Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-08-05
DEATH TO FISHES.
Pound Nets Are Making Trouble at
Asbury Park.
OCEAN SLAUGHTER HOUSES
How They Are Wiping Out Sal,
Water Game.
B E A CHI u RIOS tiles
Correspondence Of The Evening Star.

correspondence Of The Evening Star.
Asbury Park, n. J.. August 2, lss,
Inc question Of pound nets is agitating
Asoury Park almost as much as the dis
puts between Mr.. Bradley and the colored
people. II Is declared that those devices
are destroying the shore fisheries here
ABOUT. ana several meeting have already
ueen neio with q view to doing away with
the ocean slaughter houses" as they are
termed, BY an appeal to the law. Charges
are made to the effect that they are &C.
tuaily wtping out the finny tribes which
frequent the New Jersey coast. and that
S Ss no sney are got rid Of there WIN soon
few founders. possibly. s' e
ne oldest 5ersesmsn extends end m easH the be
been accustomed to gain an honest live
mhood by gill nets and by hook and line
They set the gin nets from mile to 1--WE
weakhsh This pethod has been supple
saumming The latter IL quite an inter
and attract the fishes by throwing over
board large quantities of "chum." consist
ing OF menhaden finely chopped Then they
haul them in with baited lines
Before going further II may be as well
to explain that the food fishes Of these
ocean to the southWard. AZ ' spring 1 sd-
First arrive sSe Up eRou aes f ssns
liver. Where they saPec. e 70 spawn as Isssr
on appear the ling. closely followed by the
kingfsh, the butterfish. the weaknsh. the
the Spanish mackerel. The path OF migra-
ton followed by these fishes lies parallel
t TO the e., shore line. and in width extends
l.5o0 to 1000 feet. 1t is Followed as ; high
The waters near shore are a sort OF rich
broth. filled with all sorts of organic
affords sustenance to ever 30 many species
Of crustaceans and other small animals.
On these little creatures the nnny schools
sands are continually turning them Up and
shifting them, the crustaceans. &C, are
washed out and furnish a ready stDre OF
The bluefish and weakfish commonly run
in schools miles from shore. but from time
s ssey o me in to the
fish. he IL a scaly cannibal OF extraordinary
ferocity. When he feeds he is by no means
he needs to satisfy his appetite. but he
seems animated by q wanton desire for
destruction. He swims along like a living
through shoals Of lesser fry and iesvins
them in his wake, cut into halves and
quarters q, rte Whe. partsktnS Of a biuslsh
part in the good work Of doing away with
SIX years ago the gii-net and hook-.nd-
regular employment to about 400 men {
that time an ingenious person rhanced to
be struck S with the idea that ne bushes
the simple device Of stretching nets clear
across the path Of migration. For this
Should be very long. and. By making the n.
meshes fine. II was rendered Q pretty sure
thing that nearly every fish that came up
80 far borne out BY results that the catches
were multiplied by much more than hun
The kind of net selected for this purpose
was OF the familiar pattern known as the
pound net" This n simply q line Of stakes
extending out into the ocean from the shore
for distance Of q couple Of thousand feet.
with a net stretched the entire length.
from pole to pole. The fishes proceeding
against the msshes. naturally turn seward
! to get around the obstruction. Following
| the line of the latter. they are led into an
pound. To get in is very easy, but tho to
find the way out again 10 1ifhcult That
! some species OF fishes are more intelligent
striped bass commonly succeed in escap-
| ing from the enclosure after having been
trapped. and sometimes the bluensh do the
| same, whereas the others are hopelessly
bewildered and remain imprisoned.
By this device whole schools are captured
Of food fishes thus taken at It a single haul
on another occasion 5000 pounds q weak
| hsh were secured in two days. Sometimes
valuable fish have been utilised for manure.
This sort Of business 10 surely q throwing
away of the gifts which God provides. In
| a very short time the profitablenees Of the
industry attracted large amounts OF capital.
| The pound nets have multiplied, until now
set out between Barnegat inle. ana Sandy
| Hook-a distance OF only nifty miles.
Thus it has been rendered scarcely posi-
coast to get away alive No wonder then,
that there is a rapidly growing scarcity OF
salt water game. Incidentally. the Cutting
| Of the market by great hauls has reduced
the market to an Improbable point Some
| times there will be almost no nsh at all.
% sS T.
nearly nothing The fishermen a few years
sey
tain more than one cent pound UP to the
| limit Of demand.
| At the same time. cheap fish at the beach
do not mean cheap FISH to the consumer.
| the prices paid by the latter being some
what higher than formerly. Instead OF the
industry. there are now only about Co. A
| boat carrying three gtll-netters does fairly
cents day incidentaiiy the people e VINO S nsS
for sport are Disguised 1t IL a melancholy
spectacle to see them angling from the 20.
ing anyshinx per az 1ar never catch
pursue the gentle craft Of IEaak Walton are
proverbially patient, but they threaten 10
| abandon this shore and to seek the eouth.
| ern coast OF New Jersey, where SHALLOW
| waters and numerous bays and iniets make
| pound-nets impracticable
The manner in which the stake. 70,
pound nets are set out IL both odd and IN.
genious. A powerful hand pump IL taken
| out In boat. 1t has . sort Of hose Attach.
ed to 1t. the nozzle Of which n Inserted IN
| the bottom alongside Of the end of the pols
which Is to be driven into the ssnd
| Through this hose a stream Of water n
forced by the pump. which dispiaces the
sand and causes the pole to sink more
rapidly than II it were driven by n nil
driver. The expense of maintaining a ne,
OF this sort Is great. 1t soon rots. md ths
account Of the operations OF the hivalvs
mollusk called the teredo or ship worm
which bores them full OF holes. OF course
and those who oppose them propose to tai,