4 REPORT OF COMMISSIONERS OF INLAND FISHERIES. 



In pursuing- the line of work indicated by the topics given above, 

 your commission have continued their policy; (1) of directly im- 

 proving- the fisheries of the State by the introduction and protection 

 of fish whenever experience has shown it to be advisable ; (2) of in- 

 vestigating by observation and experiments the fisheries problems 

 which are always presenting themselves for solution ; and (3) of 

 endeavoring to create an intelligent interest in the subject of 

 fisheries, in order that the people of the State who benefit directly 

 or indirectly by the fisheries may co-operate with the commission 

 for their own good. 



There is no longer any question as to the advisability of re- 

 stocking lakes, streams, and ponds with bass, trout, etc., and the 

 results of the work of the commission in this direction in previous 

 years are gratifying and have amply repaid the labor and expense 

 involved. It is to be regretted that, notwithstanding the factthat 

 the law states explicitly that fishes less than a certain number 

 of inches in length shall be returned to the waters from whence 

 taken, large numbers of small fish are annually destroyed, by 

 thoughtless or indifferent fishermen, which, if allowed to mature, 

 would not only afford better fishing, but would materially aid 

 nature in her efforts toward restocking. Your commission would 

 encourage the formation of local fish and game associations, and 

 it should be the duty of every sportsman who is in sympathy with 

 the commission in its desire to perpetuate the fishing in our 

 waters to discourage among all classes the taking and killing of 

 all immature fish. Experiments in restocking waters with new 

 fish, and data and statistics respecting the physical and biological 

 conditions of bodies of fresh water and of the Bay, are collected 

 and recorded with the view, not only to their immediate interests, 

 but to their future value, and for the purpose of comparison with 

 similar statistics from other States. Were we in possession of 

 such statistics for the last fifty years, Ave should have invaluable 

 information regarding many unsolved problems of practical im- 

 portance ; for example, on the effect of trap fishing on the abun- 

 dance of fishes, of the effect of our methods of scallop fishing, 



