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

| u,
some time the nine-inch law. We,
during the same time. have had the
ten-inch law. In spite Of all her ef-
forts to promote the nine-inch law,
the catches of the fishermen have
been steadily diminishing, almost to
the point where it is impossible for
them to gain livelihood. The indi-
vidual catch has decreased from
about seven hundred down to about
one hundred, and even less than that,
while the average catch of the fish,
ermen of Maine has gone beyond the
one thousand mark.
There are from thirty-seven hun
bred to four thousand lobster fisher
men engaged in the lobster industry
on the coast of Maine. There would
be some 'thirty-seven thousand traps
at two dollars apiece. There would
be somewhere about three quarters
of million dollars invested in traps
alone, to say nothing of the other
gear. The amounts received by them
| would run into the millions. They
throw back into the water the lob
sters that are less than ten inches
so that they can breed and grow to
the lawful size. When a lobster OBJ
tains the length of nine inches it
ceases to be reproductive animal
|
when the goose that is now laying
| the golden egg for these people will
have been killed. If the State can
| be divided here, as proposed by this
| bill, allowing the counties of Cumber-
| land and York to catch the nine inch
| lobster. there will soon come a time
when the people living on the west
| side Of the dividing line will become
| poachers on the eastern side, and so
| LII. e l.,
would be the enforcement of the
nine Inch law in spite of anything
! to the contrary. because. as the large
| Holsters are killed west of the di-
| viding line. those people would be-
| come poachers on, the eastern part.
IT seems to me that a bill like this.
| if it should pass, would be dividing a
great industry into two unequal
parts. The number of lobster fish,
| ermen have increased here; their
| earnings have increased; they have
become not poachers themselves. but
| supporters Of the enforcement of the
| law.
I hope that the minority. report
will not prevail, but that the report
of the ma jority will prevail, and that
the industry. which now seems to be
on an exceedingly good footing may
continue as it has in the past.
Mr.. LITTLEFIELD of Kennebunk: =
MIR. Speaker, it makes me sick to
Lear about catching all the Holsters
in the Atlantic ocean. That seems
to me to he absurd. Now here is the
fact: la the eastern part of this
State every county that borders on
the ocean has got Holsters laws and
all other kinds of laws-smelts. suck
ors, sardines and everything else, but
fNr
have anything to say about Holsters. :.
Now ssctlemen end lady of this Leg
islature, the situation is just this:
We are right on the border of the
New Hampshire line. They speak
about coming down to the line and
that is a fact. New Hampshire has
a nine-inch law and they come down
into our waters and catch nine -inch
Holsters. That gives our fishermen
no chance to catch nine inch Holsters.
and what does Mr.. erie tell us before
tho committee? He said that he has
tried his best to get convictions in
the York county courts for the last
five years and he could not do it.
Why couldn't he do it if he was hon
est? He says mo. am going to leave
that to YOU people and you can evade
the law if you want to, but you shall
not nave a thing from this Commits
SION And what did he do? Right
IN tbs report is shown where the
Commission last year spent $65,240.9I
and not one dollar of that I'm York or
cumberland counties. On the other
hand. here is twelve thousand six
hundred dollars worth of seed Iobs-
tiers put into the eastern part of this
State, and what did Mr.. erie tell
York county? Not one of these
seed Holsters shall you have. Why"
lie says. Il saw you scraping the seed
off from these Holsters, bringing
them in and selling them" He took
the same men into court and the
Court said they didn't do it. Now
the twelve jurymen?
Now they say you cannot catch
Holsters in 1ork county and L guess
that is a fact. We do not want to
catch Holsters against the law. He
says, we won't come near YOU, do
1t all you want to-" Is that the way
to run the business of the State of
Maine?
Now. all we ask is for YOU people
to allow us in York and Cumberland
counties to have a. law such as YOU
LAD IN the eastern part of the State
ana we VIII eVade that law. Gap
plause)
Mr.. MOORE of Gouldsboro: Mr..
Shore Fisheries committee voted
that this bill ought not to pass. The
ieelng against the passage of this
Dill was very strong in my particular
county l might say in my particu-
lar district there are probably three
hundred and fifty lobster fishermen.
ana we all know that the business
Eas grown within the last five or six
years. and at the hearing the oppo-
nPntS
opposition. Furthermore this very
bill states that every other county
IN. the State must have practically
the same law We have today except
that the measurement of the Holsters
must go back to an obsolete way of
measuring. Any man who has ever
been in that particular business
kfows that 1t is impossible to meas
ure a lobster correctly by measuring
the extreme length of the body she'll
from the end of the nose for this
reason: You take the fishermen and
some OF them break the nose off in
the. traps. and makes it practically
impossible TO measure that lobster
correctly. l might use this express
sion that it would practically put q
curse upon the rest of this State for
US to go back to that particular 4
method of measuring. Therefore. I u
am opposed to the passage of this a
bill.
The SPEAKER: Is the HouseE
ready for the question?
Mr.. BOMAN of Vinalhaven: Mr.. L
Speaker and members of the House:
'The gentleman who has Just spoken
CHR. Moore of Gouldsboro) has
brought up a question that l ,ould
like to speak about for a few min
uteS, The old measurement 1Uba+