Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1911-10-07
The Fisheries Questions.

Iutt0T htiill%ct journal.
VIII you kindly permit me. through
your columns. 10 call the attention OF
the members OF the Legislature and
the business public generally TO some
events that have transpired during this
season in the fisheries along our coast.
II will be remembered that much of
the valuable time of the last Legislature
VAS taken up by the discussion of
matters relating TO shore fisheries The
Weir fishermen were claiming that they
should be given n monopoly OF the
herring fishing ana that no other
method should be used than the old
fashioned stake Weirs. They expeHd-
ed a large amount of time and money
in tie attempt To make ii appear that
weir fishing should be allowed and all
kinds Of net fishing should be pro-
hibited
The so-called Mayo bill was drafted
along these lines and the promot-
ers of this scheme came very near
passing this bill. The opponents of
the Mayo bill were Very few They
had no money for any paid attorneys
to defend them and il remained for n
few OF us to use our personal en-
deavers to show up this iniquitous bill
which we were successful in doing.
and the Legislature failed to give the
Mayo bill or any of its substitute II
passage The promoters of the Mayo
bin We're making loud statements IN
the state House lobby and the diff
ferent hotels Of Augusta that the purse
and drag seine had destroyed the
maekerel, menhaden and herring.
Those of us who opposed the bill made
the statement before the committee
kinds of fishing was subject TO radical
changes and that there had always
been years of plentifulness and scare
itv and would he for all time to come.
The three leading species (mackerel.
menhaden and herring) have substan-
tiated this statement, this season.
This year will be a record breaking
year for herring. 1t is difficult to find
a market at any price for sardine her
ring This condition has existed for
weeks The sardne factories have
been oyerstacked with fish suitable for
sardine purposes and the result will
Dt lilt IdTBtel i'dCh III iibt iASNPA -
the business The price today is
hardly above the cost of production
and many of the factories are con-
| templating closing down on account Of
| the enormous pack.
Now the menhaden appeared on our
coast early in the season and are
swarming along our coast today which
| is very late fer them TO remain in our
waters. 1t seems to be the unanimous
opinion of our oldest menhaden fisher
men that there never has been such an
enormous body of extremely fat
menhaden on this coast. They are
| from the capes Of Virginia to the Bay
| of Fundy Thousands of barrels are
taken daily along the shores of Lin
! coin and Cumberland counties. ana
| sent to Long Island Sound to be con-
verted into oil and guano. There Ia
only one oil factory remaining in
Maine. at Round Pond. There is also
n ship that has been converted into "a
/ factory which has been doing an enor-
nous business. 1t is reported that
she is capable of converting 10000 bar
| rels a day into oil and fish scrape.
There are more than thousand men
employed in the steamers and FAC
tories operating on the Maine coast
land the enormous order for food sup
plies Is being appreciated by our pro-
vision dealers. one dealer in Port
land reported an order of so barrels of
corned beef one day and other things
! in proportion Does this look like the
menhaden being all caught up? After
\ continuous warfare on them for more
than half a century with the most I'M
proved appliances for their capture,
| there seems to be more than ever De
fore. 1t is true that they absented
themselves from the coast of Maine
for n number of years. The only rea-
son that can be given is that the food
for them was absent This year an
abundance OF food has been visible all
| the season.
Large mackerel have shown in enor-
nous quantities at times. There are
only few vessels engaged in mackerei
fishing. Quite n number OF macKerel
have been caught around Monhegan'
/ These fish when they become full
grown are wild and hard TO catch. the
only way 70 catch Them is by pursp
seine as they have, for some reason
lunknowl to man, refused to- take me
hook for more than a quarter OF Z
century a few small tinkers nav
been seen along the shores and II ma
I be possible that this enormous oodS
| ((Continued on Page Seven.) t.