134 FISH HARVESTING. 



is the rock cod, as it is usually styled by the 

 fishermen who provide the Victoria and San 

 Francisco markets ; one of the best and daintiest 

 table-fish caught in the seas round Vancouver 

 Island. It often attains a considerable size, and 

 being in tolerable abundance, constitutes an ar- 

 ticle of some commercial value. 



As numbers are taken all through the year, 

 and as I never saw them in fresh- water, it is fair 

 to assume they are strictly marine. Their ap- 

 pearance is not prepossessing, giving one the 

 idea of being all head, fins, and bones, as they 

 lie gasping 011 the shingle ; an error of the eye 

 only, as you discover when testing the substance 

 and quality of a large one, smoking hot from the 

 fish-kettle. Three species are commonly offered 

 for sale in the markets, one of which is also taken 

 in Japanese seas. They vary in size ; I have 

 often seen a rock cod thirty inches in length. 

 Biting greedily at any bait, they are constantly 

 caught by the Indians when trolling for salmon. 



The one usually seen in the Victoria markets 

 is Sebastes inermis (Cuv. and Val., p. 346; 

 Faun. Japon., ' Poiss.,' p. 47, pi. 21, figs. 3, 4), the 

 Weak-spined Rock Cod. Sp. Ch. : The height of 

 the body equals the length of the head ; the upper 

 surface of the head flat, with some depressed 



