Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1906-01-24

pafatlon Tor the season OF 1906. which viii
open early in March As yet. it is little
early to make any accurate predictions
as TO the supply, but the men engaged in
the business are hopeful of better results
than were obtained last year
On the New jersey side Of the river the
men are wrestling with prospective legis-
lation which they evidently do not like
CAS- ! understand the matter" says 4. S.
Harris, president of the Penn's Grove
tishemens Association, 1T is proposed
to have bill passed by the New Jersey
Legislature making it unlawful to fish
more than five days in week. Should
this bill become a law il would virtually
ruin our business. The shad fishermen
of Salem and Cumberland counties have
invested 100000 or more in boats, nets
engines and cabins. The loss of one day
week besides the loss of five more DAYS al
least, on account OF high winds would
mean % days in all which would be about
one-iourth OF the fishing season in the bay
Put this loss at $40 day, which is q very
low figure, would mean the loss of $50
during the fishing season. That would
about take all the profit for the season.
The Shad tishermen's Protective As
ISOLATION oiSouthQ Jersey lWilHathhd TO-
gether as one man IN opposition to any
such change in the law We say: Let
the law stand as it is without any change
Now a few facts as to why there has
been falling of in the catch of shad the
last few years II has been the contention
of the up-river fishermen that the large
number of nets and their great length
being operated day and night is the cause
of the decrease in the catch of shad up
the river. l read an item in one of the
Philadelphia daily papers last week stat
ing there were 800 Swedes operating huge
nets day and night in the bay. This is a
gross misrepresentation. Take 725 of
that number and it will be very nearly
correct. IL is claimed by the up-river
fishermen that the bay nets are iished con-
tinually day and night preventing the shad
coming up the river This is false, as /
can prove to the satisfaction of any in
teligent fisherman, as there are but few
nets that fish in the bay at night and
then only in good weather Much of the
time in the spring of the year the high
winds make IL impossible for us to fish,
even in the daytime. Some DAYS we do
not go out at all and much less at nights
when the weather is rough
''Shad in their passage up the bay have
no obstructions in their way. at least half
of the time during the week. and nearly
all the time in the ship channel, as vessels
are passing up and down the channel
almost continuously and besides this the
entire bay is clear of nets from Saturday
night sundown, until ~ O'Clock Sunday
night, giving shad a clear run upstream
These facts ought to be clear to every up
river fisherman that IL is not the number
OF nets and the hard fishing of the same
/ that keeps the shad from going up the
river The question will then be asked
] What is the real cause of the great falling
of in the catch of shad p The catch of
shad has not fallen off any more in propnr-
| tion up the river in the total catch than
in the bay. ! do not think there was an
average catch of 1000 shad to a net in the
| bay last spring A few years ago IL was
no uncommon thing for a net TO catch
from 1000 to 10000 during the season.
The whole truth of the matter is this:
The only cause for the great reduction in
the catch of shad is that the factories
mills, acid works and coal-oil companies
from the upper end aofc Phhhdclbhlh on
both sides of the river down to Claymont
have been dumping al their filth and
obnoxious gases into the Delaware River
which has So polluted the water with these
poisonous gases that Il has killed hundreds
of thousands of young shad every summer
besides thousands of small fish of other
varieties. Thousands of these young fish
have been seen dead washed up ON the
shore, almost instantly after swimming In
this polluted water As the Delaware
| River Is becoming more and more polluted
every year il viii naturally follow there
will be a decrease IN the catch of shad
every year unless some way.is provided
for the protection Of young shad and TO
restore the fishing industry TO what It
was in former years is for the States of
| Pennsylvania and New Jersey 70 enact
stringent laws compelling manufacturers
TO dispose of the refuse and poisonous
gases In some other way. .lI.e
"Oi late years a large number Of shad
have deposited their spawn well down
the river even as low down as the bav.
lGod has given all animal creation an in
stinct TO look after the welfare of their
young. This will apply to the fish in the
waters as well as the birds of the air
Shad will not 60 into filthy and impure
water to deposit their spawn. instinct
teaching them If they did IL would be
death TO their young Hence. this is the
reason so many shad spawn down the
river where the water Is pure. as the upper
Delaware is so narrow. and is more easily
polluted hy these poisonous gases.
Moulton c. Rogers. who has been en-
gagged in the shad fishing business for sew
eral years, is the FIRST fisherman from New
Castle 10 prepare for the season of 1906.
He was engaged yesterday in stretching
out the brazil lines OF taking the kinks out
of the lines in order to prevent their rolling
the net while il is in the water. The lines
were stretched on Penn Square. on Second
street, New Castle. and presented a IA
miliar sight Mr.. Rogers has his net and
will begin 10 hang it in upon the brazil
lines. The latter will be done in the old
Town Hall Several other New Castle
fishermen have received their nets and
Will begin al once 20 prepare for the season
which usually opens in a quiet way about
March 18th TO 22d
From present indications the list of
fishermen from New Castle for the year
1906 will exceed in numbers that of 1905.
when the product Of about so boats was
taken TO that city and assorted. sold or
shipped to Philadelphia, New York. Tren-
ton, Pittsburg Chicago, Baltimore. WASH
ington and Denver Col
King & Sons, who have for years made
a speciality of handling shad for the whole
sale and retail markets have arranged for
d