BAY OF FUNDY SURVEY

The Smelt Fishery

By G. W. Jeffers

I. Name

It is not at all certain why this excellent little fish came to be called "ameLt.!". At first glance the name appears to be merely a shortening of "smeLf it" from the fact that the fish has a peculiar and characteristic odor. This odor has been compared with that of cucumber or garlic, and hence the name. In Germany it is s aid to be called list inkfisc h II, and we know t hat the European smelt smells so strongly as to be objectionable. Certainly the odor given off by the American smelt is never very noticeable.

It has been suggested that the word 'smelt' was first used lIin the sense of smelting metals and was derived from the trans­ parent app ear-anc e of the r i e h.." Then again, it is ¢.fttiifJ'fi claimed that the word comes from the Anglo-Saxon "ameol t " signifying smooth and shiny, in much the same manner that the young salmon

ll• is termed a II s mo l t

In Norway there are two varieties of smelt - the large smelt, or " s1om", and a smaller one with a more pungent, odor, called "n o r a". In Germany it is called "atan t , seestint, and grosser s t ant". In England it is known as smelt or sparling, and 2

this last name is sometimes met with in Germany also. In Holland

it goes under the name %p~f spiering ar spearling. In Denmark it

is called' smaelt'; in Finland 'norssi' and knore'; in France

, eperlan' ; and in Russia' korjuschka' . 'Smelt' is about the only name given to it in this country,

although a few older fishermen frequently refer to it as 8icefisb'

or' fro s t f ishr •

The name smelt is incorrectly a pplied to a lesser Whitefish,

(Argyrosomus o~meriformis), on many lakes in New York state.

Likewise, a small minnow (N ~ropis hudsonius) that ranges from

the Great lakes to South Carolina, is sometimes called smelt.

The scientific name of the common ,s mel t of our Atlantic

coasts is Osmerus mordax. Our fish is regarded as a distinct

species from that on the Pacmfic coasts (Osmerus ~eatex), and

from the European smelt (Osmerus eperlanus)

Some smelts are permanent residents of fresh water, but

these probably belong to t De same species as the common marine

smelt. In certain lakes, as for example, La~e Champaain a n d

lake Utopia in New Br~~swick, the land-locked smelts are of two

kinds, a large variety Which is very little, if any, smaller

than the sea form, and a smaller Ki n d which 1s only five or six

inches in length. Dr. McGonigle informs me that it has been

suggested to him that the large land-locked type are native to

\ to the lakes in question whereas the smaller ones have been \ J i n t r od uc e d from hatcheries. These small smelt are matu~r fish. /' In the Miramichi river small smelts are called "b.l anka!". 3

I L .P icture

No good on e available

See, Kendall "I'ne Smelts II Bigelow and We l ah 4

III. Economic Importance

Formerly the smelt was considered of only minor

importance as a food fish, and people generally used it a s a

fertilizer. For example, in 1867 Knight wrote tl It seems almost an

offence to claim for the smelt a relationship with the elite

family of the salmonidae; nevertheless naturalists persist in

calling it a salmon. II To-day we offer no a,Pology for considering

the smelt as a relative of the salmon, for even if very little is

ever heard of the smelt fishery this fishery has already attained

considerable magnitude.

The fish first assumed importc.:..nce in New Jersey and southern

New England in the sixtes , but in recent years the co mmercial smelt

fishery has gradualiliy receded northwards, and to-day the quantity

taken south of Maine is negligible. Canada is t he most important

smelt-producing country in the world; about three-fourths of the

world's smelts come from Canada and the Miramichi river, in Quebec,

l i s responsible for one-third of the total Canadia,n production.

JJp r i o r to 1908 the markets of central Canada were supplied from

New England. In that year the Department embarked on the policy

. ~ of paying one-third of t he express charges on less-than-carload

lot shipments from the Atlantic ports. By 1918 the quantity of

fresh fish so shipped had increased 300%. About 90,000,000 ibs

' o f fresh fish are annually marketed from the Mi.ritimes. n Can.Fish.

In 1914, a record year, 9,038,900 pounds of smelt, valued at

$7 13 , 5 0 1 were recorded from the Dominion; in 1923 When the catch

was only 5,811,800 pounds the value was considerably greater, being

$78 9 , 36 1 .

