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Growth Story Of

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S ‘as al a Lee Saye t

a’s Faverite Delicacy And. Province's (Leading Cash Crop From Sea, The Island Lobster

AG oa sa ie : . : - . : i ee ea, —. el ; FEW SUR FROM THIS EARLY PHASE SIZE AT ONE, TWO, THREE YEAR STAGES GIANTS SUCH AS THIS, WEIGHING SOME 20 POUNDS, ARE RARE—A REAL ‘GRAND-DADDY’ Che Guar dian “Covers Prince Edward Island Like The Dew” &

(With The Evening Patriot)

Lead Held

By Island |)

ln Oysters

When connoisseurs speak of

succulent bivalves they mean Prince Edward Island oysters.

With the possible eq¥ception of lobsters there is no seafood so popular among Islanders. Oysters are our best advertisement in

' other parts of Canada where they are justly famous.

One great advantage is their prevalence all along Island shores so the true oyster lover can take a knife with him and open them on the beach. If he forgets the knife a sharp rock comes in handy.

MALPEQUES

Malpeque oysters are a by- ward and a buy word as well es- pecially in the elite clubs of Mon- treal and Ottawa and the demands from these customérs keeps fish- ermen busy.

Their excellence is recognized by oyster eaters wherever they _ are tasted. A distinctive flavor not commo; in oysters elsewhere is the first delight noticed, with it is a firm flesh unlike many oysters of a jellyfish texture.

It is encouraging to note that many of the latter will be remov- ed from Island waters in the three-year campaign to restock oyster fisheries in the neighbor- ing provinces of Nova Scotia and New. Brunswick. It has been stat- ed that these oysters will soon

‘ take on the marketable quality of the region in which they are ¥Yansplanted.

One fact for which Islanders fm general and fishermen in parti- cular can be grateful is that oysters multiply fast. It means that thick beds are actually en-

The eating sa of the world

IER ITE LE PER OTIY AT

Sa

INDUSTRY LOOKS TO FUTURE THROUGH CRAFT SUCH AS THIS NEWEST DRAGGER AT SOURIS

Souris Takes Lead In Fisheries

inland, | Souris HI, capable of bringing in;highest quality of fish and mar-

are changing, particularly in|wants a fresh or frozen fillet |mearly 120,000 pounds of fish at|ket it in the finest possible condi-

shaped bag, but there has been interest too in the Danish seine.

CHARLOTTETOWN, PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY, 27, 1959 :

JOBS FOR 3.500

Fisheries Rate

As 2nd Industry

The fisheries industry of Prince Edward Island, with an annual market income of about five and a half million dollars, gives employment to some 3,500 people either full or part time. In importance it ranks next to agriculture.

At present 60 per cent of the total income is derived from lob- sters which thrive in the warm coastal waters of the province. The lobster fisheries of the Is- land rank fourth in the world and are surpassed in quantity only by New Brunswick, Nova Sco- tia and Maine.

FOR GOURMETS Prince Edward Island lobsters

have for many years been the| © gourmet’s delight in the fashion-| : able dining halls throughout]:

North America.

In order to preserve the supply of lobsters, fishing seasons are confined to two months. For this

reason a large number of far-| | mers whose land borders on the! |

coastline, are engaged in the in- dustry.

DRAGGERS

Fast developing into a major industry is that of the dragger|:

fishing. Until 1950 all groundfish landed on the Island were caught by the old fashioned hand line method.

In that year through a govern- ment promotion program institut- ed by the late Premier J. Wal- ter Jones, the first dragger put to sea from the port of Souris.

At first it was difficult to con- vince the fishermen that this new method of fishing would really pay off. This is made evident by

Fishery experts point out that;points to the fact that the fish the Gulf situated as it is at the| population in the area is increas mouth of a huge inland drainage | ing.

area forms a natural feeding; Previous to 1950 there was @ ground for fish. Every_indication| CONTINUED ON PAGE 3

riched in time by siphoning off| the matter of seafoods and Sour- | and Souris is prepared to supply |a time, keeps the fish on ice from) tion operating out of Souris. IS PROFITABLE

unnecessary surplusses. is is in the forefront of fishing|it. The means are basically rwo-|the time they are caught until! Contrary to the expectation of z

© og -Agorel Sete a communities keeping up*’ with | fold. ~~" "= “: fthey are landed. The trip is aj some, the inshore fishermen bene-| The a draggers wine Hygiene , * : the changihg tastes. a ivery short ‘one compared with |4t from “the operations of the; ™en 12 year caug nearly After a time industrious fisher-

fisheries will benefit all three {RIGHT IN STEP that required by ‘boats operating |irawler fleet. Facilities for hand- half the groundfish landed in this men saw that by strict attention

vinces.. But primarily it will] The development of fast trans- 4 : : . ie ‘ 3 ny benefit the oyster lover vis with-| portation” and techniques or | Souris now has two large mod-|out of European ports, New-|ling* and marketing their catch|Province, 9.8 million pounds out], duty and with a minimum loss

jern filleting plants which take|foundland, most Nova Scotian|is provided which would be of 20.7 million. The two Souris of time dragger fishing could

the fact that the first dragger crew was changed 52 times dur- ing the year.

