150 THEISLAND ACADIANS 
     
    
   
   
    
     young unmarried women or widows who were anxious to earn a living 
     
     in order to bring up their children. 
     
    

    
     In 1891, a journalist. with the Moniteur Acadien, visiting the Aca- 
     
     dian communities on the Island, was struck by the effect that the 
     
     fishing industry had on the local economy. With regard to Egmont 
     
     Bay, he wrote: 
     
    
   
   
    
     Lobster-fishing is the main industry along the coast, here and elsewhere on 
     
     the Island. 
     
    

    
     I dare say that several members of almost one third of the families are 
     
     either fishing mackerel or lobster, or else are employed in the canning factories. 
     
     It is a most interesting process to observe. (TR)! 
     
    
   
   
    
     As a result of the fishing industry, jobs were created in other 
     
     sectors even during the winter; wood had to be cut, boats built, traps 
     
     and crates made for the fishermen and the packers. Already in 1880 
     
     J. Hunter Duvar, fisheries inspector, had remarked on the positive 
     
     impact of this new growth in the fisheries: 
     
    
   
   
    
     A large amount of ready money is circulated by this industry. Besides the 
     
     erection and repair of buildings, tin and iron work, boat-building, fuel-cutting, 
     
     truckage, and much other outlay, fair wages are paid, directly or indirectly to 
     
     perhaps two thousand hands, male and female. Hence the industry is of 
     
     considerable importance in the political economy of the Province.'®’ 
     
    
   
   
    
     OTHER FISHERIES 
     
    
   
   
    
     After 1880 lobster was almost always the leading fisheries product 
     
     on the Island. Other important catches such as mackerel, herring, 
     
     oysters and cod continued to be profitable. Statistics for 1889 provide 
     
     information on the relative commercial value of each type of fish: 
     
     lobster— $247,313; mackerel—$198,662; herring—$135,760; oys- 
     
     ters—$123,771; cod and hake— $117,829'%. 
     
    

    
     Mackerel fishing appears to have been very good in 1880 around 
     
     Rustico and on the Island generally, as was pointed out in the Moniteur 
     
     Acadien: 
     
    
   
   
    
     Mackerel fishing is infinitely better than last year. The fish is a better size, it 
     
     fetches a better price and is more abundant. In various fishing communities 
     
     on the Island, boats are bringing in between three and four thousand a day.