FISH ECONOMICS. 257 



imitation of the real gems. These form the inexpensive 

 "pearl necklets" so commonly worn. 



Other references to fish-products, will be found scat- 

 tered through the portion dealing with the fishes themselves. 



Very much more might be written about the uses to 

 which fishes are put in the manufacture of products other 

 than food, but sufficient has been said, I think, to give the 

 reader a general idea, so that he may see for himself, what 

 an immense field lies before us in the development of our 

 fisheries. 



FOOD VALUE OF AUSTRALIAN FISHES. 



APPARENTLY, no observations have been so far carried 

 out in Australia, with a view of determining the dietetic 

 value of the flesh of our food-fishes. During the course of my 

 work, my friend Mr. W. M. Doherty, F.I.C., F.C.S., kindly 

 undertook to make some analyses so that a beginning in this 

 direction might be made. Mr. Doherty's "results," which 

 are given below, are of the first importance. The figures 

 really speak for themselves, but in regard to the amount of 

 fat obtained from the viscera of the Sand Whiting I would 

 like to supplement Mr. Doherty's remarks in so far as to 

 state that the fish examined was just an ordinary example of 

 a healthy Sand Whiting, and that in my opinion from per- 

 sonal examination the percentage of fat in healthy 

 Trumpeter Whiting, Black Bream, and a number of other 

 common fishes would not be less ; while in the Sea Mullet 

 particularly at spawning time it would be considerably 

 more. I have before me a tube containing the fat amount- 

 ing to about a quarter of an ounce extracted by Mr. 

 Doherty from the viscera of the Sand Whiting. Taking 

 this as a fair average for each fish we find that the amount 

 yielded by a basket of 75 pounds weight would be about 3% 

 pounds. Now, according to the statistics of a recent year 

 about 4250 baskets of Whiting were marketed ; so that from 

 these alone nearly 14,000 pounds of a valuable fat (or crude 

 oil) might have been obtained! 



Referring to his observations, Mr. Doherty writes : 

 "In the following table are given the analyses of edible 

 portions of four of the principal food fishes of Sydney from 



