Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1925-03-12

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about it, would say to every fisher
man along the coast of Maine 60
fish in any spot or place where God
gave you the privilege"
/ want to pay my compliments
again to this matter of depletion of
the Holsters. \ There is no danger of
that, let me assure you. And so,
gentlemen. just come to you with
these plain facts, plain conditions
under which we are laboring, asking
you to use your good judgment as to
whether we shall not be allowed to
have a workable, honest, fair, just
law.
Mr.. SARGENT of Sedgwick: Mrs
Speaker. in regard to these numerous
petitions which we have heard read
here. the gentleman from South
Portland (Mr. Lamson) / think has
been misinformed regarding them
because he has intimated that these
We're brought under some pressure
from some outside source. Those
who are interested in the lobster
fishing industry naturally have taken
some pains to see that the opinions
of the majority of the fishermen We're
expressed in some way. The only
way of bringing that opinion here
was through these petitions, and no
one. believe, has been urged unduly
to sign them. I know positively that
they have come in large part volun-
tarily from men who are vitality in
terested in this question,
The one fundamental fact which
we must keep in mind in approach
ing this question Is the one which
the gentleman from South Portland
| (Mr. Lamson) considers of no i'm
portance, and that is the wellknown
biological fact that Holsters under
ten or ten and one-quarter inches do
nos bear eggs and thus reproduce
their kind. II all Holsters down to
nine inches were taken, it would not
lie very many years before all lob
sters capable of bearing eggs
We're destroyed. This is similar to
a man having herd of cattle
who depends upon that herd for
q living, killing off all the cattle
capable of breeding and still eX-
pecting to maintain for Years to
come an income for himself. That
the fishermen. themselves under
stand this candition was shown by
the hearing which was held IN the
bill before the committee. In place
CT the large number who have APP
! peared in favor of such a l;w in
past years one man from, York
| county appeared in favor of it. OPP
| POSED to This one fisherman from
! York county there appeared one of
| the influential citizens of the county
who has made some real study of
the situation, and he was emphatic
| in his statement that he was sure the
fishermen did not understand the
| situation. Later he was assured that
the passing of this law as advocated
| would enure to the serious injury
! Of 81 ;,,J i,.3
ties OF Cumberland and York and of
the whole State.
There also appeared against the
bill q large number of fishermen.
Y hese fishermen came here-some
| l know of particularly-at consider
| able personal sacrifice. A small
| group raised money to send one man
| to represent them and it is safe to
assume that the men who were here
represented a considerable portion
of the fishermen from these stern
coast countries. Not only We're very
many more in opposition to the bill
| III numbers, representing 81 :-rcater
number of fishermen. but the value
! of the catch which they represented
vas much greater.
| 1t was brought out at the hearing
| that this one man from York county,
] VIII tltiIIIli+i 10 Dt 1t IdlI representa-
| tive of the fishermen in that county,
made a catch worth approximately
| eight hundred dollars in a year. !
! Many of the fishermen from other
counties who are opposed to the pas
| sage of this bill spend more than
/ twice that amount Tor the expenses
| Of their business, such as keeping up
: their equipment, purchase of gaso-
| line, repairs OF boats and so forth.
The value of this industry to the
| State of Maine is something like five
| million dollars, as nearly as can be
| estimated from the information, |
| available. There are approximately, |
| IS has been stated, four thousand !
| lobster fishermen on the coast OF
| Maine. The man from York county |
! represented an association compos- |
ed of something like two hundred |
men. l have not tic figures as to
! the number of fishermen in Cumber-
| land county. bat the probability is
that Cumberland county has no more !
than York: SO that the fishermen |
! VINO favor this bill, out of the four
| thousand in the State, are something |
like four hundred men.
The question before us ,oday is |,
| Merely whether or not we are to |
! hamper an industry worth five mil |
Ion dollars. ard which is not oper- !
| atlng under conditions satisfaS.o |
| TO greater part of the fishermen |
| by enactlng Il law which all known |
Facts OF a scientific nature would IN |
! diCate to be wrong, and which eX- !
/ ECricnCe in other States has taught |
| is wrong. We are told that q nine |
inch law Will work satisfactory in |
| this state and that it has worked |
90 = iSfS OF
| les DO not seem to prove this to he |
| true. however. In Massachusetts |
there was at one time a law very !
similar to ours, a ten-inch law.
They changed to a nine-.nch law. |
Statistics seem to show that at the |
expiration of about three years after |
this nine-inch law went into effect |
SeNenty-five per cent of the lobster |
! fishermen of that. State had gone out |
OF business because their catches had |
become SO small that it no longer |
| paid them to continue. For a few
years after that the supply Gid in
crease very little due to the very
small number of men who were en-
gagged In the industry; but 1 can !
ind no evidence, where a nine inch |
law has been in force, or it's having
worked satisfactorily. At the present |
time there is agitation in some other !
New England states to change back |
to law similar to ours me. ely |
because they have found that law |
with shorter length standard is not |
/ working out to the benefit Of the |
industry. |
| hope that the members Of this !
House will not vote to sustain the !
motion of the gentleman from South |
Portland (Mr. Lamson).
MI THOMPSON of Rockland: Mr.. |