104 Thirl ij-sixllt AnniKilMecting 



session, sflliiiu- (11- trails] lortiiiii' any lisli hclow a ceiiaiii size, in 

 otiicr words a cull law should ho passed, forcing every catcher of 

 fish lo have al. the time ol' taking fish, a culling board, and forc- 

 ing him to return to th(> waters immediately all undersize fish. 



"2nd. Haul seines of ever}' description should be prohibited, 

 in many sections of Maryland, at times, the shores arc lined with 

 small fish, ruthlessly and wantonly thrown upon the shore by the 

 seine haulers. I do not believe the stake or floating net do&s 

 much harm to the small fish. 



3rd. Closed season should be regulated by law during the 

 spawning season. The wisdom of this is questioned by many, 

 but T am a firm believer in this method of protection of the 

 parent fish, that it may freely deposit its spawn. 



To close, the necessity of protection of the food fish after 

 artificially propagated and placed in the waters is the necessity 

 of proper laws for general fish protection. I believe the states 

 are now awaking, and I hope Maryland will get into the right 

 line at the 1908 session of the Legislature. 



DISCUSSION. 



Mr. W. E. Meehan: Mr. Chairman, the paper is one of im- 

 portance. I do not say that I can agree on every point, — the 

 use of the haul seine, for instance, prohibiting such a device. 

 But I do agree that the only solution of the prohlem is federal 

 control for the enforcement of laws or the creation of laws for 

 the protection of fish. As was stated this morning, when the 

 question of uniform laws on the groat lakes was mentioned, it is 

 often difficult to make a uniform closed law, and I question at 

 any rate whether it is advisable to have a closed season, because 

 such laws o])erato against the artificial propagation of fish. • I be- 

 lieve that the solution is in the size of meshes and the size of 

 the fish, and the forbidding of the transportation of undersized 

 fish, either through or out of the state. But, as I said a few 

 moments airo, I believe the real solution is in federal control. 



