The Republican journal., 1907-02-07
THE DOG FISH.
What Commissioner Nickerson Has to Say
OF this Pest

of this Pest.
In his annual report recently sub
mlttel to Gov. Cobb, the commissioner
of sea and shore fisheries, Hon. A. H.
Nickerson of Boothbay Harbor, has
considerable to say about that pest of
the seas, the dog fish. The section of
the report relating to this fish is as
follows:
The great damage caused by the dog
fish to the fishermen along the coast is
very hard to estimate. The State OF
Massachusetts has appropriated money
to carry on an investigation by the
State commission. l have read the re-
port that is made of that investigation
Anybody who has any knowledge OF
the ground fishery is aware that these
fish are great pest and nuisance OF
such proportions that the fishermen,
tired by the continual fight with dog
fish, have, on occasions given up their
fishing, left the grounds with their gear
until sure that the dog fish had gone
from the vicinity.
Dog fish will not only ruin gear, line
and travis, destroy fish and bait, but
will crowd upon fishing gear and will
gobble every hook, croWding out every
fish of value and putting the tired and
disguised fisherman to the trouble OF
pulling up his lines or travis, loaded,
every hook, with nothing but the worth
less, worse than disgusting dog fish.
| believe that investigation would be
useless, and an appropriation for that
purpose may be thrown away. There
are parties interested in the organiza-
ton of company for the purpose of
utilizing dog fish and converting the
skin, flesh and livers into marketable
products, but unless those States in
terested in the destruction of the dog
fish, or the general government, assist
in the initial expenses and costs, l
fear that the excellent project may be-
come impracticable, for the risk is a
great one for any individual to under
take
While the dog fish seem to be so
plentiful, in my opinion but short
time will be required to rid our waters
OF TINS pest. They come liz schools and
very big ones, too, and they go in schools
and disappear as suddenly as they came
to us. Unlike menhaden, mackerel
and herring, or other migratory fish,
they do not spawn, in fact they are all
animal and not fish. Their young is
born alive, and the, species is not so
prolific as the above fish.
Back in the SOS, L. Maddocks, in
connection with his menhaden works
at Boothbay Harbor, when the porgy
was very scarce, advertised that he
would buy all dog fish that were brought
to his factory. The first season in a
short time he received 100000, the
second season about 100000. the third
season 100000 all able bodied dog fish
the fourth season none. The fishermen
then claimed that the coast waters for
distance of 40 miles from the reduc-
ton works were rid of the dog fish.
If the proprietors of this new extermi-
nation schemes, which proposes to buy
upall these fish to put to useful purposes
the skin, flesh, livers, ETC., therefor,
should ask the Legislature for an ap-
preparation to assist the initial establish
ment, | would most certainly favor
such expenditure of a moderate sum
under proper restrictions, that will
assist us in getting rid of one of the
greatest menaces to our fishery interests
and can assure our incoming Legisla-
ture that every fisherman on the New
England coast would be more than
pleased to know that the new company
proposed and was able and willing to
tan the hide of every individual dog
fish on the Atlantic coast.