Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1890-12-22
THE SPORTSMEN'S
PARADISE.
Annual Report Of The Maine
Fish md Cana Commissioners.
Sport Oh Lsnd and Lake. and BY SEA
and Shsfa.
Wise Lava Tor me Protection aud
decrease OF Maino Game.

Wise Lava Tor me Protection aud
decrease OF Maine Game.
The report of the State Commissioners
Of Fisheries and Game Tor the years 1882
30 was published Saturday. II forms .
document of fl fty-fse pages and embraces
! 10 addition to the usual official matter sew
ersl important general articles and many
valuable statistics pertaining to the subject
Of our Maine fisheries.
Maine. the sportsman's Paradise.
The Commissioners report that notvith-
standing The large increase of anglers
coming into Maine. besides the mary resi-.
dent within her borders, the fsh have held
| thsir own with few excet tions) and in
many localities have made decided Increase
| in size and numbers. During the present
year n larger number Of trout and land
locked salmon have been taken than for
several years past. The many trout brooks,
lakes and ponds seem to be better stocked.
| beth a. to size and numbers. many good
| baskets of trout being taken in streams that
heretofore have been thought to be fshed
out. But we think it mostly due to the
protection they have received in close time
and in returning back Of all fish of less
than five inches in length, There seems TO
ba better feeling, except in few localities,
in favor of protecting our fish and game.
More are beginning to see the large
amount of money they bring into our
State. II is not the value of the fish and
game themselves, either for tn, market or
consumption as food. but for the many
| sport.men they bring here to spend their
money freely. They come for the sport
of catching our fish or shooting our game /;
it goes to swell the wealth of our State and
| is q benefit to all; i. supports many poor
man in our backwoods who acts as guide;
it sells the product of many farm which
| lies away from market, and at city
| prices; it runs many hotels back ia our
| forests; it patronizes our railroads; ia fact
it Is product hardly second to any
Without our fish and game many farms
ard thriving villages would have to be
abandoned, where now they have many
comfortable homes. 1t is a product that
costs but little TO cultivate. Maine is now
the banner State for fish and game. The
| number of sportsmen are increasing each
year. Many are bulldog cottages on the
| shores of our inland lakes and
ponds. Our fish and game brought
the larger number of these here
Besides these. we have many resident
sporismen within our. own borders. If
rightly managed we can always have plenty
of fish and game. We have the finest
ponds lakes and streams in the world,
stocked with the finest fish, and our forests
are full of game, but we are sorry to say
in many localities the laws are not properly
respected. We have the best code of laws
of any state in the Union, which if lived up
to would always keep up the supply of fish
in our streams and game in our forests.
Enforcement Of the Laws.
An appeal is made TO the people of the
State who appreciate the value of our fish
and game to aid the Commissioners
in the enforcement of the protection laws.
Those who break our game laws are "nearly
always men who would take the last fish
from the spawning bed, or kill the last head
of game" Complaint is made from places
along the line of the Canadian Pacific Rail
road, especially at Ship pond. about the
Schoodic waters, Indian pond, Moose river
and in the lakes and streams of Bealtic and
Holeb townships--all on the line of the
above rosd-that almost every Sunday
employees Of that road fish illegally. aud
kill thousands of fish, the female full of
spawn aud unfit for the table, lust for the
sport it affords. The Commissioners sug-
gest "the propriety Of posse ssing some law
holding railroads responsible for the acts of
their employees" but add, if this road
would but pattern after the Maine Cen
trail Railroad we should have no trouble
from that quarter
1--WE regret" says the Commissioners,
that it is not in our power to render a more
favorable report of the salmon fisheries of
Maine. They have been sustained for the
last decade of years by the planting of
young fry in our rivers by The Com mission
ers. The Penobscot salmon have been the
pride and glory of onr State, and by
increased means of transportation have been
sent to all parts of the Union. The Ken
nebec salmon, Of world wide fame. were
nearly exterminsted by the Sprague dam at
Augusta preventing the access Of the fish
to their spawning ground for some eight
years. OF course within that period all the
parent fish were destroyed, while the email
contribution Of fry to the upper waters of
the river from our scanty means has been
neutralized by saw dust and edeings, and
the refuse Of villages and factories on
their shores. On the Penobscot, the
only large salmon river on the
Atlantic coast of the United States. and the
sole source Of supply to the government
works at Orland for Maine and the other
states of the Union, unless the legislature
afford immediate relief the days of salmon
production in our State are numbered"
The salmon in their ascent of the rivers
are stopped in the poisonous waste from
the pulp mills aud many are killed both by
the lme-soda and sulphuric acid emptied
into the water. as well as by the gaff and
.pear net of the poscher. The loss Of the
brood fish on the Penobscot is irreparable
to the State, while the fsh-wsys being
directly at the mills 10 question aud aces
sible to poscbers lie s source of increased
expense TO the Commissioners, as wardens
of our own, known and tried, have to be
placed in charge to guard them.
DIstributIon Of Sea Salmon.
Six hundred thousand sea salmon was
Names apportionment from its contribu-
lion of $500 to the United States Salmon
Works at Orland, added to a geuer-
Gus contribution from Col. Mcdonald,
the United States Commissioner. They
we're distributed as follows: In 1889
Hatched at Weld and put in tributaries of
kennebec and Androscogzin rivers, 300
600; hatched at Enfield and put in tiibu-
taries of Peno5scot river, 400, 900. In 1890
-Hatcbsd at Edes Falls and put in Crooked
river. tributary of the Presumpscot river.
200 600; batched at Weld for Kennebec
river, 200 000 Matched at Grand lake for
ST. Croix river, 200, coo.
Land.Iocked Salmon.
The propagation and Introduction of these
fish into new waters has been q decided
and a large number Of applications
to stock lakes and pond, with this desirable !
fish have been received by the Commits
sioners. which so far A. the stock of fry |
snd limited mean, would permit, has been !
Done. The supply of eggs now comes from
Sebago lake, famous for the
finest and largest lsnd-locked +,
salmon in the world. This lake Is fifteen /
miles long and half as many vide, OF clear
pure water stocked with the finest fish, and |
capable of becoming one of the most pop
ular of fishing resoits The outlet. Pre-
sumpscot river, flowing into the ocean near
Portland. The dams on this river are now
applied with tish-ways largely owing to the
effort, of !. NJ. Allen, Esq. fish md game