The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1902-01-30

/ persons that there will be few suits to
establish fishing rights except on the
islands of Oahu, Maui and Hawaii. The
owners of many of the rights on the
other isla'rds will, it is believed, simply
allow their rights to lapse, as there is
fishing privileges. AS all the cases
must be filed by June 14th of this year,
there must be something of activity
very soon in the caring for the inter-
ests involved, or they will lapse by
Limitation.
President Roosevelt has transmitted
to Congress the preliminary report
upon the Fisheries and Fishing Laws
of Hawaii, according to the directions
of Congress. with a paragraph calling
attention to the request of Commission
er Bowers that $4,000 be appropriated
Immediately to carry out the wishes of
Congress.
Commissioners Bowers in his letter
explains LAT the report must ,yes re-
garded as partial and that the investi-
cation will be continued as to the deep
water fisheries during tins year by DR..
Jordan, using the steamer Albatross.
Mr.. Bowers says the recommendations
as to fisheries legislation have his ap-
proval.
The report is written by DR.. David
Starr Jordan and DR.. Barton Warren
ENxrnr tall of fI0 nf
their work, their assistants and men
who aided them here, and then say
that about $50 species of fishes were
obtained, some seventy of them being
lew to science, in addition to 100 oo-
tanned by DR.. Jenkins in 1889. The de-
tailed account of the fishes with colored
plates will be published later. The re-
port lists and Identifies all the known
food fishes and then proceeds to follow
the laws relating to fisheries. and the
conditions prior to 1880. when the first
laws were passed. This includes an
interesting history of the taboo and its
scope.
After concluding this phase of the
report with a quotation of the laws
governing the extinguishing of fisher
les rights, which are to be wiped out
in 1908. the report goes on to say:
MUST HAVE PROTECTION.
Except in a few isolated instances
these exclusive fishery rights are of not
much Importance any of the islands
except Oahu. On this island, particularly
q nf bIr Of
siderable vaue, owing to the easily ac-
cessible market afforded by the city. On
the other islands the population is too
scattered to make the fisheries valuable.
The owners of fishery rights usually
lease them to Japanese, Chinese and Ha-
waiians
The adjustment of these fishery rights
will. in some instances, work very seri-
ous damage to the commercial fisheries
+ proper laws are not provided to take
the place of the Old restrictions. Under
the laws governing these fisheries at
present, the owner can, and in some
places does, protect certain species, par
the mullet. during the spawn
ng season by placing a taboo on them,
md as everybody had to account to him
when fishing he could easily prevent the
lse of destructive forms of apparatus or
ishing.
The fisheries of Honolulu are rapidly
ng rise in the price of fish, which are
low perhaps higher than in any other
seaport town in the world. One cause
II the falling off is to be found in over
ishing within a limited area The mar
lets of Honolulu are supplied by resi-
lent fishermen, by fishermen along the
inc of the Oahu Railway at Waialua and
Naianae, and by fishermen on the north
ide of the Pail, about the village of He
ia. None of these fishermen go into
leep water, or to any great distance
rom Honolulu Their equipment is on a
small scale, and thus far larg-
r equipments have not been found profit
bic The high price of labor, its rela-
i've untrustworthy character, and the
ase of overstocking the market have
rought attempts at fishing on a large
Gale to a comparative failure. Native
shermen work when they feel like
I. The Chinese fishermen are
fraid Of new situations and be-
ct by superstitious fears. Japa-
ese fishermen enter into combinations
nth their competing fellows. thus de-
eating the purpose of large fishing
lants to control the markets themselves
The most valuable element in the Ha-
Taiian fishes is the amaama OF mullet.