the Convention would be an ideal means of
combining business with pleasure for them. Of course,
the ladies would be invited. That precedent was firm-
Atlantic will begin to rival the European seas with
4 iy trawler fleets and present indications point to the
___ end of the schooner and dory method as a big factor
in fish production.
ly established in the Halifax Convention and is on the
books for all time. The most pessimistic will admit
that the presence of the fair sex was responsible for the
enthusiastic and pleasant time we had at Halifax.
i
:
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OUR FISHERIES AND THE RAILROADS.
An interesting article in next issue by Colin McKay
deseribes the work of British railroad companies in
building up the fishing industries of Great Britain.
‘They constructed docks, warehouses, coaling piers and
railway sidings for the benefit of fishing craft and
producing companies and further encouraged the busi-
ness by providing almost unlimited transportation to
markets.
The great fishing ports of Grimsby and
Fleetwood were built up in this manner by the Great
Central and Lancashire and Yorkshire Railways.
Our own Canadian railroads might well take a leaf
~ out of the Britisher’s book and pay more than passing
attention to the development of our fishing industry.
The grain growers of the West have been catered to
lavishly in the form of elevators, spur lines and sid-
ings and this attention has been eminently successful
in every way. Why not cater to the fishing industry
v4
in the same way? The Grand Trunk Pacific Railway
> 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. <A fair
number of sockeye have shown up at Lillooet Lake, but
conditions are far from encouraging.)
NOTES ON SEA FISHING RESULTS FOR AUGUST.
The value of sea fish in first hands, caught during
August, amounted to $4,260,388. This exceeds the
value for the same month last year by $139,117. The
quantity of cod. haddock and hake landed on the At-
lantie coast, however, was 66,063 ewts. less. Herring
and mackerel, on the other hand, were caught in great-
er quantities; the former by 52,166 ewts. and the lat-
ter by 12,495 ewts.
Fishing operations on the Atlantic coast were inter-
fered with to a considerable extent during the month,
by the presence of an enemy submarine. Unfortunate-
ly, nine Lunenburg county vessels, valued at $264,000
with fish valued at $136,000 also one Yarmouth vessel,
with a good catch of fish on board, were sunk. Not-
withstanding this great loss, the quantity of cod landed
by the Lunenburg fleet was only 4.800 ewts. less than
that landed in August last year. The main falling off
in the landings of these fish was in New Brunswick
and Quebec, where both fish and bait were scarce.
Lobster fishing continued until the 10th of August
in a section of Northumberland Strait, and the total
pack, since the opening of the season, in November
last, was 101,967 cases and the shipment in shell 53,-
612 ewts. Last year the total pack was 181,227 cases
and the shipment in shell 70,321 cwts., but fishing con-
tinued till September 10th, along the southern part
of the Gulf from Antigonish country to Gaspe, includ-
ing Prince Edward Island. In the preceding year
(1916), with fishing ended at the usual time, August
10th, the pack was 188,545 cases and the shipment in
_ shell 94,409 ewts.
994
British Columbia Bids for 1919 C:F.A. Convention
British Columbia fishing interests intend to see the
next annual convention of the Canadian Fisheries As-
sociation held in that province. This was fully demon-
strated at a dinner given in honor of Mr. J. J. Harpell,
by the British Columbia branches at the Vancouver
Hotel, Vancouver, B.C., Wednesday, September 4th.
The Mayor of Vancouver, personally extended the in-
vitation of the city. Mr. A. L. Hager, First Vice-
President of the Association and Chairman of the Van-
couver branch, ably presided over a representative
gathering, and in asking Mr. Harpell to convey the in-
vitation to the Executive Council, took occasion to re-
mind his hearers that in the event of Vancouver being
fortunate enough to secure the convention, it would
‘‘have an opportunity of weleoming people who would
not be mere convention delegates, but rather guests of
the right sort who would be accompanied by their
wives and families and deserving of the best that we
can give them.
Mr. HARPELL, in the course of an interesting ad-
dress, pointed out that the fishing industry was one
of the last of the leading industries of Canada to rea-
lize the great value of organization. He brought home
to the local fishermen the international importance
of the fishery resources of the Pacific Coast, as being
one of the four great fishing grounds of the world.
Enlarging on the importance of the fisheries, Mr.
Harpell regretted that literature touching upon this
most important industry was scarce in most Canadian
libraries. He urged that a policy of education of the
people be carried forward as to the importance of fish
products, and in this connection expressed the hope
that the University of British Columbia would in
course of time develop a strong department devoted to
the study of the subject.
While paying a tribute to Dr. Fraser of the Dominion
Biological service for the valuable work he was doing;
he stated that he was only one man of the many that
should be conducting very needed research work.
He touched briefly upon the transportation ques-
tion in relation to fisheries, and the need of conser-
vation, and urged British Columbia fishing interests to
keep up the good work of spreading abroad the very
valuable information which has been going out en-
couraging the more extensive use of marine products
for food purposes.
Dr. McLEAN FRASER, Dominion Biological expert
at Departure Bay, B.C., mentioned that it was fifteen
years since he arrived in British Columbia to teach
science at Nelson, and while he recognized the need
for development work in the fishing industry then,
that need still existed to-day. He said three-quarters
of the population of British Columbia lived but a short
distance from the sea, yet ninety-five per cent of the
people could not tell one species of salmon from the
other.
He urged that British Columbia should make an in-
ducement to young men to take up the technical study
of the industry. The study of zoology he said had been
practically wholly neglected in this province, though
there was no more interesting field in the world for
the study of this science than offered by British Co-
lumbia,
~
CANADIAN FISHERMAN
. September, 1918.
\
PROFESSOR HUTCHINSON, of the University of
British Columbia, spoke briefly, expressing on behalf
of the university ‘the interest of that fost tpetaGae, in the
welfare of the fishing industry.
He said there were feeding grounds for fish just as
there were grazing grounds for cattle, and steps shou
be taken to ascertain where these feeding grounds we
and this knowledge imparted to the fishing indust
COL. F. H. CUNNINGHAM, chief inspector of fis
eries under the federal government, had much to g
of general news interest, as well as of purely trade
terest. While the run of sockeye on the Fraser h
this year been a failure, the abundance of fish
duced in the Skeena and northern waters had «
pensated for the shortage in the south.
‘‘The canners on the Fraser River are now anxious
to remove their plants to Northern British Columh
said Mr. Cunningham, ‘‘and we don’t know wha
are going to do about it.’’
Col. Cunningham charged that the depletion of
sockeye in the Fraser was largely due to the woi
fishing interests on Puget Sound. It was signifi
that the pack on Puget Sound would run 40,000 ea:
this year, while that on this side would run but 10,
Discussing the question of technical education
relation to the fishing industry, Col. Cunningham:
ed out that until the government revised civil s
salaries so as to allow a technical man adequa’
for his services, young men would naturally ps
the study of such subjects as fish and marine -
Mr. F. E. BURKE of the Wallace Fisheries, w
lighted at the prospect of Vancouver securing
1919 convention of the Canadian Fisheries Assoe
He said that Eastern fishermen had not made a
of visiting this coast, and he believed that the
fishermen were likely to gain a vast amount of vy
able information, if such a convention were held
He pointed out that there were only about f
five standard kinds of fish handled by the in
on this coast, and said that many of the men
industry here would be surprised if they could s
many varieties handled by the eastern fishing in
—fish which were being turned down by fishern
this coast.
He predicted also that many of the visitors
remain, once they had explored the wonders
Pacifie Coast.
the citizens would gladly ices 5 Me
As most of them knew, he had taken a keen in
tivities had brought him into close touch with
engaged in the industry. He would be delighted he
opportunity of meeting more of them, and trusted he
Canadian Fisheries Association would convene in Van-
ecouver during 1919, 2
Following MAYOR GALE’S foemiae invitation, Mr.
F. E. PAYSON moved, seconded by Mr, F. H, ‘St.
ciation to meet in Vancouver next year, and the assel
bly carried the resolution unanimously by a Be 1
vote, i
September, 1918. CANADIAN
_ Mr. ROBERT C. GOSSE, of the Gosse-Millerd Pack-
ing Co., welcomed the prospect of the convention, and
‘promised the co-operation of his firm and himself.
_ He was satisfied that the fishing interests of British
Columbia would render a good account of themselves
if the invitation was accepted.
Mr. EDWARD LIPSETT as one who had been serv-
ing the fishing industry in British Columbia for over
30 years, was enthusiastic over the idea of the conven-
tion being held in Vancouver, and pledged himself to
do all that he possibly could in assisting to make the
gathering a success.
Mr. V. F. JOHNCOX, of_the B.C. Wholesale Fish
Dealers’ Association, hoped that Vancouver would se-
eure the convention, and speaking for the wholesalers
‘assured the gathering of their hearty co-operation.
_ Mr. H. W. BRODIE, general passenger agent of the
Canadian Pacific Railway, expressed to the gathering
‘the pleasure of his Company at learning of the pro-
posal to hold the 1919 convention in Vancouver, and
- declared that it was his belief that the railway con-
cerns generally would out-do all past records in car-
R. H. GALE (Mayor),
Vancouver, B.C.
ing for the comforts of the travellers from the east
during the week of the convention. He promised that
; if the restrictions on traffic caused by the war were
removed, which he predicted they would be, the com-
pany would certainly put rates into effect that would
meet with the approval of all desiring to attend the
- eonvention from Eastern Canada.
Among those present were:—J. J. Harpell, js ee
Peterson, G. Cassidy, Ed, Lipsett, Martin Monk, Frank
_ Millerd, R. C. Gosse, G. H. St. Denis, T. J. Meclay,
Dr. MeLean Fraser, A. H. Hutchison, C. E. Disher, H.
W. Brodie, J. S. Groll, Geo. Murray, Chas. Anderson,
H. S. Ives, V. F. Johneox, A. J. Moyls, R. R. Payne,
A. W. Sterrett, J. S. Eckman, F. E. Burke, F. E.
' Payson, M. Des Brisay, Col. F. H. Cunningham and
Mayor Gale.
Owing to very short notice being given of the din-
ner, a large number by reason of distance and prior
. engagements were unable to attend.
Telegrams and letters regretting absence were re-
ceived from the following, among others :—Hon. Wil-
2 liam. Sloan, Commissioner of Fisheries, J. P. Babcock,
Asst. to the Commissioner of Fisheries; P. J. Shallcross,
_ President of the Vancouver Board of Trade; W. H,
~,
FISHERMAN De
Barker, A. E, Bechtel, Chas. F. Goodrich, W. E. An-
derson, A. F. Todd, W. D. Burdis, J. E. Archer, R.
Helme, William P. Powell, J. M. Watson, James An-
derson, John M. Rudd.
Backing his formal invitation at the dinner, Mayor
Gale, of Vancouver, has kindly sent to the Executive
Council a written official invitation which is support-
ed by another from the Vancouver Board of Trade
signed by the President and Secretary, both letters
are reproduced herewith.
President and Members, Executive Council,
Canadian Fisheries Assoe.,
Montreal, P.Q.
Dear Sirs,—On behalf of the City Council and the
citizens of Vancouver, I beg to extend to your Asso-
ciation a cordial invitation to hold. your 1919 Conven-
tion in Vancouver.
The growing importance of the fishing industry in
B.C. warrants me in pressing upon you the claims of
P. G. SHALLCROSS,
President Board of Trade, Vancouver, B.C.
the Province and of our city for consideration in this
regard, and I can further assure you that in the event
of you seeing your way clear to comply with our re-
quest every effort will be made to make the stay
of your delegates among us a pleasant one.
I sincerely trust that your Association will be able
to meet our wishes in respect to your 1919 Convention.
Yours truly,
P. M. GALE, Mayor.
President and Members of the Executive Council,
Canadian Fisheries Association,
Montreal, Quebec. ’
Dear Sirs,—The Vancouver Board of Trade wishes
to join with the Mayor in extending to your body a
hearty invitation to hold its next annual Convention
in this city.
British Columbia, as you are aware, is the largest
producer of fish of all the Provinces of the Dominion,
and that commodity is one of the greatest of our nat-
ural resources.
We extend to you a hearty welcome and promise you
splendid accommodation and excellent weather.
Yours very truly,
P. G. SHALLCROSS, President.
W. A, BLAIR, Secretary,
996
SOME FISH!
Through the courtesy of Mr. M. F. Tompkins, Assist-
ant General Freight Agent, Canadian Government Rail-
ways, Moncton, N.B., we reproduce, on opposite page,
photos of a school of blackfish which were stranded
on the beach at River John, N.S., recently. Over two
hundred of these fish were beached and their total
weight was around half a million pounds — one fish
weighing two tons. Altogether $10,000 worth of oil
was rendered from these fish.
Blackfish are quite common in our Atlantic waters
during the summer and ean be seen in large schools
disporting themselves. They are not fished for com-
mercially as the quantity of oil they yield is not suf-
ficient to repay the expense of fitting out vessels for
their capture. The old-time whalers would never think
of harpooning a black-fish as experience showed that
harpoons and lines generally went with the fish which
usually darted away at express speed as soon as they
felt the iron in their bodies.
FISHING ON THE NORTH SHORE GOOD.
Some $250,000 worth of codfish were landed this sea-
son on the North Shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence,
and put down in salt. Huge runs of fish struck inshore
and along the beaches and the fishermen made good
money.
The W. A. Freeman Co., Limited. Of signal inter-
est to the retail fish dealer is the ‘‘Ultimate’’ fish |
display and selling counters exhibited by the W. A.
Freeman Company, Limited, of Hamilton, Ontario, at
the 1918 Canadian National Exhibition, Toronto. The
reproduction hardly does justice to the beauty of
design and finish in the real article, nor is it possible
in a printed picture to give any idea of the appear-
ance of absolute cleanliness and sanitation which this
counter embodies. Fresh Ontario Lake fish were dis-
played for one full week and were fresh and whole-
some at the end of that period. This in itself is a re-
markable performance for a semi-open type of fish
counter, and is due entirely to the perfect circula-
tion of cold air flowing over the iced fish from the re-
frigerating coils in the rear of the counter. The hearti-
est approval was given the counter by the Canada Food
Board’s representative in charge of the fish exhibit at
the 1918 C. N. E.. The fish dealer who was not for-
tunate enough to view this modern business-getter
‘vould do we'll to get in touch with the manufacturers
for detailed data.
CANADIAN FISHERMAN
September, 1918.
KLIM CHANGES PRICES.
The Canadian Milk Products Co., Ltd., manufac-
turers of KLIM, which is well known in the fishing
industry, have found it necessary to make some changes
in the price of this commodity. The following are the
new prices, f.o.b. Montreal: 4
Klim, small size (4814 lb. tin), per case..-....
Klim. household (24-1 lb. tins), per case.......
Khim, hocel (6-10 lb. tins), per case............
Disappearing Boat Propeller Co., Ltd, Toronto,
showed models of their’ power-boats.
tion of this boat is particularly adapted for sh
of the boat as to be raised up by a lever in order to
allow the boat to go over shallow places, or to be haul-.
ed up on the beach. A nuniber of the fisherme
throughout the country are now using this boat,
find it gives splendid satisfaction.
The Canadian Oil Companies, Limited, dispense
full line of their oils and greases from an attra
booth in the Transportation Building. Among the li
ature given out were copies of their interesting —
organ, ‘‘The Canadian Oil News.’’ for Septem
Copies of this journal can be had on app to
company at their Toronto office.
The Canadian Salt Co., Limited, of Windsor,
tario, exhibited an elaborate display of salt and 3
erous other much used materials of which salt is
basis. This included soda, bleaching row eau
and other products. .
Canadian Consolidated Rubber Co. — Among
many lines in rubber shown by this concern at
various booths at the Canadian National Exhi
this year was that of their well-known Mereh
Brand Redman Fishermen’s Hip Boots, display
the Fisheries exhibit in the Government Buil
This special rubber boot for fishermen, made
vacuum process, is finding favor with the i
throughout the country, and is stocked by
leading jobbers in the fisheries supplies.
Canada’s National Exhibition has established a
markable record for the war year of 1918. D
the 12 days of its operation the total attendance r
ered 946,400.
1918 was known as ‘‘ Produce and Save’’ year. | :
culture, fishing, industry. education, enterprise
endeavor in every sphere making for progress
betterment were given impetus, and Canada’s
ies in particular were given prominence. A few
ago it would have been difficult to have found a
hibit appealing to any branch of the fishing ind
but from the appended brief description of so
the principal exhibits it will be seen that many n
faeturers realize its growing importance.
The Exhibition is a national asset, and its gr
success and prosperity give cause for national
gratulations.
September, 191s.
CANADIAN FISHERMAN
99
4,000 LBS. OF BLACKFISH.
STRANDED BLACKFISH AT RIVER JOHN, N.S,
*
998 -
Handling and Preparing Fish for
Market
Address before Canadian Fisheries Association
Convention, Halifax.
J. J. COWIE
Mr. President and members of the Canadian Fish-
eries Association when your secretary asked me to read
a paper at this, your Annual Meeting, on the prepara-
tion of fish, I consented to do so, with some diffidenee
because a meeting such as this is usually composed
mainly of the larger men in the trade who know their
business and can see defects in the handling and pre-
paring of fish of various kinds for the market and think |
of and apply remedies just as readily as I or any other
expert could do. But there are those and they are
greatly in the majority, I fear who, either through want
of will or lack of knowledge, fail to realize the im-
portance of close and eareful attention to details in
handling fresh fish or in curing them afterwards. To
the. great majority then, who are not here, I
chiefly address the few remarks I have to make with
the hope that they may be reached through the organ
of your association, the ‘‘Canadian Fisherman’’ which
I have no doubt. will duly poplien what is said at this’
gathering.
Before saying anything further with respect na the
subject on which I am to speak I should like to con-
gratulate on the growth of this young association and
to convey to you my high appreciation of its efforts
towards improving the conditions under which fish are
produced and distributed in Canada and abroad today.
I know something of the National Sea Fisheries Protec-
tion Association of Great Britain, the Association on
which yours is modelled, and what it has accomplished
for the benefit of the trade there during the many
years it has been in existence, and I venture to say the
record of what your Association has done for our fish-
eries in the few years it has been at work will more
than compare favourably with that of its progenitor.
The British one unfortunately is not representative of
all branches of the industry and for that reason many
fisheries matters of national importance lie untouched
by it. Your association on the other hand represents
the interests of the whole trade, and everything con-
nected with it from-the lone fisherman in his dory,
catching a few cod on an outlying part of the Altantic
coast, to the big corporation canning salmon in vast
quantities on the Pacific. I feel sure, therefore, that
success will continue to mark its path in the coming
years.
But to turn to the matter which has more particu-
larly called me. to my feet, I wish to observe in the
first place, that I have no intention of afflicting you
on this oceasion with a _— winded dissertation on the
euring of fish.
I note by your programme that there are other pa-
_ pers to be read and discussed some of which may cause
prolonged discussion. I must, therefore, conserve time
by confining myself to touching a few of the salient
features connected with my subject.
We hear and read a great deal in these days about
inereased production of fish and of what is being done
through various agencies to stimulate a demand for the
greater supplies.
The development we are all so proud of, however, is
not something that has taken place overnight, or even
altogether since this unprecedented war has come upon
CANADIAN FISHERMAN.
would appeal to prospective buyers.
the consumer in good condition, he will not conn . to
September, 191
us bringing in its train price conditions which have
spurred the trade to greater activities and caused the _
annual value of our fisheries to jump from $33,000,000
in the year before the war to over $52,000,000 last year.
As a matter of fact the trade in fresh and smoked fish __
has been growing quite rapidly for a good many years. —
To be exact, development began in 1907 when the De- ~
partment inaugurated the policy of subsidizing Cana- —
dian shippers of fresh fish to enable them—which they —
very soon did—to at least supply Canadian markets, —
which had been previously almost entirely supplie
from Portland and Boston.
Increased production and consumption of fish h
been the theme of many addresses and “press”? arti,
cles since that time. Hight or nine years ago, in th
course of compiling our Annual Report on the Fisher-
ries, it became clear to me that the value of the fish
ies of eastern Canada had practically stood ‘still f
twenty years or more. ie
I, therefore, deemed it my duty to note thi
progress, and ‘wrote an article which drew con:
outside attention to the condition of the fis!
the time. In it I pointed out what was being
other countries to promote an increased cons
of fish and how our fresh and smoked fish busi
main hope of advancement, could be re-animat
the dissemination of literature with the object. of
ing the public how to use fish as a daily diet @
as an occasional change from meat; of convin
housewife of the great food value of fish and of
ing her how to cook it in various appetizing ways; al
of keeping before inland dealers the necessity for dis-
playing fish in their shop windows in a manner tha
In the interven-
ing years the work of enlightenment, along these lines,
has been carried forward and today we have advane
ed far enough to see something of the immense possi-
bilities that yet lie before us in the fish business. _
But while preaching the Gospel of greater produc-
tion, which is a commendable thing in itself, we must
not forget what, to my mind, is of much more impor-
tance, namely the necessity of improving the ;
aud making the best use of our present produc
especially in view of the time when, with the en
the war and the stoppage of overseas shipments |
en fish, we may expect something in the nature
action with glutted home markets. For, no-
how much you produce, unless you place the p:
be it fresh, smoked, dried, or pickled on the ta
consume it.
Fresh Fish.
One occasionally comes across people who_ hare
use for fish of any kind, but most peopue are f
fish when it is perfectly ‘fresh. No one wants it 7
it begins to stink, and no food ae reaches se
quicker than fish.
as to its freshness. Whether that is so or not, I sor
times find it hard to get real fresh fish now, ie
I do a considerable distance inland. Transporta on
difficulties are not responsible for this to such an ex-
tent as formerly, owing to the facilities proved by th
Department ten years ago, and improved. year by year —
as experience has been gained, It is due in many cases
‘ September, 1918.
to the fish being kept too long in the vessels before
landing. Of course from where boat fishing is carried
on and fish are landed in perfect condition the same
day as they are caught, we can and do get fish even
in the inland cities in first-class order. I am afraid,
however, that the proportion of boat-caught haddock
and cod that is shipped inland in a fresh state, today
is not so large as it once was. In order to secure quan-
_ tity for the fresh fish trade, quality and condition have
been sacrificed to some extent by the employment of
the largest sailing vessels and steam trawlers. These
_ go farther to sea and remain out until they have a
eateh worth while making the land with. This condi-
tion is inevitable, but it can and will, I am sure, be im-
proved as time goes on, by the buyer at the port of
ding judiciously selecting the later caught fish from
the earlier caught ones when a voyage has been extend-
_ ed to almost a week and shipping the former only as
fresh fish. This is absolutely necessary if a trade in
_ fresh sea fish is to be built up and maintained.
I think perhaps there is not a sufficient difference
made by buyers between the price of the freshest fish
Dots the whole catch-is taken out at a first pats for
kind of fish.
y in udsordance ‘with the condition of the fish. While
esh or live fish may make big prices, old stuff sells
_ for very much less. This in a great measure, induces
- trawl skippers to land a large proportion of their catch
in a really fresh state. Trawlers fishing on very dis-
tant grounds, of course, sacrifice quality and price for
big hauls, a great part of which has to be salted and
airied.
