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§T. JOHN’S, JANUARY 28, 1925-5right thinking people in the Colony, The Government ia also to be congratulated on the, efforts being made to -stop abuses in various Departments, notably the Customs Department.The Board of Trade has consistently urged the im* portance of a reduction in taxation, in order to reduce the high cost of living. As the Government is pursuing a policy of cutting expenses ttra minimum consistent with .efficiency, and the revival Of trade is responsible for in* creased revenue, the Council feel assured that if reduction of taxation is found possible, the Government will afford welcome relief to all classes of the community.CODFISHERYTHE CATCH OF CODFISH during tho season just over is estimated at about 1,200,000 quintals, made up of 850,000 Shore Cure and 350,000 Labrador. This represent^ a shortage below the average of at least 300,000 quintals. There are no authentic statistics in possession of any of ' the Government Departments, although on several occasions the Council recommended to the Government the absolute necessity of having a Statistical Department. It is estimated that up to the present time nearly 1,000,000 quintals of the past season's catch has been shipped and sold at fairly remunerative,prices. The bulk of our fish is now being shipped in steamers under time charter to the Exporters, and the old custom of shipping by sailing vessels is fast going out. When the fishery season opened stocks of the previous year’s catch in the foreign markets were practically nil. This gave Exporters an optimistic view for the 1924 catch, and as the season advanced fish gradually advanced in price from $5.00 to $8.00 per quintal for Labrador, and from $8.50 to $10.50 per quintal for Shore, or about $2.00 per quintal was paid the fishermen over'last year’s prices. The effect of this .has encouraged our fisherfhen beyond question and many more next year will go back to their nets and boats. The demand for Codfish has been exceptionally good in the foreign markets during the past year due to the general shortage of the catch. The Norwegian catch exceeded their 1923 catch but quantities of this fish were sold to Russia and Germany which greatly depleted their stOcks originally intended for our Markets. The Portuguese Fishery is considerably less than last year. The Sterling Exchange is steadily improving and it looks now that before very long the Pound Sterling will be back to normal. Your Council is also glad to report that through its efforts the export tax on fish oils has bden removed.PORTUGAL. Portuguese Exchange is about 2*4d but in spite of this the market is consuming well and an even greater improvement is expected after the turn of the year. It seems as if dealers are holding off and only buying in small quantities owing to the continued rise in exchange; but with a continued rise in consumption the old stock on hand will be cleared out. It is generally reported that the French have agreed on a Modus Vivendi with Portugal, and their fish is likely to come on the market early in the New. Year; also the Portuguese Bank Fish is not likely to be held as last year, because the increasing value of the Escudo makes holders sell as quickly as possible to meet the advance made them to fit out for the Spring Fishery-. SPAIN. This market remains good for both Shore Fish anil Labrador; good prices have been paid for our fish during the past season, and these prices should be maintained and perhaps improve. The present rate of exchange is approximately 34 Pesetas to the Pound.IJTALY. There has been a good demand all the year from Italy fOr both Shore and Labrador, and there appears to he no doubt of prices being maintained if supplies are sent regularly, and care is taken not to overstock the market. Considering the fact that the effective demand has so fallen off in the Brazil market it was a fortunate circumstance that our customers in Italy were able to absorb so largely the fish we were accustomed to send to Brazil. The present rate of exchange is about 107 Lire to Pound.GREECE. This market is still enquiring for Labrador Codfish in casks, notwithstanding the quantities shipped in bulk from the Newfoundland and Labrador Coasts during the past few months. The present rate of exchange is approximately 265 Drachmaes to the Pound.BRAZIL. This market has not been getting supplies as heretofore owing to the condition of exchange; however since the Revolution there, a decided improvement seems to have taken place and prospects look brighter for the coming year. No doubt this market will come back, and if we want to regain our former place, it is necessary that we should have next year a large increase in our trap fishery which we, are likely to have now that so many men who abandoned the fishery will probably return to their old calling.WEST INDIA MARKETS. The West India markets are in good position and considerable quantities of fish have been sent there the past few months.CURE OF FISH. During the summer the weather was extremely hot, the result of this being quite a larger percentage than usual of sunburnt fish; generally speaking the^ure of all grades was far from good. Better curewill unquestionably produce better prices for fish, and much better satisfaction to all, concerned. There is no doubt trade is returning towards normal, and prospects look bright for 1025.SEALFISHERYTHE SEALFISHERY of 1924 was prosecuted by ten steamers, seven on the front, or East Coast and three .. in the gulf. The number of crews aggregating 1412 men.rr The SABLE I ” and STELLA MARIS’* did not land their Seals in Newfoundland, hut carried them to North Sydney, to be manufactured. The total for the two steamers was ■2000 Seals.The. total number of Seals brought in by the eight steamers that landed their Seals in Newfoundland wa$ 129,561 or 27,791 more than 1923.The total number of Young Harps brought in by steamers for 1924 were 114,762 or 43,328 more than in 1923.Two very outstanding features mark the Sealfishery of 1924, vfr.:—■I. For the first time in the history of Aeroplanes has a. successful Bight beta made from a ship, On March ^ 4^.W.Baby Aeroptotte from