American Fisheries Society. 89 
of Fisheries and the State Board of Health shall unite in declar- 
ing that any existing pollution is destructive to fish life and at 
the same time injurious to human life and animal life, that the 
nuisance shall be abolished at the jot expense of the common- 
wealth and the owner of the establishment from which the poi- 
sonous substance flows into the stream. By this means, if the 
bill becomes a law, there will be no new water pollution and ex- 
isting pollution will gradually be eliminated. 
The department feels that one of the very important matters 
which has engaged its attention has been the experiments to rid 
the waters of the German carp. On investigating the condition 
of the waters in Pennsylvania in which fish existed, it found a 
deplorable state of affairs, excepting in the trout streams. Ex- 
ception also ought to be made to Lake Erie and the shad fisheries 
on the Delaware. Everywhere there were reports accompanied 
by strong proof of a rapidly diminishing supply of many valua- 
ble fishes, notably the smallmouth bass. Until less than ten 
vears ago all the principal streams in Pennsylvania were well 
filled with this fine game fish, as well as other game and food 
fishes of a lesser reputation. Careful investigation showed that 
the causes of the diminishing supply were probably from waste- 
ful methods of fishing and the destructive habits of the German 
carp. Nearly all the waters are literally alive with this inferior 
food fish, which few people, excepting two classes of the people, 
will eat. One for the sake of economy and the other because the 
fish can be killed in conformity with certain religious rites. The 
department did not attempt and does not attempt to belittle the 
importance of the German carp as an industry in the market, 
but it finds that this value does not outweigh the damage which 
the fish does to other forms of fish hfe. It has been proven be- 
yond a shadow of a doubt that the German carp is the most de- 
structive fish in Pennsylvania. One carp of twenty pounds 
weight was recently caught with more than three quarts of 
spawn of valuable lake fishes within it; and hundreds of other 
specimens have been captured that show nearly as bad a record 
for spawn-ating habits. There is almost a universal demand 
throughout the commonwealth for the extermination of the fish 
and the legislature has very wisely, the department believes, de- 
clared the German carp an outlaw to the extent of imposing a . 
