The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1889-02-11

pie come to our coast with the expectation
Of getting all kinds Of fish, the delicious lob
ster included Right in the. height of the
the greatest demand for Holsters, the close
time is on and it is difficult or impossible for
us to get them because it Is illegal for us to
have them. But right across the line in New
Hampshire the hotels can have all the lob
sters they want, And will tell you that it
makes great difference with us. People go
from my hotel over to the Wentworth House
at Newcastle and to the Rye Beach Hotels
and there have all the Holsters they want
There Is another hardship to our fishermen,
who along the whole coast are dependent to
a great extent upon the lobster fisheries for
their bread and butter. don't believe the
CLOSE time is necessary to preserve the lob
ster and If 1t Is necessary August is not the
time for it. We have railroad that brought
over owe $4,000 people into York last year If the
fishermen could supply the hotels and board
Ing houses where all the beople STOP would
mean plenty and prosperity for them"
Uncle Otis Kaler, who keeps the Kirk
wood at Scarboro beach says: That close
time is a nuisance. Those summer visitors
can't get them they go yelling all over the
house. | want no close time in July, August
and September, and want no lobster caught
under l04 inches in length"
Representative Fiske, proprietor of the Ho-
tel Fiske at OLD Orchard Beach, says: II am
in favor Of doing away with the close time.
The present close time damages our sum
mer business greatly"
Hon. Nelson Thompson, of Friendship
where there are many lobster fishermen,
says: I'VE have now close time that Is un-
satisfactory. Ii does not please the hotel
men, the cottagers, the Gamers, the dealers
or the fishermen. Our people, however, want
the provision that no lobster under 101 inches
10 length shall be caught or sold at any time.
Here Is our issue with the Gamers, who
want no restrictions as to size. This is the
whole issue. The use of those small Holsters
is cruel waste. For it not only cuts off the
hope Of future increase but is present waste
come to 800 while if allowed to grow to 10a
inches and upwards, those 10000 Holsters
would bring all the way from $500 to $780,"
Mr. Leonard L. McLain, of Pemaquid
Beach, is a fisherman who has had expert
ence in all kinds of fishing. "The fishermen
In our locality" says he, want a law that
will prevent the catching of all Holsters un-
der 1oa inches In length and they want also
the abolition of all close time. The smack
men who buy for Portland and Boston mar
kets say that the town of Bristol is the best
supply y-statlon for them that they can find on
the coast of Maine the season through. This
is because there are more lobster fishermen
there than in any other portion of the State.
The boats of these Bristol fishermen cost
from 500 to $500, and they have made more
money the present fall than they have for a
number of years before. This is because the
Holsters have increased under the present law
especially under the 10a inch clause. But we
could not sell Holsters under 101 inches long
In the great Massachusetts market because
of their law. So, to do away with the 10a
clause would help the factories only. And
If this clause should be repealed 1t would be
only matter of time when the fishermen
would call for protection again."