The record-union., 1896-09-24

temporarily retire some of the men until
nnances were recruited.
statement Of resources and expend-
ltures for the forty-sixth fiscal year
SHOWS $24,255 16 received, of which
$I,S67 A remained unexpended. For
the forty-seventh fiscal year $25,O39 81
was received, Of which 81, ,664 40 re-
mained on hand.
WHAT OTHERS SAY.
Quoting from the report Of w. A.
Wilcox of the United States Commits
sion of Fish and Fisheries in the treat
Use on 'The Fisheries of the Pacific
Coast" the extract says:
| The growth of the industry of late
years has been marked and the near
| future will doubtless witness an ad-
vance In the relative position of Cali
1orn1a at the expense Of several OF
the East coast States. Considering the
entire country, the rank of California
as a fishing State is six; in the value
of it's products it is surpassed only by
| Massachusetts, Maryland, New York,
New Jersey and Virginia"
In 1889 the State produced 50, 10000
pounds of fish, valued at 81. 1858
In 1892 it produced 81, 7,S3S, ,466 pounds,
valued at $3,O22, ,991. The fisheries of
the State are constantly developing,
and the fishermen and the people gen
orally are coming to appreciate the i'm
portance Of fostering this industry, and
| are urging the commission to extend
Its investigation and protecting power
| to branches that they never before
deemed in need Of protection. There is
no longer any question that the work
Of artificial propagation yields enor-
nous returns.
| The success of shad and striped bass
| acclimatization on this coast has been
marvellous, and has inspired in the peo-
pie a firm belief in fishcultural work.
The extended close season for salmon
| has enabled the commission to plant
greater number Of young fish than ever
before. In the first six months Of this
year 1906 1888 pounds of salmon were
| received in the San Francisco market
for sale, and the outlook is good for the
restoration of the condition when the
annual catch amounted to 100000
pounds.
| The success of the Battle Creek sta
ton is entirely due to the extension of
the close season, as heretofore in Octo
Der the salmon that had passed from
the bay and lower river in September
were taken from their spawning beds in
| Shasta and Tehama counties before
they had chance to spawn and while
they were unfit for food.
The change in the season met with
general approval and no opposition was
made to its enforcement except in Del
| Norte County.
A FINE OFFICER.
There the efforts of the board to en-
force the law were obstructed by the
action of the Board of Supervisors. as
suming to make regulations in conflict
With the State law and the District
Attorney instructed the Justices of the
| Peace to refuse to issue warrants and
he himself refused to prosecute arrested
offenders. The Deputy was withdrawn
and the matter called to the attention
Of the Attorney
The Commission recommends a small
appropriation by the Legislature. to
be placed either in the hands of the
Commission or those of David Starr
Jordan of the Stanford University, who
is so high an authority on the habits
of fishes, to be used in scientific in
| FCSllSdllOl OL tlit III liiC yOQAiS
salmon after reaching the river on their
way from the small creeks to the sea,
and the fish food to be found in our
| large interior waters, an investigation
that may materially aid in restoring
the salmon fisheries and developing
other valuable food fisheries.
DESTRUCTION BY SEALS.
The number of seals at seal rocks,
which have been greatly increased by
the protection afforded them by the Act
OF Congress, very seriously interferes
with the incoming salmon, the schools
/ of which are dispersed by the
seals and deferred from entering
the river until they accumulate in such
numbers that they break by. The seals
also follow in the wake Of the fish
clear up into the lower Sacramento and
! San Joaquin Rivers, where the princi-
Ial fishing grounds for salmon, striped
bass and shad are found.
Not content with taking the number
of fish they wish for food, which is con-
siderable; they go along the nets biting
and killing the fish, tossing them into
the air and playing with them. In this
way they tear the nets and very often
becoming entangled In them, completely
destroy them. 1t is estimated that at
present there are about 1000 seals re-
sorting to the seal rocks, and as they
require about sixty pounds a day to
each full grown seal, it can be easily
seen that the amount of fish destroyed
is enormous.
The commission fully appreciates the
! great attraction they are, both to the
people and to the visitors to the State,
but as servants of the State they feel it
their duty to call attention to the Act
referred to, wherein the right to at all
times control and limit or diminish the
number of the seals resorting to the