Williams. — Florida's Fish and her Fisheries 161 



have local fresh-water laws, passed without scientific or working 

 knowledge, and the results are unsatisfactory. 



Our salt-water fishing legislation covers a period of many years 

 without any general repealing act. As a result, it is almost 

 impossible to tell what laws govern in many instances, and we 

 have laws galore, probably 150 pages, ordinary book size. At 

 the last session of the Legislature a general bill covering all needful 

 legislation, (some 30 pages), and repealing all other laws on the 

 subject, was introduced, but for want of time for discussion when 

 it came up for passage and because of ignorance of its need and 

 of its provisions, and also because of politics, its passage was 

 prevented. Such a law would have been greatly beneficial to 

 Florida. We will get it next time. 



There are indications of a coming conflict in Florida between 

 those interested in sport fishing and those engaged in commercial 

 fishing. The sport fishermen are backed in their demands for 

 waters in which commercial fishing shall be prohibited, by our 

 coast cities and towns, which receive many tourists during the 

 winter season; while the commercial fishermen are backed by the 

 fish dealers of the state. There are fish in abundance for both 

 and the solution to this problem must soon be had, for it would 

 be a great detriment to commercial fishing industries if large 

 sections of the state were unnecessarily closed to net fishermen. 



For the purpose of this discussion, Florida's fishing will be 

 divided into — 



(1) Fresh-water fish. 



(2) Salt-water fish, under which heading we include all fish 

 except those that live in the fresh waters only. For convenience, 

 the salt water fish will be divided further into — 



(a) Shore fish, or those fish usually taken in bays and inshore 

 waters; and 



(b) Deep-sea fish. 



From a commercial standpoint, Florida's fresh waters furnish 

 large quantities of cat, perch, bream, and big-mouth bass. Each 

 kind furnishes a supply in about the order named. As large as 

 this commercial fishing is, it is but about half of what it should be. 

 The rainfall of our state is great, hence we have numerous rivers, 

 lakes and streams. The climate is subtropical, hence fish food 

 abounds. By reason of mistaken ideas, there are many local 



