Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1883-10-16
FISH COMMISSIONERS.

The State Board of Fish Commissioners
met at their Office, 10 the Union Hotel, at 10
A. h. yesterday. Present.: Messrs. Dibble
and Buckingham. The minutes of the last
meeting were read and approved. The
Tressurer's report, which was read and fled,
shows that there has been paid cut for ex-
penses of the Commission during the year
Sc, 461 Sc, and that there remains balance
on hand of s161 %.
A communication was received, and read,
from Joseph Shelley who has charge of the
Shelley hatchery. He defends the suitability
of the location for hatchery, and says the
reason SO many fish have died there's entirely
owing to the neglect of James A. Richardson,
who was placed in charge. Richardson left
the hatchery for the mountains and was
absent for several weeks. He left orders that
the fish should only be fed twice day. The
fish commenced dying off at the rate of 200
or 800 day. About three weeks after
Richardson went away he wrote Shelley that
the fish should bs fed every two hours. As
coon as the management commenced feeding
the fish every two hours there was no more
deaths and they thrived wonderfully. Mr..
Shelley preferred damaging charges against
Mr.. Richardson, which were laid over until
next meeting, when they will be considered
and acted upon,
Seventy thousand trout have been dis.
tributed by the Commission from the Shelley
hatchery during the season. The Commits
sioners expressed entire satisfaction regarding
the Shelley hatchery, and state that the num-
Der Of trout distributed from there this season
was almost equal to those from all the public
and private hstcheriss during the two preced-
ing years.
The present Commission have placed all
the fish obtained from the hatcheries in pub.
lie streams, and have placed none in private
preserves, as had been the custom Of preced-
ing Boards.
The Secretary read letter from the Mexi-
can Minister, asking for the reports and pub
LEGATIONS of the Fish Commissioners of Cali
foSnis. The present Board have none of the
books or papers of any of the Boards preced-
ing them, and can furnish nothing except
what mas transpired during their administra-
ton.
Spencer +. Baird, Commissioners of Fish
and Fisheries of the United States, wrote
asking for statistics relative to the salmon
catch in Sacramento, the number and capac.
ity Of TIE canneries, etc. The matter was
referred to Commissioner buckingham, who
was Instructed to collate facts and figures re-
gardiug the same and transmit them to Mr..
Baird.
G. B. Williams, in communication from
Baird, Shasta county, says that the letter to
the United States Fishery at that point had
been received, accepting Mr.. Stones offer Of
5000 for the Matching and distributing of a
million salmon. The day after Mr.. Stone
left Bsird's the shaft OF the current wheel
b,%
broke, rendering the wheel useless for
this season. A temporary hatching-
house was constructed in the river
near by at considerable expense.
When the temporary hatchery spoken of was
in condition to receive eggs, they were trans.
ferred, but, owing to their tender and delicate
condition, at least one-third were destroyed,
and but about 700, 900 eggs remain to be
hatcbed. The letter concludes: "Should
You decide to accept the number of eggs that
were saved on the same terms as arranged by
Mr.. Stone for the million-viz., S600-sel-
egraph him at Chsrlestown, n. H, to that
effect, as l have no authority to make other
arrangements. 1t will be absolutely impossi-
Bile to obtain any more eggs at this station
this Season."
On motion of Mr.. Dibble, the Board
agreed to take the fish saved on the terms
stated.
A letter from Robert Watt, of Big Mead
ows, in reference to the destruction OF fish in
tEst locality, was laid over until next meet
ing, when the matter viii be thoroughly in
vestigated.
The Commissioners report that at Pinole
Point on the 9TH OF the present month a raid
was made by the officers, and fifteen China
men captured with rets, traps, etc. They
were taken to Martinez, and their tlial set
for to-day, the 10Th. Eighty nets were
taken. They stated that the Chinese in that
vicinity have been playing havoc with the
fnny tribes. Eighty nets were taken, and
the line of their operations it is said ex.
tended over two miles. From Pinole
Point they went to San Pedro, and
there arrested twenty-eight Cinnamon,
and captured seven boats aud a
large amount of netting, lines, etc Ten
vera tried at San Rafael, convicted and
sentenced to pay fine of $50 each. The
others are in jail awaiting trial.
On the 18th the Commissioners were fur
nished a steam launch by w. T. Cole
man, aud started out to examine the Bay Of
San Francisco. They ascertainsd that a
large number of Chinese were engaged in un-
lawfully catching fish. Ten Chinese compa-
MES that were daily violating the law were
found between Jackson street pier snd the
oyster beds, and between fifteen and twenty
juuks seized.
After trsnsacting some other business of
minor Importance the Board adjourned to
meet IN this city on the second Monday Of
November.