The intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1887-1891, 1890-05-10
THE TAKING OF FISH IN MISSOURI.

There seems 10 be q very general
erroneous impression in regard to the
last amendment to the law regulating
the taking of fish in Missouri. The
prevalent idea is. that the thirty-iitth
general assembly removed all restric-
lions against seining, netting and
trapping fish, except for the IL month
in the y3ar, April.
The real state of the case is SET forth
in the amended section, which is TO-
the law, as follOws:-
Ill any person shall place or main
tain or cause to be placed or maintained
in any of the waters of the state any
seine, net, gill-net, trammel-net, bag {,
weir or other device, or by any such
means shall take or catch q fish in the
waters OF this state, he shall be deemed
guilty of q misdemeanor, aud upon
conviction thereof be tiued in a sun OF
not less than five dollars nor more than
one hundred dollars: PyOUided, hOWeUer,
that during the months of May, June,
July, august, September, October,
NOUem6eT, December, %January. February
and March. any .fSh may be LaCJuHy
taken NTH StineS, set nets, or fish traps,
The meshes Of which shall not be smaller
than 10 inches square: Provided, the
provisions OF this section shall not
apply to persons who own land adIoin.
ing such waters from taking fish tor
their W family use: and provided,
further, that they shall no prevent the
Tree passage OF fish from up and down
such waters"
"Nothing In the next preceding sec
ton shall DO 80 construed AS to prevent
any person from = /" = using at any
time during the year a very small seine,
not to exceed fifteen feet in length, for
catching very small fish usually called
minnows, which may be thus caught to
DO used as bait, or for stocking other
waters with fish"
This law applies to all waters in
Missouri not wholly within the lands OF
an individual, except the Mississippi
and Missouri rivers to within five hun.
dred feet of the mouth of other streams
and the temporary waters caused b!
overflows; and it is made the duty OF
all sheritis, marshals, constables, and
other state and county officers to
enforce the provisions of the law, and
to bring to justice all who disregard it;
and for failure to do so. in any case,
the officer to whose knowledge the
violation of the law is brought is sub.
iect to a fine of ten dollars, to be paid
into the county treasury.
An examination of the italicized
proviso given above will show that the
use OF gill nets, trammel-net wing
nets and fish-traps still continues to be
unlawful at any and all times, and thai
only seines, and such nets as are not
just mentioned, and with meshes at
least two inches in diameter, may be
used in every month except April.
This is a very different thing from
allowing all manner Of SEEMING, netting
and trapping.a as is commonly supposed.
Two observations occur TO US. (1).
Does the month of April cover the
spawning time of our most valuable
fish, bass and crappie2 (2) Is the
object of restoring the privilege OF
SEEMING (the killing out OF the gsrs)
accomplished by the use of a net with
meshes two inches in diameter, when
as q matter of fact four fifths of the
pestilent creatures can pass through
such q mesh2
The misfortune about the amendment
permitting SEEMING and netting, ever
under limited conditions, lies in the fact
that 1t will not be studied as closely a.
It should be, and that it will be taken as
q license to seine. net and trap in every
way and without limitation. With this
probability IN view, newspapers which
value the preservation OF fish lite in the
beautiful lakes and streams of Missouri
should take some pains to make known
the real provisions of the new law, fol
the information of officers who have its
execution in charge, as well as for the
guidance Of people who might. with
the present popular misapprehension
regarding 1t, unwittingly violate it.