Montour American. (Danville, Pa.) 1866-1920, 1903-10-15
FISH NETS SEIZED
IN SUSOUEHANNA

The Department Of Fisheries disoov-
cred an interesting fact in the seizure
of some nets last week Warden Nal
10y was sent to Investigate some viola
tions of the law on the Susquehanna
river. near Nescopeck and Berwick
He found a number Of wing walls all
in more or less working condition. but
only one basket, as the others were
worked with set nets, devices that are
entirely prohibited by law. He seiz-
| ed thirteen nets with meshes SO small
| that nothing larger than q diminutiye
minuow could get through. He had
! been warned that it was dangerous to
| tackle the fishing apparatus up there,
as the fishermen are a iawless set, and
so when ne seized a boat that had
evidently been used TO fish on one Of
| the dams he was not astonished when
he heard unearthly yells from the shore
| commanding him TO bring the boat
| back The command was further en-
| forced by double barrel shotgun In
| the hands of the owner Of the voice,
who also had a vest full Of loaded
! shells The warden rowod to the
shore, when the man said that he
owned the boat, but had nothing to do
with the fish traps. That heretofore
deputy sheriffs had raided the dams,
but as the eel taking season was just
before election the deputies only kick
ed out a few stones that were easily
replaced, and never disturbed the
nets. The warden. however, retained
the nets and sent them down to the
department at Harrisburg.
On examination at the department,
it was found that the nets were made
to catch anything that swims, and in
some of them were found dead Dung
shad, about four inches long. This
was an exceedingly interesting fact
in several ways. First, 1t showed that
it was possible, owing to the excep-
tionally high water last spring, for
shad to ascend the North Branch of
the Susquehanna, getting over the
dams at Olark's Ferry and Sunbury.
There Is at present q large number of
petitions coming to the department.
asking for the construction Of fishways
over the dams mentioned that the shad
may have free access to the upper
waters Of the river, and there Is no
doubt that they are very desirable.
But the second thing shown by the
shad in the nets is that the conten-
tion of the old Fish Commission for
several years that eel baskets and nets
are destructive to food fish is sustain
ed fully. II the nets on the upper
Susquehanna river, where there could
only possibly be very few shad, have
been killing the little food fish, how
much more destructive must the bask-
cts and other devices be in the lower
river, where the fish are getting more
abundant through the stocking OF the
stream. This matter is one for the
| peOpIo WiO "Asu W ScI IhC sh0o HI
the river to consider The shad Is one
of the most delicate of fishes. If only
one scale is knocked of a little shad
it will cause its death. In the river
where those nets we're seized the wing
walls are so close together that they
about cover the whole stream and
nothing can get down. That only two
licenses have been taken out for legal
fish baskets in Luzerne county and
none i'll Columbia county shows the
lawless character of tha fishermen vi
there, and the poor chance the shad
will have, if they are TO have fish
ways. unless the people vino want
shad build up sentiment in favor OF
enforcing the laws for tho protection
of the fish.