The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1905-07-30
ENEMIES OF THE FOOD FISH.
Maine Trawiers Say the Dosfish IL Driving
Them Frsm BusinesS.


OLD ORCHARD, Me-. July 3o.-The hotels
hero have been driven to tho conclusion
that their supply Of fresh fish Will have
to como from q distance this season Tho
schooners which Used to circuit about
the bay do not now sock the mackerel and
porgies.
Some visitors saw the cause Of the
trouble few days ago in Casco Bay. They
had gone out with couple Of old fisher
mon for q nights trawllng. Some new
lines had been carefully set and then the
buoyed half mile Of limo put out . day or
two previously was visited. Hardly. how
ever. had the two men begun to pass the
heavy cord with its dependent lines over
the roller In the bow Of the boat whom one
Of them began to swear and wound up
by saying: NO use. guess; dognsh has
spoiled the whole thing
As line after line came UP II was found
that all the bait was gone and most Of tho
hooks missing and many Of the cords broken
Of short. There Is no chance Of catching
one Of the thieves at such times, the men
explained. When one Of them has boon
hooked in such . manner that he cannot
cut the line with his hundreds Of wedge
shaped teeth, his mates tear him to pieces.
Whom once the tough skin Of the brutes
is broken 90 that the blood comes, the other
dogfsh will scent the carrion from an In
credible distance and hurry TO the feast.
Near Prout's Neck, at tho east corner OF
tho beach, the school was seen a day later
from coastng schooner. They were
Uhssns an zen .n drove Nn,. Of s%s
were lcaping out Of the water in every
direct on in vain endeavon to escape the
implacabls enemy.
there Tas some generslship about .t the
bay. With rocks at each Of It's points. The
school Of dogfish were In crescent forma-
ton, completely cutting of all retreat
in the shallow water. The food fish quite
realized their hard fortune. and many
to the shore to escape the teeth Of their
pursuers. The flashing Of the cleaning
bellies as tho dogfish turned themselves
to give play to the mouth under the pig
like snout was inceesant and like short
sticks the back fms stood above water
almost as far as ono could SEQ.
No one who has not seen them would
believe the immense size Of tn csc schools
Of dogfish, or mackerel sharks. az some Of
the coast fishermen call them. Tho fisher
Of fifty would be large body. Nov they
trpvel In thousands, perhaps tens OF thou
sands.
To the ordinary whales and large sharks
the men are not unfriendly. These are
the big dogs which bring the hocks In to
where the nets and travis can get them.
for the way Of escape from these giants
Is by the shallow waters. But the dog
fish drive them away from the inshore
fishing places to places where the fishermen
cannot get at them.
When first taken out OF the water they
are pretty enough 80 far as appearances 90.
About Ave feet in length. Of true shark
formation. with straight dorsal fin stick
ing up some twenty inches. q mouth like
q new moon some inches back underneath
tho snout, Of lovely dark blue color, sha-
ding to white below long and lean. they
have all tho lines Of aristocratic racers.
All along the coast there are vague grum-
blngs Of the need Of governmental Inter
subsidizins factories, which will convert
the little sharks into fertilizer. But there
does not appear to be very much promise
In these attempts.
Suggestions have been made that good
export trade with EuroDe could he built up
in the canned flesh Of the pests. The flesh
n not at all bad when boiled and 30 far AZ
is known the dog ish are not unclean
feeders. Possibly 1t NAV yet pay tho fish
ermen to catch them and sell them to the
The skin Of the dog fish rs strong and az
rough a. . carpenters rasp. Small guam
titles OF II are tanned and used for the grips
of fine swords and dirks. few ladies'
the natural color of tho living Ash could be
retained there could be no prSttier cover
ing for hand bags. valisee and small trunks,
and one would ina gine II would be as easy
to set fashion In II as II was In alligator
akin