192 U. S. BUREAU OF FISHERIES 



to the State, a hatchery which in season could turn out millions of these fish. 

 Our State should produce sufficient fish not only* for our own people but should 

 supply the citizens of Oklahoma, Indian Territory, Kansas, Colorado, and other 

 States west of the Mississippi River. 



In his next two reports (1908 and 1909) Mr. Wood still emphasized 

 the need of building a hatchery in order to increase the fish supply. 

 In 1910 he again suggested that two hatcheries for the propagation 

 of marine fish would, without the slightest doubt, operate to multiply, 

 many times over, the output of fish within, he says, "a couple of 

 years. " In short, Mr. Wood had the greatest faith in the phenomenal 

 powers of fish hatcheries. 



Commissioner W. G. Sterett, in his report for 1912, suggested that 

 Federal investigation be made regarding the propagation of fish and 

 oysters. When he was again commissioner in 1919, he wrote as 

 follows : 



Fcr years we have heard of the establishment of a salt-water fish hatchery 

 on our coast. Fortunately, none of these have materialized. I say this because 

 I do not believe they would have answered the purpose of filling our bays with 

 fish. 



Mr. Sterett then goes on to say that because of the great extent 

 and irregularity of the coast line a stationary hatchery could not 

 benefit the whole State, and instead strongly recommends "an arti- 

 ficial fish hatchery on a boat, which will go from one end of our 

 salt-water line to the other, hatching and distributing fish as it goes. " 



At the present time (1925) there is some talk and newspaper 

 propaganda concerning the building of a hatchery for marine fish. 

 This is due to the general belief in the depletion of the fisheries 

 and is but the voicing of the popular demand for conservation and 

 development. Investigators in Europe 10 have conducted a more 

 critical examination of the hatching of marine fishes than has ever 

 been made in this country, and the results of their observations throw 

 strong doubt upon the practical utility of attempting to increase the 

 supply of strictly marine commercial fish by means of hatcheries. 

 It is not likely, therefore, that any attempts in that direction will 

 be made until adequate scientific investigation has proved the need 

 and the feasibility of artificial propagation of marine fishes in Texas. 



FISHERY REGULATIONS 



The game, fish, and oyster commission of Texas has endeavored to 

 protect and increase the supply of fish in the intercoastal waters by 

 enforcing laws of varied nature : 



1. Laws to regulate the kind and length of the nets used, the size 

 of the mesh, and to require that all nets be licensed. 



2. Laws to protect breeding fish by closing against net fishing 

 certain bays, bayous, lagoons, and "'lakes" that are to be known as 

 spawning grounds. 



3. Laws to protect breeding fish and young fish by prohibiting the 

 use of seines during June, July, and August. 



4. Laws to prevent the taking of "bull reds," or the spawning 

 redfish. 



io "The Problem of Sea Fish Hatching," by Knut Dahl. Conseil Permanent International pour i'Ex- 

 ploration de la Mer, Rapports et Proces-Verbaux, Vol. X, No. 5, 39 pp., 13 text figs., 1909. Copenhague. 



