384 A HISTORY OF FISHES 



much from marine fishes, as illustrated by the following table, 

 and the popularity of the latter must be entirely a matter of 

 custom and palatability. 



Name. Water. Protein. Fats. Fuel Value 



The number of different kinds of fishes eaten in some countries 

 is comparatively small. In Great Britain, for example, the 

 number of species that may be regarded as fairly common in 

 the sea is about one hundred and sixty, yet the official returns 

 and annual reports of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries 

 for England and Wales enumerate only thirty-four edible kinds, 

 including Whitebait. This last is not a single species, as is 

 sometimes supposed, but is composed of young Herrings or 

 Sprats, and may occasionally include young Gobies, Sand Eels, 

 Blennies, and other species. The fish trade classifies these 

 thirty-four fishes into two main categories, round and flat, the 

 last including the Skates and Rays as well as the true Flat-fishes. 

 A fair amount of what is known as unclassified fish is also 

 landed, and, with the fishing-vessels making extensive voyages, 

 comparatively rare species make their way into the markets 

 from time to time. The average housewife is probably familiar 

 with less than half of the thirty-four fishes enumerated by the 

 trade, and within recent years strenuous attempts have been 

 made to overcome a deep-rooted conservatism or even actual 

 prejudice, and to educate the British public to make use of 

 several ex:cellent food-fishes to which they were previously 

 unaccustomed. The case of the much-despised Dog-fish is a 

 particularly interesting one, for the modern industry concerned 

 with this fish in England, Canada, and the United States, arose 

 almost entirely as the result of an attempt to exterminate what 

 was a serious pest to the existing fisheries. It was found almost 

 impossible to do away with these fishes, or even to reduce their 

 numbers to any appreciable extent, and it was finally found 

 preferable to convert what was previously a useless and actually 

 injurious creature into a valuable asset. The first step towards 

 overcoming popular prejudice to the Dog-fish as food was to 



