Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1908-04-10
FISH AND OYSER NOTES

dumped into streams.
The Commission of Fisheries will
hold meeting in Norfolk April 2lst for
election of inspectors and to transact
other business.
| w. f. Lawson, Inspector at Hamp-
ton, has been appointed, in addition to
the inspectorship, as supervising in
spector for the State by the Commits
sion of Fisheries.
The oyster planters and packers of
the State will meet in the Monticello
Hotel, Norfolk, on April Is, at IL a. m.
for the purpose of organizing a perma-
nent State oyster association.
The dredging season for hard crabs
is nearly over. Soft crabs have started
in small quantities. The oyster season
IS practically over and Hampton and
Crisfield packers are busy repairing
their crab houses and crab floats.
The government sent a revenue cut
ter this week to Willoughby to investi-
gate the setting of pounds. The prin-
cipal complaint seems that they do not
use lights. We advise all our pound
fishermen to at once put lanterns on
their traps.
Thirty real, live, squirming solf crabs
the first of the season-were received
this morning. They came from the
Rappahannock river and are very small.
Not so their price. They are quoted at
$3.50 dozen. which is just six times
as much as they bring when the season
is in full swing .-Yesterday's Balti-
more News.
We are pleased to note that the ven
cradle Joseph Wharton, formerly of the
Fisheries Company, has come to the
rescue and saved the assets from the
sharks who were lowering around ready
to profit by disaster and illness. The
company will be reorganized and all
creditors paid and soon be in running
order, in better condition than ever
Fishing Gazette.
The New York board of health has
adopted the following resolution: ''No
oysters shall be held, kept or offered
Tor sale anywhere in the State of New
York without permit in writing from
the board of health and subject to the
rules and regulations of said board. "
All oyster beds near New York have
been mapped out by the board. Strict
supervision will be maintained.
Now for the advent of the crab. We
learn that in Mississippi soft crab season
opened auspiciously. They are large
and meaty. The hard crabs are scarce.
In the Norfolk market they are crowd
ing out the demand for oysters. Many
oystermen are now engaged in the fish
business. The boatmen in the oyster
business have been the special losers
this year from the off season. 1t is
safe to say that the season just closing
is the most disastrous in the history of
the Norfolk packers. The Oysterman. |
The curiosity of fish is in no way
better demonstrated than by watching |
their antics when torpedo practice is in
progress. Recently a school of big |
fish swan up the bay near Sag Har.
Dor, L. l., while torpedo beat was
firing at target, and began to investi-
gate. The result was great number
of mangled fish and noticeable zig
tagging of the torpedoes before they
struck the target. A shark at another
practice tried conclusions with n tor
pedo. with similar effect on the shark.
1t is claimed that 500, 600 of fishing
boats. nets and other gear is laid up at
Tampa. Fla alone by the newanti-stopnet
fishing law, while many of the fisher
men are in actual want. The latter
have no other means of livelihood.
This is grave danger also threatening
Virginia. So long as the fishermen
listen to false friends. working them
for political ends, and object to moder-
ate remedial or restrictive legislation,
just so long will they stand in constant
danger of being wiped off the map"
by State or NATIONAL legislation. Bull
headedness often brings rahid laws,
The red snapper Is the most common
ish in the Cult of Mexico. II is gorge
'usly colored. graceful In all its move
nents and unusually wary and capra-
,ious. In weight it varies from two to
'hirty-five pounds. averaging seven
pounds. It's home is the strictly salt
water, short distance from the coast. II
where it lives on the bottom at dis
ance of from 60 to ESQ feet. The life !
# the red snapper is spent about
'atches OF rocks, swimming about six ,
eet from the bottom. forever on the /,
lert to dash upon some reckless 5
mailer flsh. It has about fifty species q
4 fish to select from. In consequence
+ living upon food Of this character 7.
he flesh Is sweet
With ordinary earth-worm bait. which t
hey first saturated in brandy as an ex- I
eriment, Policeman Thomas Clark and a
'oliceIfan John Carr. of Yeadon, Pa. v
eturned home with $50 pounds of fish.
hey left early for Darby Creek, but b
fter spending several hours without "
eing rewarded with a bite, Clark as "
n experiment saturated the worm on h
Is hook with ten-year-old liquor and "
1rew the line overheard. To his sur a
rise has hook was taken SO quickly by O.
voracious sucker that the hook C;
roke of short. A new hook was "
IL 4