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International Fishery Congress. 
The Fourth International Fishery Congress 
will convene in Washington, D. C., from the 22d 
to the 26th of September, 1908, to deliberate on 
important matters relating to fishing and fish 
culture and to submit propositions for the bene¬ 
fit of the fisheries to governments and to State, 
provincial and local authorities. 
1 he congress will be organized and conducted 
in conformity with the decisions for the repre¬ 
sentatives, delegates from home and foreign 
societies, corporations and persons invited by 
the management of the congress, and persons 
at home and abroad who are deemed to have 
an interest in the purposes of the congress and 
express a wish to take part in it. 
All members have the right to vote, to partici¬ 
pate in the discussions, and to make independent 
propositions. In case a corporation should be 
represented by several delegates, the members 
of this delegation have the right to only one 
vote, which shall be cast by the delegate desig¬ 
nated to the presiding officer. The delivery of 
. the card of admission gives to members the 
right to take part in all the enterprises and 
excursions projected by the congress, to receive 
all the publications, and to wear the insignia of 
the congress. Members are required to con¬ 
form to its regulations and decisions. The mem¬ 
bership fee is fixed at $2 for each person, ex¬ 
cepting the official- representatives of govern¬ 
ments, who become members by virtue of their 
credentials. 
In response to invitations extended by the 
Government of the United States, twelve 
national governments have already signified 
their purpose to be officially represented, and 
delegates have been appointed by the governors 
of many of the States of the United States. In 
view of the small number of the nations which 
have formally indicated their inability to offi¬ 
cially participate and the large number of per¬ 
sons who will attend as individuals or as repre¬ 
sentatives of important fishery societies, the con¬ 
gress promises to be important in its represen¬ 
tative character, size and the value of its pro¬ 
ceedings. 
All persons interested in the fisheries, fish 
culture and fishery administration, or in scientific 
investigations and experiments related to the 
fisheries are invited to attend the meetings and 
take part in the discussions. To those who can¬ 
not attend an invitation is extended to submit 
papers on subjects relating to the fisheries, mail¬ 
ing them to the secretary-general of the congress 
in season to reach him prior to the opening 
meeting. For the guidance of those desiring to 
participate in this manner, the following scheme 
of subjects is submitted, but the papers need not 
be restricted to the titles suggested: 
1. Commercial Fisheries: (a) Apparatus and 
methods of fishing; (b) vessels and boats; (c) 
handling, preparing and preserving the catch; 
Id) utilization of neglected and waste products. 
2. Matters Affecting the Fishermen and the 
Fishing Population: (a) Hygiene of vessels 
and houses of fishermen; (b) diseases of fisher¬ 
men and their families; (c) means for prevent¬ 
ing loss of life at sea; (d) technical education 
in fishing, fish handling and fish culture; (ej 
fishery schools. 
3. Legislation and Regulation Relative to: 
(a) Pishing; (b) fish culture; (c) pollution of 
waters; (d) obstruction of waters. 
4. International Matters Affecting the Fish¬ 
eries: (a) Regulation and legislation; (b) re¬ 
search ; (c) statistics. 
5 - Agriculture: (a) Fresh water fishes; (b) 
salt water fishes; (c) frogs, turtles and terra¬ 
pins; (d) oysters and other mollusks; (e) lob¬ 
sters, crabs, crayfish and other crustaceans; (f) 
sponges; (g) algie and other plants; (h) new 
appliances and methods; (i) utility of fish cul¬ 
ture in the ocean and in large inland waters. 
6. Acclimatization: (a) American fishes 
abroad; (b) foreign fishes in America; (c) 
introduction of other foreign species. 
7. Fishways and Fish Ladders: 
8. Biological Investigation of the Waters and 
1 heir Inhabitants: (a) Methods and appliances; 
(b) results. 
9. Diseases and Parasites of Fishes, Crus¬ 
taceans, Mollusks and Other Water Animals. 
