Year: 1871

ed before being taken out of the water as
are fish hauled up on the shore by seine
is very much doubted certain it is. fish
drowned will not keep good as long as fish


hauled ashore by hauling seine. The
consumer of fish is thus despolled of his
fair share of good and fat fish that are in
the regular run of fish coming up the river,
People who seek their supply of fish al,
the regular fisheries and buy by the count
of thousands, &C.. find that instead of get
ting from half to three fourths of their
count in good fat fish such as they used
to get before gill-net fishing was so largely
pursued, they get instead mostly all poor
lot of thin and little fish, The great ben
eft Of the seine -hauler to the public at
large is. that he catches the good quail
ties Of fish when not fished out by the gill;
nets; and he supplies the people Of the
counties in which he is located. in prefer
ence to sending his fish off the shore to
another market; and they are sold to the
people just as they are caught out of the
river, they then getting the fat and good


fish just as they are caught. Further
more. the seine-h hauler is renter or own
er Of the shore he fishes, which makes the
land and river together valuable to the
owners of property. and enhances the
States taxation thereon. There is not
the least doubt that the law protecting
fishermen on the Potomac was designed to
make the opportunities of catching fish.
and to do fishing business, equal to all
persons alike who chose to engage in the
business: and therefore prescribed de-
signated mode by which the business
should be done. and to prevent any one
from frustrating it in any other way. To
make business thereof, certain penalties
are prescribed to prevent persons from so
doing. It was seen at glance that, af-
ter aIseine- bauler had made his heavy out
lay in providing an outfit. and had incur
red all incidental expenses necessary to
the successful Development Of bis business.
which is considered great enterprise.
that gill-net could be laid out immedi-
ately across bis berth. and all chance for
him to catch fish would be barred CON-
pletely, and bis chances to catch fish rend-
cred not only unequal but sure of failure
All persons have equal right to engage in
the fishing business. under the law. by
fishing from shore. and landing their
seines on shore. No person can show a.
reasonable 0bjecsion to ofhis. One person
not being able to procure hauling seine
outfit himself. is no good reason why he
should be permitted to fish in a different
mode. to the great injury of the entire
business. By the association of skill.
capital and labor, many can engage to-
gether in company. and rent, fit out, and
fish many, and indeed all the vacant fish
cries on the river. Several are now
worked 10 this way by firms; and if no
gilling is permitted, then all fishermen
will have an equal chance to make fair
fishing business; but if the business is to
be interferred with by the giller catching
all the good fish that comes in the river
and leaving only the fish their nets do not
catch. the seine-hauling business must
fail, and with it the property in fisheries
must sink. as much of it already has, and
the great supply of fish that our citizens
have generally had. must be entirely lost
to them, and especially to our tide water
communities. Heretofore the gillers have


6shed their nets mostly up the river.
where the hauling seines are mostly work.
ed, and where the fish come; and while
the ghl-nets took most of the good and
fat fish, yet-some shores would catch more
than others and while most of the haul
ing-seine. fishermen would be cut off from
fair supply of fish. that they are entitled
to by the law legalizing seine-hauling
yet some few fishermen would escape from
making losing business; but under the
new, practice Of gilling. they are not only
enabled to fish their nets all the way down
the river, in, the midst of the hauling
seines in the widest part of the river work
ed BY hauling seines. but have extended
their fishing. by enlarged and numerous
nets below the hauling seines, which CON-
pletely take away from all the hauling
seines, all the better class OF fish and leave


but few herring and shad, for them to
catch; and they of very inferior quality.
In this way the supply of fish must neces-
sarily be taken away by the gill-nets be-
fore they can get up the river to the haul
ing seines. and this must inevitably break
up the business Of seine-hauling and all
the heavy outlay in fishing outfits, togeth-
er with the total loss of value in fisheries,
must be the result of allowing the unlaw-
full, rowing. gilling business to be followed.


"NoTE.-The new practice of gilling consists
of the addition of bottom line and it weight
ed by leads placed at two or three fathoms a.
part on the line, which enables them to fish in
stormy weather, and in strong current way of
the tides. Without these additions to their
nets 1t would be useless for them to fish in
stormy weather and tides, as their nets would
not float in fsh-catching FORM"


Accepting the above as true, and there
is scarcely a doubt Of its correctness. is it
not manifestly important that something
should be done to suppress this unfair and
pernicious practice of gilling or at least to


restrict its privileges? It is shown that


it is not only single evil but is fruitful


of many evils. 1t diminishes the value of


fishing property, thereby injuring the