Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-12-29
FISH DEALERS OBJECT
CRITICISM OF LAW AFFECTING
SALE OF SHAD.
Regulation Regarded as Unnecessary
Alleged That It Creates Boycott
Against Washington.

The fish dealers throughout the District
are complaining, 1t Is said. OF the hardship
that is resulting from the operation of the
law affecting the sale Of shad, which went
into effect last year. This Is the second
year the law has been operative. but 1t Is
the first that its provisions have been re-
garded oppressive. According to the
regulation complained Of 1t Is unlawful
to- sell or have in possession any shad in
the District of Columbia before January l.
Fish Of all kinds have been selling at high
prices, and the fish dealers are having
hard time to secure supply that will be
sufficient to meet the demands Of the
public.
ness Of the present law regarding shad,
hickory, jack and herring has been felt by
the Washington fish Dealers" said a promi-
nent local commission merchant to a Star
such legislation for the District is absolute
ly unfair and uncalled for. The primary
motive for legislation on the subject was
the desire Of the local fish and game ex-
perts to protect the shad in the Potomac
river 1t is 4 fact that no one has yet been
able to gainsay that the Potomac shad are
the best in the world. The fish that are
caught from the Potomac are sold through
out the United States, or that part that
can be reached with any convenience, and
it is just possible that some Of the fish
pirates have been playing havoc with the
fish OF this particular species. The fish and
game experts were aroused 70 the protec-
ton CT what they deemed one of the glories
of this part Of the country, and secured the
passage through Congress of n bill to pre-
vent the sale or possession Of shad or spe-
cies of shad in the District of Columbia be-
fore January 1 Of each year.
Alleged Irony of the Regulation.
1T seems to me that any person we'll ac-
nfaH uyffh cho1
make the Potomac their habitat would have
appreciated the irony of such regulation
l have been handling fish and sea foods al
most exclusively for the past fifteen or
twenty years, and never in my experience
nave L known any one to secure or possess
a Potomac shad or species thereof before
the first or the middle of February. The
flshermen do not put their nets down until
the middle of February or the LIST of March
and there is little fish to be had before
March 10 or the LIST of April. 1t therefore
appears to us to be ridiculous that such a
regulation should be promulgated
That is not the complaint we have
against the law, however. 1t is simply
point which shows how ludicrous the regu-
lation is. Our complaint is that the law
prohibits us from receiving shad and at
the same time it prevents us from reeeiv-
Ing other fish. The people that would ship
shad to us this time of the year are those
who have numerous other fish. They are
the fishermen in Florida, North and South
Carolina. In these places there is no law
that prohibits the catching of shad or any
OF its species during the present ason.
Only few such fish are caught, however,
as you can see, because the fishermen do
not go after them. When they make up
their fish barrels for shipment north they
know that shad cannot be sold here and
that If we find them in our shipments we
will promptly return them. At this time
of the year shad are bringing high prices
on hat oayf- = a-lz
therefore, is this: He can. by sending his
fish to Baltimore, New York, Philadelphia
or Boston, have all his fish sold. He can
secure the high prices that prevail for his
shad, as well as the other fish, and it
would be foolish for him to ship one class
or species here and another to New York
He therefore sends all his fish to New
York, and, becoming accustomed to the
ways of the dealers and their rates, he
continues to ship all his fish there, whether
he has any outlawed fish or not. The re-
suit Is that we are literally boycotted,
merely because some people prevailed on
Congress to enact a foolish lava law for
protection that does not by any means pro-
tect
The Trouble Entailed.
mo one, not connected with the fish
business, can realize the trouble this law
has cost US. Last week I returned seven
or eight barrels Of fish, simply because the
fishermen sending them to me wrote that
1 must take the whole lot or send all back
There were several dozen shad in the lot
and 1 had to send the barrels back That
meant the loss of quite tidy sum and of
lots of valuable time. The high price of
meat has created greater demand for fish
this year than there has ever been before,
and we have done the greatest business we
ever did The fish dealers do not complain
of lack of patronage or anything like that,
because the wave of prosperity has struck
us just as it strikes the remainder of the
country but it seems such a small thing,
this shad law, and 1 hope it will be re-
pealed.'