The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1899-06-16
FISH TRANSPORTATION
Warden Schreiner's Inter-
esting Report Protec-
ton Of CLANS.

Warden schre.ner, of the state Fish
and Game Board, in his monthly report,
has something to say about fish trans
plantation He says
The work of bringing the fish on from
( the West was entrusted to Wardens
| Riley, Kerr. Snyder and Hawkins. and I
| am satisfied that they did everything in
| their power to make the trip a success
full one. Unfortunately, at Elmira the
draw-ilead pulled out of the car, necessi-
tating its being taken from the train and
repaired. The Erie Railroad Company
did everything possible, under the CIR
cumstances, the repairs being made
| promptly and the cars attached to the
next express train. The loss of fish was
consequently far smaller than mad been
anticipated when the accident r. .u'red.
o trips of this kin to Lake Erie It
| is impossible to designate the number
and kinds Of fish to be taken; the catch
is affected by numerous circumstances
wind. temperature, the movements of
fish, etc. The fish cannot be kept for any
length of time. and sometimes several
days elapse before a catch is made suit
able for taking East. 1t will be observed
that in the lot brought on during the last
| trip there were considerable numbers of
| strawberry bass, a fish hitherto a stran-
ger to New Jersey waters. The WardenS
| had been instructed to obtain these fish,
if possible, in order to secure their III
PRODUCTION into the waters of New Jersey.
| Hitherto more attention had been paid to
| superior, or larger kinds of fish, and
| the work would have been continued on
| these lines for some time had it not been
that the last Legislature refused to make
an appropriation for stocking purposes.
Consequently the trip Just made will
probably be the last for some tiWe to
come, and to this the determination to
bring on as many strawberry bass as
| possible was due.
st regret exceedingly that | was not
able to fill all the. applications made for
fresh water fish, as T had been in the
| hone of doing, and as I feel confident I
| should nave lone had it not been for the
| accident to the car en- route AS it was,
the fish were sent to points most easy
| of access. many of the fish, or account
of the delay, being in anything but a
good condition for further extensive
travelling.
"The strawberry basis known through
| out the West by a number of different
names. It is frequently called the calico
| bass, and this name is more appropriate
| thar any other, when the appearance OF
the fish is considered. 1t is also known
in the West as grass bass, bitterhead,
| lamplighter and bank lick bass: in Lake
| Michigan it is invariably called the bar
| fish, and in the southern part of the
West it is referred to as goggle-eye or
| goggle-eyed perch. AS a matter of fact,
the strawberry bass, like the rock bass,
the crappie and other similar fish, be-
| longs to the sunfish family. b straw
berry bass is of bright gold and black,
with numerous varying shades, being
one of the most beautiful of fish. 1t is
| fond of grassy bottoms and quiet and
| clear water, and objects to mud.
"a fruitful subject for controversy
during the past month has been the act
for the protection of clans enacted by
the last Legislature. Hitherto the en-
forcement of all acts pertaining to CLAIMS
and oysters has been entrusted either to
the she'll fish or oyster commissions; in
the present case the Legislature has
made an exception and provided that
| this law shall be enforced by. the Fish
ana 6dme NdtueHS. IN law pLOiilpiSo
the taking, possession, offer to purchase,
| ETC., of hard CLANS less than one inch
across the hinge or back, and of soft
| clans less thai two inches across the
hinge or back. The first question which
presented itself was as to what Is the
back of a clam and, assuming that the
back is where the hinge is located,
| where roes the back begin and n d
IA careful investigation of all the Unit
| ed States reports, and of many other re-
ports in my possession, fail to show the
use of the word back at any time in the
many hundreds of pages l have examined.
for which reason it was necessary to
look elsewhere for a definition of the
term. Inquiry among the clam diggers
| shows that their Interpretation of the
| term .sback" means the thickness through
of the clam at the th.ckest part, which
is near the hinge. Clammers who desired
to observe the law promptly proceeded to
throw back all clans which would pass
through a sieve having meshes an inch in
diameter. In New Jersey it is apparent
that back means the thickest part of
the clam. I have examined the enact
ments of other States on the subject, bit
find no such law anywhere on any statute
books. Other States have passed laws
| requiring licenses, imposing a tax oil
| every barrel of CLANS secured. or limiting
| the number a person might take for the
purpose of barter and sale. but no Safe
limits the size of the clans to be taken,
and. I think I I'M safe in saying that no
State ever did anything of the kind, with