Some Aspects of Fishery Research in Canada.
L. R. Richardson.

The Canadian fishing industry has been a prominent factor in the economic framework of the country for many years. During the past few years, fish, shellfish, and lobsters taken from Canadian waters have amounted to a value of eight to twelve million pounds per annum, with an export value of nearly two-thirds of that total. The Canadian Fisheries Board, formerly the Biological Board, was originated to survey and guard the usage of the natural resources on which this industry has developed. After thirty years, the Board now controls six main research stations in the main centres of the industry, and many smaller subsidiary stations established for the study of local aspects of major problems.

Decline in the populations of important species has called for energetic, scientific study. Improvement in the technique of lobster canning and the rapid expansion of the industry placed a heavy strain on the existing populations and threatened a major decline in the returns from the industry. This has been countered by local readjustments in the legal size limits and the period of fishing so that the most economical size of lobster is taken and canning returns have been maintained with smaller catches than before.

The problem of the oyster industry of the east coast contrasted markedly with the above situation. An epidemic wiped out the population some thirty years ago. The introduction of oyster-farming with many innovations and the development of a strain of oysters immune to the disease is rapidly returning the industry to its former status. An important improvement has been the reduction of the time for the production of a marketable oyster from seven to four years.