76 American Fisheries Society 



able to offer suggestions that would help us and at the same time help 

 out the American Fisheries Society. 



There is no question that we do not get the commercial fishermen, 

 the big dealers, and so on, men who could be of vast assistance to us 

 in our work if we could only induce them to attend some of our meet- 

 ings. There are times when the meetings are held at an inconvenient 

 season of the year. We on the Pacific coast often find that to be the 

 case ; the only time we can arrange things so that we shall be able to 

 meet the commercial fishermen is to hold our gatherings in October or 

 November, because most of our people are in Alaska during the summer 

 and early autumn. I strongly hope that the members of this Society 

 will give this matter serious consideration; I think we should devise some 

 scheme for reaching these people. In connection with the work of the 

 Pacific Fisheries Society we have found these men always glad to help 

 us out financially, 'but we want more than that — we would rather hav« 

 the man than have his money. If the man wants to come in with his 

 money, of course that is another matter. If the members of this Society 

 have anything to offer now in this respect, I would like to hear it. I 

 believe this is a matter to which we should give serious consideration, 

 with a view to bringing it up at our next meeting. But the fact has 

 to be faced that we are not reaching the great body of the fishermen who 

 are really the backbone of the fishing industry in the United States 

 and Canada. 



Mr. W. F. Wells, Albany, N. Y. : At the meeting of the Fisheries 

 Commissioners, at Atlantic City, and, more recently, the meeting of the 

 Oyster Growers' Association, in New York, questions came up which 

 bear directly upon this subject. The oyster industry is one of the 

 biggest fishing industries. It is the one which is most susceptible to 

 cultural methods, as you all know. Shell fish production is a farming 

 proposition; those engaged in this work like to ally themselves with 

 farmers, and in one state experiments have been conducted by the 

 Department of Agriculture. Now, at the convention in Atlantic City, the 

 Commissioners felt that they were losing their grip. It is a painful 

 fact that the shell fish industries are declining to a point where the 

 Commissioners feel that there will be not much more need of shell fish 

 commissioners. Rhode Island is a good example; their receipts have 

 dropped from $125,000 to $50,000. The marine district office in New 

 York is faced with a similar decline ; Connecticut is right on the ragged 

 edge, and New Jersey is in the same position. I do not know about 

 Maryland and Virginia; they were not represented at the meeting. 



Every effort of the oyster growers to obtain "set" has failed and 

 the Commissioners have done all in their power to meet the situation. 

 The last hope is offered by the scientists who may be able to discover the 

 causes for these failures. The period of life which the oyster passes 

 before it "sets" is very little understood and, because the larval oyster 

 is so small, requires special methods of study. The oystermen are not 

 in a position to tell what changes have taken place, and all their old 



