The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-08-01
PROTECT THE FISH
INTEREST Is AWAKENED BY IN-
 PRODUCTION OF BILL.
Fish Commissioner Wallace Says That Measure Is Due To the Fact That
 Fish Are Rapidly Disap-
 peaxlng In Salt WaterN,

Fish protection has awakened fn- terest since the introduction of the salt water dsh of Mobile bay and the tributary rivers and bayous by Sen ator Hamburger. of Mobile. It comes to the proposition that fishing plays than has been supposed.
 The bill passed the Senate FrtdaY with an unanimous vote. and bids fair to pass the House next week.
 State Game and Fish Commissioner John H. Wallace. IT,. today gave out the following statement relative to the bill which passed the Senate look ing to the further protection of nsh' and to make 1t unlawful to use nets. for the same. in the streams or bodies of water emptying into salt water:
 Mir. Wallace said: "The bill of Seha- tor Hamburger is designed to prevent the wholesale destruction of th@ nan in the waters of the coast counties Of the State. It will be recailed-t that on the passage of the general law Tor the State for the protection of fish. an amendment was proposed by the Mo bile delegation. which excepted from the operations of the act the waters of the State in which the tide ebbs and flows. This left the fish of the coast counties without any protection. shortly afterwards, representatives os Mississippi fertilizer factory came to Alabama with seines several thousand feet long and using tugs to draw thess seines caught practically all the fish on the coast of Coden and transport ca them In schooners to Mississippi. where they were ground up in fertilis. CT factories. Tn the absence of any statute to prevent this wholesale an. initiation of fish, the people Werw poweriess and many appealed to tho Department of Game and Fish for re- lief.
 Under the provisions of the Ash bill. 1t is unlawful for any person to use any seie or net in the waters of this State when the same is drawn by means of any launch or boat. or by any other manner than by human phys. ical strength.
 "Muliet. red fish. bass and trout arc protected during their respective spawning season However, these fish may be caught at any time by means of ordinary hook and line.
 Belnfnw Unlawful.
 Tt is made unlawful 10 use any seine one-haif inches when stretched. This will permit the small fish of the salt waters to escape being caught and will give them an opportunity of grow ing to such sise as to be valuable for food purposes.
 "ft is made unlawful for any non- resident commercial fisherman to en- gage in his vocation in Alabama. This is designed to prevent the fishermen of Florida from depicting the waters of lower Baldwin county. and to fre- strict them from shipping the fish. they catch with Illicit devices. to Pen- BacoiA.
 ''Under the provisions of rhe bill it is made lawful to use hoop-nets in which bait is used to attract fish in the nevigable rivers of this State. Hoop or bait nets catch only buffalo. drum and catfish which arc esteemed highly by many people as delicate ar ticies of food.
 'The commercial fishermen of the coast counties have made it plain to me that the fish in the salt waters are rapidly disappearing and they have necessarily appealed for adequate protection for their fisheries The bill of Senator Hamburger meets their en- fire and most unqualified approbation, and so far as I can learn has no op- position in the House The measure is most timely and will evenuate. in It's operation, in the conservation of a vast commercial asset"