The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1889-02-11
THE JOLLY GREEN LOBSTER OF MAINE,
He Has Lots of Friends at Augusta
Now.
And They All Want to do Him a
Kindness.
bat No Two Agree About What
Kindnes ls.
Especial to the Press. !

Especial to the Press.l
AUGUSTA, Feb. 10. The lobster has been
attracting general attention at the State
House during the week just passed. From
Kittery to Quoddy the lobster is an object OF
the greatest interest. and when there Is
any proposition to change the human laws
regarding his being. there is insured full
delegation of interested fishermen, Gamers
hotel men and philanthropists from all alone
the coast. This last week they have been
wrestling with the question before the com.
inittee on Fisheries and Game, of which Sen
ator Hinckley, of Georgetown, is chairman.
The interests opposed to the present law
have retained Baker & Cornish as counsel
and True P. Pierce, Esq, Of Rockland, has
appeared for the Commissioner of Sea and
Shore Fisheries. They have examined wit
hesses, cross questioned them, and closed
their arguments, and the complicated and i'm
portant question has at last gone to the CON-
mittee for settlement.
The question is somewhat difficult to un-
derstand, because of the variety of different
interests involved. Along the western part
OF the coast those who send their fresh lob
sters to market want one thing; and along
the eastern part of the coast those who put
them up in cans want another thing. Then
there are the hotel keepers who have wants
OF their own. Each tells story that shows
what an important fish the lobster really is
TO Maine. Several of them have talked with
the PRESS correspondent and told him their
stories.
True P. Pierce. Esq, who represents the
Commissioner of Sea and EShore Fisheries,
says in relation Of the question: "There
are various interests involved in the question
For instance 547 persons in the vicinity of
Jonesport. petitioned for the removal of all
restrictions. Then there are others, about
1,449 petitions in all who ask for the removal
1st and July 1st. The remonstrances are
substantially all alike. They demonstrate
against any change In the present law, es-
pecially as to size. There are $3.50 of these
remonstrants. A very large percentage of
the fishermen along the shore are on these
remonstrances. Now there has, think no
one will doubt, been a gradual diminution
iD the size and numbers of the Holsters on
our coast This became so marked that In
1888 law was passed forbidding the capture
of any lobster under inches in length and
OF any lobster with spawn or eggs attached.
That law made close time from Aug. 10Th
to Nov. 18th. and prohibited canning from
April 1st to August 1st, In 1885 the law was
amended making the, close time from August
10th to Nov. 1st and making the canning
season from April LIST to July 18th. In 1887
the law was further amended making the
close time from August 1st to September 10Th
prohibiting the catching or sale of any lob
sters under 103 inches in length and the sale
of any Holsters with spawn or eggs attached.
The amendment also prohibited the canning
of Holsters between the first day of July and
the fifteenth day of the following April.
Under this law we contend that the Holsters
have grown more plentiful and that the great
industry has been much benefited. 1t may
be that canning cannot be proftably pursued
under this law but they have only the ex-
perience Of from last April to base their
opinions upon. As to the close time, / am
rather Of the opinion that that is of no par
ticular benefit"
Mr.. j. Wyman, of the firm of j. & e. A.
Wyman, of Millbrldge. represents the inter-
ests of the men on the Eastern coast. He Is
an able young man, thoroughly posted in the
details of his business. He says:
"The lobster law is attracting considerable
attention. 1t would be impossible to frame
law that would be more for the interests of
Massachusetts, Nova Scotia and New Bruins
wick than the present law. In Massachusetts
there is the largest market lobster dealer in
the United States. He has a pound at
Vinal Haven, Maine, which they fill with
Holsters when they are cheap and sell them
out in the winter when the price is high.
Commissioner COunce says in his last report
that they filed this pound with 100000 lob
sters at cents each in the season of 1887 and
sold them out in the winter at 20 cents per
pound, or about As cents each. They must
have made'a net profit Of at least one hum
dred Thousand dollars. On account Of the
present law the canning factories could not
operate this last season and so the Boston
firm were able to fill the same pound for
much pleased with this law that they wrote
the Fishery Committee of our last legislature
congratulatory letter printed on page 26 of
the last report Of the Commissioner of
the Sea and Shore Fisheries. This
70 to's9r Sn tSa ~ ss;to ~ tSay to S as
the map will show how our Maine coast is
connected with the coast of Nova Scotia and
New Brunswick. From Eastport to Nova
Scotia is 30 to 60 miles. from Eastport to
port to Campobello is to 2 miles. Lobsters
in the winter drop off into deep water and in
the warm weather come in on the shores; so
in the winter they drop off into the Bay of
Fundy and in the summer are just as liable
to go In on the Nova Scotia and New Bruins
wick shores as in on our shores. This is not
all. In Nova Scotia and New Brunswick
they have law that they can not catch any
Holsters under inches in length (even this
law is not enforced) while on our coast the
law. prohibits catching any Holsters under
1O3 inches in length. So it can readily be
seen we are protecting all Holsters from to
103 inches for our provincial neighbors.
This is no doubt Christian-like but as they
have many advantages In their favor and
even Providence has favored them for the
past two years by sending mackerel on their
coast and none to our fishermen, would it
not be better to make law that would give
our fishermen an even chance with them
rather than to legislate in their favor? Last
season two factories operated successfully
in Campobello, M b., where there never
were any before; and if the present law re-
mains in force there will be three at least
operate on Grand Menan, where there are
none now, taking from our State not only
the Holsters but all the labor and material
required in canning the Holsters. They can
pack them into cans, bring them into the
United States without paying a cent of duty
and fill our markets. If the advocates of the
present law are right and Holsters must be
101 inches 10 length before maturity (though
don't see why law can compel them to
grow that length), Is not the catching exclus-
lively of the breeding Holsters, killing the
goose that lays the golden egg. and thus ex-
terminating the Holsters faster than as If the
fishing was not confined to the breeding part
of the fish, although the practical people who
are familiar with the lobster fishery claim
that the lobster will protect himself They
say that he goes In to the trap voluntarily and
that there is no such thing as exteIminating
them. Commissioner Counce says we are
using each year ten million more than the in
crease. No doubt he has had on a diving
suit, roamed oceans depths and taken TIE
census. Again the close season comes dur
ing the time when summer visitors are very
desirious of Eaving Holsters; and prevents
the hotel men from placing this delicious fish
upon their tables. Another complaint
against the present law is brought by the
dealers in live Holsters at Portland, who saw
that the trade is rapidly passing into the
hands of dealers outside of the State. Is ii
not time this law should be looked into and
run no longer under the disguise of Protec-
tion to the Lobster?"
Commissioner Counce says: at is very
noticeable that the last law of protection has
had much to do withsthe increase of Holsters
the past season for we have reports from all
parts of the State that they have not been so
plenty, cheap and large for ten years. We
have abundant proof of this fact. A reason
why the young 8 inch lobster should not be
used, but protected is this, we never find any
eggs attached to healthy 8 inch lobster,
while the healthy 103 inch lobster has from
1900 to 25,00O eggs attached. 1t will be seen
by this, II this little lobster is destroyed be-
fore it comes to maturity how is the lobster
going to be propagated on our coast? 1t
would be Just as good policy for the farmer
to destroy his chickens before they are hens
as the fishermen to destroy the inch lob
ster. l am of the opinion that the Gamers
do not care to do much canning of Holsters
In this. State, as If they did they could have
canned inch Holsters under the law up to
JuIV 1St. 1897 and fhie a Lotto in ba oao-