70 



Fish in <j Places. — To insure easy enforcement of the law, 

 fishing should be conducted at definite places. Suitable equip- 

 ment in the form of buildings, catching basins, etc., should be 

 provided at these carefully selected sites. Only in exceptional 

 instances should more than one catching place be allowed per 

 town, viz., seining privileges on the larger rivers. 



Methods of Capture. — The methods of fishing should be 

 clearly and definitely stated. The length and size of mesh for 

 seines should be regulated. 



Uniform Sale. — The method of conducting the sale of the 

 alewife fishery leases should be uniform as regards time of sale, 

 submitting of bids, awarding of contracts, payment, forfeiture 

 and all other provisions. A minimum price should be set for 

 each fishery. 



Herring Committee. — A committee of three members should 

 be chosen for a three-year period by each town, not by reason 

 of their political influence, but because of their knowledge and 

 interest in the fishery, and their business ability. They should 

 receive suitable compensation for their services, and should be 

 given absolute power in handling the local fishery. The mem- 

 bers of the committee or its officially appointed deputies should 

 be given the right to arrest law violators, remove all obstruc- 

 tions of whatever nature to the passing of fish in the stream. 

 regulate the flow of water through fishways, screen flumes, select 

 fishing places, name the opening date for fishing, determine the 

 method of catching, and decide the amount and price of ale- 

 wives furnished to the inhabitants. 



Summary. 



The following points have been considered in the first part 

 of this report : — 



(1) The valuable alewife fishery has declined because of un- 

 wise legislation, overfishing and obstructed streams. 



(2) A study of the life history and habits of the alewife has 

 indicated the proper methods of checking this decline. 



(3) Experimental constructive work in providing unob- 

 structed passageways to the spawning grounds, and in restock- 

 ing depleted streams, has so far given excellent results. 



