Port Tobacco times, and Charles County advertiser. (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1845-1898, 1871-03-24
Fishing ON the Potomas River.
TCoMMUNIcATED.7

Fishing ON the Potomac River.
COMMUNICATED.
Mr.. Editor:-The subject of fishing seems
to be an open one, and, perhaps, a free one,
though perhaps enough has already been said
to convince every clear headed and reasona-
bic man that there is some cause for the great
fall off in the quantities Of fish caught 10 the
waters Of our great Potomac, compared with
those of other days. As understand the
case in controversy it stands thus: Seines vs..
gillnets. One writer defending seines by at
tempting to prove that gluets must necessa-
rily drag the bottom of the river because it
has lines or strings between the corks and the
nets, thus lowering tho "lead line" until it
comes in contact with the bottom of the river,
and sweeping everything beforeit--logs, sticks.
rocks and stones-turning them over aud pass
ing on, destroying the fish spawn found in its
onward course, with the tide, and catching all
the fish with which it comes iu contact except
such as are small and pass through the meshes
Of the gillnst. Another writer takes the other
side, he argues that the seines destroy the fish
spawn by dragging and sweeping the bottom
Of the river &C., &c.
Now, sir, I am not fisherman, nor the SOD
of fisherman, but it strikes me very forcibly,
in regard to those gillnefs. for catching her.
ring particularly, that they do not drag the
bottom at all, while some OF the shad nets
may, but. generally speaking, when it has
been ascertained that they have dragged upon
the bottom Of the river, among logs, sticks,
&c., that the damages incurred from such
dragging Of the bottom is such that the giller
will rarely if ever, be willing to suffer second
occurrence of this famous dragging" know
ingly. And. strange too, that if the herring
nets should drag the bottom, that they never
come in contact with very large quantities Of
herring while 10 the act of depositing their
spawn. Such an occurrence would, no doubt,
break up that fisherman for one season at
least. Fifty thousand herring, or, will say,
one half of that number, would forever des-
troy the longest herring net that ever foated
in the Potomac, should they come in contact
with it. Tho fisherman would never be able
to draw in his net, it would sink to rise no
more under its great weight, for giled fish
soon dies. And, again, venture to assert
that there is not gillng boat upon the Po-
tomac that could float with that many herring
in it.
For considerable time past the fisheries
made upon the Potomac have been diminish
ing, that is the quantities Of fish caught have
been less and less every year, with few, if
any, exceptions. Now l have an idea as to
the cause, and, inasmuch as do not clearly
see more of philosophic or scientific reasoning
in the various idsas or arguments advanced
by those who have written upon the subject
before me than see in my own, l beg leave
to suggest my ideas too. Fifty years ago, or
even less, our mighty, majestic old Potomac
was not so frequently plowed to its very bot
tom, we may say, as it is now, by the mighty
and many steamers that are continually plow-
ing its waters from Washington city to Point
Lookout. Remember, too, we have had a
long and terrible war, during which we al
ways had number of war vessels stationed
all the way down the river, the roar of whose
guns almost shook the earth; and, besides
that, we had perhaps twenty times more of
steamers and other vessels, some of them of
the largest tonnage, continually blowing the
Potomac, than we have had probably for fifty
years past.
think that it is as reasonable as any other
advanced by those writer's in the
Times, to infer, that as God gave power to
man over all the fishes of the sea and over all
beasts, which, like the wild beasts of the field,
may be SO frightened by man that instinct
will teach them to seek the deepest depths Of
the forest for safety and security, fishes, too,
may and have been frightened to the greatest
depths Of the sea for safety and security
Instinct may have brought them into fresh
waters to spawn so instinct. too, may have
excited them to fear; and instinct may have
kept them from returning to our rivers any
more, even should it be to the utter destruc-
ton of their spawn. Self-preservation is the
first law of nature.
l have finished This is my first and it
shall be my last upon this subject. Rooo
Cheering Facts Tor the Bilious