UNUTILIZED FISHES. 45 



The Inverness News, of Inverness, Cape Breton, under tne date 

 November 24, 1904, printed the following article : 



CAPE BKETON HALIBUT, ALIAS " DOGFISH." 



A representative of the News has been shown a sample of canned dogfish 

 * * * and we must say it compares favorably with any tinned fish we have 

 seen. It is perfectly white in color, and the flavor is excellent. There is no 

 doubt that all that is necessary is to have this fish introduced into foreign 

 markets in order to create such a demand for it as will enable our fishermen 

 to find a ready sale for all the dogfish they can catch. * * * [At a hotel 

 in Port Hood, the chef] a few days ago gave his guests, by request, some * * * 

 prepared dogfish, which figured on his bill of fare under the nom de plume of 

 " Cape Breton halibut." Some of the traveling guests pronounced it first 

 class and differing very little in taste from the halibut they were used to eat. 

 We publish below an extract from the Maritime Merchant, Halifax, of Novem- 

 ber 4, 1904, on " The dogfish as an article of commerce " : 



"A few more years may show us that we have been extremely slow in recog- 

 nizing a good thing in the dogfish, and since he is so plentiful, and we have 

 such incentives to destroy him, an industry may arise in this province because 

 of him that will add to the importance, value, and more successful conduct 

 of our fishing industry. The other day a firm in Halifax had an inquiry for 

 250 quintals of dried dogfish. ' Never mind what I am going to do with them,' 

 said the inquirer, ' I can sell them at a price.' So dried dogfish may be a 

 staple article in ten years, ' dog oil ' may be as important article of commerce 

 as cod oil, and people may even be putting up emulsions of ' dog-liver oils ' 

 for coughs and colds. And why not? The dogfish is a cleaner living fish than 

 many of those we are accustomed to eat every day, his meat cooked fresh is 

 said to taste like a nice quality of halibut, and the oil he renders is good enough 

 to deceive experts as to its origin. Wherever our prejudice against the dogfish 

 arose, we unquestionably have it, and it may be hard to shake, but it can be 

 done, and likely will, and then the beast we have cursed with many curses 

 will have equal honor with the cod which has yielded us so much wealth. It 

 may be that the prevailing high price of dried cod will be the beginning of the 

 end of our prejudice, for quite likely the inquiry for dried dogfish has originated 

 with some one who found the prevailing price of cod too high for some export 

 market, and realizing the unmistakable firmness of the situation, saw the 

 advisability of obtaining a substitute if possible. What more natural than to 

 experiment with dogfish, which opens out large and makes up into a nice looking 

 article? Of course, even if it should be accepted in foreign markets (as we 

 have no doubt it would) we could not assume that it would also become popular 

 at home. But it is not necessary that it should. If we can export dried dogfish 

 and thereby increase our trade, what more could we want? Nevertheless we 

 believe that if our fishermen get into the habit of catching and curing it, 

 the idea that it is edible will gradually work into the minds of the more par- 

 ticular people, and in another generation the prejudice against the much maligned 

 ' dog ' may vanish entirely. Is it too much, then, to hope that the present day 

 ' scourge ' may be a profit-bringing blessing in the future? " 



Samples of canned dogfish have been sent to England, France, and 

 Japan, and orders from those countries are confidently expected. An 

 establishment at Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, has success- 

 fully marketed an experimental pack, and a company in Halifax, 



