A FISHERIES EXPERT

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2137, 1 May 1914, Page 8

A FISHERIES EXPERT

PROF. PRINCE'S CAREER

PROGRESS MADE IN CANADA

Possibly no fisheries expert in the world ha» had a more varied or extended experience in that capacity than Professor E. Prince, the Canadian Commissioner of Fisheries, who is at present engaged upon an inspection of the sea and inland fisheries or New Zealand. He began his work in Scotland, thirty years ago, with an investigation of the spawning habits of marine fishes, and he was one of jhe pioneers in discovering where fishes' eggs were to be found, wlmt was the nature of the spawn, and the .various stages of growth in the most important European fishes. Professor Prince w;as the first investigator to discover the eggs of the ling and to hatch them out, and one. of the earliest to investigate the habits of the English sole, tiie gurnet, and many of tho flat fishes. The results of these investigations were published by tho Royal Society of Edinburgh in an elaborate treatise, which is still the standard memoir on the subject. In this work Jlr. Prince was associated with Professor M'lntosh, a great Scottis'u authority on fisheries. Pursuing his investigations of the deep-sea fisheries, Mr. Prince devoted special attention to. the herring industry. This entailed going, out in the fishing-boats and sharing flic lot of the fishermen who pursued their calling up and down the Scottislj coast, and on the east.coast of England. These fisheries are amongst the most valuable in the world, and they are so skilfully managed that they are as productive now as they ever were. Some of. the North Sea grounds have shown signs of depletion in regard to deep-sea fishes, but on tho whole the supply to tho English markets is greater than ever. Following upon his Scottish experience, Mr. Prince was engaged in a special seacoast inquiry by the North-Eastern Fisheries Council in England', and went over all the inshore fishing grounds from the Wash, northward to Berwick-on-Twcecl. A very important report resulted, which lias been largely adopted by the District Council. About 1887 the late Lord Twecdmouth, who was one of tho most prominent representatives of fishery interests in the House of Commons, appointed Mr. Prince secretarj; o r a Royal Commission on fishery bait-supply. The recommendations of the Commission brought about the importation and maintenauce.'vn "bait-beds" of an ample supply of mussels and clams, a very vital .matter -us ikhermen engaged 1 in line-fishing, which is an: important branch of tho industry- on the British coasts. Later, Mr. Prin:e was appointed by the Riglit Hon.- A;-J. Balfour (then Chief Secretary, .of State for . Ireland) to act as an expert in the. first survey of' the Irish deep-sea fish-big grounds. It waa on this occasion that tho first experiments were made with the "otter" trawl. The survoy was carried out under the superintendence of the Rev. W. S. Green, M.A., who was a member of the party which first ascended Mount Cook. Whi'lo'engaged in tho Irish survey, Mr. Prince was appointed. Professor of Biology in the Medical College of the Royal Hospital of Glasgow. After engaged for several years in academic duties, Professor Prince was asked by the Dolninion Government to. take up tho duties of principal fisheries officer in. Canada,. The office, of Commissioner of Fisheries was created, and Professor Prince has filled it since 1893.

During his period of office tho Canadian fisheries'havo doubled in value. The latest official figures set down the an'nual yield as being worth £7,000,000. Tho fisheries service.has been organised upon a very complete-' scalo from tlio Atlantic to the Pacific, and tho only check to progress and development has arisen from boundary, troubles. Tho Canadian fisheries have been much hotter preserved, and are much more I productive than the United States , portions of the same waters', especially in the Great Lakes, and there is a constant attempt at cxtonsivo poaching from the American side. A fisheries treaty between the two countries was concluded in 190S, and a code of 63 regulations based upon it has been drawn up. These were sanctioned by Canadaas soon as they wero prose.nted to tho Dominion and it is expected that President, Wilson will shortly I bo in a position to announce that they have been sanctioned , by the United States.

The magnitude of the operations carried on at its forty hatcheries by the Canadian Fisheries Department may be gathered from tho fact that these establishments turn out in the aggregate twelve hundred million fry every year, about half of the total quantity being lobsters. Theothei fisli hatched include. Atlantic salmon, Pacific salmon, lake trout, brook trout, shad, white fish (one of the most esteemed of Canadian .fishes), pike-perch (an importation from Austria) and various others. Employment for no fewer than 5000 fishermen is supplied by tbe salmon industry carried out in the Fraser, Skeeran, Naas and other rivers. The Atlantic salmon, on-.the other hand, is chiefly valuable on account of its splendid game Qualities. Some of tho large rivers in Eastcm Canada, such as the St. John, Restigouche, Marimiche, arid others are held by anglers, Professor Prince stated, to bo the'finest salmon fishing rivers in the world. Upon the banks of some of these riycrs wealthy men from the United States, including many of the millionaires, have built magnificent fish-ing-club houses. Fish culture operations have maintained the supnly in these rivers although in addition to angling large captures of salmon are made by netting in the estuaries. .Under the system of regulation that obtains overstocking is prevented and yet an ample supply of fish is maintained.