_ he inland dealer himself, however, is often responsi-
ble for turning customers from buying fresh fish, by
_ keeping his fish too long on sale, as fresh fish, in order
to work them off and save himself from loss. Ev ery
inland wholesale dealer and the larger retail dealers
_ should make provision for smoking or salting and dry-
_ ing fresh fish that are likely to remain too long un-
- sold. Unfortunately few of either our wholesale or
_ retail dealers know about the curing or saving of fish
in this way.
I will pass from considering fresh fish by emphasis-
ing the need for fishermen, both line and trawl, to
sedan perfectly fresh fish to land, and for the fish buy-
ers to differentiate in the matter of price between fish
Pan: first-class condition and fish not quite so good and
Bey send only the finest and freshest fish to the fresh
_ fish markets; also for inland dealers to avoid selling
fresh fish from which all freshness has gone.
Smoked Fish.
The trade in smoked fish has developed tremendously,
throughout the country, in the past seven or eight
years. Moreover the possibilities of further growth are
_ yet immense, provided the fish are landed in a fresh
_ condition, cured with care and handled by inland deal-
-ersina proper manner. Too often haddocks that have
= pees so long in the vessel as to make them not exactly
= suitable for shipping fresh are made into finnans. It
| bes is hardly necessary to say at a gathering such as this,
S that no subsequent treatment will make a fish, that
_ eomes too late into the hands of the curer, a good fish.
_ Delicious finnans are turned out. of many of the smoke
uses in this province of Nova Scotia. This I know, be-
use when I have ordered some directly from the coast
CANADIAN FISHERMAN.
999
I have been supplied with the real Mackay as they say
in Scotland.
I have, also, sometimes found the right quality in the
inland retail fish shops, but also, I have more often
found in the same shop, finnans that smelled high in
cooking and tasted of far too much salt in eating. In
such cases excessive salting had no doubt been resort-
ed to in order to counteract the effects of age. Over-
salted finnans are almost as considerable to the con-
sumer as halfstinking ones. These remarks apply with
equal force to kippered herrings and smoked fillets.
My advice under this head then is to find out the
consumer’s taste and produce with scrupulous care an
article in accordance therewith. Smoke only fresh
fish; be very particular about having the pickle al-
ways of the same uniform strength; pickle your large
fish and medium or small fish separately and eare-
fully note the length of time each is to remain in it;
note the condition of your fish and regulate the pick-
ling period accordingly. For instance, as you know,
haddock caught in March or April, when they are
thin, after spawning, do not require nearly so much
salt as those caught in the end of the year when they
are fat and in the best condition. The fish should not
be too highly colored and dried in the smoke house.
Smoke should be produced from fresh dry hardwood,
and not from old wet wood that might possibly make
the smoke sour.
Dried Fish.
With respect to the dried.fish trade I would remark
that while the best results are to be obtained from
fish that are split and salted in a very fresh ‘state,
freshness is not so much of a necessity in salting and
drying as in shipping fresh or smoking.
In the splitting and cleaning of fish tor drying there
is much room for improvement.on most parts of the
coast. The knife is not always run down to the tail,
close to the bone as it should be, but is sometimes
allowed to run out through the side of the fish two or
three inches from the tail. The black lining of the
belly is nearly always left untouched, while small
blood clots and ragged pieces of fish are not brushed
or eut off so carefully as they might be.
Attention to such details adds immensely to the
appearance of the dried product and of course helps
the sale of it, especially in a dull market.
One of the serious troubles of the dried fish in-
dustry is caused by what is known as ‘‘Red Cod.’’
In Norway where large sums have been lost through -
this pest a great deal of attention has been given
lately to the question of discovering and removing
the cause of it.
It has been found that the trouble is due to the
growth of a fungus, the germs of which infest the
fish while they are still under process of salting. In-
fection may be caused by infected salt or the imple-
ments used in the curing shed.
Mr. Hoye, a Norwegian investigator, says that min-
ute germs settle on a fish; each swells to double its
former size and divides into two cells; these again
increase in size and the process goes on while the fish
remains in salt, until a small whitish speck appears.
Each speck consists of hundreds of thousands of small
cells. The specks of the cell-clusters then begin to be
covered with dark brown spores. At the same time
the cell-clusters send their roots in all directions over
‘and into the flesh of the fish. The decomposition of
the fish is hastened by the action of these roots. Like
* 1000
all other vegetable organisms the development of the
fungus depends on the temperature. The higher the
temperature the quicker the growth. In low temper-
atures development is arrested.
Mr. Hoye made extensive investigations over a long
period, with cell-elusters of various sizes and with
pieces of infected fish, in order to determine whether
the fungus could be frozen to death. In all cases after
being subjected to a temperature of twu degrees below
zero, the fungus grew and developed when again ex-
posed to a summer temperature. Hoye’s conclusion is
that the only way to prevent the formation of the
fungus is to prevent the germs or spores from settling
on the fish in the process of curing. He has further
come to the conclusion that the salt is the chief means
of spreading the infection. The salt may become in-
fected in the vessel in which it is imported or by being
stored in a room previously infected or by the use of
infected implements for handling it.
Hoye lays stress on the fact that the infection
usually takes place during the salting process. His
only remedy is extreme cleanliness. Fish houses, tubs,
splitting tables and all working apparatus, should be
thoroughly cleansed and disinfected and every effort
made to have everything clean and pure after each
day.’s work.
It, has often occured to me that it would probably
be a good thing for the dried fish trade if fishery
officers were charged with the duty of seeing that
splitting tables, tubs and other implements used in
preparing cod, haddock and such fish for drying are
kept thoroughly clean.
While in the larger establishments cleanliness, no
doubt, does receive due consideration, at the many ‘out-
of-the-way places where the curing is done by individ- |
ual fishermen, after the best part of the day perhaps
has been spent by him in catching the fish as well,
the splitting and curing utensils do not always get the
attention they should in the matter of cleaning.
Recently, in the course of dealing with a report
from one of-our officers on the unsanitary condition
of the implements used in a certain fish cannery, we
were asked this question by the canner, ‘‘Why is it
that you are so hard on canners in this respect, when
those who cure fish for smoking, drying or pickling |
are allowed to use any kind of unclean implement
they have a mind to?’’ I must confess it is some-
what difficult to say why the one should not be dealt
with as the other is, for the product of both is for
human food.
Canned Fish.
I do not think I need say anything under the. head
of canned fish except to observe that under authority
of the Amended Meat and Canned Foods Act which
comes into effect on the 15th of December next, the
Department will be in a better position, by means
of systematic inspection to guarantee to consumers
that fish of all kinds canned in Canada are handled
in a cleanly manner under proper sanitary conditions,
and that unsound fish shall not be packed in cans. A
proper understanding of the aims of the Act in the
consuming markets will undoubtedly react to the ad-
vantage of the whole canned fish industry.
Pickled Fish.
At various times in the past I have said and written
a good deal with respect to pickled fish and I do not
intend to weary you by repeating myself here. I do
wish, however, to express my opinion to you with re-
CANADIAN FISHERMAN
September, sis,
gard to the need for the introduction of compulsory
inspection of pickled fish and barrels.
Inspection at present is optional and the Depart: PD
ment has to rely on persuasive efforts alone in order
to get coopers to make barrels and packers to cure
fish in accordance with the requirements of the Act
and submit them for inspection and the brand.
It is satisfactory to be able to record an increa
use of the official brand, especially as it is entirely
voluntary and and involves a considerable amount |
extra labor, but I fear the limit in that respect h
been reached under ogtional inspection, because :
1. Great difficulty is experienced in getting te
ers to produce the proper type of barrel. |
of them persist in making the old jpakoul
which, owing to its comparative cheapness,
readily bought by certain shortsighted packer
2. Equal difficulty is experienced in persuad
packers to cure and grade their fish up to_
standard required for the brand by reason of
fact that the present abnormal demand has m
it comparatively easy to dispose of indifferen
cured fish in inferior barrels.
- This causes packers who are endeavoring to pr
duee a higher grade article to feel that their of
are in vain unless something is done to protect th
by preventing the bulk of the Canadian isco rom
being marketed in an inferior condition.
There seems to me to be only one way to remedy
this and to make inspection of any value and that is, by
having the present Act amended and giving inspect-
ing officers power to enforce compliance with its f
visions, both on the part of coopers in barrel mak
and of packers in curing. The need for this will
felt much more forcibly when war conditions are
moved and Europe begins again to flood the ee
fish markets with carefully prepared products. __
No good reason can now be advanced as to
producers of this line of foodstuffs should not be ec
pelled to market their goods in standardized pack
and grades, just as are packers of other foods that
marketed in closed packages, such as canned mei
vegetables, fruit and fish or barrelled and
apples.
Under the Meat and Canned Foods Act we conta
eanners of all kinds of sea and shell-fish to oper
in, accordance with the provisions of the Act. It sti
lates that all such fish packed in cans shall be subj
to inspection during the process of preparation
packing, and empowers cannery inspectors to 8
the canning of any fish or shell-fish considered un
for human food. It also defines the marks and de ‘
nations that are to be shown on the cans.
Under the Inspection and Sale Act, the Departm
of Agriculture defines the dimensions and kind
barrel or box that must be used for marketing ap
in. It also defines the number and quality of
classes into which apples must be graded and preser.
the brands or marks to be used thereon.
The Fruit Commissioner, who is charged with the
administration of the Fruit Inspection part of the At
has an outside staff of fifteen permanent and
temporary inspectors employed to enforce complian
with the grading and marking provisions.
T should be more than astonished if an intellige
man. in the trade to-day can be found who will deny
that the necessity of applying such measures to the
pekive fish business is at least, as great as that of ss
September, 1918.
plying it to the canned foods and fruit businesses.
It is not generally realized that the value of a barrel
of the best quality of cured herring or mackerel is
from three to four times greater than that of a barrel
of apples of the highest grade. Yet the buyer of a bar+
rel of apples is assured of getting what he pays for,
whereas he who buys a barrel of pickled fish may and
frequently does get short weight and an article that is
unfit for food. ©
My earnest hope, therefore, is that all concerned
will fall into line with the idea of substituting an obli-
gatory and effective inspection of pickled fish and bar-
rels for the present optional and ineffective one; and
that in the event of this taking place, the heartiest co-
operation of the trade can be counted on to further
the operation of any such comprehensive system of
inspection.
~ PACIFIC COAST PARAGRAPHS.
While at one time there seemed a possibility of some
of the 1917-18 herring packing being on hand, there is
now no doubt that all will be cleaned up before the
new pack is available.
As is generally known, the Humpbacks only run in
any number in the Fraser every other year. An at-
tempt is being made to establish a run in the ‘‘off
years. At Oyster River, Vancouver Island, Col. Cun-
ningham, chief inspector of fisheries, has secured a con-
siderable number of fish, variously estimated at from
thirty to fifty thousand. Up to September 17th, seven
million eggs had been shipped to the Seton Lake
Hatchery, which early in the year was taken over from
the Provincial Government largely for this purpose.
Increased ice producing facilities have been installed
at Butedale, B.C., by Western Packers Ltd. Last sea-
son a considerable quantity of bait and ice was sup-
plied to halibut fishermen at this point, and the recent
_ installation will enable the company to give better and
_ quicker service.
Fire destroyed the engine room floor of the Can-
adian Fishing Company schooner, Carlotta G. Cox
(Capt. Howse), necessitating a short lay up.
Capt. Howse, who has been with the company for a
number of years, having advanced to his present posl-
tion from that of fisherman entirely in their service,
was making his first trip in command.
The Eagle and Ida N., both independent halibut
schooners out of Seattle, went ashore in the fog at
Amphritite Point, Vancouver Island. Both may be
total losses.
‘Tremendous runs of Pilchards have been a feature
this season on the west coast of Vancouver Island.
From Nootka Sound to Victoria they have appeared in
large numbers, and several canneries are engaged in
packing them. According to Mr. Chas. F. Goodrich
of the Sooke Harbour Packing Company, so many Pil-
chard came into their traps on San Jaun Straits that
they were blocked, and operations had to cease.
“The oldest inhabitant’? does not recall a previous
happening of this character; in fact, all records go to
show that this is the first time the Pilehard has ap-
peared in the straits in any number.
CANADIAN
FISHERMAN 1001
MACKEREL DISCOVERED ON PACIFIC COAST.
A recent catch of Pilchards landed at the Vancouver
plant of the Canadian Fishing Company, included five
mackerel, which according to those who inspected them
were identically the same fish as found on the At-
lantic Coast.
While the Pilchard is regarded by many fishermen
on the Pacific to be of the mackerel family, this is
the first time on record that the true mackerel has ap=
peared, and the incident has caused a great deal of in-
terest on the water front. é
Unfortunately, all but one of the specimens were
‘appropriated, ”’ Mr. A. L. Hager has had the sur-
vivor frozen for scientific investigation, meanwhile is-
suing instructions to carefully save any others that
may show up.
THE TAGGED SALMON,
A sockeye tagged with button number 2084 at Car-
lisle, Lummi Island, Wash., July 19th, was caught in
the Fraser River at Soda Creek, B.C., August 16th.
Soda Creek is about 500 miles from Lummi Island,
and 1,200 feet above sea level. Without any allowance
for this fish lingering in the salt water before enter-
ing the river, it must have travelled almost 18 miles
per day.
INTERNATIONAL FISHERIES COMMISSION.
The Internationai Fisheries Commission of Canada
-and the United States met in session again on Sept.
4th at the Hotel Champlain on Lake Champlain.
FISHERIES ASSOCIATION ENROLLING
MEMBERS.
President A. H, Brittain of the Canadian Fisheries
Association, is out to double the membership during
his term of office. Many new members have joined
the C.F.A. Those in the trade who are not interested
in the Association’s work and who still refrain from
joining are showing an astonishing lack of apprecia-
tion of what the C.F.A. has done for the industry and
themselves. If they grudge paying ten dollars for
membership now, there is little hope for them.
NATIONAL FISH COMPANY’S NEW TRAWLER.
We learn that Mr. Arthur Boutilier of the National
Fish Co., Ltd., Halifax, has succeeded in purchasing
a new steam trawler to replace the ‘‘Triumph,’’ eap-
tured and presumably sunk by the Germans. The
vessel is at present under construction at Port Arthur,
Ont., and was intended for Naval purposes. She is an
up-to-date, modern type of craft and should be ready
before the close of St. Lawrence navigation.
LA HAVE COMPANY BUILDING TRAWLERS.
The La Have Fish Company, La Have, N.S., are
building a wooden steam trawler of 145 feet deck
measurement, 25 foot beam, and 11 foot depth. The
company propose building four more trawlers of sim-
ilar type next year.
1002 x
CANADIAN FISHERMAN.
September, 1918.
The Canning of Sardines at Black’s Harbour
, By ©. C. AVARD, M.A., Editor of ‘‘The Busy East.’’
Far from the madding crowds, remote from busy rail-
way marts and separated from the centres of manu-
facturing industry, is Black’s Harbor, New Brunswick,
picturesque and beautiful, one of the finest natural
harbors in the world. The first sight of the harbor and
village, as one approaches landwards, is a real delight.
Looking down from the slopes of the surrounding hills
one catches a glimpse of scenery which might well be
the subject for the painter’s brush. On that bright Sep-
tember day as I drank in the wonders of nature at
Black’s Harbor I felt that it was good to be alive and
.
CENTS Ce
& co
Fig. 1—The Fish being Hoisted from the Boats.
to be able to visit so beautiful a New Brunswick spot.
Surely, these Maritime Provinces are rich in natural
scenery, as well as in material resources.
But frequency stales everything. The man who lives
in even the most beautiful place imaginable soon
comes to take everything as a matter of course. The
placid bosom of a splendid harbor becomes mere tide
water; magnificent views when dissected become trees,
rocks, rugged hills and sleepy valleys. Even the best
of things are staled by frequency into the commonest
commonplace. But if there is any place that might
well be an exception to the rule and prove an unending
source of pleasure to those who know it best, that
place is Black’s Harbor, or as it really should be eall-
ed, Connorstown, for the village of Black’s Harbor
owes its existence to two men, Messrs. Lewis and Pat-
rick W. Connors, who have made an eminent success of
canning sardines, clams, ete.
In these days when fish have become so popular as
focd it may not be out of place to give readers of The
Canadian Fisherman some idea of what is being done >
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
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General View of the Plant of Connors Bros. Limited at Black’s Harbor, New Brunswick.
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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
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September, 1918.
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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
‘
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‘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
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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 ‘
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The Construction Plans of the Alfred Bay Concern’s 75 Footer.
September, 1918.
CANADIAN FISHERMAN.
61
More Fish Less Meat
Save the Meat for our
SOLDIER BOYS IN THE TRENCHES
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
can’t.
Do not Diatact 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,
16 Richmond Sq. 72 Chester Ave. 344 Markham St.
Tel. Up. 8547. College 8794,
With the high cost of labor can
-you afford to be without a
Knapp
Labelling and Boxing
Machine?
Knapp Labelling Machine
The Brown Boggs Co., Limited
Hamilton, Ontario
E. A. EARL & CO., Vancouver, B.C., Agents
mentieeeies
.
e e e e
7 Index to Advertisers a
A, Freeman and Cobb om be. Se aes OF Noble, Charles, Jr., Co., Inc. .. .. ..
Acadia Gas Engines, a ae | Freeman, OO has, Var Oe Northern Fish Co. ../.. 1. o. es
American Can. Fromm, F. & C6. ee Re oe Nova Scotia Government .. .. ..
; sy seal 379 lied Independent | Fisheries, @. 3
82 Goodrich, B. F. Co., Ltd 65 é
i Gourock Ropework Export Co., Ltd. 83 Ontario Government .. .. eis
Bliss, E. Co. 69 Gosse-Millerd Packing Co,, Ce | ‘ O’Connor’s Fish Market .. .. .. «.
Booth Fisheries Co. of Canada, Ltd. 90 alee Seg 7 Moye repr Co. .. oe oe ae r.
ee redo: Guest, W. J., Fish Co. Ltd... .. 89 Pitt, Fishmonger .- .. «+ s+ ++ +.
British Columbia Government .. .. 12 olson 1rOn WOPrKB .. «+ o2 oe oe
British Columbia Packers’ Asso- Hallett, A. E. .. 68 Process Engineers, Ltd. .. .. .. «.
ng es alae es ef Hatton, D..,, be o.8%, ate. pielk eee te elieley aie HH Q.
Brown oges }., enderson, Geo. bas ithe ST 9 ihe
Brown Engineering Corporation, ar ages : ve a 7 bas osere gga lem co
Eth yde ndlass Co. .. es ee jo
Burnoil ‘Engine Co. ey a aoe eee et 2 § Ranney Fish Co. SVip eae e ee, ee
Burns, P. & Co. AL aE eee, Imperial Oil, Ltd hereon obbins, Chas. eM ae? PTR aAde The
yr Independent Rubber Co., ey eerie |. bbins, F. R. & Co. : pe
Canada Metal Co., Ltd. 18 : a Robin, Jones - Whitman, td. ee
Gsnadian-Painsanks-Morae, CG. iad: 40 Jacobson, Gas Rneipe, Co. <2 sy $f Robingon, Thomas ee eno
‘an: s an {7) orage =x. 0
Ns. ow Mele eile! eo ae . Uh ee ANE Lara enn Seaboard Trading ete ede tote Algerie ate
Canadian Fishing Co, Ltd. .. .. 16 ne Oe Schmidt, B. L., Co
anadian Ice Machine Co. .. .. «- Leckie, John, Ltd. .. Shee Oe Scythes & Co., pita. Sint igh eR sim. ©
Canadian Milk Products, Ltd... .. 88 Leonard Fisheries, Ltd. Back Cover BOver,< ie LA aig hi ae ne
Canadian Oil Co., Ltd. Letson and Burpee, Ltd... ...... 6 Stamford Foundry Co... .. 1... +:
Canadian Pearl Button Co. ‘Ltd... Lincoln, Willey and Co., Inc 83 Standard Gas Engine Co... .. ..
os, 2. oe eee . s Linde Canadian Refrigeration Co.” i Stewart, B. & C Co., Bitdy yn sae: 2
onnors’ Bro ers, eet ee ee pooner, ;
Consumers Cordage Co. Ltd .. 7 iamaath: ‘Cunningham ‘and Co., ‘Lt. 3 =
Cutting and Washington .. 79 Lipsett, Edwar 3 ‘aah
p Lockeport Cold Storage Co., "Ltd. 2 Tabor, Geo., Lt ee Re." BBE eb
mi . Loggie, W. S. Co. 81 Taylor, Robt. Co., SP ae
anto & Co. .. -. set London and Petrolia ‘Barrel Co, Ltd. 84 ‘Thorne, W. H. & web td... ..
Department of Naval Service .. .. 16 Lyons, Chas. Co., Inc. Tower Canadian .. of
DesBrisay, M. and Co. Ltd... .. ™. Tuckett Tobacco Co., Ltd. ..
Dominion Fisheries, LF, fs SOON ORE Mar cont Wireless a! “4 “ey Ks 72 .
i Maritime s orpora: on, oe Vh Fisheries Co.
Eureka Rotriceratar Co. McAvity, T. & Sons, Ltd.'s... +. 04 re vide
er, oe > . 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 >»
<A ae et a TR yee es, TET +S Pe ees ya toh” sees |
1
ap te eee ere ee male Re ee
- CANADIAN FISHERMAN 67
Ww. 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
= Representing
National Fish Company, Limited
Halifax and Port Hawkesbury - N.S.
“National Brand”
Haddies, ee. : : _ Producers
Fillets, ne : Fresh,
Aippers, | Frozen
Bloaters
5)
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.
License No. 1-036.
Ewe
1024
We have in Canada one marine resource—a resource
of considerable potential magnitude—which has up to
the present remained practically undeveloped. I refer
to our sea-weeds.
On both our Atlantic and Pacific Coasts we have
an abundance of sea-weeds, of many species, and among
them are many forms which are the basis of extensive
industries in other Parts of the world, or species which
are closely allied. *
Sea-weeds are extensively utilized in France, Scot-
land, Ireland, and some other European countries, in
the East Indies, and in China, but in no other country
are they utilized to so large an extent, or in such a
great variety of ways, as in Japan. To get an idea of
what may be done with marine plants let us look at
this industry as it exists in Japan. Information on
this subject is made available largely through the work
of Mr. Hugh M. Smith, of the United States Bureau of
Fisheries, who has investigated the Japanese sea-weed
industry most thoroughly. He states that the value
of the sea-weeds prepared in Japan exceeds $2,000,000
annually, this sum excluding the value of the very large
quantities which are used locally in the families of the
fishermen.
A very valuable sea-weed product comparable to
isinglass, and used for some of the same purposes, is
known to the Japanese as Kanten. Kanten has been
made since about 1760. At first it was simply a mass
of jelly formed by boiling the sea-weed, but at the.
present time it is put up in the form of sticks and bars.
