The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1896-07-10
TRUE FISH STORIES
Came Protectors Interest
ing Report to- the Board
of Fish and Game
Comm issioners.
MORE SHAD IN THE RIVERS
Carp Nettingin the Passaic-Men-
haden Fishing Has Just
Begun.

Charles A. Shriner, State Fish and Tame
Protector, has just sent to the Board of
Fish and Game Commission CT New Jer-
sey his monthly report. and he has some
thing to say which will attract the atten-
ton of sportsmen.
Much OF the report is about fish, and
concerning the shad he calls attention to
the fact that there are numerous fish of
that kind in the Rancocas Creek at pres
emit, whereas of late years the supply had
diminished until the fish had almost en-
tirely disappeared. The cause Of this, the
Game Protector says, is that the United
States Government, while supplying plen-
fy of fry to the Delaware River, paid no
attention to the tributaries of that stream.
The shad which assembled the Rancocas
to spawn had been caught and no wonder
the fishermen We're grunbling.
Although, says Mr.. Shriner, sit was
late in the season., and the shad was al
most through, spawning arrangements
We're made for the capture of the shad in
the Hackensack and the development of
the eggs in the Hackensack hatchery. The
result was that during the month $4,000
shad fry were placed In the Rancoeas
Creek"
Leaving shad alone the fish expert has
something to say about carp in the Pas
sale. The work OF netting the Passaic
for the purpose of removing the carp,
he says, has been begun, but it Is maxi
ing rather slow progress on account of
the novelty of the undertaking. 1t was
found that the rivers bed was INSTRUCTED
by numerous logs and shary rocks, rem
dering the use of sweep seines very
difficult or utterly impossible. Pound nets
are now in operation and promise better
results. There is little doubt when the
approach Of the cold weather causes the
carp TO move about more than they do
in warm weather that their numbers will
be materially diminished. Whether the
stock of carp can be so reduced as to
tend to their determination by the fish
to be introduced from Lake Erie is a ques-
ton which the future will decide. The
experiment is an inexpensive one and the
know will result viii be the ~troduct of
Eaiuapie food and game fish from the
nsnlng the report says that the fishing
has just begun and up to the present date
there nave been no violations of the law.
no, vessels appearing along the New Jer-
sey coast which have not been duly Ii
censed by the commission. Fishing for
menhaden began later than usual this
season for several reasons. In the first
place the menhaden people had a great
deal of stock on hand which Commanded
very low prices and consequently there
was little incentive to them to begin ope-
%rations, especially If In addition to their
usuai expenses they were compelled to
Another reason why there was less
anxiety to begin operations, says Mr..
Shr1ner, was because there is less demand
for the products of the so-called tsfsh
tactOrleS.' a S1JhStff1Ita for tho nil ~
pressed from menhaden has been found
in a product of petroleum. which, While
It answers the purposes. of fish oil in a
great many respects, commands a great
deal lower price In the markets. From
present indications fishing for menhaden
has seen its best day and is beginning to
decline. The whale fishery gave way to
the fishing for menhaden and the latter
promises in a few years to become so re-
duced in volume as not to give rise to con-
tinued fears of injury to the fish supply.
There is little doubt that the annual
catch of menhaden along the New Jersey
coast viii be less this year than it has
been for a long time and the people of
this State will have the satisfaction of
Knowing that such persons as still con-
tinue the pursuit of these fish contribute
a revenue for the defraying of expenses
of fish.
The most important litigation deter
mined during the month was the appeal
case of a number of Italians in the county
of Atlantic. These men had for a consid-
cradle period paid attention to no law
whatever, claiming that they had a right
to do as they saw fit on their own prem
ises or on property owned by friends
where they had been given the privilege
of cunning. A number of prosecutions in
stituted last fall were bitterly fought by
the accused and when judgment was rem
dered against them in the lower courts
appeals followed, the convictions were
in every Instance upheld.
At the close of the interesting report
the record of prosecutions follow.