USA > New York > Nassau County > Long Island; a history of two great counties, Nassau and Suffolk, Volume II > Part 38
USA > New York > Suffolk County > Long Island; a history of two great counties, Nassau and Suffolk, Volume II > Part 38
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The present page in fisheries history is one of a formulated plan whereby the "catch" or "take" is controlled to maintain an adequate breeding stock. This control is based upon detailed and exact scien- tific information and adequate legislation covering each kind of fish involved. Since many of the species migrate from one area to another, interstate legislation is mandatory.
Scientific information needed in the search for methods of main- taining adequate numbers of fishes includes careful research of varied types. Among these must be included studies of age and growth, food habits, breeding habits, migrations, enemies and parasites, and partic- ular preferences as to places in which each species of fish lives.
The fisheries history of Nassau and Suffolk Counties of Long Island indicates the general sequence of events listed above. In fact, the only real departure from the same picture the world over is the last one. Here conservation is offered as a check against any addi- tional decline in numbers of "vanishing American" fish. The con- servation view had its origin largely in Europe, has only recently been adopted in the United States and is almost totally lacking in Oriental nations. Nations and states, counties and villages prosper in the exact degree that they learn to balance "use" with "maintenance" of any natural resource.
The strain of modern life with its continual "war of nerves" has created unusual recreational demands on our local fisheries. "Getting away from it all" by a week end of fishing or a fishing vacation is big business in Nassau and Suffolk Counties. This recreational de- mand has led to the establishment of fish hatcheries, has demanded protective legislation for sports interests and has caused the forma- tion of local sportsmen's clubs to maintain sports fishing at its maxi- mum peak.
Along with the historical sequence of events, there have been developments in keeping with the changing fisheries. Among these are manifold new uses for fisheries products, and more efficient pack-
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aging and handling of fish through refrigeration and rapid truck transportation. Sports fishing gear have undergone remarkable trans- formations. Fishing craft are now equipped with underseas detection devices for schools of fish. Barometers and special lures together with improved craft offer a contrasting picture with the devices, gear and craft in use for sports fishing fifty years ago.
The centering of unusually large populations within the limits of Long Island has concentrated fisheries management problems. The problems. of pollution by human wastes and by poultry farms, in addi- tion to other causes of decline of fisheries, are critical to this con- gested area. Chemical pollution, prevalent in other adjacent areas, has lately arrived as a potential menace to the persisting fisheries in ocean waters.
The Long Island fishing fleet during World War II served in two valiant capacities. As soon as war was declared, large numbers of the larger boats were taken over and manned for the national defense of our thousands of miles of coastline. The rescues effected and the services rendered belong to other pages of history. Secondly, the remaining fleet provided protein foods to replace those other types which had to be diverted to feed the fighting forces throughout the world. A fisherman can produce more protein food than a farmer can per unit of time and effort. Plagued by lack of help, wartime equip- ment, inadequate netting, submerged obstacles and restrictions on navigation and fuel, the fishermen did a wonderful job. They pros- pered financially too, and the present fleet of fishing craft is the most efficient in fisheries history.
THE ABORIGINAL FISHERMAN
The use of fisheries products as food by the aboriginals is best described as personal, casual, and incidental. The number of these primitive people was nowhere abundant. Disease, starvation and con- tinuous warfare maintained almost static populations. The villages were small and widely distributed in the areas where fishing, hunting and patch farming was best; that is, easiest.
Large oyster-shell mounds containing Indian tools and weapons together with the bones of native wild animals and fish testify as to the diet of the original Long Islanders. Small patches of corn were maintained probably for the purpose of altering the strictly protein diet of fish and shell fish and more fish.
The Indian fishermen used spears and arrows for fishing and also employed weirs or fish traps (barriers) made of branches. These weirs were placed on mud flats and they impounded fish when the tide went down. Bone fish hooks were also used. Oysters were taken by pounding them off rocks and logs with a stone hammer. Clams and scallops were pulled out of the mud flats at low tide. Such fish- ing, without commercial interests, had little effect on the total popula- tion of sea life. All of the accounts of the period testify as to the teeming "inexhaustible" supply of natural resources of the sea, the land, and the air.
