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American Fisheries Society 



which the experts of the Department of Agncu ture said 

 meant extermination of the animals referred to by the 

 petition. I have been so impressed with this that- dur- 

 ing the present season I have organized, with the co- 

 operation of many distinguished men and women i ttough- 

 out the country, a society which we have called the Wild 

 Life Protective League of America," one of whose ob- 

 jects is to see that lectures are given in the public schools 

 on the economic value of the fishes and the necessity of 

 game laws, that the great game and food fishes of the 

 country may receive adequate protection. 



That I may not seem to be devoting this diatribe en- 

 tirely to California, I beg to call your attention to the 

 serious condition which holds in the Chesapeake bay 

 where I am informed by Mr. Linthicum, a distinguished 

 advocate of protection from Maryland, that the great and 

 valuable shad fisheries of that region are practically 

 doomed to extinction and that, despite the protest of the 

 United States Fich Commission and the officials of the 

 various adjoining states, these fishermen persisted in 

 hauling their nets to the very limit of destruction. The 

 enormity of this particular situation may be realized when 

 it is known that the men were told that if they would 

 permit ten per cent of the shad to pass up the river, its 

 normal condition would be preserved. The absolute dan- 

 ger of the situation may be appreciated when it is under- 

 stood that one day's haul by these men fifteen years ago 

 produced more fish than the entire haul of the seasons 

 of 1913 and 1914. In a word, the mendacious ignorance 

 of the net-haulers is so extraordinary that it is evidently 

 the duty of every citizen to take the matter in his own 

 hands and encourage the Government to take charge ot 

 the great fisheries of the country and see that they are 

 properly cared for and protected. Practically little is 

 known of the fisheries of the Pacific coast, but it is well 

 known that they are disappearing very much faster than 

 they should, and by the time Los Angeles has one million 

 inhabitants, the price of seafood will have become so high 

 that it will place fish beyond the reach of the poor man 



