REPORT OF COMMISSIONERS OF INLAND FISHERIES. 13 



We repeat the question. What is the effect of the taking of fish 

 in quantities now possible by human methods ? 



AVe have in the foregoing presented the conclusions of three 

 different commissions composed of eminent scientists, who made 

 as thorough investigations as it were possible, and all agree in 

 their conclusions. 



We were sure from past experience, there are hundreds ready 

 to " step in" and say there can be no question about it. But we 

 will ask them to pause while we consider the question further, 

 and ask them the questions that we think have an important bear- 

 ing upon the question before us. The depletion of fish in our 

 waters are chiefly salmon, shad, herring and bass, and as these 

 are all fresh water spawners and some of them left our waters long 

 before the adoption of modern appliances, and none of them have 

 been taken in large quantities by them. This fact may have 

 some significance as to these fish ; but we are not now considering 

 them at all. 



We propose to apply all we have to say hereto the ocean fishes, 

 those taken by methods considered most destructive with us. 



These are the scup, menhaden, and the bluefish, two of these 

 we know to have been rare in our waters, the scup in 1794 and the 

 bluefish in 1822. 



What caused the depletion of the scup in the last century? Or 

 the bluefish in the early part of this century ? 



In 1870 it was thought that scup were being exterminated since 

 which there has been an-uninterrupted fishing for them by im- 

 proved and continually increased numbers of traps and the catch 

 of the last year far exceeds any former year. How is this possible 

 were they being decimated ? 



How were it possible to take such exceeding large numbers of 

 menhaden in 1889 and 1890 if their numbers had been so decima- 

 ted by previous years fishing ? 



Will some one wise in such matters tell us where these fish are 

 when absent from our waters ? 



