Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
squeeze of antibacterial lemon juice. The industry moved most of its beds to
cleaner outlying waters in the 1930s in Bodega and Tomales bays, and in
Drakes Estero near Point Reyes, where they remain to this day.
Californians did not turn a blind eye to the pillage and pollution, and
they began expanding on the state's first salmon protection measures. In
the 1897, the state prohibited using certain nets and building weirs, re-
quired all commercial fishing vessels to carry a license, and banned the
harvesting of female Dungeness Crab. During the same decade, when stur-
geon populations suddenly took a dive, the state prohibited set lines (doz-
ens of hooks set on one line strung across a river), and by 1901 it was out-
side the law even to possess a sturgeon. The state also beefed up licensing
requirements and established a closed crab season with a catch size limit of
six inches or more. In 1911, California restricted shrimp fishing, and by
1915 both fishers and wholesalers had to keep systematic records of the
species, weight, and catch date of their haul. These detailed records of early
landings paint a stark picture of the bay's falling biological productivity.
“Duck-a-Minute” hunting
club in Schellville near Son-
oma shows off a day's take
in 1927. (S.F. Call-Bulletin
Collection, S.F. History
Center, S.F. Public Library)
Other creatures reliant on the bay also received protection. State legis-
lators passed laws to protect shorebirds, waterfowl, and other game birds
whose numbers had been cut in half by 1918 by hunting and habitat loss.
Californians hunted duck both for food—over 250,000 were sold in San
Francisco markets annually in the early 1900s—and for finery. Between
1900 and 1920, during the “plume boom,” every color and shape of feather,
even whole birds and wings, topped the most fashionable of ladies hats.
These early environmental protections did little to slow the momen-
