. Conservation Commission. 103 



boards of supervisors or town boards, and while the set this year 

 has been an excellent one, the demand is such that the want of any 

 restrictive legislation has already greatly decreased our annual 

 catch, and, if continued, will destroy all the members of this spe- 

 cies. Careful experiments made by the Bureaus of Marine Fish- 

 cries of other States and the Federal government have shown that, 

 like other species, this mollusk can be propagated, and were the 

 State to furnish proper facilities for this purpose, the catch of this 

 succulent and valuable mollusk could within a very short time be 

 largely increased. Legislation for the protection of these species 

 is urgently needed. 



There should be an inspection of oyster-shucking, packing and 

 shipping houses, and sanitary conditions should be provided for 

 by law. 



As already stated, but a few years ago the lobster was practically 

 extinct in our waters, and when the first efforts at propagation 

 were made, following the lines laid down by the National Bureau 

 of Fisheries, our culturists were ridiculed. Results, however, 

 have shown that the attempts at propagation were more than justi- 

 fied. This year's hatch of 48,000,000 fry will largely contribute 

 to the increase of this crustacean. This work was, however, done 

 by our State Fish Culturist under the most disadvantageous con- 

 ditions. A half dozen old shad-hatching boxes were rigged as 

 hatching-boxes and placed in Fort Pond bay. The berry lobsters 

 were obtained through the courtesy and kindness of the local fisher- 

 men there, and especially through that of Mr. E. H. Tuthill of 

 Montauk, whose assistance in this work cannot be too highly com- 

 mended, for it was often rendered at considerable loss to himself. 

 The eggs were placed in these hatching-boxes — a quantity of 

 them were shipped to the Cold Spring hatchery, thus furnishing a 

 supply for the north shore of Long Island — and liberated on the 

 spot as they hatched. Young lobsters are cannibals and, if left 

 in large numbers in any given locality, will destroy each other, 

 and when, further, these small crustaceans form the natural food 

 of the dog-fish, as is shown by the fact that this fish is being caught 

 in largely annual increased quantities in Fort Pond bay, the loca- 

 tion of the hatcheries, it will be seen that a large part of this 

 work is unproductive even though the actual results have been 

 gratifying. 



