Evening star., 1900-07-07
STURGEON AND CAVIAR.
Rapid Destruction of the Fish Threat.
ening Early determination.

A-hTAy
From the Philadelphia Ledger.
1t may surprise some persons to learn
that full-erown female sturgeon is as
valuable a creature as the fur seal Yet
this is fact. 1t may also interest and
surprise many to be told that more than a
million dollars are invested In the sturgeon
catching industry in the Delaware river
alone, and that more than seven-eighths of
the caviar sold In this country as Russian
caviar is made few miles below this city
from eggs of the sturgeon caught in this
vicinity. Yet both these things are true
also.
The slaughter of the fur seals in Bering
sea and their threatened early extinction
by Canadian poachers produced at one
time widespread excitement throughout the
country, and for a while caused decidedly
strained relations between the governments
of the United States and England. The
sturgeon is as perilously near extinction as
the fur seal. AT the rate this valuable fish
Is disappearing, and unless something Is
promptly done to prevent 1t. in five years
there will be none to catch.
10 show how rapidly the sturgeon are
passing away 1t is only necessary to refer
to the report of the Pennsylvania fish COM
mission. According to that document be-
tween the years 1880 and 1889 it was not
uncommon for LOCO sturgeon to be seen on
the dock at Bayside as the result Of one
days catch. In the latter named year the
".
The average catch to a net that season
was go: in 1891 about %: in 1892 1t was AZ;
in 1893 it had fallen to 30; in 1894 down to
26; in 1895 the average to a net rose to 30
but In 1896 1t fell to 21; in 1897 the average
was %: In 1898 1t fell to 13, and in 1890 1t
sank to s. In 1898 the total catch Of stur-
geon In the Delaware bay and river was
over 5000 Last season it was 251O. 1t
cannot take long at this ratio to bring ex-
termination.
Caviar, which ia only cleansed sturgeon
eggs submitted to a picking process and
dried used to realize to the concerns max
ing 1t from SO to IS keg of 1876 pounds;
now 1t brings from $40 and upward to a
keg. and when in shipping 1t the duty and
other charges are added the cost of the
caviar before it is offered to the consumer
is over s130 a keg. or nearly 81 a pound
In addition to this there is the flesh Of the
fish, which when smoked brings high
prices. Male and female sturgeon yielded
the fishermen in 1899 in both eggs and
flesh on an average $40 each, and spect-
mems of the female alone have been known
to bring nearly 500.
The story of the rapid disappearance of
the sturgeon in the Delaware Is the story
told of every other water in all parts Of
the country. The industry has gone from
the Chesapeake and lower Susquehanna,
lakes in the same proportion as in the
Delaware. 1t is the same all along the
Atlantic and Pacific coasts. 1t Is not so
much needless methods of fishing or the
ruthless destruction of the young that is
causing this rapid determination of the
sturgeon-for the fishermen thoroughly
alarmed at the situation and are doing
what they can to preserve the young from
| harrl-as 1t is the phenomenally increased
demand for the caviar and flesh
Both the United States and Pennsylvania
fish commissions have had their attention
called to the danger which threatens the
Industry, and strong appeals have been
| made to them to undertake artificial propa-
CATION. but owing to the parsimony of
Congress and the legislature of Pennsyl-
vania neither can yet see its way clear to
| do So The mere work of taking and hatch
| ing the eggs is comparatively an easy
| task, but the cost is very great There is
| no doubt of the necessity of some action
being taken. and 1t might perhaps be well
| II the United States and Pennsylvania were
| to join forces in sturgeon Matching.