It is made from sea-weeds of the genus Gelidium, the
main species being G. corneum, which is closely allied
to our species G. erinale, so closely in fact that it is’
only of comparatively recent years that students of
marine plants have separated the two species. The
Japanese have a common name for this plant—‘ten-
gusa’’—while we have no common name and have to
refer to it by its scientific name. This sea-weed is
collected by diving, the gathering season being from
May to October, though the best months are July and
August. It is dried on the shore, some bleaching tak-
ing place in the course of drying, and is then ready
for sale to the manufacturers.
In the preparation of Kanten the first step is the
removal of all foreign matter from the dried plant.
this being accomplished by beating, picking over and
washing in running fresh water. The wet sea-weed
is then spread in thin layers to dry and bleach, and
as the drying goes on the plants become agglutinated
and more or less fused, forming loose-meshed sheets.
These sheets are loosely rolled and, as required, are
boiled in a large iron kettle or wooden tub placed over
a specially constructed oven or furnace. This boil-
ing burns the sea-weed into a thick pulpy gelatinous
mass. This mass is removed from the kettle and strain-
ed through a coarse cloth into a vat, this preliminary
straining being followed by a thorough straining
through linen bags of coarse mesh, which are placed
in a crib and squeezed by means of a lever, the jelly
falling into a large vat under the press. The jelly is
poured into trays to cool, and when sufficiently cool
and firm it is cut into pieces of uniform size. These
pieces are then put one by one in a wooden box slightly
larger than themselves and with a coarse wire grating
CANADIAN FISHERMAN
The Utilization of Sea Weeds
By A. BROOKER KLUGH.
-Atlantie coast.
September, 1918.
over one end. A wooden piston with a broad end fits
into this box, and is pushed against the bar of jelly,
forcing it through the grating in the form of slender
sticks. These sticks are arranged in regular row:
on flakes in the open air and dried for several days, ~
then they are trimmed to a uniform length and baled
for shipment. |
Kanten is pearly white, shiny and semi-transparen
and is tasteless and odorless. In cold water it swe
but does not dissolve, but in boiling water it dissolv
and forms a jelly. In Japan, Kanten is largely use
for food in the form of jellies, which are often cole
ed, and is also used in soups and sauces. In many
foreign countries it is employed in a variety of way
chiefly in food preparations where a gelatin is
quired, such as in jellies and candies, and many desert
for which uses it is superior to animal isinglass.
is also used for the sizing of textiles, the stiffenin
of the warp of silks, and in the clarifying of wi
and beer. Large consignments are shipped to Holand
for use in the schnapps factories. The price of Ka
ten is about forty cents per pound.
From the large kelps the Japanese make a gre
number of food preparations, which they ter
‘‘kombu.’’ This is one of the most important of the
marine vegetable preparations and enormous quantiti
are consumed in Japan and China. Although not
valuable as kanten it is really more important to the
country, because of its comparative cheapness, and
the numerous ways in which it is used as food. The
present methods of manufacture are very primative and ;
differ but little from those employed in the eighteonel h
century.. =. 00 a
The sea-weeds used in the preparation of kombu are
the coarse, broad-leaved Laminarias, such species as
occur in great abundance at many points along our
The gathering of kelp begins in July
and ends in October, and is engaged in by many fisl
ermen. It is collected by means of wooden hooks”
the end of long poles or by hooks with weights attach- nay
ed and dragged at the end of ropes, and is pulled
into open boats. When the boats return with a load
the kelp is carefully spread out on the beech to dry, ©
and when dry is shipped to the factories. g
Kombu is prepared in a great variety of ways, and —
while some of these preparations are not pleasing to
the taste of foreigners, many are highly palatable
should be successful on the American and Europe
markets. *
One of the most important Kombu preparations is —
Shredded Kombu, the steps in the manufacture off .
which are as follows: .
The dried kelp is immersed in vats contaimins
green dye (malachite green), and maintained at
boiling temperature for fifteen minutes. They are
then drained, taken into the open air and suspende ie
on poles to dry. When they are surface-dry they are —
taken, one by one, and arranged in wooden Tramieeye
making a pile eighteen inches high, five or six inches
wide and the full length of the fronds. Each pile is”
then tightly compressed by four transverse cords am 1
cut into four equal lengths, each held by a cord. The
eut pieces are then arranged in a rectangular frame, —
sprinkled with water in order that they may pack
September, 1918. CANADIAN FISHERMAN 69
“CANS!---MORE CANS!”
When the run of fish is good that is the cry. 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
*
1026
more closely, and strongly compressed by ropes and
levers. One of the side boards of the frame is then
removed, and the kelp is reduced to shreds by means
of a hand plane, which cuts the fronds lengthwise
along their edges. The shredded kelp is next spread
out on mats or platforms to dry, being repeatedly
turned to secure uniform drying. When the surface
of the shreds is dry, but the interior still contains mois-
ture, as shown by its pliability, they are packed for
shipment.
The manufacture of other Kombu preparations is
thus described by Mr. Smith:
‘*Those species of kelp with the thickest fronds are
often dried with special care, so that they will lie
flat and smooth and are used in making kombu pro-
ducts for which the thin, narrow-fronded species are
not well adapted. The different kinds of kombu now
to be mentioned have been made for nearly two cen-
turies, and the consumption at the present time is larger
than ever before. The various grades, as will be seen,
represent simply successive steps in the treatment of
the kelp, one frond yield a sample of onan variety
of kombu.
{a) The entire frond is dipped in vinegar, until
thoroughly soaked, then dried in the open air. The
vinegar softens the frond and leaves it pliable, it also
imparts a flavor and = has a slight ereser sae
effect.
(b) With a raw-edged knife, shaped like a mince-
meat chopper, the workman scrapes the epidermis from
both sides. This outer skin, which comes off in shreds
is the cheapest grade of kombu, containing more or
less grit and dirt. A second seraping brings away
all the remaining green covering, and leaves only the
white core of the frond: This product is called kuor..
tororo, (black- pulpy) kombu.
(c) The scraping is continued with a raw-edged
knife, and a fine, white, stringy mass results, which
is known as shiro-tororo (white pulpy) kombu.
(d) A sharp-edged knife may be used after the green
coats are removed, and the scrapings then take the form
of exceedingly thin and delicate filmy sheets, of ir-
regular sizes, this preparation is known as oboro
(filmy) kombu.
(e) The remaining central core of the frond, now
very thin, is pressed into bundles with similar pieces,
divided into equal lengths, and with a plane cut into
shreds after the manner of the green-dyed kombu.
The shavings resemble coarse hair, and the prepara-
tion has received the name of shirago (white-haired)
kombu.
(f) The fronds from which the outer green skin has
been more or less completely removed are often cut
into small pieces of various shapes, strips, squares,
oblongs, circles, fans, ete., which are then dried over
the fire and made crisp. These pieces are placed on
the market in this form, when they are known as
hoiro (dried-on-the-fire) kombu or they are coated
with a hard white or pink icing and called kwashi
(sweet cake) kombu. 3
(g) The dried pieces just mentioned are sometimes
pulverized and put through a fine wire sieve, yielding
a slightly greenish or grayish flour. This powder is
sometimes compressed into small cakes and coated with
sugar.
(h) A form of kombu, known as cha (tea) kombu
is prepared by taking fronds which have been sub-
jected to the first. scraping process, reducing them to
shreds by planing, and after drying, cutting the shreds
CANADIAN
_ green tea.’
dried and powdered, as a condiment, and our comr
~ T ean testify from personal experience with it in be
FISHERMAN September, 1918.
into half-inch lengths comparable to the leaves of
The different kinds of kombu are extensively used _
in every Japanese family. Shredded kombu is cooked — ;
with meats, soups, etc., and also served as a vegetable.
Pieces of kombu are boiled i in soy-bean sauce, making _
an excellent relish, tasting like anchovy sauce. The —
tea kombu makes a palatable drink. The powders are
used in sauces, soups, and on rice, like curry powder
Mr. Smith says that the flavor of dried kombu is
nutty, and describes sweet-cake kombu as *‘excellent.’’
That kombu has a real food value is shown. by chemi
cal analysis, the kelps from which it is prepared hav
ing been found to contain 6.7 per cent. protein, 1.7
per cent. fat and 47 per cent. soluble carbohydrates.
Another sea-weed which is very largely used in
Japan is Laver (Porphyra) known to the Japanese as _
Amanori. The cultivation of Laver is one of the most
important branches of the sea-weed industry, and the _
financial results are quite remarkable, being surpass- —
ed by but few branches of agriculture in the value per
acre.
The Laver grounds are leased to their cultivators
by the Japanese Government, and there is a sliding-
scale of licenses depending upon the yield of the
grounds. : »
The grounds are prepared in October and Nowbuhen!
by sinking into the muddy bottom, in water up to t
or fifteen feet deep at high tide, numerous bundles
bamboo or brush. These bundles are prepared on the
shore and are taken to the grounds in boats at high
tide. The bundles are planted in regular lines, deep —
holes being made for them by means of an elonga
conical wooden frame with two long upright nenglens
which is forced into the mud by the weight of th
operator. The object of these lines of brush is to inter. :
cept and afford a place of growth for the floating
spores of the Laver. The spores become attached tc
the twigs and grow rapidly, so that by January th
plants have attained full size, and are harvested fro
January to March. During the summer the old bru:
is removed and new material prepared.
While some Laver is eaten fresh most of the crop
dried. It is first washed, then chopped fine, and th
spread on small mats in such a manner that it dri
in the form of sheets. Before the dried Laver is eat
it is first put over a fire to make it crisp, then erushe
and dropped into sauces, soups, ete., to impart flave
Pieces dipped in sauce are also eaten as a ve. ony
Laver is a nutritious food, containing from 3
per cent protein.
Three species of Enteromorpha, known to the Sax
ese as Awa-nori, which grow abundantly on our
lantie coast in brackish water are used, after be
Sea-Lettuce is much used by the Japanese in t
same manner that we use lettuce and parsley. Th
our Sea-Lettuce is not only edible, but of good flav
the raw and cooked condition.
The Sea-weed known as Irish Moss, a species comm
A. E. HALLETT,
BROKER
FRESH AND FROZEN FISH
Correspondence solicited
_Ref., Corn — e National Bank, or any Chicago
olesale fish concern.
31 W. Lake St. CHICAGO
September, 1918.
CANADIAN FISHERMAN 71
HE: success of a FISH FREEZING plant depends
on the T'YPE of machinery installed, and to insure
continued success dependable SERVI CE must be
available.
"YORK? mactiis CIMCO
MACHINES & SERVICE
COVER THESE REQUIREMENTS
SOME USERS
New Foundland Atlantic Maritime Fish Corpora-
Fisheries, Ltd., tion, Ltd.,
St. John, Nfld. Canso, N.S.
Leonard Fisheries, Ltd., National Fish Co., Ltd.,
Port Hawkesbury, N.S. Port Hawkesbury, N.S.
Shelbourne Fisheries, Job Bros. & Co., Ltd,
Shelbourne, N.S. St. John, Nfld.
A. E. Hickman & Co., Matthew & McLean,
St. John, Nfld. Souris East, P.E.I.
D. Hatton & Co., Ltd., Stanfords Ltd.,
Montreal. Montreal.
3 York Ammonia Compr. at National Fish Coy.’s Plant 3 York Ammonia Compr. at Newfoundland Atlantic Fisheries’ Plant
LIMITED
WINNIPEG TORONTO MONTREAL
$$
———
oS
1028(72) CANADIAN
on some parts of our coast, is made use of not only in
Europe, but in the United States, where the centre of
the industry is at Scituate, Mass. This plant is col-
lected by means of rakes, washed and partially dried
and bleached three times, and then finally dried. It
is used in the making of puddings and jellies and also
as a demuleent for coughs.
The only sea-weed which is at present as far as I
know made any use of in Canada is Dulse, and it is
used in very limited quantities. In the Scottish High-
lands Dulse is much esteemed as a vegetable.
It seems to me that the esculent possibilities of our
sea-weeds are very much worth while investigating and
that by the use of improved apparatus for gathering
and machinery for preparing them we should be able
to tap a hitherto unused source of food- -supply and
establish an industry of considerable importance.
MARYLAND EDITORS SEE FISHERIES.
Ocean City, Md., August 28.—Members of the Mary-
land Press Association did not devote all their time to
convention business during their meeting here, which
closed yesterday. They spent a large part of the first
day sightseeing, being the guests of Senator Orlando
Harrison on a trip to inspect his orchards and nurse-
ries. In the evening they attended a dinner given in
their honor by the Senator, at the Atlantic Hotel.
Among the speakers at the dinner were Gov. Har-
rington, Senator Harrison, John T. Worthington, of the
FISHERMAN September, 1918.
Belair Agis, and T. A. Brown, of Delaware. Gov.
Harrington told of the work Maryland was doing to win
the war, and laid particular emphasis on the Compul-
sory Work law, which, he said, is being copied by near-
ly all the States. As an illustration of how successful
the Compulsory Work law is proving, he told of a
Marylander worth $500,000, who is laboring on the
State roads, reporting for duty. i in a $6,000 automobile,
driven by a liveried chauffeur.
They made a trip of inspection to the fisheries on the
third day of their visit, getting up at five o’clock in
the morning to do it. Later in the day they all went
for a sail on the bay, guests of S. D. Riddle, of the
Glen Riddle Stock farm.
EVINRUDE MOTOR COMPANY AND THE WAR.
Thus far, a total of twelve men out of the force of
the Evinrude Motor Company, have joined the colors.
Some of this number have left the Company to engage
in special kinds of work, indirectly concerned in the
winning of the war and are now being employed by
concerns manufacturing guns, trucks, ete.
Of particular interest to Canadian Fishermen fans,
will be the formation that Mr. Osmyn A. Dole, formerly
sales manager, who also had charge of the advertising,
is now in the Naval Reserve with the rank of Ensign.
He holds the position of assistant paymaster.
Mr. Thomas Cahill, formerly in charge of the Evin-
rude service department, is now in the Ordinance De-
partment of the Government.
DELAYS are expensive—
Economise by ordering from our Stock—
HAND and POWER
HOISTS anD PUMPS
‘‘BULL DOG” Stationary
——=. NGINES——
Operate on Gasoline, Kerosene or Natural
Gas. (23 to60H.P.). As good as the best.
“E VIN RU DE” detachable
Gasoline Motors. Just the-thing for
Dory or light Fishing Boats. Fur-
nished in two and 33 H.P. sizes.
Over 80,000 sold
THE A. R WILLUMS. MACHINERY 0
ST. JOHN, N.B.
HALIFAX, N.S.
VAC
Rubber
Boots
best
are the
For
All Purposes
Sold only by
The Robert
TaylorCo. Ltd.
Halifax,
N.S.
a ee a ee ee
ee oe 7
ey
#
%
=
'
October, 1918.
©
id
1
:
=
ee
Er
‘4
_ 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
AR: EDITOR
.. . Press, Limited
35 St. Alexander St. -
CANADA
B Scene Office - CPR. Building
4 es , Newfoundland Agency
Garland’s Book Store, St. Johns, N.F.
Montreal
CANADIAN FISHERMAN
1029
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 ot each
month. Changes of advertisements
should be in the publishe:’s hands ter
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
artic.es 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
MONTREAL, OCTOBER, 1918
No. 10
‘es THE NATIONAL FISH DAY.
The National Fish Day was conceived by the Chair-
man of the Publicity Committee of the C.F.A. in 1915.
Since that year Mr. Paulhus has worked hard to
make it an annual calendar date and he has _ suc-
ceeded very well.
This year, the Association has set the National Fish
Day for Thursday, October 31st, and has enlisted the
powerful co-operation of the Canada Food Board in
making the day the most successful ever, and recog-
jouised as a permanent annual day devoted to our fish-
ries.
) ~The Association’s members from coast to coast have
Onsen bulletined to get behind the movement. Presi-
~ dent Brittain has wired all branches, written personal
letters to all members, and is looking after the Mont-
real campaign. The Chairman of the Canada Food
Board has personally endorsed the Fish Day, and is
Tequesting the public to. observe it by eating fish
and refraining from meat on October 31st. Provin-
Gial Secretaries of the Food Board are working to
make the day universally observed, and officers of the
Board’s Fish Section are doing all they can to put
_ Fish Day on the map.
_ President Brittain’s letter in this issue explains
the object and value of the National Fish Day, and
- there is no need to dilate upon the subject here. The
Fish Day is a good thing for the fishermen, the pro-
ducer, wholesaler, retailer and consumer. Get be-
hind it! Show an interest in your trade! Spend a
little time, money and effort. The publie are going
to be interested. Don’t fail them and yourself by
making no effort above your ordinary day’s busi-
ness. Everybody will be eating fish that day. See
that supplies are forthcoming and make prices at-
tractive. Get a customer once and you’ll get her
again.
With all our members enthusiastically assisting,
and with the Food Board’s help, National Fish Day
will become as permanent an event as Christmas. Go
to it!
SPANISH FLU AND THE FISHERIES.
Spanish influenza or grippe has had quite an ef-
fect on the Atlantic fish catch and several vessels
have had to lay up until their crews got over it. One
Canadian trawler has all hands laid up and the ship
is tied to the dock; other fishing craft are held in
port with skippers at home swigging medicines and
sweating it out under the blankets. If it isn’t the
skipper, it is the cook or the engineer. Shore craft
are on the beach through the same cause,
A Gloucester schooner recently made her way in
from the Banks with all hands down with the epi-
1030 CANADIAN FISHERMAN October, 1918.
FAIRBANKS - MORSE
“CO” MARINE OIL ENGINE
30-200 H.P.
STRONG DURABLE |
Runs on
Low Priced Fuel Oils
SIMPLE : ECONOMICAL
The Canadian Pairbeslia Maree C4 Limited q
“‘Canada’s Departmental House for Mechanical Goods” : | |
Write for Particulars
SALES OFFICES
Halifax, St. John, Quebec, Montreal,
Ottawa, Toronto, Hamilton, Windsor,
Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Calgary,
Vancouver, Victoria.
DEPARTMENTS
Scale, Valve, Auto Accessory, Engine, Pump, .
Electrical, Machinery, Transmission, Rail-
way and Contractors, Machine Shop Supply,
Marvel Mill, Pulp and Paper.
October, 1918,
-
-demic—some so ill hes couldn’t stand a watch.
_ Gloucester has been hard hit with tne disease, and
_ several fishermen have succumbed after contracting
the epidemic at sea.
With the advent of fine cold: weather along the
sea-board, the disease is being out- fought and prob-
ably by the time this is published things will have
resumed their normal activity again.
FROZEN FISH.
“tn this issue we publish two articles on the above
bject prepared by Professor Prince for the Ad-
ory Council of Scientific and Industrial Research.
= and the trade would do well to make greater efforts
to introduce frozen fish to the public.
‘The flatfish now being marketed from Pacific
) rts are largely in frozen and glazed condition, and
tl e demand for them has been marvellously created
withir the last six months. The fishery is | rapidly at-
ae Board savinute the more general use of frozen
fish and researches made by them into conditions in
the fish trade have revealed the manifold advantages
the handling of fish in a frozen state,
The public is slowly but surely taking to Sfigxen
fish, but to foster this tendeney and avoid causing
set perks, we would advise a careful study of Prof.
ince’s articles by those interested.
-TRAWLING ON THE PACIFIC COAST.
The Canadian Fish & Cold Storage Company’s
steam trawler ‘‘James Carruthers,’’ is being laid
up for a few weeks owing to the lack of cold storage
"space to handle her catches, Since being placed in
commission last March, the ‘‘Carruthers’’ has made
good catches of flat-fish, and eods—landing as much
80,000 Ibs. ina forty-eight hour trip, The com-
ny have a good supply of flat-fish on hand, and
will be able to supply the market until storage stocks
ove out and the trawler starts fishing again.
; The Canadian Fishing Company’s trawler ‘‘Imbri-
al ia,’? under the command of Capt. Dahl Hansen, is
ding good trips right along, and the company re-
_ Ports the fishery as highly successful. Carloads og
4 at-fish have been shipped from Vancouver as far
How they ever managed to make port is a mystery.
ey are worthy of careful perusal and attention, "
the fish he should handle. :
CANADIAN FISHERMAN, 1031
EDUCATING THE RETAILER.
We have written a great deal in these columns of ~
the necessity for educating the’ consumer as to the
value of fish as a food. Nowadays, however, this
work is being ably done by the Canada Food Board.
Every bit as important in the whole scheme of fish
distribution is the education of the retailer, and this
work must be done by the producers and wholesalers.
The retailer is the distributor for the latters’ wares,
and the amount of business he does altogether de-
pends upon his aggressiveness and the manner in
which he conducts his business.
The wholesaler is liable to say: ‘‘Why should I have
to educate our customers?’’? Why shouldn’t you? Who
else is going to do it? Isn’t it a direct benefit to
you?
One of the best mediums for educating the retailer
is through the wholesaler’s weekly price list or mar-
ket letter. One of the best of these is produced by
the Arnold & Winsor Co., of the Boston Fish Pier,
Boston, Mass. It is well printed, profusely ilustratad
with cuts of fish and gives a mass of information re-
garding fish in season, the catches landed, and much
good advice to retail dealers.
All Canadian wholesalers publish similar market
letters, but with the exception of one or two firms,
the average market letter here consists of a list of
prices and nothing more. Tt takes ‘time and effort
to compile a letter such as the Arnold and Winsor |
leaflet, but it is time and effort well spent, and fur-
thermore it pays.
This magazine contains much information from
time. to time which might well be reprinted in the
market letters to retailers, and the publicity items
emanating from the Food Board. offer a good. and
valuable source to draw from. In most firms, certain —
_members of the staff have good ideas which may be
embodied in the market letter, and the staffs iter:
be encouraged to contribute.
The average retailer is a busy man, but he gener-
ally has time to peruse a market letter. If the whole-
salers make them attractive and interesting, they will
be read and the advice given will be acted upon. Urge
the retailer to keep fish attractively displayed; in-
form him of certain cheap lines of fish to use as a
drawing card; give him intelligent talking points;
give him informaton about the fish he handles, and -
Discard the hastily com-
piled and often illegible multigraphed sheet which go
commonly features as a market letter. Pay as much
attention to the compilation of the price list as you
would to your ledgers, and print it if possible,
Edueating the retailer helps him and will help you. =
Canadians have been the pioneers in a good many
things. Let us be the pioneers in every thing tae is
up-to-date in our trade. Get behind this with —
punch!
*
1032
THE GROWTH OF THE MOTOR FISHING BOAT.
The war seems to have stimulated the use of gaso-
lene engines in the fishing industry. In 1913 there
were 9,302 gasolene fishing boats employed in Can-
ada’s fisheries. Statistics for 1917 show that there
were no fewer than 14,823 such craft. These figures
show an increase of 5,521 over 1913, and an increase
over 1916 of 2,000 craft thus propelled.
Such statistics show a healthy sign of advancement
and the adoption of modern methods. The death
knell of sail in our fisheries is sounding just as it
was sounded years ago in Great Britain and Europe.
