THE PROTECTION OF THE LOBSTER FISHERY. 



BY FRANCIS H. HERRICK, PH. D., 



Professor of Biology, Adelbert College, 



In the lobster fisheries we have an example of an industry which has increased rap- 

 idly in value in a very few years. In 1869 the Canadian fishery was valued at $15,275; 

 in 1891, at $2,250,000.* In twenty-two years its value increased nearly 150 fold. The 

 value of the products of this industry in the United States was nearly half a million 

 dollars in 1880 ($488,432), and in 1892 over a million dollars ($1,062,392). 2 In 1896 

 there were 14,285,157 cans of lobster packed in Canada, having a value of $2,400,000. 

 The average price per pound in 1883 was 9 cents; in 1893 it had risen to 14.10 cents, 

 and at the present time it is 18.72 cents. 3 



The decline of the lobster fishery is a well-worn theme. The facts pointing to its 

 gradual but certain decay are too evident to be mistaken, such as the interminable 

 legislation on the subject of protection, the increase in the number of traps, the 

 decrease in the size of the lobsters themselves, and their increase in market value. 

 Twenty-five years ago the lobster was common; now it is generally a luxury. 



The cause of the depletion of the fishery is plain. The supply has been unequal to 

 the demand. More lobsters have been annually destroyed than have been annually 

 raised. No number of animals, however large, can stand such a drain. For twenty- 

 five years the law in Canada has been called to the aid of the fishery. It has taken 

 a vacillating course in both the Provinces and the United States, revoking one year 

 what was enacted the year before, adopting this and that suggestion, and jumping 

 from one expedient to another. Eegard to personal interests, imperfect knowledge of 

 the habits and needs of the animal itself, and perverted logic have characterized much 

 of the legislation which governments have enacted for the preservation of animal life. 

 There are, indeed, praiseworthy exceptions, and legislation, though it has often failed, 

 may have been animated by the right spirit. 



The problem of perpetuating an animal like the lobster, or rather of maintaining 

 the supply, for it is not in the power of man to exterminate this species, is certainly a 

 difficult one. In order to discuss this or any similar question profitably and intelli- 

 gently, it is necessary to set aside pride and prejudice of every kind, whether personal, 

 sectional, or national, and consider in a judicial spirit the conditions in which this 



1 Report on the lobster industry of Canada, 1892. Supplement to 25th Annual Report of the 

 Department of Marine and Fisheries, 1893. 



The American Lobster. Bulletin of the U. S. Fish Commission, 1895, p. 12. 



3 Discoloration in canned lobsters, by Andrew Macphail. Supplement to 29th Annual Report of 

 the Department of Marine and Fisheries, 1897. 



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