Morning journal and courier., 1880-11-27
Death Trap in Shinnecock Bay.
 From Forest and dsStream.1

There are now untold millions of fish, mostly young ones, which are shut in by the closing of Shinnecock inlet, and which will die soon If not let out. The bay is situated upon the south side and near the eastern end of Long Island, opening southward into the Atlantic ocean, and is the feeding and spawn ing ground of millions of fish. Its fishery interests are very large; probably two hun dred men support their families from the bay fisheries, taking the different fish in their seasons, as bluefish, weakfsh, sea bass, etc., in spring and summer, and crabs, eels and hatfish in winter. The bay is deeper than the Great South bay, averaging about twelve feet but its inlet is often filled up and stop ped by the autumn storms, one of which closed it up about two months ago. Intelli- gent fishermen place the amount of young bluefsh (snapping mackerel), weakfish, men, haden, porgies and sea bass of this season's hatch now confined in the bay at many mil lions, while of the older fish there is also a great number, one of our informants saying that he recently saw ten acres of solid fish in one mass in the bay.
 Learning these facts we recently visited the bay and found them confirmed by the professional fishermen of Quogue, Atlantic ville Good Ground and Southampton. In conversation with Mir. William N Lane, the well-known host of the sportsmen's resort at Good Ground, so famous for its duck and bay-bird shooting, he said that he would open the inlet at his own expense, if allowed, but that there was fine of $25 and imprison- ment for doing. Astonished at learning that Q man might be subjected to criminal prosecution for doing so good and public spirited an act as MT. Lane proposed to do, vSe made further inquiry and learned that at the last session of the Legislature of New York the supervisors of the town were en- powered to appoint two commissioners, who had power to locate an inlet to be dug at the expense of the town and that 1t was unlaw- full for any one to make an inlet at any other place.
 Two men have been appointed; one of them
 is man who has no interest ill the bay and who does not care if it is never opened, and the other has Q hotel somewhere in the east ern part of the bay, where an inlet is not practicable, and he does not care to locate it elsewhere, and in the meantime the fish will die
 The death of the fish is not the worst evil. Many Of them do not decay until warm wea- ther according to the fishermen, and then the waters are foul, ''slick'' is formed on top from the oil and this, flowing out at every tide, repels the spawning fish from entering next season to deposit their ova This is case which calls for immediate &C., tion, and if Shinnecock bay is not open dur ing this month we hope that some way may be found to punish dereIict commissioners to as great an extent the law would infiict upon Mir. Lane or others who should offer to QO Jn1S necessary WOrK. The le$lSlaIufe SnOulu be called upon to repeal such portion of the act as inficts penalty upon men who offer to remedy the effect of storms in closing this in let. It seems to us not only unjust but out rageous The strip of sandy beach which sep arates the Atlantic from the bay is from six teen to seventy-five rods in width, narrowest near Good Ground, in the western part, where MT. Lane says he can open inlet in twenty four hours and the fishermen at At lanticville and Quogue, still west of that say that one made there is more likely to stand if | made in the eastern and wider part.
 1 We call the attention of our public spirited fish commissioners to this grievance. They are stocking the waters with young fish and here are millions of fry, one-quarter grown, suffering to be let out to find their migrating fellows or to go to deeper waters and more congenial temperature, which will surely die in another month. We are aware that the fish commissioners are powerless in this matter, but call attention that they may see that they should be empowered to act, and act prompt ly, in a case of this kind To dig such an in let is trifing matter, if legal restrictions are removed for if a small ditch is made the tides will attend to finishing it. and we call on somebody to do something to save, not only the fish now living, but the spawning ground of a most valuable fishery, from pollution which will render it obnoxious to the fish next season.