Afiicrican lushcrics Socicly. 121 



safci^uard to prevent the sujiiily from heiiii;- exhausted and to 

 ir.ake the production, whether artificial or natural, as useful to 

 man as possible. 



It will he conceded hy all members of this society that the 

 artificial ])ropa^ation of lishes has ])assed beyond the experi- 

 mental sta^i'es and tliat it is ])olitical economy fcjr States to en- 

 gage in fish culture. It will alst) be conceded that nearly all fish 

 must be protected at certain seasons if they are expected to repro- 

 duce their kind and nature istoassist in the work of the hatcheries. 

 How many of our State legislatures are convinced as to the de- 

 sirability of jjropagating and protecting fish to the extent that 

 wise laws ])revail which are not subject to radical changes or 

 repeal at each recurring legislative session? Nearly, if not all, 

 the States have some kind of protective laws, some wisely drafted 

 and more that have no 'reason for existence. Protective laws, 

 so-called, often defeat the very object for which they are enactd. 

 It is a common custom for legislators who want more liberal 

 laws, which, for example, j)ro\'ide for the use of nets in waters 

 where nets should be excluded, to draft a bill reading somewhat 



as follows: An act for the protection of fish in Lake 



and then follows a bill providing for the extermination of fish in 

 said lake. 



In listening to many valuable papers read during the National 

 Fisheries Congress at Tampa last January, of interest to both 

 sportsmen and commercial fishermen, T was impressed bv the 

 fact that almost every ])aper, scientific or otherwise, alluded to 

 the question of legislation and the condition of public sentiment. 

 If the paper did not allude to legislation, the discussion which 

 followed its reading would do so. Examine the laws of anv 

 State and many will l)e found which are practicallv void. T do 

 not refer to fish laws in particular, although this class of legisla- 

 tion will be foimd in the above category quite as frecpientlv as 

 any other. Two reasons will be found for the lack of observance 

 of void legislation. First, the laws ma\- not be wise ones and 

 have no good reason for existing. Second, public sentiment is 

 opposed to the laws cither because they are unwise or because 

 the people arc ignorant of the real reasons for their enactment. 

 This public sentiment may or may not extend throughout the 

 State and it may be limited to one town or one countv in the 

 State. If public sentiment throughout the State is opposed to 

 the observance of a law. its enforcement is practicallv void. If one 

 townor county is opposed to the law. it is for purelv local .selfish 

 and short-sighted motives, but it tends to make the law ineffective 



