Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1878-06-29
The Potomac Fisheries.

For some time past the United States Fish
Commission has been endeavOring to obtain
accurate statistics of the annual catch of fish
In the Potomac Tor the last forty or fifty years.
From scattered data il is evident thai there
has been startling decrease in the Weld of
what was once the greatest fish producing
river in the world. The amount caught now is
only about one half of one per cent. OF the yield
aScrlbed To 1t by trustworthy authorities,
nearly half century ago. But the Fish Com
mission desires To learn with accuracy the
successive steps of this decrease, and the
amount of falling off for each year; and from
this foundation of established facts it will be
enabled to trace with certainty, and in man .
her to carry conviction, the causes of the de
Cline and the extent to which each is to be held
DlamaOie, and TO point out, as a result of a
knowledge OF the causes the wiSeSt remedies
to be adopted. When th, has been done the
Commission will be able to lay before Con
gress and the legislatures of Maryland and
Virginia an exhibit, whose facts and differences
drawn therefrOm, will be placed beyold
question. and which. in its present shOwings
and the tendencies discovered, will be so alarm
ing that it Will deserve, and, il is hoped will
receive the serious consideration of the legis-
iatiye aut critics which have jurisdiction over
the Potomac. Appropriate concurrent legis-
litiOn by them, designed to check the practices
which have depleted the river. would, it is
believed, in conjunction with restocking of
The stream by The Fish Commission, go far To-
wards restoring to the Potomac its former
prOductiyenesS. In its work of cOllectin facts
on the subject, the commission has in most
cases received the effective cooperation of
those from whom information was sought
PrOprietOrs OF landings and fish dealers have
cheerfully furnished their books for inspec-
ton, and III some instances have given time to
the explanation of their records. Valuable
information has been thus derived. But
In one direction the Commission has met with
an unexpected rebuff. AT many of the land
1ngS incomplete records, or none at AL have
been Kept, the fish being sent Immediately to
agents In Alexandria, whose books thus give
the only accurate showing of the catches at
such landings. Some of these agents refuse to
permit their books to De inspected unless the
prlVllege,Whlch they estimate in value at from
sOtO TO slUUo, be bought. As the results of the
commissions unSelfiSh labor in cleaning this
information will especially benefit the fisher
men, and, consequently, their cents the re-
1usal OF the latter TO cooperate is rather re-.
narkaD e. 1t is to be hnp d tn 1t this decision
VIII be recOnsidered. Private interest and
public spirit point in this case in the same
direction, and every one who can facili ate the
Commissions labOrs by furnishing reliable in
formation, from old books or Otherwise "a tn
the past prOductiveness of the Potomac, should
gladly do so. No Washingtonian or AlexaD-
drian can be indifferent to efforts which are
designed to restore, in time'a lost trade to
give employment to many who are now idle
and TO bring into our markets largely-increased
quantities OF cheap and nutritious food.