The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1892-09-02
AGAINST FISH POUNDS
Public Demand Protection
to Prevent the Ruin of
Our Fisheries.
CRUEL AND UNNECESSARY
Public Interests lnjured-The Poor
Creatures Starved-What
Experts Say.
CRUEL AND UNNECESSARY

NEWARK, September /. 1892. Much en-
thusiasm is being shown, not only in this
city, but throughout all parts of the State,
in the Anti-Fish Pound movement, and
it is a significant fact that fish dealers are
as bitter in their denuuciation of pounds
as are the anglers. who firmly believe that
the trap nets have destroyed their sport
on the coast of New jersey.
One of the oldest dealers in Centre Mar
ket, Newark. remarked last week:-'It
is always a feast or a famine with the
pound net fisherman. and they dc not
seem to ave any method about their
work. either as to lifting their nets or
shipping the fish. Often when there is an
unusual run of fish they will raise their
nets and get the hsh ashore and have no
ice to ship them with. While they are
getting the barrels and boxes and the
necessary ice the fish remain in the sun
without any shelter and are half spoiled,
if not entirely spoiled, before they get
started for market. The fish come TO
New York in such a condition that they
are often unsaleable, aud only last weekI
ACol0 VI a pOoLo hO II lLu tlCdk
Spring Lake being III debt TO the commits
sion dealer for freight upon q big lot of
eaktl fish and bluetiSh which he shipped
to market. The fish were in such d con-
dition that they were sent to Barren Is
land to be turned into fertilizer. At the
same time the best OF weakfsh were not
netting the fishermen two and a half
cents a pound, and the market was SO
giulUed that the good fish could not be
haudled. let alone those Which were IN
bad condition.
81 don't believe the stories about send
ing fish to the dumps to keep up the prices,
for l know that the facts don't bear it
gu. it is only the badly handled and
carelessly packed fish that are thrown
away in New York. If fish are in good
condition they are put into cold storage if
they cannot be sent out through the
regular channels of the trade. The best
OF the fish go upon the retail stands in
New York anu Deigbboring cities and
into the big coolers. Then the peddling
trade picks up the cheap fish. and the rest
maytrust TO luck ii there is q glut in the
market. One of the bad phases of
the pound business is holding back
fish for a good market. This is done
TO sueh an extent that the Government
ought to take hold of the matter. Only
last week | saw a shipment of porgies
from one of the big pounds down East.
The fish We're caught i'll the Spring, whea
porgies were plentiful and cheap, and
were kept in the pounds until a few days
ago. They were starved almost to the
poiut of death in the meantime, and went
TO market i'll a miserable condition. Ia
fact, there was little out skin and bones,
and their backs were SO sharp that you
could almost shave with them. Then we
have been getting some weakfsh lately
which have been imDounded SO long that
there is nothing in their stomachs and
their flesh shows signs of starvation.
Late i'll the season We will get seabass
which nave been kept in the pounds until
almost dead from starvation. | don't
think such fish are fit for human food
and if was not for the pound bets there
would't be any of them for sale. l am
heartily in favor OF aoolishing the pounds
not uuIy in this State, but in all others,
aud | think it should be a national meas
ure: but at the same time | feel sure that
the people of this State are SO worked up
over the matter that there will be no
trouble about getting $4,000 or 100. 600
names to a petition. Everybody in the
fish market will sign it and help circulate
it. 1t will not be any trouble at all to
get the signatures of every man that goes
fishing"
"A reporter made a TOT of the coast
from SeabrighG to Barnegat early last
week and talked with scores of men inter-
ested in one way or another in the sub
ject of fishing. Without a siuole eXcep-
ton the boat owners, offshore fishermen,
hotel keepers and Barnegat bay cap
tains" all denounced the pounds. One of
the yacht owners at Barnega5 Pier said
that Fish Commissioned George Pfeiffer
of Camden was interested 10 the matter,
aud proposed to gather statistics about
the fish slaughter and endeavor to have
pounds abolished. Unless the present
Fish Commission does better than it has
begun and much better than It's predeces-
sors. however, little relief can be expected
from this quarter.
WHERE THE POUNDS r
At a conference of fishermen IN Chas.
Bunnen's house at Seaside Park the re-
porter learned from authentic source
that twenty-four pounds were in opera
tlop between Sandy Hook and Chad
wick, which is not far from the head
of Barnegat Bay. AT Chadwick the
pound belongs to a man named Tilton,
aud it is a big aud profitable trap.
The next one north of that be-
longs to Downey g. Bunnel1, and
then comes Charles A. Jones's trap, and
next to it is one owned by Charles
Downey. AT SQuan inlet Valentine &
Co. have an immense pound, and at
Spring Lake there are Thompson's and
Ludlam's pounds. At Ocean Beach New
man & Bennett maintain another OF the
denominations, and William Larrabee has
two at Ocean Park. Two more near
Elberon are owped by William White
aud at Long Branch there are two owned
by John Hennessy. Cook & Kettle have
Il pound at Monmouth Beach and there
are two others owned by a New York
syndicate. At Galilee there are three
more pounds owned by aliens. and one
belonging to Charles Valentine. Then
there is one at Seabright and another at