Whe r e a s the bay of Fundy may be considered a fair smelt area ~_ ~.~ tr~-~ I 70 (.~ H.t' f. I r: ,.. . <> ~' f " . ~ ~:.--t-7 {'-. 6

IV. Methods of Capture

The principal methods of taking smelt are by bag-nets,

box-nets, gill-nets, hook-and-line, spearing and by weirs set for

sardines. The first two methods, the bag-net and box-net, are

restricted to l ar g e rivers that freeze over in the Winter and at

the same time have a good run of tide, such as the Miramichi river.

Because of the absence of these conditions in the Fundy area bag-nets

and box nets are not used. Two or three years ago bay-nets were

tried out at Drury cove on the Kennebecasis river, but it was

~ found that they did not pay and so were abandonned.

Gill-nets, commonly called smelt nets, are in pretty general

use in the Fundy region, particularly in Charlotte county. They

are employe~ in the fall and spring When the fish are congregated , } outside the mouths of the rivers.

Hook-and-line is the method used after the rivers have frozen

over, by simply cutting holes in the ice and fishing through these.

When smelting is indulged in for its excellent sport value this is

the method par excellane~; the fish not only take bait but will

rise to the fly as well. It is interesting to note that Yarmouth

county has abolished all other methods of taking smelt, and relies

on hook-and-line entirely. This method gives an equal opportunity

to all the people, it is less harmful to the fish and less destr­

uctive ~¢/~~~ than gill nets, hence the fish are of a better and

more uniform qualityhnd so 'grade' better. This is an excellent ! example of cooperation among fishermen to conserve a really good

source of income. The Yarmouth smelt fishery is the most impor­

tant in the Fundy region, and Yarmouth smelt because of their 7

quality always command a good price.

The best bait seems to be worms, particularly the sand worm

(Nereis) which is dug from the sand flats and are sold locally or else shipped by mail in the frozen state. The price is around twenty-five cents per dozen. Another g ood bait is eel meat which has been colored red by means of a diamond dye. In other sections especially around the bead of the bay beef i6 used for bait.

Formerly spearing for smelt was indulged in t u a consider­ able extent, but in general the fishermen have found out that the practice does not pay, particularly if the fish are to be offered for sale, since the appe~rance of the fish plays an important part in the eyes of the consumer. For home consumption smelt are still taken by spearing aroun~ the head of the bay.

The type of spear used is shown in t he accompanying diagram. It consists of a wooden handle in one end of which is a stout needle. fWo metal springs, one opposite the other, are attached to the wood enclosing the ~¢¢ needle.

These springs are made of the ribs of an umbrella and their purpose is to hold the fish that has been pierced by the neeale until it can be landed on the ice.

During t he summer when the sardine weirs are being worked, fair catches of smelt are sometimes made along with the sardines.

Technically this is the closed season for smelt, but smelt taken in weirs are not regarded as being captured illegally and so are subject to sale. 8

When the smelt have gathered in the rivers to spawn the dip-net is frequently used for taking them. Occasionally, too, poachers use this method for illega~ fishing in closed seasons. 9

V. Horizontal Distribution in the Fundy Area

The distribution of smelt in the Fundy area is presented in figure I This distribution is based upo n the average catch for the five years 1910- 19,1 , the figures being taken from the government statistics. It will be noticed that the smelt, like most of the other commercial fishes, is more concentrated around the mouth af the bay and become scarcer towards the head of the bay. In this latter reBion the published statistics may not give an adaquate idea of the abundance of smelt due to a lack of any substantial p rov i s i on for taking them.

