The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-08-01
ANGLERS ARE ANXIOUS.
GRAVE FEARS FELT ABOUT THE
FISH SUPPL IN THESE WATERS.

shore OF Staten Island there are oyster hcds and
clam beds where some years ago there were
houses and gardens. About twenty feet from the
end Of tho pier ut PETERS Hotol ut New Dorp.
Staten Island. there lisa fishing ground formed by
tho muesels and other crustacca which gathered
around the stono foundation OF a frame house
that stood there about forty years ago; and
there arc residents still on the island who re-
member when there was q little cornfield ad-
joining that old house. whore now, at low tide.
tho water is FIVE or six feet deep. The sea APP
pears to be returning to its old wator line.
which, II the biologists are to be believed.
reached close 10 the Richmond road. The beau
tifnl little cedar groves along the beach are rap
idly disappearing. The water Is advancing,
and tho fish are disappearing.
Some years ago an old Staten Island fisher
man, Capt. Silvio, then nearly 80 years Of age,
said TO a SUN reporter:
when I was a young man people seldom
hshed in boats; they used to stand upon the
rocks in the Narrows, and with LONG bamboo
POLES and no reels. the lines being fastened to
tho tips of the poles. thcy did their angling.
That was sixty years ago. and they cared no
more for weakhsh then then you care for dog
fish now. They ngled for nothing but kingish,
aud, Of course. occasionally bobbed for cells. At
that time a man could catch in an hour all the
hlack-backed kingHsh that no wanted for him.
self and his neighbors; and. as for weakhsh,
they were a nuisance; nobody wanted Them"
Shedder crabs are sold in the market at 81 a
dozen during the fishing season. This makes old
Staten Islanders laugh. Long ago they had a
very simple way Of getting their bait. All they
had to do was to walk on the sand at low water
mark. When the tide went out again they fol-
lowed their footprints. which remained full of
water, and In them were soft-shell crabs and
shedders. The sbedders they used for bait and
the soft-shells they took homo to cook. IL
in those good old days there were any Chicago
girls on Staten Island. what fun they must have
had following their tracks!
Capt. John Fence, the dean Of the anglers in
New York Bay, remembers all the glories Of
Robbins Reef, the Narrows, and the far-famed
old Romer. "Gradually, from year to year" he
says. the sport of angling has decreased and
the fish have become moro and moro scarce"
When angling in the Sarrows petcred out COM
pletely tho fishermen were Obliged TO go to the
swash Channel. or rather the Little Swash, the
channel that lies between Staten Island and the
Quarantine ialands. In time that, too. became
worthless as a fishing ground, and the men who
followed tho sport used to cluster in their little
boats around the lower Quarantine Island and
over the wreck OF the Lindsay, n bark
that, some forty years ago. was wrecked
about q mile to the south Of the lower Quar-
antine. The exact position OF this wreck was
known only to those who were fortunate enough
to possess the proper landmarks. The prcdo-
cessors Of Col. waring destroyed the fishing on
the Lindsay. or recent years nothing could DO
caught thcre except old shoes, old hats, and to-
mato cans, and just now it would not BIO difficult
for an angler there to catch n suit OF clothes.
! But as fishermen are not enterprising In the dry
goods business the Lindsay Is deserted. Raritan
Bay and the Romer still give sport from time TO
time to all who can handle a rod and reel.
Two famous fishing grounds are the Great
Kills and tho Boys. The place called the Boys
is really the inner edge of what was once called
Bass Creek. Away outside of 1t there was q
high sand bank, which was long ago washed
away by the invasion of the sea. In old times II
was a wonderful place for striped bass. and OF
! late years every fall there has been good fishing
there. Plenty Of large weakfsh arc taken there
but they are capricious in their movements and
uncertain in their visits. So far this season the
| Great Kills appears to be the only spot in tho
bay where any weakfsh are captured. Earl
last summer a violent storm washed away mos
of the pound nets on the Jersey coast. The re
suit was that immense quantities Of weak1sl
came into the Raritan Bay. and for a time TIT
fishing there was exciting enough to remind thu
old fellows o: bygone days. But when the net
were put down again there was o marked de
cline In the sport.
There is a popular delusion to the effect tina
anglers want to interfere with the market sup
ply Of fish. for the purpose OF gratifying thei
hobby for catching fish with a hook. In reality
just now the rod and reel men are the friends o
the public. What they object to 10. not n plenti
full supply in the market or a reasonable AM
necessary us OF nets, but the wanton and whole
sale destruction Of edible fish. 1t is a fact tina,
with tho pound nets en- Gcneion along the Jersc
coast, and with the operations Of the so-calle
menhaden men, who now capture. not mer
linden, but weakfish and bluefsh principally
not more than one-tenth OF the Melted fish
sent to the markets. The dealers market wha
they can and the rest are either tossed ovel
board or taken To Barren Island or other piece
TO be converted into fertilizer. This Is the wi
ful waste that Is bound. Ii continued. to Great,
Now. II is claimed that netting. no matter t
OF fish. Buzzards Bay has already given tho Il
TO that assertion. HI was conclusively proved b.
fore the tsh conference that was hold in Me- c,
destruction Of The kingfsh IN these waters Is
goes to show that there is no truth IN snch
/, They have. been completely netted out: tn
breed is broken. 40 far AS the waters Of New Yor
r now !. curiosity il those waters; and. al q.
rate thar Il, wcAth;h arc hunted By tiu rurs
: n me-, t he ms s.f T Scs44 hs II re- the ! wTS o,'.'h RE- scr j, VI vi
be as great a curiosity as a kingtlsh J. to-day,
IL Oil times men were laughed AT Tor predtc
ins the extinction OF the buffalo, and at I'll
present time many people believe, or affect
believe. that the nienhaden, which is probabl
!. the most prolific hsh in American waters. CA
= not possibly he diminished in numbers by th
I operations OF the purse.net men. But. as
9 matter OF fact. the shoals OF mcnht en- hay
I b en- noliceably thinncd out and rendered moi
. and more scarce. The business itself Is gr,,
Q ually petering ont, and tho leather men, WI
. use most OF the fish oil, are now importing
: mineral oil from Japan. which interferes 90
n sldcrably with the business OF the purse METER
y This, perhaps, is one of, the reasons why II
latter levy now 10 such nm enormous eNtcI
upon the game fish. In other words they ha,
, practic' lily gone into another business.
o A few years ago q law was passed by Il
= Legislature OF this State compelling tho me
n haden fishermen 70 keep two miles of shor
t but they managed to get an amendment to tn,
la them to come inside that lin
when ishing ''for menhaGen only" That amen
n mcnt ought to read when not hshing for Ine
haden." An ordinary purse not covers abor
3 six acres Of water and can fish in sixty feet al
t re tch lotion. This year II Is reported that ii
N wholesale price OF weakfsh taken In those ne
Is one cent n pound, and II Is reported. also. tn
n woakfsh running from two TO 1--WE pounds we
II recently sold from ono OF those boats in Stat
o Island Sound Mt 20 cents a bushel.
Certainly nobody, can object to cheap, fish, NJ