130 REPORT OF COMMISSIONERS OF INLAND FISHERIES. 



of the rearing bags, though closely crowded together, while carried 

 rapidly around by the current, will avoid, and keep some little dis- 

 tance away from, any white object, such as a stick or a paddle blade 

 thrust in among them. 



13. The Enemies of the Lobster. 



From the moment of hatching until death the lobster is beset with 

 enemies. The amount of harm which these can do, however, de- 

 creases as the lobster becomes larger. Some of these enemies are 

 particularly antagonistic while the lobster is in the larval stage. In 

 this period the natural mode of life of the lobster fry renders them 

 helpless. Their efforts at swimming are little more than "treading 

 water." They are powerless against the slightest current of water, 

 and are an easy prey to even the smallest fishes. Shrimp and 

 tautog, as they frequent the places where the fry are found, are 

 particularly dangerous foes. But perhaps they are their own worst 

 enemies. A lobster larvae is just as willing to pounce upon a weaker 

 neighbor as upon the choicest morsel of food. 



After the larval period is past the lobster's enemies do not lessen, 

 but the lobster can better protect itself by burrowing among the 

 rocks. Herrick says that "every predaceous fish which feeds upon 

 the bottom may be looked upon in general as an enemy to the lobs- 

 ter." Among these the cod, the sea eel, and the dogfish are partic- 

 ularly effective. So frequently are lobsters found in the stomachs 

 of these fishes that fishermen are not loath to state that the lobster 

 is their principal diet. The most important foe of the adult lobster, 

 how^ever, is man, and his attacks are so successful that the lobster 

 can not hold his own against them. 



14. Decrease in Abundance of Lobsters. 



From consideration of the many enemies it is not wonderful that 

 the supply of lobsters all along the coast should become less. All 

 of the facts as given above are, to some extent, responsible for this 