Yarmouth county on t he Nova Scotia side of the bay is the most important smelt district, with Charlotte county in New

Brunswick a close second. The fish is absent at Grand Manan island, and is scarce at Campobello island. Everywhere in the Fundy area the smelt "a s restricted to a very narrow shore zone and is further limited by lack o f streams suitable for spawning. II

Tusket river Smelt are fairly abundant a.long most of the coast of Yarmouth c ounty with the exception of Tusket island a n d the stretch of coast extending from Yarmouth harbour to the Digby county line. In 1927, none were reported in the official statis­ tics from Yarmouth to Port Maitland. Over one-half of the total · catch for Yarmouth county is taken in the Tus~et river. In 1929, for example, 44,400 pounds were taken in this river alone. Smelt are principally taken on a stretch of about seven miles extending from the ocean to the head of the tidal water, or a pyroximately to the Highway bridge which is where the highroad crosses the river. 10

Sissibou river The Sissibou river ranks next in importance th the

Tusket. The Sissibou divides into two branches ~ the Shebogue and

the Acadia rivers. According to accounts the smelt ascend the

\ Shebogue as soon as the ice forms on the flats, and on the very

next night the smelt are found only in the Acadia. The best smelt

fishing is found near where the Sissibou forks and for a consid­

. erable distance up these branches. Th e smelt of the Sissibou are

not considered so large as those taken in the Tusket river.

The rivers at the head of the ba~ that are inhabited more or less

by smelt are the following: Portanpique, Ma c e a n , Gaspereau, Corn­

wallis, Apple and Petitcodiac. Smelt enter the Portanpique river

to spawn about the first week in May but r emain there for only

about three days. They ascend just beyond the head of the tide

and are said to be very abundant during their short stay in the

river. They spawn also in the Macean river well u~ in Annapoils

basin and are believed to spawn in fresh water. In the Petitcodiac

river they spawn over a region about four and one-half miles in

extent, from the Albert railway bridge to three miles .above

Salisbury. In 1852, Moses Perley wrote that "smelts aBcend all

the rivers in this locality (Minas basin) at the close of the

winter in almost miraculous ~P¢~~f abundance." In 1929, non smelt

were reported from Annapolis basin around the entire head of the

bay to St John county.

St John river The smelt are not plentiful in any part of st John

county. Occasionally small q uant i t i e s are taken in the herring

weirs along with sardines, but not more that one-half barrel to

around twenty hogsheads of sardines. A few are caught With hook-and il i n e around the warves of St John harbour, and through the ice in :Nenn eb ec a s i s river. 11

Charlotte County

South of St John harbour, around Beaver harbor, smelt are relatively scarce, in fact , it might be said that this district does not support a commercial smelt fishery. The fish occur in varying quantities in local district and the absence of guardian precludes the possibilitj of greatly increasing the present diminished supply. South of Beaver harbor t he best river for smelt is the L8Etang river where sometimes large catches are taken. This river likewise furnishes the source of a moderate summer catch in the neighboring weirs and also the fall and spring gill net fishery. In the opinion of some fishermen the Macadavic r iver is a better smelt stream than the L'Etang. The two together are responsible for most of the commercial smelt fishing in Char­ lotte county. campobello island Thirty-six hundredweight of smelt were reported from Campobello island in 1929, most of which were taKen in the fall although this small catch was distributed also over the spring and summer months. Only two coves mn Campobello deserve special

h mention as district/where smelt reside. These are BunKer Hill cove and Conroy' s cove, both near Wi l s on ' B Beach . In the former cove there is no stream but the smelt are sometimes left high and dry on the b each. In Conroy's cove, however, there is a small stream where smelt occur in large quantities always during t .e fi~Bt full moon in May. The spawn of the smelt have been reported lI a bov e the bridge" which must be at least 100 yards above high water and and so be outside of the .i n f l uen c e of salt water. 12

The fishery officer for Campobello and vicinity affirmed

I I v. that he observed smelt in pairs. in Conroy's cove brook, and he believes that the fish spawn in pairs. While as far as we know~ nobody else has hi\herto reported anything like this for the smelt, it must not be regarded as fantastic. A small relative of the smelt, the capelin (Mallotus' villos,:us), mates while actually spawning, and mating has been observed in other species although it is generally rare in fish. Smelt s pawn in such dense schools and usually at night and in rather turbalent water that it is quite possible for mating to occur and yet not be observed. Mr.

Batson .has, at any rate, suggested a problem in the biology of the smelt that might well merit attention.

The neighboring island, Deer island, p ossesses only a few places where smelt are sometimes taken in small quantities.

Grand Manan island does not have smelt , Mr Joy the fishery officer saw only one specimen on the island during his whole lifetime.