-Nowadays, no business can depend upon the wind.
If it does, it is a haphazard business. The fishing in-
dustry in Canada is getting down to efficiency and
reliability.
Years ago, wind-mills were used to grind cereals.
In the good old leisurely days one could wait for
corn to be ground. Where would the wind-mill be
to-day? Life is too short to wait nowadays and
competition is too keen. The same applies to fish-
ing. The motor is displacing wind propulsion just
as the steam trawler will displace the schooner and
dory hook and line method of fishing. The market
demands efficiency.
te St
FISH AND RESTAURANT PRICES.
The fish trade has been receiving a black eye of
late through the greed of certain restaurant and
hotel keepers. The citizen who patriotically endea-
vors to do his bit by eating fish often finds it as dear
_ aS meat on the menu ecard and is furthermore served
with a very small portion.
We have paid as high as 70 cents for a piece of fish
which we know cost the hotel-keeper not more than
10 cents per pound, The portion we got would be
about half a pound before cooking, Numerous cases
of excessive profiteering could be mentioned by men
in the fish business who actually know what the fish
cost the hotel buyer.
The general public who eat fish in hotels are, in
many cases, paying far too much for it, and the fish
dealer, not the hotel, is often blamed for the exces-
sive prices.
Hotels and restaurants buy fish at lower than re-
tail prices, yet on an average the cost of a piece of
cooked fish to the consumer these days is from 300
to as high as 1,300 per cent. over cost to the hotel or
restaurant. As Artemus Ward would say, ‘‘This is
2 mutch.’’
Complaints on this score have been noted by the
High Cost of Living Commissioner and the Canada
Food Board, and the latter have issued a warning
against these over charges. The fish trade is vitally
interested as such excessive prices tend to turn the
public away from fish as an economical] diet.
CANADIAN FISHERMAN.
October, 1918. 2
PISCATORIAL PARAGRAPHS.
The Alaska cod-fish catch is the biggest nbn ee .
The fishermen were paid 8 cents a fish, or $80 per
thousand. Some of the men earned thousands. Of a
dollars. 3
The bulk of the British Columbia salmon pack is —
being commandeered for overseas shipment. A small —
percentage of the cheaper grades and the chum sal-
mon will be left for home and other markets. é
Pennants are boce flown by American fishing
craft when 75 per cent of their crews have subscribe
to the Fourth Liberty Loan. Something simil
might be instituted in Canada for our Victory Lo
Dogfish have been plentiful along the Nova
tia coast of late. Pity we couldn’t use them to ee
the Hun submarines.
There is a shortage of dried fish on the Atlantic —
Coast this season and prices are soaring. The Nev
foundland catch is short 500,000 quintals, compa
with last year,
Salt mackeral also figures in the short eateg
Importations from Norway and Ireland will probe
be made to supply American demands,
St. John sardine fishermen have made a Rowe. sea-
son. The usual good sardine run failed to ma
ize and the weir men are out of pocket thabetyert
Lunenburg fishermen made some big stocks th
season in spite of the depredations which submar
have made in their fleet. The price of fish was
and one vessel stocked $40,000. Many new vessi
are being built in the county ready for next seaso
TAKE OF SEALSKINS AT PRIBILOF ISLAD
In the present calendar year to August 10, the
of the regular killing season, 33,881 sealskins w
taken at the Pribilof Islands. Of these, 7,000 we
taken on St. George Island and 26,881 on St. Pz
Island. The Department hiad authorized a tak
35,000 skins, 7,000 on St. George and 26,881 on St.
Poul. ‘Somé few seals will be killed from tim
time during the remainder of the year for the
pose of furnishing fresh meat for the natives.
By the terms of the North Pacific Sealing Con
tion of July 7, 1911, 15 per cent of this year’s -
of skins belongs to the Canadian Government an
like proportion to the Japanese Government.
will be no actual delivery of the skins, but, un
the provisions of the convention, the market val
of the skins will be eredited to the respective Gov-
ernments as an offset to certain advance Diver ed
made to them by the United peo ;
CANADIAN FISHERMAN
CANADA FOOD
BOARD'S
FISH SECTION
BULLETIN
SMe er
_ “FISH IS THE ONLY READILY AVAILABLE SUBSTITUTE FOR THE MEATS SO URGENTLY
REQUIRED FOR THE SOLDIERS AND CIVILI AN ALLIES OVERSEAS’ ’—Henry B. Thomson.
1033
A
a = CANADA FOOD BOARD. Alberta must be approved by the Canada Food Board
a Peder No. 65. and such approval will not be granted when such
a fish are re-shipped from points east of Manitoba.
ee ces for Western Winter Caught Fish. 4. Primary consideration must be given to the re-
ei In exercise of the powers conferred by order of
Br owe Excellency the Governor-General in Council,
_ dated the fifteenth day of November, 1917, PC.
_ __ 8214, and of all other powers enabling,
_ +The Canada Food Board hereby orders :—
_ 41.. The Prices herinafter set out shall be the maxi-
mum prices per pound to be paid for winter caught
Be fish taken through the ice from lakes, rivers and
_ other waters of the districts of the Provinces of Mani-
_ toba, Saskatchewan and Alberta mentioned herein,
_ delivered F.0.B. at primary rail shipping points,
_ Such point for The Pas being The Pas Railway De-
a i pot.
‘ae ‘
- a BU28 Boe
Bee a 3 993 9 O89
at 2 3) nm Sr
ae n Ay & & gris
es a 3 o 43 ft a & A A's >
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 tenter is a
wooden bar 4 feet in length, 144 inch in breadth and
1 inch in depth. In each of the 1 inch sides of the
CANADIAN FISHERMAN
CURING
By J. J. COWIE.
etober, 191
oe
bar there are galvanized iron hooks in pairs 34% ine
apart, with 14% inch between each pair. To th
hooks the herring are fixed with their backs to
bar, and spread to the full extent, one to each pair
hooks,
To make easy the work of placing the fish on
tenter hooks they should be lifted from the pickle -
a light box, 314 feet long, 2 feet wide and 1 foot
standing about 3 feet high on upright suppo
each end. The supports should be 14 to 15 inches
higher than the upper edge of the box, and have a
notch in the top of each to hold the end of a tenter bat
A person stands on each side of the box and fixes
fish on the hooks.
The bottom of the box should be such as wow
drain off any pickle that might areca in
The full tenters are then placed in the smoke-
If there is a considerable distance between the
ling place and the smoke-house, frames in the shap
of hand barrows should be used to earry the fi
tenters to the latter. The barrow may be lar
enough to carry about 10 full tenters. The foll
ing is a sketch of such a barrow.
In placing the full tenters in the smoke-house
absolutely necessary to carefully see that each
is placed directly above the other. When the s
house is full, there should be seen, on 1k
below, a distinct space straight to the top of the ho
between each tenter, otherwise the smoke ies
readily ascend to the fish in the upper parts 0
building.
The Smoke-House.
A smoke-house may be as large or as mail
smoker’s business calls for. A wooden building | 01
15 feet from front to rear by about 9 feet in wid
inside measurement, would have capacity for a mo
erate business.
The roof should be of the usual kind,. elane :
both sides; ie., to the front and rear. At th
CANADIAN
_ of the roof and running its whole length there should
_ be a row of ventilators on each side. The walls
_ Should~be about 15 feet high from the ground to the
__ aeves. A ventilator for each division should be placed
in the front wall of the building, immediately below
the eaves; and in the rear wall opposite those in front.
_ The ventilators may be opened or closed by means of
ropes inside the building.
‘The door should be in two parts so that either the
op half or the bottom half may be opened or closed at
will in order to regulate the draught. ‘
The floor of the building should be of brick or hard
earth. Brick is preferable because frequent brushing
would cause unevenness in an earthen floor.
On the inside walls running from front to rear and
ctending from 7 feet above the floor to the apex
the roof there should be rows of stringers 14 or 15
inches apart; and in the centre of the building run-
~ ning from front to rear double rows of stringers cor-
_ responding with those on the walls. The smoke house
thus divided into two sections from 7 feet above
the floor to the top.
- One end of the tenter bar would rest on a side
stringer and the other’ end on a centre stringer. An
equal amount of fish is usually placed in both sec-
tio
The following sketch shows the type of smoke-
house commonly used for smoking either herring or
haddock.
Dealers or others who find it necessary to smoke a
_ few dozen fish only from time to time can, of course,
_ produce a perfectly smoked fish in a very small build-
ing, say six or eight feet high by four feet by four
feet, provided it is sufficiently ventilated and that the
fish are prevented from getting too much heat.
~The wooden walls of the smoke house should be cov-
ered with sheet iron up to three or four feet from the
ground.
‘ Smoking.
A small heap of hardwood chips, covered with saw-
dust, on the floor of the smoke-house produces the re-
quired heat and smoke for kippers.
- Three such heaps in line from front to rear and at
‘an equal distance from each other, should be placed
under each division.
he person in charge of the smoking must watch
the fires closely and prevent them from flaming up
too high, and causing too much heat. A little saw-
dust thrown on the fire keeps the flame down. Some
heat is necessary at the beginning, otherwise the fish
will not colour properly; but if too much heat is ap-
the fish will drop off the tenter hooks.
the fires burn off they should be replenished;
FISHERMAN - 1087
but less heat and more smoke is required after the
first fires have been used up.
The fish hanging in the lower parts of the smoke-
house will invariably be found to be fully smoked
much earlier than those hanging higher up. These
Should then be taken down and the fires kept going
until the others are ready to be removed. The fin-
ished kippers, as they are removed from the smoke-
house, should be hung on suitable rails or racks and
allowed to cool thoroughly before being packed. <A
number of barrows, such as are herein described for
carrying the fish from the pickling house to the
smoke-house, would serve admirably for cooling off
the smoked fish.
Much attention has to be given to the matter of
regulating the draught in the smoke-house. Vari-
ous winds affect the draught differently,
less the smoker knows how to use the doors and ven-
tilators in order that a like volume of smoke and heat
reaches all parts of the house he will find it difficult
to secure satisfactory results.
Gi v3
SITs ~ =
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ee
* Jj
The smoking of kippers should be completed in from
6 to 8 hours. They are usually marketed in a shallow
box similar to that used for marketing ‘‘Finnan Had-
dies.’’. They should be laid in pairs, face to face, in
the box. Smokers should not forget that in order to
build up and maintain a trade in kippers it is abso-
lutely necessary that perfectly fresh herring be al-
ways used. vate
Soft or White Bloaters..
and ‘un-
The original Yarmouth bloater of England is a light- ;
ly salted and lightly smoked herring—so lightly
smoked in fact that it does not lose its white colour.
These are intended for consumption within five or six
days after preparation.
washed, and broiled. A soft bloater for consumption
twelve to fourteen days after preparation may be
produced by applying a little more salt and smoking
until a bright yellow colour appears. es
They are the most delicious —
kind of bloater when split onen and wiped, but not -
j
3088
Pickling.
For the making of bloaters of all kinds, herring are
pickled in the round state in which they come from the
sea. The fresh herring should be placed in tubs or
tanks, and evenly sprinkled with salt as they are be-
ing placed there. The tubs should then be filled with
pickle of the usual strength, until the fish are afloat.
For white bloaters the fish should not be left in the
pickle over six hours; for soft coloured bloaters they
may be left in the pickle three to four hours longer.
- gi g.
Bloaters are usually hung on iron rods, 4 feet long
‘and about the thickness of an ordinary lead pencil.
Wooden rods are sometimes used, but these should be
considerably thicker. One end of the rod is sharp-
ened. The herring is spitted by entering the sharp-
ened end of the rod under the gill cover and pushing
it out through the mouth. All the herring on a rod
must be spitted through the same gill cover, in other
words, they must all hang with their backs one way.
There should be a distinct space between each fish on
the rod when it is full. The fish on the rod are washed
by dipping them in water contained in a suitable box.
The rods are hung in the smoke house in the same
way as tenter bars previously described.
_~ Smoking.
Hardwood billets alone, about three feet in length,
are used for smoking white bloaters; the idea being
to dry the fish, without imparting colour to them.
Two such fires under each division of the smoke-
house should be lit, and the same attention given to
draughts as in the ease of kipper smoking. Six
hours in the smoke-house should be sufficient for white
bloaters. ©
To produce a coloured bloater that will keep good
for twelve or fourteen days, smoking should continue
for about ten hours, or until-the fish take on a bright
yellow. colour. Sawdust should be used on the hard-
wood billet fires to give the colour quickly. Bloaters
are usually packed in rows in shallow boxes like those
used for ‘‘Finnan Haddies.’’
Hard Bloaters or Red Herring.
As these are intended to keep good for an indefinite
period, they must be more thoroughly cured in salt
and more highly coloured and dried in the smoke-
house than those described above.
Salting.
The most satisfactory way to salt herring for hard
bloaters is by packing them round in barrels. The
fish should first be well roused and turned over in
‘salt, then packed im tight barrels in the ordinary way,
tier on tier. Each tier should*be separately and even-
ly salted. Two or three hours after packing. a bucket-
ful of strong pickle should be added to each barrel.
The packed barrels should be allowed to stand for a
couple of days, and, if smoking is not immediately be-
gun, be headed -up and laid aside until required for
smoking. :
; Steeping.
When it is desired to begin smoking, they should
be taken from the barrels and placed in tubs or vats
containing fresh water, for about 30 hours, if the fish
have been ten days or more in salt, in the course of
which the water should be changed. If the fish have
been in salt for not. more than six days, 6 or 8 hours’
CANADIAN FISHERMAN
October, 1918.
soaking should be sufficient; if not more than three ~
days in salt, a dip in fresh water is all that is re-
quired.
; Hanging, 7
They should be hung on rods in the same way as |
white bloaters. 5 a
Smoking. rom ae
The fish should be allowed to drip or dry before
fires are set. Hardwood billet fires should be used as
in the case of other bloaters. After the first night’s
smoking the fish should be allowed to cool for twen-
ty-four hours, and again smoked for that length of
time and cooled. Sawdust should then be freely used
and the fish smoked and cooled alternately until s
ficiently hard and coloured. The smoking of ha
bloaters takes from three to six weeks in conformi
with the hardness called for by the market for whi
they are being prepared. et
Hard bloaters are usually packed in rows in shal
low boxes. but before packing they should be the
oughly cooled off. 2) Si
A CALL TO THE EAST TO PRODUCE MORE. —
Comparatively speaking, until a very few years ago
fresh or frozen fish from the Pacifie Coast was en-—
tirely unknown in the market of the eastern cities.
very limited quantity of salmon and halibut com
menced to find its way towards the east, followed by
larger quantities of frozen salmon and halibut, which
was obtainable at a much. lower price than that
which Atlantic fish could be obtained. ae ee
In course of time, except at certain periods, for a
very limited time, Atlantic, halibut has been alme
unknown, except in cities near the Atlantie Oce
Last winter frozen and salt herrings, also kipper
herrings, cured by real Scotch lassies, were ship
from the Pacific, as far east, at least, as the Provin
of Quebec. Recently the first solid ear of Paeit
flat fish, containing about 25,000 pounds of soles a
plaice, has been received in Ottawa. ye
The fish has for some time past found a ready sale
in the great west, but surely it is something enti rely
unthought of a few years ago, that the east woule
have to depend on the west for a considerable propo
tion of the sea food consumed. a
On the face of it, it looks like lack of produce
on the part of the Atlantic fishermen, for we °
been told by those who should-know, that the f
the Atlantic were only waiting to be caught,
that the supply was boundless. _ foe
It must not be overlooked that although the |
for transportation on fish from the Pacific is natur
must dearer than from the Atlantic, the Pacifie fi
are being laid down in the East, at as low, am
some cases lower prices, than the Atlantic fish.
If our fishermen on the Atlantic wish to supply
inereasing demand for salt water fish, they must 1
steps to produce infinitely more than they have
in the past mere
000000000000000000000
0 : 7 eet.
O ‘‘Remember, Thursday, October 31st—Can- 0
O ada’s National Fish Day!’ | ee
0 ae
0000000000000000000000
Ostober, 1918.
By F. WILLIAM WALLACE,
7 Trawling by means of the beam trawl was first in-
troduced by Scotch and English fishermen in 18837—
4 ‘the year Queen Victoria ascended the throne. Some au-
_ thorities say it was used by Brixham trawlers 100 years
ago. Up to 1880 the beam trawl was operated from sail-
' ing vessels. Around that date, beam trawling from
steam vessels was introduced, ‘tid I understand the first
_ trawlers were paddle steamers. The otter trawl, such
as is used by the steam trawlers of Canada and the
- United States to-day, was first used in British wat-
ers in 1888.
' Steam trawling was first introduced into Eastern
- Canada in December, 1897, by Messrs. A. N. Whitman
' & Son, of Canso, N.S., who bought the wooden steam
‘trawler ‘‘Active,’’ of Aberdeen, Scotland, and after
fitting the vessel out with otter boards and trawls,
which they made themselves from descriptions re-
‘eeived from Grimsby, they operated the boat out of
‘Canso under the command of Captain John Cousins.
_ This pioneer enterprise was not successful, as both the
trawl and the vessel were not suitable for the work,
and the ‘‘Active’’ fished for a while with dories.
' Prior to this and in the same year, the Whitmans
_ operated the steamer ‘‘Seabird,’’ as a dory fisherman.
In 1908, the same company purchased the Grimsby
steel steam trawler ‘‘Wren.’’ She arrived from Eng-
land on June 24th, under the command of Capt. John
J. Smith. On June 29th she landed her first catch—
some 30,000 pounds of mixed fish—after twenty hours’
fishing on Middle and Banquereau Banks. Her crew
CANADIAN FISHERMAN.
1089
Steam Trawling in Eastern Canada
Fish Section, Canada Food Board.
remarked that they never saw better fishing, and pre-
dicted suecess for the enterprise.
Great opposition to steam trawling raged along
the coast when the ‘‘Wren’’ came. out, and it was
made a party question during local and Federal elec-
tions. The local fishermen looked none too kindly, on
the innovation, and all sorts of dire prophecies were
made: as to the results of introducing, the. steam
trawler into Canadian waters. .
In 1910, the ‘‘Wren’’ passed into the possession of
the Maritime Fish Corporation, Ltd., when that com-
pany bought out the Whitman plant at Canso, The
trawler was operated for a period by them under
several masters, but as she was a small, obsolete
eraft, and unfitted for winter fishing, they tried her
out as a * dory fisherman, and finally disposed of her.
In August, 1910, the steel trawler ‘‘Coquet,’’ owned
in Aberdeen, Scotland, arrived in Canso to investigate
the possibilities of Canadian fishing. She was a small
eraft of the ‘‘Wren’’ type, and was, like her, unfitted
for fishing on this side of the Atlantic. She ran her.
trips into Canso for about two years, and finally went
back to Scotland.
Up to 1911, steam trawling out of Nova Scotia ports
was not a financial success owing to the small, obso-
~lete types of vessels employed. Experience in these
eraft showed that for fishing in our waters only the.
finest type of North Sea or Iceland trawler would be
suecessful. Then again, the trawling grounds were
not well known to the skippers, and experiments in
finding them were costly.
Wooden Steam Trawler ‘‘Active’’ on Marine Railway.
1040
On July 8th, 1911, the Grimsby - steam trawler
‘‘Cambodia,’’ under the command of Capt. Martin
Olesen, arrived in Canso. She had been sent out by
her owners to investigate the fisheries of Eastern
Canada. The ‘‘Cambodia’’ was a modern trawler, full
powered and around 140 feet overall. Capt. Olesen en-
tered into a contract with the Maritime Fish Corpora-
tion, Ltd.,
and working under the directions of Capt. H. F.
Robinson—the Maritime’s Canso manager—the ‘‘Cam-
bodia’’ trawled on the right grounds, and was suc-
cessful from the start. Her first catch of 50,000
pounds of mixed cod and haddock was landed on July
14th, 1911. The ‘‘Cambodia’’ is probably the first
trawler to operate successfully out of Nova Scotia
ports.
Prior to all the ventures outlined, steam trawlers
from France and England fished on the grounds ad-
jacent to our coasts, but they did not operate out of
our ports or sell their fish to our market. « In most
eases, they salted their catches and marketed them
in France and England.
In 1912, four English trawlers of modern types op-
erated out of Nova Scotia ports, and sold _ their
catches to Canadian producers. These were the
**Cambodia,’’ ‘‘Carmania,’’ ‘‘EKarl MHereford’’ and
‘*General Gordon.”’
In 1913, Capt. Olesen brought the steam trawler
‘‘Rayond’or’’ out from Grimsby and fished for the
Maritime Fish Corporation out of Canso.
sel soon became a high-liner, and was latterly pur-
chased by her skipper. About the same time, the
French built steam trawler ‘‘Baleine’’ was purchased
by the Lockeport Cold Storage Co., Lockeport, N.S.
When the war broke out in 1914, the ‘‘Baleine’’ was
chartered by the Naval authorities and used as a
patrol vessel.
Since the outbreak of war and the development of
the market for fish, Canadian producers in Nova
eowws —- >" 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.
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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 <ecale ae lbs.
Complete shipping weight, alee outfit alain aveie a ves. wee an elute 420 Ae
Diameter of Propeller; 2-blades F060 Wea cees oe te oe LS inches
Diameter: of Propellérp. 8-plader. wigs hee A two Seat neg ee ty
Shaft: diameter ... -svbtee sgtn~ Seetir els q. whened jerap o/dleh hese: sade bell Bre ae 1 inch
Shaft Jeneth .... «adbeast Api Sayre ep glee al ateenw ere one erice ay 5 ~ 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, ; : ee Ke
.
1058
(Reprint of Bulletin No. 4 of the Series published by
the Honorary Advisory Council for Scientilie
aid Industrial Research. Prepared by EK. K.
Prince, Se, D., LL.D., Dominion Commissioner of
Wisheries, Chairman of the Biological board of
Canada.)
Frozen fish are certain to be one of the great food
coramodities of the future. There has long existed a
prejudice in the mind of the public against frozen fish,
but this prejudice has no just basis, and fish as well
as other cold storage commodities ave bevoming recog-
n.zed as practically as good for the table as are fresh
fish. In countries like England frozeu fish were al-
most unknown until very recently. Siuce the war be-
van there has been a vast change, and in the great fisa
warkeis of Britain frozen fish are now figuring, and
vill igure on an enormous seale in futur? years, while
'n Canada, the United States and other « imtvries, the
demand ior frozen fish, which has been very great in
the past, will be enormously increased.
How ean frozen fish be supplied to the public in the
best possible condition? There is no doubt that frozen
iish have often been badly handled by fishermen and
fish merchants, by express and freight employees, and
even by retail dealers who have done many things
which injured the frozen fish and spoiled the product.
