The Waterbury Democrat., 1942-05-11

SOV v Os \ AA v y travel as far as Long Island Sound, taking in the smart resorts-Palm Beach, Sea Island, Virginia Beach, Atlantic City and Newport, though they never round Cape Cod to Bos- ton. They stay north all during the baseball season, but by world series time, they're usually heading south for the winter.
 It would be nice life for the menhaden, except that they're rather small. About five inches for the yearling on the northbound trip. They grow considerably in the benign backwaterS of Bailey's beach, lBuzzard's Bay and such smart wa- tering places, and on the return trip they're much better catches. Full grown, a menhaden may reach two and a half pounds, or up to IS inches.
 The menhaden schools are attack ed by practically everything-bar- racuda, blue fish, sharks, dog fish, tuna. Yet the little fish aren't very good eating. What the menhaden apparently provide is a kind of cas- tor oil for all the fish in the sea. That's Nature for you.
 BIG
 BUSINESS
 Other things that attack the men, haden are men. Fishermen. That brings us to the reason for this story.
 The fishermen don't catch the menhaden to eat, either. They catch the menhaden to make into vita minS and fish-meal and fertilizer and such stuff. A 2 per cent to 4 per cent mix of menhaden oil in poul- try feed is supposed to make hens lay eggs like nobody's business. It's practically magic.
 1 That being so, menhaden fish catching is an important business. Before P. H., 8 lot of this fish oil and fish meal was imported from Japan. But that's out now, 30 the menhaden fishing, season is more important than ever.
 The sovereign states whose shores are hugged by the waters through which the menhaden mi- grate have long realized, however that menhaden fishing was a good thing, and they passed laws to pro- tect menhaden fishermen of their states from being competed with by those, of other states. Every sea-go- ing state, you remember, is supposed to control its ocean for three miles out and, as menhacen travel in shallow water, the states can prac- tically dictate who catches 'em.
 STATES STRICT
 Seventeen states have passed law retricting menhaden catching. They restrict the size of boat owned by residents of other states. They charge higher license fees for fish, erinen from other states. For ex- ample, Delaware has no restrictions Rhode Island prohibits non-resi- dents from fishing for menhaden Connecticut charges a nonresident license fee of $200. New Jersey charges $75O license for residents and $l,2OO for non-residents. And so on.
 These barriers now provide q bottleneck that is interfering witt the war effort. by golly. And look what has happened. This piece that started out to be just another fish story has developed into Isomething of politcial and eco. homie and social significance. Bri- tish babies can't get enough vita. mins because dried egg shipments are down because there arenf enough vitamins in the hen food be. cause production of fish meal is Jim. tied because New Jersey has a law that won't let Delaware fishermen catch menhaden off Sandy Hook and Raritau.
 Congressman Philip A. T'TaynoE of Welmingtop, Del. introduced R bill to provide wartime suspension ,of state laws restricting menhaden fishing, but politicians from some oi the t0heF states ganged up on t. called 1t unconstitutional, and have apparently killed 1t deadeT than q herring. And that's the end of to- lday's Gsh story,