aa

HON. J. ANGUS MacLEAN

in a very few years can expect! freezing and otherwise keeping | 4 : i pS |\the prime fish landed there and | ports or the New England Btat-|quite out of the question if the

quickly process it for rapid move- ment to market. The, dragger fleet, thirteen ves-| HELPS ALL

sels, the largest of which is the! It is thus possible to lamd-the|mainly the otter trawl. a cone

more and bigger oysters. He cannot reasonably expect better quality as when he buys top Is- land oysters he is automatically buying the world’s best. ‘At least no Islander could be convinced of the contrary:

Real oyster lovers of the Prov- ince would favor keeping all of them. here. But, then, they do mot have an economic mind.

However, their attitude is ‘un- derstandable as all oyster eaters would like to keep them all for themselves.

Those who enjoy the bivalves are«~much the same the world over and exclaim over the var- iety from Maryland, U. S. A. un- til they sample a Malpeque. Nearly always the argument of relative merits énds. right there.

RESISTANT STRAIN

A recent sory from the State of New Jersey that e’forts were being made to combat the ‘X’ dis- fase.in oysters recalled that this same disease had struck Island beds in a series of epidemics fren 1915 to 1940.

Dr. R.R. Logie of the Biologi- ca!-sub-station ai Ellerslie said "a at present “P.E.I. . oysters wre des-erded from the resist- an: survivors cf these epidemics and passed the {f>-sistance to their progeny”.

The biologist ‘also said the Is- land ig now supplying “‘most of the Atlantic oysters to the Cana- dian market a a very high

fish in practically new-caught condition have created a market for fresh fish products which is bringing about a revolution in the industry.

Price indeed”.

total supply depended upon the - catch of the shore boats. , The draggers have so far used

es.

\

ait

ICE LOCKS THE DRAGGER FLEET

plants produced three and three quarters million pounds of fillets and had between them a payroll of $275,000 to between 225 and 250 employees from April to Decem- ber.

The top boat Janded more than 10 million pounds of fish. The average was 752,000. about one per cent lower than a year ago. The average net earnings of a boat, after meeting all expenses including wages, was $2.794. Deck hands, besides board, earn- ed an average of $1,908. for 112 days at sea. The average period was from April 4th. to December ist. A good man in a good boat got as high as $44 a day as his

4 | share.

The average boat owner clear- ed $4,475 from all sources al- though there. was considerable variation.

I is worth noting .that the catch of the draggers represents new wealth on Island. KH consists

“lof offshore fish that out fisher-

men did not previously touch. Many of the important varities. even, are new to the Island fish- ing industry. For instance 2-3 million pounds of haddock were landed compared with a negibile catch in earlier years. Also 3 million vounds of flounder were ‘acivded. a fish not taken by the

shore fishermen at all.

indeed become a profitable ven-| ture..

MILLION POUND BOAT

There are now 13 draggers be- ing operated out of Souris and| at least one has gone well over the million pound mark in one season with 1,300,000 lbs. Before 1950 the annual codfish landings were valued at about $283.000. Latest reports indicate that cod has accounted for $479,000. By the same token, only $5,500 worth of haddock were landed before 1950. Recent statistics show that this variety of fish brings in an annual market value of $139.000. Flounders which were non-exis- tent in. the catch now have a yearly valué of $179,000. Other fish products such as meal, liv- ers and oil account for an addi- tional $116,000 each year.

NEW PLANTS

In 1950 one small filleting plant was handling the fish catch at Souris. Today two large filleting plants along with a fish meal plant have an ever increasing output which is finding a ready market in different parts of the continent.

Two more draggers now under construction will increase the pro- duction of these plants consider- ably.

FINANCE

Federal Minister: : Sends Greetings .

“It is indeed a pleasure for me to extend greeting to the fishermen of Prince Edward Island, my’ hom province,and to the readers of “The Guardian’, and “Evening Patriot”’ through this special “Fisheries Edition” inaugurated last year, and so well received in sO many quarters. -

“Canada’s place in the fisheries of the world is an important one. The initiative and enterprise of those in the fishing industry, coupled with the wise management of our fishery resources, has made it so. Latest figures on a world basis show that Canada is in second place in the value of the fishery products she exports, and eighth in the poundagé of fish landed by her ocean and freshwater fishermen. °*

“The fisheries picture last year was not satisfac- tory on all fronts, but it is already brightening for this year, and I have high hopes that it will continue to do so. You may rest assured that I, and the officials of my Department, will continue to work in the best interests of the fishing industry so that fishermen will be able to take increasing yields and will be able to get adequate returns for their fishing effort. I know, that with the continuing co-operation of those in the indus- try, our work in this field will be made much easier.

“I should like to take: this opportunity to express the hope that the efforts of all Prince Edward Island

There is no scarcity of ground

fishermen, and Canfidian fishermén everywhere, will

[fish in the Gulf of St. Lawrence be well rewarded in 1959.”