American Fisheries Socicti/ 203 



that is, throwing the stress on the young lol)sters witli whicli 

 the fishei'nien must fill tlie market denunid. This will take a 

 good many more lobsters than i f they are allowed to capture the 

 old ones. I know perfectly well this argument is a plausible 

 one; but it seems to me the case here is a little different from 

 that of domestieate(l animals, like chickens, where within a year 

 or two, the weight of the young is quite as great as that of the 

 old. But take the 9 inch lobster, and you have got to sacrifice 

 a good many to make up for one old lobster, and moreover, the 

 old lobsters, when they have reached a certain size, are good for 

 nothing. The proposition as modified by Dr. Field, of allowing 

 simply the lobsters between 9 and 11 inches to l)e caught is 

 quite a different proposition from allowing those l)elow 9 inches 

 to l>e caught. I admit that I have wondered, however, how this 

 would work out practically among the fishermen, in whom 

 human iiature is strong, — our Greek and Portuguese and other 

 fishermen along the Atlantic Coast. They are very unwilling 

 now to allow the egg lol)sters to get l)y, or to allow the 3'oung 

 loltsters to get by. It seems to me there would 1)e ninch difficulty 

 in persuading them that they ought to allow the old lobsters to 

 go by. It takes a good deal of nerve to thro\\' over a good three 

 or four pound lobster on general principles. That, of course, 

 is a practical point. I have often wondered too whether the 

 general principle woidd be admitted, of taking the young and 

 leaving the old. l)y the practical fish culturist : whether if he had 

 a lake full of trout, he would be willing to ])ick out each yeai' 

 all of the young trout and leave the old ones. 



I think it is very important, and of course a good many have 

 also put out the same o])inion. that we should have along the 

 Atlantic Coast from ]\faine to New York uniform hiAvs. Dr. 

 Field himself has taken steps towards bringing about such a 

 result. 



I think that is important, for it has been shown that the 

 difference in the law for example, between Massachusetts and 

 lihode Island, was very detrimental to Massachusetts. When 

 the people right on the line between Ehode Island and ]\Iassa- 

 chusetts can take 9 to MV [> inch lobsters and bring them over 

 into Xewijort and sell them, it is very natural that they should 

 do it. Yon eannot catch them, 1)ecanse they put the shorts in 