In the home the cook has usually not known how to
handle frozen fish, and frequently spoiled it before
it reached the table. All this can be put right, and
everything which spoils frozen fish must be avoided
in the future, for it has been proved that refrigeration
preserves all the best qualities present in fresh fish,
and affords many advantages in preservation and in
shipping which are not possessed by fresh fish. Froz-
en fish are superior to salted or cured or smoked fish,
excellent as these are for food. Two eminent scien-
tists recently stated that they could not tell which
were fresh and which were frozen fish, when both
were cooked and placed on the table at the same time
as a test. In taste and texture of the flesh they were
declared hardly distinguishable from each other.
What are the essential conditions which the fisher-
man should observe and which the shipper and the re-
tailer should bear in mind when handling frozen fish?
(1) Handle fish as carefully as possible. If bruis-.
ed, gashed or trampled on, their best selling and food
qualities are destroyed.
(2) Avoid-piling the fish in such masses that they
erush each other. out of shape. Appearance and flavor
are lost by heavy pressure.
(3) Fish should be cleaned, washed to remove the
blood, and packed in cracked or crushed ice, so as to
keep them in the best condition.
immediately in crushed ice keep better than ungutted
fish.
(4) On bringing the fish ashore, they should be
placed in cold conditions, erushed ice being used; or
transferred in quantities to large central freezers,
where rail shipments can be made up. Fish change
and lose quality immediately after death, and they are
best if placed at once in cold conditions. In 386 to 48
hours, unless placed in cold storage, decomposition is
apparent especially in the region of the intestines, —
CANADIAN FISHERMAN
How to Handle Frozen Fish
- usually better frozen, unless marketed im
‘the top and covered with wire netting
Gutted fish packed |
(5) The cold conditions should be kept uniform, f
if the temperature rises or the fish are allowed t
thaw, they spoil more quickly than if never frozen.
all. Heat and rise in temperature are much to h
of a bad fish: Fish must be fresh and in the best
dition on being subjected to refrigeration,
their food qualities must be preserved with
serious change. Second:. fish should not be V
out and refrozen, as deterioration and loss of qu:
results. Once frozen they must be kept at 4]
low temperature until used for food. Third:
ity of decay after removal from ice is
to the number of hours elapsing bef
freshly-caught fish, =. = ist
The methods of freezing fish may
first, the dry method, that is freezin
or in a refrigerator, and second, the wet
is freezing in brine at a very low temper
Fish when frozen by the first metho
the blood and mucus are removed, usually
placed in crushed ice, and carried from
quick freezer, and placed in trays or on
to the refrigeration pipes at a temperat
low freezing.* In twelve to fourteen
are usually frozen solid Songs es ee
The fish may be removed and kept in ¢
for many months at a temperature of 7 d
F., that is 25 deg. to 22 deg. below freezi
‘Too often,’’ as an eminent Unite
on fish refrigeration reported ‘‘freezin;
saving those which were already
Freezing cannot improve fish, but summ«
a chilled condition, and, if frozen, then
due to heat is prevented. - a op
The second method, namely, freezing
very effective. A brine freezer may be of
acity and carried on the fishing-boat, as h
in Norway, or a freezer of large capacit
tral point convenient for receiving the
The small brine freezer eonsists 0:
capable of holding about forty cod of averag
the centre is fixed a cylindrical vessel of iro
and in the centre a serew propeller is -
bottom of the tub and provided with a h.
upper end of a perpendicular axle. The
two-thirds with a strong brine solutio
ive is placed in the iron cylinder and in
axle is made to revolve and the brine
into the ice-filled cylinder, and the water ci
become intensely cold in a short time (15.
It is necessary to put.more ice into the cylinder
melts, to keep the temperature down. The fi
suspended in the space around the cylinder, when
temperature reaches 25 deg. F., and should
zh Fee 5
*The ‘‘sharp freezer” is often 5 to 18 deg. el
zero F, 2 a get has tamara
4 Pe Rae 4, Ra gpa.
October, 1918. CANADIAN FISHERMAN.
: For comfort, health and pocket- ~
Be book — “Hi-Press.” It is the real
| Marine Boot—--far ahead of the ordi-
i. nary boot in every particular, And it
fy should be. Its construction is radically
different from the old fashioned methods fol-
= lowed by boot makers for the past fifty years.
Be ‘‘Hi-Press” is welded together — made solid all the
ie way through — under enormous pressure. It can’t
BY, leak or come apart like other boots. And it wears
much longer. There is no question about “Hi-Press”
advantages — they’re built right in the boot. Boat
fishermen, inside workers — war times call for in-
creased efficiency — greater economy. Watch your
oe footwear. It pays to use “Hi-Press,’—the best. Sold
Be by 40,000 dealers.
The B F. Goodrich Rubber Company
Akron, Ohio
with with the RED a round t ain e top
“TRADE MARK
| The Good R ICH Boot for Hishermen .
1060
placed too closely so that they do not freeze massed
together.t To keep the temperature even, salt and
ice must be placed in the inner vessel, as the tempera-
ture rises, and the propeller must be worked continu-
ously, if many fish are in the tub. If the tub is only
partially filled with fish, it can be stopped for a while.
- A similar form of small brine-freezer can be used
where ammonia-freezing gear is available, and a coil
of pipes carried into the tub to reduce the temperature
instead of the eruder iron cylinder with crushed ice
and salt just described,
Brine freezers of large capacity can be established
in the form of iron-lined tanks with a coil of pipes
connected with an expansion ammonia refrigeration
machine.
It has been found that whereas marketable fish,
such as' salmon, cod, ete., are thoroughly frozen by the
usual cold-air refrigeration in thirty-six hours to
forty-eight hours, such fish are frozen perfectly by
the brine method in about one and one-half hours, and
halibut and large cod in about three hours. The time
occupied: for proper freezing varies with the size and
shape of fish, the kind of fish, the thickness of fish,
ete. About a ton of fish per day ean be frozen in a
brine refrigeration tank, costing about $100, and the
cost of salt and ice would not be more than $2 or $3.
Tests which have been made with the are method
have proved that :—
(1) Freezing is accomplished with ‘great rapidity,
CANADIAN FISHERMAN
October, 1
one-fifteenth or one- twentioth the time occupied I
older methods.
(2) The best edible qualities are retained.
(3) There is practically no shrinkage, thus »
ing the attractive appearance of fresh fish.
(4) The natural colour of the fish remains.
__(5). The fish is frozen solid as if penetrated by gla:
ice. 28.
(6) The flesh (muscles) and organs are not
turbed and the curd and sapid matters are retaine
(7) If the fish are wrapped in non-conducting
per (preferably parchment paper) there is no deter
ation for seven or eight days, when removed fro
storage; but for shipping purposes, powdered
an effective packing between the wrapped fish
With proper care and an observance of the ¢
tions mentioned above, frozen fish will reach t
sumer in the best possible condition. If the m
ean be supplied with frozen fish in an attracti
dition, the. demand will not only immediately
and the prejudice against frozen fish be remov
there is no doubt that it will tend to largely |
with the demand for unfrozen fresh fish in loe
distant from the fishing grounds, which deman:
often difficult to supply.
tGalvanized wire baskets are convenient al
tive for ices: the fish.
Hints on Frozen Fish
(Reprint of Bulletin No. 3 of the Series published by
tle Honorary Advisory Council for Scientifie and
Industrial Research. Prepared by E. E. Prinee,
Se. D., LL.D., Dominion Commissioner of Fisher-
ies, Chairman of the Biological Board of Canada.)
1. Cold Preserves Food Products—That cold pre-
vents putrefaction and prevents fresh fish and other
perishable products from decay, is recognized by ev-
erybody. The careful housewife always keeps her
milk, butter, poultry, ete., ’
kitchen refrigerator. Efficient cold-storage permits
articles of food to be kept for long periods, and with-
in certain limits, there is no essential change or de-
terioration.
II. Nature’s Wonderful Refrigeration.—The most
extraordinary instance of preservation by cold storage
is that discovered in eastern Siberia, 15 or 16 years
ago, by Dr. O. F. Herz of Petrograd, namely, a huge
frozen mammoth elephant.
phant, or mammoth, has been extinct for many thous-
ands of years, but a specimen was found ai the bot-
tom of a hill on the Berosofka river, and had evident-
ly been killed by falling over a cliff, It became im-
bedded in ice, where it had remained for over 2,000
years. Dr. Herz and his staff excavated the monster
out of its bed of ice. They found it in a lying posture,
with its feet bent beneath it, and its neck broken.
There was grass, in its mouth and stomach, undigest-
ed, and the flesh had been preserved in such a fresh |
state that a portion of the animal’s trunk and a small
piece of the back, exposed during summer thaws, had
in a cool place, or in a-
ation has now become so perfected that the
‘sive abundance.
This monstrous hairy ele-.
been eaten by wolves. The skin covered with
brown hair, and the huge body, were excellen
served. It was a-case of refrigeration on a
ful scale by ‘‘Mother Nature.’’ Similar cases”
portions of mammoth preserved in ice sheets w
covered in the Klondike region of Canada by g¢
miners. If Nature preserves such huge animals
fresh condition for twenty centuries,( it is surely
difficult for modern ingenuity to devise sche
perfect preservation in cold storage,
III. Advantages in Freezing Fish —Food
markets in the future will depend more and mo
meats, fruits, ete., kept in cold storage. The ¢
age of fish has accomplished four advantages:
(1) It secures in months of searcity a good
of fish, captured and frozen in the months of
Jold storage of fish prev
‘‘olut’? in the market, which always involves
valuable food for the people.
(2) It enables large shipments to be made te
cities and populous areas located away from
ters where the fish are captured in plenty, and
ly. The east can enjoy western fish, and the west
enjoy eastern fish, while the great interior lak
supply both, and thus there can be interchang
fish products all over the country. 2
(3) It ensures fish of good quality, having
excellencies of the fresh product for the tabl
deteriorate, lose flavour, appearance and wei,
longer they are-kept after capture, oe: . ag
~
hs Sci oy okt
x3
| a icone No. 1-036.
October, 1918. — . CANADIAN FISHERMAN.
67
|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
Representing
National Fish Company, Limited
Halifax and Port Hawkesbury - N.S.
“National Brand”
Hadaies, ee | : | : Producers
Fillets, Fresh,
Berets: | Frozen
Bloaters ,
9
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.
q BONELESS COD FISH L: National Fish Co., Ltd., Halifax and Port
_ R.E. Jamieson, Rustico, P.E.I. ‘Hawkesbury, N.S.
Fess
1062 CANADIAN FISHERMAN
will retain their good qualities for many months un-
der proper conditions.
- (4) It enables the wholesale and retail fish mer-
chants .to supply the public at lower average prices
than would be otherwise possible; the chief supplies
of fish being frozen in times of abundance and cheap-
Thess.
IV. Conditions for Successful Freezing:—If effi-
cient freezing methods are adopted, neither flavor nor
appearance are lost. and the best frozen fish result,
if the three following conditions are observed :—
(1) The fish must be frozen in fresh, prime condi-
tion, as soon as possible after capture. If decay has
) begun, freezing will not make them fresh fish.
(2) The fish must not be exposed to the sun or to
heat, or be knocked about and bruised. They should
be handled as little as possible, and with care.
(3) Fish onee frozen must not be allowed to thaw,
or subjected to a rise in temperature, as that spoils
and changes their quality.
V. Speed and Care necessary Béfore Freezing.—
Fish freezers are best located as: near the fishing
- grounds as possible, and the fish should be frozen
within three or four hours after capture, otherwise the
fishermen should use broken ice plentifully, cover
them over from the sun’s heat by canvas sails, and
‘keep them as cold as possible, and unexposed, until
they reach ‘the freezers.
VI. Four Stages in Fish Freezing.—(1) All blood,
dirt and slime on the outside of the fish should ‘be
washed off, and they should be gutted, if large fish;
but smaller fish may be frozen in ‘‘the round.’’ In-
deed, some markets desire fish not gutted and in “the.
round, i
(2) The fish after washing are placed on metal
sheets, or thin boards, or on trays, and brought into
direct contact with the refrigeration pipes in the
‘*Sharp Freezer.’”? Air circulates in this chamber at
a temperature of 5 deg. or 18 deg. below zero F.
(—20 deg. to —27 deg. C.), the pipes forming a suc-
cessive series of shelves one above the other. After 12
to 80 hours, the fish can be removed. A little eold wa-
ter poured on the outside will detach them.
_ (3) They are now taken to the glazing room, where
there is a temperature of 20 deg. to 25 deg, F. (—6.6
deg. to —38.8 deg. C.) and the single fish, or blocks
of fish, are submerged in clean cold water just about
32 deg. F., so that they become enclosed in a coat of
ice like glistening varnish. This glaze preserves the
aroma and flavor of the fish, which are otherwise lost,
probably owing to oxidation of the fatty elements in
the fish. Glazing is repeated usually three or four
times until the coat of ice is thick enough to prexens |
any deterioration.
(4) The glazed fish are placed on the floor, or in
boxes with paper lining, or on the shelves of the cold
storage rooms, where the temperature ranges from 0
deg. to 10 deg, F. (—17.7 deg. to —12.2 deg. C.).
some prefer a lower temperature, say 5 deg. below
zero F. Boxed fish, with paper lining, keep 3, 4 and
5 months without loss of quality. Large fish require
to be wrapped in a separate sheet of paper, vegetable
parchment being the best. The temperature should
be tested by holding the thermometer near the eeil-
ing of the cold storage chamber, as warm air rises.
All doors must be kept closed as much as possible, SO
that warm air is not admitted from the outside.
VII. Re-glazing—As ice evaporates, even at freez-
"Builders of Troyer- Fox Automatic
_ For Can RUE >: 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
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“CANADIAN FISHERMAN.
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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
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Over 80,000 sold
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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. <A group of 20
cavalry horses were also fed sea-weed in place of the
regular at ration and at the end of 2 months were in
better shape and had gained more weight than the eon-
trol group of 20 that received the oats.
The commercial freezing and storage of fish. Ern-
est D, Clark and Lloyd H. Almy. US. Dept. Agr.,
Bull. 635, 10 pp.
Experiments on the digestibility of fish. A. D.
Holmes, U.S. Dept. Agr., Bull 649, 14 pp. (1918) .—
Using the methods employed in previous studies (C. A.
11, 2097; 12, 727) digestion experiments were made
on Boston mackerel (A), butterfish (B),. grayfish (C),
and salmon (D). The basal diet consisted of boiled
potatoes, crackers, apple sauce, and small amounts of
sugar, tea or coffee, and a little lemon juice. The av-
erage digestibility of the fish protein was (A) 93.1
per cent, (B) 91.8 per cent, (C) 92.8 per cent, (D)
93.2 per cent: and the average digestibility of the fish
fat was (A) 95.2 per cent, (B) 86.4 per cent, (C) 94.3
per cent, and (D) 93.7 per cent.—(Chem. Abs.)
Celluloid-like material from fish scales. S, Sakane,
U.S., 1,264,979. May 7. Fish scales are treated with
alkali, e.g., a 2-3 per cent solution of Na2C03, to re-
move fatty matters and deoderize them and then with
HCl or other acid to dissolve Ca salts, leaving only
organic substances and rendering the lines uf growth
conspicuous. The material is then steeped with a
condensing and softening agent, such as CH,O,
Al,(SO,), or tannie acid and glycerol. The product
thus formed is*suitable for use as a substitute for
mica, mother-of-pearl, celluloid or glass—(Chem.
Abs.)
Cod-liver oil. Anon, Bull. Imp. Inst. 15, 582 (1917).
—New regulations in Newfoundland require all re-
fined cod-liver oil to be inspected before exportation,
and branded, (1) as non-freezing cod-liver oil for
human consumption, and (2) refined cod-liver oil for
human consumption. Only new oak barrels, tin lined
barrels or butter oil casks may be used as containers
for the refined oil.—(Chem. Abs.)
Dog-fish liver oil. A. Chaston Chapman, Analyst 48,
156-8 (1918).—Two samples prepared from fresh liv-
ers of the dog-fish (squalus acanthias or Acanthias
vulgaris) gave the following results: 15 0,9175—
9186, saponification no. 161.0—168.3, 1 no. (Wijs)
123.3—123.0, free fatty acids (as oleic acid) 0.33—
0.42 per cent, unsaponifiable matter 32.94—9.48 per
cent, n20 1.4755—1.4749, brominated glycerides in-
soluble in ether 19.25—24.95 per cent, optical activity
(100 tube, Na light) 0.00—1.45 deg. Both the sam-
ples were cooled to —10 deg. for a considerable time
and filtered through fine linen to remove the erystal-
lin matter which separated. This crystallin matter
consisted chiefly of glycerides, and contained only 7.3
per cent unsaponifiable matter—(Chem, Abs.)
Peter Seelis, well known among the fish men on
the water front. His partner in business, Mr. Demetri,
while attending the funeral, died with heart disease.
The schooner ‘‘Lief E,’’ which operates out of Seat-
tle, was burned at Swiftsure Banks Nov. 19th—no lives
lost. ait
‘1078
FISHING COMPANY ESTABLISHES VICTORY
LOAN RECORD.
Subscriptions of Employees, New England Fish Com-
pany Average $427.63.
The record per eapita subscription to the Victory
Loan by any industrial plant employing over 100 per-
sons has been set by the New England Fish Co. of
Vancouver. The per capita subscription of its em-
ployees is $427.63, and is exclusive of the company s
contribution of $55, 000, which was made through its
subsidiary corporation, the Canadian Fishing Co., Lim-
ited, $50,000 to the Vancouver Fund, and $5,000 to the
Prince Rupert Loan.
Every employee in the Vancouver offices, ware-
house, curing plant, cannery and cold storage plant
subscribed, as did all the officers of the company’s
vessels, who happened to be in port during the drive.
The fishermen, it is understood, subscribed through
their union, and their contribution does not enter into
the per capita calculations.
The New England Fish Co., and its branches, the
Canadian Fishinf Co., Limited, The Northwestern
Fisheries Co., The Atlin Fisheries, Limited, and the
Doty Fish Co., have already invested in Victory Bonds
and Liberty ‘Loans over 50 per cent of their entire capi-
tal stock, and started right from the first loan.
The employees in- Vancouver .have consistently
worked for patriotic purposes. Early in the war they
contributed money to buy a machine gun, and every
month have contributed a percentage~of their wage
cheques to the Patriotic Fund as well as subscribing
to the Red Cross and other funds.
When this Victory Loan was launched they went
out to set a record, and the results achieved have
even surprised that optimist, Mr. A. L. Hager, mana-
ger of the concern. When the Canadian Fish Co. sub-
seribed $55,000, it was expected that the employees
would go after an honor card. They subscribed 100
pert cent., and then increased their subscriptions un-
til the very gratifying per capita controbution of
$427.63 was reached. Victory Loan officials hail it
as a record, and believe it will stand as a Canadian
mark. An honor flag with many crowns has _ been
earned.
HIGH FISH PRICES.
Today several hundred quintals of Labrador slop
fish sold to a central mereantile firm for $14.60 per
qtl. This is unprecedented in the annals of the New-
foundland fisheries, but fishermen are looking for yet
higher figures and are holding this grade for $15.—
St. John’s Star, Oct. 30.
THEM’S OUR SENTIMENTS ALSO!
The weekly market letter of two Boston Fish Pier |
firms contain the following under date of November
14th:
‘‘Thank God, the war is over.’’ The era of de-
struction has past; that of reconstruction has just
begun. Let us not forget the ideals which led us in-
to the conflict.
Reconstruction will nkocend more rapidly than is
generally supposed because of necessity. Fish will
prove a large factor in this reconstruction period,
and we in the business must all stand shoulder to
shoulder with the fishermen so that our production
and distribution can be inereased to the largest pos-
sible extent. It is not alone our patriotic duty, but a
CANADIAN FISHERMAN
‘those boats.
November, 1918.
duty we owe ourselves and mankind in general, with —
the world in the straits that it is, to use our greatest
efforts.
Inefficiency in any branch of this business means ~
loss of the one article of food that people can rely on —
at all seasons and times.
The end of the war means the return of a great —
many of our fishing vessels, principally steamers —
which have been leased to the Government for mine —
sweepers. It means the release of the men to man —
It means increased quantities, and if we ©
use good judgment, increased consumption and de- —
creased cost. To make it clear, if a retailer can i
handle one thousand pounds of fish a week, he could —
handle fifteen hundred and maybe two thousand —
pounds with no more help, The cost of handling th’s
additional quantity will be no greater and in that bed
cost per pound reduced. ‘
At no time in the history of this industry has seo
been healthier than to-day. You are certain of a
constant demand. During the past year, thousands ~
have eaten f'sh for the first time in their lives. If it
is properly cooked and properly handled, it is a cer- —
tainty they will continue to eat it. This means that
you have more customers than you had a year ago, —
and it also means that you should hold that trade.
for the future.
Our Government cannot go inte the fish tosis
literally nor can it boom any individual or corpora- j
tion in it, but it can and will advertise the value of
fish as food. It can and will show people how to se- —
lect it. It can and will show people how to prepare
it for the table; and it can and will keep all the
dealers within legal limits. What more can sa ask
of a government than this? 2 ate aa
The watchwords of the fish business, beginning
this minute, are: first, good goods properly and ef- —
ficiently handled: second, a neat, clean store; third, ©
an attractive display ; fourth, cash and carry ‘system | 4
or a charge for delivery. These will be taken apr in
their order in our future market letters. am
During the period of the war, credits were con- Ee
tracted to a considerable extent, and now during the |
reconstruction period must be cont'nued on a basis a
of weekly settlements. a
We expect the retailer will take advaiinee of his
present unexecelled opportunities. If so, he will be a
factor in the community and a betterment to. Ae,
country, his family and aaa’ on Be
ALASKA SALMON FOR FRASER RIVER.
The U. S. Bureau of Fisheries is co-operating wi
the fishery authorities of Canada in an effort to
crease the production of sockeye salmon in the Fraser
River-Puget Sound region by the introduction of fish —
from Alaska. The successful outcome of the exp
ment to establish Alaska soekeyes in the Columbi
River to replace the depleted native bluebacks has
forded ground for the belief that work of simi
value may be done for the sadly curtailed runs of soe
eyes that ascend the Fraser for spawning purposes. —
Accordingly, there was brought from the Afogne
(Alaska) hatchery of the Bureau a supply of so
eye eggs, which arrived at Seattle on October 23.
the same day 20,700,000 of these eggs were deliver
in good condition to a Canadian hatchery inspect
who left with them at once for British Columbia. M
of these eggs are destined for the Canadian Govei
ment hatchery at Harrison Lake.
0 uk i
——
Se
F
BI
rst rer a? Be ey
-mendation to fish dealers
-_ gupplied by the Board was widely published.
: total consumption of fish on Thursday, Oct. 31st, is
estimated at 2,500,000 lbs.
November: 1918.
CANADIAN FISHERMAN
1079
Canada Food Board’s Fish Section Bulletin
“FISH IS THE ONLY READILY AVAILABLE SUBSTITUTE FOR THE MEATS SO URGENTLY RE-
QUIRED FOR THE SOLDIERS AND CIVILIAN ALLIES OVERSEAS.’’—Henry B. Thomson.
CERTIFICATES FOR RETAIL FISH DISPLAYS.
