The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1895-01-25

There Is no doubt about the Delaware
ehad being very welcome morsel OF fish
food to every household In the three
States bordering upon its waters 1t ia
therefore the duty OF every one knowing
anything about fish culture or their pro
lection; to make IL known just at thls
time when our law.makers are expected
TO act upon the subject. The writer hay
Ing been intereste1 In the fisheries OF
both the waters OF the Chesapeake aud
Delaware has become acquainted with the
various modes OF taking the fish, and tLey
are many. The ones being most destruc.
tive to the supplv has been carefully
studied and OF whi;h we WISH to call at
tention,
10 commence with. the approach of the
filth to tho mouth of the bay is wnere they
meet destroyer in the large purse net
used In taking Menshuden or Mosshrinker
as IL is most commonly called by those
engaged In Its catch for its oil and ehurl,
tie latter being used for fertlizing pur-
poses and therefore as profitable as the
oil. which is the ostenslbe business. But
as there Is no inspection or authority to
obtain evidence they. the fishermen Il 0 as
they please and for that purpose there are
thousands OF our finest food fish de-
stroyed. Fish that yield llttlo or no oil
are taken i'll tho same catch and amou mt
to thousands of tons annually aud fro M
the facts as stated there Is no legal auth or
ity e1sotive at present or has there.ever
bUeh from another fact that OF taking the
lood llsh from the same not with the oil
producers would kill eighty per cent. OF
them. but that cuts no figure with those
engaged in the business. They know all
about the laws and the species which they
are permitted to take but that does not
save thousands OF tons of our food fish
which are destroyed.
In this manner ths writer has seen In a
pur5e'net oil tue Capes of lewes such iish
that would far exceed II ton composed of
rock, blue lish, drum, sheepsnoud and
trout. this latter fish being greatly In ex.
Cess OF the others and one that is growing
scarcer in the upper bay waters every
year. The next obstacle encounl cred by
the shad Is the present gill.net This net.
es us9d at present, is from six to eight
hundred fathoms. This enormous net,
used by both Delaware aud New Jersey
nshermen,ls giant TINT so closely guards
the approach TO the upper wutsrs as to
make 1t almost impossible for them to
reanh their spawning grounds. This then
tells the story as We view 1t.
lne result 10 that in the lower waters OF
the Delaware the fish are driven from
Ihelr course and continue the coast line
farther north, whera the catch has been
greater o. recent years thar ever before,
the hudson In particular showing that
IL IL obtaining on extra run from some
Near by southern neighbor.
That Is obstacle No. ., the next is the
Wholesale destruction OF the Young of
reach the spawning grounds by tic river
or ponds. OF which believe there Is but a
small number employed In tile upper
waters OF the Delaware, but have proved
TO be the agent that has nearly depupu-
lated some Of the tributaries of the great.
est food fish producing waters of the
worid-the Chesapeake Bay.
This is evident from the fact that al
though there we're some OF the largest
hauiing seines OF shore drag. nets lhat it
was possible to employ, used for tho last
half century and even beyond that, and
yet there was no falling oil In tie supply
until tie channel was obstructed by the
latter.day gill-net. The hauling seines
did not. as claimed make any diminulion
In the catch, as they did not obstruct the
channel. the true fault ls In the gIll ret
In lts present proportions in the lower
aud midway waters and the trap or pound
In the head waters or spawning grounds
where the cause lies of your fast disap.
psarlng shad. Prohibit tie parse. net, spec-
lily the length OF tho glll.net keep the
channel clear. take OUT your pounds or
traps and wers, then II the supply docs
not redeem Itself am (shad)
king FISHER