The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1912-12-01
SOUTHERN ASSET
SADLY NEGLECTED.
sHoRT-sIGHTED POLICY RESPONSE
BILE FOR SLOW DEVELOPMENT
OF FISHERIES.
SOME LAWS NEEDED
NoN-ENFoRCEMEN OF THOSE ON
THE STATUTE BOOKS, TOO.
HAVE SOMETHING TO DO
WITH CASE.
SOME LAWS NEEDED

The North Carolina F1sheritS 1850
citation, at it's meeang neat Week al
Washington. in tnat STATE. has an OPP
Loftunity To emphasize the i'm torrance
of an asset of Inc south which mas
been more or less neglected. In the
past tn49Iy ,yeaIs. wlln production an
other lines dependent upon natural
resources increasing to notable de-
4. ee~ln farming, neatly iour tlmSs;
la iumbe ring, more tnan i've times. In
..anntscturtng. more Lhan SIX lines.
aud In mining more tnan twenty Times
-~soalnern fisheries have not doubled
their output. They are yielding 10
the yaiue of only about s2e.9o0.ooo a
year. The comparative sIowness or
their deE elopnent has been accom-
panied, for the most part, by snort
slghtedness as to the maintenance OF
Is ~. especially in the case OF oys-
AS ana IN the case OF nsh which
seek fresh-water streams for propa-
cation. Properly handled. the hsn-
cries may be maue an enduring source
Of cheap and nourisnIng food. They
have not been properly handled In
North Carolina, and tne dwindiing
supply of edible fish. cams. oysters
anu other sea products In the waters
OF that Stale has been made the sub
ject Of investigation by the Geoiogi-
cal and EcononIlc survey. DIR. JOS
eph hyde Platt, the head OF that
survey. traces the decline 10 insutn-
eient laws for the protection ana re-
guiaIion Of the catch of fish and oys-
tiers and the nonenforcement OF laws
on the statute books In an inter-
view In the Asheville Citizen he says:
The falling on in the catch OF ash
IS not due to the use of any Earticu-
.ar kind OF apparatus. but to over
fishing and the use OF fishing appara-
tus in liaces where II ous.It not TO
be use. hundreds of thousands or
small FISH have been caught. which.
il allowed to remain in the water.
would in a year or two become val
liable edible fish The small fish
caught in this way are ofeen dumped
on the shore and used as fertilizer, or
shipped to market with faint hope
that they may be marketable. but
N most cases they are thrown out by
the dealer as unsalabie. II the small
fish are destroyed Thy whatever
means), ii is a self-evident fact that
1t will not be Tong before there will
be scarcity OF large ones. and finally
certain fish will become extinct In
the North Carolina waters.
1t is possible to protect and per-
petuate our fish and oyster Industries
by the enactment and enforcement or
adequate laws. l believe that the only
adequate method of enforcing state
laws and fostering our fishing indus
tries is through the operation OF a
State fish commission having 3urls-
diction over all the counties OF the
State. The work of such comm s.
sion should not be only to see that
the laws are enforced. but II should
be able to carry on Investigations
relating to the fishing Industries: to
study local conditions and be able
to render just decisions In regard to
the best policy to pursue for the
perpetuation OF the oyster and any
other type of fish with the idea Of
subscribing the best interests OF the
State. Up to the present time the
fisheries have been considered as
merely local matters, while as a mat
ter of fact they do not belong to any
county or section, but to the State
as whole. and the best results can
only be obtained when the fisheries
are thus considered.
The North Carolina geological and
economic survey has been and is still
carrying on investigations relating to
fish and eyAter protection and cultiva-
ton OF the oyster, clam and diamond
back terrapin. The successful Guilt
walton of all three of these products
would net a large income to the State.
whereas at the present time Ii In a
negligible quantity. The result OF the
work of the geological survey has been
to establish a fish commission whose
jurisdiction Is only over rev coun-
ties OF the State. and the passage of
! an act by the legislature which makes
possible the cultivation OF the oyster
In North Carolina. The Investigations
OF the survey with regard to the oyster
have proved rather conclusively that
II is both practicable and profitable to
cultivate this scafood.
We North Carolinians are too apt
to merely consider and be interested
in local conditions which at
feet our own county. township or
town--and do mt realize that we are
citizens OF State. and that whatever
operates to the detriment OF any por-
ton 1T the State affects every other
portion. either directly or Indirectly.
The great difference in the topogra ply
Of our State and In the Industries re-
sulting from these varied conditions
has tendency to eectionaiixe, 30 to
speak, the western, middle and east
ern portions Of the State. ana Il h
rather hard to enlist the sympathios
OF the mountain folk in what Affects
the welfare OF the men on the coast.
II we are. however. to build up 4
great progressive State, one which
u 40 reap In the fullest measure of
tho abundant wealth With which M