the 6.S; ’TSAGLE mhdd iflight of thirfy.fivejfcrJinutes, and located two, or three patches of Seals o£ 50,000 or over.x , t.j-,/,-':..2, The secofid feature is, the complete answer to the theory advanced by some people for the last ten yean or more, that the main patch of Seals has been left to the S. E. and that no one went far enough to 'the Bitwafd to locate them.The prevailing winds from thp first of Marph, and the condition of the ice on the 10th of March when the ships sailed, leaves no room for doubt on’tfaat point, is the bays bad taken all the ice and left dear watef from Cape Spear to Quirpon inside the Funk Island. The fact that no Young Harp Seals were reported along the Coast, ..South of Harbor Deep In White Bay, is clear proof, that the whole body' of Seals was huddled together in White Bay, except probably forty or fifty thousand which passed up through the straits of Belle Isle.The object of the writer is'to place before the Board of Trade as accurate an account as possible of the number of Young Harps and Young Hood Seals pupped pn lt;this Coast the past Spring of 1924. But to satisfy all who have an interest in this fishery, I am giving the total number of alt the different species separately as well as the total of the entire catch that was manufactured by the three Companies, including the catch of the Six., Sable 1.’’ and Stella Maris, as follows:—Young Harps...................147,355Old Harps....................... 3.580Bedlamers............ 13,410Old Hoods........................ 1,672 .Young Hoods -............ 8,740Total... .—lt;....174,757The writer is not concerned about the Old Harps andBedlamers, as he believes from what he has seen tpey can be numbered by the millions, but the falling off in number of Young Harps and the Hood species, raises a question for very grave consideration. Before 1 make my comparisons on this point, I want to give as my opinion, that never for the last sixty years were we afforded a better chance of judging the number of young seals on the coast than we were this year which could be proven if the masters of the seven steamers were asked to give the different angles they made before they reached the patch in White Bay. The fact that no Young Harp Seals were reported in Green Bay, Bonavista and Trinity Bay is proof positive that the entire patch was in White Bay, coupled with that, the fact that the Aeroplane todk a flight before the ice was broken and only reported a patch of Seals four miles long and eight miles wide, which Capt. George Barbour estimated about 50,000.Seals, and then, the other fact, that not one steamer out of the seven loaded before the patch was cut, is proof of the number of Young Harp Seals that werp pupped on the Newfoundland Coast this year.When we go back to 1915, when almost the entire patch made their escape, and when we consider, the next year, 1916, there were .227,234 Young Seals brought in by steamers, and that all the female young that escaped in 1915, would http in l'D 1D and their pups again in 1923-24, and the other fact, that from 1916 we have had very poor years and that less than seventeen thousand Old Harp Seals have been killed by steamers since 1916, it is only reasonable to imagine* there should be at least one million Young Harps pupped on the Coast of Newfoundland the past Spring.The writer of the Board of Trade report for 1923 must have had some such thoughts running through his mind when he made the following statement, vit: “We believe that, given a year when ice conditions allow the steamers to move about freely, and with information obtained by Aeroplane as to the position of the main patch, and with weather conditions favorable to the faking of Seals, there will be found enough Seals on our Coast to load a fleet three or four times as targe as the present one.” In the above statement every practical-sealer must certainly concur.The fact remains, when you take the total number of Young Harp Seals killed this year by landsmen and steamers, you can only account for 147,355 or less by 79,879 than was brought in by the steamers in 1916.Then1 we will take the Young Hoods in 1918- There were brought in by steamers 20.614; since that tittie until this Spring, there were brought in altogether 7,261 forfive years.This year the entire catch of Young Hoods by landsmen and steamers was 8,740 or 11374 less than in 1918. The Young Hoods that escaped this year is an unknown quantity, but for the S.S. ‘‘Ranger’’ which succeeded in getting 2,626, the other nine steamers only got 332 Young Hoods amongst them.The writer is making no suggestion. I am offering no opinion. I have merely stated facts as they have come before me. after due and careful consideration; it remains for those most interested to take due notice and govern themselves accordingly.NOTE.—The above article has been contributed by one of our oldest and best known scaling captains.COMMON COD OILIN SPITE OF fheaomparatively short catch of God Rah during the past season, the production of Cod Oil has been fully equal to, if not slightly in excess of, the previous season. This is due entirely to the fact that the livers of the fish Were this year in a very highly developed state, and throughout.the season the yield of livers per quintal of fish was above the average and the yield.of oil per gallon of livdrs exceptionally good. Had the majority of the livers been used for Refined Oil, the yield of Medicinal Cod Liver Oil would have been both large tod Of a superior quality. It it in some respects unfortunate that, the very fine livdrs of the Newfoundland Codfish, capable os they were this season of producing such excellent Cod Liver Oil. should be made principally into a common oil used for industrial purposes. However, there is not much prospect of overcoming this defect in our methods until such time as we can obtain for our Cod Liver Oil a higher value in relation to common oil, than is possible to-day.(To So ernittnund)-
Newspaper Details
Saint Johns Daily Globe
Saint Johns, Newfoundland, CA
Wed, Jan 28, 1925
Page 13
Full Page
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Anonymous
CA 21 Apr 2025
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