32 American Fisheries Society 



the resources of nature, he should be protected against 

 himself. By the very nature of the thing, fishing is dif- 

 ferent from other industries in that the individual can 

 do great harm to others by unwisely and excessively 

 drawing upon the source of supply. 



If a farmer overstrains his land — he alone suffers — 

 but the waters are so undubitably a community interest 

 that certain restraints are necessary in order that all 

 may benefit and what is now a source of profit to all be 

 not rendered barren for all. The seeds planted by a 

 farmer yield a harvest at the point of planting, but fish 

 planted, so to speak, at one point may be harvested miles 

 away and hence it becomes the province of the state to 

 do the planting or stocking and to the fisherman is left 

 but the harvesting. 



He should never forget this fact and should con- 

 scientiously respect and obey the wise injunctions against 

 undue depletion of the waters. The fishing industry has 

 the dignity of being probably man's oldest calling, it 

 secures a valuable food for the people, it has its litera- 

 ture, its stories, its songs and legends. It is respectable 

 and should be honored by all, and in no less a degree 

 should those engaged in it remember the rights of others 

 than industrial fisherman. 



The angler should always respect the rights and 

 privileges of the commercial fisherman, and he, in his 

 turn, should render no less consideration to the rights of 

 the angler. 



And the law maker: He has a dual responsibility and 

 should never fail in giving of his best in the interests of 

 all concerned. Paternalism on the part of the state, may 

 have its defects — certainly it has its limitations — but in 

 the conservation of such natural resources as are offered 

 by the waters of a state, paternalism, in some degree, 

 becomes a necessity, if the best results are to be obtained. 

 Such paternalism should be wisely and carefully exerted 

 with an eye to the rights and requirements of all. No 

 law maker should, through a desire to conciliate some 

 small and selfish part of his constituency, stand in the 