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THE FISHERIES OF LONG ISLAND
The early Long Island settlers found this a land of fish and game if not one of milk and honey. This bountiful supply was to persist generally until the period following the Civil War. It was not until 1910 that the first echoes of a new idea, conservation, were being heard and urged upon the nation as a protection for rapidly declining natural resources.
GENERAL FEATURES OF LONG ISLAND FISHERIES
Long Island comprises an area of approximately 1900 square miles which affords good life to about five million people. The irregu- lar coast line of Long Island is equal to the distance between New York City and Charleston, South Carolina. In form it assumes a giant fish "with the blunt head at New York Bay and the two flukes of its tail stretching to Orient and Montauk Points". The broad continental shelf continues to the south and east of Long Island. This is a sub- merged, gradually sloping plain, thirty to one hundred miles broad, extending from Cape Hatteras beyond Cape Cod. At depths of about five hundred feet this slope drops off abruptly to as much as twenty- five hundred feet. Over this continental slope fish migrate to and from the inshore waters and between Cape Cod and Cape Hat- teras. Weakfish, porgies, mackerel, and fluke remain in the inshore ' waters during the summer months, but with the approach of winter migrate to the warmer offshore and southern waters. Winter flounders and cod move northward with the approach of spring since these fish favor waters of lower temperature.
Long Island with its numerous bays and shallow waters affords shelter and food for migrating fish. Behind the narrow strips of sand beaches and protected from the storms of the Atlantic Ocean, fisher- men may ply their trade or hobby in safety. On the north shore deep fiords usually yield good catches.
Farming undoubtedly was the major occupation of the early settlers of Long Island, but with the bounteous supply of salt-water fish, mollusca and crustacea, many farmers collected and sold their catch to an ever increasing population. Even President Washington, we are told, chartered a Long Island boat for a fishing trip to the Sandy Hook banks. Long before 1850, before the building of a factory at Greenport, menhaden were collected for their high oil content which was used in tanning and in the manufacture of paint. Today millions of pounds of menhaden are caught annually and turned into oil and fish meal.
The whale industry disappeared about 1880, but the evidences of its importance remain in the museum at Sag Harbor. As the number of whales grew smaller in the inshore waters, men built larger and heavier boats to pursue them in the deep offshore waters. At one time more than sixty whaling boats operated from Sag Harbor.
During the early days Montauk Point and Gardiners Bay waters were well established as fishing centers. Many of these fishermen were from strange ports, visiting only for the period necessary to land a profitable load. Catches were sailed by cargo boats directly to New York City. Not until 1844 was the railroad extended to Greenport, and to Montauk in 1895.
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As the railroads became extended and improved, more and more people from the congested areas west of Long Island appropriated the unspoiled forests and waters toward the east. By 1900 Long Island had become a commercial fisheries area of importance and along with it evolved the sport and recreational fisheries. The Long Island Rail Road, through cheap but efficient transportation, stimulated the growth of urban centers and the enjoyment of native wild-life resources. The scientists of the New York State Conservation Depart- ment have studied the salt and fresh waters of Long Island in order not only to conserve but to increase their fish populations. Through continual studies on pollution and contamination they also serve as guardians of the health of Long Islanders.
Bunker Fishing in Peconic Bay
While cruising along the inland bays or offshore waters of Long Island one frequently meets commercial fishing boats of various kinds and one may notice the exposed poles of the pound nets. These pound nets are devised to deflect fish migrations in the inshore waters toward deeper waters along a leader net until they enter the pocket of the net and are trapped. In ocean pound nets, these leader nets may be two hundred feet long and the poles which support the leader and pocket may be from seventy to ninety feet long. These ocean pound nets may represent an investment of about $10,000 each. Motor vessels and storms continually damage the equipment. The efficiency of the pound net brings to its owner a wide variety of forms of fish such as butterfish, mackerel, porgy, weakfish, whiting, tuna, striped bass, bluefish, bonita and many others. Huge numbers of squid are also collected and sold to the sport fishermen. Its efficiency is some- times a disadvantage to the operator, especially when he must labor in throwing back trash fish like ling, skates and dogfish.
