Middletown transcript., 1871-04-15

The commissioners state that Of all the
species Of apparatus ever devised by hn-
man ingenuity for the wan,on and persis-
tent destruction of young shal, the palm
must be awarded to the ec-wcir. This
is principally found above tide water, the
great spawning ground of our migratory
fishes. They have wings Of stone or
brush, sometimes extending entirely across
the river, aud sometimes two ARREST. 1t
seems almost an impossihil,y for any Of
the young shad to escape uninjured. They
are found along the river in immense num-
bcrs, and the number Of young shad they
destroy is almost beyond calculation. g.
From one ell weir near Belyi!erc, a ear
tai ot yoaug siad eas toAcn ia ono lay,
~ dtad, and Mr.. Isaac Scarborough Of
New Hope, says he has seen bushels of
dead young shad in one afternoon in the
fish basket at Bulls Island and Center
Bridge. Persons watching the baskets u,
night re frequently Obliged To clear them
from the young shad. by means Of scoop
shoYels. \ law should be passed to pro-
hibi these haske.s in the Delaware. and
lbai llw ehaull be enforced. Between
,hsss iish baskets, anil the dams erected
en the Delaware by the iren~n Water
Po sor Company, 10 feed the Delaware
aud Raritan Canal. TO improve the nayiga-
tim, or for manufacturing purposes. the
shal will ultimately be driven from the
river; and the legislatures Of our two
STATES cannot do u better work than cor-
rect .hcse evils by Il stringent law. The
fishing interest is too important to allow
i, to be broken up To show that these
distractions drive the shai away. We
would state that since the improvements
nade in the dam aud racew way Of the
Trenton Water Power Company. at senl-
der's Falls, the catch Of shad has greatly
increased the past season in the upper
Delaware, while no Improvement j, visible
ut the tidc.watcr fisheries shal harc
appeared in localities far up the river.
where they have mot been seen for long
time before. 4 project is On foot to add
the number Of sllad in the Delaware by
artificial propagation, by private enter
prize The number Of slad caught in the
Delewrae in 1870 is estimated ut two and
half millions, aud it is thought that with
rigid enforcement Of the present laws.
aud the passage of such as the commits
soners recommend the number. in fan
years could be increased four fold We
hope Pennsylvania will emulate the ex-
ample Of New Jersey, and give proper Mt
teu,ion to the preservation and protection
of the migratory fishes that freqnen. the
Delaware
\ bill for the protection Of the shad
fisheries Of the Delaware. drawn up by the
Commissioners Of Fisheries Of Pennsylya-
mia and New Jersey. passed the House of
Representatives NJ The latter State. on the
2ls, instant. II is divided into four sec-
tions:
Section first forbids the having in pos
session of shad caught in the Delaware
river after June IL.
Section second forbids the drawing Of
any seine in the Deleware river between
June 10Th and August 10th. This is to
give the fishes fair opportunity TO deros.
it their spwan
The remaining portion of the bill pro-
ydos for the appointment Of fish wardcns.
whose duty it shall be to take cognizance
Of all infringmcnts Of the fishing code.
and bring the offenders to justice.
II is the intention Of tho Commission
ers to prepare an abstract Of the fishing
laws Of the State and forward the same
free. upon application, to all interested. =
Doylesforn, Pa. Democrat.