Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1883-06-16
CITY AND DISTRICT.
THE FISHING SQUABBLE AGAIN.
Seines. Trap Nets and Gill Nets.

his lower river shore, dsmantled his cabins,
dismissed his mea and returned home with
out means" as he stated, ''of squaring his ac-
counts, he remarked. in reply TO the question
of what luck?" Its no use. I've been I'm the
fishing business forty years, and It's played out.
The way / feel now Is that it's the last trip
shall make think seriously of turning my at
fention to something else and If / could get any,
thing near what my layout cost me I'd be
happy man. As it is now, there's thousands OF
dollars I'm seines, nets, boats, machinery pro-
visions and all sorts OF rig and heavy balance
against me for this years fruitless efforts and
no encouragement ahead. Their doesn't appear
to De any more fish i'm the river With one or two
exceptions among the thousands of fishermen
In the business, all have sunk their means
thrown 1t newfoundland are by far worse off
than when they cast their first net In the
spring"
Was the season any worse than that Of last
Year,? asked The STAR reporter.
"YeS. far worse. especially for the seine haul
ers who have so much invested In their lay
put; then their running expenses are 80 much
heavier than these gill and trap men,"
But you seine men are away down below the
OILERS and trappers. and you ought to get the
first dip at the shad and herring when they
come up from the bay aud ocean" put in THE
STAR.
There's where you're mistaken. 1t used to
be 50 once, but is no longer that way. We don't
get the first dip at the fish at all the gill nets
are spread out miles and miles way below the
seine-haulers, to the very mouth of the river
and even into the Chesapeake bay-there's not
yard of space not covered; and about the
shoals and bars in the bay, anywhere near the
FLYER approaches, every yard is curtained off
with gill nets. and the fish, if there are any, are
headed of from entrance to the river
and do not enter 1t In numbers. as be-
fore these distractions were put there
People appear TO have gone wild on this matter
OF fishing; they think there's lots of money I'm it,
ami, as gill nets are inexpensive. comparatively
to seines. they Can Gll manage to get web or
two of gill netting. and boat two to trail
them. This is the reason so many go into the
business Thousands of Idle men. who never
caught fish. go in every year. but the most of
them are glad to get their money back, this year
especially"
Then the cause Of the decline in numbers of
fish caught this year has been the Increased
number Of OILERS and trappers," ventured the
reporter.
Why certainly if is: 1t amt nothing else: the
river is covered with them; YOU see how it is I'm
'front.' OF this city; it's even worse the further YOU
go down; and the bay itself is getting to be COW
cred with them; the fish are not permitted to
pass into the Ever. and are driven away from
the spawning ground, to find other places. It's
the internal gill nets and trap nets; nothing else.
Some of these fellows would try to make it ap-
pear that the seines are the cause of keeping the
fish down; this is bosh and lies 1t didn't use to
be SO twenty or thirty or more years ago, when
fishing, and the river was alive
with fish every year. Why seine
hauling is the oldest device known
admit that the seines were not so long then as
now, for the reason that it was not necessary.
Between the time of the hauiings many hours
eiapse sometimes, Offering no obstruction to the
fish TO run at will about the shores and, as for
the Damages the drag ropes do, it's all foolish
ness. i never saw any fish spawn drawn up
with river debris in my life. exceDt sometimes
when old shoe fin nv kattJ 10 ia draxy
In u few fish eggs may be noticed in them
Inc river bottom Is by no means all disturbed
0y the Selnes; there are thousands Of acres Ofthe
bottoms of streams, rough and uneven where the
seine ropes do not touch. The traps and gill
nets are set all the time and no fish can escape
them. Shad and herring do not like obstruc-
lions; they go where there is clear water of
gentle motion. and when they meet with OBJ
structiOns ike nets strung out in vast curtains
they turn about and go back. One thing is
Clear: that there never was known any scarcity
OF fish during the old times. when nothing but
eeines were used There are but three well de-
nned methods of catching fish: by senes, gill
nets, and stationary traps and no one who pos
sesses sny practical knowledge of fishing
Will say that seines do the most dam
age Gill netting has been at one
time popular method Of fishing but it is no
longer, on account of its damage to the fish,
The destruction to the female shad loaded with
spawn, while hanging in the nets. by the vora-
c!ous catfish and eels is enough to condemn
them How often do OILERS find these shad
killed. and nearly devOured, by these game fish,
when they are lifted out of water. These MUIR
derous fish follow and lay around gill nets for
the purpose of preying upon these roe fish. OF
the gill net and trap net, the latter is much the
least injurious TO the fish, as there Is no vio-
!ence used in operating them. The nets are SO
fixed that the fish are led into the trap before
they know it, and while in they have their free
dom TO play about until they are gently dipped
out with hand nets, and can be kept alive, If so
desired Both kinds, however. should be ex-
eiuded from the Potomac river
When were gill nets first used on this ryer?"
asked The STAR
Ever since | have known amazing about
nsillng. but in olden time they We're generally
used by farmers and dwellers near the river and
then only TO serve their own uses; for instance
Persons living long distances from fishing shores
USED to spread out a floating net made with
large meShes, made of fine thread to catch shad
and herring FOR packing in salt to keep for use
throughout the year, and sometimes supply
tfeir nelghbOrs, bat it was never carried on to
any extent until within the last twenty wears
Some say they were in Use or this river fifty
years ago. 1t does not matter much about that
We do know that they ought TO be suppressed
by law, as they are now destroying the bust
Ness"
WHAT THE OILERS SAT-.
i regular old gil.er was the next one inter-
viewed by The STAR. He had followed the bust
ne.s for years, had worked at seine-hauling and
had done a little oftrapping. He said the gill
lefs aad al done badly this year, and perhaps
there were to- many of them in the business
but added: You know there are many Door
people out OF money. provisions. and with no
occupation Their nets don't cost much-many
o. TIE OILERS making them for their own use.
Some OF them fsh tor shad and others for her
ring the latter predominant as to numbers be-
cause they are more certain to get herring"
some OF the fishermen are opposed to the gill
nets and say they ought to be excluded by law
from the river, as they are damaging the fishing
and are murderous Oil the fish in many WAYS"
said the reporter.
4 know they talk about US especially the
seine-haulers, answered the giiler '.Of course
We have to do the best We can. and there is not
much charity between the different classes of
fishermen Each will talk for his own interests
same as all the world does. believing his own
way the best. Everybody knows. though. that
These Dig seines do more damage to fishing
than any other way used to catch fish Why
just look at the mesheS OF the seines; they are
SO small-about 215 inches-and they gobble
up everything, even little perch. ees, cat fish,
crabs, mnnows-from the smallest to the larg-
est-nothing can escape, and they are all killed;
W fbair