The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1920-02-23
CONN, OYSTERS ARE DISAPPEARING:
 INDUSTRY NOW IN DIRE STRAITS

It seems hardly necessary to point oat, much less prove, that the oyster industry of Connecticut is dwindling and failing year after year. Everyone connected with the business has seen the steady 1essening of values, until now nobody can deny the seriousness of the situation. It is almost capable of proof, and certainly of convincing demonstration, that if the same neg lect of our industry continues, it will be a very short time before every oys- ternan in the State is driven out of business.
 Startling as this appears. it is an opinion held by many of those accus- toned to look things square1y in the face For without an oyster set there can be no oysters to grow, and there has been no extensive set for many years. Formerly one could calculate more or less upon getting results when shells were planted, and even in off years there were always sec tions where considerable set could
 be found. Now, however, this is no l longer the case, and conditions are steadily growing worse. Last season not one single bushel of set was re- ported in the entire SEateI It takes but little thought to realize that this situation can only end in complete dis | aster. Many thousands of acres have l already been given up and the State | revenues greatly curtaiied-it is as-
 sured that the revenues VIII amount ! to very little in another year or two, ] Thirty-five years ago it was believed ] that the large beds under cultivation i in outside deep waters could be made
 sef-supporting by catching spawn l from other oysters in Iaese areas. Af- ] Of
 ture of many thousands of dollars, 1 this has been proven to be not the case, and it is now known that the | persistent and repeated failure of the set, is due solely and directly to the | depletion of oysters in the streams and harborS and worm 5nalIow wat
 sers near the shore. These 'tnatural' oysters were hardy and rugged, and
 being plentiful used to furnish enor- 1 nous quantities of spawn. In con-
 nection with their present depletion it is interesting to quote the warning of the first State Commissioners, pub 1 Isned in their Report for the year l 1882, '"Fhe natural beds are by law I public property, and are free to all As has already been stated, many
 natural beds found in years past have been quickly exhausted in the genera scramble for their treasures. Beck less fishing seems to have destroyed 1 public beds in all countries In France England, and Scotland, beds which
 were seemingly inexhaustib1e have l in few years become worthless. The l boundless beds of the Chesapeake are beginning to show signs of depletion | from over-working. Large natura 1 beds in New Jersey and in New York | vanished in the same way, and it i:
 the concurrent testimony of all ia
 niIiar with the subject that unre
 strained fishing on public beds will il
 time work their destruction. It be ) comes a question of grave considera
 ton, therefore, whether the natura
 beds of the Connecticut coast may no ] be in danger from excessive or un
 seasonable fishing.''
 Unfortunately the inshore bed have never been under State judisdic tion, but under that of the severa
 towns in which they lie. By the leg islative Act of 1881 sheIlfish ground outside of the lines drawn from poin
 to point along shore were placed un der State control while waters within these lines comprising the rivers, bay
 and estuaries, still remained wfthi the jurisdiction of the Towns as be fore. The purpose of the law was t establish central bureau for taxa , tion and ngineering-problenas wfic were becoming increasingly difficul for individual towns to handle ia l from shore.
 It was not foreseen that in othe