To overcome the dependency of the pound net on the chance migrations of fish and to allow the fisherman to follow schooling fish along their migratory route, he invented another commercial gear known as the otter trawl. The otter trawl is a long cone-shaped net that is towed by a motor-powered vessel. The mouth of the net is
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kept open by the force of the water against properly placed boards. By weighting the bottom of the mouth of the net, the otter trawl will drag close to the ocean floor and catch, for example, fluke and floun- ders, or it may be towed at higher speed without weights and collect fast-moving fishes like porgies, whiting and butterfish. One of the adverse features of the otter trawl is that it catches all sizes of fish, including many small and useless ones. The motion of the boat causes the death of many small fish which are packed against the bag of the net. Some control of the catch is possible by increasing or decreasing the size of the mesh so that only fish above a certain size are retained.
Another net that is used a great deal is the gill net which is suspended vertically. Its meshes allow the heads of the fish to pass but catch in the gills when the fish seeks to get away. They may be anchored or staked, but the more efficient ones are from eight hundred to twelve hundred feet long and are set to drift in the open offshore waters. Weakfish, bluefish and mackerel catches are important. In addition to the various nets mentioned, such nets as haul-seines, purse- seines, Fyke nets and trammel nets are used on a smaller scale and at special. times. For example, purse-seines are used primarily to catch the enormous numbers of schooling menhaden.
For the year 1938 it is estimated that the total commercial catch for Long Island of marine fishes was 50,000,000 pounds, with a whole- sale value of about $900,000. 1938 is known to have been a poor sea- son and from this we can appreciate that marine fisheries are directly tied in with the economic health of Long Island. Most of the fish are shipped to the Fulton Market in New York City by truck. The market dealer's commission, we understand, is 12.5 per cent of the sale price. The total marketing expense is borne by the fisherman. The commis- sion, container charges, freight charges, Commercial Fishermen's Asso- ciation tax, is deducted from the sale price and the balance is sent to the fishermen. The prices of fish apparently change almost hourly, consequently the fisherman does not realize the value of his catch until he receives payment from his dealer in the Fulton Market.
The sport fisherman may indulge in various forms of angling, such as deep-sea fishing, bay fishing, big game fishing, surf-casting, and dock and bank fishing. The sport of surf-casting is difficult and persons may struggle with the surf many years for their first striped bass. Striped bass runs are most prominent during the spring and fall days. At these times the beaches around Rockaway, Jones State Park, Fire Island, Moriches Inlet and Montauk are active with surf fishermen. Occasionally, weakfish and bluefish are hooked to the great delight of the angler. Very many anglers fish from the banks of channels, from bridges, and docks. This is probably the cheapest vet a very enjoyable recreation. Most bridges are high and landing a hooked fish causes much excitement and personal stimulation.
The folks with money to spend may decide to charter a small power boat, or join a large group on an "open" boat, or hire a
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rowboat. A large number of private power boats of many sorts are available for parties of two to eight people. These boats are avail- able for bay fishing for weakfish, porgies, flukes, flounders, etc., as well as for sea fishing for big game fish like tuna, marlin, and broadbill swordfish. These chartered boats at favorite times are used for troll- ing for bluefish and striped bass. A chartered boat may cost from $50 upward per day depending on the location and fishing desired, and the food expected.
(From a watercolor by Cyril A. Lewis)
Boats at Greenport
On Long Island there are said to be some 200 open boats, so called because they are open to anyone who has the price of the fare. These boats usually are large enough to carry, by crowding, more than 100 persons. These people are interested mostly in deep-sea angling for sea bass, porgies, codfish, blackfish and whiting, as well as for flounders and flukes in the bays. Sheepshead Bay, Canarsie, Freeport, Babylon, and Montauk are popular mooring places for these craft.
