294 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



4. To reserve, in certain cases, the fisheries to the inhabitants of the 

 circumscribed maritime districts in which they are situated. 



I give in this article, and in the one which treats of the culture of oys- 

 ters, a summary of such laws as appear to me to be interesting. 



Massachusetts. — In this State no one, in a maritime district defined 

 by law, can fish for oysters without a written permit from the mayor 

 or the selectmen* of the locality. This permit must give the length of 

 time of the fishing, the number of mollusks to be taken, and the pur- 

 pose for which they are to be used. Any resident of the place can 

 take oysters from the banks, for the use of his family, from the 1st 

 of September until the 1st of June. Trespassers are fined $2 a bushel 

 for oysters illegally obtained. 



Rhode Island. — In this State, where legislation is most stringent, the 

 oyster-fisheries, reserved exclusively for the residents, are prohibited 

 for use from the 15th of May till the 15th of September, under a pen- 

 alty of $20 for every bushel taken. And, during the permitted season, 

 there are regulations controlling the quantity of mollusks to be taken 

 daily, which quantity varies with the locality, but must in no case ex- 

 ceed five bushels. To protect the fisheries as much as possible from 

 depredation, the law inflicts a fine of $500 on any person convicted ot 

 damaging the oyster-banks by any means whatever. Half of the fine 

 goes to the State and the other half to the person commencing the pros- 

 ecution or lodging information. 



The fisheries are allowed only between the rising and the setting of 

 the sun, and it is required that all oysters not of marketable size shall 

 be thrown back into the water. The use of the drag is positively for- 

 bidden, and the boats using them are confiscated, with all that they con- 

 tain, while each of the crew is condemned to pay a fine of $300. 



Connecticut. — According to the legislation now in force, every locality 

 in this State, containing oyster and clam fisheries, has a right to enact 

 laws for their control, and may impose a fine, not exceeding $14, for 

 every offense. 



The fisheries are everywhere prohibited from the 1st of March till the 

 1st of November, under a penalty ranging from $7 to $50, or by impris- 

 onment not exceeding thirty days. In certain cases the delinquents 

 may be punished by both fine and imprisonment. 



New York. — The ordinary fisheries in this State are prohibited during 

 the months of June, July, and August, under a penalty ranging from 

 $20 to $30, according to the locality. One-half of the fine goes to the 

 superintendent of the poor of the district in which the Offense occurred, 

 and the other half to the prosecutor. 



To take oysters from the Hudson Biver, in order to transport them 

 out of the State, is prohibited under a penalty of $250. The use of the 



* The selectmen are public officers, elected by tbe people, to administer justice in 

 localities where there is no mayor. 