From the foregoin5 it is clear that the smelt is not abundant in any section of the Fundy area, although formerly it was probably more abundant. The fish is still present in small numbers all along the shores of the Bay of Fundy, but only small more or less isolated catches are made due to the absence of suitable streams for spawning. Where the catch is large as for instance in Yarmouth c ounty it is made almost entirelj between the mouths of estuaries and the head of the tine. 13

The smelt does not mndertake extensive migrations. After

spawning in the rivers it merely scatters over a fairly wide

area adjoining the spawning rivers • The fish does not disappear

from the coast as many fishermen maintain and they may be

taken at any season, although is smalle-r amounts, in thesea not far from the rivers. As the water becomes cooler in the

autumn the fish congregate near the mouths of the rivers and

thus support a good fall fishery.

The tides in the bay of Fundy may have some effect on

the abundance of smelt, because this fish prefer clear water

and the turbid waters of the Fundy area may be a factor in

addition to the lack of svawning streams in keeping down the

abundance of smelt in this area. 14

VI. Fluctuations

The course of the smelt fishery as revealed by the

statistics is presented in figure 2. The upper line shows the

I catch for the whole of Canada, and the second line the annual \ catches for the Fundy area. The three lines in the lower part of I the figure represent the catches for the three important smelt­

producing counties in the Fundy area, namely, Yarmouth (solid

line), Digby (dotted line) and Charlotte (broken line). The data

for certain years after 1872 were not available, and likeWise,

in the case of the total Dominion catch for some year between

1900 and 1912. Subject to the expected fluctuations it may be

stated that the smelt fishery shows no appreciable decline. Whether

we are considering the production for Canada as a Whole or just

the bay of Fundy region.

Total Canadian Catch Previous to 1896 when an all-time

record was established, the trend of the smelt fishery for the

Dominion has been upward. Since then the total production for

the country has remained very much the same. For the past ten

years or so there seems to be an indication of cycles of major

productivity occurring every t wo or three years.

Fundy area catch The u~ward trend of the smelt fishery

in the tobal Canadian catch pr ev i o us to 1896 is likeWise reflected

in the catches for the Fundy region, but it will be noticed that

Yarmouth was the only county in the region to share in this up­

ward SWing. Evidently the other counties had not yet entered

seriously into the smelt industry. The precipitious drop ~f 1897

is due entirely to the decline in the Yarmouth catch. It is inter­ 15

esting to note that it was this same year, 1897, that Digby re­ county enters the ~icture after reporting smelt for only a fe w scattered years since statistics had been collected. Doubtless the rather phenomenal growth of the industry in Yarmouth county previous to 1896 served as toe stimulus for the renewed activity

·on the part of Digby. Yarmouth was slower to recuperate from the sudden decline of 1896, and so we find the catch for Digby to exceed that of Yarmouth bybthe year 1898. By the year 1905,

Yarmouth had once more regained the ascendency in smelt of all the counties in the Fundy region, and she has continued to hold her first place pretty consistantly ever since.

During these early years Charlotte county continued to catch smelt in a fairly consistant manner, and the gerenal trend of the curve for this county before the year 1900 was slowly but steadily upward. True the poor season of 1896 hit Charlotte county also, but to a considerably less extent. The few years immediately after the opening of the new century showed a less­ output for Charlotte county, but similar declines may be noted for some of the more recent yeRrs. FJr the past thirty years, then, the total smelt catch has remained about the same in the Fundy region, but there has been a maraed up and down trend in the fishery in the individual counties. 16

