150 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 
they will stay near by in their boats and watch for approaching schools 
of fish ; if they see fish close to the apparatus, and not disposed to 
enter, as is often the case, they will dart oars into the water or pound 
on the boat’s gunwale to frighten the fish, so that they will, in their 
wild rush to escape, plunge into the meshes of the nets (see plate xix). 
Illegal fishing , destruction of small fish , etc . — It is generally agreed 
that the Chinese fishermen have little regard for tbe law (if they can 
evade it) and absolutely no consideration for the preservation of young 
fish from destruction. “All is fish that comes to their net,” in the 
strictest sense of the term, and the apparatus they use is specially de- 
signed to take the smallest forms of aquatic life. Complaints have 
been loud and numerous on the part of other fishermen, and eiforts have 
been made from time to time by the State authorities to put a stop to 
illegal and destructive methods. Judging from all the information ob- 
tainable these efforts have been only partially successful. A writer in 
the San Francisco Bulletin , alluding to the marked and growing scarcity 
of fish in San Francisco Bay, says : 
Another explanation which is now given is the ravages which the Chinese are 
malting upon the young lish. Hundreds of these assumed despoilers of every bless- 
ing are employed constantly in catching the young fish, including every species in 
the bay, just developed from ova, in which work they employ fine nets, scoops, and 
other effective methods. This material is esteemeu a prime delicacy among the 
heathen, large quantities beiug consumed in the city, and the business of preserving 
.the young fish and shipping them to China has become an important enterprise. 
Thousands of young salmon, from 2 to 4 inches in length, may be found among the 
large supplies brought in daily to the fish shops in the Chinese quarters, and this is 
undoubtedly the true explanation of the alarming decline in the quantities of the 
best fish. The process continued for a few years will render salmon and other favor- 
ite species a rarity in these waters, and some enactment seems to be. called for, to 
afford protection from this particular encroachment of the Chinese scourge. 
The apparent bitterness of this statement might rob it of force were it 
not reiterated from various sources. This particular phase of the fishery 
has attracted the attention of every one who has taken any interest in 
the matter. Wilcox mentions the fact that at Hunter’s Point he saw 
several basketfuls of thoroughly dried, broken fish scraps, among which 
was a large amount of whole fish (Parichthys porosissimus) not more than 
1J to 2 inches long. 
Allusion has already been made to the destructive fishing with stur- 
geon trawls and fyke nets. 
Regarding illicit fishing, Alexander says : 
The Chinese put the authorities to more trouble than all the other fishermen 
combined, and hardly a week passes without some guilty Oriental being dragged 
before the court for illegal fishing. This class of people seem to take pride in trans- 
gressing all laws established by the State. They invariably fish with fyke nets and 
sturgeon trawls whenever they think such fishing can be carried on with impunity. 
Frequently they are captured and their gear confiscated. During the p ast year [1889] 
47 sturgeon trawls and several fyke nets were captured. These methods of fishing are 
carried on to a considerable extent in the San Joaquin and Sacramento Rivers. The 
