The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1881-03-24
The Rhode Island Fisheries.

NEWPORT, March 10, 1881. The Commissioners
of Inland Fisheries have presented their tenth an
nual report to the Legislature. and in view Of the
fact that the New York and Philadelphia markets
are largely supplied at certain of the year
by Newport fishermen, a few facts furnished by
them will be of interest.
The scarcity of bass, for which Newport's shores
are famous, is accounted for by the use of traps
which are the means of catching the fish by thous
ands when they only weigh from one half to three
and four pounds each There are invested in this
State by persons residing here SIT 300 in works.
steamers, boats, &c, giving employment to 1874
men. In the Menhaden Fishery there are 246
men who depend upon fishing for their support
during the whole year, of whom forty three are
interested in heart nets Exactly why this small
number of individuals should be allowed year af-
ter year to deplete and almost ruin the fisheries
the Commissioners fail to see, and, in their capac
ty as Commissioners. they earnestly beg that the
General Assembly will enact such additions to the
Fishery laws as they suggest. The Commission
ers find that there number of individuals
residents of the State, who carry on the man
utacture of fish oil and guano and heart sening to
say nothing of lobster catchers
The Commissioners desire to call the attention
OF the General Assembly to the very important
question of the lobster fishery in Rhode Island
waters Maine, Massachusetts and New York have
seen tit to protect themselves and it is more than
time that the State of Rhode Island followed their
example The lobster law of Massachusetts for
inches in length The capture Of small Holsters
has gone on in Rhode Island since the first lobster
pot was put in Rhode Island waters The larger
ones are sent to market and the smaller are used
t2r bait for blacksh. Very many men exc out
living with their lobster pots. For number of
years past the catch of Holsters has been steadily
decreasing, not as to numbers, but as to size The
Commissioners recommend the passage of a law
forbdding the sale of Holsters less than twelve
inches in length, and suggest that it would be adj
vlsabe to forbid the sale of female Holsters loaded
with spawn. So far as the limit of size is con
cerned, the Commissioners are assured that the
law will be most popular To show the value Of
the lobster fishing the Commissioners state that
one man in this city handled $40, 900 worth during
the past year
The Commissioners have received consgn-
ment of 200 carp from Professor Baird, the United
States Commissioner The Commissioners recon-
mend the applying Of the CLOSE Time law to the
whole of the waters Of the coast line of the State
and Narragansett Bay also the granting to the
Commissioners Of power to issue licenses in such
number as they may think proper, each applicant
to give bonds that he will not violate the law also
provision that every person licensed shall, on or
before November Of each year, make sworn re-
turn to the Commissioners of the amount of his
catch and the prices he has realized for the same
no new license to be issued to any one neglectng
or refusing to make such return, this being neces
sary to insure complete and thorough statistics of
the catches and the value of the fish