Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1914-03-06
Pound Fishermen Heard

More than 200 representatives Of the
fishing industry and shipping inter-
ests of the coastwise trade on Wednes-
day March 4, appeared before Captain
e. N. Johnston, Corps OF Engineers,
U. s. A., at Wilmington, Del, when
he considered the charge that the pres
e~ntlocation OF fish pounds off the coasts
Of New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland
and Virginia were a menace to naviga-
ton.
Government engineers havewithheld
from the fishermen their 1914 permits
FOR the establishment of fish pounds
until 1t could be determined whether
the conditions under which they are
maintained were endangering the ship
ping trade.
At the hearing pilots, captains aud
owners ofvessels plying between Allan
tic coast ports presented strong argu-
menis, showing that seriou damage
has resulted when their craft ran afoul
Of piling and nets on unlighted pounds.
Concrete instances were cited in
which propellers had been broken and
steering gear wrecked, and 1t was al
legged that a number of unex planned
c~atastrophes of the sea were directly
due to striking uncharted fish pounds
lying eight to ten miles off shore. The
shippers asserted hat In thick weather
they were compelled to run close ashore,
so Thai pounds located more than three
miles at sea were a constant and serious
obstruction to navigation. They pro-
tested against the present system of
issuing permits, and recommended
hat further establishment OF pounds
be restricted to q three-mile limit, with
adequate flashing lights of a more per
manent character.
URGES WRESTLING BUoYs.
Howard Fay, representing the Phila-
delphia and Reading Coal Company,
reported that captains of that COM
pany's tugs rarely found lighted bea-
cons on fish pounds In the neighbour
hood Of Barnegat Bay. He urged that
the fishing interests be required to In
stall lighted and whistling buoys as a
proper p~recaution.
Replying to Captain Johnston's ques-
tions regarding the conditions where
fish pounds have been abandoned, Mr..
Fay said in many cases the piling had
been cut of close 10 the surface OF the
water, and hal the submerged snags
were always a danger to sea traffic.
Augustus Hilton, of the Hilton Fish
company, of Anglesea, said the fishing
industry would be compelled to go out
Of business II the Government limited
pound fishing within a three-mile zone.
He asserted that conditions recently
changed so that few fish were found
close ashore. He said 1t was necessary
for the future Of the industry to allow
the fishermen to locate pounds at least
five or six miles from the coast. Mr..
Hilton admitted that in the winter sea-
son few pounds were properly lighted,
explaining hat bad weather and gales
of wind rendered it virtually Impossi-
BILE to keep the lights burning. He ex-
pressed the belief that all fishermen
would arrange for better lighting II
they were able to improve the condi-
tons by using modern lamps. Mr..
Hilton said 1t cost $4,000 a season to
construct and maintain a fish pound,
and that along the 200 miles of coast
there were 100 pounds. These pounds,
he said, annually caught about 100, 600
barrels of fish, which netted 81 a barrel
to the fishermen. This investment, be
felt, deserved serious consid eration
from the Government authorities In
making the decision.
LETTER SENT BY PILOTS
Captain William J.. Minford, ST.,
read a communication from the Enter
prise Harbor No. 2, Association of Pr
lots, recommending that pounds be
kept within a three-mile limit.
Captain S. Svendsen, of the CONSOLE
dated Coal company, said he had ex-
perienced great difficulty in evading
the fish pounds in bad weather. He
had found few lights on the piling, es-
pecially In the vicinity of Brigatine
Beach.
The representative of the Merchants
and Miners Line. Captain III. r. Ro-
gers, recommended flashlights In favor
of fixed lights. He said he had found
anchartered pounds five miles at sea.
Captain M. Billsborough, OF General
Coleman du Points yacht, Tech, re-
quested that all pounds be required to
be one-quarter mile off shore, SO that
craft OF light draught might pass be-
tween the second line of breakers and