108 Tiventy-sixth Annual Meeting 



ing fish at the time they are dropping their ova and attempting 

 to perpetuate their kind. We have been met at every turn by the 

 opposition of the fishermen who, it they would take counsel of 

 their own experience, would know they are blocking their own 

 interests. That is what we are after. I say to you now, as has 

 been said here to-day, that the adult fish should be caught for the 

 food of man. They ought to be taken at every season of the 

 year, except at the time of reproduction for that is what they are 

 there for. But our returns show that more than a fourth in 

 weight, not to sa}- anything of number of fish caught in this 

 state, are immature fisli that have never come to the spawning 

 age. Ada to that the fact that you catch the fish on their spawn- 

 ing bed (that are as well known to fishermen as they arc to the 

 w'ntefish themselves), and you can see they are burning- the 

 candle at both ends all the time and the time must speedily come 

 when the fisheries will be ruined. What we stand for in Michi- 

 gan is the protection of the public interest in the fisheries and 

 their maintenance. Public sentiment has not been aroused but 

 there is a day coming when it will be. I hope not too late. 

 riicre arc iiian\ Ctjnrmercial fislK-rmen. however, who sympathize 

 with the idea of protection. Hut these men are controlled by 

 the large dealers and buyers of fish, w ho never fish theselves, but 

 \vh( ) are making money out of the business. The result of it is 

 when a bill is introduced in the Legislature, petitions are sent in 

 signed \>\ T(jm, Dick ami Harry and wlien it cumos up for con- 

 sideration in the Legislature the legislator is frightened and 

 afraid that he will antagonize 200 fishermen in his district which 

 mav have 50.000 peoi)le in it, and he thinks his policical aspira- 

 tions for the future may l)e damaged if he antagonizes them. 



Let us see wliat the condition of tlie fisheries of this state 

 is? In 1885 there were caught 8,143,626 pounds of whitefish. 

 Now, the returns of 1885 did not begin to be as complete as they 

 were in i8()i, l)ut that is in favor of the other side of the 

 argument, if anything. In "91 the catch was 8,110,000 

 pounds. In 1892 the catcli was 6,347,535 pounds; in 



1893, 5,345,800 pounds; in 1894, 4,496,755 pounds, and in 1895, 

 3,353,187 pounds, showing a falling olT of 5,000,000 pounds. 

 You will observe in looking at this chart, there is not a redeem- 

 ing feature in it; that it has been a continual decrease, and it is not 

 mat feature that I would criticize alone if it showed an increase 

 ocrasKmallv. Now they say you are planting whitefish, but 

 they are decreasing and you do not do anything with trout and 

 they arc increasing. That is not so, but that is what they say. 



