PUBLIC DOCUMENT No. 25. 35 



decline in the supply of the lobsters is the ratio of egg-bearing 

 lobsters to the total catch. In 1889 the ratio was 1 :22, and in 

 1913 it was 1:159. The average ratio from 1889 to 1894 was 

 1:27; from 1894 to 1899, 1:33; from 1899 to 1905, 1:39; from 

 1905 to 1910, 1:85; and from 1910 to 1915, 1:121. These 

 figures give the decrease in egg lobsters, and show that the 

 reproductive capacity of lobsters has even more seriously de- 

 creased than is indicated by the diminution in the actual sup- 

 ply. In spite of all statements as to the relative increase in 

 abundance in various localities, no other conclusion is tenable 

 except that the Massachusetts lobster industry is steadily 

 declining.. Unless a radical change in policy is made for the 

 protection of the lobster, the future of this fishery in Massa- 

 chusetts is seriously threatened. 



The causes of this alarming decline in the lobster supply is 

 due to three factors : 



(1) Overfishing, whereby such inroads are made in the nat- 

 ural supply that the normal productivity of the animals can- 

 not be maintained. The system is defective in that it puts a 

 premium upon the destruction of adults as soon as, after hav- 

 ing escaped the natural hazards of their developmental life, 

 they approach the breeding age; in other words, "we are 

 catching the wrong lobsters." 



(2) The capture of small, immature lobsters has done much 

 to decrease the natural supply, while the fishermen has bene- 

 fited but little from this illegal practice, as he has been forced 

 to sell his "shorts" at a figure considerably lower than the 

 market price. 



(3) The illegal destruction of egg lobsters has been the most 

 striking cause of the decline of the lobster fishery, in spite of 

 the fact that attempts have been made to purchase the egg 

 lobsters. It was the former custom of the fishermen to care- 

 fully remove the eggs from the female lobster with a brush or a 

 mitten, in order to make the lobster marketable. 



The fundamental condition underlying these causes is unwise 

 legislation. Our attitude toward the lobster has been entirely 

 wrong. Our laws have aimed to restrict the catch by protect- 

 ing the small, immature lobsters, and have not considered the 

 more vitally important protection of the old 'lobsters, male and 

 female, of breeding age. In previous reports attention has 



