MAINTENANCE AND IMPROVEMENT OF THE AMERICAN FISHERIES. 291 



Fish that are killed immediately on being caught retain a firmness of body and bear 

 shipment better than those which are permitted to die a lingering death, a fact which 

 is well known. 



While the extensive use of ice during the fishing operations and in the transpor- 

 tation of fish greatly reduces the impairment in quality, still the present generally 

 pursued method of applying cold for the preservation of fishery products is far from 

 being satisfactory. A person witnessing for the first time the unloading of a vessel 

 engaged in the market fishery for cod and other ground fish, is bound to be forcibly 

 impressed with the soft, slimy, and uninviting appearance which the catch presents 

 when taken from the hold, notwithstanding the evisceration of the fish soon after 

 being caught, and the use of large quantities of ice applied directly to them. 



This is one of the lines along which improvements are to be suggested, in the 

 interest of a better quality of fish, as well as for the pecuniary benefit of the fisher- 

 men. Vessels often arrive from distant fishing-grounds during the warm months 

 with thousands of pounds of soft and stale fish in their holds, and with little or no 

 ice. The moisture which the melted ice imparts to the fish favors the development of 

 putrefactive bacteria and accelerates decay. The impairment of the quality of fish 

 which ensues when insufficient means for their preservation are taken can never be 

 dissipated by secondary attempts to stay the deterioration, and the most careful 

 efforts to maintain the freshness of the fish should be made at the time they are 

 caught and pending their arrival on shore, and not from one to ten days after being 

 taken, as is now too often the case. 



Among other things that seem to be demanded in the interests of fresher fish is the 

 construction on fishing vessels of dry-air refrigerators. Much good will also accrue 

 to the fisheries by the use of steam fishing vessels and steam carriers in the offshore 

 market fisheries, not only by permitting the discharge of the catch in a better condi- 

 tion but also by enabling the fishermen to visit more distant grounds. The successful 

 efforts of dealers to properly handle fish on shore, prior to and during shipment, by 

 the adoption of modern refrigerator and rapid-transit facilities, fix on the fishermen the 

 necessity for making further improvement in the quality of the fresh-fish supply. 



Much, I believe, may be done indirectly for the protection and preservation of some 

 of our fishes now decreasing in abundance by devoting attention to other fishes now 

 rarely or imperfectly utilized, in order to keep up the supply of fish food. The history 

 of the sturgeon, eel, and other species in the United States affords ground for the 

 belief that many fishes now considered worthless may be brought into favor and thus 

 reduce the destruction of other more valuable fish. Already the much despised 

 skates are becoming a factor in the food supply of the Middle Atlantic region and are 

 materially contributing to the income of the fishermen, as they have long done on the 

 west coast; but there are numerous excellent fish in our waters, some of which exist 

 in almost limitless numbers in certain places and at certain seasons, that are scarcely 

 utilized. Among these, and deserving of special mention, are the sea-robins (Prionotus) 

 and the whiting or silver hake (Menticirrus). Sea-robins, which are taken by thou- 

 sands of tons on the southern New England and Middle Atlantic coasts and are almost 

 invariably thrown away, are very similar morphologically and scarcely, if at all, 

 inferior in food value to the highly esteemed gurnard of our English brethren. The 

 whiting, oue of the Gadiclce, in a perfectly fresh condition, is superior to the cod, and 

 when pickled is a valuable article of food ; yet only a few thousand pounds are annually 