Realizing the importance of consistency attractive
displays of fish in retail stores, and with a desire to
stimulate retailers to exercise some effort in this di-
rection, the Canada Food Board and the Canadian
Fisheries’ Association will issue certificates of com-
who maintain attractive
displays of fish throughout the year. This certificate
will be in the nature of a Diploma, and will be award-
ed after an investigation by the Chairman of the
Food Board and the President of the Canadian Fish-
eries’ Association. There is no necessity to point out
the value of this Certificate to the retail fish dealer,
who is awarded one. It is one of the best testimon-
ials possible, and the possessor will undoubtedly in-
erease his business through having one.
Dealers will
be advised of details by the Food Board.
FOOD BOARD BOOSTING CODFISH.
After successfully creating a market for Pacifie
- flat-fish, the Canada Food Board’s Fish Section is
now preparing to popularize Atlantic cod-fish, It
is pointed out that over 200,000,000 pounds of cod are
caught and landed by Canadian fishermen annually
and the cod is one of the most prolific fish in Cana-
dian waters, and capable of the greatest development.
The home consumption of codfish has been very mea-
gre, but it is thought that with some httle educational
work, the demand can be stimulated and codfish ap-
preciated at its true worth. The Atlantic producers
and distributors will aid the movement in putting
_ codfish on the map.
Sample boxes of codfish have been sent to Lady
Borden and Lady Foster, and both ladies write let-
ters highly praising the quality and palatability of
the fish. The Food Board are featuring codfish in
their daily bulletins and in special articles distri-
buted to the daily and weekly press.
FOOD BOARD’S FISH CALENDARS.
The Fish Calendar scheme of the Canada Food
' Board has ben taken up by the trade in a most en-
couraging way. Orders for 126,000 calendars have
already been placed. The calendar is five by nine
inches in size, and was designed by the artist who
painted the $1,000 prize Victory Loan poster “‘If ye
break faith.’’
The design of the calendar embodies a picture of a
Canadian fisherman in oilskns and rubber boots, and
also a view of dory fishing on the Grand Banks. The
colors are green, blue, yellow and black, and is very
neat and attractive. The price is three cents each
with envelope, and an extra charge for printing
names, addresses, etc., of $2.25 per 100. Particulars
- ean be had from the Fish Section of the Board.
: NATIONAL FISH DAY. iy
The Food Board’s Fish Section is highly gratified
at the public’s expense to National Fish Day. The
the idea great publicity, and the material
press gave g p es
Quebee Province consum-
ed 755,000 Ibs. National Fish Day should be a per-
Oe eg A tn Canada’s fishing industry.
LICENSES.
Wholesale and retail dealers in fish will require to
renew their licenses. for the year 1919. The present
licenses expire on December 31st, 1918. A new ques-
tionnaire is being sent out which must be filled in and
returned promptly.
FISH CAMPAIGNS TO CONTINUE.
The cessation of hostilities does not mean a cessa-
tion of Food Board activities. The food conditions in
Europe are such as require the greatest efforts on
the part of Canadians to conserve and produce food,
and this condition will remain for a long time. | The
motive, however, will be changed from that of saving
and producing food for our soldiers and our allies, to
producing and saving food for the starving millions.
of Europe. In Northern Russia, some forty million
people are cut off from food supplies, and at least five:
million will die of starvation this winter. This sort
of thing is terrible to contemplate, and we must show
that we are as ready to save and produce for human-
ity’s sake as for the requirements of war. The Cana-
dian people will be urged to make more use of fish
than ever before—if not for duty’s sake, at least for
that of charity,
DAILY FISH BULLETINS.
The little illustrated daily fish bulletins issued by
the Fish Section of the Food Board are attracting |
favorable comment in the press. These little items
contain much information regarding our fisheries and
the cartoons which accompany them are witty and
well drawn. The Food Board will gladly send the
matrices for cartoon and bulletins to any person in-
terested for use in advertising and price lists.
ONTARTO GOVERNMENT PLAN TO TAKE
MORE FISH FROM FISHERMEN,
A news despatch states that the Ontario Govern-
ment find the supply of fish for their distribution
scheme inadequate. and will consider legislation to
commandeer more than 20 per cent. of the fisher-
men’s catch to supply the demand. The Ontario fish-
ermen will soon be wondering if Bill Hohenzollern
passed some of his ‘‘for the good of the State’’ ideas
over to the Hon. Findlay McDiarmid before he quit
happy Hunland.
The Skeena River salmon pack this season will ex-
ceed 350,000 cases. For the whole of British Colum-
bia the pack is variously estimated at from 1,300,000
eases to 1,600,000, but accurate figures will not be |
obtainable for some time.
From reports of survivors, the wreck of the seine-
boat ‘‘Renfrew’’ was a very sudden affair. Appar-
ently one sea party filled the boat and made her un-
manageable; this was followed by a giatn breaker,
which turned the boat bottom up, a third sea hurling
the craft on to the rocky beach. Of the twenty-five
persons on board when she Jeft Nitinat Lake on the
Sunday morning, thirteen were drowned, and at the
time of writing only four bodies have been recovered.
The ‘‘Renfrew’’ was a sixty-four foot boat, built at
Toeqgma. in 1917. - Be
1080
National
CANADIAN FISHERMAN
November, 1918.
Fish Day
Third National Fish Day a Tremendous Success—Observed all Over Canada—Great Stimulus Given Fish
Trade—Food Board Co-operates with Fisheries Association.
The Third National Fish Day is marked off the eal-
endar for 1918, but though past, it will be remembered
as a memorable event in the annals of the Canadian
Fish Trade. The idea of an annual day to be devoted
to our fisheries was conceived by Mr. J. A. Paulhus,
Vice-President of the Canadian Fisheries Association,
in 1916, and in the fall of that year and in 1917, the
scheme was carried out by the Association with con-
siderable success. October 31st (Thursday) was set
as the Canadian National Fish Day for 1918; and the
\Canadian Fisheries Association enlisted the co-opera-
tion of the Canada Food Board in making the cele-
bration universal.
About a month pr-or to the date, the Association
and the Fish Section of the Food Board set to work
on the publicity. The Association’s members from
Coast to Coast took up the scheme with enthusiasm
and a vast amount of cireularizing was done, and ev-
ery letter sent out by the Food Board and by the trade
was stamped ‘“‘Thursday, October 31st, Canada’s Na-
tional Fish Day. Order early and Boost!’’
her stamps were supplied by the Association.
Capt. Wallace, of the Food Board’s Fish Section,
looked after the publicity. The press throughout Can-
ada were supplied with special articles and cartoons;
the Food Board’s Provineial Secretaries lent a will-
ing hand in their Provinees, and for a week prior to
THE DAY, the trade advertised extensively in the
newspapers.
The response was wonderful. Dealers from coast to
coast put in a strenuous time filling orders from
Wednesday to Saturday, and for four days the fish
business boomed as it never did before. Fish were in
good supply, and reasonable in price; dealers stocked
up well for the event, and it was well they did so.
Many centres were absolutely cleaned out by noon
Thursday, and dealers worked all night Wednesday
filling orders.
Vancouver Branch of the Association d:d splendid
work. A special menu ecard and newspaper advertise-
ment was designed and distributed; banners were
placed on fifty street cars in the city; two hundred
banners, four hundred pennants, and four hundred
window cards were distributed for display on deliv-
ery waggons and in stores, and prizes of $20 and $10
were awarded four stores for attractive window dis-
The rub- .
plays. In Montreal the Association Executive held a-
Fish Banquet, in the Windsor Hotel, at which Mr. H.
B. Thomson, Chairman of the Food Board was the
guest of Honor. ‘
At the Food, Board office in Ottawa, a ‘‘Canadian
Fisherman’’ representative was shown a huge pile of
clippings from various Canadian papers which was —
ample proof of the way in which the press of the coun- —
try endorsed the idea and the manner in which - the
trade advertised.
As to results.
consumed on National Fish Day compiled by the Food
Board’s Fish Section places the amount at 2,500,000
pounds. Some of the figures given us are as follows:
Montreal... 0.0 snus J. ~ 855, 000IbE
Toronto .. Page 222,400 Ibs. -
Winnipeg .. aes S oS OO OCU ae
Ottawa .. ey 35,000 lbs.
Qubbedssiisesiii gis 40,000 Ibs.
A host of smaller towns averaged half-pound per
head of population.
whch -full returns were obtained, showed up as fol-
‘lows :—
Menirear cto 355,000 Ibs.
Montreal District .. 150,000 Ibs.
Quebeg ok a ee
Quebee District .. es ce SOOO ne
Three Rivers and D’strict 50,000 Ibs.
Sherbrooke and Eastern
Townships .. :.. 60,000 Ibs.
Beauce Districts .. 30,000 Ibs.
This gives the Province a total consumption of
755,000 lbs. Adding the Winnipeg, Toronto, and Ot-
tawa figures, the amount is 1,112,000 pounds, Figures
for Ontario, which will probably come as high, if not
higher, than Quebec, have not yet been obtained, nor.
have the figures for the West.
A gratifying feature of the National Fish Day is
the fact, remarked by the trade, of the stimulus given
fish. Business has been brisk ever since and there
is no reason why it should net continue. .
The success of National Fish Day is one more fea-
ther in the cap of the Association, and is an added
proof of what can be done when everybody pulls to-
gether for the common good of the industry.
RETURNED SOLDIERS IN FISHERIES.
A proposal is on foot to set aside Cowichan Bay
and other fishing areas adjacent to Vancouver Island
for the benefit of returned soldiers. The plan of the
promoters, according to a British Columbia member
of the Federal House, is for the government to pro-
vide the requisite capital. At the outset boats and
gear will be furnished the returned men, who will
receive all. necessary instruction. during their. first
trips to the fishing grounds. The catch will be sold
in the open market, a percentage of the receipts to be
held back, thus providing the nucleus of a eapital
fund which may later be used to secure freezing and
cold storage facilities and. possibly a cannery or can-
neries.
basis.
The proposit on is before the government for con-
The whole to be operated on a co-operative
sideration, and in the event: of receiving their sanc--
tion, the administration of the project will probably
be in the hands of the Provincial Reconstruction
Comm'ssion. |
Hon. Mr. Sloan, Commissioner of Fisheries for
British Columbia, believes that there is a far better
and more profitable field for the returned soldier in
developing the deep sea fisheries. He points out that
deep sea trawling will undoubtedly develop into an
extensive industry on the North Pacifie Coast and
moreover is one in which the co-operative method of
operation has been successfully demonstrated.
. “ 2) ibe re “s
m P oS ia a oe 7 eee ee =
See ee ae ee ee
A conservative estimate of the fish a
The Province of Quebec, from
‘ \
EE a SR a ee a a
arg:
og aia ads
oe
oo
/
a eee ee
November, 1918. CANADIAN FISHERMAN.
O- -DAy- SZ
a”
Va C .\ Observe it by eatin at least one of
7 ~._' lhe dishes fe his
“se , ) ?) tof
7A Aff) , EE See
a eens hy
gic) Tun Menu
: Res ey
* ene ty thy
ie ty Sample of Mcaga Galsudeh haliadln y Wadkcouser Wiewch. C.F.A;
Sey SOUPS |
ae fp" Fish Chowder (with ae sgt ab im othe 6g faela tT Oe
EAZZ Za Cream of Tomato .. .. PR EA ch 9 itelttere’ alcn: gees Tae
Z a Chieken Broth with Ries | Sid ele in po Reen ee wie Moone ee
<a FISH. |
Fried Fresh Herring, mustard sauce .. .. .. .. .35
Baked Ling Cod au gratin Bib 5. Fiera caelpeni cael sly pe a
Grilled Salmon Steak, Remoulade Dak gab iain Tide OO
Grilled Salmon Trout, sauce tartare .. .. .. .. .45
Kippered Herring and brown butter .. ....... 185
Steamed Finnan Haddie, boiled noes he eo
Smoked Alaska Black Cod .. .. .. di Seer 10
Steamed Little Neck Clams .. .. . hice tiene
Salted Codfish in Cream, family style. acne 9 hari
Fried Filet of Sole au beurre NOW 4 bye Nal Gk8d
Cracked Crab, Mayonnaise dressing .. .. .. .. .39
Dressed Crab with cold slaw .. .. :. .. .... .40
Curried Shrimps and Boiled Rice .. .. .. .. .50
Lobster a la Newburg .. .. Pron s: Wirtcey f
Baked Eastern Oysters a la Kirkpatrick $F cet A
Devilled Crab in'shell .. .. .. . BC Rare
Fresh Crabmeat a la Creole fag ow we AT Ge ER ASOD
Fried Fish Cakes, cream gravy .. .. .. .. .. 09
Salmon Cutlets: and Bacon! 002 US ee TRA ee
VEGETABLES.
Steamed or Mashed Potatoes.
Fried Sweet Potatonsick. wre. oc ca Phen 15
OUR OWN BAKED PASTRY ‘AND DESSERTS
Pie with cream .... . a 15
Cup Custard .. .. CE Ree LS eae aes:
Deep Apple Pie with cream .. aes 6 EE ite hake cos ee
Peaches and Oveanon. ha Oise dan Ge oA RAD
Rice Puddings peanes ee ete 6 Ay so ae Wee
Tt
ae
aS = oer
~~
H }
—
SSS
Ls %
a needed here
qt
SS)
EN eats yp ~ WZ uv
| Canadas National fe. sh Dity
Grilled Halibut Steak, Maitre d’Hotel .. .. .... .35
he meat you will save
1081
*
i
1083
Steam Trawling and its Effect on the Fisheries
By COLIN McKAY.
The question whether the use of the otter and beam
trawl depletes the fisheries—and if so,, to what extent
—has from time to time caused as much controversy
in European countries as it has in Canada. The In-
ternational Fisheries’ Commiss'on, which has its head-
quarters at Copenhagen, has for some years been in-
vestigating the subject, but its conclusions have not
been of a very definitive character:
Among those interested in the fisheries opinions are
strongly held, but arguments are perhaps somewhat
influenced by self-interest—not certainly an unusual
occurrence in this world. Owners of steam fishing
eraft generally hold that the use of the trawl has no
adverse effect in the way of rendering the fishing
grounds less prolific; in fact, some even contend that
the action of the trawl upon the bottom is not unlike
that of a harrow on a ploughed field—cleaning it, and
stirring it, so that it produces a greater quantity of
the vegetation and animaleules upon which fish feed.
On the other hand owners of small boats hold that the
use of the trawl is highly destructive, and that if not
prohibited or strietly regulated will sooner or later
destroy the fisheries and depopulate various sections
of Europe.
In the North Sea, where trawl fishing has been ecar-
ried on an extensive scale for years, there has been
a considerable reduction of the catch of various spec-
ies of fish. The quantity of plaice captured in the
North Sea fell from 88,000,000 Ibs. in 1903 to 48,400,000
in 1906; that of rays from 15,400,00. There has been
also a considerable reduction of the catch of haddock
and flat fish, notably flounders. In some fishing dis-
tricts the number and even the total quantity of fish
caught has shown an increase, but in the North Sea,
generally speaking, there has been a marked diminu-
tion in the size of the fish taken.
In five years the average number of large flounders
taken by a trawler daily fell from 18 to 2, and of
medium from 81 to 46, while on the contrary the num-
ber of small flounders rose from 7 to 18. The num-
ber of large cod, sole and turbot captured has notably
declined.
One complaint against. the use of the trawl is that it
destroys the sea weeds on the bottom, among which
fish deposit their eggs. Many naturalists, however,
declare that the spawn of the vast majority of fishes
does not attach itself to.sea weed on the bottom, but
hatches in suspension in the currents of the sea. The
young fry are said to seek the bottoms of sand and
mud mainly for shelter.
Another complaint is that the trawl averages blind-
ly, taking immature and useless fish as well as fish
suitable for food. No doubt there is something in
that; whether the spawn and fry are on the bottom or
in a state of suspension there must be a considerable
amount of destruction. But it should be noted that
the steam craft which are mainly singled out for con-
demnation use trawls, the meshes of which are consid-
erably larger than the meshes of the drag nets used
by small fishing boats, or the meshes of the drift or
stationary nets used in the coast fisheries. The French
CANADIAN FISHERMAN
into the swimming holes, they knew in their youth;
November, 1918. 2
official observes that the destruction of fry caused
by the hand dip nets of the shrimp fishermen who.
wade into the sea to take their prey is quite appreci-
able, compared with the damage wrought by the large
beam and other trawls used in combing the vast bot-
toms of tlie high seas. « :
The fact that in the North Sea, where intensive ‘6
trawling has been practised for years, large specimens
of the cod, haddock, soles, turbots, flat fish, ete., have
become rare, no doubt gives support to the view that —
the trawl is a destructive engine of exploitation. At
the same time it should be remembered that in Ga na
dian waters, long before the steam trawler began 7
operate there, the depletion of certain areas was not an
unknown phenomenon. ‘These depletions have some- —
times been attributed to over-fishing, and “sometimes i
to migrations caused by the pursuit of latory
pests, like the dog fish. Certain kinds of fish like the
mackerel, will be very plentiful on certain parts ‘of th
Canadian coast for a season or many seasons, and then
for a season or many seasons they will be mysteri us-
ly absent. Overfeeding certainly will not account for i
these disappearances. Some natural cause is at work. “Sa
Man’s wit is not yet able to discover it; but some day
he may. Many rivers in’ Eastern Canada formerly
teeming with trout and salmon, gaspereaux and smelts, —
have become nearly barren of any kind of game or food
fish. This depletion has been ascribed to over-fishing,
and the damage of dams and. the debris from mills.
Artificial culture has been invoked to restock such riv-
ers—not with conspicuous success. Old men have e
talked of climatic changes, marvelled at the spring ae
talked of climatic changes, marvelled at the spring
freshets and summer droughts, when the river shrank
and darkly hinted that Providence was wroth with —
the natives thereabouts. Then the scientific forester
came along, and calmly asserted that not Providence
but the improvidence of man who had earelessly let
loose the element in which the arch enemy of Provi- _
dence is. supposed to have his being over the water- ;
shed of the river, was mainly responsible for the in-
capacity of the river to bear fish as plentifully as it |
did in the old days. Careless sportsmen who haven’t
the wisdom of Indians have left camp fires burning in
woods where the slashings of lumbermen made fine —
material for a blaze, and a conflagration swept a great
forest. A river fed by a burnt over watershed be-
comes a roaring freshet in the spring, when the snow
melts, sweeping the spawn of. trout and salmon to de-
struction, and shrinks to a shallow brook in summer,
swollen at times by rains, because there is no subsoil
to hold the moisture and seep it gradually to the river
bed; because, too, the greater the burnt area the more
it is like a desert, ‘ineapable of absorbing moisture from
the air and precipitating rain like a forest land.
And so with greater knowledge it may be diseov-
ered that trawling and other methods of fishing—
though doubtless contributing causes—are not the
main causes of the depletion of certain fisheries; that
the operation of natural laws over which man has no
- November, 1918.
_ control affects the life of the sea in more potent and
_ drastic ways than any artificial agency of man —
_ though it may be discovered, too, that the principal
factor in this deterioration of the denizens of the deep
has its origin in some at present unconsidered prac-
| tice of man, just as the long continued process of
_ desiccation or drying up, which turned the eradle of
' the human race into bleak deserts of sand, no doubt
' had its origin in the careless use of fire by the nascent
' Civilizations. Be that as it may, we no longer apos-
_ trophize the ocean in the manner of Byron; ‘‘Man
' marks the earth with ruin—his control,’’ for good or
_ evil, does not necessarily stop at the borders of the
_sea. No longer is it a generally accepted article of
' faith that the sea is inexhaustible; though it dies hard,
b that comfortable belief which by exonerating fisher-
' men from any concern for their neighbors or future
_ generations has rendered difficult the enforcement of
‘government regulations designed to prevent the deple-
tion of th fisheries. Nearly every Maritime govern-
‘ment now assumes the right to regulate methods of
fishing, and regards it as a duty so to do. Before the
“war there was in Europe an agitation to establish
trawling zones in the North Sea under an_ interna-
‘tional arrangement, giving to the various fishing
grounds periodic opportunities of rest and recupera-
tion, as a good farmer does with his fields. Since the
utbreak of war there has been little or no trawling
some parts of the North Sea, but whether fish have
eased in such regions remains to be seen. And un-
<
CANADIAN FISHERMAN
1083
til the zone system has been tried, no one can say whe-
ther it will prove advantageous to the fisheries. With
the great fleets of trawlers now employed there is of
course the possibility that intensive fishing in the
zones open to fishermen might offset the recuperation
of the zones temporarily closed. The value of a close
season for lobsters, which have a limited habitat com-
pared with herrings or cod, is still a matter of dispute
in some quarters.
One thing is certain: the steam trawlers cannot be
ruled out of the’ reckoning, whatever may be the‘r ef-
fect upon the fisheries. They are the mainstay of the
_ fisheries of Great Britain, taking about 95 per cent.
of the catch of England and Wales. They have great-
ly increased the supplies of fish available for the food
of the people. They are continually extending the
sphere of their, operations, exploiting fishing banks
previously unknown or unworked, making profitable
trips to regions where sailing vessels could not be em-
ployed to advantage. On the west coast of Africa the
more powerful type of steam trawler are able to work
their trawls on banks at a depth of 240 fathoms. This
ability of the steam trawler to work at great depth,
as well as its capacity to range far afield and st/ll land
its catches in a fresh condition seems to offer a means
of meeting the complaints direct against its method
of fishing; that is to say, under proper regulations ex- .
tensive fishing may serve to mitigate, if not entirely
overcome, the evils of intensive fishing.
_ In value the French sea fisheries come second, next
to those of Great Britain, and as to quantity third,
after Norway. The total value in~1912, the latest
“year for which full statistics are available, was £7,-
072,000 which includes the values of the oysters pro-
| duced by oyster-culture and the fish from fish-ponds;
substracting these, the value for the sea fisheries pro-
per amounted to £5,720,000. The fishing fleet com-
prised 29,451 boats and vessels, including 339 steam-
ers, mostly trawlers, of an aggregate tonnage of 267,-
097 tons; while the number of persons engaged in
the fisheries was 154,931.
