The evening times., 1900-02-15
POTOMAC RIVER SEINERS
The Preparations for an Active
Campaign Against Shad.
A Number of Companies That Pos
scss Miles of Net Arranging to En-
lent Fish-An Industry That Has
Grown 80 Extensive Proportions.

The large fisheries on the Potomac
River below this city making exten-
sive preparations for the fishing season
which will begin soon. The river VIII
soon be netted with seines of all descrip-
tions for the purpose of hauling in the
wary herring rockfish, and shad.
A very small portion Of the inhabitants
of the city of Washington, with the eX-
ception of those who love the sport OF the
rod know of the immense amount of fish
ing done on the Potomac by various COM
panies, and of the manner and method
of catching the fish.
The superintendent of the exhibition
rooms of the Fish Commission Building
here today gave reporter many inter
esting facts regarding the manner in which
the fish are caught, and some statements
showing the remarkable amount of het-
ting swung in the river during the fishing
season.
The fishing for rockfsh, shad, and her
ring will commence about the lst of March
and will continue probably until the mid
die of May.
Most of the fish caught in the Potomac
will be below Washington. and the fishing
will be done principally by the companies
hat operate along the shores OF Virginia
and Maryland
The fish are caught by seines, trap nets,
and drift net The seines are the princi
pal means of hauling in the fish. A seine
is a long net averaging from fifteen TO
thirty feet in width and from sone-half TO
two miles in length. When these seines
are used one end is fastened to a large
boat of twenty to forty oars which leaves
tn, fishing shore and is rowed up stream
and around in a semi-circle returning TO
the starting point. Here with the assist
ance of the current of the stream the ends
are drawn slowly in by windlass oper-
ated By horse or steam power The i'm
mense loop becomes smaller and smaller
and finally the seine is drawn on shore
and the catch OF FISH is emptied out.
The trap nets are very interesting also
and in these nets are caught great guam
titles Of fish. They are stationary and are
so cleverly erected that the fish are led
into them and cannot find their way out
They come in contact with a single net
and in following it are led into an enclos-
ure They follow the walls and go still
farther into a second enclosure. and here
the walls are constructed so that il hap
pens that a fish rarely escapes. In all
there are 490 trap nets on the river. OF
which 315 are on the Virginia side and the
remainder on the Maryland shore.
The seine nearest the bay is situated
on the Virginia shore at Aqua Creek, and
il is 600 fathoms long This one fishery
employs about twenty five men. The fish
cry adjacent TO this is the Gums fishery,
managed by Balinger Gibson. They use
500 fathoms of seine employ twenty five
men and have three horses TO furnish the
power for their windlass. The Stoney
Point is next in line toward Washington,
and is managed by Balinger q Gibson
They wind SEQ fathoms of net over their
windlass and employ forty men.
The next fishery is noted as being the
largest seine fishery in the world. They
have 900 fathoms of net. and their wind
lass is onerated by steam. In their en-
ploy are eighty men. All OF the fisheries
described thus far are on the Virginia
side of the Potomac. The fishery nearest
the BAY on the Maryland side is located
at Charmau's Point. and is managed by
George 4. Gale of Baltimore. He employs
forty men and uses $50 fathOms of net.
He operates entirely for shad and herring.
and salts more herring than any fishery
on the river. Heron & Lindsay are the
two controllers OF the fishery situated at
Bar Landing on the Maryland shore. They
use here $50 fathoms of net aud at MoX-
ley's point they control fishery where
they have 500 fathoms of seine. Henry and
George Raum control fisheries at Tulip Hill
and Tent Landing Maryland respectively,
which fish with 3I5 fathoms of seine and
employ twenty-five men.
The theory held by many OF the old fish
ermen that shad are becoming scarce is un-