The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1912-07-25
Salmon and Sardines.
Lobsters Reported Plentiful but Prices
HIGH.

AVO6teIS NepOfle0 iS
High.
James Donohue of Rockland, commits
sioner of sea and shore fisheries, and
Chairman j. S. P. H. Wilson of the
fish and game commission inspected
the fish WAYS and locks in Orland river
and the hatchery at Alamoosook lake
last week and later went on tour
of inspection in Hancock and Washing
ton counties. At Dennysville, where the
salmon fishing a number of years ago
was among the best in the State, the ad-
visibility of erecting fishway was to be
considered.
Mr.. Donohue reports that the salmon
fishing in the Penobscot river has been
the best this season for several years
and that the prospects for its continu-
ance are exceedingly bright. The pres
ent fly fishing is up to record and there
is fine possibility of the catch being
larger than for number Of years. Al
though the METERS down the river did
not have such good season as last year,
the catch was by no means small and was
well up with the average:
cit is admitted by all, said Mr.. Dom
hue to reporter in Bangor Wednesday
morning "that the hatchery at Orland is
helping the fishing on the Penobscot.
This season 100 salmon were taken for
stripping purposes, while for the preced-
ing years the take was considerably
smaller, and all these fish will be liberat
ed after they have been stripped and
their spawn sent to the hatchery and
at the proper age the fish will be plant
ed in the waters from which the salmon
were taken. The salmon are now work.
inn vi nj o,,1 IN,
September they will commence to lay
their spawn. Those taken for stripping
when liberated return to sea, but come
back again in the breeding season.
''The Penobscot salmon pool" said
Mr.. Donohue, lis the best in this part
of the country if not in the entire coun-
try, and l am glad that conditions are
looking so promising"
Speaking of the lobster situation Mr..
Donohue said the crustaceans are plenti-
full, although not SO much so as in the
spring, and especially in May, which is
the best month along the Maine coast;
but the fishermen seem to be getting
plenty of them and it is pretty hard to
account for the high prices prevailing
at the present time. ''There is only one
other commodity" he said "that has
such big profits as has the lobster, and
that is tea and it is pretty hard to account
for it. Tea that wholesalers buy for Is
and 30 cents is retailed for so cents and
it is much the same way with Holsters.
Wholesalers send out their smacks to the
different lobster grounds along the coast
and gather up what they can get, paying
about Is cents apiece for them, which is
a little more than Is cents pound the
fishermen get for them; so that when
Holsters are retailing for 80 and IS cents
pound, as at the present time, the pro-
fits are great. Of course there has to be
reckoned smackage Of two cents each
for paying the expenses Of the smack,
and then per cent. has to be added for
shrinkage and dying in transit, which
during the hot summer months may be
quite heavy; but in spite of these ex-
penses the profits are tremendous and |
there really seems to be no real cause
for it. The lobster fishermen down along
the coast are all prosperous, for they
reap big harvests in this industry"
This year the Boothbay hatchery"
continued Mr.. Donohue, 'planted no.
900, 900 young Holsters, 10000, 900 more
than last season. They are planted in
the vicinity from which the mother lob
sters were taken and as general rule
they stick pretty close to that place,
although cases have been known of a |
lobster travelling from Maine to the
Province waters. They are not fast
swimmers and it is most peculiar thing
that they can swim faster backwards |
than forwards. When frightened if |
they see the enemy they never take
their eyes from it and with vigorous
snap of the tail will start backward at
quite rapid rate. 1t is possible for
them to come to the top Of SO feet of
water in this way. Swimming natural
ly they make slow progress"
''This is the shedding season now and
the Holsters are crawling under rocks
and consequently don't get into traps as
they do earlier in the summer. At Mon
hogan and erie Haven, known as the
best lobster grounds along the Maine
coast, the season is closed for distance
of three miles off the Shores The catch
of Holsters in 1910 and 1911 was the
largest for any time during the past ten