No. 5. COALFISH, GREEN COD, *ROCK 

 SALMON, SAITHE. 



Gudns vii'cns, Linnaeus. 



Usual extreme length : 3 to 4 feet. 



Description : Body of moderately robust proportions, gently 

 tapering- to the tail ; lower jaw slightly longer than the upper, 

 and bearing a barbel of small size; first anal fin commencing 

 below the last few rays of the first dorsal. Coloration above, 

 very dark greenish blue, almost black, shading off to impure 

 white on the flanks and lower parts ; lateral line white and fairly 

 distinct. 



The Coalfish spawns from January to April ; its food consists 

 of molluscs, crustaceans, and other fishes. 



Range: From the North of Europe to the Mediterranean; in 

 British seas the species is most abundant off the Scottish coasts. 



Remarks: The quantity of Coalfish marketed annually has shown a 

 material increase of recent years, but the value has remained fairly 

 constant. It is a fish of rather poor flavour and quality, and on that 

 account not frequently to be met with at the ordinary fishmonger's in a 

 wet state, but is one of those species largely used by the frying trade, 

 and may often be seen on fish stalls in poor localities. The flesh is 

 liable to somewhat rapid deterioration. Sea anglers in Scottish waters 

 cannot fail to be struck by the enormous shoals of young Coalfish 

 (Cuddies, Podleys, etc.) to be met with in estuaries, harbours, and other 

 inshore waters, where they are fished for, by young and old, by means 

 of a primitive white fly attached by a short line to a long cane or other 

 thin pole. 



The term " Rock Salmon " is also applied to the Catfish. 



