AMERICA'S FISHERIES 155 



lemon sole and other flatfishes. The French and 

 Portuguese have important sardine fisheries. Their 

 canners use more care in the preservation of the fish 

 and thus are able to command a higher price for 

 their product than do the American canners. 



Aside from those of Europe and North America, 

 the only other fisheries of importance are those of 

 Japan. The Japanese catch about five hundred mil- 

 lion pounds of herring and an equal quantity of sar- 

 dines each year. Mackerel, bonito, tuna, porgy, and 

 yellowtail are also taken in large quantities. 



Inasmuch as our own fisheries are completely 

 overshadowed in importance by our agricultural 

 products, they receive relatively little attention. 

 When compared with other fisheries, however, they 

 are found to be as valuable as those of any other 

 nation with the exception of the United Kingdom. 

 No other country produces such a great variety of 

 fish and fishery products. Our annual catch of sal- 

 mon is very great, often exceeding half a billion 

 pounds, and when canned it is valued at about fifty 

 million dollars. Nearly a billion pounds of menhaden 

 is taken annually, but, since this fish is much less 

 valuable than salmon, the product is worth only 

 about five million dollars. A hundred million pounds 

 of herring is caught by American fishermen each 

 year. Many of these are immature fish and are there- 

 fore used in the preparation of canned sardines. 

 Approximately fifty thousand tons of cod and an 

 equal amount of haddock are captured annually. 

 The haddock all come from the Atlantic, but the 

 Alaskan banks yield many cod. One of our most 