The rowboat still is preferred by many anglers probably because of the low rental and greater opportunities for independence. Some of the rowboat hosts tow their fishermen to and from the recom- mended location so that even the neophyte may be happy. On the north and south shore and in Peconic Bays, rowboat fishermen may make interesting catches of flounders, flukes, weakfish, kingfish, and occasionally small bluefish and blackfish.
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THE FISHERIES OF LONG ISLAND
Incidentally, the bait business has grown into a large-scale busi- ness. To serve all these fishermen great numbers of sandworms, blood- worms, shrimp, squid, clams, killies and crabs must be collected. Most of the Long Island worms are shipped in from Maine. Various species of shrimp are much in demand for "chumming" from the stern of a boat after weakfish. According to the New York State Conservation Law in Relation to Fish and Game, 1938, shrimp may not be collected in the spring before May 15. The skimmer clam, quahog, and soft clam as well as squid are important baits for the angler, squid being preferred for weakfish and striped bass. Killies are used mostly for fluke fishing. One species of killies may live for some time out of water and consequently these are in great demand.
The reader may well believe now that the tackle business also is a large scale proposition. Tackle gear for salt-water fishing is of great variety and quite expensive. Sea water may not corrode it, and it is specific in its use. The big game fisherman, the surf fisherman, the bay fisherman, each has his specific needs.
Fresh-water fishing on Long Island is rather limited. With a relatively low elevation sloping gently to the sea, streams are gener- ally short and flow slowly, and may be subjected to tidal action. Numerous lakes and ponds occur in the glacial deposits. Rain is absorbed quickly by the ground which builds up a large spring-water supply for the numerous trout streams. Brook and brown trout, large- mouth and small-mouth bass, pickerel, yellow perch, and crappies are not very common in streams and ponds. On the whole, fresh-water fishing is light, no doubt because ponds and streams are of small size and because spring water is relatively sterile of the necessary food organisms. However, Long Islanders are fortunate for a number of reasons, particularly because they have access to fresh fish and shell- fish. Products of the sea are rich in minerals which the body needs to develop properly and to perform its functions. Calcium and phos- phorus for bones and teeth, iodine for the thyroid gland, iron and copper for blood, all the vitamins for greatest efficiency, proteins, carbohydrates and lipids for energy and tissue building.
Not many years ago everyone took for granted that the natural resources of our country were inexhaustible and demanded in taking what he believed was his share. Now we realize how false and selfish this opinion is. The sportsman receives pleasure and profit from fish- ing and hunting and inspiration and help from a life in contact with nature. He slowly comes to realize the imperative need to protect all of our natural resources.
FISHERIES DEPLETION AND RESTORATION
The steady decline in the commercial catch of some fish is of striking magnitude. In others the catch is increasing, due in large measure to more scientific fishing. The causes for these changes offer a page of unusual interest in the fisheries history of the Island.
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Chart showing fisheries production of several commercial species for State of New York.
Highest Annual Yield 1880-1897
Annual Yield 1921-1938
Fish
Weakfish
2,500,000
1,100,000
Striped Bass
200,000
120,000
Porgy
350,000
1,400,000
Butterfish
400,000
2,800,000
Sea Bass
700,000
500,000
Fluke
no data
declining
Other species
no data
no data
There are several features that may obscure the data dealing with the relative abundance of any particular kind of fish. Among these are: (1) annual natural fluctuations due to differences in num- bers of young raised, (2) differences in the intensity of fishing, (3) change in gear used in fishing, and (4) change in type of fishing as in concentration on certain less desirable species when the fishing for the more desirable species declines. Depletion then can be determined only with completely accurate figures on the catch. These figures are wanting in most instances and little trust can be placed on most of the figures being compiled by the Federal Government today. In recent years the fishermen generally withheld information in order to conceal profits subject to taxation.
