CONSERVATION FORTRAFS
Since the White Fish Bill has
passed, I am willing to say to the
Bureau of Fisheries,—Let us start
out with a clean slate, or say that it
really means to administer the law
without favoritism.
Still we will not change our posi
tion for we claim that the burdens
of conservation should also he borne
without favoritism.
At the fish hearing’ in Seattle in
1021, I protested against extending
the closed area from the 200 yard
mark to the 500 yard mark. This
change was favored by all the pack
ers and by Charlie Garfield, then
secretary of the Territorial Fish
Commission. Garfield asked me this
question: “Why, Mr. Paul, are you
not in favor of doing all that can
be done under the law to conserve
the fish which we all admit are be
ing rapidly depleted?”
My answer astonished the assem
bly. I said “No, I am not. 1 am
not in favor of placing the entire
burden of conserving salmon on the
little fellow. By extending the clos
ed area you place the entire burden
of conservation on the seiner and
none at all on the trap owner. Why
should I, a small fisherman, be com
pelled to stop fishing at the mouth
of the creek while the big trap still
operates a little way down the coast.
My catch amounts to about 2,000
salmon, and with all other fishermen
at this place, the total amounts to
less than 10,000; while the trap two
miles down the coast catches over
.‘)0d,000. Why don’t you do some
thing to make that trap conserve
salmon? You seem to believe thal
after the fish get past the long
line of traps fishing in districts where
no seiner can work that no fisher
man should be allowed to catch the
fish.”
In the new regulations published
by Mr. Hoover supposedly on the
advice of the Bureau of Fisheries,
certain bays are closed to fishing
“for purposes of conservation.” These
bays include Thorne Bay, Tolsti
Bay, Toms Place, Tenekee Inlet and
other places.
The Bureau has published the catch
of the fish at these places. In all
about 250,000 salmon will be allowed
to escape by ihis order. Bui the
thing that throws light upon the
favoritism that still guides the Bur
eau in all its doings is this: seiners
and gill-netters have been getting
about ISO,000 fish in these places
while the trap has been getting only
SO,000. Who bears the burden? and
why ?
The burden of conservation is still
placed on the resident fishermen by
Henry O’Malley, E. M. Ball, and
Herbert Hoover. The big traps that
line the coast collecting their tribute
in such large amounts that schools
of salmon amounting to over one
million to the creek are now reduced
to a paltry five and ten thousand.
The seiner can fish nowhere except
in bays near the salmon streams. And
now under the new regulations, the
resident fisherman cannot fish there.
He gives up his right to catch a
part of ten thousand salmon, but
the big trap is still allowed the un
diminished right to take all the fish
that swim by the hundreds of thous
ands and even millions.
Conservation will never be accomp
lished until the traps are all abol
ished.
-+
During the war we “hooverized”
on foodstuffs. Now that we have
forgotten the war we are compelled
to accept “hooverized” conservation
which is no conservation.
* * :i'.
The Fish Barons say they earnest
ly desire conservation but we note
that they are all planning on put
ting up bigger packs than last year.
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