96 INLAND FISHERIES. 



X. The prepitrat'ion of a relief iiui}) of A'amnjansett Bay. 



It is self-evident that a tliorougli kuowleclg-e of the habits and 

 distribution of fish in the waters of the Bay requires a knowledge 

 of the territory itself, and particularly of the configuration of the 

 fioor of the Bay and of the sedimentary deposits. The Com- 

 mission, therefore, has prepared a large relief map, which gives an 

 excellent idea of the distribution of fresh, brackish, and sea water, 

 and enables one to determine at a glance the location of the fish 

 traps, their relation to the channels, and the various shallow water 

 tracts already available or adapted to successful clam and oyster 

 culture. 



XI. A71 examination of the Jeasihility and practicahility of 

 artificial lohster culture. 



That the lobster industry of Rhode Island is rapidly waning 

 needs no argument. The incessant unrestricted capture of the 

 adults and young, the annual destruction of many millions of eggs 

 by indifierent fishermen, and the inroads made upon the native 

 supply by those not inhabitants of the State, have so reduced the 

 annual catch that the industry is no longer profitable, and the 

 lobsters themselves are sold at prices that make them prohibitive 

 to many as a regular article of food. 



The artificial hatching of the lobsters' eggs is an extremely 

 simple matter, and has been carried on for many years in 

 Norway, New Foundland, Gloucester, and Woods Hole ; but the 

 young (Plate A, Fig. 1) when liberated are in no condition to 

 care for themselves. They swim or float about in the ocean, 

 their bright colors rendering them attractive to predatory fishes. 

 Currents carry them far from their native grounds, and it is 

 probably safe to say that scarcely one in a thousand finally reaches 

 a matured condition. It is evident then that the mere planting of 

 lobster fr^^ can have little, if any, efiect towards rehabilitating the 

 lobster industry. 



The helpless lobster fry swim about in the water for a period of 



