The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-11-22
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matters which is predicted Eo be brough to the attention of the incoming legisia lture, through the representatives iron
 Mobile County, and which is of nor
 than ordinary interest to the commercial
 interests as we'll as other citizens or th' Gulf City, Is a much needed prosecutor
 to the oyster culture in the wateFs hssdsr ing the coast of Alabama.
 l The oyster business of Mobile is ev v
 means a small matter, in that hundreds
 and perhaps thousands are interested
 their iivlihood being. obtained from the
 oyster culture and oyster trade. Th' fleet of vessels engaged in bringing oys ters to Mobile for local and foreign con sumption can only be surmised by visii
 to the docks every day. Each vessel oi
 this fleet represents. possibly, three | families, at the lowest calculation, and the average number of vessels per diem to arrive here is about half dozen
 equalling about thirty-six to forty vessels a week.
 ! These vessels bring from 100 to 200 bar rels of oysters each ,and ready sale IS found for the juicy bfvalves on arrivai in port. The greater quantity or the oysters are disposed of to wholesale deal CTS who shuck them and retail them to customers in the city. At no time Is the market dull. the demand being evenly balanced during the season wherein the oyster is in demand.
 The matter referred to is a better pro- tection of the oyster in the beds. Al present there is virtually no law to pro tect the culture of oysters. which, by the way, Is not the case in Mississippi and Louisiana. What is termed oyster pirating is a thing of daily occurrence in the waters belonging to Alabama, and the oyster gatherers of Alabama have virtually no protection from these pirates. The local dealers are handicapped as well
 The lawmakers of Louisiana, realizing the fact that the oyster culture Is and or right should be source or spienoio revenue to the State, have provided good laws for the protection of the bivalves. as well as making them source of good revenue to the State. A law Is in exist ence and by the way, being enforced. which gives the State line income rom the shell fish. There is a license tax on every vessel engaged in catching oysters. to wit Every vessel, 50 cents per ton; each hand g per annum; each skin, sl; each rake or fork 50 cents; cents per barrel for oysters caught. The law further provides that the oysters must bo culled on the reef in order that the seed the objectionable oysters, so to speak, De- ing thrown back into the beds for future growth. There are from three 70 nVs men on each boat and 1t can De reaoliy seen that this income to the state IS M a good one from each vessel engaged Tn the trade. While Mississippi has a good law for the protection of oysters 1t is not quite so good as that of her sister state The laws of both States require that all oysters caught must be sold to dealers within the State in which they are caught.
 The people of Alabama interested in this field of business are virtually without such protection and the State is abso- lutely without a source of revenue from the bivalves, whereas if a law were en- acted somewhat similar to that Of Louisiana a good revenue could be de- rived. Under existing conditions in Ala and Mississippi come into Alabama wa ters buy oysters from the catchers at the reefs and carry them into their territory and there dispose of them. It can De readily seen tha: such procedure means the inevitable destruction of the beds in Alabama waters to the hetterment or the beds in the two States named.
 movement is on foot here by which the local representatives in the General Assembly win be asked to provide laws whereby these pirates from other states will be prevented from coming into this territory. buying oysters from the eaten CTS on the reefs and taking same to other towns on the coast and there disposing or them. Few have as yet realized the im- portance of such legislation, but when 1t Is known that the oyster beds of Ala bama waters are being rapidly depleted. they will see the wisdom Of necessary legislation along this line. At Bayou La Batre, thirty miles from this city. In Mobile County. is an immense oyster can nery which is now closed. Some say it is closed down because of the pirating which has been going on the past few years in Alabama waters. Be this as 1t may it is a self-evident fact that the eannery. which was a source of revenue to many people in that vicinity, ts now dead and Biloxi, Miss. and other coast towns in that State are the beneficiaries.
 The movement referred to looking to the better protection of the oyster beds in Alabama waters is growing rapidly and General Assembly at the forthcoming ses- sion with a view not only to protecting the beds. but to providing substantial source of revenue to the State.