The decline in fisheries yield for any given kind of fish may be due to several reasons. First, young fish or eggs may be killed on the spawning grounds by unseasonable storms. Frequently new inlets are created by such storms and the degree of salinity changed in the bays. Such events are classified as natural reasons for declines in abundance of fish. Second, incorrect fishing in which insufficient num- bers of fish are left to maintain the species is a big factor in decreases in catch. An example of this is furnished by the shad which are caught on the annual spawning run. Third, many of the fish entering into commercial catches migrate from other areas and anything deflect- ing such migrations will be reflected in the total catch. Such changes are known to occur due to the changes in direction of ocean currents causing changes in water temperatures. Sea-going fish which migrate into fresh water to spawn are stopped in their migrations by dams or other barriers in the water courses. Fourth, pollution produces very disastrous effects upon a fishery. These effects occur in two directions. One effect is to produce an environment in which the fish cannot live. Another effect is to make the environment unsafe since disease-producing bacteria can be transmitted to man through the agency of fish. This last condition is the one that so vitally involves the shellfish and oyster industry.
Each of the foregoing has played a part in the history of Long Island's fisheries. There is little that can be done to forestall natural fluctuation in numbers of any one kind of fish or in natural changes
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of migration routes. These changes ordinarily are corrected sooner or later by other natural forces. Pollution and incorrect fishing, the human factors in fishery abundance, are more difficult to correct. The manner in which certain areas have been improved, as well as the methods of definitely increasing fish production, offer a glimpse at the possible future paths.
The shad catches in the Hudson River-Long Island Sound area. illustrate what can be accomplished with a fisheries under proper management. The drop in production for all rivers on the Atlantic Coast which produce shad during the period 1896 to 1908 was from 50 to 26 million pounds. In twelve years the catch dropped about fifty per cent. In 1940 the total catch was only 10 million pounds. This data is not entirely free of errors as many catches remain wholly unreported but it is indicative of the general trend.
In the Hudson River the annual catch has been increased since 1935 by restricting the number of spawning fish that may be taken. Briefly, the plan is to give an adequate supply of fish an opportunity to spawn. In every other section of the country where shad occur the population continues to dwindle seriously.
Therefore, the steps to be taken in the correction of a fisheries decrease are: (1) scientific investigations to determine what stages in the life of a fish are most vulnerable to outside effects, and (2) legislation to correct the causes underlying the decrease if they are created by acts of man. Here there may be need for restrictions on size of fish, time to take, on type of gear or on its size, on method of taking or by even limiting the number of persons engaged in the taking of the fish. Also, patrol facilities by enforcement personnel are equally as important as the other two features. Too frequently this phase of the work has been politically charged. Recent advances in transportation such as the helicopters and seaplanes offer the most feasible patrol facilities.
The story of whaling and that of the Island's shellfisheries are covered in other chapters.
FISHERIES PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS
Within the past twenty years the growing need for an interstate and an international program on fisheries has been recognized more and more. The Federal Government is responsible for the inter- national aspects of the problem. Its assignment or assumption of the interstate problems is open to many serious objections.
Very favorable progress has been recently made in the solution of interstate problems by an interstate organization known as the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. Uniform laws, stand- ard size limits, investigations of special problems, assignments of spécial problems, pollution abatement programs and the manifold related endeavors, have all been considered by the Commission. A recent proposal for an offshore chemical dumpage program off Free- port, Long Island, was investigated and considered at length by the Commission. This approach offers solutions for many of the fishery
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problems. It consists of obtaining scientific facts, applying these to the case in question and in obtaining interstate compliance through encouragement of uniform legislation.
Another method of fisheries regulation which is receiving in- creased attention is the one now practiced in Maryland, where the number of persons who can engage in the fisheries is limited. Such legislation limiting the number of fishermen is a far day removed from the individual enterprise day in our national thought. However, such enterprise is limited in other fields such as in factories requiring union membership. Possibly the Maryland plan is a step towards a state-operated union. Whatever its adverse features may appear to be it seemingly is one real answer to many of our fishery problems where the size of the catch must be controlled so as to provide an adequate breeding stock.
Maine has the unusual law, demonstrable as the only practical one, of requiring that the largest lobsters as well as the smallest must be returned to the water. This is a rare type of restricted legislation. It has led to a most remarkable increase in the number of lobsters in Maine waters. Doubtless it has far wider possibilities on other fisheries than is now practiced.
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