_ There are important deep-sea fisheries, as well as
inshore fisheries. The deep-sea fisheries - (grandes
peches maritimes) comprise the cod fisheries at New-
foundland, Iceland and the North sea, the trawl fish-
ery, and the fisheries for herrings and mackerel, to
Which may be added the fishery for the long-finned
‘tunny (Germon), and part of the fishery for the sar-
‘dine. The cod fisheries at Newfoundland, Iceland
and the North Sea (‘‘Dogger Bank’’) are of great im-
portance, the value of the product in 1912 being $1,-
25,000; the 254 vessels engaged at Newfoundland
ght 550,350 ewts. of fish, of a value of £727,221;
engaged at Iceland caught 267,667 cwts. of a value
£285,584 and 46 working in the North Sea took 7,-
_ewts. valued at £12,100. The fish are brought
k to France and most of them dried, in recent
rs largely for exportation. The headquarters of
cod-drying industry is at Bordeaux, where more
The Sea Fisheries of Europe --- France
more than half the catch of green fish (morue verte)
is handled. About one half of the cod is consumed
in France (from which the tariff excludes practically
all foreign dried fish), and the rest is exported to
Spain, Italy, Greece, and the French colonies. The
industry is buttressed by large bounties, both for the
fishing and exportation, a system which was intro-
duced in 1851, and last modified by a law of 26th
February 1911. The primary object was to train sea-
men for the naval service, but the system has given
rise to much discussion and criticism, some tracing
the relatively slow development of the French fish-
eries to its continuance. Of late years a larger and
larger part of the codfish catch has been taken by
steam trawlers, both at Iceland and Newfoundland.
where 30 steam-trawlers were engaged on the Banks
in 1909. France spends more on her sea fisheries.
than does any other European country. In 1911 the
amount was 5,627,396 franes (£225.000), and ofthis
4,901,198 franes, or £196,000 was spent on the
‘“‘oreat’’ fisheries, viz, 463,425 franes as bounties on
equipment, 3,309,273 franes as bounties on the pro-
duce (837,511 franes on ‘‘imports’’ from the fisher-
ies, and 2,471,762 frances on exports), the remainder
being spent_on superintendence and assistance to the
fishermen. The ports chiefly concerned in the
‘‘great’’ cod fishery are Dieppe, Fecarnp, St-Valery-
en-Caux, Granville, Cancale, St.-Malo, Dunkirk, Gra-
velines, Boulogne, St-Brieuc, Paimpol and Treguier. -
Trawling has been greatly developed of late years,
1084
and some of the finest steam-trawlers in existence be-
long to France; in 1912 they numbered 271, or about
40 more than Germany possessed. They fish on the
usual grounds, less in the North Sea than in the
Channel, the Bay of Biseay, off the Portuguese coast,
and farther south of Morocco and Senegal; also at
Iceland and the Newfoundland Banks. The chief port
for the steam-trawlers is Boulogne-sur-mer, which is
the most important fishing port on the continent of
Europe, the value of the fish landed annually before
the war being about £1,200,000; it is also the seat of
great drift-net fisheries for herrings and mackerel.
Next to Boulogne as trawling ports come Arcachon
and La Rochelle, and trawling of one kind or another
is carried on from most of the ports in the north from
Calais to Cancale; in the Bay of Biscay from Lorient
to St-Jean de Luz, and in the Mediterranean from
Banyuls to Martigue — in the latter case chiefly
with the net slung between two boats,
The chief deep-sea herring fishery is carried on
in the North sea in the same waters as those in which
the Dutch prosecute the fishery, from the Shetlands
to the Thames, from June to October, the herrings
being salted on board; the principal ports concerned
are Dunkirk, Boulogne, Dieppe,
and Fecamp. There is a valuable fresh herring
fishery from the Thames to the French shores, from
October to February, and also farther to the west.
The quantity of herrings landed in 1912 from the
deep-sea fishery was 358,226 ewts., valued at £313,-
326, and from the inshore fisheries 420,174 ewts., of a
value of £244,831. The mackerel fishery is prosecut-
ed on the south and west coasts of Ireland from
March to June, the fish being salted on board, or
iced; in 1912 the quantity was 25,913 ewts. valued at
£36,397 ; there is also a fresh mackerel fishery in May
and June, on the French side of the Channel and the
northern part of the Bay of Biscay, which in 1912
yielded 198,034 ewts., valued at £227,281. The sar-
dine industry is of reat value. The fish (young pil-
chards) are caught along the whole of the coast of the
Bay of Biscay as well as in the Mediterranean, chief-
ly with drift gill-nets, cod-roe bait being scattered in
the water to attract the fish. The centre of the in-
dustry is Britanny, especially at Concerneau, Nantes
and Douarnenez, and motor-boats are now common-
ly employed. The fishery is very variable, and fre-
quent disputes and labour troubles occur. In 1912
the quantity of sardines taken was 295,917 ewts., va-
lued at $396,575. The exports in 1913 amounted to
5,490 tons, valued at about 10,000,000 frances, the best
customers being Great Britain, the United States, Bel-
gium and Germany. Onthe other hand, the imports
of sardines (from Portugal and Spain) was 10,047
tons, of a value of about 13,000,000 franes.
France is the greater oyster-producing country in
Europe — thanks to the impetus given to oyster-cul-
ture by Mr. Coste, withthe influence of Napoleon II
— the yield in 1912 was 2,294,362,600 ‘oysters, valued
at £1,164,860, so that the oyster is the most valuable
of all the products of the sea. Oyster-culture is car-
* eied on at many placeson the coast of Normandy and
along the coasts of the Bay of Biscay. The value of
the exports in 1911 was £1,373,000, mostly sardines,
dried cod, oysters, herrings; the value of the imports
was £2,580,000, mostly fresh fish (salmon, herrings
and other sea fish), and sardines.
CANADIAN FISHERMAN.
St-Valery-en-Caux ~
-rings,
319;
November, 1918. _
The coast is comparatively small, and the fisheries —
are not extensive, though still considerable. In 1913 —
the total fleet of fishing vessels numbered 454,206
were sailing boats, 29 steamers, and 20 sailing ves-
sels with auxiliary motors; the total tonnage was 8,- zi
607,and the number of fishermen 2 077. There were
355 vessels (including all the steamers and nineteen _
with motors) engaged in trawling; 387 in shrimp
trawhng ; 394 in fishing for sprats, and 174 in herri
fishing. The total value of the fish landed in 1913
was 5,757,086 franes (£221,000), 3,555,148 franes re-
presenting the value of the fish landed. by the steam-
ers, and 2,201,938 franes the value. from sailing ves
sels; all the former (or trawled) were landed at Os-
tend, as well as nearly half of the latter. The other
chief fishing ports are La Panne, Blankenbe
Nieuport, Heyst and Zeebrugge (of immortal »
ory) where 69 fishermen with 20 boats pursued ¢ ¢
peaceful calling in 1913. The population of Belgium,
before the war, was almost 8,000,000, so that the fish- —
eries were unable to furnish adequate supplies. Great
quantities of fish were imported, mostly from yi?
land, but also from England, France and Germany, j
and many foreign fishing vessels landed fish at Os- —
tend. The large towns, as Brussels and Antwer
received most of their fish from Holland — skates and
rays (very popular), cod, haddocks, soles, plaice, hali-
but, salmon, mussels, ete. The value of the imports —
in 1913 was 27,303,598 franes, or over £1,000,000 the ©
chief items, being tinned fish, 4,442,708. frapias her- ©
3.796, 365 francs; oysters, 1,067 636 franes;
mussels, 1,894, 743 francs. The total ‘weight was 17,-
691 metric tons. The exports, of 10,463 tons, were
valued at 9,275,649 franes, the chief items specified -
being tinned fish and ‘‘other fish and erustacea’’;
most went to Germany, Switzerland and France.
Portugal. : i
There are about 270 species of fish in Portuguese
waters, the most esteemed being turbot, brill, sole, —
surmullet, tunny, hake and_ various ‘spiny-finned F
forms of the southern seas; the sardine is the most im- —
portant. The fishing boats range from almost archae-
ological types, likely the ‘‘raseas da Ericeira’’ and —
the ‘‘muletas,’’ to the thoroughly equipped modern ~
steam-trawler. Fishing gear fincludes spears and ©
harpoons, lines and hooks of various kinds, seine pit
nets, gill-nets and trawls. The official statistics a
1915 show a total value of 9,307,000 eseudos, and as
an escudo is nominally worth about four shillings, this
would represent about £1,861,000. The number of per-—
sons employed in the Fishing: industry was 46,957, the
value of the material, including ships, boats and ‘gee ‘
was 5,828,257 escudos. The value of the sardines in
1915 was 1,575,256 escudos. In 1913 the values of t
fish specified were: — tunnies, £103,903; cod, 57 f
sardines, £796,500; flat-fish, £15, 5743 -@
kinds, £617,279; crabs were valued at £22 402
lobsters and crayfish at £10,426. There are import
fisheries in the estuaries and rivers, the fish compris-
ing salmon, shad, lampreys, eels, mullet, ete. e
drying of fish if chiefly carried on in Algarve wit
codfish and tunny roes; marinated products at -
chiefly mussels and fish of high culinary value; pi Ik
ling is mostly done with sardines and tunny. Pr
serving in oil is of great importance, mostly with sar-
dines and tunnies, which are exported in large quanti-
i:
November, 1918. CANADIAN
Fay
i.
F
_ ties. Some years ago the rich trawling-grounds off
the Portuguese coast were exploited by British and
German trawlers, which landed large quantities of
fish at Oporto for the Lisbon market — to the value
of £91,863 in 1908 — but in 1910 by various enact-
ments and duties the enterpise was stifled, and many
of the vessels transferred to the Portuguese flag; in
1915 there were three Portuguese steam-trawlers
and in 1912 the number was 32. They are not allowed
to fish within three miles of the shores, or in the water
of less than 100 fathoms in depth; which in many
places is much beyond three miles. The chief fish
consumed are dried cod and sardines. Most of the
_ ¢od is imported, but for a number of years the old
Portuguese fishing at the Newfoundland Banks has
been revived, 38 vessels fishing there in 1915 and
bringing back fish valued at 464,642 escudos. On
_ the other hand, the import of dried codfish, mostly
_ from Newfoundland and Norway, averages about 30,-
000 tons per annum; the value in 1913 was £914,000—
’
only exceeded by the coal and wheat imported.
Spain.
With a coast line of over 1,300 miles, washed both
_ by the Atlantie and by the Meditérranean, and with
a population of about 20,000,000, fond of fish, it is not
Pr _ surprising that Spain has sea fisheries of considerable
a 9 In 1915 the estimated total weight of fish
eet:
Ss. Value.
' _ landed was 145,000 metric tons, valued at about 102,-
- __ 000,000 pesatas (or francs), equal to £4,030,000. Over
80,000 men were engaged in catching fish, and some
150,000 altogether were employed in the fishing in-
- -dustries. The fishing fleet consist of 590 steamers
and over 15,000 sailing and motor craft. It is_ esti-
4 mated that from 25,000 to 30,000 tons of fish landed
_’ are exported, leaving about 120,000 tons for home con-
sumption, or about 14 pounds per head, and, as will be
___ seen below, very large quantities of fish, chiefly dried
- @od, are imported. The most important region is the
north and north-east coast, where about half of the to-
' tal quantity is taken. In Spain-there are about 140
‘preserving works, 760 for salting fish, 420 for pre-
_ serving in oil, and 218 for pickling; over 30,000 tons
are dealt with annually in these factories. The fish
_ eaught and the methods of taking them are much as
- in Portugal. By far the most important is the sar-
dine, and then the tunny. Sardines are got all along
- the coasts, but mainly on the north and north-west
coasts, the chief centres of the industry being QGui-
puzeoa, Vizcaya, Asturiag, Galicia and Santander.
The sardines are taken with drift-nets (gill-nets), cod-
roe bait, imported mostly from Norway, being usually
scattered on each side of the net to attract the fish;
by small purse-seines and by a great seine (cerco
reale), not now so much used; in recent years large
quantities have been taken by trawls. The sardines
are used fresh, but the greater part is preserved, ‘by
salting and pressing, pickling, ,smoking (to a small
extent) and chiefly by preserving in oil in tins. The
centre of the tinning and exporting business is V1-
go; from this port alone the exportation of tinned sar-
dines in 1915 was 800,000 cases, weighing about 296,-
000 ewts., and valued at £1,037,000, while in-1917 the
export (owing to the demand created by the war)
rose to 1,200,000 cases, weighing about 471,000 ewts.
and valued at $2,695,000. In normal times the im-
porting countries, in order.of importance, were: -
France, Argentine, Germany, Cuba, Great Britain,
‘Italy, Chile, Belgium and Russia. France imports large
Cee »
| eae
FISHERMAN 1085
quantities of Spanish sardines, not only for consump-
tion but for re-exportation as French sardines. Quan-
tities of the tins bear labels in French and Italian.
Tunnies, of several species, are taken at certain
parts of the coast (especially in the bay of Cadiz), in
the huge stake—or trap nets known as: Almadraba
(French, madrague; Italian, tonnara; Portuguese, ar-
macao) many of which have been used on the same
sites since the times of the ancient Greeks and Rom-
ans. Tunnies are also taken by other nets and by
lines — trolling or whiffing. The Spanish catch is
usually larger than that in any other country in the
Mediterranean, averaging 70,000 fish, equal to about
7,000 metric tons. The flesh is preserved in several
ways.
Trawling is carried on with various styles of trawls,
the commonest method being with the net~-slung be-
tween two boats, or small steamers, (parejas, or pairs),
but beam or otter-trawling is also largely developed.
As long ago as 1882 two or three steam-trawlers, built
at Granton, in Scotland, were engaged in trawling in
Spanish waters. The steam-trawlers belong to va-
rious ports, as Coruna, Cadiz and Malaga, the north-
ern vessels fishing mostly in the Bay of Biscay and
those in the south to a great extent on the coast of
Moroeeo. In 1912 Spain imported 53,510 tons of
dried cod, valued at £1,502,000, chiefly from Norway,
Iceland, Newfoundland and Great Britain. The
heavy import duties bring in a revenue of over £500,- ©
{000 per annum. ;
DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVAL SERVICE.
Notes on Sea Fishing Results for October.
Fishing operations during the month of October
were greatly hampered by very stormy weather,
which prevailed throughout the month on both the
Atlantic and Pacifie Coasts. The epidemic of Span-'
ish Influenza also interfered with fishing in many
places; many vessels were held up on account of the
illness of the crews, and several canneries in Brit-
ish Columbia were obliged to close down. Another
difficulty which the fishermen had to contend with
was the great scarcity of bait in practically all sec-
tions of the Atlantic coast.
Notwithstanding these handicaps, the fishing re-
sults show a very satisfactory increase over October,
1917. The value of sea fish in first hands amounted
to $3,916,267, which is over half as much again as for
the same month last year. The first hand value of
sea fish in October, 1917, was $2,531,166.
The quantity of cod, haddock, hake, cusk and pol-
lock taken was 222,859 ewts., as compared with 153,-
702 ewts. in the same month of 1917. Cod and mack-
erel were reported plentiful, and a larger catch of
cod would probably have been taken but for the
searcity of bait and the unfavorable weather condi-.
tions. Mackerel, however, left earlier than last year
in some districts, owing to so many storms,a nd the
catch fell short by 6,521 ewts. In the Bay of Fundy
where the weather was generally mild and favorable,
a good catch of sardines was obtained; the quantity
taken was nearly double that for October, 1917. The
quality of oysters this season is good and 7,884 bar-
rels were taken, an increase of 734 barrels.
There was no loss of life during the month,
CANADIAN
1086
FISHERMAN November, 1918.
4
8
SSeeEe
PACIFIC COAST ITEMS.
Government. assistance in paying transportation
charges. on shipments of Pacific Coast flatfish, to
points in the four Western Provinces has successful-
ly introduced these hitherto unknown varieties to an
essentially meat eating section of the community.
Publicity and low prices have won the early battles,
but still greater familiarity with these fish by the
prairie dwellers must be achieved before the market
ean be regarded as firmly established. The habits of
a people cannot be permanently changed in a short
period of time. There is the sporting spirit to ‘‘try
anything once,’’ but unless the newer product is eas-
ily and cheaply procurable at all times, and consist-
ently brought to attention, the old tastes and pref-
erences rapidly reassert themselves.
Western Packers, Ltd., are still further increasing
their ice producing facilities at Butedale, and in the
near future will have a 15-ton ice plant operating in
place of the 5-ton plant in use last season. This will
be welcome news to the halibut fishermen, who ean
be assured of speedy bait and ice service at this
point.
A new firm of fish brokers is known as Chutter
Ingalls Co:, with offices in the Coleman Building,
Seattle. For a number of years Mr. Chutter has sa
well-known as manager of the Booth Fisheries Co.,
the State of Washington, while Mr. Ingalls was
equally well-known as his assistant. Mr. Heacker has
taken the position with the Booth Fisheries, vacated
by Mr. Chutter.
HALIBUT SCHOONER MAKES BIG
EARNINGS.
Five thousand dollars per man is the estimated re-
turn for each member of the crew of the Canadian hali-
but schooner, ‘‘Rennall,’’ for the season January Ist to
October 15th of this year. On one trip during Sep-
tember, four hundred and seventy-two dollars rep-
resented the individual earning. Captain Peterson,
who commands, is also part owner of the vessel.
B. C. LIFE-SAVING SERVICE INADEQUATE.
The life-saving service on the West Coast of Van- a
couver Island should receive
from the proper authorities.
enormously in that section of late, consequently there
immediate attention
is a large increase in the number of boats operating — a
in the vicinity. Present facilities are regarded as to-
tally inadequate, and the available equipment as be-
ing of little value under many possible circumstances. — 4
At the time of writinf, the Bamfield Station, with
a motor life-boat and crew is the only one in aetive :
service, that at Ucluelet having been closed down,
while the Clayoquot Station, with an oar propelled
life-boat and a volunteer crew is only on duty during
the winter time. Some criticism is levelled on the
Bamfield crew, due to their reputed age. Al these
men are claimed to be over fifty years, and one of
them in excess of seventy. If this be true, it is doubt-
ful whether many of them are physically capable of 7
rendering the difficult service, which at any time
they may be called upon to perform.
Due to the character
high cliffs,
inal wreck. Two life-saving guns, stationed at con-— ‘
venient points between the two places named, and re-
opening of the Ucluelet Station, are suggested as ab- |
solute necessities, if proper service is to be rendered
to any vessels that may pile up on this treacherous —
shore, but in order to make even these arrangements
effective there must be continuous telegraph service. —
At the present time the government telegraph offices
are closed from Saturday at 7 p.m. until the follow- —
ing Monday at 8 am., and much might happen of ~
serious importance during the intervening thirty-
seven hours. a
The fishermen and mariners operating off this coast va
express themselves strongly on the subject, and there
seems to be no doubt that the attention called for is a
sadly needed.
Fishing has developed | 4
of the coast line between
Clayoquot Sound and Carmanah Point, a distance of
‘about seventy miles, which in many places is one of
abruptly dropping to a rocky boulder ~
beach—the pont is made that attempted assistance ,
from a life-boat to any vessel stranded on this par-
ticular section of the coast, would in. all probability
result in the life-boat sharing the fate of the orig- —
November, 1918. CANADIAN FISHERMAN 61
More Fish Less Meat With the high cost of labor can
: you afford to be without a
Save the Meat for our
SOLDIER BOYS IN THE TRENCHES Knapp ‘
Encourage the Government in the good work of solving the Labelling and Boxing
food question.
This can only be done by installing a good FISH BOX for M hi
| 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 ean build them
CHEAPER, but
we won’t. We
would build them
BETTER, but we
can’t.
| Do not neglect to Write to-day for CATALOGUE showing
, FISH BOXES—Sent Free.
Manufactured by :
° Knapp Labelling Machine
The W. A. Freeman Co., Ltd., Hamilton, Ont. : aye
Montreal: Toronto: Toronto: The Brown Boggs Co., Limited
DANIELH.H.NEIL, P.D.DAVIDSON, G.SIMORELS, FRE A ON
16 Richmond Sq. 72 Chester Ave. 344 Markham St. f
Tel. Up. 8547. College 8794. E. A. EARL & CO., Vancouver, B.C., Agents
: Index to Advertisers :
A. a. paling Eg Co. ; Bhs :
Acadia Gas Engines, Ltd. 99 Goodrich, B. F. Co., Ltd al ova Scotia Government .. .. ..
—— peren i ‘isheries, 82 Gourock ‘Ropework Export Go, Ltd. . . oO.
‘ < Pa Sie pe Gosse-Miller acking Co., Lele Ontario G t
Zi Gray and Prior Machine Co. .. .. .. 48 ; O SFOVOFNMENE +2 oe ce co ce
f Biles, BW. Co. B as Guarantee Motor Co. reap tt tt ts 98 O’Connor’s Fish Market .. .. .. .. 98
Booth Fisheries Co. of Canada, “Lta. 90 Guest, W. J. Fish yer eee P.
Bowman J., and Co. -- 96 65 Polson Iron Works _.. «+ «+ «+ o+ 88
Brandram Henderson Co, Ltd. .. Hallett, A. B. .. 2+ oe oe ee veces Process Engineers, Ltd eso
British Columbia Governmer ent os 12 cae peate aaa 75 ae Hees aig 4 2 ected eels ay see
Boe : algae 5 ne ng ak 14 Hickman, A. EB... aa: Che se ce ee 88 Quebec Government .. .. .. .. «- 98
Brown Boggs Co., Re: eet arinrg + | we
I rial Oil, Ltd ee :
Burnoil Hngine Co... .... ++ ++ ++ 81 independent’ Rubber Co., Ltd. .. .. 98 Ranney Fish Co. .. .. .- oo oe e+ oo 94
: Oo. J. o i apo gy ro a CBS POG
Jacobson Gas Hngine Co. .. «+ «+ obbins, EI Cre IRC Gy Pa
Beatie rairvenks Morse Co. Ltd. 20 James, F. T., Co, Ltd .. .. «. +. 97 Bebo, Jee ‘ana Whitman, Ltd. .. ro]
ee ta and Cold Storage 11 Kildala Packing Co, Ete di vitae en 8 Seaboard Trading Co. .. .. +. s+ «+ 87
Canadian Fishing Co, Ltd. ©. :: 16 Lipckie;'"Jobn, Ltt cae ase ee 8.
Canadian Ice Machine Co.. sates pe Leonard Fisheries, Ltd. Back Cover Seattle-Astoria Iron Works .. .. .. 63
Canadian Milk gop hae Ltd. ae Letson and Burpee, Ltd. .. .. «. -- 6 Schiniiit, Bb, CO cl ce cette
Canadian Oil Co., Ltd. aisles Lincoln, Willey and Co., Inc. .. .. 88 Scythes we-Co, Ltd... ce co aes cee
ascceraan ne ee se ae gat gale 33 Se PF Canadian Refrigeration Co., 3 ~ pale oe ae aioe Ro aioe tt
onnors’ rotne 8, wi) OR sig clacton as amtor ounary Oo ° et he es
Consumers Cordage Co., Ltd. eae Libestt, ‘Cunningham and Co., “Lita. 3 Standard Gas Engine COs oe ae
D Lipsett, Edward - 8 Stewart, ra oie OP eee)
Se acme cs. $a. > 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
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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
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Weight—3,500 Ibs.
Size cans handled—
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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
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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
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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.
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Telephone, Main 2662.
TORONTO OFFICE:
H, W. Thomp-on, Western Manager.
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Yonge Sts.
