Arizona republican., 1901-01-04
OYSTER INDUSTRY DECLINE.
of Menhadin From Long Island
Stand the Reason.

The scientists of the Uni,ed States
fish commission have discovered new
reason for the decline of the oyster in
dustry in Long Island Sound. 1t Is de-
c.ared, after a long ana thorough in
yes.igation. thar these who are engag-
cd in the taking of menhader are re-
moving the na,ural protector CT the
oystd, The menha3en feed on young
star fish. AMI it Is now notorious that
the worst enemy of the oyster is the
s.ar fish, hundreds of thousands CT
which infest Long Island Sound.
DR.. A. d. Mead of the United States
fish commission has just concluded an
inquiry into the history of the star
fish. during which he learned that the
most active agent in Kidding the wa
tiers of this sea animal is the menha-
den. Consequently the Wholesale TAX
ing Of mlan.haden tends to increase the
number of star fish. DR.. Mead states
that the star fish ravage The oyster
beds of southern, New England and
New York. especially in Long Island
Sound, and that these Tavages also ex-
tend to the clam and mussel beds.
That the Wholesale seining of menha-
den. more especially in the inshore wa
tiers, had a direct bearing on the dep
relations of ,he star fish was MT sus-
peoted until the researches of DR.. Mead
were undertaken. lI'he htter now states
that the inquiry has proven beyond
doubt that the young of the star fish,
which at times are so abundant that
they actually color the water, are nat
%. q fakl b.a Ssy',n4als
Of which form verttable living skim
ming nets, often a mile IN breadth. DIR.
Mead adds that his investigation indi-
Gates that 4, is perfectly justifiahln 10
ascribe the rapid increase in the num-
Der of star fish to the extensive capture
Of their natural enemies at time
when the latter are known to be feed
ing on young star FISH. This discovery
Is apt to have the effect of reopening
the old controversy about putting an
end to, or limiting, the menhaien fish
cry along the Atlantic states. Massa-
chuset.s has already passed a state
law prohibiting taking o: the fish In
the inshore waters of she state and au-
tnoritlts in other states are endeavor-
ing to have laws passed prohibiting the
industry within the three mile limit.
The objections to such laws are nu-
merous. and those who have been en-
gagged in the industry have been pow
erful enough in the past to prevent the
adoption of many that were proposed
in various states. The fish are ground
up and converted into oil and feiLiliz-
ing material 1t is claimed that the
extensive SEEMING operations necessary
to take them drive away other fish.
also that the menha len forms the prey
of other and more valuable food fishes.
and that when 1t is extermlnatcd by
the fishermen the food fish will natural
ly seek other waters.
During his inquiries DR.. Mead delteT-
mined the question Of how the star fish
attacks the oystr. problem to which
fully two dozen different answers have
been given. 1t is as follows: The star
fish so -oovers his victim that the suck
ers of the under side of the arms are
distributed. part to one valve, part to
the other, and the remainder fire.
quently to some surrounding object.
The suckers are very numerous and
stick fast, and tendency to straight
en- the arms results in constant pull
on thc SHELLS in opposite directions.
which. II st.cng enough. would open
the shells. 1t Is true that a star fish
Is not strong enough to open an oyster
smmeyslately in this manner, but 1t can
and does fatigue its prey. The con-
SAINT. strong pull In opposite directions
soon tires THE muscle which holds the
shrll together, and sooner 'ST later the
oyster or clam gapes open. An inter-
esting experiment made by DR.. Mead
shows the terribly destructive power of
THE star fish. He placed one star of
average size In a dish with fifty-two
clans. the largest of which were about
the length OF one arm OF the star. In
side of four hours two OF the CLAIMS had
been devoured. The star kept up Its
work without cessation and in six days
over fifty CLAIMS had bern devoured.
AT this rate 600 star from one netful CT