118 American Fisheries Society 



Mr. H. L. Gibbs, of North Carolina: This matter of the shad industry 

 is one of great interest in our state. The value of the shad shipped from 

 North Carolina is about three million dollars a year on an average. The 

 bulk of the shad in North Carolina is taken from Pamlico and Albemarle 

 Sounds; they come in at Hatteras and Oregon Inlets. Prior to this year 

 most of the shad came in at Hatteras Inlet and up Albemarle Sound and the 

 Roanoke River. This year they came in principally at Oregon Inlet and 

 more shad were taken in that section of the state. 



Now, speaking of federal control, I think that the government can 

 co-operate in most of these phases of the fishing industry. I would like to 

 suggest our idea about it. We have conservation laws in the state of North 

 Carolina which I believe have been conceded by Secretary Redfield, who 

 publicly stated this in his very able address in Wilmington in 1916, as being 

 the best laws in any state in the Union, for conservation and the progress of 

 the industry. In the year 1915, when the first general fish laws covering the 

 whole state were passed, they provided, or rather established a commission. 

 The first commission was composed of five men appointed by the governor, 

 none of whom could have any financial interest in any fishing industry. This 

 commission elected a commissioner who had general supervision over the 

 fishing industries of the state, who made all other appointments. He was 

 allowed two assistants by and with the consent of the commission. He 

 appointed and the commission confirmed. The commission appoint their 

 other help. The commissioner appoints his inspectors, he employs every- 

 thing and does everything else pertaining to the industry. The commis- 

 sion's power and authority by this act was as follows: That the Fisheries 

 Commission Board is hereby authorized to regulate, prohibit, or restrict in 

 time, place, character and dimensions, the use of nets, so that this com- 

 mission does not have to wait for the act of the legislature of the state 

 if it's necessary to change the size of a net, or to say that you can fish in this 

 place today and you shall not fish there tomorrow, for the benefit and for 

 the good of the industry. It does not have to wait for the legislature to 

 meet and change that statute, but the commission has the authority to say 

 what size nets shall be used in that place, and what size shall be used in the 

 other place, and at what particular place they may be used, and at what 

 particular time they may be used. I am making these remarks because in 

 the last address my attention was called to the fishing in Albemarle Sound. 



The commission also has authority over the use of nets, appliances, 

 apparatus and other means for killing fish, to regulate the seasons at which 

 the various species of fish may be taken in the several waters of the state, 

 and to prescribe the minimum size of fish which may be taken. The act of the 

 legislature of 1917 amended that by making the purchaser or anybody else 

 who had undersized fish in his possession subject to arrest and guilty 

 of a misdemeanor, and the cases were heard by a superior court judge and 

 not by a justice of the peace. Handling these violators has been a great 

 deal of trouble with us, but by taking them before our superior court we 

 have been able to enforce the law. 



