The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1900-07-17
THE FISH
QUESTION
Secretary Cooper on
the Subject.
MUCH ;, ILLEGAL SEEMING
He is Preparing a Report on
hawaii's Needs to Unl:ed
States Commission.

THE preservation of the food fishes of
the Islands and the increase of the va
riety of such fishes is matter Of the
deepest moment to the Islands and 1 am
very glad to see that the Advertiser has
taken the subject up and is pushing IT.
II So said Henry f. Cooper. Secretary of
| ihe Territory. yesterday. Mr.. Cooper is
! personally deeply interested In this ques-
/ tion and he at the present time is at
work upon an extended report the
whole subject, which is to be sent to the
United States Fish Commission within the
next week or so.
'The people of Hawaii do not realize
how important this matter is" he said,
or the question would have been brought
/ to public attention before this. AS mat
ter of fact the food fishes of the Islands
Will be extinct in a few years unless some
measures are taken shortly toward the su-
pervision of the fishermen who are taking
/ fish from the bays and harbors daily. j
know from my own personal experience
that the law concerning seining is being
constantly violated. At Pearl Harbor re-
Gently saw. a seine which was being used
by n Japanese fishing camp.
I 1T was about a hundred yards long
and was made with quarter-inch mesh.
But lest any fish or any living thing. no
matter how small, should escape Its
meshes. fine mosquito netting had been
stretched across the net. With 1t these
fishermen were sweeping the harbor. They
, caught thousands of tiny mullet scarcely
as large as your little finger. Every thing
that was taken In the net they dumped
into barrels and carted away. Many of
those nets. some of them even larger than
the one / have described, We're in use In
: suit the harbor is pretty well cleared of
= FISH.
e I'VE are endeavoring to put a stop to
e this kind of fishing, but there are many
J Japanese who continue that system, and
: as there is no regular fish commissioner
) for the Islands, we have to depend for ev-
K idence upon any citizens who will voiun-
!. teer TO tell of infractions of the law.
: Unless some steps are taken at once, We
h shall soon be entirely without food fish
that are native to the Islands.
Il have read with much interest whai
the Advertiser has had to say about i'm.
porting fish from the States to stock oul
waters. l have observed the fish In the
, waters of San Diego bay and 1 believe
i that those which thrive there-the barra
y cuda, Spanish mackerel and q fish the,
call the yellow tail'-would live In thes'
l. waters and do we'll. All of these are goos
u food fish and all are gamey and woult
SpoEt 10 utVOtetS Oh TOu anu fcCi
Conditions here are very similar to thos
along the coast of Southern California
and have no doubt that these fish woul
jadapt themselves to our waters.
II am at present at work on repor
Id which / propose to send to the Unite
yo States Fish Commission. l shall inciud
In 1t all obtainable statistics concerntn
. the food fishes of the Islands and the TEN
g, perature and depth of the waters In tn
on various bays and harbors of the grouI
,e I shall earnestly request that some after
ton be given by the Department to Ha
. waits needs. / shall ask that a 6s
r. commissioner be sent here IL possible
as look into the subject with view to hay
ing some American fishes brought her
and planted and I shall recommend tn
ne barracuda and other California fishes a
ch adapted to the waters of the Islands"
as It is quite likely that at the rext NEE
he ing of the Chamber of Commerce the fis
,se question win be given some attssation an
he IL is possible that resolutions Will be pas
g- ed on the subject that win be forwarde
tie TO the Government at Washington.