450 FISHES OF AUSTRALIA. 



The accompanying illustration, showing a small Otter 

 Trawl being towed along by a yacht, is sufficiently accurate 

 to convey tc the reader a very fair idea of what this net is 

 like. 



FISH ECONOMICS. 



MUCH that would be of value and interest to the general 

 reader, might be written here, regarding the thousand-and- 

 on e preparations, which are composed either wholly or in 

 part, of fish ; and which are intended for use as food for 

 Man; but, as the average person must be familiar with 

 many of these (even if not aware of the immensity of the 

 industries concerned with their preparation) I must quickly 

 pass on to deal briefly with some other aspects of "Fish 

 Economics." 



In addition to their immense importance to Man as 

 food, the uses to which fishes and their products are put 

 are many and various. It is not my purpose to here go 

 into any great detail, either in regard to the processes con- 

 cerned with the preparation of fish products, or with the 

 products themselves ; I merely wish to indicate their very 

 great importance and the magnitude of the industries based 

 upon their utilization and manufacture, as well as to give 

 a little idea of the great variety of the products ; hoping 

 thereby to assist in some measure in directing a little atten- 

 tion to the necessity for the better utilization of the wealth 

 that lies within our own waters. 



In the preparation on a large scale of fishes and their 

 products for food, there is necessarily a great deal of what 

 would ordinarily be termed "refuse." This includes heads, 

 skins (in some instances), scales, entrails and bones. In 

 most parts of the world this is not thrown aside as it con- 

 tains much that is valuable. "Formerly nearly all the 

 waste produced in dressing fish for market was thrown 

 away as useless; but in recent years, in the fisheries, as 

 in other industries, the utilization of waste material has 

 been made a subject of careful investigation, and many 

 substances formerly considered refuse, are now found to 