Telephone, Adelaide 3310. -
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Great Britain - - - = $1.00
United States and Elsewhere. ~. $3.50
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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 —
/
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' 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
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CANADIAN FISHERMAN
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Prince Edward Island Notes
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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 <i rd Roping Jones and Whitman, Lta. ea 98
ee coo mg Fish an te) orage 7 re OA » Birgit obinson, omas .. ‘ -
OT es apres Kecicaae 9 E f
ee, Waking (Oo. EtG <2 1. -28 Kildala Packing Co., Ltd... ...... 5 LRN ease Psi #8
Canadian Ice Machine Co.. BB ° eaboar TAGINg: CO. 2.00 20 ‘ee ee
Products, Ltd. 88 Lecki6,) Jon; TatOe yess eee eal 418 Seattle-Astoria Iron Works .. .. 76
Canadian Milk ete 8, 13 Leonard Fisheries, Ltd. Back Cover Schmidt, B. L., Co. .. .. ‘81
Canadian Oil Co., Ltd. 93 Letson and Burpee, Ltd. . Scythes & Co. Ltd. .. .. ..°.. .. 80
Clifford, J. F. sb onehaintaly tay Lincoln, Willey and Co., ‘Inc. 83 Silver We. Fe PRO oe Soa eg es ee
rn wee tc Brothers, td. tia Linde Canadign Refrigeration Go.” ‘ Stamford Foundry Co...:.. 4.1... 68
seeee g ify pr aats a i PiMe aera iar’
D. pipet Ginungem and oid “YSN SE Genin
41D Se wa ee OS Seep ee Pe
Detiance Packing Co, Lid..:: -- -. {1 Kackeport Gold gidrage Go; Lid“. |} Spooner We Roe .
-Departmen Foran oggie, MB ao 6d wer cad aed "
DesBrisay, M., and Co., Ltd. .. .. 4 Lond ad Pet Bar : Tabor, Geo., Ltd. . Ce eb eis: ees See
Dominion Fisheries, Ltd. .. .. -. 79 votes Shas. etrolia Barr rel beape: Ltd. st Taylor, Robt. Co., Ltd. 2 <9 ee
E Tower Canadian .. .. .. .. .. ss +e 176
; { ‘Marconi Wireless .. 79 V.
Evinrude Motor Co. . Maritime Fish Corporation, Ltd. 75 Vhay Fisheries sae bo yaeteaee -ioee Te ee
ih Mueller,’ Chi cy ag <a ‘Eta. : ry
ueller arles, Co. Peek gi ai ,
Bintlestan, Mass coos SANs eo Biagsh o' od Goleta a ae
Finlay Fish Co., Inc. .. Mustad, O., and Son .. 13 Wi nwetech & bonita 2 8%
Fish Trades Gazette *hcnige’ ‘Co.. gs Western’ Packers i” Ak SR Aa MR
yas 27-3 Preah Ba Cay tees a's gt National Refining Co. 13 White and Co., Ltd. URE L...
Forge, Peter .: antee ts BOTT New Brunswick Cold Storage Co. itman, ni Eee SaaS
Freeman and Cobb Co.. Ine. HO Re Sa | Ltd.. 76 Whittall Can one Ltd, A. R. ‘3
Freeman, W. A., Co. .. .- Pa gh Gd New England “Fish “Company, ‘Ltd. 15 Williams, A. R., Machinery | Co.
Fromm, F. H. & Co. 94 Newfoundland Government .. bani Wilson, W. C. & Co. 0 ae
2020
Billingsgate, E.C.,
16th November, 1918.
There has been a welcome expansion in the quantity
of fish available this week, but unfortunately this has
been the outcome of a preponderance of one or two
kinds, rather than a general all-round increase in. the
catches. The fish most prominent has been those kinds
landed by drifters—herrings, sprats and mackerel. In-
quiry for all kinds has continued keen, and apart from
the three varieties mentioned above, rates have been
easily maintained at the maximum. Herrings, sprats
and mackerel, however, have changed hands at all man-
ner of figures, values varying according to the quantity
available, and the condition of the fish. Rather curious-
ly, while herrings, both fresh and sprinkled, have hung
fire, demand has been insistant for kippers, and despite
the substantial consignments received — Billingsgate
alone has had round about 14,000 boxes daily—prices
have stood firm at the maximum level of 10s ‘9d per
stone (14 lbs.), and what is more, the fish has gone
into consumption freely.
Best qualities of the Ministry of Food Canadian froz-
en fish have again proved welcome, but. the general con-
sensus of opinion in this country is that with the rapid
increase of landings of fresh fish, which may be expect-
ed from the release of fishing boats by the Admiralty,
combined with the opening of certain areas which have
been closed to fishing purposes during the past four
and a half years, there will be little call for frozen fish,
except when fish from home waters is exceptionally
scarce, and even then prices must be much lower than
those recently current for frozen fish. No doubt these
‘rates have been justified in the abnormal times through
which we have passed, but the question for Canada
now to consider is whether frozen fish at, say, 50 to 60
per cent reduction on those prices will bare the expense
of freezing, packing, freight, in addition to storage in
the United Kingdom for longer or shorter periods to
await an occasional favourable market.
There is still a big call for frozen salmon, and imme-
diately the shipping outlook eases exporters will be well
advised to dispatch supplies to CY
‘Spiningseate, London, E.C.
23rd November, 1918.
This week’s markets have not presented any par-
ticular feature of interest. Apart from one or two kinds,
such as herrings and kippers, and to a lesser extent,
mackerel, supplies generally have remained short of
requirements. Long fish, i.e., cod, ling and similar var-
ieties, continue unusually scarce, and several varieties of
flatfish are difficult to obtain. Haddocks remain fairly
abundant, comparatively speaking, but the demand from
curers is so insistant that prices invariably rule firm
at the maximum level.
Canadian frozen fish is still being offered; but onan
from a case of pan-frozen fish here and there, the fish
now available shows signs of the long storage to which
it has been subjected.
All sections of the trade in this country are now
eagerly awaiting an easing of the abnormal conditions
which have prevailed during the war period. Although
no. definite information is available it is expected that
numbers of steam trawlers and steam drifters will be
CANADIAN FISHERMAN
The British Markets | 1
December, 1918.
speedily released by the Admiralty, while an immediate
removal of some of the restrictions regarding the pro-
secution of fishing operations on several of the areas
which have been closed is anticipated. Of course, this
would have the effect of at once ate caine the catches,
to the benefit of all concerned. "
Billingsgate, E.C., 4
30th November, 1918.
Speaking generally, supplies this week have shown a |
falling off. Neither Grimsby nor Hull has’ received any .
convoys from the deep sea grounds, the only Iceland —
fish available this week being landed at Fleetwood. In — ;
the catches of trawled fish from home waters, plaice
and haddocks have predominated, while cod and had-
docks were most. noticeable in the deliveries from the
deep water areas, plaice also showing up well in the
latter catches. |
The autumn herring season at Gt. Yarmouth and Low-
estoft is now rapidly drawing to a close, the bulk of the
Scotch boats having already left for their home ports.
Taken on the whole the vessels have had a labs wget
season.
So far as the markets in the distributing centres are
concerned the arrivals of most kinds of trawled fish
have been totally inadequate to requirements, and all ;
the fish has been easily placed at the maximum prices.
The herrings too, have commanded full values; and
mackerel—chiefly from Ireland—when in good condi-
tion has found a ready market at the maximum level of
7s 6d a stone. There has been more or less an abund-
ance of sprats, but these fish have rather hung fire,
and except for really bright, large fish inquiry has been
very slack at low figures.
The first intimation of a relaxation of Admiralty re-
strictions is to be found in the announcement that the
Port of Scarborough, which has been closed to steam
trawlers since September, 1916, is now open once more
as a fishing port. .
Billingsgate, E.C.,
. 7th December, 1918.
The week opened with fairly generous landings at
several of the principal fishing ports, but a fierce gale
over the week-end presaged a further shortage, so that
the meagre supplies on subsequent days did not come
as any great surprise. In fact, with the exception of
Fleetwood, where landings from the home grounds have
been augmented by catches from Icelandic waters, scar-
city has reigned supreme. This has been reflected in
the conditions prevailing at the markets in the consum:
ing centres, all kinds of trawled needing to be rationed
out to buyers, and needless to state, there has been lit
tle business transacted below maximum rates."
The herring fishing is still being prosecuted in Hast
Anglian waters by a few vessels, but the bulk of the
boats have now left for home, so that the general short .
age has been accentuated by the falling off in the quan-
tity of herrings available. Mackerel, too, has been far
from plentiful. In fact, the only variety at all promin=
ent has been sprats, and these fish have sold well ;
large and bright, but small rubbishly fish have been |
neglected. =
Yesterday a large shipment of frozen fish from New
December, 1918.
foundland reached this country by the arrival in the
Thames of the Bayano with a consignment of frozen
cod, fresh hadocks and salmon. None of the fish has
been landed up to the time of posting this report, so
that it is not possible to state whether the exporters have
heeded the remarks made in this column more or less
continuously for the past twelve months. Next week
it should be possible to report on the condition and pack-
ing of this fish, and it is sincerely to be hoped in the
interests of all concerned that there will not be the same
cause of complaint as there has been with the previous
arrivals. It is stated that some of the fish has been
packed in lesser quantities than cases of 200 lbs., and if
this should be so it could certainly prove advantageous.
14th December, 1918.
' Scarcity has reigned supreme at all fishing centres in
the United Kingdom this week. Of course, this is not:
an unusual experience for the time of year, but owing
to the Government control of prices, practically all
sections of the trade are in a position to buy, and there
is thus insufficient fish to satisfy all requirements;
under ordinary circumstances, with a free market,
prices in times of shortage go beyond the reach of many
buyers, and at the level reached in times of light land-
ings the quantity available is usually sufficient for
those who are prepared to pay the figures asked. How-
ever, in view of the abnormal food situation confront-
ing this country a few months.ago, no one can cavil
at the action taken by the authorities, and it certainty
redounds to the credit of all sections of the fishing in-
dustry that business has been carried on during the past
few months with the minimum of friction. Now that
hostilities have ceased the industry looks for a speedy
release of the large number of steam trawlers and steam
drifters which have been employed by the Admiralty on
National Service, and also, as soon as circumstances
permit, of the removal of the restrictions on certain of
the best fishing ground adjacent to the British Isles.
The new arrival of frozen fish from Newfoundland
mentioned in the last report is now on offer. Apparent-
ly those responsible for this shipment have given heed
to the comments passed on previous consignments and
published in earlier issues of the Canadian Fisherman ;
the fish appears to have been frozen when perfectly
fresh, and great attention has been paid to the grading.
Then again, part of the cargo consists of packages con-
taining 80 lb. and 60 lb. respectively, which is a far
more convenient package to handle than the unweildy
200 lb. packages. This fish has been marketed at a most
opportune time, and has met a ready sale, being sched-
uled by the Ministry of Food at 9s 6d a stone whole-
sale. The shipment consists principally of cod, but also
contains a fair quantity of fresh haddocks, together with
a few cases of salmon. The reliable quality of this ship-
ment, provided it is maintained all through, should do
‘much to re-establish the confidence of the trade in frozen
fish from Canada after the unsatisfactory experience
with earlier arrivals, particularly the so-called ‘‘hake.’’
The firm of Peter Forge is again acting as Distributing
Agent to the Ministry of Food at Billingsgate, and no
doubt that firm will be pleased to answer any inquiri&
which prospective exporters may address to them re-
garding prospects for Newfoundland fish on the British
markets. One thing is certain, and that is that the pre-
sent prices for frozen fish must not be expected to con-
tinue when supplies of fish from home waters increase,
as they are essentially war prices.
CANADIAN FISHERMAN
i” al
IN
POWDER FORM
It has the “real milk”
flavor.
The popularity of KLIM aboard ship is being built
up on its natural, unchanged flavor. That flavor
not only pleases the palate, but it proves the fact
that Klim is genuine pasteurized separated milk
with nothing added and nothing removed but the
water. ¢ ;
Klim is delicious to drink, is great in tea, cof-
fee or cocoa, and improves any baked or cooked
food to which it may be added.
Buy it in 10 lb. tins — 6 tins to a case.
Buy as much as you have room for. It
| will not freeze or spoil.
Made Solely by
Canadian Milk Products,
Limited. |
Toronto - Montreal (
Stocked by all Wholesale and Retail Grocers.
Canada Food Board License No. 14-242.
SHIPMATE HEATING STOVES
As good as Shipmate Ranges, and that is all
that need to be said.
Send for descriptive folder.
Made by
The Stamford Foundry Company
Established 1830 Stamford, Conn.
CANADIAN FISHERMAN
December, 1918.
are Tighe uenbetiacan att
Le ae f “iA ghia My i
0 ) Ya aid th Na ia) Mt Hy ili ti W i
wo
Tad
pm, Wipe
8 = - © <= OS > 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
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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.
‘
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es. a eee
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—_——
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
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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
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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
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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 <COs 25:5 5 elt oo
Seythes & Co., AUER RRS Uh Sete tes teey alet Mie
Silver; 12%. Rey tds as ee” Ki
Stamford Foundry ROCA ere A ata eas oyna
Standard Gas Engine Oar we
Stewart,:Bi & Co,;. Ltd. 6665 322) ke
Spooner, W. R. ... eee hee alee, Oe
-
Tabor, Geo., Ltd. . diveth ds: be ceee
Taylor, Robt. Co., Ltd. OE oo Ae nee he
TOWST- CADAGIGN: wo! obi ievsseh Rerieat oe
Vv.
Vhay Fisheries Co.
WwW.
Walker, Thos. and Son, Ltd. .. ..
Wallace Fisheries, Ltd, .. ......
Wannenwetsch & Co. .. .. «+ se os
Western Packers, Ltd. .. .. .. «-.
White and Co., Ltd. bad ean bie
Whitman, Arthur N.. bo” Ceoereees as
Whittall Can Co., Ltd., A. R. we
Williams, A. R., Machinery Co. “gt
Wilson, WwW. Cc. & Co. Ag 95) SR CE)
2020 CANADIAN FISHERMAN
December, 1918.
The British Markets
Billingsgate, E.C.,
16th November, 1918.
There has been.a welcome expansion in the quantity
of fish available this week, but unfortunately this has
been the outcome of a preponderance of one or two
kinds, rather than a general all-round increase in the
catches. The fish most prominent has been those kinds
landed by drifters—herrings, sprats and mackerel. In-
quiry for all kinds has continued keen, and apart from
the three varieties mentioned above; rates have been
easily maintained at the maximum. Herrings, sprats
and mackerel; however, have changed hands at all man-
ner of figures, values varying according to the quantity
available, and the condition of the fish. Rather curious-
ly, while herrings, both fresh and sprinkled, have hung
fire, demand has been insistant for kippers, and despite
the substantial consignments received — Billingsgate
alone has had round about, 14,000 boxes daily—prices
have stood firm at the maximum level of 10s 9d per
stone (14 lbs.), and what is more, the fish has gone’
into consumption freely.
Best qualities of the Ministry of Food Canadian froz-
en fish have again proved welcome, but the general con-
sensus of opinion in this country is that with the rapid
increase of landings of fresh fish, which may be expect-
ed from the release of fishing boats by the Admiralty,
combined with the opening of certain areas which have
been closed to fishing purposes during the past four
and a half years, there will be little call for frozen fish,
except when fish from home waters is exceptionally
scarce, and even then prices must be much lower than
those recently current for frozen fish. No doubt these
‘rates have been justified in the abnormal times through
which we have passed, but the question for Canada
now to consider is whether frozen fish at, say, 50 to 60
per cent reduction on those prices will bare the expense
of freezing, packing, freight, in addition to storage in
the United Kingdom for longer or shorter periods to
await an occasional favourable market.
There is still a big eall for frozen salmon, and imme-
diately the shipping outlook eases exporters will be well
advised to dispatch supplies to Billingsgate.
Billingsgate, London, E.C.
23rd November, 1918.
This week’s markets have not presented any par-
ticular feature of interest.. Apart from. one or two kinds,
such as herrings and. kippers, and to a_ lesser extent,
mackerel, supplies generally have remained short of
requirements. Long fish, i.e., cod, ling and similar var-
ieties, continue unusually scaree, and several varieties of
flatfish are difficult to obtain. Haddocks remain fairly
abundant, comparatively speaking, but the demand from
curers is so insistant that prices invariably rule firm
at the maximum level.
Canadian frozen fish is still being offered, but apart
from a case of pan-frozen fish here and there, the fish
now available shows signs of the long storage to which
it has been subjected.
All sections of the trade in this country are now
eagerly awaiting an easing of the abnormal conditions,
which have prevailed during the war period. Although
no definite information is available it is expected that
numbers of steam trawlers and steam drifters will be
speedily released by the Admiralty, while an immediate
removal of some of the restrictions regarding the pro-
secution of fishing operations on several of the areas
which have been closed is anticipated. Of course, this
would have the effect of at once increasing the catches,
to the benefit of all concerned.
+
Billingsgate, E.C.,
30th November, 1918.
Speaking generally, supplies this week have shown a =
falling off. Neither Grimsby nor Hull has received any
convoys from the deep sea grounds, the only Iceland -
fish available this week being landed at Fleetwood. In _
the catches of trawled fish from home waters, plaice —
and haddocks have predominated, while cod and had-
docks were most noticeable in the deliveries from the
deep water areas, plaice also showing up well in the ©
latter catches.
The autumn herring season at Gt. Yarmouth and Low-
estoft is now rapidly drawing to a close, the bulk of the
Scotch boats having already left for their home ports.
Taken on the whole the vessels have had a successful
season.
So far as the markets in the distributing centres are
concerned the arrivals of most kinds of trawled fish
have been totally inadequate to requirements, and all
the fish has been easily placed at the maximum prices.
The herrings too, have commanded full values; and
mackerel—chiefly from Ireland—when in good condi-
tion has found a ready market at the maximum level of —
7s 6d a stone. There has been more or less an abund-
ance of sprats, but these fish have rather hung fire,
and except for really bright, large fish inquiry has been
very slack at low figures.
The first intimation of a relaxation of Admiralty re-
strictions is to be found in the announcement that the
Port of Scarborough, which has been closed to steam
trawlers since September, 1916, is. now open once more
as a fishing port. —
Billingsgate, E.C.,
7th December, 1918.
The week opened with fairly generous landings at
several of the principal fishing ports, but a fierce gale
over the week-end presaged a further shortage, so that —
the meagre supplies on subsequent days did not come
as any great surprise. In fact, with the exception of
Fleetwood, where landings from the home grounds have
been augmented by catches from Icelandic waters, scar-
city has reigned supreme. This has been reflected in
the conditions prevailing at the markets in the consum-
ing centres, all kinds of trawled needing to be rationed
out to buyers, and needless to state, there has been lit-
tle business transacted below maximum rates.
The herring fishing is still being prosecuted in East
Anglian waters by a few vessels, but the bulk of the
boats have now left for home, so that the general short-
age has been accentuated by the falling off in the quan- |
tity of herrings available. Mackerel, too, has been far
from plentiful. In fact, the only variety at all promin-
ent has been sprats, and these fish have sold well if
large and bright, but small rubbishly fish have been
neglected.
Yesterday a large shipment of frozen fish from New- ©
ee ee ee ee ™
December, 1918. | CANADIAN FISHERMAN
foundland reached this country by the arrival in the
Thames of the Bayano with a consignment of frozen
cod, fresh hadocks and salmon. None of the fish has
been landed up to the time of posting this report, so
that it is not possible to state whether the exporters have
heeded the remarks made in this column more or less
continuously for the past twelve months. Next week
it should be possible to report on the condition and pack-
ing of this fish, and it is sincerely to be hoped in the
interests of all concerned that there will not be the same
cause of complaint as there has been with the ‘previous
arrivals. It is stated that some of the fish has been
packed in lesser quantities than cases of 200 lbs., and if
this should be so it could certainly prove advantageous.
14th December, 1918.
Scarcity has reigned supreme at all fishing centres in
the United Kingdom this week. Of course, this is not
an unusual experience for the time of year, but owing
to the Government control of prices, practically all
sections of the trade are in a position to buy, and there
is thus insufficient fish to satisfy all requirements;
under ordinary circumstances, with a free market,
prices in times of shortage go beyond the reach of many
buyers, and at the level reached in times of light land-
ings the quantity available is usually sufficient for
those who are prepared to pay the figures asked. How-
ever, in view of the abnormal food situation confront-
ing this country a few months ago, no one can eavil
at the action taken by the authorities, and it certainty
redounds to the eredit of all sections of the fishing in-
dustry that business has been carried on during the past
few months with the minimum of friction. Now that
hostilities have ceased the industry looks for a speedy
release of the large number of steam trawlers and steam
drifters which have been employed by the Admiralty on
National Service, and also, as soon as circumstances
permit, of the removal of the restrictions on certain of
the best fishing ground adjacent to the British Isles.
The new arrival of frozen fish from Newfoundland
mentioned in the last report is now on offer. Apparent-
ly those responsible for this shipment have given heed
- to the comments passed on previous consignments and
published in earlier issues of the Canadian Fisherman ;
the fish appears to have been frozen when _ perfectly
fresh, and great attention has been paid to the grading.
Then again, part of the cargo consists of packages con-
taining 80 lb. and 60 lb. respectively, which is a far
more convenient package to handle than the unweildy
200 Ib. packages. This fish has been marketed at a most
opportune time, and has met a ready sale, being sched-
uled by the Ministry of Food at 9s 6d a stone whole-
sale. The shipment consists principally of cod, but also
contains a fair quantity of fresh haddocks, together with
a few cases of salmon. The reliable quality of this ship-
ment, provided it is maintained all through, should do
much to re-establish the confidence of the trade in frozen
fish from Canada after the unsatisfactory experience
with earlier arrivals, particularly the so-called ‘‘hake.’’
The firm of Peter Forge is again acting as Distributing
Agent to the Ministry of Food at Billingsgate, and no
doubt that firm will be pleased to answer any inquiri&
which prospective exporters may address to them re-
garding prospects for Newfoundland fish on the British
markets. One thing is certain, and that is that the pre-
sent prices for frozen fish must not be expected to con-
tinue when supplies of fish from home waters increase,
as they are essentially war prices.
é It has the “real milk”
flavor.
i,
: Limited.
ill"
IN POWDER FORM
The popularity of KLIM aboard ship is being built
up on its natural, unchanged flavor. That flavor
that Klim is genuine pasteurized separated milk
ba nothing added and nothing removed but the
water.
food to which it may be added.
Buy it in 10 lb. tins — 6 tins to a case.
Buy as much as you have room for, It
will not freeze or spoil. :
Canadian Milk Products,
Toronto - Montreal
Stocked by all Wholesale and Retail Grocers.
Canada Food Board License No. 14-242.
waa”
il
not only pleases the palate, but it proves the fact \
|
| Klim is delicious to drink, is great in tea, cof- |
| fee or cocoa, and improves any baked or cooked |
Made Solely by f
SHIPMATE HEATING STOVES
As good as Shipmate Ranges, and that is all
that need to be said.
Send for descriptive folder.
Made by
The Stamford Foundry Company >
Established 1830 Stamford, Conn. ‘
2022 CANADIAN FISHERMAN
December, 1918.
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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
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lia:
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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.
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