The Republican journal., 1897-11-18
To Protect the Lobster.
lgorous Steps Necessary to Prevent Extinction
Of Fish. United states Fish Commissioners
all Attention to the Subject In Their Annual
Repnrt,

1gorous Steps Necessary to Prevent Extinction
of Fish. United states Fish commissioners
all Attention to the Subject In Their Annual
Report.
The United States fish commissioners
N that unless some determined steps
ne taken to protect the Holsters, that
rteies of fish will be extinct within
.ea years. Capt. Harry Proctor of the
.-,rict police, who has charge of the
.aSecutiou of ''short lobster fishermen,
.utily concurs in this statement, says
Ne Boston Herald, and amends it by
N n that these steps should be taken
once in order to protect the lobster
.,aeries of Massachusetts.
The present law is good theoretically,
weak from practical point of view,"
a, said. at seems to me that it ought
ne amended so that one of two things
,lJl result-either that there shall be
"a months close season, just as there
Is iii Nova Scotia, or that the traps shall
b. constructed SO that the small Holsters
.lai be able to escape.
Our present law provides that each
abster shall be 10 1-2 inches in length,
.ld imposes penalty of IS for each lob
.,er taken under that length. 1t is diff
r TO detect the violators of the law,
,vever They are tricky and it is only
Inspecting some one and watching him
VT evidence can be obtained.
The latest trick in the business is to
u the boat and break off the tails of
sh as fast as they are taken from the
,uer Then the meat is extracted and
to the different summer hotels. In
way the lobster fisherman can keep
eyes ''peeled'' for miles around, SO
it is almost impossible to get near
gh to him to detect him. When you
slider that two out of every three lob
caught are under the statutory size,
. IAN readily see that the depredatiops
mt to an immense total.
Our prosecutions seem to have little
IT in lessening the number of violatorS
Inc law. During the past season we
cases enough to make a total of near
10, 600 in fines, yet the business seems
-r right along. In some instances the
tuors are let off before the grand jury
account Of their poverty, but this
I'm Dist Atty. White was 50 impress
with the number of violations of the
THAT he asked for full Judgment in
case.
Ill Nova Scotia they have a close sea
of SIX months / have no doubt that
proposition to establish similar sea
uere would meet with lively protest
rs many fishermen who depend for
living On the lobster catch Of the
u round. ON the other hand, however,
z. 1,a II, :
-ters come in near shore for the pur-
Of breeding and to shed their shells
lie they are shedding their shells they
I'D a semi dormant state and are easily
-Lt. The fishermen take advantage
hs and lessen the number each year.
The time will come when we will not
.e any Holsters, just as the report of
commission states, unless some effort
made TO change existing conditions.
establishment of CLOSE season
..aid protect the Holsters in that critical
when they are breeding and shedding
~ shells, and would thus enable The
-. to propagate
The fishermen realize that the catch
growing smaller and would be glad to
,es conditions changed Fully two-thirds
hem would like to have the laws obey
but the greed of the other third keeps
Lem constantly violating the law in this
srect.
Now, if the Stats of the lobster pots
we've placed about two inches apart it
could be impossible to catch short lob
IS because the little fellows would slip
between the Stats. think this would
one solution of the ditficulty-to in
81 by statute that the Stats of cages shall
b. NO inches or an inch and three quar-
$ apart, so that the short Holsters can
be held, because l do not believe the
gestion OF close season would be
pular
IA treating this subject, the report of
nited States fish commissioners says:
The lobster is the most important crus-
aau of the United States. 1t is the OBJ
Of a special fishery, carried on with
OF traps, in all the coast States from
aware northward, and also in Nova
S ia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward
f nd Quebec and Newfoundland. In
ne where the fishery is more i'm
amt than in any other State, the
-ter is the principal fishery product.
lN92 over 300 persons We're engaged