156 THE WEALTH OF THE SEA 



highly prized fishes is the hahbut, which is caught 

 both on the Atlantic coast banks and the Alaskan 

 banks ; the total catch is approximately sixty million 

 pounds. 



In addition to these fishes there are at least a hun- 

 dred others that are caught in commercial quantities 

 either along our coasts or on the banks. It is obvi- 

 ously impossible, in a brief survey of the fisheries 

 such as this, to enter into a detailed consideration 

 of so large a number of minor species. 



Location of the Fishing Grounds 



As is indicated by the list of countries possessing 

 important fisheries, the valuable fishing grounds lie 

 almost wholly in the north temperate zone between 

 the fortieth and sixtieth parallels of latitude. Taken 

 as a whole, the fisheries of the tropics are unimpor- 

 tant, and it is unlikely that they will ever produce 

 large quantities of fish. Relatively little is known 

 about the fisheries of the south temperate zone, but 

 since no large banks are known there it is unlikely 

 that the zone will ever furnish any considerable 

 proportion of the world's fish and fishery products. 

 The large continental shelves surrounding Europe 

 and America, the extensive coastal indentations, and 

 the large rivers pouring immense quantities of fish 

 food into the sea support an extensive fish life in 

 the north temperate waters far beyond what is pos- 

 sible in tropical and south temperate waters. 



The great fisheries of the British Isles and of the 

 European continent are conducted principally on 

 the banks of the North Sea and those surrounding 



