Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1898-01-26
THE TROUBLESOME PORGY.
A Broolxlin Man Writes on the Porgys
AS n Law-NakeY.

The question OF whether the porgy in
dustry will revive in Maine is one of
great Importance to the people along the
coast OF this State, and especially OF Han
cock county, where their use as oil pro-
ducers was discovered, and nets and APP
paratus for catching and manufacturing
them into oil and fertilizing material
-chum or scrap-were first introduced.
At that time, forty years or more ago,
the annual appearance OF the fish was
looked upon as all absolute certainty, and
preparations for securing a certain por-
ton OF the immense crop could be made
without fear Of failure.
The business increased in proportion
and profitableness, until it became the
Hancock county, at least, which afforded
the very best fishing grounds in the State,
il not in the country. At first the gill
net, that slow process, was used, taking
few OF the many; then the purse seine
was introduced-an immense net, capable
OF enclosing whole school or family,
often as many as a thousand barrels ut
one haul-as many as l 500 barrels have
been taken. In Hancock county at one
time as many as fifteen or twenty OF these
seines were owned and operated by local
fishermen, besides set-nets, or giI-nets,
by hundreds were used. The time OF the
porgies' stay on these shores averaged
about three months, when, about October
l to Is, they would leave, returning to the
place from whence they came, the coast
south OF Cape Cod.
The gill-net fishermen and those not
able to employ the larger net, the purse
seine, seeing the fish taken in such large
quantities by the sener, seemed to get
envious Of their fellows OF the big nets,
and fearing that such wholesome fishing
would injure their own business, and
soon destroy it altogether, they applied
to the legislature to interpose and prevent
the use OF seines. Then the trouble be-
gan. The legislature undertook the task,
and many public acts have been passed,
modified, repealed, re-enacted, and
| amended in a most fruitless endeavor to
protect the small fishermen and to Greg
ulate the porgy business. These laws
were principally aimed at non-residents
fishing with seines.
In 1878 law was enacted which ex
cluded seine fishing ain all bays where
any entrance to the same or any part
thereof from any land to land, is not
more than one mile in width, under
penalty upon the master or person in
charge OF such seine, of not less than one
hundred, nor more than three hundred
dollars Public acts OF 1875 Chap. 66,
| Sec. /.
/ This act had he effect to close out the
seine fishing, in Hancock county, at
least, and to close out the porgies en-
| tireiy, as we'll. At any rate, they left our
waters in the fall OF that year, and have
not since returned in any considerable
numbers until the present year. For
nineteen years their absence has been
| conspicuous.
| They seemed to act upon the idea (tish
| idea) that tive have something to do
about the regulation Of the porgy BUSH
ness we'll as you" and then they
spas the placid waters OF Maine with
a whip OF their tails and left all classes OF
! fishermen and their other natural enc
| mics of the ocean to their grievous re-
| Elections.
The following summer, 1879, their re-
turn to their old feeding ground was
looked for in vain. The nets OF the dis
appointed fishermen, their try houses,
presses and gear, went to decay until all
disappeared, and now there is not a try
house in Hancock county and not
barrel of oil has been made there for
nineteen years.
Last year QS97), however, they again
appeared as Unexpectedly as they depart
ed in 1878, in considerab BILE numbers and
were rs much surprised, | ween, at he
great changes witnessed as the people
were to see them. They found the pro-
scribed sener, the only one to give them
reception, and right heartily did they
entertain their old "tinny friends. They
were strangers and they took them in
200, go at one setting.
But the people about Bluehill bay where
the seiners trespassed were affronted a.
OF yore Mt the offense and prosecuted the
offenders. The legislature last winter
adopted the new revised and consolidated
laws for the regulation of the sea and
shore fisheries, rs reported by commits
sion authorized by the legislature OF 1898
to be appointed by the governor, and
those laws are now more plainly under
stood than before.
| By the new code it would seem that the
close restriction against he seine has been
somewhat modified by the substituting
''mainand to mainland" for "any land
to land" as before. This it would seem
permits seine fishing-if there were any
fish, in bays OF three miles or more in
| ioIo do bai