Smyrna times., 1892-10-19

and other fish, that stay with US all the
summer. Our people all know that
hsh that come to us by wagon, are both
scarcer and higher than used to be the
case. The reason assigned is, that
they, as well as the schools of fish that
furnish them with food supply, are
caught up by the ayaricious proprie-
tors of fish factories and turned into
manure. The chief of these is the
firm of Brown & Luce, at Lewes. The
citizens down the bay say that the
annual yield of fish along the shores.
before the advent of these factories.
was not less than $4,000 and often
reached $4,000, but now, and ever
since they have been in operation, not
as many hundred dollars worth are to
be obtained.
The Milford Chronicle in noting the
disastrous effects of these factories all
the way up the bay, as far as the sea
trout runs, says:
With their murderOus purse seines.
they have almost swept edible fish
from the Delaware bay; and now we
have the testimony of a citizen of
Lewes, that even at that famous fish
ing resort, owing to the fish factories,
the catch of fish per annum has
fallen Oft from $4,000 and over, to as
many hundreds of dollars.
AT the great bay shore trout fisheries
at Slaughter's Beach, Big Stone and
Benefits Pier, that fish is practically
exterminated or driven out of the bay
for want of its natural food. menhaden
From two to five hauling seines, each
not less than one hundred fathoms
long, were employed at the fisheries.
and as many as from fifty to sixtv
hand seines; giving employment to
hundreds of honest, industrious citi-
Zens. In the height of the season the
long seines caught from fifty to twelve
hundred bushels, which were sold on
the beach to tarmers-remote from the
bay, to salt for family use. The price
per bushel varied with the glut of fish.
but 1t usually ran from fifteen to fftv
cents. Sometimes as many as seventy
carts and wagons were waiting on the
beach to secure loads for sale inland or
to salt. The hand seine catch was
mostly for sale in towns and for home
consumption.
All is changed now, owing to the
ADVENT OF the purse seines and the fish
factories; where one thousand bushels
OF trout were formerly caught at a
haul, now, not one thousand trout are
taken, and yet many of the citizens of
Lewes are advocating the releasing of
the beach to a Yankee fish manure
hrm for another ten years, for the pit
iful sum of four hundred dollars. Bv
the time the ten years expire the Del
aware bay will be as barren of trout as
Salt Lake, in Utah.
The re.leasing of the beach to these
factory men for four hundred or
four thousand dollars, is in no way
commensurate with that necessary
part of the diet to 10000 or 10000
persons-fresh fish.
Before the purse seines came, every
body who wanted a terrapin supper
could enjoy the luxury by simply |
hauling a seine along the bayshore. |
From BrOadkiln river to Mahon's |
Ditch, diamond back terrapin were
very plentiful but now it is seldom
one is seen. These seines have swept
the bay close in shore where the terra |
pin resort in summer, in season and |
out of season; till it is feared thev are |
utterly exterminated. And to this
pass has the greed of Lewes brought
our fisheries, our birthright of an abun.
dance of fish and terrapin-and for
what? Four hundred dollars to a
monopoly of fish scavengers, who have
planted on our shores veritable "Au-
gean Stables" where, according to one
OF their own citizens, "seething, fester-
ing, putrid piles of fish scrap, pouring
vile effiuvias over surrounding land
and water, when the wind so watts
them and that the water of the bav
is polluted with the rotten, slimy.
refuse matter elected from the factories
with them and floating
on them, revolving to the touch"
The press of the state should unite
in one voice in putting down the fish
factories, and in behalf of humanity.
suffering for want of fresh fish. the
Legislature should be appealed to and
Congress petitioned to abate the nui-
'ance. If the impecuniosity of the
people of Lewes is so bad and their
axes so OnerOus that they are obliged
% sacrifice fish, health, patronage and
lecency to raise $4OO by releasing the
beach for fish factory plant, then it
will be money wisely spent for the
owns up the bay, having large fishing
interests involved, to contribute the
our hundred dollars as present, and
et the fish factories go.