728 HISTORY AND METHODS OF THE FISHERIES. 



law read 9J instead of 10 it might do some good, and the lobstermeu. be better satisfied. In my 

 opinion the law can be of but little protection any way, for the cod destroys more young lobsters 

 and paper-shells or 'shadows' in one day than all the lobstermen on this coast in a week if they 

 marketed all sizes. This I know for a certainty. From careful observation I have caught one hun- 

 dred cod in one day that I know had the amount of one thousand lobsters and 'shadows' in their 

 entrails." 



NEW BEDFORD, MASS. " All lobsters under 10J inches in length should be thrown back into 

 the water." 



NEWPORT, EHODE ISLAND. The lobster fishermen of Narragansett Bay set but few pots 

 apiece. They complain that fishermen come from other States and set about 50 pots each, cover- 

 ing very much of the ground and absorbing a large share of the business. A few of the lobster- 

 men of Newport, who have been consulted, suggested that the number of pots to be used by each 

 man might be restricted to ten or twelve, but none of them seemed to have a clear idea of what 

 measures would best protect their interests. They did not consider that legislation could afford 

 them much relief, but would not actively oppose it, should an attempt be made to pass restrictive 

 laws. Since receiving the above information the first lobster law of Rhode Island, given on a 

 following page, has been enacted. 



NOANK, CONNECTICUT. "The lobster law, so far as it prohibits the sale or destruction of 

 lobsters with spawn from the 1st to the 15th of July of each year, has no effect upon the fishery 

 at this place, as not one lobster in a thousand is found with spawn during that period." 



ACTION op THE BOSTON ANGLERS' ASSOCIATION, IN 1874. The following report, prepared 

 by the Anglers' Association of Boston, in January, 1874, previous to the enactment of the present 

 State laws, is of sufficient interest to be reproduced here: 



"The committee appointed to take into consideration the subject of the protection of the 

 lobster, most respectfully submit the following report: 



"From the information the committee have been able to obtain, it appears to them that it is 

 time to take some step to stop the wholesale destruction of the lobster that is now going on. 

 From the information obtained from the lobster dealers in this city, it appears that unless some- 

 thing is done, and that very soon, the lobsters in Massachusetts Bay will become, if not entirely 

 extinct, so small that they will not be of any use for food. It appears to be the opinion of the 

 dealers that we have met, that the taking of the lobster could be better regulated by the size 

 rather than by weight, for the reason that it will be much easier for the fishermen to measure 

 than to weigh; also for the reason that the lobster shrinks in boiling; therefore it would be very 

 difficult to tell whether it weighed 2 pounds before boiling or not. A lobster that measures 11 

 inches from the head to the tail will weigh from ] to 2 pounds. On Saturday last the committee 

 paid a visit to Johnson & Young, lobster dealers on Warren Bridge. They met there a number of 

 gentlemen who were engaged in the lobster trade. From tliem a great deal of information was 

 obtained. We saw there twenty-six lobsters brought into the office, and out of the twenty-six 

 there were but fourteen that would measure 11 inches and upwards, twelve of them being under 

 11 inches long. We were told that was a fair sample of the size of the lobsters now brought to 

 market. There was also present a gentleman from Portland, Me. (Mr. Marston), who is engaged 

 in the lobster trade, and whose views coincide with the Boston dealers. He said the lobster fish- 

 ing on the coast of Maine was used up in fact, it had got to be so poor that the canning had 

 about all been removed to the New Brunswick coast. He said they tried last year to get a law 

 passed to protect the lobster, but all they could do was to get a law to prohibit the taking them 

 with spawn. That for various reasons did not amount to anything. It was his opinion that a law 