10. Angling and Sport Fishing. 
During the week following the regular ses¬ 
sions of the congress, special meetings will be 
arranged in New York, Boston, Gloucester and 
possibly other places in New England, it being 
the purpose to bring the members together for 
informal sessions in those places, and at the 
same time to provide time and opportunity for 
them to visit localities in which they may have 
a personal interest. 
Other places which may be visited, but for 
which no special arrangements will be made, are 
Baltimore, the center of the great oyster in¬ 
dustry of Chesapeake Bay, and Chicago and 
other lake ports where the fishery trade and 
methods of the Great -Lakes, the most valuable 
fresh water fisheries in the world, may be 
studied. 
Suitable arrangements will be made for the 
entertainment and instruction of the members 
in Washington and at other places visited, and 
an opportunity will be given for visits to places 
of general interest. 
During the week beginning Sep$. 20 the head¬ 
quarters of the congress will be established in 
the New Willard Hotel, Washington, where in¬ 
formation relating to hotel accommodations, 
transportation, places of interest, and other mat¬ 
ters will be available. All communications and 
inquiries before that date should be addressed 
to the Secretary-General of the Congress, Bureau 
of Fisheries, Washington, D. C. 
Persons contemplating attendance at the con¬ 
gress should promptly inform the secretary- 
geneial of such intention. Those intending to 
submit papers should inform the secretary- 
general, as soon as possible, of the title or sub¬ 
ject and the approximate length of the com¬ 
munication, in order that proper assignments of 
order and time may be made on the programme. 
Fishing “Rights” in Nova Scotia. 
Digby, N. S., July 20.-—Editor Forest and 
Stream: I here is likely to be considerable 
litigation over the fishing rights in the non- 
tidal waters of the Port Medway.and several 
other rivers. Several of the best pools have 
been bought up by syndicates and clubs. In 
other words the land on both sides of the river 
has been purchased, and the riparian owners 
now claim the exclusive right of fishing. In 
the old grants given when the Province was 
first settled by the English, certain estates were 
granted with the sporting rights definitely in¬ 
cluded. For the past sixty or seventy years no 
grant of the fish or game has appeared in the 
patents issued by the crown. At the present 
time the land owner can forbid trespassing on 
inclosed land, eject the trespasser if necessary, 
and summon him for assault if he resists. In 
addition to this he has a civil action for dam¬ 
ages. 
If the people owning the so-called “rights” 
on the Port Medway River can prove that the 
land was originally granted with the sporting 
rights they have a perfectly clear case. If they 
cannot prove this and still win their suit, prac¬ 
tically the .whole fresh water fishery will pass 
into the hands of the lumber companies and 
large land owners. The same thing will apply 
to the game, large and small. For a hundred 
and fifty years the game and fish have been 
free to all who wished to shoot or angle, subject 
only to the laws relating to closed season and 
illicit methods of capture. 
The question of the sporting rights will prob¬ 
ably receive a good deal of attention at the next 
session of the local house. Petitions are already 
being prepared and signed, asking that the peo¬ 
ple may be definitely established in the rights 
they have enjoyed for a century and a half. 
Two sessions ago the petty trespass act, giving 
extended powers to land owners to arrest on 
sight any person setting foot on their land, was 
smuggled thiough the House at the instigation 
of a lumber company which wished to sell its 
sporting “rights.” This act became law (for 
three minutes only) as the public sentiment was 
so bitter on the subject. 
At the present time there are no vested in¬ 
terests to be considered in most cases. Over 
half the Province is wild woodland. The owners 
of the soil have made no endeavor to stock it 
with game or bring any of it under cultivation. 
Having denuded the land of its timber, which 
was a legal, if not an altogether wise proceed¬ 
ing, it has .occurred to certain parties that it 
would be a very nice thing to sell the sporting 
lights which were never conveyed to them in 
their grants. 
Never since the passing of the first game act 
have the people of the Province taken such 
an interest in legitimate sport. A few years 
ago the man who killed moose illegally was 
often considered rather a fine fellow. To-day 
he is held in disrepute. A modified private 
ownership of salmon rivers would lead to some 