Monthly Variations Figure 3 shows the smelt landings in the vatious counties for the principal months of the fishing season. The figure represents the average monthly landings for the five years, 1925­ 1929 inclusivea The catch for Westmoreland county includes the bay of Fundy side as well as the Northumberland strait side; the latter comprises practically the entire Westmoreland caych and is included here merely as a basis for comparison with the counties of the Fundy area. It will be seen that the fishery is considerably earlier in Charlotte county and in Northumberland strait than on the Nova Scotia side of the bay of Fundy. The entire Charlotte county catch is taken in October and November, while The Yarmouth season does not get under way until after Christmas. Digby has a small spurt of fishing in October, but it falls to zero in November, gets under way agamn in December and continues through january and February. The Digby fishery starts a full month in advance of the Yarmouth fishery and also terminates a month earlier. This would seem to indicate that on the Nova Scotia side of the bay at least the smelt congregate in the estuaries and harbours earlier within the bay itself than around the fueadlands. "Closed season tl does not enter as a factor for the months shown, since the closed season for smelt in New Brunswick lasts from March until June inclusive, while that for Nova Scotia \ extends from April to July inclus Lve , 3 - :J-4. _:::'",", .~...t~ . I' -t~"l.., "-j ....,~ ~,,;...... ­ /:«; CJ~..~ "'-'--/ c~ ~A~ c -t-el.. fr~,,-... . ~t'4...... #·t _$1 ;j 17

VII. Utilization

Among the early settlers smelt were taken in

enormous numbers and used as manure. Perley, for instance, refers

to their being taken "by the c a r-t, load" for this purpose. Later,

Knight wrote that smelt have "never been deemed of sufficient

worth as to become an article of exportation". Yet the fish was

consumed extensively by people who resided near its I habitat' ,

and it was also livery generally sold by hawkers in the city of

Halifax." This writer also refers to its being j..#~-,1 often used

as a bait for cod, and another writer says that the fish was

taken in enormous quantities "mostly to feed pigs"• We thus see that this delicious little fish was not always

held in such high esteem as it is to-day. Its use as food was

largely confined to the requirements for home consumption; any

excess that was taken was never marketed but dis£)osed of in

some other way. ( To-day, Boston and New York constitute the pr~ncipal I markets for Canadian smelt, and of these two, Boston is the most ) important for Fundy smelt. The fish are marketed either "f'r-eah" or "frozen". Fresh

smelt are packed in boxes containing twenty-five pounds net weight of fish, 5% extra weight being allowed for shrinkage. The fish

are graded according to size into three grades, namely, II extras It ,

Number 1 and Number 2. It takes from six to twelve "ext.r-as" to

make a pound, from 12 to 20 of No.1. , and from 2Q to 25 of No. 2.

Fish so small that they run over twenty-five to the pound should , -, 18

not be put on the market. After grading, the fish are packed

I , in fine or shaved ice. The boxes should be tight. j "Frozen" smelt are packed in fifteen pound boxes, and I I should also be packed slightly overweight to allow for ehrin­

kage. The boxes must be new, clean and airtight. The fish are

naturally frozen on the ice immediately after being caught and

in this condition are considered superior to either "gr-een"

smelt or those artifically frozen. Care is taken to have each

fish frozen separately and not en masse. 19

VIII. Future Possibilities

Due largely t o the vigorous protests

of W. H. Venning, Fishery Inspector of New Brunswick during the

1 ast quarter of the ninet eenth century, the regulations for

smelt fishing in Canada seem to be all that is necessary to

protect the industry. No fishing of any kind is permitted during

the spawning season of the fish. But more important as an aid

in the conservation of any species is the attitude of the fish­

ermen themselves. Smelt fishermen, particularly in Yarmouth

county, have become convinced that the fishery is a valuable

one and are generally agreed to conserve their own pro ~erty.

It would be difficult t o find a more creditable attitude on the

part of any other body of fishermen anywhere toward a sogcalled

"nat.ur-a.L r-eaour-ae" In general, t hen , the smelt laws of the

Fundy region are entirely adaquat e , and the I1 r ul e s of the game"

are generally observed.

In spite of this the production of smelt shows no notice­

able increase, and the absence of suitable spawning streams and

( the natural conditions of the Fundy region probably preclude~

the possibility of greatly increasing the supply. The condition I of affairs ~n the smelt industry resolves itself into "holding \ on to a good thimgll. The market and the price are generally strong, and fishermen who go into the industry on a small should

I make it pay. 20

Future investigations of the smelt should center around

an adaquate understanding of the biology of the Fundy smelt, and

secondly, an investigation of the streams of the region to

discover which ones seem to be most suitable for smelt. It is

possible that with very little difficulty many of the streams

could be put int o condition to attract many more of the spawn­

) ing fish than they now do, and in this way the smelt population

could be increased.