REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. CLXXIX 



date the importance of preveuting the depletion of the natural grounds 

 by unrestricted methods, and took steps to preserve this valuable 

 resource, but in some of the States largely interested the possibility 

 of a reduction of the supply was lost sight of and inadequate steps 

 were taken to check a gradually diminishing output. The States tak- 

 ing the most advanced stand recognized the value and necessity of 

 artificial methods in the oyster fishery; they provided for the lease or 

 sale of the barren grounds to individuals, who were given proprietary 

 rights in the oyster beds, and inaugurated a system of revenue from the 

 sales, licenses, and taxes that was a material addition to the States' 

 income. 



During the year the oyster question was an important topic in most 

 of the States having oyster interests, and the subject affected more or 

 less directly nearly every State and Territory. The agitation of the 

 condition and needs of this valuable industry constituted one of the 

 most prominent features of the fisheries of the country during this 

 period. Especially worthy of mention was the attention given to the 

 subject in Maryland, Virginia, and the Southern States generally. The 

 output in Maryland was over 1,000,000 bushels more than in the pre- 

 vious year, a result generally attributed to the law requiring the return 

 to the water of oysters under 2^ inches in length, and to the recovery 

 of the oyster beds from the deleterious effect of freshets in the spring 

 of 1889. In Virginia an impetus was given to oyster-culture by the act, 

 approved February 25, 1892, requiring the survey and mapping of the 

 oyster reefs, and extending the provisions for obtaining private areas 

 for planting purposes. The tendency of recent legislation has been to 

 promote oyster-culture by selling, leasing, or granting lands for oyster 

 planting for long periods or in perpetuity, and by securing protection 

 to the planters in their operations. The success of the oyster farmers 

 in Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey, as the result of the 

 encouragement and assistance of modern laws, is well known, and the 

 development of the extensive oyster resources of the Southern States 

 has begun under auspicious legislation, but in the most important oyster 

 region in the country, viz, the Chesai)eake Bay and its tributaries, the 

 suggestion of general private ovmership of the oyster-grounds has not 

 up to this time met with the favorable consideration which all expe- 

 rience teaches should be accorded, and it may be a number of years 

 before the radical sentiment and local prejudices there prevalent will 

 permit the formulation of a practical plan for the maintenance of the 

 oyster industry. 



The importance of the oyster industry and the attention it is receiv- 

 ing can be well gauged by the large number of inquiries regarding it 

 addressed to this Commission and the very general demand for oyster 

 literature, especially from the Southern States. Considerable corre- 

 spondence, often req^uiring careful research, has been had with persons 

 desiiing information on the present condition of the oyster industry in. 



